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00:00A workshop full of wonders.
00:03I heard the word watch.
00:05Home to experts and time-honoured crafts.
00:09There you go, that's a good sound.
00:11Together repairing treasured pieces of the past.
00:15Oh, I like that. That is really good.
00:19Wow, look at that.
00:20Wow, look at that.
00:23Quite proud of that.
00:24And unlocking their stories.
00:27I'm completely blown away by this.
00:30Oh dear.
00:31Bringing the broken...
00:33I don't know where to start with this.
00:35...back to life.
00:36Wow.
00:38Stunning.
00:40Wow, fantastic!
00:43I think it's just amazing.
00:46Yeah!
00:47Welcome to the Repair Shop.
00:58Have a good day.
00:59You too.
01:10First at the barn, Alistair Waite from Shropshire.
01:13With a tiny model that could be a big challenge for paper conservator Angelina Bacalara.
01:20Hello.
01:21Hello.
01:24What is that?
01:25Oh, look, it's a circus.
01:27Is it a circus tent?
01:28It is.
01:29That's amazing.
01:30It was a topper on my parents' wedding cake in October 1954.
01:36Oh, that's very sweet.
01:38My parents were 20-odd years on the circus in the 50s and 60s.
01:42My father was the tent master for Chipperfield Circus.
01:46So he was responsible for that particular tent.
01:48My mother did various things.
01:50Riding elephants and hacks she had with the camels and llamas.
01:53Really?
01:54Oh, wow, OK.
01:55Now, did your dad used to wear the sort of jacket with the moustache and the hat?
01:59No, no, no.
02:00He wasn't the ringmaster.
02:01He was responsible for the tent and the transportation moving from town to town.
02:06There could be 200 or 300 people in the whole circus.
02:09Because that was the day when the elephants, they travelled by train.
02:12And there'd be a circus walk for the mile, mile and a half to where the circus ground was.
02:17It's just a totally different era.
02:20And obviously the rules have changed over sort of keeping animals in the circus.
02:24Yes.
02:25Different times.
02:26Definitely different times.
02:27What was life like for you as a child in the circus?
02:31We were feral.
02:32We could just, the circus just, you know, the community looked after you.
02:37But you knew the lady who had the ice cream franchise.
02:40So you'd always be touting around there for a free ice cream.
02:44Oh, wow.
02:44And you could go in to watch any show you wanted to.
02:47You'd just sneak in and look.
02:49It was brilliant.
02:50Yeah.
02:50So this is a replica of the actual tent, is that what they say?
02:55Really?
02:55Yeah, yeah.
02:56Yeah.
02:57So who made this?
02:58That's a really good question.
02:59I don't know.
03:00But somebody had to be fairly skilled to do that.
03:03Definitely.
03:03Agreed.
03:04Whereabouts did the wedding take place?
03:05In Birmingham.
03:06And, you know, as a guard of honour, they had some of the circus men, you know, the great
03:10big stake poles that hold the tent down.
03:12There were people holding those and they walked through.
03:14And the wedding breakfast, for want of a better word, was actually in the circus ring.
03:18Oh my goodness, really?
03:19They got married and beautiful cake.
03:21And that was at the top.
03:23That's amazing.
03:23They were just totally besotted with one another, right until the end, really.
03:29And I think all their love for each other is sort of wrapped up in that.
03:32What are you hoping Andrew can do for you?
03:34To come back in the best shape it can be in.
03:37You know, keeping some of the history, obviously.
03:39I mean, I don't know when, you know, the little bits of damage that's done.
03:42But there would have been flags on each pole at one stage.
03:45Yeah.
03:45Yeah, I mean, this is probably original flowers or something.
03:49To simulate trees, it's real, like, dried flower of some sort.
03:53I love it. I love it.
03:55I love it too.
03:55It's lovely to see you and hear all about the circus.
03:57We'll see you very soon.
03:58Thank you very much.
03:59Thank you. Bye-bye.
04:00Bye.
04:05They're so tiny.
04:06I mean, we're taking a lot of skill to make that.
04:09I agree.
04:10It's amazing.
04:11Good luck.
04:24This is such a lovely little piece of Alistair's history.
04:30But it has so many big challenges.
04:33There's wood.
04:34There's paper.
04:35There's little dry plants.
04:37It's just a very unusual item.
04:39Two of the poles are misshapen.
04:43Quite a few of the flags are no longer there.
04:45The little plants that are on the back are falling onto the paper tent,
04:50which also has a lot of color missing.
04:53There's so much that needs to be done.
04:55But I'm going to start with vacuuming as much of the loose dirt as possible,
05:01and then see exactly what I'm dealing with.
05:15Is this a new bear?
05:17Yeah.
05:17Here's my birthday present from my husband.
05:19He's lovely.
05:20Very sparkly suits you.
05:23Next, bringing in a tattered toy that turned royal heads,
05:28actor and former children's TV presenter, Jenny Hanley.
05:33Hello.
05:34Hello.
