13x13 - Episode #13.13

[bunniefuu]

Welcome to The Repair Shop...
- I'm ready to see some magic.

- ..where precious but faded
keepsakes...

- It's in a bit of a sorry state.

- Deep breath.

- ..are restored to their former
glory.

- I don't think I'm even breathing at
this point!

- Lovely.
- So exciting.

- A dream team of expert
craftspeople...

- Stroll, stroll, stroll,

back, back, back.

- It's going to look absolutely
stunning.

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

- If someone's made it, then I can fix
it.

- HE LAUGHS

- It's so much fun!

- ..restore irreplaceable treasures...

SHE SQUEALS, LAUGHTER

- Take it away, Mark.

- ..and unlock the stories that they
hold.

- Oh, my God!

- It's like it's brand-new.

- You're a wizard!

- Thank you so much!

Got a busy day, Sonnaz?
- I do. Do you?
- Always.

- THEY LAUGH

- Yeah.

I'll make you a cup of tea, if you
like.

- Oh, thank you. That's a nice offer.

- Hi, Will.

- Morning, Dean.
- Morning. You OK?
- Yeah. Good. Are you?
- Yeah, not bad.

- The day's first project is a dream
assignment

for cinephile Mark Stuckey.

- Mark.
- Cor, my word!

- THEY LAUGH

- Baby! Look at this - come to me!
- I've got you a present.

- I know what it is, but what's it
doing here?

- We need you to fix it.

- I've been wanting to have something
like this for a long, long time.

- This golden oldie from the
pre-streaming days

has come courtesy of Christian
Skelton,

who is hoping that it can be sparked
back into action.

- And what have you brought in today?

- THEY LAUGH

- A very, very big and heavy,

uh, 35mm cinema projector

from the sort of mid '70s to early
'80s.

And this lamp house is slightly older
-

it's probably '50s.

- It's incredible.

- Yes. It must have been a real pain
getting it on the bus,

that's all I can say. Yeah!

- So how does it work?
- This top reel -

you know, you'd load the film in
there, you'd thread

it through the runners into the
projector, and then it goes

down into the sound head down here

and, basically, it reads the
soundtrack off of the film.

Until probably 2011, there were guys
in little projection rooms

running projectors a lot like this.

These reels - this is a... I think
it's around an 18-minute reel,


- No.

- ..so in the old days, they would
have two projectors

and they would physically run the
first reel here,

and then, at a certain point, you'd
get the little flashes

on the film to give them notice, and
they would literally

fire up the next projector with the
next 18 minutes.

- No way!

- And they would manually change it
over from one to the other

during the film and try and get it
seamlessly.

- They were underrated stars, really,
behind the scenes.

- And it was something that, with
digital projection,

just got lost like that.

- I love it. See, the old stuff's the
best, isn't it?

- Exactly. Yep.

- Where has it been?

- I'm involved in a charity - the
Selsey Pavilion Trust,

just south of Chichester.

All volunteer-led, to try and save
this pretty much derelict



And this was donated to us by a guy
called Alan Taylor.

He has personally run this machine

at the Imperial w*r Museum at Duxford.

He kindly donated it to really use

when the building's kind of back in
use.

So if we can get it up and running...

- Yeah.
- ..we can get interest from younger
groups

that don't have any knowledge of how
film used to be projected.

- Yeah.
- And we really want to get local

sort of retired projectionists down
once a month

to run film on, ideally, this.

- Projects like that bring communities
together.

- They do. We need more of that.

- That's a massively ambitious
project.

Where's that drive come from to do
that?

- When I was a kid, I used to go

to a little independent cinema in
Cranleigh.

It was just magical.

You walked in and they had the
old-fashioned desk where you put

the sort of bits in and the tickets
sh**t out of it.

And it was just wonderful.



there's something about the colour,
the scratches on the film,

the noise, all that. I just - I've
fallen in love with it, really.

- A lot of people do.
- Yeah, I can tell.
- Yes.

- It's a fantastic piece of cinema
history, really.

- This is, uh, Christmas come early.

- Yeah.
- Yes, yes.
- Perfect.

Well, thank you so much.

It's been a pleasure meeting you.

- Lovely to meet you.
- Oh, yes.
- Thank you. See you later.

- Cheers.
- Take care.
- Bye-bye.

- That's mad. So when I went to the
cinema as a kid -

'90s, 2000 - it would have been...

- Oh, one of these.
- ..one of these?
- Oh, absolutely.
- I had no idea!

- I've worked on numerous 35mm and


They all have sort of variations on
how they sort of meant

to do a task. So that will be the fun
part.

I can see there's certain bits missing
straight away.

If you want to have a bigger picture,
you need a big lamp -

and that's missing.

The wiring to the motor - that's not
connected,

I've got to sort that out.

And we have a high voltage -


the back here.

There's wires been removed for
whatever purpose.

