13x11 - Episode #13.11

[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 breaths.

- ..are restored to their former
glory.

- New beginnings and new memories.
- Lovely.

- We could do that.

- A dream team of expert
craftspeople...

- Perfect. Teamwork.

- That's the fun part.

- It's going to look absolutely
stunning.

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

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

- Go on, my son.

- ..restore irreplaceable treasures...

- Take it away, Mark.

- ..and unlock the stories that they
hold.

- Hey!

- Oh, my God!

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

- You're a wizard!

- Thank you so much.

- Morning.
- Hello.

- Oh, two of you.
- Good morning.

- How are you doing?
- Oh, not too bad, thank you.

How are you?
- Very good.
- Thank you, sir.

- All the better for seeing you guys
now.

- Oh, well, nice to see you too, sir.

- Got some work for you.

- As the barn opens its doors for a
new day

of saving Britain's best-loved items,

textile conservator Rebecca Bissonnet
recalls a national

treasure from her own childhood.

- Am I right in believing that you
repaired Bagpuss?

- I wanted to repair Bagpuss.

I was going to do with my dissertation
TV puppets

from the 1960s and 1970s.
- Yeah.

- But when they finished filming
Bagpuss,

they just put him in a tin trunk.

So he was really well-preserved.

- Oh, was he?
- Yeah.

- The UK's favourite cloth cat might
not need Rebecca's expert care,

but Abid Shah, from Derbyshire,

has a precious piece of history that's
crying out for it.

- Hello.
- Hello.
- How are we doing?
- I'm fine, thank you.

- I'm Jay.
- Abid Shah.

- Hello. I'm Rebecca.
- Hello, Rebecca.

- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.

- So, what is this?

- Well, this is a ceremonial coat

which belonged to my great-grandfather
in 1842.

- OK. And his name?

- Sultan Mohammad.

- Sultan Mohammad.
- Yeah.

- This is absolutely beautiful.

And what job did he have?

- He was a landowner.

- OK.

- This is what he used for ceremonies
to impress everybody.

There were quite popular guests

for state functions and that sort of
thing.

- OK. Wow.

So where was you born?

- I was born in India under the
British Raj.
- Yeah.

- We left for Pakistan in '47 when the
country was partitioned.

- Because you must have been really
young at that time.

- I was about seven.
- OK.

- Somebody came from Britain...

- Yeah.
- ..with a pencil and a map,

and he drew a line.

"This is Pakistan and this is India."

- And that was it.
- That was it.

"Where there is a majority of
Muslims," they said,

"we'll call that Pakistan.

"Where there's a majority of Hindus,
we'll call that India."

- Partition came about when India
gained independence in 1947

after 300 years of British colonial
rule.

It led to the largest population
movement in history,

ripping families apart and changing
people's way of life forever.

- I can remember seeing bodies lying
besides the train.
- Yeah.

- We were being shot at and my mother
telling me,

"Get under the seat, get under the
seat."

Things were so bad at that time that
people who lived as neighbours

for decades side by side...
- Yeah.

- ..they were k*lling each other.

- Seriously?
- Seriously.

- But all of your family made it
through, yeah?

- They all made it.

- So, did the coat come with you to
Pakistan,

or did it stay in India?

- Sultan Mohammad's son,

he decided to come and live in
Pakistan

because the country was partitioned.

And he sent all his luggage...
- Yeah.

- ..but he didn't come.
- He didn't come?

- No. So all his luggage was with us,
and it's been there since with me.

- So the luggage came and this was in
the luggage, then?
- Yeah.

- The condition that it's in, it's
quite, um...

It's had some...

Well, it's well-loved, I would say.
- It is.

I think it's because it's been in the
trunk for many years.

- And what would you like Rebecca to
do to this?

- I don't know about this split.
- Yeah.

- I don't know if you can stick it
together or something.

- We might try a bit of stitching.
- SHE CHUCKLES

- Inside, too.

So I think...few pieces maybe...

- Yeah.
- A few pieces. Look at that.
- Oh, my God!

- Wow.
- Sorry.

- It's everywhere.

- I take my words back.

- Will you be wearing it?

- I might do, but my intention is to
treasure it.
- Yeah.

- I wish I was born in their time and
spending my life like them,

having a laugh with their cousins.

And they lived on the land.

- A more simpler life.
- That's it.

- So when you look at this, do you
think of your great-grandfather?

- Yes. You keep the connection with
him.

My connection with him.
- Yeah.

- His connection with me.
- Yeah.

Bless you, sir.

- It'll mean the world.

Thank you.
- Thank you.

OK?
- Yeah.

- Oh, bless you. Come here.

Come here.

OK?
- Yeah.

- You done good, man.
- Thank you.

- OK?

Abid, thank you for bringing this in.

- My pleasure.
- OK? And telling us your family
history.

- Thank you very much.
- Thank you.

Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.

- Leave it with us and we'll be in
contact soon.
- Yeah.
- OK?

- Thank you very much. See you again.

- Take care.

That's a lot of work, isn't it?
- Yeah.

- And a lot of family history in
there.
- Yes.

- You got it?

