- 23 hours ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00A workshop full of wonders.
00:03I heard the word watch.
00:05Home to experts and time-honoured crafts.
00:09Hopefully, we've got this in the nick of time.
00:11Together repairing treasured pieces of the past.
00:15Oh, no.
00:17Wow, look at that.
00:18Wow, look at that.
00:20I'm quite proud of that.
00:22And unlocking their stories.
00:25I'm completely blown away by this.
00:27Oh, dear.
00:29Bringing the broken.
00:31Oh, I'm desperate to take a look.
00:34Back to life.
00:37Oh, fantastic.
00:41Oh, my.
00:43Wow, this is amazing.
00:46Yes.
00:47Welcome to the repair shop.
00:57Good morning.
00:58Hello.
00:58Hello.
01:02Today, the busy barn is all abuzz as it awaits its first arrival.
01:10Ruth Dunderley Hay from Nottinghamshire has a challenging assignment for art restorer, Lucia Scalise.
01:21Hello.
01:22Hello.
01:23This must be yours.
01:25This must be yours.
01:25Yes.
01:25What is it?
01:26It's a portrait that I had commissioned of my dad about ten years ago for his 52nd birthday holding a
01:33frame of bees.
01:34Okay.
01:35Frame full of bees.
01:37He's got his gloves on.
01:38He's got his beekeepers outfit on.
01:40Okay.
01:41It's painted on stone.
01:42It's stone.
01:43I got it from a hardware store.
01:44I think it's probably some sort of man-made.
01:47Yeah, it's concrete.
01:49Why is it so worn out?
01:51He was so proud of it when I gave it to him that he put it outside by his front
01:57door for almost 12 years.
01:59It got a lot of rain.
02:00It got a lot of snow.
02:02So naturally it's just deteriorated over time.
02:05What was your dad's name?
02:06David Julian Clune.
02:08Was he professionally a beekeeper or was it like a big hobby?
02:11It was a big hobby.
02:12So he was a reverend.
02:15When this was taken, he was a curate.
02:17A lot of people found him very approachable and very warm.
02:21And I think he liked the parallels between beekeeping and church because I guess like colonies are like a congregation
02:27in a way.
02:28So how many bees did he have?
02:30Oh, at any one time you could have up to 20, 30,000 bees in a really strong colony.
02:36Really?
02:36Yeah, a lot of bees.
02:38A huge amount of honey.
02:39It was the most rewarding part for him was harvesting the honey because he would sell it at the front
02:43door and then he would donate a part of that money to the church.
02:46Did it catch on with you? Were you interested in bees?
02:49When my husband and I bought our own home, I said to my dad, I want some bees and he
02:53gave me my first colony.
02:55So you kept this going then? You're a beekeeper yourself?
02:58I think bees are such interesting creatures.
03:01When you go into the hive, you can smell the honey, you can smell the wax, you can hear the
03:05gentle humming of the bees.
03:08It's absolutely intoxicating.
03:10It really, really does feel like being at one with nature quite literally.
03:14It's just incredible and I know he felt like that.
03:18Why have you chosen to have this looked at now?
03:22Four and a half months ago, he passed away very suddenly and very unexpectedly of bronchopneumonia.
03:28Oh, that's really recent.
03:31That must have been quite a shock.
03:33Yeah, it was.
03:34Yeah?
03:34Yeah.
03:36But five or six weeks after he passed away, my husband and I found out that we were expecting our
03:42first child, which is wonderful.
03:45Oh, that is fantastic.
03:48I want our child to be able to look at this and know it's their granddad.
03:51Yeah.
03:51I want to remember him in all the good ways.
03:55And this is a good way.
03:57Yeah.
03:58But yeah, it's become incredibly worn now.
04:01What would you like me to do to this, Ruth?
04:04It's important that it keeps some of its history of my dad had this for many years.
04:09Yeah.
04:09But his portrait is the most important.
04:11I would love to see his ginger moustache again.
04:16And obviously, I'd like all the bees to be on there.
04:19Well, you've brought in a really interesting challenge, really.
04:23This is going to take some different skills.
04:26But yeah, leave it with me.
04:29And I'll get back to you.
04:30Look after it.
04:31I will do.
04:32With my heart.
04:43Will, I need a hand with this.
04:45It weighs a ton.
04:47Oh, I see.
04:47You want some of this?
04:48Yeah.
04:49It's really heavy.
04:50It's not heavy at all.
04:52Actually, Lucia, it's really quite heavy.
04:54Lucia.
05:08It was really lovely to hear how Ruth spoke about David.
05:13He obviously had a very close father-daughter relationship.
05:17I can only hope that I can do justice to this for her.
05:20But my first job, really, is to clean this very disfiguring black mould.
05:28And I've got this lovely stiff bristle brush.
05:33And it's quite good for taking surface dirt off hard surfaces.
05:39My approach to the painting will be reconstructing a lot of that shape.
05:45The big challenge for me is I do not want it to look picture perfect.
05:50It's really got to show that it's been through at least the last 12 years.
