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00:01Here at The Repair Shop,
00:03countless treasures have been brought back to life.
00:07Cha-ching.
00:08That reveal so much about who we are
00:11and where we're from.
00:14It's like it's brand new.
00:15But there's so much more out there
00:18that's not yet made it to the barn.
00:20This is amazing.
00:22So the team are hitting the road.
00:25I just love getting up close and personal with the objects.
00:27And we're going to get a glimpse into some amazing heritage crafts.
00:31I cannot wait.
00:34On a unique adventure.
00:36Oh, yes.
00:37This is terrifying.
00:39To join forces with expert craftspeople.
00:43Whoa!
00:44If we don't point these joints, moisture's going to penetrate.
00:47On their most ambitious restorations yet.
00:50To think every day you come up, this is your office.
00:52Wow! It's big.
00:54Keeping heritage crafts alive.
00:56Keep going.
00:57Keep going.
00:58It's getting hot in there.
01:00On precious restorations around the country.
01:03I can't even imagine what it looks like.
01:06There's a legacy here that needs to be protected.
01:15Life on the road.
01:17Life on the road.
01:29We think this was written by one of the junior crew members.
01:33It's never been completely determined who wrote it.
01:35An inspiring chair in need of repair.
01:39It once belonged to Trevor Bayliss, the inventor of the wind-up radio.
01:43And Dom tries the traditional art of woodblock printing.
01:48Oh, no.
01:49Oh, no.
01:49No, no, no, no.
01:49I've chipped a bit.
01:50Just to make the mountain a bit bigger.
01:55Another new experience for me today.
01:57Go on.
01:58Whitby.
01:59Lovely.
02:00Not only a fishing harbour, but they built ships there.
02:02Oh, I love a shipbuilder.
02:07Whitby, on Yorkshire's North Sea coast, is a historical port.
02:14That boasts a famous abbey.
02:17Inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula.
02:22And attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists every year.
02:30Lunchtime is probably going to be a treat for me today.
02:32Ready?
02:33Why?
02:33Fish and chips.
02:34I can't not.
02:35We're at the seaside.
02:36I only had my first fish and chips about a year ago.
02:39Oh, stop it.
02:40That's not true.
02:41That is true.
02:41Now your life has changed.
02:43Completely changed.
02:46But before lunch, there's work to be done.
02:52Dom's destination is Whitby Museum.
02:56Founded in 1823, it's a treasure trove of rare finds.
03:02From fossils to artifacts celebrating Whitby's maritime and industrial heritage.
03:10Rob.
03:12This museum is absolutely incredible.
03:15I could get lost in there for hours.
03:16Yeah, we do.
03:17We love working here, as you can imagine.
03:19Rob Williams is the archivist here.
03:23Where they've recently rediscovered something quite special.
03:27Long buried in the museum's collection.
03:30It's an unofficial journal of Captain Cook's first voyage.
03:36What does that mean?
03:37Unofficial.
03:38We think this was written by one of the junior crew members.
03:41It's never been completely determined who wrote it.
03:44But of course, because he was a junior crew member, his viewpoint of what went on on the voyage is
03:49completely different.
03:53Captain James Cook was born 30 miles from here, at Martin.
03:57In 1768, at the age of 39, he embarked on his first great voyage of discovery, a combined Royal Navy
04:07and Royal Society expedition to the South Pacific.
04:12The voyage was commissioned by scientists, basically, to observe the transit of Venus, which is Venus crossing the face of
04:21the sun.
04:22Okay.
04:23But viewed from loads of different locations across the planet.
04:26And the idea was it would help them to work out the size of the solar system, which hadn't been
04:31done at that point, and also to aid navigation.
04:34And so, of course, the official journal goes into great detail about this experiment and how it was done.
04:40This guy just mentions it in one sentence, and the rest of the paragraph is about a duel between two
04:46of the officers on board.
04:47The journal is a priceless glimpse into the reality behind the official admiralty account.
04:54There's a paragraph talking about some crew members going ashore and stealing potatoes from the natives, for which they get
05:01hauled up in front of the captain.