- Yeah, I've got it.

- Come on, then.

- So, in 20 years of textile
conservation,

I have never come across a coat like
this before.

Originally, it would have been a
really bright green.

Um, we've got multiple splits

at the hem, at the pockets.

The collar is almost completely
detached up at the top there.

Um, if we have a look on the inside,

this lining, there's quite a big bit
missing there.

So the first thing I'm going to do is
take some measurements

so I get a full picture of what I'm
actually dealing with,

so I know how I'm going to go forward.

- Next at the barn, a dream assignment

for vintage vehicle enthusiast Dominic
Chinea,

courtesy of siblings Becky Roberts and
Al Richards from Wiltshire,

who come bearing tales of a childhood
spent in the fast lane.

- Hi!
- Hi.
- This must be yours. It's incredible.

- Well, I'd say it's mine.

It's technically my brother's.

- Well, please, tell... I've got so
many questions!

Can we start at the beginning? Where
did this come from?

- Yeah. My father, Derek, made it.

- He made it?
- Yeah, from scratch.

- "Yeah, yeah, he made it, yeah!"

- He was a trained mechanic and avid
motorcyclist.

He raced motorbikes in motocross in
the late '50s, early '60s.

Proper old-fashioned mechanic.

He did all the maintenance on our
racing bikes,

on his own bikes.

He also used to sort of service and
repair people's cars.

And when he did his National Service,

he was working on aeroplane engines in
the RAF.

But, yeah, he was always just one of
those... Just mechanical stuff.

He could just figure it out, all, you
know.
- Yeah.

- He was a very popular, well-liked
character.

- He was a source of...

A lot of people would come and ask his
opinion and, you know,

"How do we do this?" and "What am I
doing here?"

- Yeah, what an amazing guy.

What was Dad's name, sorry?

- Derek.
- Derek.

- Then when they had me, he went out
into my grandad's workshop,

put this together from scratch. In,
er, 1969, I would think.

- I was three months old. For you, as
a five-year-old,

when you see the pictures of you sat
on it,

there must have been a point where he
came in and measured you

and said, "Right, how high does this
need to be?"
- Yeah.
- Yeah.

- And all of those kinds of things.

- But he's nailed it, proportionately.
- Yeah.

- That's it. It's perfect for a five-,
six-year-old boy.
- It's brilliant.

- For me, the bike is... It shows
Dad's skill.

Everything about it says Dad.
- It's Dad.

- This is my dad. This is our dad.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.

- I could actually ride that before I
could ride a push-bike,

which seems peculiar.
- It's amazing.

- Me and my cousin would be taken to
sort of local village fetes

and we'd be like one of the turns just
driving it around,

doing a few laps.

And that led on, then, into racing
motocross

a couple of years later.

- Becky, do you have memories in your
childhood with this bike?

- It's always been in my life.

- You did get to ride it, then?

- Oh, I definitely got to ride it.

But it's just always, always been in
my life.

- And I guess motorbikes have as well?

- Constantly.

My late husband, Tommy,

he was as mad on bikes as well, wasn't
he?

- Yeah. I knew Tom briefly before Beck
did.

- But I met him when I was 16, got
married two years later.

So many ways was similar to our dad.

Just two very, very, you know, clever,
gentle family men.

And he was diagnosed four years ago
with, um, uh, early-onset dementia

at the age of 55.

- Oh, bless you. So sorry.

- Uh, shockingly, um, he died 18
months later.

Uh...

- I mean, that must have been a tough
time to get through.

- It was a very tough time, and...

- It's OK.

- We wouldn't have done it without my
brother.
- No.

- My brother is...my rock.

And for me, I would love, as my way to
say thank you to my brother,

to pay tribute to our wonderful father

and the wonderful father that my
children lost

with the little red bike looking...

..looking something a little bit
happier. A little bit happier.

- Oh, just so many memories and
emotions all wrapped up in there.

- It's all wrapped up in one object.

- What a perfect tribute.
- Yeah, absolutely.
- For two amazing people.

- Absolutely.

- What are you hoping I can do to it?

- Bit of a dust-off, really.
- Yeah.

New chain. It's already got the oil in
it!

- Yeah. There we go!

- THEY LAUGH

- Just to make it look the way that it
looked when Dad sort of,

you know, obviously it's a hand-done
paint job that he did himself.
- Yeah.

- Um, if it looks as good as I hope,
and putting no pressure on you,

you can make it look, um,

it won't be living in the shed or the
garage any more.

It'll be in the house.

But I would very much like to know
that it runs.

- I'm honestly honoured that you've
trusted me with this bike.

I cannot wait to get started. Thank
you.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

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

- My childhood was full of BMXing and
mountain biking.

That has escalated now

into full-size motorbikes that I just
adore.

So it's an absolute dream to be
working on this.

Unfortunately, I don't know where to
even start with the list

of repairs that needs to be done.

I need to assess every single
component.

The engine, something's not right in
there.

Engages on something, but then won't
turn,

so I'm going to have to get inside
there and have a look at that.

The forks, they're bent,
unfortunately.

Someone's had a bit of a collision
with maybe a kerb or something.

