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Christmas 2025
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00:00They can't wait, I bet.
00:02In the repair shop this Christmas,
00:04from a poorly reindeer...
00:06He looks like he's gonna be trouble, I can see it in his eye.
00:09...to a unique book of carols.
00:11This is disintegrating in our hands.
00:13...some challenging festive fixes.
00:16If I've got this even half a millimetre out, the player will feel it.
00:19Even a millimetre out?
00:20Oh, even quarter of a millimetre.
00:22Really?
00:23And there are stars shining brightly for good causes.
00:26Look at this.
00:27Dame Helen Mirren visits the barn.
00:30Oh my goodness!
00:32What an iconic place to find myself.
00:34And Rob Brydon forms a double act...
00:37...with beloved author Julia Donaldson.
00:40We would play exciting adventures where one of the zoo animals invaded the farm.
00:46And there's time for the swift half.
00:49Hello everyone, welcome to the hammer and spanner.
00:52Before unwrapping the gifts...
00:54I want to see the red nose.
00:56...that means so much.
00:58Can I peek up under the...
00:59Under the sky?
01:00No peeking!
01:01No peeking!
01:02...
01:08We've walked a long way Julia, across fields...
01:12...over hedges...
01:13...the way you left that last hedge, by the way...
01:14...I thought was very impressive.
01:15we've walked a long way julia across fields over hedges the way you left that last hedge by the
01:23way i thought was very impressive first to arrive at the barn gruffalo creator julia
01:29donaldson it's the 13th christmas how books have been turned into animations
01:35and rob bryden has been a key voice in every one look at this hello hello welcome merry christmas
01:43merry christmas we've walked a long way it's such an honor to have you both here we are huge fans of
01:52your books and me having two children we read all of them thanks so much now this looks well loved
02:01shall we say it was my granny's and so this was what my sister mary and i played with when we were little
02:08girls sometimes some of the farm animals would escape through a gap in the fields and i think
02:14we had some zoo animals too so sometimes we would play exciting adventures where one of the farm
02:20animals during the zoo or one of the zoo animals invaded do you think that this helped to encourage
02:27you to write those fantastic books yeah i think it probably was at the root of some of my books books
02:33like what the lady bird had which is set on a farm and now this christmas is the scarecrow's
02:39wedding animation which rob has a real star role and that all takes place on a farm now i play uh
02:46reginald rake the rather caddish scarecrow that comes in total count well all right i was giving
02:54him the benefit of the doubt he's an absolute cad who comes in and threatens the happiness of betty and
03:01harry the finest marshmallows and make no mistake no one can toast them like reginald rake i mean the
03:12first one was the gruffalo and um yeah it has become a part of the christmas tradition yeah i've been in
03:18all of them rob so loyal you know because even if he's just what's the smallest well the the cat
03:25in room on the broom all i did was go and yet i still imbue it with the professionalism and the
03:33discipline that i bring to all my roles well what do you love about julia's characters there's a clarity
03:39to them they connect with you straight away the pictures of course are oh wow yes of course well
03:45axel scheffler who's done loads of julia's uh illustrations has such a distinctive style
03:52that pulls you into the story beautifully but it all comes down to the imagination and that sort of
03:57ties into this really you know having a little farm and your zoo animals and things like that
04:03how vibrant were the colors when you first received it when you were a child the roof
04:08was this kind of maroon because it wasn't like scarlet or anything i've had it on display and i did get
04:13the roof quite crudely oh i thought you just ripped that off it does come off well the door handles
04:19come off here it all needs some paint now julia if we can restore this for you what's the plan for it
04:26well i live quite near a children's hospice called chestnut tree house i've quite often visited and
04:32done little acted out the stories with the children and especially with the brothers and sisters of some
04:38of the old children it's really nice for them to have something to play with so i'd like to donate
04:43the restored farmhouse and especially if there were some extra animals and fences as well i think we
04:49can manage that well you know what would be nice you could have a little gruffalo a snail a whale you
04:54could have a highway rat it might be a bit difficult there to make them on the right scale i suppose there's
05:00nothing that these people not him but there's nothing these people can't do it's been absolutely
05:08wonderful to meet you thanks very much bye bye bye bye right back out into the cold
05:16weren't they lovely and this is absolutely charming but it's looking rather tired isn't it these doorknobs
05:23probably not so safe for children to be playing with so i might work out somewhere opening up the doors
05:28and maybe some shutters on the window there i think i'm gonna do a little bit of tidying up and
05:33retouching perfect the barn's next visitor has already arrived taking a much needed break from his
05:43delivery duties wow look at that reindeer at christmas it is wow it's very realistic there's a fire service
05:52badge on the back here what is a reindeer doing with a fire service badge i don't know well i guess
05:57we'll find out bringing answers and a second helping of good cheer to the barn hello hello
06:05firefighters jerry ascombe and darren weston from leicestershire hi welcome and merry christmas
