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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.
00:35Back to life.
00:36Wow.
00:38Stunning.
00:40Wow, fantastic.
00:43I think it's just amazing.
00:46Yeah.
00:47Welcome to the repair shop.
01:01Morning, Steve.
01:02Morning.
01:03You all right?
01:04Yeah, good, thank you.
01:06First to arrive at the barn, Christine Jagger from South Yorkshire.
01:11She's pinning her hopes and wills' woodwork expertise to secure a future for a gift from her past.
01:19Hi there.
01:20Hi.
01:21You must be Christine.
01:22Yeah.
01:22So this is yours?
01:23It is.
01:24Yes.
01:25Yes, looking very sorry for itself I'm afraid.
01:27This is a garden bench that my late husband bought for me one Christmas.
01:32He bought it from a garden centre and I've had it over 25 years.
01:36What was your husband's name?
01:38Gordon.
01:38Gordon.
01:39I sometimes wasn't very good at Christmas presents.
01:42So this was one of his better presents.
01:46I've had like a garden fork and a garden spade.
01:50Hit or miss then?
01:52Yes.
01:52And I never knew.
01:53So this was my most favourite present ever.
01:58It was Christmas morning and I always used to cook Christmas lunch for my family.
02:03So it just disappeared.
02:04Where is he?
02:05I wanted him to peel the sprouts and the carrots.
02:07Yeah.
02:07And he was a builder and he had a pickup truck.
02:10And he came down the lane and all I could see was this big wheel.
02:14He says, oh, this is your Christmas present.
02:16This must be really hard to wrap with wrapping.
02:18Yeah.
02:19He put a ribbon on it though.
02:20Did he?
02:21Yeah.
02:22When he drove down the lane it was flapping in the wind.
02:26Yeah.
02:26And we decided that we put it under the front window.
02:31He used to race pigeons.
02:33And we could see from the seat the pigeon loft down at the bottom of the garden.
02:40And the pigeons used to fly around and it'd say, oh, there's our Janet there.
02:43They all had names and he knew every single one.
02:46And then at the weekend I used to spot her in the garden.
02:49I love gardening.
02:50He'd make a drink and it'd shout, take your coffees up.
02:53Because we used to put the cups here and I used to sit at that side and he'd sit at
02:58this side.
02:59He just used to make me laugh all the time.
03:03He passed away in 2009.
03:05He had cancer.
03:07But I take a lot of comfort from my sons and my family and my grandchildren.
03:13Yeah.
03:14What would you like me to do with the bench?
03:17Obviously, mend the arms and just clean it up.
03:21Because we used to put it in the garage every winter and then he used to oil it and then
03:27we put it out when the weather got better.
03:29But then when Gordon wasn't here, it's just been left outside.
03:33It makes me sad that I haven't looked after it better because it means so much to me.
03:40Why have you just decided to have it fixed now?
03:42Because it would have been our 50th wedding anniversary at the end of this month.
03:48And I just feel that he's looking down on me and saying, you know, it's all right, you know.
03:56I have such lovely memories and my dogs sit on it now.
04:00Do they?
04:01I've got a little sausage dog sitting, so I chat to them now.
04:04This is linked to lots of memories in the past, but it'd be nice making new memories.
04:09Yeah.
04:10It's been lovely to meet you and I'll do my very best to get this looking lovely again with you.
04:13Thank you ever so much, Will. I really appreciate it.
04:16I'll see you soon.
04:36This bench is in really bad condition.
04:39I mean, everything is so dry and flaking off, but I do like it.
04:43I mean, it's not your average bench or your average Christmas present either.
04:48But I absolutely love the sentiment behind it.
04:50This arm here, that might have to go.
04:53I've got part of an arm on that side.
04:55I might be able to salvage that maybe.
04:57A lot of the damage could be lurking beneath the surface here.
05:01So I need to sand this back so I can determine what can be kept and what needs to be
05:04replaced.
05:21Are they Japanese saws?
05:24Yes.
05:24Really, really handy.
05:26They're pool saws.
05:28Right.
05:29So they're really accurate.
05:30And this one's my favourite because it's so flexible.
05:34Wow, look at that.
05:34And really good steel as well.
05:35Unbelievable.
05:40Dodging the downpour, Gayna McCarthy-Smith and her husband Jamie.
05:45They have a memento that's also braved the elements for paper conservator Angelina.
05:52Hi.
05:52Welcome.
05:53Hi.
05:53Come on in.
05:56Wow.
05:59This is so big.
06:02Goodness me.
06:03Wow.
06:05This is amazing.
06:07Is this a map?
06:08Yeah, it's a fisherman's chart of the North Sea.
06:11It basically shows the UK here and all the fishing grounds were right up to the Hebrides and to the
06:16Pharaohs.
06:17So if you look carefully in the chart, it will say, for example, Haddock, Haig, April to October.
06:23So they knew where to fish.
06:24This is fascinating.
06:26Whose is this?
06:27It was my late father's.
06:28His name was Joseph Patrick McCarthy, but he was known as Paddy and he used it at sea.
06:34He was a trawler skipper out of Grimsby.
06:36Wow.
06:37This particular chart is 1945.
06:40And we know your dad started fishing in 1946.
06:43So this may have been one of his first charts that he used.