05:03And someone is cheeky enough to say, yes, but captain, you and your officers have been doing exactly the same
05:08thing.
05:09So it's just a completely different viewpoint.
05:12Wow.
05:13So this shouldn't really have made its way off the boat, I'm imagining.
05:17That's right.
05:18The admiralty had rules, which was that you were allowed to keep journals and diaries on the ship, but you
05:24had to hand them in when the ship docked.
05:26Somebody didn't.
05:27Well, this is why it's remained anonymous for all of these years, because this guy would have felt, well, if
05:32they find out it's me, they're going to throw me in jail.
05:36Scientific discovery was one reason for Cook's three-year voyage.
05:40But the Royal Navy had other motives.
05:44Cook had an envelope of sealed orders from the admiralty, which they told him not to open until the experiment
05:50was complete.
05:51So there was another agenda on this voyage then?
05:54That's right, yeah.
05:55They were navigating and charting New Zealand, Australia.
05:59I mean, it seems incredible to us that nobody really knew the size of Australia, because nobody had really charted
06:05it before.
06:06And if you were the first to land in a place, you could claim it.
06:09So this was all about land grab, really, I suppose.
06:13Cook landed in both New Zealand and Australia at Botany Bay.
06:19This marked the beginning of a major expansion of the British Empire and colonial rule.
06:26Today, Cook leaves a controversial legacy.
06:29But at the time, he became a national hero.
06:34So this isn't the actual book that they wrote in at the time.
06:38This is a printed book, printed in 1771.
06:42This would have been a real money spinner.
06:44The ship had been away for three years.
06:46No radio, no television.
06:48The public would have been desperate to know what happened on this voyage.
06:52And somebody thought, I can make some money out of this before the official version came out.
06:56This one came out only two months after the ship had docked.
07:00Very clever.
07:01Very sneaky, though.
07:03Oh, yes.
07:04Well, that's what we like about it.
07:05We like a bit of sneaky.
07:06Yeah.
07:08How long has the book been here, in the collection?
07:11Well, we know that this was donated to the museum in 1939.
07:16There's an annotation in here.
07:17Here, this book was bought at Scarborough, circa 1890.
07:22Just down the road?
07:23Just down the road.
07:24Yeah.
07:25And the collector was a guy called James Bell Walker.
07:28OK.
07:29So inside here, we've got lots of notes.
07:32Oh, it's like a scrapbook as well, isn't it?
07:33Yeah, that's right.
07:34Wow.
07:35So these were pages where we think Walker was making notes about the book.
07:40And he glued those in.
07:44Why is it important to you to get the book repaired?
07:46This is a really important piece of the jigsaw puzzle to understand a really important navigator, Captain Cook, and what
07:54he means to the area.
07:56And what we really want to do next is do a lot more research into this book, how it came
08:01about, more evidence about who might have written it.
08:05But it's in such terrible condition that we're reluctant to let researchers loose on it yet.
08:10We need to restore it to a condition where we can allow people to handle it and open it.
08:20What an amazing, unique, quirky book.
08:23Thank you for trusting us with it.
08:24No, thank you for allowing us to tell the story.
08:27It's amazing.
08:33Two hundred miles due south, Will is on his own voyage of discovery.
08:41To find a treasured possession in need of some expert TLC.
08:48He's come to West London to find another museum, one that's celebrating the city's more recent history.
08:56And meeting Michelle Whitby, the founder of the Eel Pie Island Museum.
09:02This is very nice. So tell me a bit more about this place.
09:04Eel Pie Island is a little tiny island just across the road in the middle of the Thames here.
09:12Small island, but an amazing amount of history.
09:15Lots of music history, lots of boatyard history, lots of incredible characters that have been part of Eel Pie Island's
09:21story over many, many years.
09:25Eel Pie Island is a near nine-acre private island in the middle of the River Thames.
09:31When a hotel was built in the 1830s, it became a stopping point for pleasure steamers.
09:36And then in the 1950s and 60s, a venue for jazz and rock concerts.