Maybe sh**ting too far off of a jump,
no doubt.

I'm just going to work my way through
each component one by one,

until all of the components are
repaired and working,

and then rebuild the whole thing.

- The crumbling ceremonial coat is
still in one piece

while Rebecca gets a measure of how to
tackle the repair.

- How are you doing, Rebecca? How are
you getting on?

- Hello. All right.

I've been doing the documentation,

so I've been measuring it, taking note
of all the damage...
- OK.

- ..and sort of making a plan of what
I'm actually going to do.

- And what are you going to do?

- I'm going to start off by dyeing
some fabric

so that we can put some patch support
behind these areas.
- OK.

- So I'm just trying to find a recipe.

- A recipe?
- A recipe, yeah.

- Of dyeing fabric?
- Of dyeing.

This is my, yeah, my dye recipe.

- Well, don't let me stop you with
your cooking!

I'll leave you to it.
- Thanks very much.

- Recipes identified, Rebecca is busy
concocting her colours.

- Because the coat is over 100 years
old,

it has quite a lot of different greens
throughout the velvet.

This means that I need to dye some
fabric

so that it's colour-matched to the
actual coat.

I'm using a combination of the grey,
the yellow, and the orange dyes

in different variations to make up

our slightly different samples of
green.

I often dye my own material for the
repairs I'm carrying out

because the modern colours are quite
hard.

So when you're working with old
textiles,

you need something that's a bit softer
or a bit dirtier.

So they're just really subtle
differences in these dyes.

But when the fabrics actually dry, it
will look slightly different.

This is looking good at the moment.

Now it's just a case of keeping
stirring and see what happens.

- Oh, is it all working out all right?

- Yeah, I'm having fun, as always.

- Good on you.

- WHIRS

The little red motorbike is
dismantled,

and Dom is going the extra mile to get
its engine working.

- Carburettor, the stator plate - all
of these parts,

I'm looking for cracks, damage, wear,

that may be a reason why this engine
potentially stopped working,

and I have found something majorly
wrong.

This gear, which is the final drive
gear so that all the power

from the engine is transferred through
that shaft,

through this gear to the back wheel.

Two things that I can see quite
clearly that are wrong.

Number one, I'm missing a tooth.

Well, I'm not, but this is!

Worse than that, this tiny little key,
this half-moon piece of metal,

locks the shaft on to this gear.

There's a cut-out in the shaft

and a corresponding cut-out in the
gear.

Unfortunately, this key, it snapped.

It's still in there and there, but
just in two pieces.

Um, so this engine, if I did just get
it running as it was,

that shaft would have been spinning
without the actual gear spinning,

which means the bike wouldn't go
anywhere.

This is where I'll reach for my
notepad

and start a shopping list.

I need to add a new final drive gear
to that, a new key.

Fix that, and who knows what else I'm
going to find

once I get this engine open?

- I've got the samples that I've made
from the dyeing

and they're looking pretty good.

So I'm going to start with this slit
down in this corner.

I need to insert this fabric.

Once that's in place,

I can do some stitching over the area

that'll hold all the splits in place.

This is looking good.

I'm now just going to work my way
along there

and then I can use the same technique
on the other splits.

Do you know what's coming in?

- Yeah.

- Are you going to tell me?

- No.
- Oh, come on!

Give me a hint.

- You will love it.
- OK.
- You will love it.

- Here to put leather expert Suzie
Fletcher out of her misery,

Charlotte Bray from London.

- Hello.
- Hi.

Here's my handbag.

- That's a lovely bag.

Wow!
- Thank you.

- That's fantastic. Where did you get
it from?

- I got it on a family trip to New
York when I was 16.

I got it in a vintage store in
Manhattan.

It's originally from Saks department
store, you know,

which is a really big, kind of, like,
iconic New York shop.
- Yeah.

- It was kind of a trip of a lifetime
for our family.

First-time kind of long-haul with me,
my mum, my two brothers.

And my mum,

she'd always said she really wanted to
go to New York,

like, "Oh, I want to go, I want to
go."

- And what's your mum's name?

- Jane.
- Jane.
- Yeah.

She was a primary school teacher.

She was a single parent. We didn't
have loads of money.

And then she kind of made this final
dedication.

She was like, "Right, we're going to
go. I'm going to save."

She worked really hard for a couple of
years,

saving up so that she could take us,
and made it happen.

So, yeah, it was really, really
meaningful.

- So she was very committed.

- Very.
- You think, you know, single mum with
three children.

- Yeah, very.
- That must have been such a
challenge.

- Hard work for her, yeah.
- Yeah.

- I found a sort of a budget list and
right at the bottom, it said,

"Personal for me, zero."
- Aw, bless her.

- You know, just, like, really such
dedication

to kind of get us all there.
- Aw.

- We had ten days there,

all staying in one room in a youth
hostel,

and we did all of the big tourist
stuff.

It was just such a fun, kind of
no-holds-barred holiday for us.

- Amazing.
- Um, so this really is kind of my
last bit

of memorabilia from that trip.

And Mum passed away in September last
year.

Um...
- Goodness.

- Um, from a brain tumour.