We've got to work out what they're
for.

Yeah. I've got to put my detective hat
on now

to understand how it all goes
together.

Pierro. Would you mind giving me a
hand with this?

I need somebody to hold this tool to
stop that from moving

as I unscrew it.

- Is it working?
- It's working.
- Nice.

Oh, there we go.

- Next, an unusual challenge for
master of metal Richard.

Charlotte Wakely's brought along a
precious pair -

much-loved by someone very close, who
died before their time.

- Hello.
- Hi, there.

What's inside the box?

- These are a pair of my mum's
earrings,

which I think are over 30 years old.

Um, but they're really broken.

But they're little lightning bolts.

- Oh, look at that! They're great!

- My mum, Barbara, was a bit of a
hoarder of jewellery.

I remember when I was a kid,

she'd always have three pairs of
earrings in,

each finger would be full of rings.

It was like her signature.
- Yeah.

- And these were just my favourite
ones.

They really...I think, really capture
my mum's personality.

I remember her wearing them when I was
a really small kid,

and I always thought they were really
cool.

- GIGGLING

- They're really, like, dainty,

quite feminine, but they're also,
like, a bit rock and roll

and a bit edgy.
- Just a bit - with the lightning
bolt!

- THEY LAUGH

- I think that sort of captures her.
Like, she was a bit of a badass,

but also the most motherly, caring,
kind, generous, lovely woman,

but with a bit of an edge.

She was really outgoing and really
fun,

and she'd always be the first one on
the dance floor at a wedding

and the last one to leave.

And then she was hit with an ovarian
cancer diagnosis

in September 2019,

and then she died in the July.

There were some days she was so with
it,

and it was just like her again.

But then there was other days where
she'd look straight through me

and just wouldn't even know who I was.

And then - this is one of my favourite
stories -

the last day I saw her,

I went in and I went, "All right,
Mum?"

And she went, "Yeah, yeah, I'm getting
married today."

And I thought, "Oh, here we go."

I said, "Oh, are you? Who are you
getting married to?"

And I swear to God, she looked at me
like I was a complete idiot.

And she went, "Uh, your dad?!"

- THEY CHUCKLE

- My dad died in 2012, and I thought,

something had happened where she had
gone to the happiest place

in her life...
- Yeah.
- ..just before she died,

and that was marrying my dad, so...
- You take comfort in that?

- Yeah, I... That makes me happy.

Like, I think you've got to find the
light in the darkness.

You've just got to hold on to the
happy bits.

- Yeah, definitely.
- Yeah.

And I think, when somebody dies, you
can look at photos and bits

and pieces in the house and stuff,

but sometimes you'll come across an
item and you're like...

It sort of hits you in the gut and
you're like, "Oh, that...

"That's them, in that item. That is
them."

And this is her in a pair of earrings.

- So what exactly is wrong with the
earrings, then?

- Um...quite a lot!

This bit is completely detached from
this one,

so you can't even wear it as an actual
earring.

- So, what is the black stuff, then?

Is it, like, plastic?
- I don't know.

- No?
- I have no idea.
- Looks like some kind of resin or
something.

- But it's mainly just really
weathered

and it's picked off in loads of
places.

- Was it three dimensional?
- Yeah!
- It was.
- Yeah. Yeah, it was.

It was just a little bit raised from
the gold.

- Right.
- So, ideally, what would you like
Richard to do for you?

- Um, just make them look a bit less
tatty.

And obviously this would be good if
you could actually put

it in your ear and wear it.

- I think so.
- It'd be quite nice.

- Leave these with me, Charlotte.
- OK.
- I'll do the best I can for you.

- Thanks very much, Rich.
- My pleasure.
- Thank you.
- Bye-bye.
- Bye-bye.

- Have you ever worked with black
plastic?

- No, no, not usually. But I love
trying new things.

- I'll let you get started.

- They are a little bit worse for
wear,

and I really, really would love to get
these right for her.

We've got one piece here that is
detached from the top.

The other concerns are

the black plastic that formed the
inner recess

of these earrings,

it's completely peeling away.

I need to test what metal these are,

because I'm going to have to tread a
little carefully

if they're not gold.

If they are, I'm going to be able to
handle them

in a very different way

to if they were a piece of costume
jewellery and plated.

I'm going to use my X-ray
spectrometer.

It's basically picking up all of the
elements

that are within the alloy,

and it's showing up a reading of 38%
gold,



which means it's nine-carat gold.

Now, that...is a great relief to me.

Right. I'm going to start off by
removing all of the plastic

that's in there, and give it a good
polish.

- At the other end of the scale,
Matinee Mark's removed the circuitry

from the vintage film projector in his
quest to get it firing again.

- At the moment, I'm working to get
power to the motor.

Without it, the fundamental part of
the actual projector head itself

would not work.

I've got mains running up to this
switch here on one side.