06:46Wow.
06:47So when did he start?
06:48He went to work down the docks at the age of 16.
06:51He actually went on the boats and never looked back.
06:55How long did he do that for?
06:57Over 50 years.
06:59Now, I don't know a great deal about fishing, but I do know it is an incredibly...
07:03It's brutal, isn't it?
07:05Yeah.
07:05It's a difficult job.
07:06It's probably one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.
07:09Yeah.
07:10And also these people that went out, if they didn't catch fish, they didn't get paid.
07:14Wow.
07:14You had to be good.
07:15You had to be good to earn your money.
07:17So they go out for two to three weeks, or unless the boat was full of fish, land it, do
07:23a two-day turnaround and go back out to sea.
07:25We'll do that continuously.
07:26He was renowned in the mid-70s, particularly.
07:29I think he broke the record four or five times for landing the amount of fish.
07:34In 1976, out of the whole year.
07:38328 days at sea.
07:39328 days at sea.
07:41328 days away at sea.
07:43Yeah.
07:44Did he bring this with him on every trip?
07:46I think as technology moved on, he would have used other resources on the boat, but I don't doubt he
07:52would have taken this as a fail-safe.
07:54This is that thing you don't leave home without.
07:57Yes.
07:57Imagine every time he'd gone out to sea, it must have been terrifying.
08:02When I was a child, I think I just didn't understand.
08:05But when he was home, he was amazing.
08:07He was great fun, because he wanted to make the most of us when he was home.
08:10Precious time together.
08:11Yeah.
08:13What's the dream then?
08:14So we're doing some renovations on the house, and we thought it'd be nice to put this up.
08:18I love the fact it's used.
08:20And it was something that he used.
08:22But the paper on top is beginning to pull apart, obviously on the crease lines, which you'd expect, but I
08:29think the rest of it is becoming very weak.
08:33There's obviously quite a lot of staining on the paper.
08:37Would you like to keep it this way?
08:41I would.
08:41I love the stains on it.
08:43I love the fact there's probably tea stains, because he was a massive tea drinker.
08:46So with slush in seas, he's probably spilt over.
08:51So we do have a very obvious corner missing.
08:55It would be nice if we could see what was there.
08:59OK.
08:59I'll have a think.
09:01Brilliant.
09:01Well, thank you both so much for trusting us with this beautiful map.
09:06See you later.
09:07Bye-bye.
09:11You are going to learn all about the sea once you've finished repairing this.
09:14I'll be able to navigate.
09:15We go on a boat trip.
09:16Yes.
09:17Good luck.
09:18Thank you, Don.
09:19We go on.
09:33There is quite a lot that needs to be done.
09:37This has been lined in the back with the textile.
09:40So this is paper that has been lined with the textile.
09:44So because it was folded so much, there's all of these peelings and liftings of the paper
09:51along the folds that are coming off of the textile.
09:55Both of them need to be flattened.
09:57In order to do that, I will need to use some water, some humidification.
10:02Also, in the bottom corner, I need to find what was there and think about the best way to replace
10:12it.
10:13But before any of that can happen, I need to remove any surface dirt.
10:19So I'll just use a very soft eraser made specifically for paper.
10:26And this will not remove any of the much-loved stains.
10:34This is just a tiny little corner and I have to travel the entire length of the North Sea.
10:42So there's a big journey for me, which is just starting.
11:01Well, I finished sanding the bench and I've taken the back off because it was a lot easier to sand
11:06in two parts.
11:07It really reveals that true beauty in the wood and it's a lovely, rich teak colour.
11:12Now, teak has lots of natural oils in it, which gives it better resistance to rain and water.
11:18However, I'm thinking that the arms aren't actually made of teak at all.
11:22Maybe the originals have broken off and they were replaced with this wood here.
11:25Now, water has gone into all these nooks and crannies. It's just crumbling away.
11:30I'm going to have to replace these completely.
11:33Thankfully, I have the remnants of the previous arms.
11:37This one here, that's the upper armrest.
11:40And this one here, it's where it swoops down at the front.
11:44So my plan is to kind of combine the two together to make a template of what one singular arm
11:50should look like.
11:55Once I've cut this out, much like a tailored suit, you know, it's going to need lots of fittings to
11:59make sure that this fits just right.
12:17Yeah.
12:20Look at that.
12:21Perfect.
12:23What I need to do now is to transfer this onto this mighty big piece of teak here, get it
12:30cut up on the bantel.
12:31So here I go.
12:54What I've cut my two pieces of wood, now it's just a case of joining them together to create one
12:59continuous arm.
13:00I'm going to attach them by a tongue and groove joint.
13:04And it's the same joint that's been used at the back of the bench, so it's sort of in keeping
13:07with everything else.
13:09Everything needs to be really precise.
13:12If something's slightly out of line, then that could create a future weakness.
13:19Well, that's the outline of the first part of my joint.
13:22I now need to cut that on the bound so that I can glue the pieces together.
13:41Arriving from Somerset, Jane James and a lifelong companion.
13:47He needs help from the queens of all things cuddly, Julie and Amanda.
13:53Hello.
13:54Hello.
13:55Oh, welcome to the barn.
13:57Thank you very much.
13:58Look at him.
14:00This is my bear.