06:14please explain so this is rudolph of course yeah yeah rudolph belongs to leicestershire fire and rescue
06:21service and we use him every christmas to raise money for local children's charities we'll walk around with
06:27rudolph who's pulling santa on a sleigh supported by a fire engine or two typically and as we walk
06:33down the streets the residents come out and give us a loose change and donations and where does the money
06:38go that you raise so every year we raise about 10 000 pounds for um local children's currencies
06:43typically 10 000 pounds 10 000 pounds yeah wow well that's incredible where did this all start so it
06:50started in 1949 they set up the rudolph fund and that reindeer ran right up until 1978 when it started
06:57falling to pieces and we got this one and the then committee approached this firm that did stuff for
07:03film sets and said could you build us an animated reindeer to replace the one we've got and they did
07:09so he moves he moves yeah he doesn't walk but no way nods his head does this blinks his eyes people
07:17were just amazed because back in the 70s that that was pretty spectacular now it's a big part of the
07:22christmas culture in leicester really but the real problem we've got is rudolph's looking really tired
07:26and old now his mouth is supposed to chew and a lot of them actions aren't working his nose lights up as
07:33well but it doesn't oh really it's got of course rudolph's a red nose there's a ball in there so we
07:38need to do some some major surgery yeah but also his first quite matted and dull looking the fur on
07:45his ears is different to the fur on his head and we've got the leather work around his neck that would
07:49have been bright red and really shiny at one point ah right that's interesting god there is quite a list
07:54there's quite a lot to do it would be devastating to think it failed on your watch it would yeah it would
07:59i think that that would be my biggest fear is that he falls into such bad disrepair that he's no
08:04longer usable and then we one we lose tradition but more importantly all those children that
08:08benefited don't get that money coming in we can't let that happen not on your watch not on mine
08:12quite literally well we'll do the best we can thanks for taking him on yeah see you soon
08:18he looks like he's going to be trouble i can see it in his eye look this is going to be a job
08:23i'm going to go and get some help david brenton oh here they are perfect can you give us a hand
08:28yeah yeah brenton can you steer yeah i'll try aim for over there somewhere okay brilliant here we
08:33go i feel like rudolph's gonna go wherever he wants i think so will is setting to work on julia
08:43donaldson's farmhouse and the experts have a clear brief for the tiny characters who go with it
08:51but with rudolph there are lots of unknowns i'm kind of intrigued as to what we're going to find inside
08:57here what do you think berth i reckon it's full of mechanical wiggly bits oh there we go oh this
09:05is that's actually a lever right what does that do though hang on what this one back and forwards
09:10oh am i moving hey look i'm moving his head that turns his head there's some wires cut in here so
09:17that's not a good sign a lot of mechanical bits are just just worn out let's see if i can get into the
09:22head good luck thank you yeah i don't need you moving around it's all very funny i've got a
09:31feeling i wouldn't be a very good apprentice for you steve you drive me mad well there's a lot of
09:39mechanisms in here as well there is a huge amount to get done but i'm confident between us we can all
09:44pull together okay we'll get it ready for christmas yeah absolutely brilliant all right let me just
09:49see if i can get to these bolts then there we go that's it you got it steve yes i have
10:00will has made new doorknobs for the toy farmers oh look at that it looks like a little toad stool
10:07and he's been mudding over some replacement shutters i've got a couple of different designs i could go
10:12for one would be a kind of modern staggered slatter shutter but really i mean this is it's like a
10:20simple farmhouse for like a child it's not over complicated i'm quite sure i've seen some farmhouses
10:26some really old ones with this kind of design here i think that's kind of what i'm gonna go for
10:30i just hope that i've got enough space in that very small window frame to make this look absolutely
10:35spot on design ideas are also key to making 3d versions of the characters who populate the farm
10:49i'm making a whale and rather than making out of silver which what i would normally do i'm going to
10:55try some polymer clay i'm challenging myself using a different material having looked at these lovely
11:03children's books i can't wait till my grandson is old enough for me to be able to read these stories
11:09to him arriving at the barn with memories of adventures in a winter wonderland
11:21ean and kate mackenzie and daughter april from carrick fergus in northern ireland hello hi there
11:28hello folks welcome look at this very nice wow oh this is incredible it is i've had it 60 years
11:39but it was 40 years old when i got it so this is almost 100 years old wow it's called a flexible
11:46flower this particular one was made in 1928 and only made this version for one year so it's quite
11:52a rare one where did you get it then 1963 i was nine ten it was a gift from my brother who got it
12:00from a family who no longer had a use for it i was the envy of all the friends and kids in the street
12:07i bet did you use it a lot then oh that year when you were nine ten years old that was a year of the
12:12big freeze it snowed from just before christmas right through january february three months of snow
12:20three months and the drifts were like six feet wow i just spent every day on the sledge you must
12:27have some great memories of those times yeah the actual main damage at the front was myself and two