She'd always said that she wanted to
be at home the whole time,

and we did manage to achieve that for
her.

Like, she was at home right until the
very end of her life.

It was almost a bit of an honour to be
allowed to care for her,

to kind of give back to her what she'd
given to us.
- That's lovely.

What was she like as a mum?

- I absolutely adored my mum.

She was really special.

She was a really kind-hearted person.

She encouraged us to kind of find our
own way,

do our own thing, but was always on
hand with good, solid advice.

It's kind of one of the reasons that I
want to get this bag back

in action is because it represents to
me that holiday we had,

good memories of that trip

and kind of how hard my mum worked to
take us.

- So your mum saw this. What did she
think when you bought it?

- Mum was really pleased for me.

You know, it was the first kind of
like grown-up handbag

that I ever had.

She was very much like,

"If it's something that you think
you're going to use, go for it."

And I did use it - a little too much,
maybe!

I used to take it on nights out with
me.

I think I had it over my shoulder and
somebody pushed past me

in a club queue and it got ripped off
my shoulder.
- Mm.

Right.

- I was gutted.
- Yeah.
- I was really upset.

It's been sat in a box for, I mean,
literally 16 years now.

Apart from the obvious chain being
ripped out of the lining,

side seams have kind of been coming
apart.
- Right.

- You can see where I have
unsuccessfully

tried to sew them back up.

I've never done anything to the suede.

I don't think it looks too bad.

- It doesn't. It really doesn't.

- But, you know, a little bit sort of
worn in places.

It'd be really special to have it feel
alive again.

To kind of say like a thank you to
kind of what she did for us, really.

- You don't even have to say it out
loud. You just feel it.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

- Are you ready to take this on,
Suzie?

- Oh, you bet! I think it's going to
be a lot of fun to work on.

- Thank you so much.
- Pleasure.
- See you again.

- Bye.
- Bye-bye.

Really nice.
- Yeah.

- I can't wait to get started.

Love this bag!

It's incredibly simple, the design,

but it has that really classic look.

We've got this obvious damage where
the chain has pulled out

and torn the material here.

And this material is synthetic,

so it's not as strong as an anchor as
the suede would be.

So I'm thinking, "Do I focus on
repairing

"the areas of obvious damage

"or do I reline the whole thing?"

So before I make any hard and fast
decision,

I'm going to start by cleaning the
suede with a piece of towelling.

It lifts the pile up and helps to get
out impurities.

- So where's the best car-boot sale?

- Oh, Sunday just gone, I went to the
best one.

Absolutely massive.

I bought a pair of pliers for £1,

a spanner for 50p.
- Right!

- So much stuff.

- More mid-repair than ready to wear,

the ceremonial coat.

A large hole in its fragile lining
means

textile conservator Rebecca still has
more patching up to do.

- I need to make it strong.

So I'm using this net, which I have
dyed to colour-match

the lighter areas here,

and I'm putting a piece behind this
area of loss

and then another piece on top.

And this way, I can stitch around this
area.

So all of this will be securely held
in place.

By using this method,

I've got, like, this little window on
the past.

It's showing the original
craftsmanship.

It's just there for everybody to see.

OK. So I'm just going to carry on with
my stitching,

um, and I think that's going to work
nicely.

- Having decided to remove all the
inner lining

from the New York handbag,

Suzie is now ready to tackle the
damage

caused by the broken strap.

- Unfortunately, because this damage

on the inside of the flap is so
extensive,

there really isn't much room for me to
be able to repair it,

so I've decided to replace the flap.

I have my new piece of lining material
cut out,

and I just need to glue the stiffening
material into place.

And I'm going to use a PVA,

which, once it dries,

it has the flexibility that you still
need.

If you use a glue that dries hard,

then it can just make it too stiff and
kind of crackly.

So I'm just going to...

..pop this in place.

And I want a nice...flat...

..smooth lining. Keeping that pressure
nice and even.

And then I'm just going to put some
weight on it while it dries.

And I'll be ready to move on to
trimming off the old lining,

ready to seam in the new.

- Is this any good?

- Um...
- The velvet or this stuff?

- Oh, no, I'll take this.

Thank you. Yeah. That's perfect.

- The engine for the little red bike
is still to one side.

I've got all of the components for the
frame here,

but I'm not sure who we're blaming,
Becky or Al,

for bending the forks on this little
bike,

but somebody has had quite a serious
accident.

That is supposed to be straight.

This part of the front forks of the
bike is actually the suspension.

So there's this sort of collar that
slots over,

and basically the wheel would sit at
the bottom of the fork

and there is a spring that fits onto
the top.

And as you launch off of the huge jump
that you've made in the field,

as the wheel hits the floor,

the spring compresses and this collar
needs to slide up and down.

So a bend like that is going to make
the whole system bind up

and not work properly.

All I can really do is use this
hydraulic press

and try and sort of persuade it back
as straight as I can get it.

I'm going to stick some goggles on...

..because, really, anything could
happen now.

Metal has a memory.

It's amazing how if I was just to
release this now,

it would spring back.

So I kind of need to go further than I
dare.

