1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:03,480 Welcome to The Repair Shop, 2 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:06,840 where cherished family heirlooms are brought back to life. 3 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:08,720 This is the workshop of dreams. 4 00:00:08,720 --> 00:00:11,680 Home to furniture restorer Jay Blades. 5 00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:15,560 Nowadays, everybody spends a fortune on stuff that, once it's broken, 6 00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:19,280 they just bin it. But everybody has something that means too much to be 7 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:21,360 thrown away, and that's where we come in. 8 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:23,640 Working alongside Jay will be some 9 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:26,360 of the country's leading craftspeople. 10 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:28,120 Every piece has its own story, 11 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:31,520 it's amazing to think that some of my work becomes part of that story. 12 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:35,000 I've always played with things, I've always repaired things, 13 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:39,080 and I just love it. There is a real pleasure in bringing people's pieces 14 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:40,400 back to life again. 15 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:43,160 Each with their own unique set of skills. 16 00:00:43,160 --> 00:00:45,320 I can't wait to get started. 17 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:46,440 They will resurrect... 18 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:49,800 ..revive... Come on, man! 19 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:51,000 ..and rejuvenate... 20 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:54,080 ..treasured possessions 21 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:57,200 and irreplaceable pieces of family history. 22 00:00:57,200 --> 00:00:58,320 Wow! 23 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:00,000 Bringing both the objects... 24 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:01,640 She's fantastic! 25 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:03,760 That's just taken me back 50 years. 26 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:06,040 ..and the memories that they hold... 27 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:07,880 Oh, yes! 28 00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:09,240 ..back to life. 29 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:10,600 Oh, my God! 30 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:36,920 BELL RINGS 31 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:41,160 In the Repair Shop today, 32 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:43,240 Sonnaz and Will get their hands dirty 33 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:45,240 with a very old piece of furniture. 34 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:55,000 While silversmith Brenton tackles a tricky fix - 35 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:58,040 two metal ladies destroyed in a World War II air raid. 36 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:00,760 They're made of spelter. 37 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:05,320 It is very fragile, and they're certainly not built to be bombed, 38 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:06,520 I'm afraid. 39 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:16,160 First into the Repair Shop are Hilary and Mike Elphinstone. 40 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:18,800 With them, a much-loved member of the family. 41 00:02:19,920 --> 00:02:21,880 Hello! Hi, welcome. 42 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:25,360 They're hoping that soft-toy experts Amanda and Julie 43 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:27,360 can help bring him back to life. 44 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:30,520 OK, what have you got in there? 45 00:02:31,640 --> 00:02:32,960 Oh, wow. 46 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:35,280 Hello, you! That's Fred Bear. 47 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:36,400 Hello, Fred Bear. 48 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:39,240 Fred Bear! He's lovely. 49 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:41,200 Tell us a little bit about him. 50 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:47,040 He's 50 year old, he was bought for Maria, our eldest daughter, 51 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:50,440 for her first Christmas, and he was about the same size as her, I think. 52 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:55,640 Maria then had two more sisters and a brother, 53 00:02:55,640 --> 00:02:58,000 hence the very battered look, 54 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:01,040 because he was carried around by his ear a lot. 55 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:05,320 Yeah. Yes, I know, I see that's gone, you haven't got that. 56 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:06,960 Oh, dear. 57 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:09,080 But Maria's... 58 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:11,560 ..emigrated to Australia. 59 00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:13,080 OK, and she didn't take him? 60 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:15,600 She couldn't take him because he's full of straw. 61 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:17,040 So customs won't allow Fred in. 62 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:19,520 Won't allow Fred in. He might be contaminated. 63 00:03:20,920 --> 00:03:24,240 To prevent the introduction of pests and diseases, 64 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:29,120 Australian Customs has strict rules about importing plant materials, 65 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:33,040 which includes Maria's bear Fred and his wood-fibre stuffing. 66 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:37,840 Since then, one of her daughters, Lauren, has had a little boy, 67 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:40,920 Elijah Jay. Congratulations! 68 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:45,080 And I would really love him to belong to Elijah now, 69 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:46,960 cos he's part of our lives. 70 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:50,280 Part of the family. It sounds a bit corny, doesn't it? 71 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:53,560 No, no, it doesn't. Not at all. It doesn't. So it's getting him out 72 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:55,760 there. It's getting him out to Australia. 73 00:03:55,760 --> 00:04:01,440 OK, so where did you buy Fred, or where did you get him originally? 74 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:04,440 We bought him from the Co-op in Chesterfield, 75 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:07,520 and I think I paid a ridiculous amount, like £5, 76 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:10,040 which was an awful lot of money in those days. 77 00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:13,560 He is a good quality bear, he's a German bear. 78 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:17,200 Oh, is he? Yes, he is, by a company known as Schuco. 79 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:21,200 The Schuco company, better known for making miniatures and things 80 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:24,040 like that, so it's quite nice to see one of these bigger bears. 81 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:25,120 He does growl. 82 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:28,240 Does he still? Well... 83 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:29,720 You've got to have the knack. 84 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:31,640 TEDDY PURRS SOFTLY 85 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:34,200 He does! She's got the knack! Clearly I have! 86 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:38,320 What would you like him to look like? Like to see him furry. 87 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:40,680 Furry? Please, yeah. 88 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:43,640 What I'm concerned about at this time is we're going to be giving you 89 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:46,080 a new Fred Bear back - not Fred Bear. 90 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:50,960 Perhaps we could just do the tummy, the body, keep his original head, 91 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:53,400 legs and arms. So, he's got a little bit... 92 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:56,560 We could age down some fabric so he's got a little bit of fur coming 93 00:04:56,560 --> 00:04:59,000 through, so it's in keeping with the rest of him. 94 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:01,040 And what about a new ear? 95 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:03,480 Is that possible? Absolutely. 