13x15 - Episode #13.15

[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 SCREAMS, LAUGHTER]

Oh! 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.

All ready for another week
in the barn, boys?

Yeah. I think so.

[THEY LAUGH]

Work's piling up.

Morning, Suzie. Hello.

You're in early.

[SUZIE LAUGHS]

With work always on the go
in the barn,

it's Angelina and Will up
first today.

Yellow - you got the memo.
We should start a little band.

What, The Yellow Mellows?

The Yellow Mellows.
No, I can sing very well.

I'd like to hear that.

Here to enlist Angelina's paper
conservation expertise

are former miners John Beard
and John Greaves from Yorkshire.

Hello, there. Hello. Hello.

Welcome. You must be John and John.

Yeah, I'm John Greaves.
I'm John Beard.

What do we have here?

What we've got is a serviette
commemorating a mining disaster

in a place called West Stanley,
in 1909, where 168 people

lost their lives.

We're very fortunate
to have been gifted it.

It were made for what we now know
as a benefit dinner, and was sold

to raise money for the relatives
of the dead people.

Oh. And these were sold for £1.

How exactly did
this accident take place?

They were usually gas explosions.

I think it was a new type
of safety lamp.

A new type of safety lamp? Yeah.

Which they used to test for gas.

They seem to think it was
a spark or a naked flame.



The youngest was 13.

Oh, my goodness. 13 years old?


the miners were actually

as young as five, six years old.

Children as young as five or six
went down into the mines?

Yeah. They were considered
to be cheap.

They did menial tasks. They were
opening doors, there was lots

of doors... restricting airways.

Some would pull the tubs, crawling
on all fours, dragging the coal.

Wow.

Are you both miners?
We're ex-miners, yeah. Ex-miners.

Yeah. I've got coal running
through my blood.

My dad were a miner,
his dad were a miner.

Went underground at 16.

That was in 1970.

Continued working up to 1995,
when we actually filled the pit in.

Personally, I loved it. It was hard.

It was difficult. Yeah.

Camaraderie and trust
were just unbelievable.

Day in, day out, you were
trusting people with your life.

I have to say, I was really sad
when it ended.

With all the mines shutting down,

do you think it's really important
to keep that conversation going,

about how many people have lost
their lives to kind of get us

where we are now as a country?
Absolutely.

It's part of our rich heritage
and it needs preserving.

We've got quite a collection
of mining memorabilia.

We don't buy it, we don't sell.
People give us stuff.

And we go into schools,
talking to children

about what it was like
to be a miner.

Touch on the disasters a little bit.

Sooner or later, it's going to
disappear, and they'll not know.

Hmm. There's areas where you would
never know there'd been a mine.

It's all been glossed over.
Got rid of.

It's important
that we keep it alive.

Well, Angie's here
to help preserve you.

There you go.
What do you think, Ange?

Well, I can see that it's been
eaten by some bugs, for sure.

And I can see that this is...
It's crepe paper.

And it's just... It looks so thin.

And I think you did well to just put
it in the frame and just leave

it in there.

Having it survive this much
is quite a feat.

I mean, it is over 100 years old.

I'd like to see it stabilised so
it doesn't deteriorate any more.

If you could make it a little bit
more presentable, that'd be fine.

We'd like to take it into schools
and let the children see it.

Ultimately, we'd like it to go
back to West Stanley,

where the disaster actually
happened.

We're pretty certain
they'd like to have it.

I think it's lovely that you're
trying to preserve this

not just for future generations,
but also for those that lost

their lives, as well.
Yeah. Thank you.

Well, we'll see you very soon.
Thank you very much for coming.

Been a pleasure. Thank you.
Bye-bye. Bye-bye.

What an amazing piece of history.

It's so sad to see actually
all these names written here.

It's just really heartbreaking.

It was quite common in the early


as a printing method for
commemorative things, such as this.

It was considered more of a luxury.

It was kind of a lush thing to use.

Oh, I can see how
discoloured this is.

I would love to be able
to give this a clean.

And there's so many losses.

I would love to line this paper
with another piece of tissue.

But before I do anything,
I'm just going to apply a tiny, tiny

drop of water onto one specific area
and then see how it reacts.

Oh! Just that drop was more than
enough to get this orange activated,

which means that at least
the oranges are sensitive

to the ingress of water.

And that's exactly why I test
before I do anything.

Because if I had introduced
water to this straight away,

without thinking, I would have
run the risk of actually

having everything disappear.