05:34Hello.
05:35Hi.
05:36How lovely to see you.
05:38You too.
05:39You look familiar to me.
05:40Yes, I was just going to say the same thing.
05:42Did you watch Magpie?
05:43No.
05:44Yes.
05:46They threw me out of airplanes and everything, but I survived.
05:49Wow.
05:50We loved Magpie.
05:51So did I.
05:52And who have you brought us?
05:53This is Alphonse, and he belonged to my grandmother.
05:58He was basically her first toy.
06:01Her name was Lisa, and she was a very famous photographer with her husband.
06:07She entered a competition in the newspaper, and the photograph won, and the editor said,
06:16you ought to take this out professionally, and photography just took her.
06:22They set up a studio in a little back room in their house and became Studio Lisa.
06:29Lisa Sheridan and her Russian husband-to-be, Fernand, fled the Russian Revolution in 1917.
06:36Arriving in Britain with little to their names but a camera.
06:41Studio Lisa's early work was product photography, but by the mid-1930s, Lisa's relaxed and intimate
06:49portraits of Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret brought wide acclaim.
06:54How did it come about then that Studio Lisa took photographs of the Princesses?
06:59A friend of Lisa's was working for the royal family, and everybody wanted to know more about them and the
07:08two princesses.
07:10Studio Lisa were asked to photograph them, to introduce them more to the public.
07:15And they went along when the queen was about ten.
07:20They were the first to take what one can call happy family snaps.
07:24So where does Alphonse fit in all of this?
07:27He helped them when they were photographing children by helping them to look in one direction.
07:33He can react to you and talk to you.
07:36And, of course, Alphonse was used then to get the young princesses looking at him while they took the photographs.
07:43He could tell quite a tale, couldn't he?
07:45Oh, yes.
07:46When Princess Elizabeth became queen, they were invited to take photographs of Princess Anne and Prince Charles.
07:53And this little guy saw it all.
07:55This little guy was there, yeah.
07:57He must have retired when Lisa retired then, did he?
08:01Yes.
08:02He was in tissue paper for a while.
08:04Mm-hm.
08:05When she died, I adopted Alphonse.
08:08Aw.
08:09Bless him.
08:10He's worked terribly hard.
08:12You can see that.
08:14Unfortunately, the metal is coming out of his fingers and his toes.
08:20Can I have a look?
08:21Yes, please do.
08:22And the cummerbund isn't exactly top drawer.
08:25Yes.
08:26And, of course, we're going to be worried about whatever's going on underneath here.
08:30There's a very grand eyes.
08:33I'm rather keen on those buttons because I've grown up with those buttons.
08:36So you want to keep them?
08:37Yes, please.
08:37That's absolutely fine.
08:38So tell us how you would like to see him.
08:42I don't want him to have gone to a plastic surgeon.
08:48I want him to have had a health club visit.
08:50A very sympathetic restoration.
08:52Please.
08:53If you can make him so that my grandchildren can touch him.
08:58Mm-hm.
08:58And then they could enjoy him as much as I have.
09:01That would mean a lot.
09:02I just hope you can work your magic on him.
09:05We will do our best.
09:07Okay.
09:08Bye.
09:08Bye.
09:19I'm blown away by this.
09:21I've not seen one like this before.
09:23No.
09:23This tape around his tummy, the cummerbund, that's my worry.
09:28Me too.
09:29But there's quite a few other areas.
09:31I mean, his little hands and feet.
09:33Yes.
09:33So frail.
09:34Here there's wire poking out.
09:36Can you see there?
09:37Should all be inside.
09:40So I think, with a little bit of fear, I'm going in.
09:43I'm going to take this off and then we'll see where we go from there.
09:46Go on then.
09:51Looks like it's been on there a while.
09:53It certainly does.
09:56There's a bit of damage here actually on the seam.
09:59So that's nothing too major to worry about.
10:02It has probably helped to prevent that damage from getting even worse.
10:07And maybe it was just that.
10:08If they were holding him, maybe they foresaw that that was a weak area
10:12and just put it on as a handle, for want of a better word.
10:16But that's the only damage I can see.
10:17Yeah.
10:18That is such a huge relief.
10:20Are you happy for me to undo this front seam?
10:22Oh, yeah.
10:31You're always fixing something.
10:33Yeah, I've tried my best.
10:34Yeah.
10:35Right.
10:36I think that should now be okay.
10:39Okay, turn it on.
10:41Yeah.
10:41There we go.
10:43Another fix.
10:44Well done.
10:49Angelina is turning to technology
10:51to help get the poles of the miniature circus tent vertical again.
10:57So I'm using my ultrasonic humidifier, which will be giving me very, very fine mist.
11:02And by applying this very fine mist, I am trying to soften the areas around the little pole that is
11:14broken.
11:15And as it gets wetter and wetter, it should become more pliable and move easier.
11:29It's already allowing me to keep it nice and straight and it matches the rest of the poles.
11:36So I'm just going to go ahead and glue it now.