When that switch is activated,

allows current to flow to the motor
itself,

which then should make it rotate.

What I've got here is what we call a
safety block.

And I have this going to a variac

where I can vary the power-supply
voltage,

and I can also monitor the current.

There's always a worrying moment

when you press a button and nothing
happens, of course,

and then you get egg on your face.

- LOW WHIRRING

- Look at that. It is rotating!

That's doing exactly what it should.

Yeah. So that's one part of the puzzle
now complete.

But there's still many parts to get
together

before this'll be whole again.

I'm about to paint that part.

- And that'll be the same green as
that, right?
- Yeah.

It's going to look smart once it's
together,

but it's a slow process of...
- Always is.
- ..priming and sanding

and painting, encouraging it not to
run!

- HE CHUCKLES

- This is the spark generator which
creates the 40,000 volts necessary,

so the xenon lamp will be activated

to throw a tremendous high level of
light

through the centre there to the film
gate,

and then project the film.

When I press this button, what you
should expect to see

is effectively like a lightning
strike, a high 40,000 volt charge

going across the electrodes.

In a very much similar way, this is
what's generated in your car -

high-voltage spark to ignite the fuel.
So...

Your car's gone flat.

Nothing's happening.

So I need to find out why.

Um...

Now that... That's interesting.

The switch here, which is this red
wire...

..it's got a link across it.

Well, if you've got a link across it,

the switch is permanently closed - it
can't do the job.

It's all higgledy-piggledy.

But that should go there...

..and the switch should be fired to
the mains like that.

Now that I think I've wired it the way
it should present itself,

hopefully something will react.

So let's have a look and see what
happens.

And ready?

Wahey! Look at that.

That's good, I like that.

I'll do it again.

That's even better.

That means I can now get this put back
together.

Loads to do, still. Loads to do.

- I don't know what that was that
stuck to it,

but it was almost like it was a
rubber.

- A weird one.
- A weird one.

Who's going to get it right this time?

- Teddy and toy restorers Julie
Tatchell and Amanda Middleditch

are speculating about their next
challenge.

- You going to go fluffy?
- Definitely going to be a
fluffy...teddy bear.

- All right, well, I'll go doll, then.
- OK.
- OK.
- See who gets it right.

- The woman who can provide the answer
is Pip Martin from Northamptonshire.

- Hello.
- Hi.
- Hi. How are you?
- I'm all right, thank you.

- Who have we got?
- What have you got us?
- I have got Annabelle.
- Ah!

- Shall I help you?

- Yes, please. Thank you.
- Oh, look at her.

Let's lay her down.

- Tell us about her.

- She belonged to my great-auntie.

She was given to Auntie Eileen when
she was very young.
- OK.

- And she stayed with her for pretty
much most of her life.

When Auntie Eileen was younger, she
borrowed one of her friend's

prams in the village so that she could
push Annabelle around.

- What sort of era was she born?

- 1927.

She died when I was about 13.

- OK.
- She's been gone quite a while.

When Auntie Eileen died, I got
Annabelle.

She used to look after us in the
summer holidays,

and she'd do anything that you wanted
to do,

and she just had all the patience in
the world.

She was my great-auntie, but she was
great in every sense.
- Aw.

- After the w*r, she became a Red
Cross nurse, and she used to

take Annabelle to one of the
orphanages in Herefordshire...

- OK.
- ..and let the children play with
Annabelle.

- Did she have any children of her
own?

- No, she didn't, but she did foster
over 50 children.

- Did she?
- Yeah.
- That's amazing, isn't it?

- It's incredible.
- It is incredible.

While fostering the children,

Annabelle would sit at the bottom of
the crib,

watching over the children.

- And were you allowed to play with
her?

- Yes - very delicately, though, by
that point.

See, Annabelle had seen quite a lot of
action!
- Yes.
- Yeah.

So she was special for you, as well?

- Definitely. Annabelle IS, to me,
Auntie Eileen.

- Yeah.
- At what point did she get damaged
like this?

- We moved house, and I thought I'd
packaged Annabelle up really well.

Obviously not, because her head fell
off,

and it's just...heartbreaking.

I felt like I'd really let Auntie
Eileen down.

- Yeah.
- Can you give us some idea of what
you would like us to do?

- Well, obviously, I'd love the head
to be back where it should be.

- OK.
- Um, there's a bit of damage on the
face.

And, if possible, her hair.
- What was her hair like?

- So she had a little pink bonnet on,

and it used to be little curls just
sticking out the front.

- Aw.
- So was this the dress that you
remember her in?

- She had very many outfits.

This is just one.

- So you don't know what her original
clothing would have looked like?

- No, I have no idea. No.

Auntie Eileen used to make loads of
outfits for Annabelle.

And Auntie Eileen loved pink, so
everything's pink.

- Well, she'd have got on with you,
wouldn't she?

- We'd have been great buddies!

- Definitely.