I need to continue testing all
of the areas, and once I finish,

I will be able to know how best
to proceed with my treatments.

Like the badges. Who have you got?
A sparkly panda.

A panda. Of course you have.

Arriving next is Sarah Ruffle,
accompanied by her son, James.

She's pinning her hopes on toy
restorers Julie Tatchell

and Amanda Middleditch bringing
the smile back to a cherished gift.

Hello. Hi. Welcome.

Come on in.

You look very summery.
Thank you very much.

Looking beautiful.
Very nice weather.

Who have you brought us?
This is Teddy Greeves.

Oh... I'm very sorry.

Oh, Teddy Greeves!

There's something missing.

Yeah, he's lost his face,
I'm afraid, because he's 53 now.

I used to sit in my cot,
apparently, and pull out his fur.

So take us back to your early
days with him.

Tell us all about him.

I was born with spina bifida
and hydrocephalus.

[OK.]

It's very, very similar to somebody
that's broken their back.

So I can't feel the lower
part of my body.

And he was given to me
when I was a month old,

and he's been with me
ever since, so...

My sister is 15 months older
than me, so Mum and Dad were never

able to stay with me in hospital.
Where I couldn't share things

with Mum and Dad, maybe,
because it might upset them,

I'd share them with Ted.
It's just my... Your comfort.

You're kind of go-to. Yeah. Yeah.

The doctors, they didn't know
if I would live.

They didn't know if I'd walk.

And so I've proved doctors
wrong all my life, really.

Walked and I lived and I've... Good.

..got three children.
Mum's always had a can-do attitude.

She's done the Race for Life.

And she's made it to
the top of Snowdon.

No! Really?

She climbed out the wheelchair,
and there's a picture of her stood

there right at the top plaque
of Snowdon.

That is fantastic. That's amazing.
Well done.

What's Teddy's role now?
What does he do for you?

He still, um, comes into hospital
with me whenever I go.

Yeah. I don't go to theatre
without him.

So what would you like us to do?

He's too fragile.

I'd like him to be a bit
more stable.

His bandage went on when I was nine.

It was initially on his legs,
but it moved to his tummy

because there's nothing of his tummy
left but stuffing, I'm afraid.

So give us a little clue,
as well, about his face.

Yeah. He did have
slate grey-blue eyes.

Is he a serious chap?
Is he a happy chap?

He's always happy.

What will it mean to you
for us to do the work?

Yeah. It means the world to me.

Thank you very much.

It's been really, really lovely
to meet you both. Come on.

Thank you. We'll see you very soon.

Well...

Well, here he is. Oh, look at him.

When you think about
what Sarah's been through...

Teddy Greeves has been
with her the whole time.

It's his turn now. It is.

Our biggest challenge
is going to be this face.

We don't know who the maker is.

And we're going to have to use our
creative skills to try and work out

what that face would look like.
Yeah.

Apart from that,
his fur is all worn away.

I think we're looking at full
relining, which will give

him that strength.

And then the repairs
into that lining.

If I take the stuffing out... OK.

Once you've got all that out...
Yeah.

..shall I take the body
and you take the head? Yeah.

Are you happy with that? Oh!

What?

[JULIE LAUGHS]

We've found some treasure.

Have you? Ooo-ar!

Oh, gosh!

Show me.

It's a Ting-a-Ling!

The sweet little noise
that this would have made

would have actually given him
a lovely tinkling

sound, hence Ting-a-Ling.

I think we should really try and get
this put back together.

Get it working.
It'd be lovely. It would.

I'll just pop this to one
side and we'll concentrate

on getting him unstuffed.
Yeah? Sure.

David, what are you cooking?

Well, this is actually glue.
It's not my lunch. Oh, right.

Yeah. That's good,
because it stinks. It does.

[THEY LAUGH]

At her bench, Angelina's also
cooking up a solution to clean the

stains embedded in the mining
disaster serviette's fragile

crepe paper.

I can't wash it because all
of the orange areas

are very sensitive to water.

So I've prepared an agar gel.

Basically, it's agar powder
dissolved in water.

I'll just cut a rough shape
and I'll just put it directly

onto my discoloured area.

The agar gel is able to release
moisture, but it releases it really,

really gradually onto the paper.

It's very slow.

By the time that I am done, to John
and John, this should all look much

brighter and much more even
as a surface.

Oh, I love these clocks.
Really shiny.

Very gold.

Next, a decadent timepiece
and a restoration treat

for horologist Steve Fletcher,

courtesy of Angela Douglas
from the Highlands of Scotland.