14:02My mum gave me the bear when I was born, and I was probably half his size.
14:08I don't remember a time without him.
14:11What is your mum's name?
14:12My mum's name's Betty.
14:14She was a ward sister at St. Martin's Hospital in Bath in the 1960s.
14:22And at that time, Eddie Cochran was in an accident in a car.
14:27The Eddie Cochran.
14:28The Eddie Cochran, the famous rock and roll singer.
14:30Oh, my goodness.
14:32Wow.
14:32He was 21.
14:34In the car was himself, his girlfriend called Sharon Sheely and Jean Vincent.
14:41And mum's hospital was the nearest hospital.
14:44Eddie Cochran arrived and died at her hospital.
14:47Wow.
14:49And Jean Vincent survived.
14:50Survived.
14:51Yeah.
14:52Sharon had a fractured pelvis and was admitted to my mum's ward.
14:56Not many people have heard about her, but she was one of the first American female songwriters for rock and
15:03roll.
15:04Gosh.
15:05She would have been in the hospital for quite a long time, because at that time, you would have been
15:10on bed rest.
15:11Your mum must have forged quite a strong relationship with Sharon.
15:15Definitely, because my mum got to know her patients really well.
15:20And although she was a star in her own right, and obviously her boyfriend was a very international star, she
15:30was always a patient to my mum.
15:32And I'm presuming that Sharon would have had a lot of visitors.
15:35She certainly had Billy Fury come to see her.
15:37And this teddy bear was given to her by him.
15:40Oh, my goodness.
15:41My mum tells me that she was pregnant with me.
15:45Oh.
15:45And Sharon Sheely gave this teddy bear to my mum to give to me.
15:51Right.
15:52Oh, wow.
15:53Maybe it was a token of her thanks for the care on the ward.
15:57What was it like growing up with a mum that was a nurse?
16:01Very practical, but very loving.
16:04Very caring.
16:05She was always a nurse, till she retired at 60.
16:09Is your mum still with us?
16:11Mum's 93.
16:13Oh, wow.
16:13Wow.
16:14And very frail, but can still talk about these days on the ward.
16:20This was a precious item given to her.
16:23Yeah.
16:23And he was part of me from day one of being a baby, which is why he looks so threadbare,
16:32because he's been loved.
16:33He's been loved.
16:34Look at the colour he was.
16:36Exactly.
16:37Beautiful.
16:37So his pores were red.
16:39Bright red.
16:39Kind of quite velvety.
16:41Yeah.
16:42I do think his head's about to fall off as well.
16:44He's got a look like the age that he is.
16:47Mm-hm.
16:48But I'd like to give him a bit of a makeover.
16:51He's 64 years old.
16:53Mm-hm.
16:53And I'd like him to be preserved for my children.
16:57My mum had great stories of her nursing career, but this one I think is a special story.
17:02And will you take him to see your mum?
17:04Oh, yes.
17:06She'll absolutely love it.
17:07We're going to look forward to doing this, aren't we?
17:09Thank you very much.
17:10You take care.
17:11Okay.
17:13Bye.
17:15What an amazing story.
17:16Eddie Cochran.
17:17Eddie Cochran.
17:18Come on.
17:28All this area here is where it's unstuffed, so he can't support himself anymore.
17:33A certain size and gravity takes over and everything drops.
17:37I know how he feels.
17:42The paws.
17:43She says she remembers them being sort of velvety.
17:46What do you think about his arms and legs and his ears?
17:51We mustn't forget his ears.
17:52This looks very threadbare, but it just wouldn't be right to put fur back on there.
17:58No.
17:59How do you feel about popping these into some black dye?
18:04Ooh.
18:05Ooh, there's a thought.
18:07Yeah.
18:07If these are more black, this will look brighter.
18:09Yeah.
18:10I don't think you'll notice the bald areas as much.
18:14I reckon we need to make a start then.
18:17Absolutely.
18:25This wood wool is actually in quite good condition.
18:28The trouble is it dries out, doesn't it?
18:30So as soon as we start moving it, it breaks down.
18:33Oh, yes.
18:33We definitely have to replace it when we come to restuff him.
18:43Angelina's gentle cleaning of the fishing chart has preserved its weather-beaten character,
18:48but also spruced it up.
18:51It's already looking much fresher and it feels much softer.
18:55However, there's all of these liftings of the paper on all of the areas where the chart was folded.
19:03So these need to be laid flat and then glued down.
19:08And I am using a wet blotting paper to very lightly humidify those areas.
19:17By using the weight, the water is slowly going to go into the fibers and allow them to relax.
19:28But there's so, so many of them.
19:32It's sort of like a production line.
19:35It's going to take a while, but it's so going to be worth it.
19:39So once everything is nice and humidified, then I can get them adhered back into position.
20:02Well, now that everything is as flat as possible and the paper feels nice and supple,
20:10I will introduce my adhesive.
20:14This is methyl cellulose and paper is made out of cellulose fibers.
20:19So this makes it an ideal adhesive for this job.
20:27I'm just using my bone folder just to push those areas down.
20:33And once I'm satisfied, then I will leave them underweight to dry.
20:57The garden bench is starting to come together, but sitting pretty on it is still a long way off.
21:08Beautiful. Both arms in place.