- Pip, thank you so much for bringing
her in.

- Thank you.
- Take care, bye-bye.

- Wow.
- There she is.

- In memory of Auntie Eileen...
- Yeah.

- ..Annabelle has got to look
beautiful again.
- Absolutely.

What are you thinking about her dress?

- I know she's got a lovely dress...
- Yeah.
- ..and Auntie Eileen made this,

but I think I would love to see her in
something

more in keeping with her age.

- So we're sort of restoring her back
to how she was...
- Yes.

- ..when Auntie Eileen first got her.
- Yeah.

I'll make her a little bonnet, as
well.
- Perfect.

And then, of course, she's got to have
a beautiful new wig.
- Yeah.

- The main thing I've got to do is
repair this neck.

There are few places where I'd like to
touch up the paintwork.

- We have a plan.
- Good.

Inside Annabelle's body is a piece of
elastic in a loop.

And it's to that that we hook the arms
and the legs

and eventually the head.

I am going to have to remove this
original piece of elastic

so that I can get this all-important
piece of pottery out from here

to help fix her neck.

So that's the elastic snipped,

and the tension off.

- With his head firmly on,

Richard's successfully removed 30
years of tarnish

from the gold earrings.

- I've just given these a polish

and I'm really happy with how they've
come out.

I just hope I'm going to be able

to make something in the middle

to complement it.

My initial thought is to use an epoxy
resin.

It always dries really lovely and
shiny.

I'd rather not just go straight in and
try it out on these earrings

now that they're all nice and clean.

I've made a very rough sample

to mimic the lightning bolt here,

so now I'm just going to mix up

some epoxy resin with a black pigment.

I'm just going to paint some of that
into the sample,

see how we get on.

I had high hopes on this,

but this is a little bit of a
bittersweet moment for me,

because the resin has filled the void
perfectly

and the black looks good and the
shimmer looks good,

but I'm not able to get that elevation
on it -

that 3D lightning flash that Charlotte
recalls.

I'm going to have to think about
something else

to get that three-dimensional effect.

So...thinking time.

- Leading man Mark has enlisted Dom to
help load a test film onto a spool

in order to put the projector through
its paces.

- I'll just start this first of all.

Like that.

Ooh.
- Back in the day, when cinemas rented
a film,

did they have to do this?
- Oh, yeah.
- Really?
- Oh, exactly.

When you've finished a film, you have
to rewind it.

You have to take it off...
- By hand?
- ..the projector and do it this way.

A full feature film's about 1½, 2
miles in length.

- Wow. You clearly enjoy doing this.

- Oh, absolutely.
- Look at your face! You smiling!

- Come on!

- THEY CHUCKLE

- Now we've rewound it and it's on the
right reel...

- Correct.
- ..is it ready to go on the
projector?
- Indeed it is.

Perfect.

We're ready to thread the film in and
give it a go.

When you consider these skilled
projectionists in their day

could have done this with their eyes
closed.

- Yeah.
- Because they had to do it in fairly
low-level light.

- Audience are all turning up, Mark.

They're halfway through their popcorn.

- That type of, uh, encouragement I
could do without at the moment!

Now I've threaded it the way I think
it should be...

- Can we turn it on now?
- We can turn it...
- Can we try?

- You're waiting for this, aren't you?
- Come on!
- Are you ready?

- Oh!

Yeah, this is all spinning.

- There we go.
- Yeah.

That is so cool.

This whole front end now -

all these pulleys and levers and gears
and drives...

- Exactly.
- ..everything is doing what it should
be doing.

- Exactly.
- Shall I get the popcorn ready?

- Ah, going to have to wait a bit
longer.

We've got the xenon bulb to fit.

- Of course.
- Thanks, then, Dom.

- Julie has sealed the porous edges

on the pottery fragments of
Annabelle's neck,

so they form a strong bond as she
glues them.

- I'm going to go with the little
pieces first

and then feed in the bigger piece.

And I'm just putting a little bit of
pressure on it...

..to make sure that I've got the fit
nice and tight.

I'm confident now that this piece is
actually holding,

and I'm going to pluck up the courage
to let go of it.

Yes!

Lovely.

That's the first steps to Annabelle
getting her neck back.

- Annabelle's from around the 1930s,
and...

..I had to do a little bit of research
to find out

what sort of clothes a doll would have
had in those days,

and I've gone for quite a simple
design,

with a nice little fitted bodice and
quite a full skirt

in this lovely replica print.

And I've got some beautiful vintage
lace here

that I'm going to put on it as a trim.

I'm marking out my pattern using these
very loopy stitches.

And once I cut through these loops,
it'll leave me a nice guide

as to the size of the neck for her.

I'm going to remove my pattern...

..and I can see now exactly where I've
got to cut.

And there we have...

..the back of the bodice.

Really happy with that.

I've now got to finish marking and
cutting out all the other pieces.