11:44I am using some wood glue with a really small brush to get into the little crack.
12:05I'm just using a toothpick to help it dry upright.
12:13It's quite stressful.
12:15It's like walking on a tightrope.
12:21Tada!
12:23Wow.
12:25That was tense.
12:26While this dries, I'm just going to move to the next little pole.
12:49The two poles are now standing beautifully upright.
12:54So now I am mixing some watercolors in order to fill in on the tent where the color has been
13:00lost over the years.
13:02I have gone with using these watercolors because accessing the little nooks and crannies on the tent was not going
13:13to be easy with a pencil.
13:15So I've opted for something that can be applied with a brush.
13:19An added element to this tent, which is the orange stripes.
13:24So once I have the background ready and dry, then I will be able to fill those in.
13:34While one treasured keepsake is coming together nicely, another lies smashed to pieces.
13:42Oh my goodness.
13:44But it's definitely broken.
13:45Yeah, I wonder how it got like that.
13:47Londoner Abdul and his daughter Hannah have the answer.
13:51And they are looking to Steve and Will to restore this memento of Abdul's early life in South Asia.
13:58Hi there.
13:59Hello.
14:00Hello.
14:01Welcome, welcome.
14:02Thank you very much.
14:03Thanks for having us.
14:04Who does this belong to?
14:05My dad.
14:06He got it from his friend as a gift because they are dealers of the antiques.
14:13When my dad saw it and he said, it's a nice cloak.
14:17And he saw his friend and said, you love it?
14:19You like it?
14:20You have it.
14:21Really?
14:21Yeah.
14:22That's a nice gift.
14:22It is a nice gift.
14:23After three years, his dear friend passed away and it became more dear to him.
14:29Oh, I see.
14:30To my dad, their friend's memory was connected to this one.
14:34Okay.
14:34But for me, it's connected to my dad.
14:38Okay.
14:38So your dad must have really cared for this cloak?
14:40Too much, believe me.
14:42I don't think so.
14:44He could have cared for me that much, as much as he has cared for this one.
14:47What was he like as a dad?
14:50He was a wonderful dad.
14:52You know, looked after and taken care of everything.
14:55For his friends and relatives and especially for us.
14:59Hannah, did you know your grandfather?
15:02Unfortunately, I didn't get to meet my grandfather.
15:05I was diagnosed with a rare form of childhood eye cancer.
15:09She was a year old.
15:10So life kind of revolved around making sure that I got the care that I needed and just supporting me
15:17through that.
15:17So dad only got to go back to India once in 2005.
15:22So that was the last time he saw his dad before he passed away in 2010.
15:27Was that the last time you saw this clock working?
15:29That is right.
15:31I requested my family members to ship it from India to here.
15:38And they did not pack it properly.
15:40Oh, I see.
15:42So in transit, it completely shattered.
15:45Oh, goodness.
15:47When I opened and I saw in that condition, that was one of the worst day of my life.
15:54I'm standing here full of guilt that this is in this condition.
15:58Yeah.
15:58We don't really have very much left behind from my grandfather.
16:03We have like one photo or pin and just the clock.
16:07I haven't also been able to kind of appreciate its true beauty because for me it's through listening and touching.
16:14And with a lot of places broken, I can't really access my grandfather's clock.
16:20So being able to hear it working will be really special.
16:25I understand.
16:26I understand that.
16:27I will try my utmost to get it working and striking and ticking.
16:32That will be like as if my dream come true.
16:35Okay.
16:35Thank you very much.
16:36Thank you so much.
16:37Bye-bye now.
16:44This clock has really been on a journey, hasn't it?
16:47I know.
16:47And I think we've both got our work cut out on it as well.
16:50We do indeed.
16:50Right.
16:51Let me know we need some help.
16:52Okay.
16:53Then you drop it.
16:54Oh.
16:54You got it?
16:55Thanks.
16:55Oh, yes.
17:04This is going to be a very nice clock.
17:09But I think I've really got a lot of work to do on it for Hannah.
17:14She's never actually heard this clock.
17:16I think once she does, that will be a real connection with her grandfather.
17:20This bottom glass here is broken beyond repair, so I'm going to have to source another one.
17:28And I'm not sure whether I can get a transfer to go on the glass or whether I might need
17:34to get it repainted.
17:36The more I look at this case, the more I see how much Will has got his work really cut
17:43out.
17:43But I don't know how big my work is going to be until I take this off and have a
17:49look at the mechanism.
17:51And that's going to be my next job is to start getting it apart to see what's what.
18:08At the bare ladies bench, Amanda is tackling Alphonse's most damaged parts.
18:15I'm working on the hands and feet. Over the years they've become very, very frail.
18:19And the wires that actually hold his arm have come through the ends and they've started to wear through the
18:25velvet.
18:27So we need to get something in there to support that so that we can put that frame structure back
18:33in
18:33and know that it's going to be good and strong to hold it.
18:37I'm going to make a tiny little tube of felt and slide it in there.
