12x12 - Sound processor, earthenware dog, medical school certificate & child's rugby b...

[bunniefuu]

Welcome to the Repair Shop...

- Oh, my goodness.

- ..where precious but faded
keepsakes...

- That is proper crushed.

- ..are restored to their former
glory.

- Zhuzhing.
- Zhuzhing!

- Could I get finished now, please?

- Yes!

- A dream team of expert
craftspeople...

- I'm absolutely chuffed to bits.

- Fantastic!
- Brilliant!

- Yes! Look at that.

- ..using traditional techniques
passed down the generations...

- Perfecto.

- It's almost magic.

- Nothing better than a plan when it
works.

- ..restore irreplaceable treasures...

- Oh, my God, look at that!

- It's perfect.

- ..and unlock the stories they hold.

BELL RINGS

- Happy tears!

- It feels more magical.

- I just want to hug everybody!

- Morning!

- In the Repair Shop today is a
musical pioneer

with an intriguing bit of kit that
helped define a genre.

Neil Fraser is hoping electronics
maestro Mark Stuckey is all ears.

- Hello.
- Hello!
- Hello there.
- How are we doing?

- I'm doing fine. Thank you.

- Nice to see you. Wow.

- So Mark probably knows what this is,
but...

- No!

- LAUGHTER

- What is it?
- Yeah, what is it?

- This is called a Phasor.

- What does it do?

- I use it for making dub music.
- OK.

- I'm a producer of dub music.
- Right.

- And I run a label.
- OK. So it's like a sound effect
machine, then?

- It is a sound effect machine.
- OK.

- Mainly to do with phasing.
- Phasing.

- It was used by a guy called Lee
"Scratch" Perry.

He bestowed it to me when we worked on
the album Mystic Warrior.

- Who... You worked with Lee "Scratch"
Perry?

- Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I worked...
- Wow.
- You're impressed.

- I'm very impressed.
- Yeah.

- OK!
- Yeah, I did a lot of stuff with Lee
Perry in the early '80s.

- OK.
- Yeah.
- So who was Lee Perry?

- Well, Lee Perry was the guy who
actually inspired me

to want to go into production, and he
produced some of

Bob Marley's most revolutionary songs.
- Oh, right.

- Perry was one of the most iconic
reggae producers, and he came in,

he said, "Hey, Professor..."

- Yeah.
- "..this is what we're going to make
music with."

- Professor? Is that...
- Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's what they
call me.

They call me...
- Mad Professor.
- Yeah.
- Oh, you're Mad Professor?

- Yeah. Sometimes, yeah.

- Wow. Pleased to meet you, sir.

- Nice to meet you, Jay.

- You're also a legend in the Sound
System.

- Yeah, well... I don't know.

- You're humble with it.
- Yeah.

- So you made a few tracks with...
With Lee.
- With Lee.

With this Phasor.
- Wow.

- This makes the piano - or any part
of the song -

it gives it a wet sound, like...

It makes it sound like it's on the
water,

like a...

- HE WHISTLES

- You know?
- Wow.

- He doesn't need it - he can do it
himself.

- LAUGHTER

- Good idea.

- OK.

So the last time this was working,
when was that?

What year was that?

- That would've been 1984.

- 1984?

- Yeah, 1984.
- Wow, OK.

- And then Lee passed away two years
ago.
- Yeah.

- And I thought, "Let me make some
records in his memory."

Started to hook it up.
- Right.

- I find it don't work.
- OK.

So when you plugged in, what did it
actually do?

Did it... Was there power there?

- Yeah, yeah.
- On this power button. It's just not
working?

- There's the light, yeah, but there's
no output.

- Well, hopefully Mark's going to be
able to get this making

that water sound.
- Great!
- All right?

- Brilliant. I'll look forward to it.
It's a challenge.

- It will be a challenge, but it'll be
a great challenge to do.

- Yeah.
- If you could fix it...

- Yes.
- ..I would be a very happy man.

Take care.
- See you soon.
- Bye-bye.

- Bye-bye.
- Bye-bye.

- MUSIC: Fire Bay by Toby Peter
Knowles

- I've never, ever worked on one of
these before,

but I've got to take the knowledge
I've gained over the years

and try to make sense of it.

And even as I'm talking now, I'm
going... My head's spinning

round with ideas on, "How do I
approach it?"

When you look at anything like this,
the first impression is,

"Oh, crikey, where do you go?"

Well, you don't - you stop and then
start to take things

in smaller portions.

I've got to look at it slowly and try
to see if I can make sense

of any of it.

That's the first thing you do.

- Beautiful day.

- Oh, gorgeous, isn't it?

- We're very lucky, actually, it's not
pouring with rain.

- Retired police officer John
Humphreys from Surrey has

travelled to the barn to see ceramics
conservator Kirsten Ramsay

in the hope that she can fix a
faithful friend.

- There we are.
- Here he is!