21:10But when you look at them now, they have a sort of sharp angular edge.
21:15Not very comfy to put your arm on and not really in keeping with the original design.
21:18So I'm going to use my chisel and my files now to slowly smooth off those edges, shape them in,
21:24and make everything look like it was never damaged in the first place.
21:27I guess.
21:42MUSIC PLAYS
22:03Shaping the arm, I've managed to reproduce that lovely, smooth, curved top there.
22:10But the only thing now that's sticking out like a sore thumb
22:12is this damage to the rail on the side.
22:15Because the bench has been made from various bits of a cartwheel,
22:19there are loads of holes, but some parts it's just rotten through.
22:22I'm going to cut out that main bit of damage and piece in a new bit of wood.
22:26Let's get soaring.
22:39MUSIC PLAYS
22:45The teddy bear with the rock and roll pedigree
22:48has been dismantled and washed in readiness for the next phase,
22:53rejuvenating his original fur.
22:55I'm going to try and dye these pieces of black fabric.
22:59We definitely wouldn't try and replace the fur.
23:03Jane did say that she'd really like him to look brighter,
23:07but without changing him.
23:09Although there are quite a few balding areas, it's still strong.
23:15So I want to see if we can get these nice and black again.
23:19I think it's going to make a huge difference.
23:23MUSIC PLAYS
23:27I'm starting to make new paw pads for bear.
23:30We've gone for a really short pile, lovely cotton velvet.
23:36I'm just going to pin the original paw pads onto my fabric like this,
23:40and then I can draw around and get a really good fit.
23:44These are really going to smarten him up
23:46and make him look really nice again.
23:49MUSIC PLAYS
24:09What are you doing, mate?
24:11I'm dyeing a teddy bear's legs and arms.
24:14What do you do here?
24:17Turn around.
24:19It won't take me very long.
24:21LAUGHTER
24:42Oh, hello.
24:43Do you want to see?
24:44I do.
24:45You look quite pleased.
24:49That is amazing.
24:51Isn't it stunning?
24:54Right, let's get this done.
24:56Yep.
25:04MUSIC PLAYS
25:06Angelina has calmed the surface of the North Sea
25:09on the 1940s fishing chart.
25:11Now the paper and textile layers of its missing corner need reconstructing.
25:17I've got a really nice piece of paper that I can use for my infill.
25:22And I have prepared a piece of linen with a heat set adhesive, which is going to go behind.
25:32And I will have my piece of paper cut.
25:38When ironed, it will activate and bond all of the layers together.
25:43But before I go there, I need to shape this into the loss that I have and prepare it so
25:51it will be nice and evenly distributed on the back and not create like a big ugly patch.
25:57So what I'll do is I'll just cut the textile around the overlap.
26:07There we go.
26:10I'll use my very sharp, very pointy tweezers and just going to pull bit by bit those fibres.
26:21It's going to mean that I'm going to have a nice and beautifully blended repair.
26:33Once my edges are nice and frayed and I have the paper cut into the right shape, then I will
26:42iron both of them together and I will have my infill.
26:45It's going to be cool.
27:12The bottom corner
27:14infill is looking amazing.
27:17I found an identical fishing chart.
27:21So I've had this printed onto tracing paper, which will allow me to follow their design.
27:28In order to match the two images together, all I have to do is just trace the lines on the
27:35back with a really soft pencil.
27:37Then I will turn the page around, trace all of the lines again.
27:42And the lead that I have deposited on the back will transfer onto my paper.
27:47This way I will have the right information right in front of me to then retouch.
28:19I am now starting.
28:23I am now starting the retouching of this corner, it is such a challenging job to do.
28:33I think this is probably the tiniest thing that I have ever retouched.
28:37Just as an example, this is about one and a half millimeters tall, so this is so, so small.
28:48This is very, very difficult.
28:50I think this is going to be a great ride, but my eyes are going to hurt by the end
28:56of it.
29:16The back is on and all the woodwork is finished as well, but at the moment it looks very pale,
29:21very light, where it should have a nice rich teak color, so I am going to help this along by
29:26adding some teak stain.
29:29Now, this is a sort of red-y brown-y color, it is just an enhancement really.
29:34Oh yes.
29:38Lovely.
29:44That is a beautiful arm.
29:47The wedge is lighter than the surrounding wood.
29:50When I have stained everything, I might add some pigments and blend it in further.
29:57Once I have finished staining the bench, I am going to seal it with a coat of oil, which is
30:01suitable to go outside.
30:02Then, this can go back outside Christine's house, she can sit on the bench, much like she did when she
30:08spent those days with Gordon.
30:14This garden bench was a treasured Christmas gift to Christine from her late husband, Gordon.
30:20But years spent outside had left it badly damaged.
30:25Christine is hoping it can once again be a special place to sit.
30:35Hi, Christine.
30:36Hi, Phil.
30:37Lovely to see you again.
30:38Are you excited?
30:39Yeah.
30:40I can't believe I am here.
30:42I feel as if somebody is going to pinch me and I am going to wake up.
30:45It is just quite emotional for me, but I will be just so grateful to have it back.
30:51I can't wait.
30:52They will be happy tears, honestly.
30:54Yeah.
30:54Yeah.
30:55This kind of present is a big reflection on the kind of person that Gordon was.
