- 6 hours ago
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!
01:02Oh!
01:03No peeking!
01:04Oh no!
01:05Oh no!
01:06Oh no!
01:07Oh no!
01:08we'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 her books have been turned into animations and rob bryden has
01:36been a key voice in everyone look at this hello hello and welcome merry christmas merry christmas
01:44we've walked a long way have you 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
02:00shall we say it was my granny's and so this was what my sister mary and i played with when we
02:08were little girls 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
02:21animals joined the zoo or one of the zoo animals invaded the farm do you think that this helped
02:27encourage you to write those fantastic books yeah i think it probably was at the root of some of my
02:32books books like what the lady bird had which is set on a farm and now this christmas is the
02:39scarecrows wedding animation which rob has a real star role and that all takes place on a farm
02:45now i play uh reginald rake the rather caddish scarecrow that comes in total cad well all right i was
02:54giving him the benefit of the doubt he's an absolute cad who comes in and threatens the
02:59happiness of betty and harry the finest marshmallows and make no mistake no one can toast them like
03:09reginald rake i mean the first one was the gruffalo and um yeah it has become a part of the christmas
03:16tradition yeah i've been in all of them rob so loyal you know because even if he's just what's the
03:22smallest well the the cat in room on the broom all i did was go and yet i still imbue it with
03:30the professionalism and the discipline that i bring to all my roles well what do you love about julia's
03:37characters there's a clarity to them they connect with you straight away the pictures of course are
03:44oh wow yes of course and well axel scheffler who's done loads of julia's illustrations has such a
03:50distinctive style that pulls you into the story beautifully but it all comes down to the imagination
03:56and that sort of ties into this really you know having a little farm and your zoo animals and things
04:02like that how vibrant were the colors when you first received it when you were a child the roof
04:07was this kind of maroon because it wasn't like scarlet or anything i've had it on display and i did
04:13get the roof quite crudely oh i thought you just ripped that off it does come off well the door
04:18handles come off here it all needs some paint now julia if we can restore this for you what's the plan
04:25for it well i live quite near a children's hospice called chestnut tree house i've quite often visited
04:32and done little acted out the stories with the children and especially with the brothers and sisters
04:37of some of the old children it's really nice for them to have something to play with so i'd like to
04:43donate the restored farmhouse and especially if there were some extra animals and fences as well
04:48i think we can manage that well you know what would be nice you could have a little gruffalo
04:52a snail a whale you could have a highway rat it might be a bit difficult there to make them
04:58on the right scale i suppose there's nothing that these people not him but there's nothing these
05:04people can't do it's been absolutely wonderful to meet you thanks very much bye bye bye bye right
05:12back out into the cold
05:13weren'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
05:27doors and maybe some shutters on the window there i think i'm going to do a little bit of tidying up
05:33and retouching perfect
05:34the barn's next visitor has already arrived taking a much needed break from his delivery duties
05:44wow look at that reindeer at christmas it is wow it's very realistic there's a fire service badge on the
05:53back here what is a reindeer doing with a fire service badge i don't know well i guess we'll find
05:58out bringing answers and a second helping of good cheer to the barn hello hello firefighters jerry
06:06ascombe and darren weston from leicestershire hi welcome and merry christmas merry christmas to you
06:13please explain so this is rudolph of course yeah yeah rudolph belongs to leicestershire fire and rescue
06:21service and we're using every christmas to raise money for local children's charities
06:26we'll walk around with rudolph who's pulling santa on a sleigh supported by a fire engine or two
06:31typically and as we walk down the streets the residents come out and give us a loose change
06:36and donations where does the money go that you raise so every year we raise about 10 000 pounds
06:41for local children's turrets typically 10 000 pounds 10 000 pounds yeah wow well incredible where did
06:48this all start so it started in 1949 they set up the rudolph fund and that reindeer ran right up until
06:561978 when it started falling to pieces and we got this one and the then committee approached this firm
07:02that did stuff for film sets and said could you build us an animated reindeer to replace the one we've got
07:08and they did so he moves he moves yeah he doesn't walk but no way nods his head does this blinks his
07:16eyes people were just amazed because back in the 70s that that was pretty spectacular now it's a big
07:21part of the christmas culture in leicester really but the real problem we've got is rudolph looking
07:25really tired and old now his mouth is supposed to chew and a lot of them actions aren't working
07:32his nose lights up as well but it doesn't oh really it's got of course rudolph's a red nose
07:37so we need to do some some major surgery yeah but also his first quite matted and dull looking