I don't want to make this any worse
than it already is.

So I might release that.

- METAL CREAKS

- Sounds like my knees in the morning!

That's it. OK.

Yeah, look, that's not bad at all.

That's actually really, really good.

Perfect.

All right, let's see if I can get the
other one as straight as this.

- Rebecca's masterful restoration of
the pre-partition ceremonial coat

is nearly all sewn up.

- Very excited.

This is the final stage.

So I'm just going to pin this collar,

and then this will be my last bit of
stitching.

So it's really important to repair the
collar

because it's just going to collapse
back in on itself.

It needs to stand proud,

and it really just sort of finishes
off the coat.

I find sewing a very therapeutic thing
to do.

Your mind can start to sort of drift
away a bit.

I'm going to finish stitching the rest
of this braid down,

and then it'll be ready to give back
to Abid.

- Rebecca.
- Hello.

- Oh, my word!

See, I would wear that.

- THEY LAUGH

- It looks very smart.

Right.
- Great.

- For Abid, this relic from the Raj

is a cherished link to his past life
in India

and that of his distinguished
great-grandfather.

- Hi, there.
- Hello.
- Hello.

Nice to see you again. How are you?

- I'm excited.
- Yeah?
- Good.

- Yes. And nervous.

- Why are you nervous?

- It was in pieces.

Now I'm hoping it won't be in pieces.

- I think we should have a look.
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
- You ready?
- OK.

Thank you very much.
- Yeah? OK.

- INHALES DEEPLY

- You've done...

You've done magic.

I've never seen it in this form.

Thank you.
- Oh, it's my pleasure.

- Honestly, I never imagined it would
be ending up like this.

Wonderful.

- Oh, well, I'm glad you like it.

- I love it! I love it, honestly.

And then... Oh, look at that.
- Yeah.

- Oh.

It's amazing, absolutely amazing.

I'm just going to treasure it.

- Now, I know that you said looking at
this

made you want to live in that time,
live in that era.

Rebecca, can Abid try this on?
- Yeah.
- Yeah?

- Well, thank you.

- OK, so we're going to take it off
and out the back,

and we can come either side of you

and then pop it on the shoulders.

- Oh.
- Oh, wow.
- Oh, yes.

- There you go.

- Look at that. How does it feel?

- Wonderful.

Thank you very much.

I'll take good care of it.

- Give us a turn.

- That is really nice.
- Oh, yeah. Look at that.

- To wear the coat for the first time
was like magic.

Like I'm living the life in that era
where my ancestors were.

Something I always wanted to do.

It was always my dream to connect with
them,

you know, like I'm with them.

- The engine for the little red bike
is coming on really, really well.

I've stripped it completely down,

and most of the major components I've
sent away to be vapour-blasted.

It leaves you with such a pristine,
beautiful, clean finish,

which is what you need inside an
engine.

The main block is back together

and I can now start working on the
next stage.

So I've got a new gear and a new
woodruff key.

You can see it's bigger than the
original one,

because it's now in one piece, and
it's time to install them.

And that...fits in there nicely.

Perfect.

Hopefully now, if I get a pedal...

Away we go. Now, as the engine's
turning, that keyway,

that new woodruff key is doing its job
perfectly.

And now that gear is spinning with it,

which will then drive a chain to drive
the back wheel.

Before, with that snapped-off woodruff
key,

the engine would be spinning, but the
gear would be sitting still.

I just need to now assemble the rest
of it and get the engine bolted back

into the actual bike frame, and try
and start it up.

- Next to arrive at the barn,

entertainer Ron Martin from Dorset.

- Do you believe in magic?
- Oh, I love magic.

- Who's your favourite magician, then?

- Ooh, Paul Daniels, probably.

- Seriously? You're going old-school.

So you don't like David Blaine or
anything like that?

- No. Old-school.

Even just a ball underneath a cup just
amazes me.

- You're a cheap date, ain't you?

- Ron's hoping Will Kirk's woodwork
wizardry

can restore a cherished childhood
favourite.

- Look what I've got for you.

- Oh! What's this?

- This is what they call a sliding die
box.

It's self-working - by that, it's not
sleight of hand or anything.

In this side, there is a dice.

You take the dice and you place it
into the box like that.
- Yeah.

- That shouldn't happen. I mean,
that...
- That's supposed to close.

- Yeah. And it stays shut, you know.

And you make the dice totally vanish.

I can't make it now, the doors have
fallen open

and you can see how it works.
- OK.

Where did you get this from, then?

- My father made it for me, uh, about


- Was he a magician?
- No, he wasn't.

He used to take me to watch magicians,
but he wasn't a magician.

It started when my dad said, "What do
you want for Christmas?"

I said, "Oh, a box of magic tricks."

And he opened the thing.

"Oh, yeah. Wow."

And my dad's gone, "Ronald, do that
again."

And then I'm away.

You know, people will be absolutely
amazed.
- Yeah.

- And I loved that. I joined the
Junior Magic Circle in Hull.

And it's one of those tricks that you
start off with, if you like.

- So what was your dad's name?
- Edward.

It's really amazing.

And he made this and he made some
other props as well.