30:59Yes.
30:59He always said things would last forever if you looked after them.
31:04So, it would absolutely love that this has been brought back to life.
31:10Are you ready to take a look?
31:11Yes, I am.
31:12Yeah.
31:13OK.
31:14Yeah.
31:24It's just so lovely.
31:28I am just so grateful.
31:37Can I sit down here?
31:39Definitely.
31:39Of course you can.
31:41Because the seat is just so comfortable.
31:44So we sit here and we put our coffee here and then you put your other elbow on there and
31:53then drink your coffee.
31:54the arms are just exactly the same.
31:58Oh, it feels so lovely, Will.
32:00I can't wait to get it home.
32:03I feel like Gordon's putting his arms around me and saying, Will looking good.
32:14I can't imagine how long it's taking us to do it.
32:16I don't know.
32:20Who's going to be sharing the space with you?
32:21I know you've got a little sausage dog, haven't you?
32:23I've got two.
32:24So Archie and Millie will be sat there.
32:26Sit down and have your morning coffee.
32:27Yes.
32:28Looking out.
32:29Yes.
32:30It will just be absolutely amazing, yeah, to have it back and I will look after it will.
32:38Leave it with me and I'll get it back to you.
32:40Oh, that's amazing.
32:42I'll see you soon.
32:42I'll give you a hug.
32:43Thank you so much.
32:46Thanks, Christine.
32:47Bye-bye.
32:53I'm just overwhelmed because it just looks absolutely amazing.
32:59The smoothness of the arms and how comfy the bench is when you sit down.
33:04I'd forgotten how lovely it was and it just takes me back to when we were both sat there and
33:10laughing.
33:12We just used to laugh all the time.
33:16I can't wait to get it home.
33:37David Birch has travelled to the barn from Lancashire with his son Charlie.
33:42Their mission is to put camera expert Piero Pozzello in the picture about a very special keepsake.
33:49Hi there.
33:50Hello.
33:51Lovely to see you.
33:53Ooh.
33:54That looks very nice.
33:55This is my grandad's camera from World War II and he carried it through the war with him until 1945.
34:06What was your grandfather's name?
34:07Charlie.
34:08Charlie.
34:09Yeah.
34:09In 1938 he joined the Royal Engineers when the British had to evacuate France.
34:15Came out through Dunkirk and then was sent through to North Africa where he fought with Montgomery.
34:21The 8th Army was redeployed to Italy.
34:25When he landed he found his brother who was in a different regiment had landed before him and he was
34:33killed.
34:34They were very close so Grandad went to Salerno and he took a photograph with the camera of Uncle Harry's
34:43grave.
34:44Yeah.
34:45Very sad.
34:46Definitely.
34:47When did he acquire the camera?
34:49When did he acquire the camera?
34:49We believe he acquired it in North Africa.
34:53It could well have been with him through all the major battles in Africa.
34:56I know he went through Monte Cassino as well which was one of the bloodiest battles of World War II.
35:02And it survived.
35:03It's just absolutely unbelievable.
35:05It must have been really hard for your grandfather to have seen so much and then to come back to
35:10kind of normality.
35:12When he was quiet we left him to be quiet.
35:14But then when he was engaging he was just the greatest.
35:20I mean he was an engineer.
35:21He could build anything.
35:23So as kids we were in the local tip.
35:25We would come home with bike parts, wheels of prams and we'd go back two or three days later and
35:31there'd be a gold cart made.
35:32Great.
35:33There'd be a bike made.
35:34He was just brilliant at that.
35:36So what exactly happened to the camera?
35:38It went from its war life to becoming a family camera.
35:42Mainly Nan thereafter.
35:45So when we'd all go on a family holiday to North Wales.
35:48On the beach the camera was always there and she was clicking away.
35:52From family holidays, weddings, christenings.
35:55Basically it was my Nan's second handbag because she always had it with her.
36:00Always.
36:01So the camera and the case are a real strong link to both your grandparents.
36:05Yeah it means a great deal to me.
36:07It's gone through all the sadness, the joys, the happiness and I just want it to come back to life
36:13again.
36:15Charlie, this is Charlie as well.
36:17Are you named after your great grandfather?
36:18Yes.
36:19Oh that's lovely.
36:20Yeah it's a great name.
36:22I think we both have a passion for photography in the same way which is a really great connection.
36:28Charlie's a professional photographer and to me to have the camera do a full circle.
36:33Go from Charlie back to Charlie.
36:35I think would be fantastic.
36:37It's beautiful and very different to anything I use these days.
36:41What's wrong with the camera?
36:43It doesn't work.
36:44You can see mould and rust is actually going on the chrome.
36:48And the inside I know it's certainly very dirty in there.
36:51So there might be some sand hidden inside still.
36:53Yeah there could well be.
36:55It's a very special item and I really would love it to spring back to life.
37:01I'll give it my best shot for you.
37:02Lovely.
37:03See you soon.
37:04Thanks a lot guys.
37:04Bye bye.
37:09Now it looks relatively decent on the outside.
37:12They always do.
37:13Wait till you get inside.
37:14I'll leave you with it.
37:15Good luck.
37:24There are a few things which are concerning me.
37:28I can already see if I engage the shutter and fire it, it's sticking.