12:33friends on it and there was a big tuft of snow which i thought was just a bit of sage grass covered
12:39in snow and it turned out it was a large boulder oh no and the front of the sledge this has been
12:46straightened out but that was you can see this is all bent here yeah well i've had lots of accidents
12:50this one here i was a great repair as you can see a friend he was holding us and it snapped
12:57is that your handiwork it's very good done a long time ago kate what's your earliest memory of the
13:03sledge we had been going out together for a while and he said would you like to have a go on a sledge
13:09and i says oh yeah and then there was a hill that was nearly vertical oh no i was so frightened and
13:15this is whilst you were still getting to know each other yes i love that how long have you both
13:19been together for 50 years how many children do you have nine they all had their turn on it i remember
13:26my second child was about three years of age she had a little santa suit on and pulling around the
13:32street all the local kids chasing after us there could be santa one of my earliest memories would
13:38probably be going to school on it and then more recent my own children being on it they love it
13:45absolutely love it and getting pulled along by their granda and 14 grandchildren 14 grandchildren
13:51they all have to have this so when did you stop using it then yourself oh 20 years ago i was lying
13:57down down on my belly i had a great time oh if you could have anything you want what would this
14:05look like the way it was today i got it all this paint paint it over you know make it good looking again
14:12i can understand i'll never be the way it was but it'd be nice to see it gleaming again and looking
14:20how you remember yeah as a nine-year-old kid
14:22yeah we are going to have so much fun working on this thank you very much thank you thank you we'll
14:29see you soon bye-bye thank you bye-bye i absolutely love this it's amazing isn't it yeah he does want
14:38it looking a bit smarter than it currently does let me take this outside i'll get it stripped down
14:42and bring the wood back into you lovely okay
14:57determined to get rudolph back to full fitness the barn team has set to work with gustro
15:03while dom strengthens the battered chassis that supports him
15:07david's mechanical expertise is focused on how best to fix his inner workings i'm now having a look
15:16at rudolph's head and neck mechanism this is really what gives him his character you've got an electric
15:23motor and this drives a belt onto a big pulley the pulley then drives a shaft which has got cam wheels on
15:32so the cams they're basically like little hills and valleys on a disc and then you've got this lever
15:39so as you get a hill comes along that moves away and then when the valley comes along it moves back again
15:45and then this particular one this actually moves his head up and down these cams are made out of a
15:52type of plastic and it looks like they're warped basically where they run on this little lever they
16:00could slip down the side and then that lever could then get jammed that would then cause the motor to
16:07stall so i think basically what i've got to do take it all to pieces and then get all of that nice and
16:14sturdy straightened out so that we can guarantee that he's going to run for many many years to come
16:30i'm making a new bridle with reins for rudolph and uh chosen this really bright red color so that
16:38once he's all dressed up it's really going to stand out so i've got a fair amount of sewing to do here
16:44but once the bridle and the reins are completed i can turn my attention to the red collar here that
16:49need some work as well next at the barn acting royalty academy award winner dame helen mill
17:07she has a little known story of resilience from wartime germany to put center stage
17:12oh my goodness this is beautiful oh my god it's exactly the same as it is on the tv
17:24what an iconic place to find myself welcome to the bar thank you it's sort of a lot of people's
17:30dream to be here so thank you so much for having me how lucky are we i know i know but how can we help
17:37well got a big challenge for you interesting well i work with a residential home called denville hall
17:44that specializes in people from the performing arts so musicians actors directors producers
17:53people in front of the camera people behind the camera so you can imagine the stories that get told
17:59and that is what i bring to you today is one of those incredible stories so one of the supporters of
18:05denville hall was a man called martin landau and he was a theater producer he worked in his whole
18:11life in the theater but martin had the most incredible story martin was on a kinder transport
18:17at the age of 14 children were put on these trains by their parents to escape the nazis and they came to
18:24england and obviously little kid you can't carry much with you but the one thing he wanted to bring
18:31with him was his cello he brought it with him so he brought it must have been as big as he can you
18:36imagine this kid on this train yeah with a little bag and this huge cello says how much it means to
18:42him absolutely there's a movie in there i think i think you know the the image of that young boy and
18:48the moment of having to say goodbye to his parents at that point not knowing that he would never see them
18:54again but we know that he would never see them again but before he got on the train the nazis who
19:00were you know bullying everyone getting on the trains broke the cello cruelly deliberately
19:07monstrously just broken oh nonetheless he held on to his cello and loved it and he had it for the rest
19:13of his life and when uh martin died he left it to denville hall and that is what i would love you to
19:21restore so what's the plan if we're able to get it repaired well this beautiful instrument hasn't sung