96 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:05,320 We will do that for you. 97 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:06,920 We know he's a bit of a challenge. 98 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:10,160 We like a challenge. We like a challenge. 99 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:12,200 But he'll be safe here. 100 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:14,880 And we'll let you know as soon as he's ready to come and collect. 101 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:16,600 Lovely. Thank you very much! 102 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:22,560 I'm really glad that they're actually not going to make him look 103 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:25,640 like a really modern bear, 104 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:28,720 that he's still going to look like Fred, isn't he? 105 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:29,960 And that is the main thing. 106 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:34,440 Can't wait to tell my daughter, can't wait to show her. 107 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:36,560 When Fred Bear goes to Australia... 108 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:40,760 ..it's going to be a mixture of emotions, definitely, because... 109 00:05:42,040 --> 00:05:45,360 ..he just reminds me of the children so much. 110 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:51,480 Amanda and Julie's mission is to get Fred fit to pass Australia's 111 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:53,120 strict custom controls. 112 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:56,600 We've basically got to get the stuffing out. 113 00:05:56,600 --> 00:05:58,800 Now, this is wood shavings. 114 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:03,000 Normal circumstances, we would always replace like-for-like, 115 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:06,160 to keep him authentic, so it's really unusual, 116 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:09,160 but we are going to replace it, aren't we, with... 117 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:11,720 ..polyester? Yes. 118 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:16,880 At the end of the day, Fred Bear belongs to Hilary, 119 00:06:16,880 --> 00:06:19,440 and she wants to get him to her grandson, 120 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:23,280 and we want to do our utmost to make sure that happens, 121 00:06:23,280 --> 00:06:26,600 so, whatever it takes, really, to get him there. 122 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:28,960 Oh, poor Fred! 123 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:32,320 But it's all for the good. Absolutely. 124 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:34,600 There we go. 125 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:38,760 So I'm going to take the arms off. 126 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:43,280 His limbs are held on with a pin and washer, 127 00:06:43,280 --> 00:06:46,440 and Fred's not parting with them without a struggle. 128 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:49,360 This is proving more difficult than I anticipated, 129 00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:50,720 this one is really rusty. 130 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:54,280 Oh, come on, Fred. 131 00:06:54,280 --> 00:06:55,640 Give me your arm. 132 00:06:57,240 --> 00:06:59,240 Yay! Yay! 133 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:03,160 There it is, that's what's given me all that trouble. 134 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:05,640 I've got another four of those joints to wrestle with, 135 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:09,400 and Julie can carry on unstuffing them and getting them all ready 136 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:10,600 to be cleaned. 137 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:19,000 Many items that arrive at the workshop have been passed down 138 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:21,240 through generations of the same family... 139 00:07:22,440 --> 00:07:24,440 ..and the next is no exception. 140 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:29,360 Hi. How are you? I'm Sonnaz. 141 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:34,280 Sarah Allen from Staffordshire is hoping furniture restorer Will Kirk 142 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:39,920 and upholsterer Sonnaz Nooranvary can rescue her family piano stool. 143 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:41,200 So, this belongs to you. 144 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:43,160 It does. What's the story behind it? 145 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:45,760 Cos it looks very well-used. 146 00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:48,880 It is, it's about 112 years old. 147 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:50,160 Ah. 148 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:53,520 It's been in my family since 1905, 149 00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:55,280 you can sort of see the date on the plaque, 150 00:07:55,280 --> 00:07:56,760 although it's a little bit dirty. 151 00:07:56,760 --> 00:08:00,440 Oh, gosh. It was awarded to my great-grandfather, 152 00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:02,440 William Henry Tappenden, 153 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:06,720 who was a mason, and he lived in Margate in Kent, 154 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:10,920 and they wanted to build a new lodge, a new masonic lodge, 155 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:13,720 so, he became the secretary of - it does actually say an there - 156 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:15,360 the Debenture Association. 157 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:18,800 It was for his esteemed duties that he carried out really well, 158 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:20,080 as being the secretary of that, 159 00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:22,920 from the masons, so it was awarded to him. He was presented with this. 160 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:24,560 And obviously it's been in the family 161 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:27,760 ever since then. It survived two world wars. 162 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:29,320 Gosh. Amazing. 163 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:33,240 And, then, when my grandad died, it went to my mum, 164 00:08:33,240 --> 00:08:38,760 so, then, they gave it to me, so, I've had it for at least 20 years. 165 00:08:38,760 --> 00:08:41,760 Wow. Is it used today at home? 166 00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:42,920 Occasionally. 167 00:08:42,920 --> 00:08:46,040 OK. But, unfortunately, I don't play so... 168 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:48,080 Are there any budding pianists? 169 00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:52,040 My son does, he'd play the piano, my sister used to play as well, 170 00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:54,040 so, she's played it. OK, and they used this stool? 171 00:08:54,040 --> 00:08:55,760 Yes, yeah. Oh, lovely. 172 00:08:55,760 --> 00:08:58,160 It does look as though it has had... 173 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:01,080 It has! ..a really hard life. I mean, 174 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:04,760 have you ever had it reupholstered or restored before, 175 00:09:04,760 --> 00:09:07,480 or is this exactly how you have had it? 176 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:09,000 And this is how you remember it? 177 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:11,880 Yes. It looks as though there was some carving... 178 00:09:11,880 --> 00:09:13,720 Yes. Hmm, carving. 179 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:15,720 This would be Will's department. 180 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:19,600 Yes, you're missing some carving there, aren't you? Broken there. 181 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:22,280 And is that missing underneath there as well? 182 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:24,920 So, was this broken when this came into your...? 183 00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:28,160 I don't remember having the carving on there. 