Once I've done that,

I'll be able to start putting
everything together.

- Inspiration strikes for Richard, as
he ponders a plan B

on the lightning bolt earrings' black
infill.

- I've come up with my next plan.

It's some black acrylic which will
give a 3D effect

and hopefully the shine.

I should be able to cut myself a piece
of acrylic

that's going to fit beautifully in
that void.

I'm just going to use a piercing saw.

I don't want this to snag,

and I certainly don't want it to cut
any unnecessary grooves.

So this is actually more sort of
accurate work

than I'd probably be using on gold or
platinum.

Although I'm using exactly the same
tools with the acrylic,

it would easily gouge or it can
shatter.

I want to try and minimise the amount
of pressure

I'm putting on it at all times.

Nearly there.

There we go.

One black acrylic lightning bolt.

So now I'm just going to repeat that
process and do the other side.

I've got my two acrylic lightning
bolts, which I'm very happy with.

Now, the problem I've got here is that
this beautiful gloss finish

isn't now currently replicated on the
sides,

because that's where I've cut and
filed it.

I'm going to use the tried-and-tested
method

that is the sandpapering and the
polishing.

So this is a 400 grit,

so this is quite coarse.

And that has left me with a matte
black surface.

So it's now time to use a little bit
of polishing compound.

That should start to polish up quite
nicely.

Ah, there you go.

That is a beautiful shiny black gloss
finish.

I've got to repeat that process times


and then I'll be ready to stick them
on.

- Work on the vintage cinema projector
is almost in the can.

Mark's mission now -

let there be light,

as he fits the missing xenon lamp.

- Projectionists in the past would
have worn something

like this to ensure that if there had
happened to be an implosion

to the glass and it shattered
everywhere, your face is protected

from that flying glass.

This is a 1.6kW,

which will be adequate for sort of
general projection use.

Right. Now it's fitted into place and
it's not going to slip,

I can actually take this off.

Let's close that...

..turn the projector fans on...

..and I've got to turn the power on
here,

fire up the high voltage and see if it
works.

- BUZZING

- It's working really well.

I'm sure Christian will be really
pleased

because he's never seen this projector
ever run.

And the fact that this will all be
taken back to Selsey,

eventually incorporated into a cinema
there,

and allow the people of the area to
actually witness and enjoy

what 35mm film really is all about.

There's nothing can beat it.

- The digital revolution more or less
spelled the death of celluloid,

consigning these cinema projectors to
the scrapheap.

- Let's get this covered up.
- Get this covered up. It looks so
good.

- Hoping to resurrect this lost art
and share his passion

with the people of Selsey is
Christian.

- Hello, Christian.
- Hiya.
- Nice to see you.
- Nice to see you.
- Pleasure.

- Have you been thinking about the
projector?

- Yeah, it's...

- HE LAUGHS

- I'd forgotten how big it was.

- Yes, yeah.
- What do you think it would mean to
yourself

and the rest of the trustees to get
the projector back -

or at least know that it's working and
ready to go in?

- Be absolutely brilliant. It's going
to be exciting for me personally -

I've become quite passionate about
telling that story

and the story of these projectionists.

- Are you looking forward to seeing
it?
- Yes, definitely.

- Come on, Mark, let's do it.

- Hello.

That is...

Wow.

That's absolutely fantastic.

It's...

It's... Oh, it's just brilliant.

It's exactly what I wanted.

It's still got the character, as it
would have looked.

Oh, it's fantastic.

And it's got the mirror.
- And the all-important bulb.

- Yes.
- Yes, yeah, the xenon.
- Oh, it's absolutely brilliant.

It's wonderful.

- And I tell you what - he's loved
every minute of it.

- Oh, I have. It has - it's been
great.

It's probably the best thing I've
actually worked on here.

- I'm glad that you're pleased with
what it looks like.

I'm sure you want to hear it running.
- Yeah, 100%.

I'd hope she'd sort of offer that.

That's what... It's the noise I've
been looking forward to.
- Oh, OK.

- I just can't...can't wait to hear
it.

- Right, everybody, the film's about
to start.

- ALL CHEER
- Refreshments. Popcorn. Pick'n'mix.

- Really?
- Go on, Jules.

- Thank you very much.
- That's it.
- Thank you.

- Christian, popcorn?
- Oh, yes, please.

- Got to - rude not to.
- Thank you very much.

- Ooh.
- Take it away, Mark.

- BUZZ

- This is great, isn't it?

Hey! Woohoo!
- Oh, here we go.

- Oh, wow.

- It was just absolutely magical.

Brought back memories of when I was a
kid.

The noise of it just ticking over

and the experience, the atmosphere it
created.

When we've got it back into the
pavilion itself,

we want to recreate something very,
very similar.

Even if it is, you know, on a sheet up
on the wall,

it doesn't really matter - it's all
about, you know, the experience.