18:42That way, when I repair it, I've got something strong enough to sew into
18:47and strong enough also that will encase the wire that's got to go back in.
18:53What I'm hoping is I've got a couple of stitches there.
18:57And I'm hoping I'm going to be able to pull that up through his little finger.
19:04Oh my, this is fiddly, fiddly.
19:13So delicate. So, so delicate.
19:17There we go. That's perfect.
19:20You can see here that I've kind of re-built that missing bit.
19:26It will add protection so that we can then insert that wire back in
19:30without fear of the wire coming back out.
19:42Our font has got slightly baggy arms.
19:48So I've literally just topped up some of the stuffing in this arm.
19:54It'll make him stronger in the long run.
19:58Now I'm going to do the same on the other side.
20:00But before I do, I'm just going to loosen this joint because it's not moving as freely as the other
20:09one.
20:10And all I need to do is just reach inside with my pliers.
20:15There's a little nail inside that's been bent over.
20:20And I just literally need to loosen it a fraction.
20:24Come on, little guy. We can do this together.
20:29Yeah, that's moving more freely now.
20:32So now, as I have done with the other arm, I'm going to top up the stuffing in this shoulder.
20:45Gently feed it in.
20:57Angelina has turned her attention to the flags missing from the circus cake topper.
21:03I have two original ones and I'm going to try and make six more.
21:10What I want to do is just trace the shape of one of the triangles and get them ready for
21:17painting.
21:17The replacement flags also need new flagpoles.
21:21And for that, Angelina is calling on the all-round talents of organ restorer David Burville.
21:28Angie's given me the circus cake topper.
21:32And what a fantastic little thing it is.
21:35There's some little pins which were some flagpoles
21:40and they're stuck and broken off in the tops of the main poles.
21:46What I've got to try and do is replace them with little dressmaking pins.
21:53But getting these other pins out is going to be a little bit tricky.
21:59I think I'm going to use a technique that I learnt many, many years ago when I was an apprentice.
22:05So I've got my soldering iron to actually heat up the metal and expand it.
22:11That will actually crack any rust that's surrounding the pin.
22:15And then I should be able to carefully extract the pin.
22:22Ah, there we go.
22:23That was easier than expected.
22:25So I've just got this next one.
22:34So that's brilliant.
22:37Ah, that world to treat.
22:39Great. Now I've got those out, I can now go through my box and actually find some matching pins
22:44and then put the new pins in.
23:03The next stage in repairing Alphonse's foot is to add a layer of silk crepelin.
23:11This is going to support the very frail velvet and give it some strength.
23:16And then I'm going to use my fabric pens and I'm going to blend it so that it matches the
23:21other velvet parts on his body.
23:33How's the Circus Topper going?
23:36It's all done for you.
23:37Is it?
23:37Yep, yep, it's all done for you.
23:39All new pins.
23:40I've aged them so they're not too shiny.
23:43That's perfect. Thank you so much.
23:45You're welcome.
23:50I've got an original photograph of the cake topper actually sitting on the wedding cake.
23:57I've been looking really, really closely and the cake is actually adorned with all sorts of different animals.
24:05There's giraffes, there's tigers, there's elephants.
24:08So I think a giraffe and an elephant will actually be in keeping with what was on the original cake.
24:15So I've got a little piece of balsa wood and I've just drawn out a very naive looking giraffe.
24:23I'm just going to use the rotary carving tool and then hopefully it will start to have the shape of
24:32a giraffe.
24:41While Steve removes dirt and grime from the mechanism of the travel damaged clock, Will is getting to grips with
24:49its battered case.
24:51The top part here, that's broken away.
24:55There's also lots of missing bits of veneer around the inside door here.
24:59And that's been a really tricky fix because it's not a flat surface that I need to re-veneer onto,
25:04it's curved.
25:05So I need to find some kind of way of replacing that.
25:10I'm going to start off by stripping the old varnish with paint stripper.
25:16Once I've done that, then I can start sticking back the loose bits of woodwork.
25:28When I was taking this clock apart, it was very, very difficult to separate the two plates
25:35because this clock has had quite a fall, which has just bent everything.
25:41If I put the ruler on it, it's just rocking away and that should be dead straight, not rocking at
25:47all.
25:48So I need to straighten the plates up so that all of the wheels will be properly in line
25:55because if I leave it distorted, it just won't work correctly.
25:59So I'm just going to gently hammer the plate and hopefully straighten it out.
26:18That's beautiful.
26:26That's much better.
26:28All right, let's just see how this goes together now.
26:37I'm really happy with that now.
26:39Very, very good.
26:47It's taken a lot of time to work out how I'm going to bend some wooden veneer,
26:52but I've seen Julian and Pete use a soldering iron to bend veneer before.
26:58What I've done is I've used some thin veneer here and then I get it slightly wet in water.
27:06So once that's wet, you lightly wrap that around the soldering iron.
27:14You don't want to use it on there for too long because it will burn the wood.