Hi, there. Hi. Hello.

So this is yours?

Well, it's my family's. Yes.

So it belonged
to our beloved late dad.

OK. And it's a 17th-century,
we believe,

Dutch ornate wall clock, which Dad

absolutely adored and treasured.

What's your dad's name?

He was Reverend Peter
Carstairs Douglas.

Dad was a real character,
larger than life.

There's a Scottish word,
"kenspeckled", which means

"once seen, never forgotten".

He wore a kilt,

was rather careless about
whether a haircut was needed or not.

He wasn't a man for half measures,
whether that was pouring a dram

or setting off fireworks.

He sounds like a real character.

Yeah.

So how did this clock
come into your possession?

My dad's father was rather a rascal.

Married at least four times
that we know of.

And he abandoned him and my dad's
mum when he was young.

And my dad's dad had a cousin, and
he felt that my dad

had been hard done by

and therefore wanted to make
restitution, and very generously

left this magnificent
clock to my dad.

It was a spark that changed
his life, and it gave him a tangible

part of his older family.

That was really,
really important for him.

How long did your father
own this clock?

So he inherited it in the 1980s.

Yeah. And did it tick away then?

Well, the clock mechanism
was very erratic

when it was on the wall.
It was ticking.

Not at the right time.

[THEY LAUGH]

It did chime on the half hour and
the hour, but not at those times.

My dad has had people look at it,
but as you can see, it's in need

of quite considerable TLC.

Why is it important to get
it working now?

It would keep part of his memory
and his spirit alive

for future generations.

The tick-tock of it would
remind me of my dad's heart.

Reliable, resilient, comforting.

OK. Oh, that's lovely.

I just hope I can get it working.

[WILL LAUGHS]

Thank you so much for bringing
this in.

I don't know where I'm going
to start on it, but I'm going

to enjoy it, I know.
That's fantastic to hear.

Thank you so much.

We'll see you very soon. Yeah.
Nice to meet you. OK. Bye-bye.

I absolutely love these Dutch clocks
because I don't see many of them.

This particular one, the mechanism,
I think, is English.

It's not Dutch at all.

And I quite like that.

It means that someone has loved
the clock and they don't want

it to be thrown away.

So someone's gone ahead and put
a new movement in there.

The paintwork,

I'm going to have to take some
advice from Lucia on that.

And I think the first thing
I'm going to do is just take

it all apart. Take the dial off, get
the mechanism clean, have a really

good look at everything, and then
I might find out a whole bunch of

other things as well.

With something unexpected already
discovered inside Teddy Greeves,

Amanda is seeking out the services
of master metalworker

Dominic Chinea.

Amanda, hey. How are you?
What brings you in here?

We found this in Teddy Greeves.

It's a Ting-a-Ling! And it's the
first one we've found, actually,

in the Repair Shop.
What is a Ting-a-Ling?

It makes a lovely tinkling
sound inside.

Oh, yeah, I can hear it. Yeah.

[THEY LAUGH]

OK. So, cardboard structure?

Yeah, absolutely.
Metal pin in each hole.

Yeah. A dangly sort of weight at the
top to sort of hit each pin

as the bear moves.

Move the bear around,
that jingles around. Yeah.

So, I'll clean all the rust off,

attach the pins to the metal base,

make a cardboard tube with a lid
and get that swinging loosely

in the middle. Yeah. That's it.

Leave it with me.
Oh, you're a star. Thank you.

[OK.]

This is so rusty. So the first thing
I need to do, before I can even

think about reassembling any of
this, is submerge these steel parts

in my rust-removing solution.

In the meantime, I'm going
to work out a bit of a plan

for this cardboard tube.

We can see quite clearly
that there isn't very much

of his tummy or his back left.

If we started to line them,
it would just disintegrate.

So we have made the decision
to actually give him a new tummy

and a new back.

And I think for Sarah,
that's what's important.

He's going to feel stronger
when she holds him.

We've been lucky enough to source
some fabric that is exactly the same

as Teddy Greeves.

So to be able to make new pieces
out of this, first of all, I've got

to start taking this apart.

This is the panel that formed
the front and back

of Teddy Greeves' head and face.

I'm definitely going to replace it.

It's completely in shreds,
and bearing in mind

that we want to make a lovely, cute,
new furry face for Sarah to see,

this is the only way we can do it.

So I'm making a template onto felt
because I want to save the actual

fur until I'm happy with my
template.

This is the cheek pieces and back
of his neck, which I've already

lined, and I'm just going to give
myself a rough idea...