184 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:29,440 Would you like to see it... 185 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:33,920 ..in the same fabric again, as you know it? 186 00:09:33,920 --> 00:09:36,800 I did speak to my mum, she's 84, 187 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:39,520 and I said to her about changing the upholstery - 188 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:43,080 she did say it would be nice to see it just as it was, really. 189 00:09:43,080 --> 00:09:46,320 Yeah, as it should be. Yeah, and for me to see the plaque, 190 00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:49,600 cleaned up so you can actually read what's on it. 191 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:54,040 That is lovely, isn't it? Yeah. I think we've got our work cut out. 192 00:09:54,040 --> 00:09:56,240 Yeah. Lovely. Thanks a lot for coming down. 193 00:09:56,240 --> 00:09:58,320 Thank you. Thank you very much. Bye-bye. 194 00:10:02,280 --> 00:10:07,360 I feel quite responsible for it, it's been in the family 112 years, 195 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:10,280 quite emotional to see somebody else walk away with it, 196 00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:12,920 to leave it here and go home without it. 197 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:17,040 My mum's really quite excited about getting it repaired, 198 00:10:17,040 --> 00:10:18,800 then she'll know as well, 199 00:10:18,800 --> 00:10:23,480 that it will be able to carry on down the family for however long, 200 00:10:23,480 --> 00:10:24,800 another 112 years. 201 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:31,400 Lots of work to be done. Lots of work to be done. 202 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:33,560 Somehow, I feel like I've got the most work. 203 00:10:33,560 --> 00:10:35,160 I agree. Do you? 204 00:10:35,160 --> 00:10:39,160 OK, fine! Yes, but I have got no idea how to take his seat base out. 205 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:41,960 It looks like it's dropped in, but it's a bit tight, 206 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:45,520 so whether there's a hidden screw up underneath it or not, I don't know. 207 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:48,120 Shall I take it over to your bench? Yes, please. OK! 208 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:54,280 First job - prising out a seat pad which has lain undisturbed 209 00:10:54,280 --> 00:10:56,120 for several decades. 210 00:10:57,320 --> 00:10:59,080 I think it might be glued in there. 211 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:01,640 What's this?! This sharp stick you're waving around! 212 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:03,040 Sorry, it's my regulator. 213 00:11:03,040 --> 00:11:06,520 Your regulator. I've used it to sort of pry this up a bit. 214 00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:08,280 OK. If you go that end... 215 00:11:08,280 --> 00:11:09,440 Shall I use it like that? 216 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:11,680 Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, and I'll go this end. 217 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:21,680 WILL SPLUTTERS 218 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:26,240 Look at that. That is a... 219 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:28,800 Oh! 220 00:11:28,800 --> 00:11:30,200 Eugh. 221 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:33,600 Look at that! Wow, look at that! 222 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:36,920 Those must be the original green colour there. Hm, yeah. 223 00:11:36,920 --> 00:11:38,760 That is really nice. 224 00:11:38,760 --> 00:11:40,920 So are you going to try to replace that... 225 00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:42,600 Yeah. ..back to that original green, 226 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:44,800 as opposed to the bleached-out, yellowy green? 227 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:47,080 Yeah, definitely. I'll let you get on with... 228 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:49,280 Stripping this back. Stripping that back. OK. 229 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:51,080 I'll be careful not to breathe it in. 230 00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:53,760 Yeah, don't breathe it in, whatever you do. 231 00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:54,800 Oh! 232 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:03,800 There's another clean-up operation over at Amanda and Julie's bench. 233 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:09,960 Fred Bear is getting a deep clean - his first bath in 50 years. 234 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:13,600 As you can see, it's proving quite effective. 235 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:15,280 I will continue to do this, 236 00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:18,960 changing the water and adding new soap until the water runs clear. 237 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:26,840 That's lovely, that is such a good feeling, 238 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:29,960 all those years of dirt, and I'm sure I haven't finished yet. 239 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:32,240 I'll fill it up again and see how much we can get out 240 00:12:32,240 --> 00:12:34,000 with a second wash. 241 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:37,760 While Julie carries on with Fred's shampoo, 242 00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:41,440 Amanda sets about restoring the other careworn parts. 243 00:12:41,440 --> 00:12:44,960 So, here is my lovely piece of mohair. 244 00:12:44,960 --> 00:12:48,720 We're going to use this piece to make Fred Bear's tummy. 245 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:50,160 It's not the right colour, 246 00:12:50,160 --> 00:12:54,880 so we're going to have to age it down and colour it and make it look 247 00:12:54,880 --> 00:12:56,680 like it's part of Fred Bear. 248 00:12:56,680 --> 00:13:02,080 So, the first part of the process will be to get some colour into it. 249 00:13:02,080 --> 00:13:04,800 I'm making myself a nice, strong brew of tea here, 250 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:07,160 I'm going to put four tea bags in initially... 251 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:10,600 ..and just let them brew in this boiling water. 252 00:13:12,440 --> 00:13:16,120 If my tea doesn't get me quite the right tone, 253 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:17,600 my next step will be coffee, 254 00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:20,440 because that tends to be a slightly different tone, slightly darker, 255 00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:23,040 but I think for Fred, tea is going to be the one. 256 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:26,640 Mohair is an extremely expensive fabric. 257 00:13:26,640 --> 00:13:30,040 This stuff comes in at about £120 a metre, 258 00:13:30,040 --> 00:13:32,720 and I'm just about to plop it in tea. 259 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:33,760 Wish me luck. 260 00:13:40,720 --> 00:13:45,960 Mohair is a woven fabric, but it's woven from goat hair, 261 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:48,000 it's the fleece of a goat. 262 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:53,440 It's been popular with teddy bears right since the very first ones 263 00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:54,760 in 1902. 264 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:58,120 Traditional bears were always made out of this mohair fabric. 265 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:03,160 I lift it up and sort of squeeze. 266 00:14:03,160 --> 00:14:07,280 You can see already we're getting that really lovely, aged, 267 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:12,000 sort of golden, faded mohair look that I'm wanting. 268 00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:15,960 Right, so I'm going to leave that now to have a soak, 269 00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:17,360 and I'll check it now and then 270 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:19,680 to make sure I've got the right depth of colour. 271 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:22,720 And then we'll take it out and have a look, see what we've got. 272 00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:33,160 I'm feeling quite pleased with that, actually, 273 00:14:33,160 --> 00:14:34,520 it's looking really good. 274 00:14:34,520 --> 00:14:37,040 I will check before I go to the next stage, but, yeah, 275 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:39,040 I think we got it first time. Brilliant. 