27:17But look at that. Amazing. Absolutely amazing. So quick. So simple.
27:24I'm going to stick it down with some hot glue.
27:37I've actually made this special mould and that should be able to keep it in that lovely curved edge whilst
27:44it dries.
27:51Amanda has nearly completed the strengthening of Alfonsi's dilapidated digits.
27:57So this is the final part. All the mesh is in place, holding everything together where it's all fragile.
28:06And now I'm using this shading pen so that it blends a little bit better.
28:11His hands and feet were in a really sorry state and I can feel that what I've done is actually
28:18given them some strength.
28:21So this little foot is nearly finished and it will be time to hand these over to Julie and they
28:27can be reunited with his arms and legs.
28:40Julie? A little bouquet of hands and feet.
28:43Yes. I'm so pleased now that we can actually finally get them back together again.
28:58Now that the flags are done and everything looks much more colourful, I can't help but think the flowers look
29:07quite sad.
29:09So I have sourced some new flowers. They are the same exact type of flower that these are.
29:16So I'm just going to go into the empty spaces and insert them back in and replace some of the
29:24lost little flowers with some of the new just to help bring everything together.
29:30Fabulous.
29:31Fabulous. This is going to be a very fiddly job, but I can't wait to see Alistair's reaction when I
29:38give the tent back to him.
29:42The wedding cake topper is an emblem of a couple's lifelong love that began in the circus, but age had
29:50left it faded and ramshackle.
29:52Oh, Angie. That's amazing. I love the presentation.
29:56I thought it would be fitting.
29:57It's very good. Very good.
29:59Alistair has returned to collect this unique reminder of his parents' relationship and of his family's extraordinary life in the
30:07circus.
30:09Hello.
30:09Hi, Alistair. Good to see you again.
30:11Thank you. It's nice to be here.
30:13How are you feeling?
30:15Excited, really, because it's the only tangible item that we've got of my mother and father.
30:22Are you ready?
30:23I'm ready as I'll ever be.
30:25Right.
30:30Wow.
30:36Oh, what a...
30:38What a fabulous job.
30:42Oh, you're a star. You've done...
30:45It's beautiful.
30:47And it's clean.
30:48It is.
30:52And look at the giraffe.
30:55The little animals were made by David.
30:59Well, that's great. Thank you very much for your work, David.
31:01You're welcome.
31:04And that's for all these dried flowers.
31:05Yes, I found the same type of flower that the originals were.
31:10Really?
31:12You know, that big top dad was responsible for, you know, mum rode elephants, so you've got that.
31:18And, yeah, it just brings it all full circle.
31:21God, I'm cobsmacked. It's just fantastic.
31:23It's yours now. You can take it home.
31:26Well, thank you very much, and thank you for all the work you've done.
31:29And I will look after it. Thank you.
31:31Thanks a lot. Bye-bye.
31:32Bye.
31:36Well done, Angie.
31:37Thank you. It was so much fun.
31:39Right. I'm going to make a start on this cake.
31:43The work that Angie's done on this cake topper is incredible.
31:47I've never seen it in such good condition.
31:50This will continue my parents' legacy.
31:52It's just a delight.
32:03It's Lucia Scalese's expertise with paint to the rescue next for a wartime essential belonging to Maureen Armstrong from Bristol.
32:14Hello.
32:15Hello.
32:16You must be Maureen.
32:18And this wonderful thing is yours.
32:20It was my grandmother's, and she wore it through the Second World War in Portsmouth.
32:27And what was your grandmother's name?
32:28Well, her full name was Dorothea Fernandez Hodges.
32:32Oh, how exotic.
32:34Everybody called her Dot.
32:36She was the commander of a group of volunteer nurses at a first aid post who would deal with casualties
32:46being brought in after bombing raids.
32:49And is that what FAP means?
32:52Yes, first aid post.
32:54Wow.
32:54So she'd signed up 1939, 1940, and she was working like that right through until victory.
33:04Everybody that I know trusted and respected her.
33:09She was just the greatest.
33:11Was she?
33:11But you growing up, how was it when she was around you?
33:15One of the reasons that hat is just so precious to me is that it is about my earliest memory.
33:22My mother and I were living with my grandma.
33:25I was put to bed in a little camp bed in our air raid shelter.
33:30And I can remember my grandma coming in, wearing that helmet on her way to go to the post because
33:37the sirens had gone.
33:39And she came in to kiss me goodnight.
33:41Later in my teenage years, I would go to her from school and sit and watch television with her and
33:49talk to her.
33:51And I just always felt that if I was with her, I was okay.
33:56When she went, it was a big hole in my life and I do miss her still.
34:02It's a wonderful thing to have anyway as a piece of history, but it's also got your grandmother's name all
34:08over it.
34:08Yes.
34:09D.F. Hodges.
34:10And if you look very carefully, you'll see that it's got her name on the chin strap as well.
34:15I saw it.
34:15Stitched on.
34:16Yeah.