09:43So you had bands like the Rolling Stones playing there.
09:46Really?
09:47David Bowie. Before he was even David Bowie played over there, he was still little Davy Jones.
09:53Pink Floyd, Hawkewin, bands like that playing.
09:56So it was quite phenomenal.
09:59The island's bohemian nature attracted artists and eccentrics.
10:04And among those who came to live there was the owner of this chair.
10:10This is it. This is the chair.
10:12It's a lovely chair.
10:13Thank you. It once belonged to Trevor Bayliss, the inventor of the wind-up radio.
10:17He lived on Eel Pie Island.
10:19I've got one of those.
10:20No way. Have you?
10:21I've got a wind-up.
10:21Does it still work?
10:22Yeah.
10:23Brilliant.
10:23It does, actually.
10:23Excellent. Well, Trevor, who sat in this chair, he invented that.
10:29Trevor Bayliss lived a colourful life.
10:31He once performed as a stunt swimmer for a Berlin circus,
10:36but found national fame as an inventor in the 1990s.
10:41So Trevor was watching a programme about the spread of AIDS
10:45and how it was spreading rapidly through sub-Saharan Africa at the time,
10:49mainly because people didn't know about it,
10:50because they didn't have access to information.
10:52Lots of people didn't have any electricity.
10:55And he was just horrified that something as simple
10:57as not being able to get information around
10:59was allowing this disease to spread.
11:02So he literally watched his programme
11:03and then apparently just stayed up all night
11:05tinkering in his little workshop that was round the side of his house
11:08until he came up with the basis for this wind-up radio.
11:11So the idea being that you could be anywhere in the world
11:14and you just had to wind this thing up and hear the news.
11:17Mind blown.
11:18So that is the story behind the wind-up radio?
11:19Yeah, that's the story behind the wind-up radio, yeah.
11:22Trevor Baylissi's radio was a worldwide success.
11:26When he died in 2018 at the age of 80,
11:31his friends, including Michel, gave him a suitable send-off,
11:35building him a custom-made coffin
11:38in the shape of his most famous invention.
11:44So where does this chair come into the mix?
11:46We ended up getting quite a few of his items from his house,
11:48including this chair.
11:50And, you know, we kind of make a joke, like, you know,
11:52have you invented anything yet while you're sitting in here?
11:54But as you can see, it's getting very, very worn.
11:57What would you like us to do with the chair?
11:58It would be just fantastic to get this cushion repaired
12:01so people can sit in it.
12:03It's more than about Eelpie Island for you.
12:07It's that love and link with Trevor.
12:09He really was a big, big source of inspiration and support to me as well.
12:13His door was always open.
12:14He could just pop in and, you know, shout,
12:16all right, Trevor, need you to get the kettle on
12:17and just go and sit and have a chat.
12:20I feel duty-bound to keep his chair in good condition,
12:24you know, see what you guys can do with your magic.
12:29Can you always see him sitting in it now?
12:32Yeah, definitely, yeah, definitely.
12:34You can almost smell the pipe smoke.
12:38A world away from West London,
12:42at the bar,
12:44resident bookbinder Chris Shaw
12:46is preparing to start a new chapter
12:49in the long history of the Cook Journal.
12:52It's a journal of a voyage around the world, 1771,
12:57so really old.
12:59And it's beautiful.
13:02It's really important that this book
13:04for the community in Whitby can be read again
13:06and currently it's in an unfit state,
13:09so I've got to sort that
13:11and there's a lot of problems
13:13there's a problem with the boards,
13:15there's a problem with the spine,
13:17the pages don't open,
13:18there's loose pages,
13:19the list is endless.
13:23There's three pages of additional notes,
13:28so I need to remove this.
13:29And then this is the original flyleaf,
13:33which is really badly dog-eared around the edge.
13:37And on the top left-hand corner,
13:39there's a massive tear
13:40and it's stuck actually good and proper
13:44to the title page.
13:45To separate the flyleaf and title page,
13:49Chris must first remove them
13:50from the rest of the book.