05:56I think what I need to do, actually, is go on a concrete hunt.
06:01Because I need to practise the paint technique, how I'm going to apply it,
06:05the colour matching and how it sits on the surface.
06:08That's going to be fun.
06:20Next at the barn, a special challenge for silversmith Brenton West.
06:25Ian Agar and daughter Issy have dropped in to tell a remarkable survival story.
06:33Hi, welcome to the barn.
06:34Hello.
06:35Hello.
06:35Hi.
06:35How are you both doing?
06:37Good, thank you.
06:38So, what have we got here, then?
06:39This is a silver statuette of the Eternal Airborne Soldier.
06:45And it did belong to my grandad, John.
06:48My father was given it to commemorate his time in the parachute regiment.
06:54And there's 100 of them, and this is number 74.
06:57It was a very prized possession, which he loved.
07:01It just told a story, really, of his time in the army.
07:04He spent over 16 years in the British Army, and the parachute regiment was a chunk of that.
07:10Wow.
07:10I think the parachute regiment, to my father, was the pinnacle of his career in the army.
07:16Beautiful.
07:17Absolutely beautiful.
07:18Tell us a bit about him.
07:20So, my father was a major.
07:22He was a military man through and through.
07:24He was very smart, tidy, efficient.
07:29So, it was polish your shoes in the morning and, you know, all the little chores that were done.
07:34Yeah.
07:35But he was a very kind man, and loved his family, and loved all his memories of his time in
07:41the army.
07:41But then, when he retired, he decided that he would sell his house, buy a catamaran, and sail it round
07:49the Mediterranean.
07:51And all his possessions were on the catamaran, including this.
07:55And then, one year, he decided to sail to La Gomera, which is next to Tenerife.
08:00And he got caught in a storm coming home.
08:03And, unfortunately, the catamaran hit rocks.
08:06He had to abandon the boat with his dog, and managed to swim to shore.
08:12He was okay?
08:13He was okay.
08:14Dog swam ashore, but everything got left on the catamaran, including the parachutes.
08:19We came out after he'd sank, and we helped him retrieve things from this wreck that was on the beach.
08:25That must have been awful.
08:26Yeah.
08:27But he then bought an apartment in Tenerife, lived there forever, and died in Tenerife in 2016.
08:34So, he was happy there.
08:34Yeah, it was his home.
08:35And he gave up sailing after that, didn't he?
08:37He did, yes.
08:39But at least you got this off.
08:40Yes.
08:41That obviously meant a lot to him to keep it, looking like that.
08:44Absolutely.
08:45What are you hoping Brenton can do?
08:48Obviously having the strings taut and within the holes that are here, it would do it justice
08:56to have it back to its former glory and have it how it should look.
09:00He'd want it polished.
09:01Exactly.
09:02Exactly.
09:02Like the shoes.
09:05It's the memory of my father and Izzy's grandfather.
09:08He'll just keep his story alive.
09:10Thank you both for trusting us for this beautiful thing.
09:13Thank you very much.
09:15Bye-bye.
09:15Bye.
09:19Are you not blown away that this still exists?
09:23Absolutely.
09:24I cannot believe it.
09:25Absolutely.
09:25Resilient.
09:26Yeah.
09:27Resilient, just like John.
09:28Yeah.
09:29I can't wait to see it here.
09:30Lovely, thank you.
09:31Best of luck with it.
09:41Okay.
09:43Ian and Izzy's statuette is something I really, really like.
09:48A model that's made out of silver is one of my favourite things.
09:52However, there is a lot to do.
09:55Having been on a boat wreck and tossed about in the waves, this has got quite damaged.
10:03The parachute has been dented at the top here.
10:07The paratroopers come loose.
10:10I think the trickiest part is going to be making these wires look correct.
10:16They're tangled.
10:17They're broken.
10:18So I'm going to have to have a little think about what I do about those.
10:21And silver tarnishes even in the best conditions.
10:25Salt is aggressive and pollution, anything like that makes silver go black.
10:31What I do know is under all that black, there is a shine.
10:35I've just got to go and find it.
10:37I'm going to take this apart before I start polishing and repairing the metal.
11:10I've come to ask you a favour or ask if you've got any pieces of concrete to practice my painting
11:15of bees on concrete.
11:19Say no more.
11:20I've got a couple of broken bits here.
11:22That's all I need.
11:23Actually, they're perfect.
11:25How's that?
11:25I've just got to paint some small bees.
11:26Yeah, I'll wash them and then I'll be able to paint on it.
11:28It's great.
11:29Hope it works out.
11:44I'm quite pleased with the way this paint is sitting on the stone.
11:47I've painted on marble and things, but this piece of concrete is a rougher surface.
11:54So the next thing is to transfer the effect onto the original portrait.
11:58Great.
11:59And this is always a very tentative, nervous moment, but let's go.
12:07I've got two reference photographs that Ruth managed to dig out for me, which is really great.
12:12I've got how it looked when it was originally painted, but I've also got the original photograph that was taken
12:17of David with his bees.