19:27for 80 years wow so we're really hoping that this christmas it will be heard again it will be singing
19:33to the residents of denville hall there is no one that doesn't enjoy a good old sing-song or just
19:39quietly sitting in the corner listening to some beautiful music so where is it well it was a little
19:45too big for me to carry so if it's okay i'll have it delivered to you would that be okay that sounds
19:51perfect thank you so much we're all incredibly excited thank you you're welcome thank you thank
19:56you everyone bye bye oh it's snowing
20:02will is making quick work of reviving the wooden slats on the old sledge
20:20but dom is faced with a trickier task as he starts on the metalwork it's not good news unfortunately
20:27these two bars that run to the front of the rails they are both completely different shapes
20:33and they're supposed to be the same i've clamped the two runners together and even these are completely
20:39different shapes the ends are way off i think all these years of ian being such a daredevil
20:46have taken their toll on this sledge it's bent and twisted things i need to straighten everything out
20:51and get it back where it should be because i've got lots of holes which need to line up and at the
20:56moment this one lines up quite nicely but this side is just so far off so i've got some bending to do
21:07so i'm using the rail that i know is good and is the right shape to draw around on the bench as a reference
21:13as i try and bend the other rail to match that line so i need to clamp it in the vice heat it up
21:23and try and bend this front section back round until it lines up with that white line
21:43it's looking pretty good once i've got all these pieces straightened up i can start thinking about
21:54stripping this paint
22:00work on rudolph is also galloping along while david coaxes his warped plastic cams back to perfect
22:10flatness amanda is starting an upgrade to his tatty old ears so i've got two types of fur that i'm
22:17working with here this piece of fur has come off of rudolph but i've also got this lovely new fur which
22:24is also going to be a part of his ears it's all got to blend through and look seamless like he
22:29has always had it so the first thing i'm going to do is to decide which piece to use this one is
22:37original so there's a couple of little holes and things here so i don't really want to go for those
22:41i think it's going to come from over here so i'm going to start drawing my template onto the back
22:52i'm working on this part of the mechanism that does the chewing motion of the bottom jaw
22:57like that something like that anyway there's a little cam on this shaft which runs onto a micro
23:07switch and just turns it off and on and that's connected to a light and that makes rudolph's nose
23:14glow red in the dark so this hasn't been working not only were the the wires not connected to the motor
23:22but also this shaft was bent so that when this turned around the jaw went up too high and would
23:28get locked so what i've done is i've straightened that up right i'm just going to pop the jaw on
23:36see if it all works
23:37i think that's a sort of chewy motion i'm just going to put on the new micro switch
23:51and make sure that the light's going to work when i was in the fire service we would have
23:56uh the children's christmas party and father christmas would come along but uh
24:02not on a sleigh he would come on a an old vintage fire engine right that's connected
24:12pop these connectors on and uh it should all work
24:23that's working so well that's brilliant
24:25will has turned his attention to the handrails of the old sledge one is made out of pine and
24:36one's made out of ash originally this would all have been ash he's done a pretty good job at
24:40replacing it but it kind of sticks out like a sore thumb now i thought it'd be really nice to
24:45replace that with ash because he really wants this to look much like it did when he first got it as a
24:50child i've sourced a new piece of ash here it's quite angular because it's just been cut the original
24:56has this slightly rounded off profile on the top and i think that kind of makes it a lot better to
25:01hold on to i'm going to use my hand plane to try to recreate this lovely curved edge onto that new section
25:07i've got all of the meta work for the sledge stripped down straightened primed and ready for
25:23its first coat of this beautiful shiny red and i've managed to find the original color the very first
25:30layer of paint on this metal work which i've matched it's looking good
25:37renovation of julia donaldson's toy farmhouse has passed to kirsten i'm now just starting to
25:45fill any areas of loss i'm using a wood filler here in a way the way that this has been made it's
25:52quite rustic that's quite helpful because some of the areas that have been damaged and broken
25:59i can fill and i can leave the filler with quite a rough finish
26:12it's taken many talents rather than hay and carrots to revive rudolph but now he's almost ready
26:19for festive duties he's a bit of a lump he's a bit of a lump oh three guys look at him thanks for the help
26:30he's made it through the blizzard he has and oh oh that's his new neck piece oh fantastic and
26:44brilliant is that how they work very very good you've been having too much fun in the bar
26:47i know i know how are you guys getting on actually quite well so we can leave you to it to put it
26:54together it sounds like it that's all yours thank you thank you bye okay should we try and get him
27:00back on his base absolutely after 46 years of fundraising and bringing christmas magic to
27:07leicestershire rudolph's joints were aching and immobile his fur matted and his nose not even remotely
27:16shiny or red he's huge isn't he absolutely several generations from the county are relying on the barn