- THEY LAUGH

- Waiting, obediently.

There we are.

So, John, who's this?

- This is Belka.

He's my last police dog, but really
he's a combination of

all my police dogs...
- Right.
- ..that I had.

I had four.

I was a police dog handler for 25
years.

And Belka epitomises all of them.

My first dog, Ivan, unfortunately he
had epilepsy.

- Oh, no.

- So after two years, I lost him.

- Right.

- And then I got Jago, the wild one.

Then there was Del,

and then there was Belka, who was my
last dog.

- Yeah.
- It's just you and the dog.

You rely on each other and you trust
them.

You know, you never knew what was
round the corner.
- Mm.

So I'm guessing there's a really
strong bond that builds up.

- Oh, unbelievable.

You're a team.

You rely on each other.
- Yeah.

- There wasn't one day I didn't want
to go work.
- Really?

- Yeah.
- So how long have you had Belka?

- '72.
- Oh, gosh.
- Yeah.
- Long time.

- My wife, Liz, we went out buying
some furniture one day,

and I saw him and I went, "Oh, wow,
how wonderful!"

You know, it's absolutely gorgeous.

Anyway, I forgot all about it, and
eventually the furniture

was delivered with him.

- No! So she'd popped him in the
basket as well?

- Yeah, yeah. I'm grateful for her,
you know, bringing him into my life,

you know, because it brings everything
back.

And all my dogs have looked at me like
that.
- He's looking at you now.

- No, I know, and it's really good.

He brings back so many memories.

- I can see by your face, yeah, it
brings back your memories.

- Oh, yeah.

He's very special to me.

And he means a lot.
- Yeah.

How did Belka get damaged?

- My fault.
- Right.

- I bought a heavy-duty coat stand.

- Yeah.
- And unfortunately I loaded it up far
too much.

- Right.
- And it fell and smashed that part of
him off.

Gavin, my son, tried to repair it, but
as you can see

it's not that good.

I feel so guilty about what happened
to him.

And I didn't take care of him as I
should've done, you know?

- Mm.

- It's funny, isn't it?

An inanimate object can actually, you
know, bring so much to you.

- Well, it's all the memories, isn't
it, that, you know,

that he triggers, really?
- Oh, so many.
- So, yeah. Mm.

Well, I will absolutely do the best
that I can, John,

to get him looking whole again.

- Thank you.

- OK.

All right?
- Thank you.
- OK.

Hearing the importance of Belka to
John,

I can see why his son obviously tried
to help and put this

back together, and it'd be quite nice
to get it apart,

see if I can get the edges clean and
back together and then fill

this stepped area here.

And the main thing to start with is to
try and get rid of

this old adhesive.

I'm going to go straight in and use a
paint stripper to try

and soften this adhesive.

And it won't damage the glazed
earthenware surface at all.

This isn't going to instantly dissolve
the adhesive.

This can take anything between an hour
or several days

of repeated applications.

I'm going to wrap the face with the
tinfoil and that contains

the active ingredients in the paint
stripper and keeps it working

on the old repair.

- After much head scratching over the
sound effects machine,

Mark has called in reinforcements -

old friend, collaborator and authority
on all things audio,

Nigel Robinson.

- Welcome to my little world.

An interesting little blighter, this
one.

Now, what I've done so far, I've
broken down each individual

part to understand how I think it
should function.

But the thing is, which I'm not sure
on and this is where you

will come in, it's the optical
switching system...
- Yeah.

- ..which is effectively acting as an
opening the door and closing

the door, to allow the sound to pass
through.

- Yeah.
- You can then send it to this sort of
phaser area,

which delays it and makes it do all
this sort of clever stuff.

Now, you're more familiar with that
than I am.

- Yes, I've used those before

and it's basically, in its simplest
form, it's an LED

up against a photosensitive resistor.

So when the light comes on, the
resistor goes off.

- Yeah, and then that allows the door
to open for the signal

path to continue.
- Exactly.
- OK.

So I think then you would like to
actually get the optical

switching system out first, the
switches...
- Yeah.

- And then we can go from there.
- Absolutely.

- We've got a plan!

Come on, you little devil.

- Have you got...
- That's it there, clear.

Right.
- There we go.

- So possibly this optical switch
maybe actually failed.
- Yeah.

- If you could perhaps make up this
new light-dependent resistor

and this LED...
- Yeah.
- ..and then we can go on to the next
circuit.

- We'll be away.
- The Mad Professor will be pleased!

- As Nigel and Mark launch their
attack, another hopeful

visitor has arrived.

Sidra Syed has brought a cherished
memento of a life

dedicated to the field of medicine.

- There she is. Hello.

- Hi.
- You must be Sidra.

- Yes, that's me.
- I'm Jay. All right?
- Hi, nice to meet you.

- Likewise. What have you brought us
in?

- It's my dad's medical certificate.

- Louise, do you mind joining us?