37:33And that's a huge problem.
37:35Without that opening up and letting light in, it won't be able to capture an image.
37:40I can see there's fungus and haze in the lens.
37:43It can scar the optic.
37:44And if it scars the optic, the images will come up blurry.
37:48So I want to make sure that comes apart and we take a proper look.
37:52David mentioned there was mould which I can see on top of the camera.
37:55I want to make sure to remove this because this is the viewfinder.
37:58And it comes in rather handy when you're trying to take a picture.
38:01David always saw his nan with the case.
38:04So I want to make sure that this gets the love and care it needs too.
38:06And I think it's a job for Dean.
38:09First thing I need to do is take the shutter unit apart so I can really see what's going on.
38:26Under Julie and Amanda's care, the teddy hailing from the rock and roll era is set to regain some of
38:33his original dapper looks.
38:35I'm just currently stitching paw pads in place.
38:41I've got the leg turned inside out.
38:44The paw pad has to be stitched in from the reverse.
38:47So that when I turn it through the right way, you'll see the new bright red paw pad.
38:54Hopefully tidily stitched in.
38:58Right.
39:02Gently turn it through. I don't want to push or pull too hard.
39:09There we go.
39:11Amanda's done such a good job with these paw pads.
39:14And I'm thrilled at the blackness of the black and the red against the black is striking.
39:22I want to see those black ears against the white.
39:26Look at that.
39:29I've just got this one arm left to do.
39:32Once I've done that, I can actually start stuffing and re-jointing these limbs.
39:50Piero is investigating why the shutter mechanism of the old camera is malfunctioning.
39:57These blades open till they light in, till they take a picture and then close again.
40:02I'm just going to remove the casing from the shutter.
40:06There's the blades.
40:08I just want to take a closer look. Check the other side.
40:13Yeah, there you go.
40:15It may only look faint, but you can see the darker markings.
40:19Just debris and basically oil, which would have been causing the shutter to jam.
40:25I'm using a chemical which will break down the old grease, starting with the main casing.
40:31Because when oil gets on the blades, it acts like glue.
40:36To finish it off, just give it a good scrub with the toothbrush.
40:41Yeah, there you go.
40:46I'm going to just clean the shutter blades next.
40:49The debris on the blades would have worked its way in just through time,
40:52so there could have been sand from Africa or any bit of dirt and dust over the whole of its
40:56lifetime.
40:59Look how much cleaner that is now.
41:02Right, that's one.
41:04Pop that back in.
41:05There you go, that's one on.
41:07Do the same with the other one.
41:19Right, there the blades in.
41:22They're all in nicely.
41:26They're moving really freely.
41:27No sticking, no bumps.
41:29It just feels perfect.
41:32Next step is clean the rest of the shutter components, put it all back together and give it a test.
41:53I've re-lubricated everything and it's all going smoothly, but until I put it through the tester, I'm not going
41:59to know whether it's actually working.
42:01The shutter is incredibly important because it allows you to expose the image correctly.
42:06If it's open too long, it'll basically come out pure white.
42:09If it's too short, everything will be incredibly dark, so this is key that it needs to be spot on.
42:15This machine is able to calculate the shutter speed in milliseconds by using light which travels through the shutter when
42:20it opens to then hit the sensor underneath.
42:24And then this will record how quickly the shutter is open and closed.
42:28So if it's dark indoors and you need a lot more light, you use 1 25th, which means the shutter
42:34stays open longer, letting more light through.
42:36So I'm hoping to see on the machine around 40 milliseconds, which equates to 1 25th of a second.
42:43Hold it up close, fire it off.
42:46Those numbers are looking great.
42:48Now to try the 1 100th.
42:50I would use this speed when it's really sunny outside and you really want to reduce how much light is
42:54coming through that shutter.
42:56And we're looking for speeds around 10 milliseconds.
43:02Not bad for a 90-odd-year-old camera.
43:06I feel really confident in the shutter that it will be able to provide Charlie with the correct exposures and
43:12he'll be able to use it professionally.
43:19Sometimes I think it's ridiculous.
43:20I'm a grown-up and I'm playing with plasticine.
43:23You could have a little creche corner.
43:25Oh, thank you.
43:26There you go.
43:26What do I do with it?
43:28What do you mean?
43:28Did you not do plasticine as a child?
43:32No.
43:33What do I do?
43:34Can I roll?
43:35Yeah, just warm it in your hands and then you can create, Chris.
43:49Angelina is turning up the heat in preparation for filling the losses on the fishing chart.
43:58I've toasted some cellulose powder, which is like powdered paper, and that process makes it turn a little bit darker.
44:07It's like toasting bread.
44:08It kind of smells really good as well.
44:10That will help them blend in much nicer.
44:13And then I will be able to retouch, if necessary, those small areas.
44:20Well, this is looking great so far.
44:23I'll just continue working through the rest of the areas, just making sure that everything is nice and even, ready
44:29for Jamie and Gaynor to see.
44:30I am so excited.
44:32I can't wait to see their reactions.
44:35This chart was essential to celebrated Grimsby skipper Paddy McCarthy as he fished the North Sea.
44:42But eight decades and the rigors of maritime life had left it creased, fragile and missing a section.