13:52I know where I can pull the pages to pieces safely.
13:56It's not part of a section.
13:58Books are bound together in separate sections.
14:02If Chris is correct,
14:03the two pages should come away easily.
14:06Wow.
14:08That's a relief.
14:09But this is just the beginning.
14:12Chris now has to tease the two pages apart.
14:16To start with,
14:18I'm going to go in with
14:21the book's worst nightmare.
14:23It's water.
14:24I'm going to sort of dampen in it slightly.
14:27And hopefully that will be enough moisture
14:30without doing any damage to the paper.
14:33This is definitely water-soluble ink,
14:35so I have to be a bit careful.
14:37Every time the page is turned,
14:39there's a pressure point there.
14:42So it's going to get worse.
14:43So this is the point.
14:44I can actually get it sorted properly
14:47for the future.
14:49So I'll get my trusty scalpel onto it
14:52and just see if I can lift the paper.
14:57I need a patience of a saint
14:59for this job sometimes.
15:09Just needs a bit of encouragement, I think.
15:16So that's the pages separated.
15:18I'm going to put this to one side,
15:20the title page,
15:20and I can start mending the flyleaf
15:24with some repair tissue.
15:27I'm using some very fine tissue paper.
15:31It's very, very strong.
15:33And this particular one,
15:35once it's dry,
15:36goes just about invisible.
15:43And then I'm going to use some wheat paste
15:46to put it on.
15:48And it just disappears.
15:52This is stabilising where the tears are.
16:03That's one edge done.
16:04I'm going to put this under a weight
16:06in between the sandwich
16:07of silicon release and blotting paper.
16:10When that is dry,
16:11I can move on to the other edges.
16:14With Chris taking a deep dive
16:17into the detail of the journal's restoration...
16:26Dom stayed behind in Whitby,
16:28keen to learn a little more
16:30about Captain Cook
16:31and his connection to the town.
16:33Oh, we're on our way already.
16:35This is it.
16:35We're setting off.
16:36OK.
16:37On a replica of the Endeavour,
16:40the ship Cook sailed to the South Pacific.
16:43He's meeting local lad Dennis Buck,
16:46the volunteer who rediscovered the journal
16:49deep in the archives.
16:52People, I think,
16:53had forgotten the significance of it.
16:55And to be quite honest,
16:56it was tucked away
16:57and quite forgotten about.
16:58So when I brought it to the attention
17:00of our librarians and archivists,
17:02the excitement suddenly grew.
17:06Why is the book important?
17:08Because Cook brings visitors to Whitby
17:10from all over the world,
17:12from Australia, New Zealand.
17:15This is where he learnt his trade.
17:19And the ships that Cook used later
17:22for sailing around the world
17:24were all built in this very spot.
17:28How important to Whitby is Cook?
17:31When Cook first set out,
17:34of course,
17:35he was just a humble sailor.
17:38Later on,
17:38as he became more famous for his expeditions,
17:41for his discoveries,
17:42he still came back to Whitby
17:45and the people greeted him
17:49because now he was a renowned hero.
17:53He was a Royal Navy officer.
17:55Yeah.
17:56An explorer who had met
17:58the greatest scientists of the age.
18:00He left Whitby as a humble sailor.
18:02Yes.
18:03And came back a hero.
18:05A hero.
18:06Very much so.
18:09But it's thanks to people like you
18:11that volunteer and give up your time
18:13that these stories and these legends
18:15keep being told.
18:16So, a bit of a pat on the back to you.
18:18Well, thank you very much.
18:20This has been an absolute pleasure.
18:22I've loved it.
18:23Captain, turn the ship round.
18:38Over in East London,
18:41Will is entrusting expert uphorst at a Ray Clark
18:45with the restoration of Trevor Bayliss's chair.
18:49I'll start with treating the existing leather.
18:52It looks like it's dried out in a lot of areas
18:56and it's quite grimy.
18:58I'll need to get some new leather
19:00for the border
19:02because it's just completely worn
19:04and gone in certain areas here.