276 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:48,440 The fur's now the right colour, 277 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:51,720 but Amanda still has some work to do to make it match the rest of his 278 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:53,280 well-loved body. 279 00:14:53,280 --> 00:14:56,680 One of the things that Hilary specifically wanted was to be 280 00:14:56,680 --> 00:14:58,960 able to stroke and feel some fur, 281 00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:02,960 so we've got to get it spot-on so that she's got enough fur that she 282 00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:05,600 feels he's got that nice, soft tummy. 283 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:10,800 But it's also got to be in keeping with the rest of him. 284 00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:12,960 The first thing I will do is 285 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:15,280 shave that bit of his tummy. 286 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:17,320 RAZOR BUZZES LOUDLY 287 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:21,640 It's quite nice. 288 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:35,400 It is quite sad, 289 00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:39,880 to see such a beautiful piece of mohair being treated like this. 290 00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:43,000 But he needs to look good. 291 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:44,720 I feel it is quite artistic, actually, 292 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:47,080 getting the right balance and getting it right, 293 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:49,720 and it's literally doing it by eye, just looking, 294 00:15:49,720 --> 00:15:53,840 but you can see already I've started to thin out some areas there. 295 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:56,720 Chest hair suitably trimmed and ruffled, 296 00:15:56,720 --> 00:15:59,120 Fred can now be pieced back together. 297 00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:02,080 We can see that he's starting to take shape now, 298 00:16:02,080 --> 00:16:04,640 and we can kind of see where we're going with him, so, yeah, 299 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:06,320 I'm really pleased with the progress. 300 00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:09,440 Hm. And have... You've already done his ears? 301 00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:10,800 Yeah, yeah, I was... 302 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:14,760 He only had one ear when he came in, 303 00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:16,440 so I split that ear 304 00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:20,080 and used a bit of the tummy that he no longer needs 305 00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:21,880 to make backs for the ears. 306 00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:25,080 Fantastic, so we've used original fabric. 307 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:27,760 Yes, yeah. A bit of a sort of skin transplant. 308 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:31,760 Absolutely, moved it from one area to another! Perfect! 309 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:37,880 Now the most important job - to get Fred through customs, 310 00:16:37,880 --> 00:16:42,480 gone is the wood-fibre filling, and in goes the man-made polyester. 311 00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:46,160 Doing this by hand is more unusual nowadays, 312 00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:49,600 but the good thing about packing it in tightly is that it's not going to 313 00:16:49,600 --> 00:16:52,920 move. If we fill him properly, 314 00:16:52,920 --> 00:16:56,680 there's nowhere for that stuffing to move to. 315 00:16:56,680 --> 00:16:59,360 So it's worth putting that bit of extra effort in now. 316 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:04,120 And we'll have all his limbs ready to go onto his body, 317 00:17:04,120 --> 00:17:07,640 which is quite exciting, cos he'll start to look like Fred Bear again. 318 00:17:20,120 --> 00:17:22,320 Next to call into the Repair Shop, 319 00:17:22,320 --> 00:17:25,120 Jeremy Harrison from south-east London, 320 00:17:25,120 --> 00:17:28,000 to meet metalworker and silversmith Brenton West. 321 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:30,600 Hello there, I'm Brenton. I'm Jeremy, nice to meet you. 322 00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:34,480 Hi, Jeremy. So I believe these are yours. 323 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:38,640 Jeremy has a pair of very precious but very damaged statuettes. 324 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:40,440 Well, they were my parents', 325 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:43,760 and they were given to them as a wedding gift when they got married 326 00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:47,200 on 17th August, 1940 so... 327 00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:48,360 So, who gave them to your...? 328 00:17:48,360 --> 00:17:50,480 We don't know, we don't know who gave them to them, 329 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:54,480 but my mum was from a very large Irish family in Bermondsey. 330 00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:58,360 OK. And my dad came from a middle-class family in Essex, 331 00:17:58,360 --> 00:18:02,520 so we think these are probably from the Essex side of the family. 332 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:06,560 But, three weeks later, my parents' house was completely destroyed 333 00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:08,160 in the Blitz. Oh, no. 334 00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:12,440 And when they went to the rubble, this is all they could pull out. 335 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:14,840 Everything was destroyed, my mum's wedding dress, 336 00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:17,520 so, they lost all their wedding photographs practically. 337 00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:19,000 So sad, isn't it? 338 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:22,600 It was just a pile of bricks, and this sticking out. 339 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:25,880 So, were your parents in the air raid shelter at the time? 340 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:29,240 Yes, yes, but it didn't seem to faze them, they just said, well, look, 341 00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:30,800 it was what happened in those days. 342 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:33,920 It is what happened, isn't it? Yeah. Imagine that now. 343 00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:37,920 So, this is the one link we've got to 17th August, 1940. 344 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:39,520 Really, really important. 345 00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:41,120 We didn't know about them, 346 00:18:41,120 --> 00:18:46,000 my parents boxed them up and kept them in the loft until 1979. 347 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:49,880 Right. And, then, when we moved, these materialised. 348 00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:52,960 But she kept them because she wanted them fixed. 349 00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:57,520 And my dad died in '97, and Mum died in 2010. 350 00:18:57,520 --> 00:18:59,920 And we never got them fixed for them, cos we didn't know how. 351 00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:03,360 I mean, they've gone through the wars - literally - but 352 00:19:03,360 --> 00:19:06,360 there's a snapped piece there. 353 00:19:06,360 --> 00:19:08,880 Oh, someone's had a go at glueing this, haven't they? 354 00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:14,200 Cos that bit of stone is broken and then is back on again there. 355 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:17,120 Oh, right. So someone has stuck that bit of stone back on. 356 00:19:17,120 --> 00:19:20,120 Probably me dad. And then he probably lost heart with it all, 357 00:19:20,120 --> 00:19:22,680 didn't he, thought, "I can't do this!" 358 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:26,280 "This is too much," he said. "I'll stick that in a box in the loft." 359 00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:29,960 So, getting these fixed - what would that mean? 360 00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:31,600 It would mean a very great deal, 361 00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:33,840 it would be like a memorial to my parents, 362 00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:36,600 cos they went through such a lot during the war. 363 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:38,760 They're looking down, saying, "Go on, do it, come on." 364 00:19:38,760 --> 00:19:41,280 "Get it done." They were very proud of them, 365 00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:43,480 we want to see them in their true glory. 366 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:45,040 No pressure on me, then! 367 00:19:45,040 --> 00:19:47,400 Yeah, there is lots of pressure! 