27:24team to recreate the magic and get rudolph slaying again for good causes goodness me the sounds of him
27:33hello down hi you okay jerry hi who have you got with us today so these are some of the uh children
27:40that come from wishes for kids these are benefits from some of the charities that we link up with
27:45and uh we've brought them down to see rudolph today are you all excited to see what what we've been able
27:50to do really excited yeah we're really excited it was more exciting yeah so i saw him when he was brand
27:58new and if you've been able to get him anywhere close to what he looked like then i think that would
28:03be fantastic which i will say is quite a big ask i'm so hopeful that we can get him back and look in his
28:09best okay everyone are you ready to see rudolph we're ready we're ready we're really ready let's do it
28:30oh oh that's good that's amazing yeah that's good look at that that's taking me right back to 1979
28:39i had no idea it was going to look so realistic again the fur looks great doesn't it please feel
28:45free come in and have a look can we have a yeah come around this side let's have a look oh they've
28:49done on the harness as well yeah i've never seen them bells shine like that so we've repaired the
28:54ears as well new ears yes look at those look at the ears really appreciate it nice to see it
28:59it looks amazing job amazing this really has been a huge team effort well do you know what in the far
29:06surface we're really used to working as a team so to see that teamwork replicated with the the care
29:11they've put into rudolph it is great and that will really resonate through the service i think
29:14well you haven't seen everything yet i want to see the red nose should we dim the lights so you can have
29:19a proper look oh yes this is just what he used to do i mean you take your wall to take it all in yeah
29:41we just want to say thank you it means a huge amount to us well it's yours to take away are we okay to
29:45drive it absolutely let's give it a go we should get the doors yeah okay
30:02well that's a first for us isn't it yeah i'm not sure the next time we're going to fix rudolph no no
30:19well done right who knows what's coming next
30:21rudolph's back in action but the christmas creations for julia are still a work in progress
30:36well i'm carving the gruffalo which is one of the most well-known characters from julius burks
30:42i think he looks quite charming
30:44and the vandalized cello which dame helen mirn hopes can be played again has been delivered
30:54it's a task for stringed instrument restorer becky horton this is such a gorgeous instrument i feel so
31:02sad that it's been brutalized in this fashion it just breaks my heart and the fact that martin kept it
31:10all these years it must have been so special to him because who keeps a cello that's in two parts
31:15like this already i can hear the sound post is loose there's cracks all over the place this is
31:22a particularly nasty one in the ribs the most obvious area of damage is the fact that the neck
31:27is out of the body of the instrument this is never good and it's in a real mess so i have to work out
31:34a way of putting everything back where it belongs fitting the net back in and getting this cello
31:40playable again the first thing i'm going to have to do though is remove the front so i can see what's
31:44going on inside what i don't want to do is splinter out any more of this very dry old front
31:54usually you do not want to hear cracking noises but when it's glue it's a different sort of noise
31:59and that's what i'm after i can just feel this seems starting to give now so far so good
32:13hailing from sheffield andrew and his wife emily with a challenge for chris shaw's book binding
32:20skills merry christmas merry christmas what have you brought that looks rather well loved
32:28certainly is that's well used it is it's a carol book that's been used by our family for over 40
32:35years now wow yeah so this book was originally my granddad's he only lived a street away from where
32:42i grew up as well so um we were we were very close he passed this on for me when i was really learning
32:48how to play my first organ probably to accompany him singing but he loved it
32:56it's full of local christmas carols that we play in pubs in and around the north of sheffield all
33:04through the christmas period north sheffield has a 200 year old tradition of carols that are unique
33:12to the area being sung by locals in their pubs the gatherings are known as sings why are they sung in pubs
33:20that comes back from the victorian area where the carols were sent to be too extravagant to be sung
33:26in churches and people still wanted somewhere to sing so they brought their songs and their carols
33:31into the local pubs wow that's where it's evolved yes into a real tradition it's a feeling of community
33:38and family and belonging and i wouldn't be anywhere else on a sunday in december a lot of the christmas songs
33:45are probably recognized words but all the villagers will have adapted their own tunes to the songs
33:53and this book is the book that i've used for every sing that i've played for for 28 years now i'm having
34:01to run in from one pub to the next and it's folded up in my back pocket and you can tell
34:08it's got knocked off the organ while i'm playing and yeah it's had a life of all of its own i thought
34:13this is disintegrating in our hands and is there any way that we can restore it stop it getting
34:21any worse not to be a museum item and not to collect dust to be used this christmas and the
34:26next 20 30 40 years as well i'll give it my best shot that would be brilliant thank you so much bye
34:33bye thank you
34:37well chris this is fantastic is it not it's amazing let me know when it's ready and i'll come
34:42along for a sing-along that's a date brenton that's amazing thank you you've got two snails there yeah