19:07Looking over,
19:08oh, I can see that the cushion itself
19:10is in quite a bad state on this side.
19:13So, I might have to replace this panel entirely.
19:16So, it's going to need unpicking,
19:19deconstructing some new leather
19:22to put in this area
19:23along with the new filling.
19:27As Ray gets to grips with the chair,
19:33in the barn,
19:35Chris is starting to work on the boards
19:38that make up the book's cover.
19:40So, now that bit of paper's been removed,
19:43I can now concentrate on removing
19:45the rogue cloth from the boards.
19:48Repairs have been done to this book
19:49and the most recent one
19:52is a cloth spine
19:53which has been stuck
19:54over the original leather.
19:56So, I'm going to give it
19:57a new leather spine
19:58and then remount
19:59the original spine
20:00back on that.
20:02At this point,
20:03it feels like it's a massive challenge.
20:15I'm going to put some water on it
20:17and just see if that reactivates the glue
20:20and then, in a while,
20:22I'll just tease it up
20:24and see if it's working.
20:25Underneath this cloth,
20:26there should be part of a leather spine.
20:29So, I've sort of
20:31liberally distributed
20:32the water along
20:34and there you can see
20:35underneath,
20:36it's all very exciting,
20:38what I suspected.
20:39A little leather spine
20:41underneath there.
20:45And it's just
20:46one of those real connections
20:48you have as a bookbinder
20:50because the process
20:51of binding a book
20:53the traditional way
20:55hasn't changed.
21:11It's going better than expected.
21:14It has revealed
21:16the marble paper underneath,
21:18which is nice.
21:18Not too many losses.
21:28Wow.
21:30The fending bit of cloth's off.
21:32Now I just need to do that
21:33to the other board
21:34and then I can start repairing
21:36the edges.
21:41In his workshop,
21:44rebuilding the seat cushion,
21:46Ray is using the old form
21:47as a template
21:49before cutting precisely
21:51into the new.
22:03Hey, Ray.
22:04How are you getting
22:04with Michelle's chair?
22:05Right.
22:06I'm in the early stages
22:07of this restoration
22:08and thought I'd turn my attention
22:10to the seat cushion.
22:11So, what's going inside?
22:12So, this,
22:13this is what you call
22:15Ecoflex.
22:15It's basically foam
22:17that's made from
22:17recycled plastic bottles.
22:19Okay, good.
22:19So, that starts
22:20the base
22:21and the top
22:22and in between
22:23I want to put this.
22:26This is a spring unit.
22:27That looks like
22:28a mini mattress
22:28for a dog.
22:29That's right, yeah.
22:30Well, it's something like that.
22:31But it still needs
22:32to be trimmed up
22:33a little bit
22:33so it actually fits
22:34inside comfortably.
22:36What can I help with?
22:37Can you see
22:38all these little hooks?
22:39If you can snip through those
22:41and just remove this row
22:42along here,
22:44that would really
22:45be a great help.
22:46Definitely.
22:50Oh, Ray.
22:51Come on,
22:52put it back into it.
22:53Am I supposed to snip these?
22:55Yeah.
22:58Okay, you've got to
22:59twist as well as
23:00all right, all right.
23:01You've done it before, Ray.
23:02I haven't.
23:02You've got to twist.
23:04It's all in the technique.
23:05It's all in the technique.
23:09You're making a big deal
23:10out of that.
23:13Just twist it.
23:14Twist as well.
23:16Oh, actually, twisting works.
23:17There you go.
23:17You didn't tell me to twist it.
23:19I did.
23:19I did.
23:21Yeah, well, you know,
23:22I'm trying to make an effort
23:23because I know how much
23:24this means to Michelle.
23:26How long have you been
23:27restoring furniture for?
23:29It's 19 years.
23:30And do you still have
23:31the same passion for it
23:32as you did then?
23:33It's much deeper.
23:34I love restoring
23:36and upholstering furniture.
23:37I love using the tools.
23:40I love working with
23:42different types of materials
23:43and fabrics.