12:20I'm going to start on this bottom bit first.
12:26Do want to keep that very distinguished line along the bottom where the bees are literally dripping off the end
12:34of the frame.
12:35It's really juicy.
12:38I haven't painted on concrete before, but I like it.
12:41I mean, this is nice.
12:42This is nice.
12:43It's taking this paint really nicely.
12:45I'm using acrylic paints, not least because they dry quickly.
12:50I'm going to leave this section now and move on to get some structure into the hand,
12:55and then go over the whole thing again and sort of build up the opacity where it needs it to
13:00a bit more depth.
13:20I've done enough of the white for now, but I really need to start working on the frame.
13:25Here goes.
13:27It's just a nice bee.
13:36Right, there's one little bee.
13:38Might be too picturesque.
13:41What am I going to do?
13:46What the artist has done is just defined them quite casually, but put some splodges on that are obviously indicating
13:53that they're bees.
13:57It's difficult. It really is difficult. They need to be more abstract.
14:12With the silver statuette dismantled, Brenton's tackling its dented and tarnished canopy.
14:22This parachute, I have to remember, is a living silk parachute that's blowing around in the wind, and the way
14:28it's been made shows that movement.
14:31It certainly doesn't want to be bent like it is here.
14:34So I'm going to get a pair of pliers and just try and ease this up a bit, just to
14:38make it look like the rest of it.
14:40If I do it a little bit at a time, hopefully the parts that are meant to be raised will
14:44come up into their position and look the part.
14:49It's hard to know which of these dents happened during the shipwreck and which ones are meant to be there.
14:54The first pleat that I straightened definitely looks better, but this flap that we've got here, I think is meant
15:01to be there because it is so even.
15:02So the artistic license of the folding of the pleats of the fabric helped me in a way.
15:09So I'm just going to leave it at that.
15:11I'm just going to go around the rest of these pleats and get them looking as good as I can.
15:29I've got the dents out really satisfactorily, really pleased with that, and the proof will be once I've polished it,
15:36how good it all looks.
15:42So I'm using a foam polish.
15:44It gets into the nooks and crannies and you can wash it off with water so it's not so dirty
15:48to work with as some of the other polishes.
15:52Izzy and Ian were so proud of John's achievement in the Army, and if I can get this as highly
16:00polished as possible, hopefully it will reflect on that career.
16:06It's going to take quite a while, but once it's done, I can move on to the paratrooper himself.
16:29I can't help but notice you're wearing pink. You're not trying to outdo my pinkness, are you, Brenton?
16:34No, I'm inspired by you. I'm never going to outdo you, am I? I'm never going to outpink you, am
16:38I? Come on.
16:48Arriving next at the barn is Paddy from Ormskirk. She's brought a precious treasure from her childhood overseas.
16:59Hello. Hi there. Hello.
17:03What do we have here? This is a leather baby hammock from Iran.
17:11A baby hammock? A baby hammock.
17:13Wow. It's quite traditional. All my cousins slept in this and my baby brother did as well.
17:18I mean, I remember as a child, it had like loops here, and then it would be hung up between
17:25the two walls in the bedroom that everybody slept in, and the baby would be in there, swaddled, just to
17:33make sure it didn't fall out.
17:35Right. So did you grow up in Iran?
17:37I grew up, yes, in Iran. OK.
17:40My dad's from Iran, and my mum's from England. And they met in England when my dad was sent over
17:48by an oil company for training. And they met on a blind date.
17:54On a blind date. How lovely.
17:55I think it was love at first sight, because then that was it. Got engaged, and we're going to get
18:03married.
18:03But then in 1951, the Iranian government had decided to nationalize the oil.
18:11The 1951 oil crisis erupted when Iran nationalized the Anglo-Persian Oil Company.
18:19As the majority stakeholder, Britain retaliated by imposing sanctions, including a boycott on Iranian oil.
18:30As a result, my father had to go back to Iran.
18:34Right.
18:34And my mum had to stay in the UK because they weren't married.
18:39But eventually, they got married by proxy.
18:42Then she joined my dad in Iran.
18:45As an adult, looking back now, it just blows my mind sometimes how brave they were and, you know, how
18:52special.
18:54A completely different life for your mum when she left the UK then.
18:57But my mum loved Iran.
18:59She embraced the culture.
19:01She learnt the language.
19:03She spoke it fluently.
19:04Wow.
19:04My father's family, where this comes from, my mum loved visiting them.
19:09We used to go there during the school holidays.
19:11Myself, my sister, my brother, and my mum.
19:14She had a good, strong bond with my aunt, who this belonged to.
19:21And why did your aunt give your mum this?
19:24Mum just loved it.
19:26It was quite different and unusual and it meant a lot to her.
19:30Yeah.
19:31Yeah.
19:31After she died in 2022, I took this down from the wall and behind it, she'd done a drawing of
19:38what it looked like.
19:39Right.
19:39Because obviously, at the moment, it doesn't look like a working hammock.
19:43Have you still got it?
19:44I've got it, yes.
19:46Good.
19:48Yes.