07:44the fur on his ears is different to the fur on his head and we've got the leather work around his neck
07:48that would have been bright red and really shiny at one point ah right that's interesting god there
07:53is quite a list yeah there's quite a lot to do it would be devastating to think it failed on your watch
07:58it would yeah it would i think that that would be my biggest fear is that it falls into such bad
08:02disrepair that he's no longer usable and then when one will lose tradition but more importantly
08:07all those children that benefited don't get that money coming in we can't let that happen
08:11not on your watch not on mine quite literally well we'll do the best we can thanks for taking him on
08:15yeah see you soon
08:16he looks like he's going to be trouble i can see it in his eye
08:20this is going to be a job i'm going to go and get some help
08:24david brenton oh here they are perfect can you give us a hand yeah yeah brenton can you steer
08:30yeah i'll try aim for over there somewhere okay brilliant here we go i feel like rudolph's going
08:35to go wherever he wants i think so
08:37will is setting to work on julia donaldson's farmhouse
08:44and the experts have a clear brief for the tiny characters who go with it
08:50but with rudolph there are lots of unknowns
08:54i'm kind of intrigued as to what we're going to find inside here
08:57what do you think berth or in it's full of mechanical wiggly bits
09:01oh there we go
09:03oh this is that's actually illegal isn't it
09:06what does that do though hang on what this one back and forwards
09:09oh am i moving oh hey look i'm moving his head
09:13that turns his head
09:14there's some wires cut in here so that's not a good sign
09:18a lot of mechanical bits are just just worn out
09:21let's see if i can get into the head
09:22good luck
09:23thank you
09:24yeah i don't need you moving around
09:28it's all very funny
09:30i've got a feeling i wouldn't be a very good apprentice for you steve
09:34you drive me mad
09:35yes i know
09:36well there's a lot of mechanisms in here as well
09:40there is a huge amount to get done but i'm confident between us we can all pull together
09:45okay we'll get it ready for christmas
09:47absolutely brilliant
09:48right let me just see if i can get to these bolts then
09:50there we go
09:53that's it
09:54have you got it steve
09:55yes i have
09:57will has made new doorknobs for the toy farmhouse
10:03oh look at that
10:05it looks like a little toadstool
10:06and he's been mulling over some replacement shutters
10:10i've got a couple of different designs i could go for one would be a kind of modern staggered
10:16slattered shutter
10:17but really i mean this is it's like a simple farmhouse for like a child it's not over complicated
10:23i'm quite sure i've seen some farmhouses some really old ones with this kind of design here
10:28i think that's kind of what i'm going to go for
10:30i just hope that i've got enough space in that very small window frame
10:33to make this look absolutely spot on
10:36design ideas are also key to making 3d versions of the characters who populate the farm
10:48i'm making a whale and rather than making out of silver which would what i would normally do
10:54i'm going to try some polymer clay
10:57i'm challenging myself using a different material
11:00having looked at these lovely children's books
11:04i can't wait till my grandson is old enough for me to be able to read these stories to him
11:09arriving 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
11:26hello hi there hello folks welcome look at this very nice wow
11:33oh this is incredible it is i've had it 60 years but it was 40 years old when i got it
11:41so the sleigh's almost 100 years old wow it's called a flexible flower this particular one was
11:47made in 1928 and only made this version for one year so it's quite a rare one where did you get it
11:54then 1963 i was 9 10 it was a gift from my brother who got it from a family who no longer
12:02had a use for it i was uh the envy of all the friends and kids in the street i bet did you use
12:09it a lot then oh that year when you were nine ten years old that was a year of the big freeze
12:13it snowed from just before christmas right through january february three months of snow three months
12:20and the drifts were like six feet wow just spent every day on the sledge you must have some great
12:27memories of those times yeah the actual main damage at the front there was myself
12:32and two friends on it and there was a a big tuft of snow which i thought was just a bit of
12:38sage grass covered in snow and it turned out it was a large boulder oh no and the front of the
12:45sledge this has been straightened out but that was as you can see this is all bent here yeah well
12:49i've had lots of accidents this one here i was a great repair as you can see a friend he was holding
12:56this and it snapped is that your handiwork it's very good done a long time ago kate what's your
13:03earliest memory of the sledge we had been going out together for a while and he said would you like
13:07to have a go on a sledge and i says oh yeah and then there was a hill that was nearly vertical oh no
13:13i was so frightened and this is whilst you were still getting to know each other yes i love that
13:19how long have you both been together for 50 years how many children do you have nine they all had
13:24their turn on it i remember my second child was about three years of age she had a little santa suit
13:31on and pulling around the street all the local kids chasing after us there could be santa
13:36no one of my earliest memories would probably be going to school on it and then more recent my own