- Next to up the tempo, a musical
project.

- How many instruments do you play?

- What, badly or well?

- THEY LAUGH

- Either/or.

- Uh...well, none. Badly...

..percussion and French horn.

- Talented man, Pete. Talented man.

- Pete Woods' tuneful talents are the
reason for Tony Jhalli's visit.

He's brought along a neglected gift

in need of a musical miracle.

- What do we have here?

- Um, this is my Indian dhol drum.

- Dhol drum.
- Yeah. So, um, it's a two-sided drum.

- It's a broken two-sided drum - I can
see that.

- A broken two-sided drum.

Um, one side made out of leather.

- OK.
- And that would give you a bass
sound.

And the other's a plastic which gives
you your high-pitched sound.

- Oh, so I thought it was more like a
bongo kind of drum,

but actually it goes sideways.

- It's sideways - you have it on a
strap.

Hold it, the drum will be here, two
sticks.

- Have you seen them playing them?

- Yeah?
- Very loud.
- Everybody wants to dance.

- Yes!
- Yes.

- How long have you had it for?

- My father bought me this when I was

probably 14 or 15 years old.

It was just, like, the best thing to
have.

My dad's a singer.

He had a band - '70s and '80s, really
popular - bhangra band.

And as a child, we lived in a terraced
house -

Dad used to practise in the front room

with the whole seven-piece band.

- Really?!
- Yeah.

I used to sit in the room with him and
play.

And I joined a lot of the popular
bhangra bands

and, yeah, it's been part of my
journey.

- Sounds like it's in the blood -

I mean, as a child, playing with the
whole family.

- Yeah, yeah. After drumming...

..kind of went into DJing.

And then I think some of the
instruments

kind of went to the back a bit.

- How long has it been since you
played with this drum?

- Eight, nine years.

Easily. I neglected her.

I let it get into a bad state.

And to be honest with you, I want to
show this to my children and say,

"You know what? Part of our history,
this is."

- So what's wrong with the drum?

- Everything.

The two damaged skins.

The wood - that's chipped and cracked.
And paint,

it used to be plain wood.

And then my cousin, he's painted it.

- So you say it was a natural wood?

- Yeah.
- Was it a dark one or a light one?

- It's a mix. They call it a Tali wood
-

a light and a brown tan.
- Yeah.

- We're taught that your instrument is
sacred to you,

and you have to treat it with respect.

So I have to give it that respect
back.

- I can't wait to hear it working.

I think everyone in the barn can't
wait to hear it working.

- Yeah.
- We're going to have a bit of
entertainment.

- Yes!
- Yeah.

- Thank you so much.
- Thanks, Tony.

- Thank you.
- Cheers, Tony.
- Cheers, bye-bye.

- Tony's drum is in a bit of a state,
really,

to what it would have been when he
first had it from his dad.

It obviously means quite a lot to him,

so we've got to get it back to as near
original as possible.

I've noticed that there's about three
of these hooks missing.

We've got a couple of cracks to deal
with,

and I've got to find just the right
type of head.

That's a bass head.

But the main thing is the look of it.

We've got to remove the paint.

I'm going to use this paint stripper
for getting the paint off.

It will make the paint pickle up,

but it won't damage the wood.

And then we'll just scrape it off,

to show that nice grain that Tony
remembers.

That looks as if it's bubbled up
really nice now.

So will it all come off in one?

I'm really pleased the way it's come
off,

because I can see this lovely grain.

So I'm going to strip the rest of the
drum,

and then I can redress the two cracks
I've got.

- While Amanda ensures that Annabelle
the doll will be pretty in pink,

Julie is making good headway with her
repairs.

- Now all the broken pieces of
Annabelle's neck are in place,

there are some areas where pieces are
missing.

I'm going to set about and fill with a
fine surface filler,

which, ultimately, once I've painted
over it, will hide the repair.

I would like for Pip not to be
reminded

that there was a crack there,

because she feels it was her own fault
that that happened.

There are some other areas that I will
do the same with,

and then, once it's all dry,

I'll be able to sand it back and start
applying

the touch up of paint.

- Having stripped the dhol drum back
to its original wood,

Pete can tackle the first major
repair.

- This drum, it was just taken from
one big log.

It's matured, this log,

and it's got these two cracks.

So rather than try and force them
back,

I'm just going to fill it with a bit
of veneer and some glue.

I'm just putting this saw down

so I've got enough room just to pass
the veneer down the gap.

Borrowed it off of Will.

It's about the same thickness,

that blade, as that veneer,

so it's perfect for it.

And I know that's what he uses it for,
so...

Better hurry up and get it back before
he spots that it's missing.

That's the first crack done.

Just want to let it dry a little bit
now,

and then I can start treating the wood

and getting that looking really nice
for Tony.

While the shell is drying - the glue -

I've decided to get on with the rods.