34:53i'm just working on the tail okay the tail of the whale to scale not quite i've got this little tiny
35:01snail and we've got the big one there so you can see what it's meant to look like absolutely love it
35:07you're so clever thank you andrew has really used this book almost to death it's at a point where
35:21the front covers are at a stage where they could totally collapse the amazing thing and hats off to
35:28andrew he's kept all the bits but it is in a bit of a sorry state pages need to be ironed it needs to
35:37be flattened and i've got to think of a cover for the outside but the first thing i need to do is remove
35:44the staples they sort of corrode and eventually that will eat through the paper now i can dismantle
35:53the book and iron these pages flat
36:05trikey do you recognize any of these there are a few but on the whole it's a mystery to me
36:12oh i know deck the halls how's that go oh oh yeah i've got such a lovely voice will
36:19well it's usually after a few mild wines that's when i really kind of get into the swing of things
36:23do you have a favorite carol i do will i don't know what it's called but it goes a bit like this
36:28and feel free to join in if you want oh
36:49now she has access to the interior of the cello becky can begin repairing the many cracks in its body
36:59i've heated up my bending iron and the water bubbling on the top tells me it's really hot
37:04i'm going to use it to bend this little bit of wood that i'm going to use as a stud for this big
37:09area of cracking on the rib of the cello i'm going to get it really wet and i'm going to steam bend this
37:15lovely thin bit of maple
37:21i am feeling pretty anxious about this because it's so important this doesn't come undone again
37:27so that's why everything has to be absolutely right i'm going to start gluing now
37:32i'm going to have to throw a whole load of clamps at this crack and this stud to make sure it all
37:45adheres perfectly because i need to make sure that all of this stud is properly stuck to the rib it looks
37:53a bit random and haphazard but i hope i've got just enough pressure to hold that crack shut while it dries
38:00hopefully this should all line up with the paintwork perfected and the runners rejuvenated
38:09dom and will have joined forces i love the steam work this is why it's handy to have an extra pair of
38:14hands to reassemble the old sledge great i think that's the main sort of chassis part of it on and all
38:23looking good we can tackle the wood now yes screws down the middle that's my favorite screwdriver
38:31how long have you had my screwdriver for weeks have you and you haven't even noticed well i have i've
38:37been blaming steve what have you got that for it's just quite nice it's quite good it is nice because it's
38:42mine okay middle bit in looking really good adrenaline just steaming down the hill i'm feeling
38:50it yeah i'm there i'm there right what's left to do we've really just got the steering the steering oh
38:56gosh i forgot about the steering not yet not yet we're not quite there and the all-important rope
39:00and then we're done it's ready to go back to ian
39:02the sledge was given to ian just before the big freeze of 1963 but years of downhill adventuring
39:13had left it dangerously dilapidated right pop that on there let's get it covered up
39:21ian and family including granddaughters leah and bethany have high hopes of snowy fun for many more years
39:30hi everyone hello hi folks how are you welcome back hello hello how have you been feeling you've
39:36been excited about today i have been great i've been very excited looking forward to all the
39:40monthly it's been part of my life for so long my kids my grandkids and i like to see it going on and
39:46on i'm hoping that we can take you back to being that nine-year-old kid again are you ready to take
39:50a look more than ready how about you two are you excited okay here we go
39:59that's where i was
40:14after three years i'm over the moon just wish there was a kitty here yeah this is great
40:24better job an icon it's beautiful i don't know what i was expecting but it's beyond what i
40:31expected i've never seen it like that the writing and all all it's lovely the fact that just didn't
40:37do it clearly you know it's the eraser it's brilliant i'm so pleased just looks beautiful
40:44but there's no time like the present should we take it outside can you get on gas you're not getting
40:55too jealous are you ian on the back here one two three it works that's really good marvelous
41:07it looks right at home out here doesn't it yeah yeah purple long
41:26i'm making betty the scarecrow and she's coming on really well
41:29but it's time now i started putting some little clothes on her
41:35reattaching the neck of the cello is a demanding process becky's drafting in will
41:42to play more than just second fiddle you're going to have the most important job of operating the
41:47clamp so i'm going to take it all out glue it and then you're going to clamp it but it might slide
41:53around all sorts of horrible things can happen so if i start being cross with you just sorry no
41:58just take it okay all right if i've got this even half a millimeter out the player will feel it
42:04and it will have a bearing on the sound even a millimeter oh even half a millimeter even quarter
42:08of a millimeter yeah yeah you grab the clamp and the cork are you ready to do this because this is a
42:13one here only we've got one chance to get this perfect okay up for it yeah right okay we ready we're
42:19ready time is absolutely of the essence because this glue is gelling all the time i'm using it
42:27and i don't take any chances of this coming out ever again i've never seen you work so quickly oh
42:33you've not seen anything yet okay okay all right i'm gonna no not yet i've got to push this in
42:40nope nope i'll tell you okay clamp ready yep