44:52I'm glad we had enough fabric for this.
44:54Yeah, just about.
44:55I know.
44:57Gaynor and her husband Jamie are hoping this symbol of her father has been preserved.
45:04Hi.
45:04Welcome back.
45:05Welcome back.
45:06Come on in.
45:07How are you both?
45:09Nervous and excited.
45:11I know it's just a chart, but it's my dad's chart.
45:14And he kept it for a reason.
45:16And for me, that's for me to keep it and look after it.
45:20Do you want to take a look?
45:21Yes, please.
45:21Yes, please, yeah.
45:22Go on then.
45:27Oh my God, that's amazing.
45:29Absolutely.
45:30Yeah.
45:32That's fantastic.
45:34You've done the bottom corner as well.
45:36That's brilliant.
45:39It's all hand painted.
45:40Fantastic.
45:41Thank you so much.
45:42That is absolutely amazing.
45:44Oh.
45:46I love it.
45:47It's just beautiful.
45:49It really does feel like a beautiful tribute.
45:51Yes.
45:52For your father, but also to the fishing community.
45:55Very much so.
45:56It puts a different slant on things that we use every day.
45:59Yes.
46:01That how beautiful they can be.
46:03Yeah.
46:03When they're looked after and restored amazingly.
46:07Part of me wants to sort of cry, but I can't because my dad always said see joy in everything.
46:13And that's what I see.
46:14I just see him smiling at me, smiling at it.
46:17I love it.
46:17That's nice.
46:18That's a lovely sentiment.
46:20That's lovely.
46:22Angie's done a beautiful job.
46:23I can't thank her enough.
46:25It's my dad's legacy, I think.
46:28And to celebrate his life and his work that I can continue to look at and cherish.
46:51Piero is turning his attention to the lens of the old camera, which is showing all the signs of its
46:57many travels.
46:59First thing I need to address is this fungus and haze because it can leave scar into the optic and
47:04it can damage the image quality.
47:06It's not like normal glass.
47:07It has a single coating to it and this coating is really soft.
47:11I need to use a chemical which will essentially kill the fungus spores and remove it.
47:17Believe it or not, even when cleaning with a cotton bud very lightly, any tiny bit of dirt underneath the
47:23cotton bud can then lead to scratching the optic.
47:25So I have to be really, really careful.
47:30It went from North Africa of all the sand there to Wales on the beach and more sand and the
47:36fluctuation in temperature all leads to fungus growth.
47:42That's cleaned up really well.
47:53Piero's repairs are progressing nicely, but the camera's battered case requires Dean's leatherwork skills.
48:01Hi, Dean. Hello.
48:02I've got this case, but it's got a broken strap and it's just a bit worse for wear.
48:06Yes, it is, isn't it?
48:09If you leave it with me, I'll see what I can do with it.
48:11Perfect, thank you.
48:13All right.
48:15It is a lovely case.
48:17It's been hand stitched from what I can see.
48:19The only main damage I can see on it really is the strap is actually twisted.
48:23It doesn't sit properly and over time that's created a weakness there that has split it at the rivet.
48:31The first thing I need to do is remove that rivet.
48:34I'm going to use my pincers and the stem will bend enough that I can peel it out.
48:43To repair this so I don't have to remove too much of the strap, I'm going to cut as close
48:48as I possibly can to the back of that original slit.
48:53I can get a hole through that and get the rivet in.
48:58Put a little bit of extra force in, twist it to ensure a clean cut and I've got myself a
49:07hole there.
49:08I take my new rivet and just pull that through.
49:12When I hammer it, it'll lock everything together.
49:22That is now locked in and the strap sits nice and straight.
49:27I'm happy with that.
49:29All there is for me to do now is to give this a really good clean and then I can
49:33get it back to Piero.
49:41Did you ever have a film camera?
49:42I did, yes. Single lens reflex and the older style as well.
49:46Nice, from 1930s?
49:47Not quite that far back.
49:57The teddy bear with the rock and roll past is restuffed and back in one piece.
50:03But Julie and Amanda's vision for him needs a little more work.
50:07It's time we've got his eyes in, don't you?
50:09Definitely, yeah.
50:13Do you think I need to hold his paw?
50:14Yes.
50:24Looking very handsome.
50:27What a difference an eye makes.
50:29It certainly does.
50:30Hurry up, I want to see the other one in.
50:32OK.
50:33It's not going to be long before we hand him back to Jane.
50:36I know.
50:37I just want to see her face.
50:40So both eyes in.
50:46Shall I put his mouth on?
50:48Yeah.
50:48Yeah.
50:49Wow.
50:50Come on then.
50:55After the accident that took Eddie Cochran's life, his injured girlfriend Sharon Sheely gave this toy to Betty, the nurse
51:03who cared for her.
51:05But at over 60 years old, the bear was balding and sagging.
51:09Very handsome.
51:11Very handsome.
51:11There you go, mate.
51:12Now we've just got to hope he behaves himself underneath the blanket.
51:21Betty's daughter Jane is back to see if the bear is now strong and worthy of the memorable tales from
51:27her mum's days on the ward.
51:29Hello, Jane.
51:31Hello.
51:31Welcome back to the barn.
51:32How are you feeling?
51:33I'm very excited.
51:35This bear's been sad for a number of years.