..where this panel would fit in.

And what I'm going to do is allow
myself that extra bit of fabric

to bring a little bit of shape
to the front of his face.

When it comes to putting his
features back on, it'll make

it a little bit more
sort of believable.

Across the barn,

Angelina is also hoping to restore
some much-needed strength

to the now-clean
commemorative serviette.

The serviette is very thin.

It needs to be lined because
it's really, really fragile.

I've put it into a humidification
chamber, which just creates some

vapours to allow the serviette
to slowly relax, to be nice

and supple in order to take
in the lining tissue.

It's looking good.
It's nice and flexible.

Remoistenable tissue has
the adhesive applied on it,

and then it's allowed to dry.

It will take very little water to
activate, and then I will be able

to apply it on the back of the
serviette without reactivating

the orange colours.

So I'll start spraying
on this side first.

Right.

OK. This is very tricky.

This is not... not liking anything.

Even though both papers were quite
nice and humidified, they don't seem

to like each other.

Gosh.

I need to remove it and then try
to find a better way to do it.

While Steve has turned his attention
to the Dutch clock's erratic chime,

painting conservator Lucia Scalisi
has been tasked with tidying up

its troubled face.

Initially, I'm going to clean
the whole of the clock face,

and then I'll do some retouching.

A lot of cleaning ahead, but we can
anticipate some improvement.

One of the main levers
in the striking mechanism

is this rack arm here.

The rack arm actually falls
onto what's called a snail cam.

And this snail cam looks
like a snail.

And if the rack arm pin falls
at the highest point of the snail,

then it strikes just 1 o'clock.

Next step is 2 o'clock.

The next step - 3 o'clock, etc, etc.

And this arm is supposed
to ride over the snail.

And that's why this arm
needs to be very flexible.

If it's not, then it'll strike


or 4 o'clock at 8 o'clock.

This has been repaired incorrectly
with a bit of soldered-on brass,

and there's no give in it
whatsoever.

So what I need to do now is to make
a new arm here, a nice flexible arm.

And to do that, I'm just going
to cut a piece of brass

off this old dial.

Just roughly at the moment.

So what I'm going to do
now is just hammer it.

And that pushes the molecules
together and makes

it nice and springy.

So that's made it nice and springy.

I just need to cut this out now...

..and smooth it off, and then it'll
be ready to fit.

So I've just got to remove
this, pop this on and then

that's probably good now for...

It could be another 200 or 300
years, which is a lovely thought.

Right. I think I found the solution
to my lining issue.

The lining tissue was too big,
and the paper of the serviette

was moving in different directions.

I realised that by cutting
the lining tissue into smaller

pieces, that allows me to control
the paper much, much better.

I've done the bottom half
and it has worked extremely well.

It's just a big sigh of relief.

Three down, one more to go.

You got the kitchen sink there?

You've got everything else.
Everything. And the kitchen sink.

How ever do you find anything
that you're looking for?

Well, it's always the last
one, isn't it?

Yes, but don't forget.

Always start looking in the last
place first.

Ah, that's great advice.

I'll forget that completely.

[STEVE LAUGHS]

Labouring over his repair,

the reconstruction of Teddy Greeves'
de-rusted Ting-a-Ling

is proving a delicate
operation for Dom.

I'm using just a soft, lead-free
solder, so I don't have to get

it too hot. Oh!

I will admit that I'm more used
to working on much bigger things.

This is very small
and very intricate.

All right, that might be all
it needs.

So far, so good. Yes.

They're all quite nice
and firmly in place.

This is really good.

I wonder now if it's going
to ting...

[METAL CLINKS]

Oh!

[METAL CLINKS]

That is quite promising.

Once I get that in a cardboard tube,
it will kind of amplify that sound.

Hopefully.

Now that I've made Teddy Greeves
a new tummy panel, I can start

putting everything back together.

This is his original leg,
and I'm attaching

it to the new fabric that
we've made his tummy from.

I could quite easily machine-stitch
this, but there's something

satisfying about doing this by hand.

I can put a bit of love
in every stitch.

With all the holes of the
strengthened serviette now filled,

it's time for Angelina
to camouflage her delicate repair.

The only thing that's just remaining
is for me to tone down the infill

paper just a tiny bit,
to make it look more kind

of like off-white colour.

This is a dry pastel.

And in the more tricky areas,

like this one, I'll just use
the powder of it.

Tap it down.

Just blend it in with a brush.

And I can already see that the
colour is matching really well.