13:43children being on it they love it absolutely love it and getting pulled along by their granda
13:4914 grandchildren they all have to have this so when did you stop using it then yourself oh 20 years
13:56ago i was landing on my belly i had a real 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
14:12again i can understand i'll never be the way it was but be nice to see it gleaming again and looking
14:20how you remember yeah as a nine-year-old kid yeah we are going to have so much fun working on this
14:27thank you very much thank you thank you we'll see you soon bye-bye thank you bye-bye
14:30i absolutely love this it's amazing isn't it yeah he does want it looking a bit smarter than it
14:39currently does let me take this outside i'll get it stripped down and bring the wood back into you
14:43lovely okay
14:57determined to get rudolph back to full fitness the barn team has set to work with gustav
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
15:44again and then this particular one this actually moves his head up and down these cams are made out
15:51of a type of plastic and it looks like they're warped basically where they run on this little lever
16:00they could slip down the side and then that lever could then get jammed that would then cause the
16:06motor to stall so i think basically what i've got to do take it all to pieces and then get all of that
16:14nice and sturdy straightened out so that we can guarantee that he's going to run for many many years to
16:20calm i'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
16:49needs 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 dream
17:30to 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
18:30with 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
19:50perfect 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
20:04will 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 and
20:51get it back where it should be because i've got lots of holes which need to line up and at the moment
20:57this 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
21:13reference as i try and bend the other rail to match that line so i need to clamp it in the vice heat
21:22it up and 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
22:02work on rudolph is also galloping along while david coaxes his warped plastic cans 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 has
22:29always had it so the first thing i'm going to do is to decide which piece to use this one is original
22:37so 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 like that
22:59something like that anyway there's a little cam on this shaft which runs onto a micro switch and
23:08just turns it off and on and that's connected to a light and that makes rudolph's nose glow red in the
23:16dark so this hasn't been working not only were the the wires not connected to the motor but also
23:23this shaft was bent so that when this turned round the jaw went up too high and would get locked so
23:29what i've done is i've straightened that up right i'm just going to pop the jaw on see if it all works
23:44i think that's a sort of chewy motion i'm just going to put on the new micro switch
23:49and uh make sure that the light's going to work when i was in the fire service we would have uh
23:57the children's christmas party and father christmas would come along but uh not on a sleigh he would
24:04come on a an old vintage fire engine right that's connected pop these connectors on and uh it should all work
24:19that's working so well that's brilliant
24:29will has turned his attention to the handrails of the old sledge one is made out of pine and one's
24:36made out of ash originally this would all have been ash he's done a pretty good job at replacing it but
24:41it kind of sticks out like a sore thumb now i thought it'd be really nice to replace that with ash because
24:46he really wants this to look much like it did when he first got it as a child i've sourced a new piece
24:52of ash here it's quite angular because it's just been cut the original has this slightly rounded off
24:58profile on the top and i think that kind of makes it a lot better to hold on to i'm going to use my
25:02hand plane to try to recreate this lovely curved edge onto that new section there
25:16i'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 fill
25:45any areas of loss i'm using a wood filler here in a way the way that this has been made it's quite
25:53rustic 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
26:25oh three guys look at them thanks for the help
26:32he's made it through the blizzard he has and oh oh that's his new neck piece oh fantastic and
26:40brilliant is that how they work very very good you've been having too much fun in the barn
26:48i 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 back
27:00on his back on his face 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 team
27:24to recreate the magic and get rudolph slaying again for good causes goodness me the size of them
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 um come from wishes for kids these uh have benefited 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
28:20wow wow oh that's good oh that's amazing yeah that's good look at that that's taking me right
28:37back to 1979 i had no idea it was going to look so realistic again the fur looks great doesn't it
28:45please feel free come in and have a look can we have a yeah come around this side let's have a look
28:48oh they've done on the harness as well yeah i've never seen them bells shine like that
28:53so we've prepared the ears as well new ears yes look at those 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
29:06fire surface we're really used to working as a team so to see that teamwork replicated with the the