19:48I have no idea how it's supposed to look.
19:51Yeah.
19:51So this looks like it's been well used.
19:53It's very worn.
19:55I think there might be some stains on there from babies being changed as well.
19:59Nice.
20:00And also, like, the sewing to be repaired as far as possible.
20:05It's a link with my mum.
20:07It's the family history.
20:09And it's a piece of Iran.
20:12Although I only lived there till I was 16.
20:14It always feels like, oh, Iran.
20:18Yeah, I miss it.
20:21This is such a lovely piece.
20:22I'm a little concerned as to what I'm going to be able to do, but I will put my best
20:27foot forward and get it as good as I can.
20:30Oh, thank you.
20:31We'll see you soon.
20:31Bye-bye.
20:36Wow.
20:36This is great.
20:37It is.
20:38It's in a very, very fragile condition.
20:40I don't know where you're going to start, Susie.
20:42Me neither.
20:43Maybe start by taking you over to your bench.
20:45Okay.
20:46Good luck.
20:47Okay.
20:57I'm really overwhelmed with this.
21:00It's an amazing piece, but I have so many questions about how I'm going to make it whole again.
21:10This leather is in a very fragile state.
21:14There are some tabs at the end here missing.
21:16These tabs are actually loops, so something slides through them, and then there's a strap that hangs to the wall.
21:26And for some reason, these loops are being cut off.
21:29And there's a lot of decoration also missing.
21:33The best approach with something like this is for me to start removing all the surface dirt and baby stems.
21:46They're thinking about the
22:14little dotted abstract Bs.
22:17For now, I'm just going to finish up on these
22:19because I want to move on to David's face.
22:21The big feature is going to be the ginger moustache,
22:25which I know was an actual really personal feature of David.
22:30I do have to remember to blink.
22:56Oh, this is tricky, this is tricky.
23:00It seems that whatever I do is, like, really, really heavy-handed.
23:05I think I'm trying to make the face too perfect,
23:09and I think I need to go backwards a bit.
23:14This is not going right. This is not going right.
23:18Before I do any more work on the features,
23:21I really need to get these background colours right.
23:23I need a lot more light in this face.
23:27I'm going to try and take a little bit of what I've already put on there off
23:33with a damp swab,
23:35and then I'm going to actually go back in on that forehead in particular.
23:55After some serious spit and polish,
23:59the parachute and its trooper are ready for inspection.
24:05So this is the first time these have been cleaned for over 40 years,
24:09and they do look fantastic.
24:11I'm really, really pleased and excited
24:14to be thinking about putting this back together soon.
24:17However, I can't do that
24:19until I've soldered two little tabs back onto the soldier's hands.
24:23These have been broken off of the soldier
24:25probably when the boat had its accident.
24:28These need to be soldered back on
24:30so there's somewhere to attach the strings of the parachute.
24:34This is really tricky.
24:37Things move when they get hot,
24:38and I don't want to get this too hot,
24:40so I don't know how he was made,
24:41and I don't really want to damage him.
24:43So it's now got a lump of soldier on it,
24:45and I'm now going to heat his hand up,
24:48hopefully stick this strap to his hand.
24:57I'm just going to let this cool down a bit,
25:00and hopefully when I let go,
25:03that is attached.
25:06That's not quite on there yet.
25:08Right, let's have another go.
25:21Thank goodness for that.
25:22That's on there now.
25:24So now I've just got the other side to solder up,
25:27and I've got to be really careful
25:28that I don't melt the side that I've just done.
25:45Susie has removed the remnants of the hanging loops
25:48that held up the baby hammock.
25:53Hey, Susie.
25:55Just the person.
25:56So this is what is remaining of the leather loops.
25:59Oh, I see. OK.
26:00And here's the exciting bit.
26:02So, Parry has given me this incredible diagram
26:06of how these attach to the baby hammock.
26:10Yeah.
26:11But here is, like, rods of wood
26:14that need to be made to fit exactly in the right place.
26:19Is it possible to make such a thing?
26:21Definitely. I'd get on it.
26:22There you go. Hey, thanks.
26:27With some new rods in the pipeline,
26:29Susie can start recreating the missing leather loops
26:33in keeping with their traditional design.
26:39So this has given me a really clear idea
26:42as to how these were originally made.
26:44There is a hessian-type material
26:46that's been covered with a very thin leather,
26:50and then it looks like it's been stained with a red-coloured dye.
26:57It looks quite primitive,
26:58but I think that would be quite effective,
27:01like a stripe running around these loops.
27:03The plan will be to try and emulate as close to the original as possible.
27:10I found some hessian, which matches, which is great.
27:13And now I'm just going to cut a couple of strips.
27:17The reason why they've used a hessian or a burlap
27:21is to give the strips of leather the strength necessary
27:26to hold the weight of a baby in a hammock.
27:29Without this filler, it would stretch over time and possibly break.
27:34So, I've got my strips cut, and then I can sandwich it in the leather.
27:54Now that the strips of leather are made up and fully glued,
27:59I'm now going to dye the edges.