34:17Yes.
34:17Do you have any memory of where she kept it, where it lived in her house?
34:21It was just in a cupboard, but she did bring it out for her reunions with the ladies from the
34:28post because they kept close friendship and they would have regular reunions.
34:34And how do you feel seeing it like this?
34:36Well, I got really worried when it got all this speckling here.
34:42Yeah.
34:42Because it's damaging the paintwork.
34:45Yeah.
34:46I would just love to be able to pass it on down more generations.
34:52It's not elaborate, but it did a job and that's what people did in the war.
34:58Well, thank you, Maureen.
35:00Leave it with me and I'll let you know how it goes.
35:04Bye-bye.
35:04Bye-bye.
35:16It's a fascinating thing.
35:19Maureen's main concern was when we're down to the bare metal and the rust staining.
35:25And that's something that I can treat.
35:28And then I'm going to retouch.
35:30So I actually have to match my retouching to this aged paint layer.
35:35And on the inside, we've got lovely lettering.
35:38There is a couple of little elements that I'll do some retouching with to pull the whole thing together so
35:43that it reads quite smoothly.
35:45But I want to maintain the general feel of it being an actively used serious piece of kit.
35:52I think my first job, I'm going to use a rust inhibitor, which will also serve as a cleaning agent
35:59too.
36:00I'm going to do an area around here where I can see there's definitely some sort of greasy dirt.
36:07Wow.
36:08Look at that.
36:10Well, I think we're going to get really quite a nice effect with a very, very gentle cleaning.
36:33Recreating the design on the broken glass of the travel damaged clock requires the skills of a new face at
36:40the barn.
36:42Alistair Mackay is an expert screen printer and gilder.
36:46Hi, Al.
36:47Hi, Steve.
36:48Thanks for coming in and hopefully helping with this piece of glass.
36:52No worries.
36:53Oh, it's in some state, isn't it?
36:54It is.
36:55I should be able to create a stencil from it.
36:58Okay.
36:58And then I'll screen print it onto a new piece of glass and I think it'll look really good.
37:03Okay.
37:03I'll look forward to that.
37:04Thanks.
37:18One thing that I really need to do is to sort out the bent claw of the pendulum rod here.
37:25When I put the pendulum on, I can see that it's really out of alignment.
37:32So the pendulum is the part of the clock that actually makes it keep time.
37:38But because it's such a long way out, when the pendulum's actually swinging, it will cause all sorts of issues
37:44for the going of the clock.
37:45So it really needs to be in line.
37:47So I just need to manipulate the claws here so that they're even.
37:53And it's absolutely vital to get them working right.
38:06Alistair has replicated the glassy's original design on a sheet of acetate and can now begin the screen printing process.
38:14This is a screen printing screen.
38:16It is a wooden outside with silk mesh so I can allow a really fine amount of ink to go
38:22onto the glass when I print.
38:24So the first part of the process is coating the screen in a photosensitive emulsion that then we're going to
38:31expose our artwork onto.
38:47So that's perfectly in line. This pendulum's going to do its job properly now.
38:56That looks good. The emulsion's dry. So now I'm going to put the acetate onto the screen.
39:05That's nice and centered.
39:07Now that the artwork's stuck in place, I'm going to use a light to shine UV light at the screen.
39:12This will harden the green areas and leave the areas that are in black soft.
39:17And that means that when I spray water on them, the water-soluble paint will drip out the screen
39:23and it will clear and create a sharp stencil, leaving an area that allows us to push ink through the
39:29mesh.
39:36Hey, Steve.
39:39Wow. It is absolutely beautiful. Fantastic.
39:43Well, that's me, Dan. Over to you.
39:44OK, thank you. Cheers.
40:11I've sourced a new piece of glass. It's been cut down to size.
40:14And now I'll be able to print on it and it will look exactly like the original.
40:19I've colour matched the silver so that we have exactly the same colour.
40:26Right, that's the ink in. It's now time to flood the screen, make sure there's enough ink and then print
40:30it.
40:32This is a bit nerve-wracking, this. I only get one shot at the squeegee pool.
40:47I think that matches really well and looks exactly like the original.
40:51I'll let it dry, give it a clean and then I'll give it back to Steve.
41:07Lucia is preparing to fill in the bare metal pockmarks on the wartime helmet.
41:13I'm going to use acrylic paints. I've mixed up the shade on here, but I need to put it on
41:18and see how it looks when it sits next to the paint on the helmet.
41:25So I'm not painting, I'm just going to do the spotting, just little dots in that area.
41:32This actually looks really quite light. I'm going to put a little bit of yellow opa in there.
41:38These are all very subtle colour changes.
41:45Actually, it's not bad.
41:47And I'm actually not colour matching to the tone of the stain, I'm matching to the tone of the actual
41:55paint.
41:57I'm going to go around the whole helmet and knock out the really big holes.
42:02Then I'll start going round looking at the actual staining.
42:07So bit by bit.