29:11care they'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
29:19can have a proper oh yes oh wow oh yes this is just what he used to do i mean you take your world
29:39to take it all in yeah we just want to say thank you it means a huge amount to us well it's yours to
29:44take away are we okay to drive it absolutely let's give it a go we should get the doors yeah okay
30:00well 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
30:18well right who knows what's coming next
30:30rudolph'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
30:41i think he looks quite charming and the vandalized cello which dame helen myrne hopes can be played
30:52again has been delivered it's a task for stringed instrument restorer becky horton this is such a
31:00gorgeous instrument i feel so sad that it's been brutalized in this fashion it just breaks my heart
31:08and the fact that martin kept it all these years it must have been so special to him because who keeps
31:13a cello that's in two parts like this already i can hear the sound post is loose there's cracks all
31:21over the place this is a particularly nasty one in the ribs the most obvious area of damage is the fact
31:27that the neck is out of the body of the instrument this is never good and it's in a real mess so i have
31:33to work out a way of putting everything back where it belongs fitting the net back in and getting this
31:39cello playable again the first thing i'm going to have to do though is remove the front so i can see
31:44what's going 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
31:57it's a different sort of noise and that's what i'm after
32:03i 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 skills
32:20sweet merry christmas merry christmas what have you brought that looks rather well loved certainly
32:29is that's well used it is it's a carol book that's been used by our family for over 40 years now wow
32:36yeah so this book was originally my granddad's he only lived a street away from where i grew up as well
32:43so we were we were very close he passed this on for me when i was really learning how to play my first
32:50organ probably to accompany him singing but he loved it it's full of local christmas carols that we play
33:01in pubs in and around the north of sheffield all through the christmas period north sheffield has a
33:08200 year old tradition of carols that are unique to the area being sung by locals in their pubs
33:15the gatherings are known as sings why are they sung in pubs that comes back from the victorian
33:22area where the carols were sent to be too extravagant to be sung in churches and people
33:28still wanted somewhere to sing so they brought their songs and their carols into the local pubs
33:33wow that's where it's evolved yes into a real tradition it's a feeling of community and family
33:39and belonging and i wouldn't be anywhere else on a sunday in december a lot of the christmas songs are
33:45probably 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 to stop it getting any
34:21worse not to be a museum item and not to collect dust to be used this christmas and the next 20 30 40
34:28years as well i'll give it my best shot that would be brilliant thank you so much bye-bye thank you
34:37well chris this is fantastic is it not it's amazing let me know when it's ready and
34:42i'll come along for a sing-along that's a date
34:45brenton that's amazing thank you you got two snails there yeah i'm just working on the tail okay the
34:55tail of the whale to scale not quite i've got this little tiny snail and we've got the big one there
35:04so you can see what it's meant to look like absolutely love it you're so clever thank you
35:15andrew has really used this book almost to death it's at a point where the front covers are at a
35:23stage where they could totally collapse the amazing thing and hats off to andrew
35:29he's kept all the bits but it is in a bit of a sorry state pages need to be ironed it needs to be
35:37flattened 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
35:52the 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 oh
36:12i know deck the halls how's that go oh oh yeah i've got such a lovely voice well well it's usually after
36:20a few mild wines that's when i really kind of get into the swing of things do you have a favorite
36:24carol i do will i don't know what it's called but it goes a bit like this and feel free to join in if
36:30you want
36:51now she has access to the interior of the cello becky can begin repairing the many cracks in its body
36:58i'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
37:15this lovely 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
37:40i'm going to have to throw a whole load of clamps at this crack and this stud to make
37:44sure it all adheres perfectly because i need to make sure that all of this stud
37:49is properly stuck to the rib it looks a bit random and haphazard but i hope i've got just enough
37:56pressure to hold that crack shut while it dries
38:03hopefully this should all line up with the paintwork perfected and the runners rejuvenated
38:09dom and will have joined forces i love this teamwork this is why it's handy have an extra pair of hands
38:15to reassemble the old sledge
38:19great i think that's the main sort of chassis part of it on and all looking good we can tackle the
38:24wood 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
38:36i've been blaming steve what have you got that for it's just quite nice it's quite it is nice it's
38:42mine okay middle bit in looking really good that adrenaline just steaming down a hill i'm feeling it
38:51yeah 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 ready to go back to ian the sledge was given to ian just before the big freeze of 1963