I will continue working
through the rest of the serviette,

and then I will have it ready
for John and John to come

and pick it up.

This commemorative serviette pays
tribute to 168 coal miners

who lost their lives in the
West Stanley pit disaster of 1909.

Angie. All done?

Yes, I am. Let's have a look.

That is really nice.
I hope the guys love it.

Me too.

Hoping to preserve the history
of Britain's once thriving coal

industry for future generations,

the two Johns are back.

Hello. Welcome back, guys.

Have you been thinking
about the serviette

quite a lot since it's been here?

Yeah, and what we're going to be
doing with it when we get it back.

We all think it's right
that it should go back

up to West Stanley, where it can be
placed for everybody to see.

There are so many families
at West Stanley -

relatives of these people -

so it'd be nice for them
to actually be able to see this.

Shall we have a look? Yes, please.

Yeah.
ANGELINA: Let's do this.

Goodness.

That's amazing.

That is truly amazing. Thank you.
You're welcome. Beautiful.

That is unbelievable. It is.

Yeah.

The difference is far more than
I ever expected with the infill.

It's now recognisable as an object.

It's so much cleaner.

And this just... You just focus on
the names, the beautiful artwork

around the sides. It's amazing.
And there's no creases.

What does this symbolise
to you both?

It's a mark of all the people who's
worked in the mining industry.

It's also... It's a mark of all
the people lost their lives.

And that's why
we'd like to preserve this,

and then talking to the younger
generations about it, making sure

they don't forget.

Well, you're both doing a great job
at making sure that those names

are never forgotten. Thank you.

Thank you for the trust.

I really hope you will be able
to give more knowledge to people

about the coal industry.

Thank you so much.
Thank you very much.

Safe travels, guys.

Thank you very much.
Thank you. Bye-bye.

That amount of people
dying in one accident.

When you read the ages
of the children that died...

..yeah, it makes you emotional.

The serviette symbolises a way
of life that's now gone.

And now it's in the state it's in,

it'll remind generations
for another 100 years

or more that we'll never forget
the sacrifice a lot of people made

working in the pits.

With one precious keepsake safely
returned, someone of the younger

generation has just arrived
with another for the attention

of violin restorer Becky Houghton.

It's so great to see you.

It's been a while since
you've been in the barn.

It's so great to be back, Lucia.
It's lovely to be here.


Adelajda, are hoping Becky

can save a musical monument
to their family's w*r-torn past.

Hello. Hi. Hi.

Wow.

It's in a few pieces. Yes, it.

It's beautiful.

Where is this from?

Um, it was owned by my
great-grandfather's sister.

Her name was Maria.

She lived in Poland.

She played the violin as a hobby.

But I'm told that she had
a natural talent.

And she played until
she unfortunately

had to abandon her violin.

Why did she have to give
up the violin?

Well, in early September 1939,
when the w*r started, Maria

and her family had to flee
the Germans, leaving my

great-grandfather to look after
his father.

Maria had to leave this violin
at home, as she could only take

the essentials. After the w*r ended,

my great-grandfather, Josef,
went to the Red Cross to ask

if they had any information
about their family,

and unfortunately, some witnesses
had seen them around an area

that had been heavily bombed.

So my great-grandfather
came to the conclusion

that they had probably died.

Oh, what a terrible loss.

I think, you know, during the w*r,
my grandfather especially,

there was that hope that they'd all
be reunited at the end, um,

which obviously, unfortunately,
didn't come to fruition.

My great-grandfather took
care of this violin.

He kept it as a keepsake
of his sister.

He gave it to his daughter, who gave
it to her daughter, my auntie.

And then she gave it to me.

Wow. Wow. It's a real
family instrument, then?

Yeah. So, when did the violin
come to England?

So it was obviously in Poland for
quite a long time after the w*r.

Very long.

But when my aunt was there,
she decided she wanted

to play violin.

And she brought it back
to England in 2000.

OK. So the vital question is,
do you play the violin?

I want to play the violin. Oh!

That's good.

It has so much emotion to it.

It's the most beautiful
instrument that I've ever seen.

Aw!

[THEY LAUGH]

That is lovely.

What things do you think
need to be repaired?

Oh, gosh. Where to start?

It's been through a bit.

Uh, obviously, this is missing here.

I think our main thing would
just be to get it playable again.

I was really close to my
grandfather.

I know how much it meant to him.

He lost five members of his family,
and the violin is pretty much

all that he had left of them.

Um, I just know he would be
really happy sort of to know

that it is being passed on.