42:25I finished work with the acrylic, but it wasn't subtle enough in terms of a finish that I wanted to
42:30get.
42:31So I'm using my modern synthetic resins to retouch with and my dry pigments.
42:36And I mix the colours up very specifically for each loss.
42:40And these are much more transparent.
42:42So the base coat will shine through, but it's got a glaze over the top.
42:48Your eye will not be focused on the damage and what you see is the helmet first.
42:57So I've got a few more layers to put on, they're very thin.
43:01Then when that's finished, I'm going to move on to the lettering.
43:18Well, Lucia, is this World War I or World War II?
43:21World War II.
43:22I think my grandfather was in the Home Guard.
43:26So he would have had exactly the same helmet.
43:28No.
43:29They're all the same, but different colours, you know, sort of designations of what they were.
43:34Right.
43:34So what colour his would have been?
43:35I don't know.
43:36And he didn't keep the helmet?
43:38No.
43:38I've got his bowler hat.
43:39No.
43:47No.
43:47Alphonse's rejuvenating session at the Bear Lady's Spa is drawing to a close.
43:54So that's it.
43:55That's his hands and his feet, all back where they should be.
43:59But Amanda's decided a distinguished monkey needs an extra level of pampering.
44:05We thought it would be really nice to give him a little waistcoat, just to add a little
44:08bit of warmth and to make him look really smart.
44:12I chose this lovely burgundy colour.
44:15And all I'm doing now is stitching it together, ready for him to try it on.
44:21I can't wait to see him, actually.
44:22And I can't wait to see Jenny's response when she sees him.
44:25A nice, smart and strong monkey.
44:32This cheeky photographer's assistant cocks natural smiles from hundreds of children,
44:38including princesses Elizabeth and Margaret.
44:41But years of hard work had left him stiff and threadbare.
44:46Okay.
44:47Yeah.
44:48Here he is.
44:48He's all ready.
44:50Is he smiling?
44:51He's got a twinkle in his eye.
44:53Yeah.
44:57Now Jenny is back to be reunited with the furry fellow who was so important to the success
45:03of studio, Lisa, and to her photographer, Grandmother.
45:08Hello.
45:09Hi Jenny.
45:11Welcome back.
45:13How are you?
45:16I've so missed him.
45:18So missed him.
45:19Yes.
45:20I'm dying to see him.
45:22We are genuinely dying to show you.
45:26Come on then.
45:27You ready?
45:27Yes, please.
45:28Go on then.
45:34Oh, bless him.
45:43That's Alphonse.
45:45That's a healthy Alphonse.
45:49Golly.
45:57Oh, how did you do that?
46:00There was a big piece of rusty metal sticking out of his hand.
46:06Wow.
46:07You've mended this beautifully.
46:09Gosh, the family will be so pleased to see him and be able to touch him.
46:15I love his waistcoat because he's now dressed properly.
46:22Oh, bless.
46:24Have we struck the balance right?
46:26Oh.
46:27It may not be good English but it could not be righter.
46:30Oh.
46:31He's definitely Alphonse.
46:33He will live on now.
46:35I hope so.
46:36And he's ready to.
46:37You can tell he's ready to.
46:38You are brilliant ladies.
46:40Brilliant.
46:41Oh.
46:42You have done a miracle.
46:44You're so welcome.
46:45You're so welcome.
46:46Say goodbye.
46:49Bye Jenny.
46:50Safe trip back.
46:51Bye bye.
46:54I think we did it.
46:56I think we did.
46:57Well done.
46:57Well done you.
46:59It was the first time that I can remember him leaving the family in over a hundred years.
47:05Those ladies are just magic and I will be overjoyed to take him home and put him where he's meant
47:10to be.
47:24The wartime helmet has the name of its original owner dot barely legible on the chin strap.
47:32And Lucia has spotted scope for improvement.
47:36Whilst I've been cleaning this I've become increasingly aware of this hard crease in the band.
47:42A little bit of flattening out will just make it easier for Maureen when she's looking at it to see
47:48the label.
47:48And I'm going to use moisture which will just soften the fibers.
47:52I don't want to lose any of that writing.
47:53So I'm going to use blotting paper because that will minimise the amount of water that goes in.
48:02And I've got a piece of card just to flatten it out gently.
48:10One, clip it in place.
48:13You have to be very careful when you're using moisture in fabric because obviously the fibers, natural fibers like this
48:20cotton webbing will absorb it like a sponge.
48:24That's probably a minute.
48:28I've got my heated spatula.
48:31Literally it's like ironing a cotton or linen shirt.
48:34But that's all you're doing.
48:34I'm taking out this particular crease.
48:38Let's see the effect of this.
48:45It looks a lot better.
48:47I'm going to do it a couple more times and see if I can get it just a little bit
48:51flatter.
48:52And then I'll start on the lettering on the inside of the helmet.
49:11Absolutely beautiful.
49:12The joint efforts of Will, Alistair and Steve to revive Abdul's clock are paying off handsomely.