- The specialist skills of paper
conservator Louise Drover

are about to be put to the test.

- Hi, Sidra.
- Hello.

- Gosh, look at this.

- So, tell us about it.

- It's basically his first
qualification in medicine,

so it's Bachelor of Medicine...
- Yeah.
- ..become a doctor,

and then he specialised, he got a
Masters to become

an orthopaedic surgeon.
- Wow.
- He loves his bones, yeah!

Fixing bones, so...
- OK!

- He was so passionate about medicine.

- Where did he graduate?

- In Aurangabad. It's a town in India.
- OK.

- So that's where my dad was born and
raised.
- Right.

- He worked in India for a long time,


and then he moved to go to Oman, where
he worked until

he passed away in 2021.

- Sorry to hear that.
- Mm.
- Yeah. He passed away because of
Covid.

- Gosh.
- And where was he working? Was he in
a hospital?

- He was in hospital, so he was
working there.
- OK.

- And he probably caught the virus on
duty.

- Did anybody get a chance to see him?

- No. Well, he was by himself because
our family is so scattered

because we have family in Bombay in
India, and then in the UK.

When he first fell sick, he didn't
even inform us he was unwell.

And I would talk to him every other
day, like, the family,

through video call.
- Yeah.

- I was trying to get to reach him and
just couldn't.

And when we did, they said that he's
very critical and

he needs to be put on a ventilator.

- Mm.
- Erm...

- You OK?
- Sorry.

- It's OK.

- Obviously, because of border
control, none of us were allowed to

travel to see him.

Things just took a turn and he just...

He never bounced back.

And when I was collecting his
belongings from his flat,

there wasn't a lot. It was...

It was his books and his certificates.

He was a simple man and, you know,
like, just...

This is, like, a tangible memory of
him, you know?
- Yeah.

- And he signed it. It's just so...
It's so precious.

And if there's a way to...
- Make it more presentable.

- ..fix it, yeah.
- Absolutely.

- I'd love to frame it.
- Yeah, of course.

- From what I can see... Has it been
laminated?

- Yes. It's a thing we do in India.

Usually with paper certificates, we
tend to laminate them

just to preserve it.

Because my dad got this qualification
in India

and then he had to work abroad,

it needed a lot of attestation, like
stamps and everything

to be valid abroad.

- So what do you mean, stamps?

- So, I mean, this is one page but
it's been, like...
- Oh.

- ..pulled apart.
- It's split through.

- Yeah, split through.

- It's almost as if the paper's been
split in two,

they stamp inside.
- Yes.
- To say he's official to work at a
hospital,

is that what the stamps are for?
- Yeah, to work at a hospital.

- And the lamination that's on
there...
- Yes.

- Do you want that gone?

- Oh, I would... Honestly, I would
love it if you can,

but I know that it's...
- Mm.

- The whole job is so big, I wouldn't
expect anything.

- Oh, hold on. There's another
lamination underneath it.

- Like a sort of cellophane.

- Oh, what's that on there?
- That's another layer.

- Oh, my gosh.
- OK.

- I'm sorry. I didn't realise there
were, like, three layers of plastic.

- OK.
- Yeah.

- Anything you can do, honestly...
- To improve it.
- ..to improve it

I would really appreciate it.

- Yeah, I'm sure it can be improved.

- Well, thank you for bringing this in
and telling us about your dad.

Hopefully, Louise can do something to
it.

- Thank you.

- You're welcome.
- You take care now, and we'll see you
soon.

- Thank you. Take care.
- Yeah, see you soon.
- Bye-bye.
- Bye.

- This laminated document is quite
possibly the worst I've seen

in my entire 30-year career.

It's got three laminations to it.

Two layers of what appears to be a
very thin cellophane,

one lifting quite nicely, one still
very firmly attached.

Not sure how it is coming off yet.

And then this very thick, crunchy one
on the outside.

I think the trickiest thing with this
will possibly be

to remove that final layer.

I don't actually know if I'll be able
to get it off.

This started life as one single
document.

It had obviously been stamped.

The earlier stamps are on the front.

And then they seem to go through to
the back.

And I would imagine possibly at that
stage

they needed to do more stamps, pulled
it apart and filled the back

with more, because they're the most
recent stamps, on the inside.

So it's actually... It is in fact one
sheet of paper

split in its actual thickness, to
allow for more stamps.

I think it's necessary to split the
two sheets

because of the information that's here
in between the two layers.

And I believe that's the only way
forward.

Because if you were to marry the two
layers back up,

you would be covering up all this
information.

And I know Sidra would like to see
everything here.

It's all very important.

So my plan is to separate the rest of
this paper layer that's

already been peeled apart.

So I shall carry that on up the sheet.

It's being held by the lamination
material.

If it was just paper, you know, it
could just tear and...

There. It's apart.

- Also struggling with fragile
materials, Kirsten is doggedly

plugging away at the old repairs on
Belka.