368 00:19:49,160 --> 00:19:52,120 Well, they're really nice items, and I will do my best for you. 369 00:19:52,120 --> 00:19:53,720 I know you will, I've got every faith. 370 00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:55,960 Thank you! Thank you very much and good luck. 371 00:19:55,960 --> 00:19:57,200 OK. Bye! 372 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:03,280 I'm feeling surprisingly anxious, 373 00:20:03,280 --> 00:20:05,960 now the statuettes have been kept here. 374 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:08,360 They've not left the house since 1979, 375 00:20:08,360 --> 00:20:10,680 so I feel like I've lost a talisman, 376 00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:13,240 and I'm hoping that when they come back, 377 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:15,120 they'll bring good fortune to the house. 378 00:20:15,120 --> 00:20:18,880 Seeing them mended would be absolutely fantastic. 379 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:20,680 I can't actually imagine it, 380 00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:22,920 because I keep thinking that they look a bit drunk, 381 00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:25,920 the way they are on the floor, and, well, let's hope they've sobered up 382 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:27,640 by the time you bring them back. 383 00:20:30,360 --> 00:20:35,280 I've got Jeremy's statues here, which were damaged in the Blitz 384 00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:40,360 in 1940, and they've had a good old bashing. 385 00:20:40,360 --> 00:20:44,360 They're made of spelter, which is a zinc alloy. 386 00:20:44,360 --> 00:20:47,400 It is an economical casting metal, 387 00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:49,120 similar to bronze, 388 00:20:49,120 --> 00:20:51,440 but it melts at a lower temperature, 389 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:52,960 and it is very fragile, 390 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:57,080 and they're certainly not built to be bombed, I'm afraid. 391 00:20:57,080 --> 00:21:00,840 The metal the statuettes are made from makes this repair a minefield 392 00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:02,520 for Brenton. 393 00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:06,440 Spelter is very difficult to solder and easy to damage if you get it 394 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:10,000 too hot, so, on this occasion, I know how precious these are, 395 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:12,560 I'm going to be glueing them together. 396 00:21:12,560 --> 00:21:18,000 So, the first thing I've got to do is to repair this part of the base. 397 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:20,720 There's a crack there, I've got to put some glue in that, 398 00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:24,600 and then I've got to clamp it closed so that the glue makes a good 399 00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:27,880 contact and have that piece repaired first. 400 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:31,280 I'm mixing epoxy glue, which is a two-part glue. 401 00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:35,520 So mixing the two parts makes a chemical reaction 402 00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:37,680 that makes the glue start to set. 403 00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:42,680 I'll put some more glue in there. 404 00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:46,640 Because the more glue, the merrier, as far as I'm concerned. 405 00:21:58,360 --> 00:21:59,560 Back in the barn, 406 00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:03,320 Sonnaz and Will have divided the renovation of the 112-year-old 407 00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:06,840 piano stool into the upholstery and the woodwork. 408 00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:12,000 Jay's checking in on how the young duo are doing. 409 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:13,520 What do you need the timber for? 410 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:16,040 That's a bit loose, that's a bit loose. 411 00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:20,720 So, you're going to replace them? Yeah. Going to carve them out 412 00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:23,200 with that? I am. All right. I'm actually really excited. 413 00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:25,440 If you're going to carve all of that, it's got to look 414 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:28,320 very similar to that. Very similar. So those are the only bits 415 00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:29,760 that need doing on this, then? 416 00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:31,480 They are the main bits. 417 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:33,320 It just needs, like, a good old clean. 418 00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:35,840 Yeah, it is quite dirty, isn't it? A clean and a polish up. 419 00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:37,440 OK. Get carving! 420 00:22:37,440 --> 00:22:39,760 Get carving, thanks, Jay. All right. 421 00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:44,840 Next, over to Sonnaz, 422 00:22:44,840 --> 00:22:48,080 and a chance for two upholstery experts to put their heads together. 423 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:51,000 How are you getting on with that piano stool? Very well, thank you. 424 00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:53,200 You're here just at the right moment, actually. 425 00:22:53,200 --> 00:22:56,120 Am I? A few more tacks to take off, 426 00:22:56,120 --> 00:22:59,880 and then we can see, kind of, what's going on underneath. 427 00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:02,240 It's a bit dusty. Yeah, it will be dusty. 428 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:05,560 Can I do the glory run of tack lifting? 429 00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:09,880 Yeah, this is loads of dust, innit? 430 00:23:09,880 --> 00:23:11,640 I know, it's just years and years - 431 00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:14,040 I don't think it's ever been reupholstered, 432 00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:17,200 and I think that means that this is the original velvet. 433 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:19,760 And look at the difference in colour. 434 00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:21,320 Ooh, cor. 435 00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:24,680 But that's just the sun doing that, isn't it? Exactly, yeah. Yeah. 436 00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:28,680 Wow. It's pretty...dusty. 437 00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:32,240 Yeah. Even though there's nothing wrong with the actual upholstery 438 00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:34,960 itself, it's just nice to replace this with new, 439 00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:38,000 because it will be holding a lot of dust. 440 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:40,920 Not only that - this isn't up to fire regs, is it? 441 00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:42,640 Because that... That is a very good point. 442 00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:45,080 This is very flammable, this stuff. Yeah, it is. 443 00:23:45,080 --> 00:23:47,480 So, yeah, replacing it with new stuff. 444 00:23:47,480 --> 00:23:51,240 You've got it covered, then. I've got it covered! See, eh?! 445 00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:54,160 Jay! I'm going to leave you to it, I'm going to leave you to it. 446 00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:55,280 OK. All right. 447 00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:05,480 So, right now, I am mapping out the drawing for the replacement carving. 448 00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:08,640 I can actually see down the bottom here there's a really faint outline 449 00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:12,640 of where the old carving used to be, and, looking at that, 450 00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:17,760 it seems to be almost a reverse of the carving that is on the top. 451 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:19,080 So using that, 452 00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:22,640 I can actually work out what needs to go where and what the detail's 453 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:25,440 going to be like because I've got a great example here. 454 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:29,120 Now he's got a plan, 455 00:24:29,120 --> 00:24:32,600 Will trims a piece of wood down to size with the band saw, 456 00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:35,080 before clamping it to the desk, ready to carve. 