28:04I've been playing with lots of different mixtures of dyes,
28:09and I've come up with a recipe
28:12that creates a pretty close match
28:15to the various tones of red that I've got going on here.
28:22So, I'm just going to run a line across the side here,
28:28just like the original.
28:33I'm really getting a feel for this,
28:35and the beauty of the hammock is that it's quite rustic.
28:40So, it's not like I've got to make sure lines are absolutely spot on.
28:45It can have lots of variations.
28:46That's what gives it lots of character.
28:50It's looking great.
28:51You can see how it's matching that pinky colour.
28:55Exactly what I want.
28:57And I'm just going to let this one dry and get on with the other two.
29:14So, I finished making and preparing the leather strips for the loops.
29:21After I dyed them, I just cut them to size and then just trimmed the edges into like a point
29:30so that when they get mounted onto the hammock, they'll bed in nicely to where they were originally put.
29:39Now, I just have to put this decorative stitching into position.
29:43I'm using a chain stitch, which is what has been used throughout the whole of the hammock.
29:50There are miles and miles and miles of chain stitching, which is really beautiful and decorative.
29:58But it's taking a lot longer than I was expecting it to take.
30:03So, there we have it all sewn together.
30:07Looks beautiful.
30:08It's also incredibly strong.
30:10Once they're all completely sewn, I can go ahead and get them stitched into place.
30:28Lucia had hit a sticky patch, trying to revive beekeeper David's face.
30:34But now this queen bee is flying.
30:39I've lightened David's forehead a bit,
30:42and I'm much happier with how that's looking.
30:45It's time now to move on to painting David's features and keeping them very subtle and soft,
30:51because they are behind a veil.
30:54I don't want it to look like it was painted yesterday, because it isn't.
30:59So, it's got to show some of its age.
31:01And less is certainly more.
31:04It's trying to do justice to the portrait of David,
31:10which is what Ruth remembers.
31:16This faded portrait of a nature lover had been at the mercy of the elements,
31:22day and night, for 12 years.
31:25But Lucia swapped canvas for concrete and put her restoration skills to the test.
31:33Lucia, that looks absolutely amazing.
31:36Thank you, Susie.
31:40For Ruth, it's a touching reminder of her beloved dad and their shared passion for beekeeping.
31:49Hi, Ruth. Hello.
31:51Hello. So good to see you. Welcome back.
31:54Oh, how are you feeling?
31:56Very nervous, very emotional.
31:59Obviously, I think about my dad a lot every day still.
32:01So, yeah, I'm really excited to see it.
32:06And as you know, we've got a little one coming soon.
32:10They're going to know exactly who he is.
32:12And I want to be able to share with family and friends who he was.
32:19Are you ready to see it?
32:23Yes.
32:37It's so clean.
32:43Ruth.
32:46It's a great thing.
32:47It's so great.
32:48It's so great.
32:50It's so great.
32:50I'm sorry.
32:51You're in the face.
32:55It's exactly how I remember it.
32:58Tara said it's better.
33:01Mustache looks great.
33:04Come in, come in.
33:08You'd be so glad it's here and it's been looked after and restored.
33:14It's stunning. Thank you so much.
33:20That's my dad.
33:22It was an honour, Ruth. It really was a challenge, but we're always up for a challenge.
33:27But an honour and a wonderful thing.
33:30Thank you for restoring it.
33:31Thank you for looking after it. My pleasure.
33:33I'll see you soon. Bye.
33:43All I saw was my dad.
33:44It was just so nice to see him full of life in his portrait.
33:50It brings back memories of being in that field with him, watching him go into the bees and the
33:54excitement. That was a really wonderful time.
33:58All I want to do is talk about my dad. All I want to do is share his stories and
34:02things that he's taught
34:03me and I get to do that even more so now with the portrait.
34:23Next up, some heavy metal for Dom Jania.
34:28Lindsay, hi. Hello.
34:29You okay? Yeah, great. Welcome to the bar and head on in.
34:33That looks heavy. It is.
34:37Lindsay Simpson has brought along a piece of rock and roll history in need of a comeback.
34:45Tell me, what is this?
34:46This is a bass guitar flight case. This particular case belonged to, as it says across the front here.
34:52Oh, I can see. Trevor...
34:54Boulder. Trevor Boulder.
34:55Yeah, during his time with a band called Uriah Heap. A really big prog rock band from the 70s and
35:01mostly 70s and 80s. He's from Hull, where I'm from, but he was also in
35:06several other bands, including David Bowie's Spiders from Mars.
35:22Wow. That's quite a claim to fame.
35:24Yeah, I mean, you don't get much bigger than that, really. Yeah.
35:27The idea that this case was used by that same bass guitarist is phenomenal to me. I listen to Bowie
35:33a lot and
35:34growing up, knowing that somebody from the city I'm from was able to be in a band of that level,
35:40it's just incredibly inspirational to me. In the music scene in Hull now, how well known is Trevor?
35:46If you're from the Hull scene, then you'll know who Trevor Boulder is. He's just an idol of the place,
35:51really.