49:20It's been an absolute joy working on this clock.
49:25Everything's coming together so nicely.
49:28Will has done such a lovely job of the case.
49:32And the printing that Al's done is fantastic.
49:36The movement is in absolute first class condition there.
49:42And I'm sure when Abdul hears it ticking and striking, it will bring back a whole host of memories.
49:50And for Hannah, it's a very, very special thing because this is the first time that she'll have heard this
49:57clock.
50:00There we go.
50:04I just need to give it a bit of a final polish up, clean the glass, and then it's all
50:11going to be ready.
50:13That's brilliant.
50:16This clock was a treasured memento of Abdul's father, but shipping to the UK left it battered and silenced, with
50:24Abdul upset and guilt ridden.
50:28Now Abdul and daughter Hannah hope to put all that behind them.
50:34Hello, hello, welcome back.
50:36Hello.
50:37Hello.
50:38Nice to see you guys.
50:39How have you all been?
50:40You don't know how nervous I am.
50:42Because I didn't think the clock will be repaid one day.
50:47I never used to look at it.
50:50Now I hope it makes me happy.
50:54Because I haven't been able to appreciate the clock, it would be nice to be able to connect with it.
51:01Well, shall we take a look?
51:02Yes, please.
51:11I can't believe it.
51:16It's much, much better than what I remember.
51:23It's beautiful, believe me.
51:26Wonderful job.
51:33My God.
51:38Now is something which my dream came true.
51:45It's actually very soothing hearing it tick.
51:48It's almost like he's here, with us, with that clock.
51:51Because he cared about it so much.
51:55The wood is as good as new as well.
51:59Really, I don't know how to thank you.
52:06I was wondering whether it was going to do that.
52:08It feels like the clock, well, the clock has been brought back to life.
52:13But also, a treasured member of the family has been brought back as well.
52:19Brought my dad alive in front of me.
52:23You don't know how happy you have made me.
52:26It's been an absolute pleasure.
52:28And we're going to get it back home to you very safely.
52:30Thank you. Really appreciate it.
52:31You're very welcome.
52:32Thank you so much.
52:36I have never imagined that one day I'll be able to see this clock in this condition.
52:42Not in my sweetest dream.
52:48I'm just really happy that my dad won't be filled with guilt anymore.
52:54And he can just enjoy having the clock back in the family.
53:09Lucia's final task is to subtly smarten up the lettering on the underside of the wartime helmet.
53:17So the retouching is literally dots.
53:21So I've reconstructed that S and to my eye that already looks better.
53:25I might just bring this D and maybe the bottom edge of that F together because that's Dot's name.
53:47That's it. I think that's fine as it is. It shows its age and its wear and tear, but it's
53:52readily readable without being jarring.
53:55I'm going to give it a final little polish on the edges and the outside and it's ready to go
54:01back to Maury.
54:04This helmet protected Dot as she administered first aid during bombing raids in Portsmouth.
54:11But eight decades on, it had become badly scarred.
54:15For Maureen though, it still embodies the brave, caring grandmother she admired and loved in equal measure.
54:24Maureen, how lovely to see you again.
54:26Hello.
54:28Take a seat. How have you been?
54:31I've been very emotional.
54:33How have you?
54:34Because that helmet, it focused my memories, my feelings about my grandma, how much I've lost not having her anymore.
54:43That hat symbolises it in a lot of ways. It's the last thing I have from her really.
54:49Are you ready to see it?
54:52That's what I'm here for.
54:53That's what I'm here for.
54:53Yeah?
54:54OK.
55:01Oh, that's so beautiful.
55:06You've kept the texture of it and got rid of all those horrible brown spots, but it's just lovely.
55:17And you've managed to make that a bit clearer.
55:20Yes, you can read that cottage grove.
55:28It's her in so many ways and it's just great.
55:36She was of a generation that produced a lot of remarkable women and she was a remarkable woman.
55:45Oh, I wish she could be here, but I'm sure she's up there somewhere looking there and saying, yeah, not
55:51a bad job that.
55:53Thank you, Dorothy.
55:55I want to be able to take it and make it like a centre point of future family get-togethers.
56:02It has been a pleasure and a great honour to work on something so special.
56:07I'll bring it round to you.
56:08Oh, thank you.
56:13You ready?
56:15You got that?
56:16You did a great job.
56:25Well done, Lucia. That was absolutely lovely.
56:27Thank you. A special piece, I think. Yeah, it was good.
56:32I think Lucia has done a wonderful job on this because she's maintained the age.
56:38It looks still old, but it hasn't got those horrible brown spots.
56:43It will be a reminder and a tribute, not just to my grandma, but to all the other women who
56:48worked with her
56:49and who did so much to hold the country together during the Second World War.
56:56It's just so lovely.
57:05If you have a treasured possession that's seen better days and you think the team can help,
57:10please get in touch at bbc.co.uk slash techpark and join us in the repair shop.
57:19Thank you so much.
57:48Transcription by CastingWords
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