- After many hours of trying to break
down the old adhesive on Belka,

the tooth came off and then the jaw's
come off.

Whilst that's great, I've still got
the muzzle

and this is proving quite difficult.

My choice of solvent is definitely
having an effect

and I am reapplying acetone into this
joint,

and it is softening the adhesive in
there.

John's son clearly did quite a
remarkable job here,

and there's a lot of adhesive on quite
big surfaces,

so you're trying to get that access in
there.

And on the other side of the muzzle
it's a very tight join,

so trying to get the solvent in there
is quite difficult.

It is quite frustrating.

So I'm just going to press on and
hopefully I'll get there.

Here we go.

Amazing!

- SHE LAUGHS

- Goodness gracious me!

That's fantastic!

It's a huge relief.

I'm now going to clean off

all of this horrid,

rubbery yellow adhesive.

And once I've got all of these break
edges consolidated,

I'm then ready to start putting Belka
back together again.

- Right, what I'm hoping should
happen, when I apply power to this,

and I'll bring it up slowly, just to
make sure,

in an ideal world I'd really love to
see this LED come on,

and tell me that part of the circuit
is now fully functional.

You OK?
- Yeah...

- I'm putting the power up...

Ah!

Well, it still don't work!

- No.

- I'm going to rewire this back up...

- Yeah.
- ..and we'll start again.

- Yeah, no problem.
- Yeah!

- THEY LAUGH

- Um...

That's doing something as well.
- It's doing something,

it's going up and down, which is good.
- Yeah.

- I'm ready to try and put Belka's
face back together.

I've gone for a two-part epoxy resin,

and with the consolidated surface,

it means that I should get

a really nice, strong bond.

Right, this is where Belka gets his
jaw back.

OK. That sits nicely.

And I'm just going to use some tape

to try and hold that in place

while I work on the top part of the
muzzle.

I'm now going to reunite that top jaw.

I have to say, there were points where
I thought I wouldn't get

to this stage.

This has been so tricky

that it's really gratifying to see

this come back together

and align properly.

There we are.

That has actually clicked into place.

So that's an incredibly satisfying
feeling.

It feels strong, stable.

So I'm just going to let that cure now
and then

I've got some filling to do and some
retouching.

The filling is feeling really lovely
and smooth now.

I really love retouching,

but there's always a little bit of
trepidation.

I'm going to have to try and recreate
this coat.

There's lots of different colours and
speckles.

So I'm just going to pick out a few of
those and almost blend them

as I start to retouch.

It's much easier to start lighter

and then go for the more intense

colours to build up the layers.

You don't want to overwork it either,
so it's quite important

to block this area out,

leave it to dry, and then I can come
in and make some adjustments.

- INDISTINCT CHAT, LAUGHTER

Double trouble for Louise,

now working on two separate halves

of the fragile 1970s doctor's diploma.

- You can see this lovely outline

of where this has gone ultra thin.

It's all been skinned down by the
action of peeling it apart

by whoever those authorities were that
wanted to stamp it.

A light box does enable me to see

through where I need to infill

this loss with some Japanese tissue
paper.

So I just trace around the edges with
a brush, with just water on,

and then I just pull it apart.

It should fit nicely into the hole.

It'll make this area really strong and
stable.

So, pitching it in place.

And then we use some blotting paper.

And I shall reline the whole thing

with a piece of Japanese tissue,

give it that strength.

So, just for now, set it to one side

and look at the main part

of this certificate.

I'd like to remove this heavy
lamination.

The best way is, if possible, to do it
with nothing.

Heat is tricky because you can drive

the adhesive back into the paper

and cause more bonding.

But we'll see how it goes.

Always roll what you're peeling away

as low as you can.

You never pull it up

because you'll just tear it.

You know, it's too vulnerable.

It's quite stiff, actually, this.

It's adhering really tightly in some
areas, more than others.

Yay!

- SHE LAUGHS

- Phew!

Oof!

And I've got the next layer to contend
with,

which is this thinner layer.

I just think it could tear very
easily.

Yeah, it's lifting the paper now.

So I just keep peeling

the looser areas off and, yeah,

it's just patience, really, and some
prayers.

- SHE CHUCKLES

- Right.
- Disconnect that.
- Yeah, so that's the one...

Got to find out how to link that to
this.

- Well, there's something missing,
isn't there?

Connecting those two parts together.
- Yeah.
- Something missing?
- Hi, Jay.

- How's it going?

- So, with electronics, unlike
something physical

where you can see it and you know what
to do...
- Yeah.

- ..here you have to think about it
and discuss it...
- Yeah.

- ..and hopefully you're going to come
down to a logical conclusion

on the best way to approach it.
- Wow.

- So there's a lot of brain activity
before you actually commit.

- Um...

..I'll get you both a cup of tea.

- THEY LAUGH

- Thanks!

- Right. Onwards and upwards.

- Having painstakingly recreated
Belka's fur,

a final layer is all that's left to
get him looking top-dog once again.