They fit through the lugs on the shell

and they pull the ring down to tighten
the head.

It needs ten in total.

There was only seven to start with, so
what I'm going to do is,

I'm actually going to make some of
these.

They were made by hand,

so I'm going to try and keep them as
true as possible.

So now all I've got to do,

I've got to heat this up to red hot

and just forge the hook on.

I'm going to, first of all, just round
the end up a bit,

make it into a bit of a cone.

Then, once flattened,

it'll come out the right shape for
bending with the hook.

Well, that's one done.

I'm quite happy with that -

it's looking pretty well near the
original.

- A more delicate touch is called for,

as Richard nears the end of his
repair.

- The earrings are comprised of the
top part -

which is the decorative pattern

and the post that goes through the
ear.

The bottom part is the lightning bolt
itself.

And then I have got two very small
jump rings,

and it's the jump rings that join
together the two pieces.

Once these both are joined up,

I'm just going to give them a little
tack on my laser welder

and that will ensure that they never
come apart again.

So there we have two sealed jump
rings.

Now...it's the final part,

which is to glue

the pieces of black acrylic

into the lightning part.

I'm using clear-drying instant grab
glue,

but we need to use minute amounts.

OK.

So that's the first one done.

Now the second one,

then they're going to be ready to give
back to Charlotte.

And I'm really, really excited

about seeing her reaction when she
sees these.

- These earrings were a favourite pair
of Charlotte's much-missed mum

and, now restored, can be an enduring
reminder

of her fun-loving persona.

- Look at those! They look almost
brand-new.

Good job. Right, let's get them
covered up.

Hi, there.
- Hello. Nice to see you.
- Charlotte.

- Hi!
- Nice to see you, too.

- You look really nervous.

- I am nervous - I just don't know
what to expect. I just...

It's one of those items that, as soon
as I found them,

as soon as I saw them, I was like,
"Oh, this is Mum."

"This is... This is her."

- Yeah.

OK, Rich.
- OK.

Ready?

- SHE GASPS

- Oh, my God!

That's not the same pair...is it?

- SOFTLY:
- Oh, my God.

Oh, they're so good. Thank you.

Thank you, Rich.

- SHE SNIFFS

- God, I can't believe you've done it.

I just picture her wearing them.

I'd look at her, I'd go, "Oh, those
are cool."

She looks cool, you know?

- They certainly are...pretty cool.

- THEY LAUGH

- I think they're cool.

- God, I just didn't think they'd look
like this.

That's amazing. That's genuinely
amazing.

- It's been wonderful to work on
something different.

- Yeah. I'm pleased. Thank you so
much.

- Thanks a lot, bye-bye.
- Bye, guys. Bye-bye.
- Bye, Charlotte.

- It was a bit overwhelming

because it's one of those personal
belongings of my mum's.

And all of the love and the memories
and the happy times,

and her wearing them just all sort of
hit me.

It's nice to be able to bring
something of hers back to life.

- Grain's come out really nice.

I'm now going to cut this old head off

because it had holes in it.

So...new vellum.

Well, I'm not exactly...

..finding what I was expecting.

Normally I would expect to find just
one hoop in there...

..and I've got two.

And the vellum is actually trapped
between the two.

It's going to be quite interesting.

I've got to sort out now in my head
how to get that on there.

I've now just got to put this vellum
into the water.

It's just making it pliable,

and I can put it around the hoop.

And then, when it dries out, it keeps
the shape.

As you can see, the head is nice and
soft and pliable now.

So now we're going to have a little go
at this lapping.

I've never done one like this before -

not with this second hoop...

..jammed in there - so I've got to go
a bit careful.

This is a bit of a...

..a wish me luck, and let's give it a
go.

Got it...

..I think.

I think I know how they've done it.

The way you got the two hoops

and the head jammed in there -

by the time it's dry,

there is no way this is going to come
out.

So it's a really strong method of
lapping.

Right. That in there.

Lift that up.

Push it in.

Hey!

So...that's on there now.

That's lovely.

I've just got to get the holes in
there,

and then I can get it roped up and
leave it to dry.

- The Bear Ladies' joint efforts on
the doll are about to pay off.

- She's all done.
- Wow. It's beautiful.

# De-nah! #

- Look at her little face.
- I know.

I need to string her back together
again.

I'm going to feed the loop through her
neck first of all.

And then onto that...

..we're going to put her legs and her
arms.

I'll pick it up from there, OK?

And...I can hook onto there...
- Mm-hm.

- ..the first leg.

I'm going to do exactly the same, but
with her arms.
- OK.

That one a bit tighter.
- It's fiddly, isn't it?

- Ooh, it is. There you go - I've left
you a bit of slack on that one.

There you go.
- I'll pull it up.

OK. Right.

- I don't think I'm even breathing at
this point!

- Let's just check.

Teamwork.

You can get her wig on,

then we'll get her dressed.