So, Savanna needs to give
it a new lease of life, then.

Hopefully.

It's been lovely to meet you both.
Lovely to meet you, too.

We'll see you soon.

Thank you. No problem. Bye. Bye.

What an amazing story.

I mean, such sadness, but such
a pathway down from the past

to the future, really. Yeah.
And Savanna is the future.

Yeah. What a strong family, as well.

Yeah. It's incredible.

I think you've got your work
cut out, but I don't doubt

it's going to be fantastic.

Well, Savanna's violin is a lovely
violin for any student to learn on.

We obviously have the issue
of the fingerboard

being completely adrift.

What I'm slightly more concerned
about is this lack

of a front corner here.

So I'm going to have to replace
that with some new wood

and then blend that in and make
that a seamless repair.

But really, first things first, the
whole of the set-up, the strings,

the tailpiece and everything,
I just need to take

off so I can really see
what I'm up against.

Amanda. What have you got for us?

You can have the first shake.

[METAL CLINKS]

That is brilliant!

Thank... Well done!

[METAL CLINKS]

Love it. Yeah? Yeah. Is that it?
Absolutely perfect.

Thank you so much.
You are so welcome.

Good luck with the rest of it.
Thank you. See you later.

With his repair of the Dutch clock
also ticking along nicely,

Steve has ventured outside to try
his hand at something new.

I've got all of the repairs
to the mechanism done now,

so I'm very, very happy with that.

I've just got to get it all
assembled. But I thought I'd start

on some of the case, as well, now.

I noticed that there was a little
bit of the mount missing,

and I thought it might be nice
to cast a little bit up and add

the missing part to this mount.

And I've seen Brenton doing some
of this casting before,

and I thought, "Right, I'm going
to have a go at this."

I've never done it before,
so I'm hoping it's going

to actually work out all right.

So I'm just going to push
this in to this casting sand.

And, uh, hopefully this will
take a good impression.

Good.

That's come out really well.

The next stage is I've got to heat
up the lead until it's molten

and then pour it into the mould.

It's melting nicely.

Oh, look at this.

That's worked really well.

Oh, my goodness, that is good.

[HE CHUCKLES]

I'm chuffed with that.

It's got all the detail
that I wanted,

and I just need to cut it

to shape to fit in with the
existing one.

And Lucia can work her magic
and make it look like the old one.

I've got all the surface dirt off
of the clock face and the gold,

and now I'm just putting
in a base coat for my painting,

which will come afterwards.

I'm really interested in these
little miniature paintings

that are in each corner.

This is a hunter,

and there's a dog
in there somewhere.

Although it's not quite obvious,
but I can see a tail.

I've completely dismantled
Savanna's violin now.

The first thing I'm going to do
is turn my attention

to the fingerboard.

The reason that fingerboards fall
off is usually because there's not

been enough glue in there to hold
it on, and then in conditions

where it's very humid or damp or
cold, then they can become detached.

So I'm going to cut a channel
in the bottom of the fingerboard,

which will allow the glue to collect
and give me a stronger joint.

All I need to do is just cut
a fairly shallow channel.

That will give the glue
somewhere to go.

If I was making a new violin,
I would do this, as well.

And that's probably all I need.

I'm using a hot glue.

It's been traditionally used
forever in violin making.

The glue gels incredibly quickly.

I don't have much time before it
starts setting this fingerboard

in the position that it's in.

It's always really nerve-racking
doing this job.

If it's not in the correct position,

I'll have to take it off
and start again.

It looks pretty good.

I think that's gone on exactly
how I wanted it to.

It's not slipped or slid around.

I'm going to leave this now
to dry, to make a firm bond.

We've actually got Teddy Greeves
all back together again,

and now I've got to put the details
on his face.

It's quite nerve-racking
when you have nothing to go by.

But Sarah remembers
the little felt eyes,

particularly in a slate blue-grey.

So we've done our best to find
some slate blue-grey.

She's got to fall in love
with this face the minute

that she sees him, and that's
actually a lot of pressure.

And this is the all-important bit.

I've got to get these eyes
in the right place.

I think they're going
to be about here.

I go straight out the back...
of the head.

That's it, that's it.

Oh!

Oh, wow.

This is the first time Teddy
Greeves has been able to see,

in I don't know how long.

This well-loved teddy has seen
Sarah through her darkest hours

living with spina bifida.

How's he looking?

Adorable.

Now Sarah's back with son James
to reclaim her lifelong companion.

Hi. Hello. Hello!

Welcome back.

Thank you. So, how are you feeling?