457 00:24:41,080 --> 00:24:44,360 It really helps when you've got a really sharp chisel. 458 00:24:44,360 --> 00:24:47,720 It's almost like cutting with, like, a hot knife through butter. 459 00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:49,360 If your chisel isn't sharp, 460 00:24:49,360 --> 00:24:53,080 then you see that the wood begins to splinter off and crack. 461 00:24:56,480 --> 00:24:58,160 On the neighbouring workbench, 462 00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:00,840 Sonnaz is beginning to build the seat pad. 463 00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:05,400 The first thing is really to get some black wadding on this base. 464 00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:08,320 I need two layers. I think I'm going to use that as my... 465 00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:11,360 ..biggest bit. 466 00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:13,480 This lays on here. 467 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:18,320 So, what I'm going to do, I'm going to pull this edge - 468 00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:20,520 or, in upholstery, it's called teasing, 469 00:25:20,520 --> 00:25:23,880 I'm going to tease this edge. That just gives it a really... 470 00:25:23,880 --> 00:25:25,000 ..a much softer... 471 00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:29,680 ..softer edge, and I can feel the difference in that already. 472 00:25:35,240 --> 00:25:39,280 I'm constantly having to check the detail on the piano stool, 473 00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:42,760 just to make sure that what I am doing is exactly what I need. 474 00:25:42,760 --> 00:25:46,120 It's quite easy to get carried away with the chisels, because they're so 475 00:25:46,120 --> 00:25:49,160 sharp, it's really easy to take off more than you actually need. 476 00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:55,640 I don't want to rush it, cos when you rush it, 477 00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:57,960 that's when you have problems and breakages. 478 00:26:00,360 --> 00:26:04,240 Next, Sonnaz is ready to cover the seat pad. 479 00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:09,760 Now, this is really the moment of truth as to whether I've chosen 480 00:26:09,760 --> 00:26:12,920 the right colour for Sarah, 481 00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:16,200 cos not only did she want it to not look different in terms of 482 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:20,040 the padding, she didn't want the colour to be very different either. 483 00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:21,360 And I'm hoping... 484 00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:28,280 ..that this velvet I've chosen is as close as possible. 485 00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:33,800 I'm pretty happy with that, and I think it's going to work well. 486 00:26:39,360 --> 00:26:41,440 Good. Really happy with that. 487 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:45,440 It's actually really nice to see it in new velvet as well, 488 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:48,560 cos it's the start of you kind of giving it this new lease of life. 489 00:26:59,880 --> 00:27:01,920 Snip into this. 490 00:27:01,920 --> 00:27:05,680 So, really, the objective with corners is to secure it 491 00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:10,480 so that you've got as little bulk as possible in the way. 492 00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:14,520 I'll pop a staple in there. 493 00:27:19,520 --> 00:27:20,760 Job done. 494 00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:23,840 The rail is going to sit into that lovely. 495 00:27:28,480 --> 00:27:31,960 So, I have finished all the carving. 496 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:35,120 I've glued the new pieces back onto the front of the piano stool, 497 00:27:35,120 --> 00:27:38,480 and I've just filled and touched in some other cracks 498 00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:40,000 and loose bits of wood. 499 00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:43,960 It's all on there, it's solid, it's good to go. 500 00:27:43,960 --> 00:27:46,160 I just need to get into the colour matching now. 501 00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:49,160 So, usually with colour matching, I do lots of different samples, 502 00:27:49,160 --> 00:27:52,320 make sure I'm confident with the colour that I'm going on with. 503 00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:53,480 But with this... 504 00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:57,480 ..I've got a good feeling that the colour I'm matching is sort of 505 00:27:57,480 --> 00:28:01,520 a general brown, umber colour, so that is what I'm using here, 506 00:28:01,520 --> 00:28:03,600 and with quite a thin wash... 507 00:28:05,120 --> 00:28:07,200 ..it's beginning to blend in quite well. 508 00:28:14,280 --> 00:28:18,960 Amanda and Julie are coming to the end of their makeover of Fred Bear. 509 00:28:18,960 --> 00:28:22,880 He's almost ready for his trip to meet his family down under. 510 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:25,280 Happy? Yeah, really happy, you? 511 00:28:25,280 --> 00:28:27,840 I am too, yeah. He's going to last longer, isn't he? 512 00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:30,080 And he just looks like Fred Bear. 513 00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:31,280 Yeah. 514 00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:35,040 Fred's owners, Hilary and Mike, 515 00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:39,160 are back at the Repair Shop to see if their beloved bear is finally 516 00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:40,680 ready to fly the nest. 517 00:28:42,440 --> 00:28:44,760 Hello! Hello, welcome back. 518 00:28:44,760 --> 00:28:46,160 Thank you. How are you? 519 00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:48,040 We're fine, how are you? Lovely to see you. 520 00:28:48,040 --> 00:28:50,880 How are you feeling? Mmm! 521 00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:52,320 A little bit... 522 00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:55,200 Yeah, a little bit nervous, aren't we, yeah? 523 00:28:55,200 --> 00:28:57,480 Do you want us to put you out of your misery, then? 524 00:28:57,480 --> 00:29:00,440 Mm, yes, yes, please. Are you ready? Are you sure? 525 00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:02,400 No, you can't cover your eyes! 526 00:29:02,400 --> 00:29:03,920 No! 527 00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:05,360 Are you ready? We're ready. 528 00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:08,880 Oh, look at him! 529 00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:12,080 Oh! 530 00:29:12,080 --> 00:29:13,240 How did you do that? 531 00:29:15,280 --> 00:29:16,520 Give him a cuddle. 532 00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:20,800 Oh, he's solid. 533 00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:23,120 Isn't he? Oh, he's gorgeous. 534 00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:25,040 He is, isn't it? Oh, he feels lovely. 535 00:29:25,040 --> 00:29:28,680 I was expecting him to be a lot softer. 536 00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:30,160 TEDDY PURRS 537 00:29:30,160 --> 00:29:32,600 Oh, still got his flatulence! I didn't think... 538 00:29:34,960 --> 00:29:36,400 I didn't think I would be 539 00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:39,360 like this when I saw... Well, look at you! 540 00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:40,920 You've filled up as well! 541 00:29:40,920 --> 00:29:43,280 We're just two softies, aren't we? 542 00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:46,200 Oh, he's lovely. Sorry. 543 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:50,480 Oh, bless you. Thank you so, so much. 544 00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:55,320 That's fantastic. Thank you, thank you. 545 00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:56,360 So much. 546 00:29:57,840 --> 00:30:01,480 Look at him! Oh, look, all his fur on the back! 547 00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:04,760 We did that specifically because I know you said you wanted to be able 548 00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:07,200 to feel the fur, 549 00:30:07,200 --> 00:30:11,360 so we aged and sort of distressed it to make it look realistic. 550 00:30:11,360 --> 00:30:14,480 Yeah, that's right. It just looks like Fred Bear! 551 00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:16,080 Good. But he's lovely! 552 00:30:16,080 --> 00:30:17,200 That's our job done. 553 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:19,560 Yeah, if you can say that, that's what makes us happy, 554 00:30:19,560 --> 00:30:20,960 to hear you say that. 555 00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:24,520 So, tell me, what's the next part of his journey? 