- I'm now ready to go over the
retouched fills

with a clear, glossy coat.

For John, I think it's going to be
lovely to have this back

in his living room again.

A lovely reminder of his career in the
police force

and all those dogs that he worked
side-by-side with.

It's been a really lovely project.

- The earthenware effigy was a fitting
tribute to John's four beloved dogs

and a reminder of his 25 years as a
police dog handler.

- There she is.
- Hi, John.
- Hello!
- THEY CHUCKLE

- Lovely to see you.
- And you.

I've been thinking about it all night.
- Have you?
- Have you?

- THEY LAUGH

- Oh...

- So, have you missed him?
- Oh, yeah.

Really have missed him.

I'd keep looking where he is, or
should be.
- Yeah.

- You know? He just means...

- Yeah.
- ..you know, so much.
- Can see that.

Don't want to hold you back any more.
You ready?

- Oh, I am ready, yeah.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
- OK.

- JOHN CHUCKLES

- Ah!

Wow!

- THEY CHUCKLE

- He's back!

That is amazing!
- Aw!

- That is absolutely amazing!

Oh, it's absolutely beautiful!

Tactile, isn't he?
- Yeah, yeah.
- Yeah.

- THEY LAUGH

- He's so handsome.

And he's got a strength in his face,
you know?

- As it came back together, I could
really see what you loved

about his face, actually.

- Yeah, I can't stop touching him.
- I know.

- The German Shepherd, to me, is
just...

..amazing. There's nothing like them.

- Yeah.
- And every one of them has been
special.

- This is really lovely, then,

that they're all sort of wrapped up in
Belka, isn't it?
- Oh, it is!

It is. And...

No, it's...

I'd say I've been so fortunate

that all my life I've been associated

with them, you know?
- Yeah.
- And...

..and he... You know, I just sit there
sometimes and reminisce.

- Yeah.
- Me and him.

- Yeah?
- Yeah.

I didn't think I would be that
emotional, actually,

but he really is lovely.

He's absolutely fantastic. Thank you
very much indeed.

- It's been an absolute pleasure,
John.
- That is so wonderful.

- Bless you. Well, Kirsten is going to
wrap him up

and I'll take you out to the car. Is
that all right?

- OK, that's great.
- All right.
- Thank you.
- Lovely to meet you.

- Right, and you.
- See you, yeah.
- Bye.
- Bye.
- Bye.

Oh, he's so much better than I could
have hoped for.

It's as if I'm touching all my other
dogs.

He personifies all of them now.

He's the key to my memories,

and there are a lot of memories.

And I'm so grateful that I've got him
back.

- Dean, do you mind joining me?
- Not at all. See you in a bit.

- How are you doing?
- I'm all right.
- You ready?
- Depends.

- Yeah, depends what's about to
arrive!
- Yeah.

- Here to see cobbler Dean
Westmoreland is Lee Johnson

with a sporting souvenir that holds
dear memories.

- Hi.
- Hi.
- Welcome to the barn.

Lovely to meet you.

What have we got here?

- They are my rugby boots.

- You've got very small feet!

- I used to have!

- THEY LAUGH

- These were my first ever pair of
rugby boots.

I think they were the first size boots
that my dad could buy me.

I was about six years old.

So they're over 60 years old.

- Wow!

Am I OK to have a look?

- Please do.

- So why did you get into rugby as a
six-year-old?

- Well, my dad, Ernie, he was a keen
sportsman and he played rugby.

And Dad was just a role model,

and I loved going and watching him
play.

- Was that your childhood?

Every weekend, following him round?
- If I could.

When they played away and they had
late returns,

as they were called, then I used to
cry because I couldn't go

with my dad.

But eventually, I actually played in
the same team as him.

- Wow! How old were you when you did
that?
- 15.
- 15, OK.

- So, as a 15-year-old, you were
playing...with...
- Me dad.

- Yeah.
- But I felt safe because he was still
playing then.

In the front row, there was my dad, my
uncle and me, and my other

uncle was playing fullback. So there
were four Johnsons.

I was lucky enough to, to play for
Coventry, my hometown,

I captained Coventry,

and I was lucky enough to then go on
and play and get into

the England squad for a few years.

- Wow!

- Never quite got to the summit.

I played in the B team, as it was
then,

but I had a fantastic career...
- What an achievement.

- ..which all started from Dad. Dad
and these boots.

- I bet he was so proud of you.

- He was. Well, he was passionate
about his sport,

and he taught me so much, you know, so
respected.
- Yeah.

- But they just bring me and my dad so
close together.

And, you know, in his last few years

when, you know, he had dementia,

I just had to hang on to this memory

of this very passionate man

charging around the rugby field.

- Yeah.

- So, when he died last year...
- Oh, no.
- ..I...

..I thought, "What can I do? I've got
to do something and make sure

"they're a testimony to my dad."