35:52He's a local legend. Absolutely. Yeah.
35:54So I've got to ask, this is Trevor's flight case for Trevor's bass. How have you got hold of it?
36:00So this case was left at a venue in Hull called The Boathouse, which was like an underground music venue.
36:06And a friend of mine was gifted it. And basically, that friend of mine became homeless at one point.
36:12And I let him stay in my house whilst I was away. And when I came back, he'd left me
36:17this as a thank you.
36:19So that's how I came to have it. So growing up, was music a big thing in your family?
36:24Massive. I'm in a band in Hull myself. I've performed around the country in various bands.
36:30What do you play?
36:31I play guitar and bass and piano.
36:33OK, so this is obviously an amazing piece of history, but it's also quite a functional thing for you.
36:39Absolutely. Having a functional item like that that has the history behind it just adds that extra layer of cool
36:44to the item.
36:45Yeah.
36:46That era of proper rock and roll. Every little dent is a story in some way.
36:51Does it open?
36:52Barely. The hinges are a little bit...
36:54You can see how rusty it is.
36:55Yeah, the hinges are a little bit gone.
36:56Oh no, look at it in there.
36:58Exactly. The interior lining is completely gone pretty much.
37:01There's tiny remnants of the foam.
37:04What are you hoping I'm able to do to this case?
37:07Make it functional, ultimately. One day I could be using this to travel the world myself with my instrument in
37:14it.
37:14Is that the dream?
37:15Ideally, yeah. More than anything, it deserves to be in a better state.
37:20Well, thank you so much for trusting me with it. And I'll see you soon.
37:40This may well just be a slight case for a guitar.
37:44But to Lindsay, this is a symbol of what's possible and a dream that came true for Trevor.
37:51And I hope that in the future, Lindsay will be putting his bass guitar in here and taking it around
37:56the world on his tours with his band.
37:59But before then, I have got some work to do to get it back into working condition.
38:04All of the steel components have gone rusty and then with the rust comes things seizing up.
38:11I am going to have to do something with this writing on the front.
38:16That is what makes this case so special.
38:18But you can't read it.
38:20I really don't want to repaint it because this is the original writing.
38:23I'll give it some thought.
38:28I can't even get it open at the moment.
38:30Now, from what I can see from peering inside, it's not looking good.
38:35So I think I'm best starting with the hinge, get that removed, which will gain access to the inside.
38:41And then we can really start work.
38:49There are a lot of rivets holding this together.
38:51The only way to remove them is to drill them out.
38:54But they seem to be coming off quite easily.
38:59I should have this apart in no time.
39:20Perfect.
39:21That is one sorry looking hinge.
39:25Yes.
39:26Right.
39:27Now I can get inside.
39:28That is going to be a big cleanup job in there.
39:42I can get inside.
39:44With the silver paratrooper back in one piece,
39:49Brenton's turning his attention to the trickiest part of the repair.
39:55I've got to replace the wires from the canopy to the soldier.
39:59So I need some 0.3 millimetre silver.
40:03And I've only got 0.5.
40:050.3 is really thin.
40:06I'm going to draw my wire down using a draw plate, making the wire progressively thinner as I go down
40:11through these holes.
40:14What this does, rather than taking any metal off of the wire, is it squeezes the wire thinner and thinner.
40:23Now we go down to 0.45.
40:26I've got to keep doing this until I get down to 0.3.
40:46Now that I've got all of the rusty steel parts removed from the case, it's now time to try and
40:51get rid of that rust.
40:53I will admit it would be a lot easier to replace all of these parts, but these are all of
40:59the original pieces to Trevor's case.
41:01And I think it's worth keeping them.
41:03The benefit of using this rust removing solution is going to be really helpful on this hinge because it's going
41:09to seep in and creep in.
41:14Okay, that is all the parts fully submerged.
41:18Now it's just a weighting gain.
41:20I'm going to pop these all over to one side and let that do its thing.
41:24Whilst I get on with the rest of the case.
41:27Oh deary me.
41:44With the silver wire thinned out and cut to size, Brenton has the tricky task of re-rigging the statuette.
41:56I'm attaching my new lines to the parachute, ready for the paratrooper to start hauling
42:08the canopy in.
42:10And these lines will be pulled tight in groups of eight to each of the four straps that the paratrooper
42:20is holding.
42:20This is very fiddly, this wire will break really easily.
42:26So I have to be really careful with it.
42:31So these now need to be gathered.
42:33And these were on the original model, just twisted over the shoulder strap.
42:45Just three more sections to go.
42:47And I'm hoping that when Izzy and Ian see this, it will remind them of the tidy and immaculate way
42:57that Major John lived his life.
43:03This silver statuette was a treasured memento of Major John's time in the Parachute Regiment.
43:11But a shipwreck left it tarnished and dented with a torn and tangled mess of streams.
43:20Oh, it looks amazing. Look at that.
43:22Be pleased.
43:23Very pleased.
43:25Ian and daughter Izzy are back to collect this prized possession of the father and grandfather they adored.