39:10but years of downhill adventuring had left it dangerously dilapidated
39:17right 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 again welcome back hello hello how have you been feeling you've been
39:36excited about today i have been great i've been very excited i'm looking forward to a little
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 rather how about you two are you excited okay here we go
39:59oh
40:10that's where i was
40:11i have to try this oh brilliant i'm over the moon just when she was a kid again yeah
40:21this is great better job an icon it's beautiful i don't know what i was expecting but it's beyond
40:31what i've never seen it like that the writing and all all it's lovely the fact that just didn't do it
40:37clearly you know it's the eraser it's brilliant i'm so pleased just looks beautiful but there's
40:44no time like the present should we take it outside can you get on gas you're not getting too jealous
40:55how you're in on the back here one two three it works that's really good marvelous it looks right at home
41:08out here doesn't it yeah yeah purple belongs
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 really yeah yeah you grab the clamp and the cork are you ready to do this because this
42:13is a one here only we've got one chance to get this perfect okay up for it yeah right okay we ready
42:19we're ready time is absolutely of the essence because this glue is gelling all the time i'm
42:26using it and i don't take any chances of this coming out ever again i've never seen you work so
42:32quickly oh you've not seen anything yet okay okay all right i'm gonna no not yet i've got to push this
42:39in nope nope i'll tell you okay clamp ready yep get that wedge the right way around yep
42:49tighten a bit yep that's brilliant that's a brilliant angle there yeah a bit more bit more
42:53bit more stop right okay we're not done yet no right no i've got to check don't right i just need
43:02you to move it a little bit unnip it okay okay and down again tighten yep tighten
43:10okay let me just double check that oh god i'm shaking you're doing really well oh i'm checking
43:18the angle of the neck here there's a certain measurement that i'm after which is 80 mil it's
43:22slightly higher i just don't want to take any chances of this cello having any more problems
43:28because it's been through enough i would like that a bit lower but i don't think i don't think i want to
43:34move it so to go low with this have to move back i no we can't take it out now can you oh what do you
43:41want oh
43:47unnip it and just move it slightly you sure yeah just slightly yeah it's like yeah yeah yeah now now
43:53nip it down no yeah yeah okay tension
44:03yes yes 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
44:18the pages of the carol book have been flattened and chrissy's next task is a spot of invisible
44:29mending this cover is at the point of complete collapse i'm going to remount these onto some blue
44:37paper but obviously because of all the years of andrew handling it it's got grubby so i've made an
44:44initial attempt of a grubbing it up and because it's in pieces it's a bit like fitting the jigsaw
44:50puzzle together by remounting this it's going to stabilize it and at the same time add strength
44:57it's going to make it still very flexible just lining up the puzzle and it fits over
45:05very very nice and now i'm going to get it into the press i'm going to allow it to dry
45:14muscle 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
45:31the tail from side to side it's going to open and shut the mouth lovely
45:35there we go now it's christmas okay maybe i've overdone this a little bit
45:48with the more stressful part of the cello repair behind her becky's work is nearly done
45:55the neck is solid and the cello's actually sounding really resonant i couldn't be happier i've never
46:02been so nervous in my life with an instrument because it was important to martin and it's going
46:07to be played in the retirement home i think it's going to be beautiful for them and i hope they love
46:12it as much as i do now because i've fallen in love with this instrument so all i need to do now is put
46:18the last two strings on and then i get to hear it this cello was brutally smashed as its 14 year old owner
46:28martin fled hitler's germany and it had remained unplayable ever since okay let's get it covered
46:39now dame helen mirren hopes it can be the centerpiece of christmas celebrations
46:45at the retirement home to which martin donated it
46:48oh hello hi welcome back thank you i presume this is the baby it is indeed yes let me introduce
47:00you to becky becky was it a challenge it was a challenge yes yes it has tested me the love that
47:07this instrument 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 the world you can really yes well
47:20are you ready to take a look i am i'm so excited i can't tell you i'm so excited to see it can i peek
47:27go on then becky okay yes are you ready hello martin sent his love
47:49becky that's fantastic many many many congratulations wondrous absolutely wondrous
48:00wow i wish i could play would you like to hear it play well of course i would is that possible it
48:07is we've got a special guest really yes very much so um we have rafael warfish in the barn rafael
48:14would you please come and join us thank you rafael how very very nice to meet you thank you so much
48:21for coming for us you'd be careful with that
48:36thank you
48:47ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYS
49:02APPLAUSE
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. Bye-bye. Bye. Bye.