- How did they get damaged around the
top here?

- Our dog Jakey found them when we
were at work.

- Ah!
- Classic.

- My wife wanted to throw them away,

but you can see I refused.

They're part of me and my dad.

And he knew...he knew that I loved the
sport,

and he knew that I loved him as well,
you know,

and what he'd done for me, so...

But, as you can see, I'd just

like these to be a pair again...
- Yeah, a matching pair.

- ..if they can.
- Yeah.

- I'd like them to be, you know,
displayed.
- Presentable.

- Yeah.
- I can really see that, the way you
talk about them and the way

you hold them, it's just... You can
see that...

- Yeah.
- ..they're an important pair of boots
to you.

- Very, very.
- Yeah. Well, I promise they're in
safe hands.
- Thank you.

- Thanks. See you later.
- Thank you, Dean.
- Take care.

- Look at this.

A special pair of boots, eh?
- Yeah.

- Maybe we need a little display case
or something.

- Yes, that'd be nice, wouldn't it?
- Show them off.

- Yeah, show them off properly.

Cheers, mate.

It's a really, really sturdy boot.

I mean...

...you take the studs away, it kind of
looks a bit

like a classic military boot.

I think the biggest challenge for me
is definitely where little Jake

has tried to eat the boot.

And that is so common. I see it so
often.

What is it about dogs that love boots
and love chewing them?

But dogs do keep me in business,
really.

So it's not a bad thing.

The back strap here is really

a functional part of the boot.

I feel that it's important to try and
strengthen that

and condition it.

I'd just like to clean this sole up
and get some of that



I always remember cleaning my own
football boots.

In fact, that was how I learned how to
polish.

Trying to shine them up and then
putting another coat on

and trying to get it even shinier.

My mum was adamant that I clean my
boots after

each training session or game,

so this does bring back a few memories
for myself.

- Yeah, but I also remember this one's
got a live feed...

- After much collective brainpower on
Team Phasor's bench,

Nigel thinks he's cracked the enigma.

- The conclusion I'm coming to...
- Yes?
- ..is it needs a foot switch

plugged into it, to turn it on.
- Well, can't we...?

But we can mimic that from the back.

- Yeah.
- I don't think it's going to cause
any... It'll either work

or it won't.
- Is that the famous last words?
- Yeah!

- Ah!
- There you are. That's it.

Now, in theory, that circuit is
functional.

Thank God, crikey, for that!

So it seems in the past this has been
modified,

for keyboard principally,

but the way it's been wired, a foot
pedal was needed

for it to work.

The foot pedal is not here, so I'm
still going to have to put

a jack plug at the back to modify it,

to make it believe it's still got a
foot pedal attachment.
- Yeah.

- So, get that done and we're home and
dry.

- We are.
- Yes.
- Teamwork, mate.
- Teamwork, yeah, exactly.

- It's been more of a solo mission on
Louise's bench as she's spent hours

painstakingly picking layers of
plastic from the fragile paper

of the medical certificate.

- I'm really happy, actually.

So far, I've managed to get off

the very heavy, crunchy layer,

and then I got one layer of the
cellophane off as well.

And although one layer does remain,

it's as far as I dare go, actually,

because it's so tightly bonded,

you would skin off all this

information of Sidra's father.

And I'll move on to the back part of
the document.

Because it's been pasted up, it's had
linings put on,

it's not as flat as the front part of
the document.

I'm introducing this moisture so that
the paper can relax

and stretches a tiny bit.

And while it's in that state, that's
when I use these nice new margins

to wrap around this board.

And as it dries, it'll just pull out
that strong creasing.

I've used this method many times,

particularly when I did a series

of Picasso like this,

and some Hockney posters like this,

Elisabeth Frink.

It's just a gentle fastening down of
the edges

and allows it to lay flat in the
frame.

- Mark's little trick to complete the
circuitry

in the electronic phaser is ready to
test.

- Right, what I'm going to do now,

if I just turn the power on to the
bi-phase, the light's on

but the LEDs are not working.

I'll put this on the back

and do that,

and then the LEDs come on.

So, therefore, that's exactly how it
should work.

I'm happy that it is fully functional,

but until the Mad Professor gives it a
go and I see

that he's really happy with it,

what we've done, that's when the
weight will be lifted.

I can then relax and enjoy that
moment.

- DUB REGGAE PLAYS

The Phasor's unique sound was featured

in ground-breaking dub tracks of the


- So where's all this stuff? This is
not yours, is it?

- No, no. This is from the Mad
Professor himself.

- So he's brought his studio to us?
- Yeah, a mini studio.
- OK.

- So we can then see how it goes.
- Wow!

- For the Mad Professor, otherwise
known as Neil Fraser,

it's a rather special box of tricks.

- There he is.
- Hello, Neil.

- Hello! Hello!
- How you doing?

- I'm fine...
- You good?

- I'm wondering whether you've managed
to do it

because it's such a...