42:44get that wedge the right way around yep tighten a bit yep that's brilliant that's a brilliant angle
42:52there yeah a bit more bit more bit more stop right okay we're not done yet no no right no i've
43:00got to check don't right i just need you to move it a little bit unnip it okay
43:04okay and down again tighten yep tighten okay let me just double check that oh god i'm shaking
43:16you're doing really well oh i'm checking the angle of the neck here there's a certain measurement that
43:21i'm after which is 80 mil it's slightly higher i just don't want to take any chances of this cello
43:27having any more problems because it's been through enough i would like that a bit lower but i don't
43:33think i don't think i want to move it so to go low would this have to move back i no we can't take
43:38it out now can you oh what do you want oh unnip it and just move it slightly you sure yeah just slightly
43:51yeah it's like yeah yeah yeah now now nip it down there yeah yeah yeah okay tension
44:03yes yes yes yes yes better yes i'm happy you okay i don't know well done thank you walk away
44:16let's walk away it's done literally literally just walk away
44:23the pages of the carol book have been flattened and chrissy's next task is a spot of invisible mending
44:30this cover is at the point of complete collapse i'm going to remount these onto some blue paper
44:38but obviously because of all the years of andrew handling it it's got grubby so i've made an initial
44:45attempt of a grubbing it up and because it's in pieces it's a bit like fitting the jigsaw puzzle
44:51together by remounting this it's going to stabilize it and at the same time add strength it's going to make
44:58it still very flexible just lining up the puzzle and it fits over very very nice and now i'm going
45:07to get it into the press i'm going to allow it to dry
45:17muscles is this the toy you're making steve it is this is tiddler this is the the character out of
45:24the book i can see that i'm making a mechanism that uh when i put the tail inside and you move the tail
45:31from side to side it's going to open and shut the mouth lovely
45:39there we go now it's christmas okay maybe maybe i've overdone this a little bit
45:44with the most stressful part of the cello repair behind her becky's work is nearly done
45:55the neck is solid and the cello is actually sounding really resonant i couldn't be happier
46:01i've never been so nervous in my life with an instrument because it was important to martin and
46:07it's going to be played in the retirement home i think it's going to be beautiful for them and i hope
46:12they love it as much as i do now because i've fallen in love with this instrument so all i need
46:17to do now is put the last two strings on and then i get to hear it
46:23this cello was brutally smashed as its 14 year old owner martin fled hitler's germany
46:30and it had remained unplayable ever since okay let's get it covered yeah
46:35now dame helen mirren hopes it can be the centerpiece of christmas celebrations
46:45at the retirement home to which martin donated it
46:52hello hello welcome back thank you i presume this is the baby it is indeed yes let me introduce you to
47:01becky becky was it a challenge it was a challenge yes yes it has tested me the love that this
47:08instrument carried with it i hope communicated to you very much because it carried the history of
47:14family of love of dreams definitely definitely you can feel it in you can really yes well are you ready
47:21to take a look i am i'm so excited i can't tell you i'm so excited to see it can i peek up under the
47:28under the sky no peeking no peeking go on then becky okay yes are you ready i am
47:34hello martin sent his love becky that's fantastic many many many congratulations wondrous absolutely
47:59wondrous wow i wish i could play would you like to hear it play well of course i would is that
48:06possible it is we've got a special guest really yes very much so um we have rafael warfish in the barn
48:14rafael would you please come and join us thank you rafael how very very nice to meet you thank you so
48:21much for coming for us you'd be careful with that
48:36thank you
48:49MUSIC PLAYS
49:03Bravo! Bravo, Becky!
49:08Well done, Becky. Thank you.
49:10How incredible to hear that. Yes.
49:13Thank you so much, Raphael. That was beautiful. Great pleasure.
49:16Becky, thank you. Pleasure. Bye-bye. Bye.
49:18Bye-bye. Bye. Bye.
49:24Brilliant. Well done.
49:26I'm just so pleased. Yeah.
49:38New covers have made the Carol book more durable,
49:42but Chrissie's repairs also need to look harmonious.
49:46The final thing I need to do to the covers are to just sort of blend in
49:50and just take the eye away from these creases.
49:54So I'm using a watercolour pencil and it's a blue sort of turquoisey.
49:58But coming around here to where Andrew's handled it,
50:01I'm going to have to mix in a bit of green.
50:06Kirsten has painted the exterior of the toy farmhouse,
50:09but for interior decor, she's turning to paper and paste.
50:14The only wallpapering I've done is in my own house.
50:18So that's quite a number of years ago.
50:20But I do think this will transform the inside of the farmhouse.
50:26I can just get that in there.
50:28There, that's gone on really nicely.
50:30Now I'm going to carry on putting the paper on the other walls
50:34and then it's going to be ready to go back to Julia
50:38and I hope that this will give the children at the hospice many hours of play.
50:44Julia's toy farm was faded and fragile and its animals long since lost.
50:55Now she plans for a new generation of children at the hospice
50:59to be delighted and inspired by the farm
51:02and a farmyard full of fantastical creatures.
51:06Hi, Julia.
51:08Hello. Oh, my goodness.
51:10This is the biggest Christmas present ever.
51:13Well, I think it's really lovely that this is going to go to Chestnut Treehouse.