Excited. Yeah? Oh, that's good.

That's good. Yeah. Missed him.

So, are you ready to see him
and to be reunited?

Oh, yes. Yes. Shall we? Yeah.

[SARAH GASPS]

He's fluffy! He's fluffy.

He's got some eyes!

Can I pick him up?
Of course. He's all yours.

He's got blue eyes. Look.

Oh, my goodness me.

Oh, he's so lovely.

He's really cute, isn't he?

He's got a nose and a mouth.

I'm so pleased
that you like his face.

Because, for us... Oh, yeah.

..that was our biggest concern.

That's the old Teddy.

[SOFT JINGLING]

Can you hear something?

Do you remember that noise?

No!

Ah! You had a completely crushed
mechanism called a Ting-a-Ling.

Aww!

Fortunately, Dom was able
to repair it.

Really? Yes. Yeah. Oh, amazing!

How are you feeling
now you're looking at him?

I don't think I'm going
to put him down for a while.

Thank you.

You're so welcome.

He's all yours now. You can
take him home and enjoy him.

Thank you very much indeed.

Thank you so much for all
you've done.

You're really welcome. Absolute
pleasure. This is goodbye,

Teddy Greeves. Yeah.

Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Bye-bye.

I'm so relieved.

Me too. So relieved.
Well done. Are you OK? Yeah.

It feels priceless to have him back.

It's amazing.

He's heard many things that probably
you couldn't share with a parent.

He's always been
my strength and my confidant.

And now he can look back
at you for evermore.

Yeah. Very precious.

The beautiful clock face.

Oh, fantastic. Oh, look at that.

Wow!

These little strips,
that was the original bit

and then you made that one,
so I've kind of toned it in

a little bit on top of your gilding.
Aw, thank you so much.

All of this is brilliant.

I look forward to seeing the clock
when you put it all together.

Thank you very much. OK.

While Steve sets to rebuilding
the clock with its bespoke

adornments, Becky's repair
of the broken violin is also

picking up pace.

The fingerboard is now nicely
aligned all in position, exactly

where I want it.

The next thing, I'm going
to need to look at this corner.

So I think my first job
is going to be to tidy

up these ragged edges.

This band around the edge
is called the purfling.

It's made of three strips of
pearwood which are stained,

so you have a black, then a white,
and then a black strip.

The grain of the purfling goes
into the violin vertically,

and it provides a protective band
all the way around the edge

of an instrument.

This stops any potential damage
getting further onto the violin,

which is exactly
what it's done here.

So it has a purpose as well
as looking pretty.

So I'm being very careful not to
cut into it, not to damage that.

I think I've got that
where I want it now.

I found some wood that I used
to make a violin with,

and I always keep the offcuts,

and I think the grain lines
might match the grain lines

that I've got here.

And if I can glue on a grain line
as well, it will make

the joint stronger.

So I'm going to cut some very
oversized pieces of wood here.

If I cut them nice and large, I'll
have plenty of wood to hold on to

and shape how I need to shape.

I'm now taking down the excess wood
that I've glued on to repair

this missing corner.

I want it nice and curved
and rounded like the existing one.

This corner is now smooth.

The next stage is going to be
to use my filler varnish,

just to fill in
all those little crevices.

When it's dry, I'll be able
to sand all of this back,

and then it's going to make a really
good base layer to retouch

on top of.

Breathing new life into a very
different family heirloom

has been Steve's priority.

That's the mechanism in there.

It's nice and firm.

Lucia's done all of the paintwork
on the case and the dial,

which is brilliant.

I just need to get the gilded lead
decorations back onto this,

get the dial on, get the hands on,

and then I can get that tick back

that Angela remembers
and reminds her of her dad.

The slow march of time had left
this treasured timepiece

with a dicky ticker
and in desperate need of attention.

It's looking good, isn't it?
Oh, it's looking really good.

It's so beautiful to see it all
together again, isn't it? Yeah.

A reminder of Angela's
larger-than-life late father,

its familiar chime will echo
down the ages once more.

Hello. Hi.
Good to see you again.

How are you doing?
I'm very well, thank you.

How are you? Yeah. Good. Thank you.

Are you excited?
I am really excited.

I'm fascinated to see
what you've been able to do.

Would you like to see it?
I can't wait! Good.

Oh, my goodness.

Oh, wow!

That is amazing.

What have you done?!

It's utterly transformed.

Goodness.

Look at the work on the inside.

Lucia has done a lot of work
to the paintwork

and all the gold work.