556 00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:28,320 We're seeing Maria for a big family do... 557 00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:34,240 ..and then I'm going to give her Fred. 558 00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:36,520 He's all yours. So, behave yourself! 559 00:30:36,520 --> 00:30:38,760 Say bye-bye to the ladies. Bye, Fred! 560 00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:42,520 Thank you, bye! Bye! 561 00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:50,440 OK. 562 00:30:53,320 --> 00:30:55,880 Absolutely amazed. 563 00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:58,240 And delighted, we can't believe it. 564 00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:04,560 I became overwhelmed, because Fred looked like Fred... 565 00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:08,640 ..and it was everything that I wanted. 566 00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:10,680 I just know how my daughter will feel, 567 00:31:10,680 --> 00:31:12,440 she will feel exactly the same. 568 00:31:12,440 --> 00:31:14,160 She won't look at Fred and think, 569 00:31:14,160 --> 00:31:16,360 "What's my mother done to that bear?" 570 00:31:19,040 --> 00:31:22,160 A few weeks later, Fred was reunited with Maria 571 00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:24,240 and completed his epic journey 572 00:31:24,240 --> 00:31:27,360 to Australia, where he met his newest owner, 573 00:31:27,360 --> 00:31:30,400 Hilary and Mike's great-grandson Elijah. 574 00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:42,240 Out in the metal workshop, 575 00:31:42,240 --> 00:31:47,280 Brenton is getting to grips with a pair of war-torn statuettes. 576 00:31:47,280 --> 00:31:50,280 One needs her feet reattached to the pedestal, 577 00:31:50,280 --> 00:31:52,840 the other has lost her basket. 578 00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:55,320 This lady here has got less damage. 579 00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:59,560 We've got her basket of fruit and flowers that's become detached. 580 00:31:59,560 --> 00:32:03,120 Just to glue that on there, it wouldn't be strong enough, 581 00:32:03,120 --> 00:32:07,040 so what I'm going to do is I'm going to put a couple of wire pegs coming 582 00:32:07,040 --> 00:32:12,800 out of her arms and make corresponding holes in the basket 583 00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:17,200 so that should sit there by itself without glue, and then when I put 584 00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:19,960 the glue on, that'll be an extra sort of strength. 585 00:32:22,680 --> 00:32:26,240 The spelter figurines were made by Limousin, 586 00:32:26,240 --> 00:32:30,240 a prolific French manufacturer of Art Deco ornaments. 587 00:32:30,240 --> 00:32:34,960 What we need to do now is make corresponding holes in those. 588 00:32:34,960 --> 00:32:39,720 The company stopped production in 1940, during the Second World War, 589 00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:43,360 around the same time that this resilient pair were caught up 590 00:32:43,360 --> 00:32:45,080 in the London Blitz. 591 00:32:55,160 --> 00:32:56,880 That goes in that hole now, 592 00:32:56,880 --> 00:33:00,120 and that actually stays on there with just one pin, 593 00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:02,880 so, when I've got the other pin in, that will be nice and strong, 594 00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:05,520 and then that little bit of glue in there 595 00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:07,560 will make it good as new again. 596 00:33:11,040 --> 00:33:13,360 Now the statuettes are prepped, 597 00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:18,280 Brenton is giving them a final clean before fixing them back together, 598 00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:19,960 and Jay is lending a hand. 599 00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:23,840 So, you've worked with spelter before? 600 00:33:23,840 --> 00:33:26,480 I have, yeah. How do you know to identify that as spelter? 601 00:33:26,480 --> 00:33:31,440 When you scratch it, which I've done behind there, 602 00:33:31,440 --> 00:33:34,440 in a bit you can't see, it goes silver coloured. 603 00:33:34,440 --> 00:33:37,600 So if I just give that a bit of a scratch... 604 00:33:37,600 --> 00:33:39,480 Oh, yeah. That's silver coloured. 605 00:33:39,480 --> 00:33:42,000 If that was bronze... Yeah. ..that would be gold coloured. 606 00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:44,360 Oh... 607 00:33:44,360 --> 00:33:50,000 Yeah, they're nice things, and they deserve to be repaired nicely, 608 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:53,240 looked after. So, in here is just soapy water, yeah? 609 00:33:53,240 --> 00:33:55,080 Just really, really mild detergent. 610 00:33:56,040 --> 00:33:57,960 I don't need any chemicals. 611 00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:02,240 The worry of putting chemicals on, this has got a patina on it, 612 00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:04,240 and if I get any sort of violent chemical on, 613 00:34:04,240 --> 00:34:07,120 that is going to fetch that off and they're going to go silver. 614 00:34:07,120 --> 00:34:10,120 Yeah, don't want that. And I don't want that. 615 00:34:10,120 --> 00:34:13,200 So we'll be really gentle with them. 616 00:34:13,200 --> 00:34:14,720 It's quite therapeutic out here. 617 00:34:14,720 --> 00:34:18,560 Yeah, it's good. Doing a bit of cleaning. Yeah, nice and quiet. 618 00:34:18,560 --> 00:34:19,640 Away from the barn. 619 00:34:25,400 --> 00:34:27,840 With the statuettes spick and span, 620 00:34:27,840 --> 00:34:30,400 Brenton users the strong epoxy adhesive 621 00:34:30,400 --> 00:34:32,200 to secure the broken basket. 622 00:34:39,040 --> 00:34:41,920 So, that is in the right place, 623 00:34:41,920 --> 00:34:44,320 so, I've just got to let that set. 624 00:34:44,320 --> 00:34:45,600 Now the difficult one. 625 00:34:46,800 --> 00:34:47,840 So... 626 00:34:48,840 --> 00:34:49,960 ..glue round the foot. 627 00:34:51,360 --> 00:34:54,160 And that's going to be screwed up through the stone, 628 00:34:54,160 --> 00:34:55,360 up through the base... 629 00:34:57,200 --> 00:35:00,520 ..into the feet, and that's going to hold that in position 630 00:35:00,520 --> 00:35:02,040 while I glue that. 631 00:35:20,720 --> 00:35:22,600 That's actually quite happy down like that, 632 00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:24,680 so I'm going to leave that like that, I think, to dry, 633 00:35:24,680 --> 00:35:27,640 and a big sign saying, "Don't touch", and come back and we can 634 00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:29,040 polish them up. 635 00:35:34,920 --> 00:35:38,000 It's been a team effort in the Repair Shop today. 636 00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:41,200 Sonnaz and Will have been working their magic on a century-old 637 00:35:41,200 --> 00:35:42,720 piano stool. 638 00:35:42,720 --> 00:35:46,480 Now they're ready to reunite their parts of the project. 639 00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:48,840 Finished the top! Lovely. 640 00:35:48,840 --> 00:35:50,200 Look at that! Yeah. 641 00:35:50,200 --> 00:35:53,840 Beautiful! Looks great, doesn't it, that green against your wood? 642 00:35:53,840 --> 00:35:55,600 Look at your carving! 643 00:35:55,600 --> 00:35:58,400 Oh, please. Incredible! 644 00:35:58,400 --> 00:36:00,760 Well done. It's actually come up really well, 645 00:36:00,760 --> 00:36:02,440 and look at the brass plaque as well, 646 00:36:02,440 --> 00:36:05,360 you can actually see all the writing now. That's incredible. 647 00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:08,560 Can you guess which bits I've replaced as well? 648 00:36:08,560 --> 00:36:12,120 I really can't, actually, I can't guess which ones you've replaced. 649 00:36:12,120 --> 00:36:14,400 Have you moved them around or something? 650 00:36:14,400 --> 00:36:17,160 Have you? No, I haven't. Well, let's get that on, 651 00:36:17,160 --> 00:36:19,760 cos I need to get this over to Sarah. Yep, great. 652 00:36:24,200 --> 00:36:26,720 I think it's a great joint effort. 653 00:36:26,720 --> 00:36:29,120 Really lovely. She's going to love it. 654 00:36:29,120 --> 00:36:30,280 She is going to love it. 655 00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:35,320 When Sarah brought her great-grandfather's stool to 656 00:36:35,320 --> 00:36:39,400 the Repair Shop, it was looking all of its 112 years - 657 00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:41,440 threadbare upholstery, 658 00:36:41,440 --> 00:36:45,480 missing carving, wood and brass lacking lustre. 659 00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:48,000 Really looking forward to picking up the piano stool, 660 00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:49,560 really looking forward to seeing it. 661 00:36:49,560 --> 00:36:51,920 Obviously, a little bit nervous. 