And it was in such a state.
- It was.

Mark, you managed to do something?
- Well, you'll have to wait and see.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- OK!
- Yeah!

- THEY LAUGH

- So, you ready to see it?
- Yep. Ready.
- Go on.
- Do you want to...? Yeah?

- Do the honours.
- OK.

- Ah! It looks a lot better!

- JAY CHUCKLES

- This is great. This is great.

Oh, it works!

- JAY LAUGHS

- It wasn't working before!

Gosh, how did you do that?

OK.

This is the track without the phaser.

- DUB REGGAE PLAYS

- Now phaser.

- PHASER EFFECTS

- Oh, yeah!

- THEY CHUCKLE

MUSIC CONTINUES WITH PHASER EFFECTS

MUSIC STOPS

- Boom.
- OK.
- You got it!

- So, basically, it's working!

- Yeah!
- OK.
- It's working like new!

Brand-new.
- You must be happy.
- Yeah, man!
- OK.
- It's brilliant,

brilliant, brilliant.
- I'm pleased.
- Yeah?
- Thank you.

- Mark has done amazing.
- Amazing!

- It is amazing.
- Yeah.

- So, once you take this back to your
studio, is that just going

to be plugged in and then used again?
- Yes, definitely.

- To make tracks?
- Tomorrow.
- Tomorrow??
- Tomorrow. Yeah, man.

- Wow! What are you going to call one
of those tracks?

You must be calling it The Repair Shop
Track, isn't it?

- Yeah!
- Why not?
- Repair The Dub.
- Yeah!

And we're going to have a dance.
- Yeah!
- Yeah.

- Well, thank you for bringing this
in.
- Yeah, it's been real fun

and interesting.
- Yeah. So we're going to get this all
wrapped up

and sent to your studio, is that all
right?
- OK.

Thank you, Jay.
- No, thank you.

You take care.
- Respect.
- Nice to have met you.

- Respect.
- Take care.
- All right, see you soon.
- Bye-bye.
- Bye. Bye.

I feel ecstatic because I remember
being in the studio

with, like, Scratch, and we were
playing with it.

And, yeah, it's taken me back, like,


Any time I want a track with that
watery sound,

I'm going to put it through to give
that kind of...

- HE IMITATES WHOOSHING EFFECT

- Yeah, it's going to be great.

- There's all to play for in Dean's
repair of the vintage rugby boots.

- After cleaning the soles and the
uppers,

and them coming up beautifully well...
I've got all that mud off.

So now I'm just going in with some
reasonably fine-grit sandpaper.

What I'm trying to do is get the shine
back on these nails.

Some of them are quite rusted and
tarnished, and it's actually

a beautiful pattern, kind of
double-pinned, and it goes

all the way around.

When I polish these soles to preserve
them, those nails

are really going to pop.

The leather I'm going to use to repair
this dog bite,

it's a beautiful English suede.

I just want to cut around there, maybe
just a few millimetres,

so that when I cut the new piece of
leather, I've got a clean line

to stitch to.

So I'm going to try a reverse seam.

I'm going to use the back side of
this,

stitch it through,

and then I'll fold that over...

..and you won't see any of the
stitching.

So now that I have a shape that I'm
happy to work with,

I need to thin this edge down because
I don't want

to create any bulk when I fold that
back over.

I think that's close enough.

I can get some stitches in there,

fold it over, and then I'll really see

what I'm working with.

There's quite a lot of excess there,

so I'm just going to trim that off, so
it's a bit easier

to work with.

So, actually, that fold has worked
really, really well.

I'm quite happy with that bit.

However, when I'm folding it back,
it's kind of bunching up.

That's not a problem, though.

I'll unpick those stitches

and just make a less aggressive curve

and do the same process again,

and I should be left with a nice top
line to work with.

After trying the reverse seam and
being quite disappointed

with the bunching at the top, I've
taken to doing a slightly

different method, one of taking a
piece of leather,

cutting it to the shape of where the
bite mark was,

thin down the edge of that, so there
is no bulk.

I've then glued it on,

and the top line, although it still
needs trimming,

is the shape of the shoe.

So I'm much happier now.

What I need to do now is strengthen
this back strap,

where it's been chewed a little bit,

and I'm going to do that by backing it
in a very, very thin,

very strong leather.

It can be quite frustrating sometimes
when you go with

a certain method and it doesn't work.

But this is the nature of repair.

Sometimes it is a little bit of trial
and error,

despite the experience you may have,

and finding a satisfactory solution

is the key to a good repair, really.

- After hours of skilled and delicate
work in the hands of Louise,

the precious paperwork has made a
miraculous recovery.

- So this is the new frame for Sidra's
dad's medical certificate.

It's kind of quite unusual because
it's actually glass

on both sides.

That's to show both sides of the
document.

This is a window mount, and as you can
see,

it's got this aperture at the back.