Oh, it looks beautiful.

Thank you, both, so much.

Let me just swing the pendulum.

[SOFT TICKING]

Oh, wow.

Very regular.

It actually...

..strikes, as well.

[BELL CHIMES SOFTLY]

Oh, wow.

Three times!

That is superb.

The tick...

VOICE BREAKS: I haven't got words

to express how much this means
to us all.

For the older generation,
my generation,

and for the future generations.

Yes. It absolutely symbolises
our beloved dad.

And he... I kind of think he'll be
looking down,

absolutely beaming from ear to ear.
He'd be so very proud.

It's kind of brought him back alive.

And that is just the best.

Best gift ever.

I can't thank you both enough.

I've so enjoyed working on it
and going through all those repairs.

We'll get it packed up and
we'll get it out to you now.

Well, thank you and goodbye.
Thank you, Angela. Bye-bye now.

Bye. Bye-bye.

When I heard the clock ticking,
it brings a lot of comfort.

It's a living, true memento
of my dad's life and his passions

and his character.

So it keeps his memory
and his spirit alive.

And I can't think of anything else
that does that.

So it's really, really special.

I'm really pleased with how
Savanna's violin's turning out.

The corner's come out really well,
and I've done all the retouching

on it and tried to age it in
with the rest of the varnish

to follow the patina.
I think it blends in pretty well.

Now all I need to do is put
the new strings on.

I've already fitted two.

I can now go ahead
and fit the rest of them,

now I'm happy with
the string heights here

and the fit
and the look of everything.

I'm so excited to get this back
to Savanna.

She was so passionate about keeping
this violin in the family

and played again.

I've got a last couple of
adjustments to make to get

this really perfect, and then it can
go back to Savanna and Adelajda.

This violin belonged
to a talented musician,

but she and most
of her family did not survive

the horrors of the Second World w*r.

Honestly, really, really good.

Yeah, it's come up quite well,
hasn't it?

I just want to hear it now.

Now her great-great-niece Savanna,
accompanied by mum Adelajda,

hopes to keep her legacy alive
by learning to play.

Hello. Hello. Hi.

You excited? It would just be so
awesome to see it finally restored.

It's been so special to all
the people in my family.

I want to make it special too.

Well, do you want to see it?
Yes, please. Yes. Yeah?

Go on, then. OK.

Wow! Yes.

Oh, my goodness!

I'm actually speechless.

It's so beautiful.

Oh, my... Wow.

I can't believe it could even
look like that.

I feel like you can really
appreciate how beautiful it is now -

like, in the beauty in
the wood and everything.

And, like, the character.
Everything that's been through,

how many people, how many people's
hands that's passed through...

Yeah. And you can see
the evidence of that still -

I've left the patina as was.

So it's got your family history
still in it.

Yes. Yes. Visible.

Oh, this just means
so much to everybody.

Especially for my grandad's
side of the family.

We don't have anything, really,
apart from, like, this violin.

Nothing else has been passed down.

I can only imagine how happy
he would have been

to see it like this again,

because I know it meant a lot
to him, and I think

he would be happy that
it still means a lot to us.

I'm wondering if you might
like to be the first person

to play it if I show you what to do?
Yes, please.

You would? Yes! OK. OK,

so I'm going to nestle it
on your shoulder

and tuck it into your chin
like you're hugging it. Lovely.

Now, I'm going to give you the bow.

OK. Bring your arm forward.

Are you ready? Ready. OK.

Wow-w-w.

That's so amazing that that
could come out of that violin.

Just wait till you get going!

Would you like me to play you
something...

Yes, please. ..so you can hear
the full range of it? Yeah.

PLAYS: Morning Mood
by Grieg

That was amazing. Beautiful.

Wow!

In just a couple of lessons,
you'll be able to do that, too.

Oh, I hope so.

And thank you so much
for repairing it.

I can't express how happy
this makes me.

Thank you. Bye-bye. Thank you.
Bye-bye. Bye. Bye. Thanks again.

Those smiles said it all.
Yeah, absolutely.

I'm just so happy.

And it was really, really lovely.

I felt so connected to my family
when I played it.

It's just so amazing how even,
after 100 years, you can still feel

that kind of connection.

Now that Savanna's going to be able
to play it, it's going to be able

to bring a lot of happiness.

As well as remembering a sad time,

we're going to be able
to really enjoy it.

If you have a treasured possession
that holds a Christmas memory

and would like to ask the team for
a special festive fix,

please get in touch at...

..and join us in The Repair Shop.