43:37Welcome back.
43:39Thank you very much.
43:40Nice to see you again.
43:41How have you been?
43:42Very excited.
43:43Very excited.
43:44A bit emotional.
43:45To see what's under here.
43:47He said emotional, Izzy.
43:49For me, I've only ever seen the statuette with the damage.
43:52So it's almost like I'm going to be looking at it through granddad's eyes.
43:56I guess how he saw it for the first time.
43:59So that's what's so special to me.
44:01It's big day, big day.
44:04Okay.
44:05Go on, Brinson.
44:13Oof.
44:15Wow.
44:16That's incredible.
44:18That is incredible.
44:20That is amazing.
44:22I didn't even know it could be that shining.
44:24Wow.
44:25That is something else, isn't it?
44:28Oh, my gosh.
44:30Izzy, look at that.
44:31It's beautiful.
44:33My father and your grandfather would be amazed to see it back like that.
44:38I think he'd be over the moon.
44:40Yeah.
44:41He carried this with him, didn't he?
44:43Everywhere.
44:43He did.
44:44So I think that just shows how much it meant to him.
44:47Mm-hmm.
44:47So now we can hopefully keep it for future generations.
44:50It's ready for its next chapter.
44:52That's it.
44:53It's incredible.
44:54Thank you so much.
44:55Pleasure.
44:55Thank you very much.
44:56Absolute pleasure.
44:57Bye-bye.
44:57Bye-bye.
45:04I didn't think it could look like this at all.
45:07This is a perfect representative now of how proud he was to be in the parachute regimen.
45:12It will be pride of place and kept for years to come.
45:16It will keep his memory alive.
45:17Bye-bye.
45:18Bye-bye.
45:19It's incredible.
45:34While Will whips up a pair of poles for the leather baby hammock, Susie is on a sewing mission.
45:43I'm now focusing my attention on the decorative edges here,
45:48which are made of a strip of leather rather than individual triangles.
45:56The actual process has been quite challenging.
46:01The top line stitch in that chain link alternates between white and brown thread.
46:07So I've had two needles and different threads going at the same time, which kept on getting tangled.
46:13But it's beginning to come together.
46:16Just getting to the last triangle in the brown thread, and then I can go ahead and trim off
46:23the excess leather to form the triangular shape.
46:39I've got a lot of respect for the person who made this.
46:44The amount of effort that's gone into making this is quite extraordinary.
46:49It's got so much decoration on it.
46:52So far, I have spent a great deal of time sewing.
46:57And I do love sewing.
46:59But it's definitely a workout on your hands.
47:12What's this then, Dom?
47:15I'm trying my best to tidy up this flight case for a bass guitar from Uriah Heap.
47:20I thought I recognised that.
47:22Yeah, I saw them when I was 14 years old, Hammersmith Odeon.
47:26And they were so loud, I think my ears are still ringing now from it.
47:32There's every chance this case could have been there.
47:34You never know.
47:45After much deliberation, Dom is ready to take the plunge with his paintbrush.
47:52I have made the decision that I'm going to try and touch up the lettering a little bit more.
47:58I'm reluctant to paint over it because I don't want to lose the original writing.
48:03But I'm going to be very cautious.
48:06With just a very faint wash, I can build that up.
48:09I know it looks like I'm using an incredibly small brush, but I'm not repainting.
48:16I'm just picking out where it's worn and the worst of the areas just so you can make out the
48:22lettering.
48:25Some of the projects I end up getting involved in tend to quite often be big, loud, dirty, messy.
48:33Taking things apart, getting engines running.
48:36So it's quite nice, actually, to have quite a nice, gentle, clean job to do.
48:44It's going to take a few different attempts to blend this new paint in with the old paint
48:50and get it as seamless as possible.
49:10I've got all of these steel components from the flight case and they are looking so much better.
49:18I'm coating them with a rust preventative oil.
49:21This should make them last a lot longer.
49:25The last piece that I need to clean up is the all-important hinge,
49:29which was completely seized up and covered in rust.
49:32Things are already looking promising.
49:35This is looking absolutely brilliant.
49:38I am confident that I'll be able to get this freed up enough so that I can bolt it back
49:42onto the case.
49:45And Lindsay will actually be able to open it.
50:11And that is everything fixed back in place.
50:14That is everything fixed back in place.
50:18Oh, effortless.
50:19That is so much better.
50:21I just need to attach a new handle onto the top.
50:24And then I'm finished on the outside.
50:27And I can start thinking about the interior.
50:42Susie is on the home straight of her baby hammock sewing marathon.
50:50Hello.
50:51Hello.
50:52I come bearing gifts.
50:54They're beautiful.
50:56Now, I kept the design very simple because there's a lot going on with this.
51:00Yes.
51:01So, what's left to do?
51:02I've just got a few finishing touches and then I can give it back to Parry.
51:06Beautiful.
51:06I'll let you get on with it.
51:08See you later.
51:10This handcrafted baby hammock had been so well used that the leather was stained, the stitching broken and the hanging
51:20loops long gone.