He made the guillotine, which is
the...
- A guillotine?!

- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- Really?

How old was you when you first
performed with this box?

- Would be 12.

It's a trick that I started to do and
work

and one thing developed to another.

I got to 18 and I was going in the
working men's clubs in Hull,

and somebody said to me,

"You see the guy up there that's doing
those magic tricks?

"Your magic tricks are better than he,
and he gets paid."

- Yeah, yeah.
- I went, "Really?"

So then I auditioned for the Variety
Artistes' Association,

right? And I did this, and this guy
said,

"You're in. Go and work in the clubs
at the weekends."

- What did your dad think about you
getting into magic?

- I think he loved it, really.

But, um, I lost my dad when I was just
coming up to 21.

My father had done everything for us,
and now he wasn't there

and it was me. And my mum knew I was
working in the clubs and things,

and she said to me, "Why don't you go
to Butlins to be a redcoat?"

In those days, being a host, you would
talk to people

and then in the evenings you'd do
shows and things.

- Did you use any of the props your
dad made for you?
- Yeah.

So I was working, and then I got a
phone call from a gentleman,

and he represented Harry Corbett and
Sooty and Sweep,

which was massive.

Massive, you know.
- Yeah.

- He said, "Would you like to be
Sweep?"

He only told me the deal and bingo,
two TV series a year

and we're touring constantly, every
week.

- What did you do as being Sweep?

You just do the puppet? Is that right?

- Yeah. The squeak is here with those
two fingers.
- Yeah.

- And right and left.

- If your dad never made these kind of
props for you,

do you think you would have been so
successful?

- No. Definitely not.

This is why, you know, I owe my dad so
much, really.

- When was the last time you done a
trick with this?

- Years and years ago.
- Yeah?

- It's 61 years old, and it's
absolutely falling apart.

These did used to stay up on their
own.

But I suppose, does the wood shrink?

This could all be changed.

And, you know, I just...

This should be immaculate, shouldn't
it?

So you look at that and you go, "Wow,
what does that do?"

- Well, I'll tell you what, I can't
wait to see this working.

That's what I want to do.
- Good.

- So thank you for bringing it in.
- My pleasure. Honestly, my pleasure.

- Thank you.
- Nice to meet you.
- Yeah. Take care.

Have a super day.
- Thanks a lot.
- Will do.

- See you soon.
- You take care now.

- I absolutely love this magic box.

At the moment, I don't think this does
justice to sort of

the labour that Ron's father put into
making this.

So it'd be really nice to strip off
the paintwork and repaint it.

The metalwork could be shined up, I
think.

And most importantly, these doors flap
open when they shouldn't be.

I'm not too sure how this works, but I
need to make sure everything

opens up when it should do,

so there's a lot here that needs to be
put right

in order for this to work.

I'm going to start off by taking off
the metal.

- Look at this.

- Yeah, it's looking nice, isn't it?

- It is looking very good.

- Actually, while you're here,

can you just put your hands...on the
paper card?

Just hold it in place.

Yeah.
- Like that?

- And just move your fingers out of
the way.
- OK.

- So I can get to that hole.

- THEY CHUCKLE

The little red motorbike's revamp is
nearing the finish line.

But before Dom fires up its engine,

he spotted an all-important detail
that he wants to recreate.

- I've had this picture on my desk for
most of the time

whilst I've been working on it

to make sure I can try and get all the
details nice and accurate.

The racing number on the front used to
be a number seven.

Someone's painted over it and painted
a number four.

I have no idea why, but who am I to
question it?

I'm just going to replicate that.

That's what this is all about -

taking Becky and Al back to their
childhood, those happy days.

They remember racing around the fields
on this bike.

Perfect.

That looks good. I'm pleased!

That is just the finishing touch that
it needed.

I'm so close to that test drive.

I can't wait.

- How are you doing, Dom?
- Oh, Jay.

- That looks smart.
- It's cool, isn't it?

I'm literally bolting the last few
pieces on.

- Well, listen, I see you've got your
helmet.

That means you're ready to rock and
roll.

- Do you mind giving me a push?
- Yeah.

- I'm not sure my knees can bend up
that far!
- I don't think you can.

Three, two, one.
- Don't let me fall!

- Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's
go.
- Go on, go on, go on.

Keep going, keep going!

- ENGINE WHIRS

- Go on, my son!

- THEY LAUGH

- Perfect, perfect.

- Right.
- Turn him off.

- That is so much fun.
- I know.

- Oh, brilliant.
- I thought I couldn't get you off it.

- No, I fancy a couple more laps!

- Well, listen, we've got to get down
to the barn.

They're coming to pick it up in a
minute.

- Oh, do we have to?
- Yes.

Come on, come on.

- All right, come on, then, Jay.

- Restoring this mini motorcycle is a
tribute to three men -

the beloved father who built it,

Al, the brother who rode it,

and Becky's much-missed husband

who shared the family's love of
motorbikes.

- Hello.
- Hi.
- Hiya.

- How are we doing?
- Good to see you again.
- Not too bad, thank you.

- What are you hoping is underneath
there?