662 00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:54,880 Obviously, in my lifetime, it's only ever looked how it did, really, 663 00:36:54,880 --> 00:36:56,320 when I dropped it off, 664 00:36:56,320 --> 00:37:00,760 so, really looking forward to seeing it again and excited. 665 00:37:02,920 --> 00:37:06,080 Hello. Hello. Nice to see you again. 666 00:37:06,080 --> 00:37:07,720 And you, lovely to see you again. 667 00:37:09,200 --> 00:37:11,040 Gosh! 668 00:37:11,040 --> 00:37:13,320 So, here it is. Yes. 669 00:37:13,320 --> 00:37:15,840 As you can see, it's on four legs so... 670 00:37:15,840 --> 00:37:17,760 Yeah! So, that's a positive sign. 671 00:37:17,760 --> 00:37:19,680 Yeah, it's looking good! 672 00:37:19,680 --> 00:37:21,760 Are you ready? I think so! 673 00:37:21,760 --> 00:37:22,800 OK! 674 00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:25,600 Here we go. 675 00:37:25,600 --> 00:37:26,880 Oh, wow. 676 00:37:26,880 --> 00:37:28,120 Oh! 677 00:37:28,120 --> 00:37:30,600 Oh, gosh! Oh, it's lovely. 678 00:37:32,240 --> 00:37:33,840 Oh, I can't believe it, look! 679 00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:36,160 Golly. 680 00:37:37,960 --> 00:37:39,720 A bit speechless, really, to be honest. 681 00:37:39,720 --> 00:37:42,480 It looks really lovely, it's just so shiny. 682 00:37:42,480 --> 00:37:43,840 Thank you so much. 683 00:37:43,840 --> 00:37:46,520 Brilliant job. Yeah, are you pleased? 684 00:37:46,520 --> 00:37:48,360 Really, really pleased. 685 00:37:48,360 --> 00:37:51,040 Sonnaz has done a great job with the upholstery. 686 00:37:52,760 --> 00:37:55,760 We've tried to keep the same green colour that was originally there. 687 00:37:55,760 --> 00:38:01,600 Yeah, it looks really vibrant again, really full of life, yeah, it does, 688 00:38:01,600 --> 00:38:04,840 it's amazing. Finally, the carving. 689 00:38:04,840 --> 00:38:06,480 Yes. The replacement carving. 690 00:38:06,480 --> 00:38:08,560 Yes, it's all back in place, 691 00:38:08,560 --> 00:38:11,160 cos obviously there was some actually missing, wasn't there? 692 00:38:11,160 --> 00:38:15,240 Yeah, yeah. Was it, I think, that piece actually wasn't there at all? 693 00:38:15,240 --> 00:38:19,640 And to get it to exactly the same pattern is... 694 00:38:19,640 --> 00:38:21,280 Stop it! 695 00:38:21,280 --> 00:38:23,880 My mum will be really pleased to see it as well, 696 00:38:23,880 --> 00:38:25,600 she was very keen to keep it green. 697 00:38:25,600 --> 00:38:30,160 To me, to get it back like this sort of feels like I'm starting the next 698 00:38:30,160 --> 00:38:33,440 era with it, and I know that then it will be in a really good 699 00:38:33,440 --> 00:38:35,800 condition. Yeah. 700 00:38:35,800 --> 00:38:37,480 It was a pleasure to work on, 701 00:38:37,480 --> 00:38:41,520 and it was also quite nice for me to work with Sonnaz on such a lovely 702 00:38:41,520 --> 00:38:43,760 item as well. So, thank you very much. 703 00:38:47,560 --> 00:38:50,920 Seeing the piano stool, it's absolutely beautiful. 704 00:38:50,920 --> 00:38:53,840 It just makes you think of all the people, really. 705 00:38:53,840 --> 00:38:57,320 It's my great-grandfather's it was given to originally, 706 00:38:57,320 --> 00:39:00,160 and all the things it's survived, two world wars, 707 00:39:00,160 --> 00:39:03,360 come all the way through, always been in the family, 708 00:39:03,360 --> 00:39:06,960 and hopefully giving the piano stool this new boost will keep it going 709 00:39:06,960 --> 00:39:08,560 for another 100-odd years. 710 00:39:21,120 --> 00:39:24,520 Outside, Brenton has secured the broken pieces 711 00:39:24,520 --> 00:39:26,600 of the war-torn statuettes. 712 00:39:26,600 --> 00:39:30,640 Now he's painting the glued joints to match the patina of the spelter 713 00:39:30,640 --> 00:39:34,000 before applying the final finishing touch. 714 00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:37,680 So, I've got a specialist wax polish which will just brighten them up 715 00:39:37,680 --> 00:39:39,480 a bit and give them a bit of a shine, 716 00:39:39,480 --> 00:39:42,080 and they just need a tiny, little bit just to give them 717 00:39:42,080 --> 00:39:43,480 a bit of lustre. 718 00:39:45,080 --> 00:39:47,560 All those years of being in the loft. 719 00:39:47,560 --> 00:39:50,720 We took lots and lots of dirt off them when we cleaned them, 720 00:39:50,720 --> 00:39:52,680 they were filthy. 721 00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:55,400 So, this will just protect them, 722 00:39:55,400 --> 00:39:57,760 and that's actually coming up really nicely, 723 00:39:57,760 --> 00:39:59,800 lovely and shiny on the leg there. 724 00:40:03,280 --> 00:40:05,840 So, I think that's just about ready, 725 00:40:05,840 --> 00:40:08,520 and it's going to be party time at Jeremy's. 726 00:40:13,800 --> 00:40:18,040 Carefully wrapped, the statuettes are sent home to Lewisham, 727 00:40:18,040 --> 00:40:21,760 where Jeremy and his sister Liz are reminiscing about the original 728 00:40:21,760 --> 00:40:27,080 owners of the Art Deco figurines - their parents, Kitty and Jack. 729 00:40:27,080 --> 00:40:30,560 Oh, look, there's Mum and Dad on their 50th wedding anniversary. 730 00:40:30,560 --> 00:40:31,920 That's right. 731 00:40:31,920 --> 00:40:33,280 That's their first dance. 732 00:40:33,280 --> 00:40:34,760 And our dad hated dancing. 733 00:40:34,760 --> 00:40:36,800 Hated dancing. He hated dancing. 734 00:40:36,800 --> 00:40:39,280 But he had to do the first dance. 735 00:40:39,280 --> 00:40:40,480 His face! 736 00:40:42,320 --> 00:40:44,000 It seems like yesterday. 737 00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:46,440 Oh, we were all very close to our parents. 738 00:40:46,440 --> 00:40:49,520 My mum and dad were the hub. 739 00:40:49,520 --> 00:40:53,080 The statuettes were broken during an air raid. Even though they were 740 00:40:53,080 --> 00:40:55,480 broken and smashed up, she still treasured them. 741 00:40:55,480 --> 00:40:57,120 It's a link to the past. 742 00:40:59,560 --> 00:41:01,920 Oh! Oh, they're here! It's arrived. 743 00:41:01,920 --> 00:41:05,000 Let's have a look. Are you excited? I really am! Oh, my goodness. 744 00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:07,160 Oh, my goodness, look! 745 00:41:09,400 --> 00:41:11,720 Oh... Oh, wow. 746 00:41:11,720 --> 00:41:12,920 It's like Christmas. 747 00:41:14,240 --> 00:41:15,360 Exciting. 748 00:41:20,160 --> 00:41:21,280 Wow. 749 00:41:30,560 --> 00:41:32,800 Aren't they gorgeous? They're lovely. 750 00:41:32,800 --> 00:41:35,040 That's fantastic, look at that! 751 00:41:35,040 --> 00:41:36,520 It's like two little Oscars. 752 00:41:37,640 --> 00:41:42,000 They have not looked this good since 1940. 753 00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:43,720 They look fantastic! 754 00:41:43,720 --> 00:41:47,320 It doesn't look as if they've ever been broken at all. 755 00:41:47,320 --> 00:41:50,200 Everything's fixed. Mum and Dad would have liked to have seen these. 756 00:41:50,200 --> 00:41:52,880 God, they'd have loved this, Absolutely loved this. 757 00:41:54,080 --> 00:41:57,360 The repairs on the two statuettes are unbelievable, 758 00:41:57,360 --> 00:42:00,760 there's no trace of any repair on them. 759 00:42:00,760 --> 00:42:04,520 It looks like how they would have looked 80, 90 years ago. 760 00:42:04,520 --> 00:42:07,320 Shall we put them up on the cocktail cabinet? 761 00:42:08,440 --> 00:42:10,280 Yeah. 762 00:42:10,280 --> 00:42:11,960 Let's... 763 00:42:11,960 --> 00:42:13,880 Right, ladies, 764 00:42:13,880 --> 00:42:15,360 it's the end of your journey. 765 00:42:18,920 --> 00:42:20,520 Oh, look at that. 766 00:42:20,520 --> 00:42:23,560 Now, that looks... Does that look good? Wicked. 767 00:42:25,080 --> 00:42:27,600 I could sit here and just look at them, couldn't you? 768 00:42:27,600 --> 00:42:30,280 You just want to stare at them. They're made for there, aren't they? 769 00:42:30,280 --> 00:42:33,320 They're made for there, they really are. They are made for there. 770 00:42:33,320 --> 00:42:34,960 I love them. 771 00:42:38,720 --> 00:42:44,000 Having these statues repaired is our family's tribute to our parents, 772 00:42:44,000 --> 00:42:47,560 and it's a memorial to both of them, to my mum and my dad. 773 00:42:49,880 --> 00:42:54,400 They're seamless, you wouldn't know the damage that was on them. 774 00:42:54,400 --> 00:42:56,360 I'm really happy. 775 00:42:56,360 --> 00:42:59,120 I'm happy they're complete again, cos they look stunning. 776 00:43:00,640 --> 00:43:03,560 I'm looking forward to every day getting the Pledge out, 777 00:43:03,560 --> 00:43:06,120 giving them a polish every morning 778 00:43:06,120 --> 00:43:09,440 and then just thinking about Mum and Dad while I'm polishing them. 779 00:43:15,800 --> 00:43:19,720 Join us next time as more family treasures are rescued... 780 00:43:19,720 --> 00:43:21,760 You're a clever bunny, ain't you? 781 00:43:21,760 --> 00:43:24,000 ..and their cherished memories restored... 782 00:43:24,000 --> 00:43:26,040 Oh, amazing. Oh, I love it. 783 00:43:26,040 --> 00:43:27,360 ..in the Repair Shop.