51:24Right, let's get this covered up.
51:26Okay.
51:30Now, Parry is back to collect this treasured connection to her parents' love story.
51:41Hello.
51:42Hello.
51:43Hello.
51:43Hi, Parry.
51:43Welcome back.
51:45Are you looking forward to seeing a bit of Iran here today?
51:48Oh, gosh.
51:49Yes.
51:50Quite overwhelming, I think.
51:52It symbolises my mum and my dad and my mum embracing the Iranian culture and also the history of it.
52:00It belonged to the family.
52:02So, it does mean a lot.
52:07We are desperate to show you.
52:09Oh, I'm so anxious to see it.
52:16My gosh.
52:24That's so beautiful.
52:27Wow.
52:30You've done the loops.
52:33It's stunning.
52:34Absolutely stunning.
52:40I can just imagine it hanging up with my cousins in it.
52:48My mum would have been so happy.
52:52She would have really loved to have seen it like that.
52:56Thank you so much.
52:58You've done an amazing job.
53:00Don't know how you've done it.
53:02It's a beautiful piece and may it continue to give you much joy.
53:05I really appreciate it.
53:07Pleasure.
53:08Over to you.
53:09Yeah.
53:10There you go.
53:10Beautiful.
53:11There we are.
53:12Oh, thank you so much.
53:14Pleasure.
53:15Bye-bye.
53:15Take care.
53:15Bye.
53:16Bye-bye.
53:16Bye-bye.
53:22It's beyond expectations.
53:24I will never tire of looking at it and reminding myself of my mum and my dad, which that is
53:31symbolic of them.
53:33It's a family treasure and I think it's brilliant that it's been restored.
53:45You ready, Brenton?
53:46Yeah.
53:47It's nearly cut enough for the guitar case that rocked its way from Hull to the world stage back in
53:54the 1970s.
53:57That stuck well.
53:58This is specific foam for flight cases.
54:01That's why it's got this texture on it.
54:02It's really nice.
54:03Just the right amount of squidge to hold your guitar in place.
54:06It's a historical monument and it's nice to see it back being used again.
54:11Just need to get the other half in.
54:13Yep.
54:14And that will hold the guitar nice and secure, ready to give back to Lindsay.
54:17Excellent.
54:23This case once held the bass guitar of 70s rock musician Trevor Boulder, but years on tour had left
54:32it battered, dulled and rusted shut.
54:39Whoa, that's a proper flight case if I've ever seen one.
54:43Isn't it?
54:44It's looking good.
54:48Its latest owner, Lindsay, is hoping the newly restored case will lend some rock god magic to his own musical
54:57aspirations.
55:00Hi, welcome back.
55:01Hello.
55:01I can see you've come prepared.
55:03I have indeed.
55:04I'm honestly so excited.
55:07I just want to be able to use it again.
55:08But also the historical value.
55:10Because this was Trevor's.
55:11Yes, 100%.
55:13Are you excited to see it?
55:14Very, yeah.
55:15Yeah?
55:15Yeah, yeah.
55:16I can't wait.
55:22Oh, whoa.
55:24Oh, that's meh.
55:25That's meh.
55:26That's, wow.
55:29Can I touch it?
55:30Of course.
55:30It's your case.
55:33Whoa.
55:35Look, I mean, look at that.
55:36The locks work.
55:38All the original ones as well.
55:39Really?
55:40Yeah.
55:40Yeah.
55:41Oh, what?
55:43Oh, wow.
55:44That's crazy.
55:50Still the original text, but hopefully you can read it a lot clearer.
55:53I absolutely can.
55:54I'm so excited.
55:55It's hard to be able to know that this had his bass in it and it'll now have mine.
56:00I'm ecstatic.
56:02Thank you so much.
56:03What's the plan for it?
56:05I've got a load of gigs coming up with the band.
56:07We're going to be going to Glastonbury to do a small, like, stint there.
56:11You're performing there?
56:12Yeah, yeah.
56:12That's amazing.
56:13To be able to take it there as well will just be the icing on the cake, really.
56:17I think Trevor would be pleased to know that his whole case has ended up in the right hands.
56:21Do you want to try it for size?
56:22I cannot wait.
56:24Oh, this is so cool.
56:28Perfect, literally perfect.
56:33Okay, well, it's over to you now.
56:35Good luck at Glastonbury.
56:37Thank you very much.
56:38Let me get the door for you.
56:44See you later.
56:45Thank you so much.
56:46You're welcome.
56:49I couldn't believe the job that Dom's managed to do.
56:52It's so lovingly restored.
56:54I never actually dreamt of seeing a bass guitar in it again.
56:58The case itself deserves more life, and it deserves to be used more.
57:03And for me to be the one that's actually going to be able to carry that on,
57:07it's just a dream come true.
57:09Really amazing.
57:16If you have a treasured possession that's seen better days, and you think the team can help,
57:21please get in touch at bbc.co.uk and join us in The Repair Show.
57:43We'll see you next time.
57:57Transcription by CastingWords
Comments