49:24Brilliant. Well done. I'm just so pleased. Yeah.
49:38New covers have made the carol book more durable,
49:41but Chrissie's repairs also need to look harmonious.
49:46The final thing I need to do to the covers
49:48are to just sort of blend in
49:50and just take the eye away from these creases.
49:53So I'm using a watercolour pencil,
49:55and 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.
50:03Kirsten has painted the exterior of the toy farmhouse,
50:10but for interior decor, she's turning to paper and paste.
50:15The only wallpapering I've done is in my own house,
50:17so 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.
50:31Now, I'm going to carry on putting the paper on the other walls,
50:35and 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.
50:45Julia'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
51:16that 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, we'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
52:04with all these characters outside their world.
52:08It really has been a team effort, hasn't it?
52:10So, Steve made Tiddler.
52:12Thank you, Steve.
52:14You're very welcome.
52:15Yes, Tiddler's gorgeous.
52:16When 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 Kirsten.
52:32Yep.
52:33He 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,
52:48couldn't they?
52:49Absolutely.
52:50You have brought so much joy and imagination to so many children's
52:53lives, so it's quite nice for us to give something back to you.
52:56Oh, thank you so much.
52:58And thank you all.
53:00Bye.
53:02Bye.
53:05She 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.
53:34I'm using a linen thread and sewing it as opposed to stapling it because Andrew's going to use this an awful lot
53:40and I want to be able to provide the book with as much strength and longevity as possible.
53:47So the final knot that seals and joins the pages together ends my absolutely joyous repair of the joy of Christmas.
53:58This carol book was given to Andrew by his grandfather, but decades of use at Sheffield's Carol Sings had left it in tatters.
54:11Andrew and Emily are hoping the book can continue playing its part in keeping a remarkable tradition alive.
54:20Hello, hello.
54:21Hello there.
54:22Hi.
54:23Good 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.
54:35His 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.
55:03Look at the back.
55:05That's fantastic.
55:08Wow.
55:10That's a Christmas breath.
55:11Yeah.
55:12Thank you so much.
55:13That's brilliant.
55:14Look.
55:16I can't believe it.
55:19I can't.
55:20And there was whole...
55:23I can't believe it, Chris.
55:25The joy of Christmas.
55:26I know.
55:27It's fantastic.
55:28It is.
55:29It's such a beautiful thing.
55:30It was.
55:31It'll certainly feel special to stand it on the piano or the organ for the first time.
55:35It'll feel really nice.
55:36Andrew, how would you feel about doing a sing for us now?
55:41Yeah.
55:42Ooh.
55:43Come on, everybody.
55:44Outside.
55:45Pine at your finest, please, landlord.
55:48Oh, coming right up, sir.
55:51Paid in chocolate coins.
55:53Perfect.
55:54Here they come.
55:55Wow.
55:56It's a pub.
55:57Look at this.
55:58Oh, look.
55:59There's a crier.
56:00Oh, is that a bar?
56:01Hello, everyone.
56:02Welcome to the Hammer and Spanner.
56:03Cheers.
56:04Very fun service.
56:05What can I get you?
56:06There you go.
56:07Oh, you pour a decent pint.
56:09The usual.
56:10Oh, yes.
56:11We sing as people out in days of old to celebrate Christmas and bring you good cheer.
56:26Glad tidings we bring of 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.
56:47Woo!
56:48Yay!
56:49Merry Christmas!
56:51Hello, everyone.
56:56Hello.
56:57I've got a surprise for you.
57:00Do you want to try and watch more когда we arrive?
57:03I love you.
57:05Can we talk better?
57:06You want to enjoy your ö valt đi?
57:08Mac в洗手間?
57:09Okay.
57:10I love you.
57:11I love you.
57:12I love you.
57:13I love you.
57:14I love you.
57:18How important is that a nervous system?
57:20I love you.
57:21I love you.
57:22Hey.
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