- Something that says Dad's skill and
Dad's love.

Uh, for me personally, this is my
thank you to my brother.
- Yeah.

- Uh, in memory of another wonderful
motorcycle fan that we lost.

- Special bike, isn't it?
- Yeah.

- Do you want to take a look?
- Yes, please.
- Yeah.

- Come on, then.

- Oh, my God!
- Wow!

- Look at that!

It's got the four on it.

And it's even got the seven that he
crossed out.

- Oh, that's so clever.

- It's brilliant.
- Thank you.

- Oh, look at it.

- Dad would be so proud of the man
that you are

and how you look after us.

And this is...

- Wow, that...
- DOM: What a lovely thing to say.

- It's beautiful.
- Thank you. Thank you.

This just... Thank you so much.

It's just beautiful.

- And where's it going now, then?

- It's going in my tea room next to
the telly.

- I know it's going to be indoors,
looked at and enjoyed,

but just so it's nice for you to know,

the whole engine I've completely
rebuilt from the ground up.

- I tell you what, I can't thank you
enough for bringing

this in because this has made this
young man so happy.

- Thank you, it's been lovely to meet
you both.

- Thank you so much.
- Enjoy it.
- Thank you.

- Brilliant. Come on, Jay.

- Fantastic. It's kept all of its
original character.

As I get older, I'm very...

I like my nostalgia

and the bike's a big part of that.

A thing that I can look at and think
of people.

So to sort of see it brought back to
life is just fantastic.

- I was thinking about Dad

and thinking about my husband.

It symbolises family.

It symbolises love.

I've removed the metal parts from the
front of the magic box,

and now I'm preparing to strip all the
old paintwork off.

I find, most of the time,

using paint stripper is sort of the
least

invasive way of doing things.

Whereas if I sanded this through the
paint,

there's a chance I could go through
that veneer underneath.

But also, I think that the doors might
be flapping open

because I don't know if the wood has
shrunk over time

and they're sort of flicking out.

If I sand it around the doors now,

I'm going to reduce the wood even
more,

and there's no chance of them going
back into place.

So using the paint stripper is
definitely the best method

to remove the old paint.

I'm using quite a stiff bristle brush
here.

And the reason for that is...

..once the stripper has softened the
paint,

it also needs brute force to really
break it off of the surface.

Look at that.

So satisfying.

I'm going to carry on with the same
technique

with the rest of the box and the
doors,

and then I can prime this ready for
painting.

I've now primed all the wood with
white wood primer.

I'm going to start lifting this white,
dull piece of wood

with some gorgeous red paint.

I need this to be very shiny and very
glossy-looking.

I can imagine Ron as a teenager
looking at this and having

that sort of real fresh intrigue into
magic

and the start of his magic career.

Even this one thin first coat of red

is making the box look quite magical.

- Leather it-girl Suzie is bringing
the bling back

to the New York handbag.

- I've got this new flap sewn in
position and it looks really good.

It feels really solid and secure.

And I'm now attaching the chain to the
bag.

This was part of the bag that was
really damaged.

And what I've done here, with the
materials that I've used,

I'm really confident that it can
withstand the wear and tear

that Charlotte's going to be putting
it through.

So bend it all in place.

There we go.

That's those pins nice and securely in
place.

I'm now turning my attention to the
seams where Charlotte

had actually tried to repair them
herself.

We can see it's pulling apart.

And also,

the leather's actually torn there.

I'm going to put some reinforcing
leather on

just to strengthen that area.

Um, and when I get to sew that seam,

I'll have every confidence

that I can actually pull the thread up
quite tight

and it's not going to break open.

That's nicely glued into place.

And now I can just start resewing that
seam

and getting that strength back in.

- Take care now.
- Thank you.
- All right.

Yeah. I fancy one of these in my
house.
- Oh!

Give me a shout and I'll make one for
you.

- The glossy sheen has been restored
to Ron's magic box,

and Will is conjuring up a
show-stopping idea.

- I'm about to add some detail onto
the fronts of the doors.

I'm applying a sort of template here.

Now, the doors were originally painted
with gold paint,

but it never really, truly looks like
gold.

It ends up being quite dull.

And I thought to add some gold leaf to
the surface

would really make it look quite the
part.

I'm applying an adhesive called gold
size or metal size,

and when that starts to go tacky,

it's ready then to add the gold leaf.

This needs to look like a real
professional job

for a professional magician.

You just rub your finger on the back

and it lightly presses the gold onto
that adhesive.

Right, here we go.

And just like that...

Ha-ha! Magic.

Well, I've finished gilding the fronts
of the panels.

When Ron came in to see me,

the doors were flapping all over the
place

and that's a big problem in magic.

I mean, you don't want things to be
revealed

before they're supposed to be
revealed.

So I'm hoping that now that I've
painted them,

that extra layer of paint going around
the outside

should close up any of that gap that
runs where the door sits.

Right. All the doors are on now,

and I'm hoping they should stay up
without any additional bits of wood.

Look at that.

Not flapping anywhere.

These are firmly in place.

I cannot wait to see this in action.

- Almost homeward-bound, the New York
handbag.