51:19Yes, it's such a wonderful place.
51:22We'd like to take a look.
51:23I'd love to take a look, yeah.
51:31Oh, so beautiful.
51:35It looks just perfect because it doesn't look over the top,
51:39it just looks like I remembered.
51:41Animals.
51:44I remember these little sitting down calves.
51:47Who's outside in the garden?
51:50Oh, gosh.
51:52Oh, look.
51:53We've got the Gruffalo, of course.
51:55Made by Will.
51:56So clever.
51:58Oh, I think that's brilliant because you've got two types of toy.
52:02You know, you've got the farm, but they could have adventures with all these characters outside their world.
52:08It really has been a team effort, hasn't it?
52:11So, Steve made Tiddler.
52:12Thank you, Steve.
52:14You're very welcome.
52:15Yes, Tiddler's gorgeous.
52:16I think when you move the tail, the mouth opens and closes.
52:19Oh, can I have a go?
52:20Yeah.
52:21Oh, that's wonderful.
52:22That's really good.
52:23Holy Tiddler.
52:24Hello.
52:26Oh, look, he's a baddie.
52:28Right, that's Rob Brydon.
52:29It's Reginald Rape.
52:31Which is made by Kishtons.
52:33Yep.
52:34He sort of tries to lure Betty away from her true love, Mary.
52:39And they're going to get married, aren't you?
52:41Yes.
52:44Oh, lovely.
52:45I think children would enjoy, you know, they could act that story out, couldn't they?
52:49Yeah, definitely.
52:50You have brought so much joy and imagination to so many children's lives.
52:54So, it's quite nice for us to give something back to you.
52:56Oh, thank you so much.
52:58And thank you all.
53:00You're so welcome.
53:02Bye.
53:03She is lovely, isn't she?
53:07This is the magic of children's farm animals and toys and things like that.
53:11Imagination.
53:12Yeah, exactly.
53:13You can go anywhere.
53:14Well done, everyone.
53:15Good job.
53:24Chrissie's skills have got the carol book almost back on song.
53:29So, the moment's come of joining the pages to the cover.
53:33I'm using a linen thread and sewing it as opposed to stapling it because Andrew's going to use this an awful lot and I want to be able to provide the book with as much strength and longevity as possible.
53:46So, the final knot that seals and joins the pages together ends my absolutely joyous repair of the joy of Christmas.
53:59This carol book was given to Andrew.
54:00This carol book was given to Andrew by his grandfather, but decades of use at Sheffield's Carol Sings had left it in tatters.
54:12Andrew and Emily are hoping the book can continue playing its part in keeping a remarkable tradition alive.
54:19Hello, hello.
54:20Hello there.
54:21Hi.
54:22Absolutely fantastic to see you.
54:24How are you both feeling?
54:25Really excited.
54:26Are you?
54:27Yeah.
54:28It's more than the book.
54:29It's the tradition and certainly now not having my grandad there in the pub with me, his book's always there.
54:36That's really lovely.
54:37Yeah.
54:38Well, are you ready to see what I've managed to do?
54:41Certainly are.
54:42Wow.
54:43Look at the back!
54:44That's fantastic.
54:45Wow!
54:47That's a Christmas breath.
55:05Yeah.
55:10That's a Christmas present.
55:12Thank you so much.
55:14That's brilliant.
55:15Look.
55:17I can't believe it.
55:20I can't.
55:21And there was whole...
55:23I can't believe it, Chris.
55:25The joy of Christmas.
55:27I know, it's fantastic.
55:29It's such a beautiful thing.
55:31It'll certainly feel special to stand it on the piano
55:34or the organ for the first time.
55:35It'll feel really nice.
55:37Andrew, how would you feel about doing a sing for us now?
55:41Yeah?
55:43Come on, everybody.
55:45Outside.
55:47Pond at your finest, please, landlord.
55:48Oh, coming right up, sir.
55:52Paid in chocolate coins.
55:53Perfect.
55:57Here they come.
55:58Wow.
55:59It's a pub.
56:00Look at this.
56:01Oh, look, there's a crier.
56:02Oh, is that a bar?
56:04Hello, everyone.
56:04Welcome to the Hammer and Spanner.
56:06Cheers.
56:08What can I get of you?
56:09There you go.
56:10Oh, you pour a decent pint.
56:12The usual.
56:12Oh, yes.
56:14We sing as big bold
56:17out in days of old
56:20to celebrate Christmas
56:24and bring you good cheer.
56:27Glad tidings we bring
56:30of Messiah our King.
56:33So we wish you a Merry Christmas
56:36We wish you a Merry Christmas
56:39We wish you a Merry Christmas
56:42and a Happy New Year
56:48Merry Christmas
56:50Merry Christmas
56:51Hello, everyone.
56:58Hello.
56:58I've got a surprise for you.
57:00to be a Merry Christmas
57:12Day.
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