That's just really so we can see all
the stamps which are

on the lower part of this document,
hidden inside.

Check, check, check. That's good.

I think this mount is going to hugely
help and will actually help

to keep it flat whilst it's hanging,

so it'll look really nice.

I'm not sure if Sidra will be slightly
taken aback

that the certificate is now in two
pieces.

However, I have managed to retain

all the important information in it,

but I hope she's not too shocked

to see it in two parts.

And then I just pop that in there,
like that.

This...this piece I sort of separated
from the main part...

..and I shall attach it by hinging it
along the top...

..as I fasten this in.

And Sidra has got all the information
she needed.

- This certificate chronicles one
man's career,

devoted to health care, which sadly
cost him his life,

contracting Covid in the line of duty.

For Sidra, it's a precious reminder of
her much-missed father

and all that he achieved.

- Hello.
- Hi there.
- Hi, Sidra.

- Hello.
- Welcome back.
- How are you? Thank you.

Yeah, it's nice to be back.
- You excited?
- Super.

I haven't stopped thinking about it
since I've handed it over to you.

- Aw, that's sweet.

- I think we should take a look.

Yeah?
- Oh, gosh.
- You ready?

- Wow!

How amazing!

God, it looks beautiful! The frame!

Oh, he would be so happy.

- It's got glass on the back, too.
- Oh, my God!

- And there's the rest of the
document.

- Oh, my goodness!

- And I left an aperture for this area
of stamp.

- It's just amazing.

The journey of the certificate is just
there.

- So I'd loved to have taken this
final layer of lamination off,

but it just wouldn't have been
possible.

It would have destroyed and lifted off
all this ink

and the printing and stamps.

So there it remains.

- Yeah, I wouldn't want to lose that,
his signature on it.
- No.

- That's the most important bit for
me.
- Important.

- Just look at it and just remember my
dad. Um...

Yeah, what an amazing guy he was.

I just hope that, you know, wherever
he is,

he's just really happy to see that
I've got a chance to preserve it.

So, this is pure magic.

So, thank you so much for...

..restoring it.
- It's a pleasure.

- Thanks a lot. Bye-bye.
- Thank you!

It feel like it's a time of his life
was captured in that certificate,

and he's there visibly, with me, when
I see it.

So I feel like I'm holding a part of
him, like I'm holding my dad.

- More preservation of paternal
memories on Dean's bench,

where the rugby boots have been
putting up tough opposition.

- I've cut the top line there.

It's pretty much as per the original.

It's very difficult now to see where
Jakey has chewed

that leather away.

I'm really quite happy with that.

I think I'd now like to give this
leather a nice polish

with some lovely cream.

This is always the most satisfying
part of any repair because a polish

is generally the final flourish.

It's been really nice to work on
these.

Listening to Lee and about his
relationship with his dad,

I can't wait to give these back and
see what he thinks.

I'm going to get some cream on the
other boot now,

and they'll be ready for Lee to see
the work.

- For Lee, the rugby boots are a
powerful reminder

of his beloved father

and their shared passion for the
sport.

- Here he is.

How are you doing, Lee?
- I'm fine, thanks.
- You all right?
- Thanks, yeah.

- How are you feeling, sir?

- It's like pre-match nerves!

It's...

It's funny.
- Yeah?
- It's...

It really stimulated me thinking about
my dad and just bringing back

memories from me watching him,

me playing with him,

him watching me,

the endless conversations.
- Yeah.

These are more than just rugby boots,
aren't they?

- These are me and my dad.

It's our life in rugby.

- And you've got the start of it
underneath there.

- Yeah.
- You ready, yeah?
- I think so.

Please blow the whistle.
- Go on, Dean.
- Get the game started.

That's...!

Dean, that's amazing!

That is, that is truly amazing!

And the repair!

- That's what you wanted.
- Wow!

Can I...? Can I touch them?
- 'Course you can.
- Yeah!
- They're yours.

- Wow!

I'm a six-year-old boy again!

I'm going to say to people,

"Which one do you think the dog
chewed?"

And I don't think...
- They won't guess.
- They won't.

They'll never guess.

Like, I'm...

..made up.

Such memories.
- Yeah.

- Beautiful.
- Well, Dom's made the stand.

- I was going to say. Thank you very
much!
- Yeah.

There's a couple more things to make
them kind of, like, dog-proof.

We've got something for you.

- Ha!

Wow!

That is absolutely beautiful!

- So they're all yours now to take
home, yeah?
- I will.

- Thank you, Lee.
- Thank you very much.
- It's been a pleasure.

Thanks very much.

- Thank you.

- That's it.
- Thanks, Jay.
- All right.

- They may be a small pair of boots,

but there's such a story of life, of
rugby.

They symbolise Dad investing his time,

and the time we spent together,

and it just evokes so many memories.

Happy memories.

- If you have a treasured possession
that's seen better days

and you think the team can help,
please get in touch at...

..and join us in the Repair Shop.