Suzie has strengthened and repaired
the splitting side seams,

and the revitalised lining is securely
sewn in place.

- I'm now focusing on just making the
outside look really nice and tidy.

And I noticed that there's this one
section here

where the fibres of the suede are
really quite long,

so I'm going to trim these down using
a shaver.

I'd like to say that this is a very
special suede shaver,

but it's not.

It's just your regular beard trimmer!

But you know what? If the tool works,
use it.

You see, those fibres are just pinging
off, which is great.

This has been a wonderful bag to work
on.

Um...

I really hope, now that Charlotte's
able to use it,

it'll just remind her of that fabulous
trip

with her mum to New York

and bring back all those happy
memories.

- This vintage shoulder bag is a
tangible reminder

of a once-in-a-lifetime holiday

and the remarkable mother behind this
adventure.

Now Charlotte's returned to reclaim
it.

- You happy?

- Yes, I'm very happy.

- Good.

- Hello.
- Hi.

- Nice to see you again.
- And you. Hello.

I'm really excited to see what's been
done with it, actually.

- Are you ready to see it?
- I think so.

- OK. Here we go.

- Oh, wow!

It looks so beautiful.

Can I open it?
- Yeah.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.

- Oh, wow!

Oh, you've done such an amazing job.

Thank you so much.

Oh, wow.

It's so amazing to have it back so
seamless.

I mean, this was really, really ripped
up.

Honestly, I love it.

I love it again.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.

- It's stunning.

It just, like, screams New York.

Like, I think if you asked me or
either of my brothers, we'd say,

like, number one trip we've ever been
on.

And, like, the hard work that went
into taking us there was just

like... It was a really, really
special family holiday.
- Perfect.

- Um, so, yeah, to have it back is
just amazing.

I'm just desperate to get it out and
about as soon as possible.

I'm going away this weekend. Maybe
I'll use it then!

- She's going away the weekend. Got to
let her go, innit?

- Yeah, absolutely.

- Let me take it away with me. Thank
you, guys.

- Looks very nice.
- Thank you so much.

- You too. You take care now.
- Bye-bye.

- Oh, bless her.
- Doesn't that look good?

- It does look really good.
- Yeah, yeah.

- It looks absolutely beautiful.

Like, I can't stop touching it because
it feels amazing as well.

I'm always going to think of my mum
when I look at it.

We were really, really close.

I just think she would have been
really pleased to see

where it is now, and that I'm still
able to use it and love it.

- Well, I'm at the final stage of
cleaning up Ron's magic box.

The handle itself is quite tarnished,

so I'm cleaning away the surface dirt
with some soft steel wool here

and giving it a nice shine and lustre.

Once I've finished buffing this up,

I can then get this and the knobs onto
the box

ready for Ron to pick up,

and hopefully Ron's going to show me
the magic.

- This magic box was handcrafted by a
loving father

to foster the talent of a young
magician in the making.

Now Ron's back, hoping to see it take
centre stage once again.

- Ron.
- Hello.

How are you?
- Lovely to see you again, sir.

- Ooh...
- Very excited.

- How are you, Will? Nice to see you.
- Nice to see you, too.

- Wow. Um...

- Are you ready to see?

- Well... Yeah, go on.

- Yeah?
- Yeah.

Oh, Will!

Oh!

Wow. That's incredible.

That looks brand-new.

Oh, wow.

Oh, God! I don't...

Right, I might be a magician, right?

But honestly, Will, honestly, you're a
wizard!

- Oh, bless you!

- I mean, wow, just look at this.

This is...

Oh, crikey.

The doors...

Oh.

- WILL CHUCKLES

- No more flapping doors.

- No! That's absolutely fabulous.

Oh, honestly, if my dad was here now,
you know,

he didn't actually see my success, but
this was the start of it.

- Yeah.
- The sliding die box.

Will, thank you.

- A pleasure.

Now, Ron, just before you go,

I'd love to see a bit of magic,
please.

- Yes. OK. Here is the dice.

Take the dice out of here.

There is the dice.

And there are two compartments.
- Right.

- And I put the dice in this side over
here like that.

Close the back door, close the front
door.

Close the front door, close the back
door.

Now, where, Will, which side is the
dice?

- OK, the dice is on that side.

- No, it's not, sir.

It's gone.

I'm going to show you.

- Hold on.
- Totally vanished.

Right?

You're thinking, "Where is the dice?"

You're not going to believe it. Have a
look in the box.

- What? No way!
- Yeah.

- Really? How did you do that?

- Magic.

Oh, thank you.

Thank you.

- Ron, it's been an absolute pleasure.

But I'd love to be your assistant, and
I'll get the door for you.

- Thank you very much. There's no
money in it, but thanks.

- WILL LAUGHS

- Thanks, Will.
- That's all right, Ron.

- Have a good day.
- Thanks a lot.

- When I look at the box now,

I can picture standing in front of a
thousand children,

all screaming at me, telling me that
it was sliding from side to side.

I mean, that was the start of my
career.

That was the start of everything.

A little box doing a magic trick.

Just wonderful, wonderful.

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

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

..and join us in the Repair Shop.