51:38And this is about my mother.
51:41This story was an important story of her nursing career, which is important to me and to her.
51:49Okay.
51:50Are you ready to see him?
51:52Yes.
51:53Are you sure?
51:54Are you sure?
51:54Yeah.
51:56Come on then.
51:59Oh!
52:01Oh my goodness.
52:04Magic.
52:06Yeah.
52:08Oh, he looks so different.
52:11But he's still an old 1960s bear.
52:16Good.
52:17Wow.
52:19And he sits up and his head feels solid now.
52:24I love the red.
52:27Is that how you remember them?
52:28Yes.
52:29Good.
52:29Definitely.
52:30Definitely.
52:31Oh, he's got nice black legs as well now.
52:37Wow.
52:38He is gorgeous.
52:40Thank you so much.
52:41You're welcome.
52:42I can't wait to take him home now.
52:44He's definitely going to see my mum this week.
52:47And it's so lovely that she's still here and I can show him to her in one piece.
52:52Definitely.
52:52Definitely.
52:53So thank you very much.
52:54You're welcome.
52:55Have a safe journey home.
52:56I will.
52:57Take care.
52:58Bye-bye.
52:58Bye.
52:59Bye bear.
52:59Bye bear.
52:59Bye bear.
53:01Bye bear.
53:02It's so lovely to hold my bear in my arms and know that his head's not going to fall off.
53:08And I can give him a proper cuddle and my mum can give him a proper cuddle again.
53:16This is a way of keeping my mum's story alive.
53:30With the old cameras components all thoroughly overhauled and tested, Piero has one final task.
53:39Because I've dismantled everything fully, it all needs recalibrating and resetting.
53:43So I'm using the ground piece of glass on the back, which allows me to see the image coming through
53:49the lens.
53:50To focus the lens, I'm moving the front optic backwards and forwards ever so slightly in order to make sure
53:57that tree is nice and sharp.
54:00Once this is in focus, I'll pop the lens ring on, send it to infinity and that's good to go.
54:13This camera bore witness to soldier Charlie's experience of war and the joys of family life.
54:20But decades of exposure to sand and dust had left it out of action.
54:26Oh, lovely.
54:28Looking nice and clean.
54:29Very nice.
54:33Charlie's grandson David and his photographer son Charlie are hoping it can keep on capturing their family history.
54:43Hi guys.
54:44Hi. Hello.
54:45How have you been?
54:46Very good, thank you, yeah.
54:47Very excited to get back and to see what the master has been able to perform.
54:54The master, did you hear that?
54:56I know.
54:57What are you hoping for today, Charlie?
54:59To get some roller films through it ASAP.
55:02Yeah, yeah, to try and shoot some pictures with it.
55:04It's, yeah, exciting.
55:06The story's going to go on and for the camera to be used again, especially by Charlie, is just, yeah,
55:14it's just the icing on the cake to me, it's just great.
55:16Are you guys ready to take a look?
55:17Yes, please.
55:18Yeah, very much so.
55:20You ready?
55:20Yes, please.
55:25Oh, wow.
55:27Yeah.
55:28Wow.
55:32Oh, wow.
55:33All the mould's gone off it.
55:35Looks brand new.
55:36It does.
55:38Wow.
55:39Oh, the lens.
55:40Okay.
55:43Beautiful.
55:44I mean, I thought it was beautiful beforehand, but it's even more so now.
55:47I'll leave you to test the action of it, not me.
55:51It's so clean.
55:53Wow.
55:55Amazing.
55:56It's much better.
55:58It feels brilliant.
56:00Is it usable?
56:00It's fully usable.
56:01Okay.
56:03Oh, wow.
56:03Wow.
56:05Nice.
56:06Wow.
56:07Feels great.
56:08It feels very sturdy.
56:10It looks, yeah, like it could last forever again.
56:13It's really beautiful.
56:15And the case is back.
56:17Dean done an amazing job on that.
56:18Oh, wow.
56:19Wow.
56:20I wasn't expecting that.
56:21So that's great.
56:22That's lovely.
56:24One thing to have to be able to take a picture on a camera that your great grandfather would
56:31have used.
56:31Yeah.
56:32Yeah.
56:32It's one hell of a story.
56:34It's really nice.
56:35This camera's going to be used, not just sort of sitting on a shelf somewhere.
56:38And the more you use it, the longer it's going to last.
56:41Cheers, gentlemen.
56:42Thanks very much indeed.
56:43Thanks.
56:43Bye-bye.
56:52Really, really excited for the future and kind of want to run away and take pictures of
56:55it right now, to be honest.
56:58To have that working again means a great deal to me.
57:01It really does.
57:03And that the camera will be able to write its own new stories.
57:06It's just an amazing feeling.
57:08Amazing.
57:16If you have a treasured possession that's seen better days, and you think the team can
57:21help, please get in touch at bbc.co.uk slash techpark and join us in the repair shop.
57:30With me, we'll see you again.
57:45For more information, we'll see you again.
57:45This is a watched podcast.
57:45I'll see you again.
57:46Thanks for listening.
57:46And we'll see you again.
57:46Call us for assistance.
57:46We can do it again.
57:47We can do it again.
57:47Bye-bye.
57:47Bye-bye.
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