- Ready to go back to Pip.
- Yeah.

- Annabelle is Pip's treasured
connection to her great-aunt Eileen,

but an accident had left the doll
broken - and Pip feeling guilty.

- Are you ready for her to be covered
up?
- Ooh, yes.

Here we go.

- Pip's hoping Annabelle has been
restored

in tribute to the woman whose life's
work was helping children.

- Hi. Hello, Pip. Welcome back.

How are you feeling, Pip?
- Very excited, yeah.
- Good.

- We went on holiday with my family
last week,

and we were all talking about Auntie
Eileen -

about, you know, what she's going to
look like, really.

Sparked a lot of conversation about
Auntie Eileen.

- Good.
- It was nice.

- Are you ready to see her?

- SHE EXHALES

- Yes.

- Are you sure? OK.
- Go on, then.

- Oh, my word!

Oh, my word.

That's amazing.

Oh, she's beautiful.

And she's got hair like she used to.

It's just...

And you made a dress!

She's proper cleaned up.

- All the pieces - except the very
dusty little pieces -

I managed to piece back together.

- It's... You've done - both of you -
just an amazing job.

Thank you so much.
- You're very welcome.

- I just want to hug her.
- Do it!

- Oh, Annabelle.

Hello, you.

Oh, my word.

It's like Auntie Eileen back again.

I can imagine Auntie Eileen, as a
child,

playing with her as she is now.

- Once you get her home, what are you
planning to do with her?

- Well, I think she's going to go on
tour to my family next week.

- Oh, wow!
- On tour - that sounds quite grand,
doesn't it?

- It does. Definitely.

It'll be nice for her to see

all the children that Auntie Eileen
didn't get to meet.

- Yeah.
- And she would have loved them all so
very much.

- Yes.
- She's all yours.

- Thank you very much.

Come on, you.
- Bye, Annabelle.

- Say goodbye.

- Bye.

- Bye.
- Bye.

- I would never have imagined that she
could look like this again.

I'm just so impressed. It's just
amazing.

You can be watching over us like she
did

watch over all the children in the
past and be part of our lives again,

as Auntie Eileen was so much a part of
ours.

- With work on the traditional Indian
drum in its final stages,

for Pete, it's now a matter of fine
tuning.

- I've cauterised the holes to make
them.

It's sealed it.

So the next thing I've got to do

is just get the rope on there and
crank it down.

So...one, two...

Through we go.

When you're tuning it up and pulling
the ring up,

you can get more tension out of it.

That's it. That's quite level now.

We've just got to make sure that it's
nicely in tune for Tony...

..put the treble head on...

..and we'll be away.

I think Tony's going to be amazed when
he sees it.

He ain't seen it like this for a long,
long time.

- A gift from father to son, this drum
was once the beating heart

of a bhangra-loving teenager's world.

Today, Tony has returned with his two
sons,

ready for his drum to take its
rightful place

at the centre of his musical home.

- Hi, Tony. Welcome back.
- Hi, Tony.

- Hiya.
- Hello.
- Who do we have here?
- These are my boys.

This is Govi and this is...
- AJ.
- ..AJ.

- Nice to meet you all.
- They're my fellow drummers.

- Do they belong to you, those two
dhols over there?

- Yeah.

- We could end up with a full
performance, mate.

- Well, depending on what's underneath
this bit of fabric, Pete.

- Yeah, that's what worries me.

- ALL LAUGH

- You ready?
- Come on, Pete.

- HE LAUGHS

That looks sick!

- Oh!

- HE LAUGHS

- What?!

This ain't my drum!

Oh...my God.

- HE TAPS BOTH ENDS

- Oh, wow.

Wow. I'm happy.
- Yeah.
- She's alive.

- HE LAUGHS

- She's alive and well.

And... And it's...

It's beautiful.

Literally.

You've made this dhol look so
beautiful.

You've got the natural colours out,
and even...

There was cracks and I can't even,
like, see the cracks - like...

Wow, I did not expect this.

I did not expect this at all!

And I'm so grateful.

I really am. Really am.

- It's all right, mate.
- Really, really am.

Thank you so much.
- Glad you're happy.

- Thank you, thank you.

Yeah, I just can't wait to play now.

I've got my sticks ready to give this
a good blast.

- Now, people usually just walk out,

but would you do us the honour of
literally playing out?

- Shall we hit the dhol, hit the dhol?
- Yeah.
- All right, come on, then.

- Yeah?

Thank you.

A-one, two, three, and...

- Well done, Pete.
- Success!

- I feel happy because now it's all
been repaired

and looks like a brand-new dhol.

- Happy and excited for seeing the new
dhol

and showing it to my dad's dad.

- The first thing I'm going to do -

I will take this drum and show my dad.

He'll be so happy.

It's not just about an individual drum
- it's family.

It's everything to us.

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

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

..and joins us in The Repair Shop.