23:44And, yeah, it's wonderful.
23:46Right, now that's snipped off,
23:48what's next?
23:49So you've got the springs
23:50in the middle
23:50and it's sandwiched
23:52between two layers of this
23:54and encased
23:55in more of this foam
23:56around the side here.
23:58And that will form
23:59like a new unit
24:00that will go inside
24:01a new leather cover.
24:02If I lay that on there now
24:03and you feel...
24:04Yeah.
24:06Oh, yeah.
24:06So it's like a sandwich.
24:07Right, so that's all
24:08going to be encased.
24:09What about the leather
24:10going around the top of it?
24:11Right, so
24:12this is the original cover.
24:15Oh, my word.
24:16Hold on a second.
24:17Yeah.
24:18Yeah.
24:19That's just wear and tear.
24:21What I'm thinking,
24:22I want to do
24:23a gentle restoration to this.
24:25I want to keep
24:25as much of the original cover
24:27as possible.
24:28So I'll keep this panel.
24:29I will repair that.
24:31I'll take a part
24:32of the original leather
24:33and patch it in here.
24:35Very good.
24:36Piping as well.
24:37I'll try and keep
24:37as much of that as I can.
24:40But it sounds like
24:40you've got a great game plan.
24:41Yeah.
24:42But it also sounds like
24:42you've got a lot of work to do.
24:43You could say that.
24:44Well, I'm going to let you
24:45get on with it
24:45and I'll catch up with you later.
24:46All right.
24:46Thanks a lot.
24:47Cheers, Ray.
24:50As Ray begins
24:51to carefully unpick
24:52the original leather work,
24:54keen to preserve
24:55as much as he can,
25:02Don is out and about,
25:05seeking heritage skills
25:06being kept alive
25:07across the country.
25:10In Somerset,
25:12Annika Reid
25:12creates woodblock prints
25:14using traditional techniques
25:16to produce
25:16vibrant, colourful designs
25:18for fabrics
25:19and wallpapers.
25:23This studio's beautiful.
25:24Thank you so much.
25:25There's inspiration everywhere.
25:27This is all your work?
25:28Yes.
25:29At the moment,
25:29I'm launching a new collection
25:31of wallpapers and fabrics.
25:32OK.
25:34So this is what?
25:34A piece of...
25:35This is wood.
25:36Yeah, a piece of Asian ply.
25:37OK.
25:38I'm so fascinated
25:39by this process.
25:40I've had a go at Lino
25:40years ago,
25:41back in college.
25:43I've never actually
25:43tried carving wood.
25:44Can we have a go?
25:45Yeah, of course.
25:46I'd love to try it.
25:47Yeah, so I thought
25:47we could start off
25:48by just maybe thinking
25:50about some of the
25:51simpler designs.
25:52I like it.
25:52Keep it simple.
25:53So each of my design
25:55has a theme,
25:56has a story behind them.
25:56So maybe we could
25:57think about...
25:58A narrative and a theme.
26:00Well, we're on the road.
26:01Yeah.
26:01So how about roads?
26:03Fantastic.
26:04Sounds great.
26:05It's been a wiggly journey
26:06getting here.
26:06Somerset roads.
26:07Excellent.
26:08All of Anika's designs
26:10start with a sketch.
26:13Right.
26:14So we'll have some
26:15straight bits
26:16and some wiggly bits.
26:16Some are fatter than others.
26:17Yeah.
26:19Only when she's happy
26:20with the image
26:21will she begin
26:22to carve it
26:23into wood.
26:24Right, so along the way
26:25there are also
26:26lots of roundabouts.
26:28Excellent.
26:28So what's out
26:29in this gap in the middle?
26:30Some mountains.
26:32Never felt quite so nervous
26:34about trying to design
26:35in front of somebody,
26:36but...
26:38OK, I'm quite happy
26:39with that.
26:40Excellent.
26:42OK, you need to work out,
26:43first of all,
26:43what you're going to carve
26:44and what you're going
26:45to leave as wood.
26:47So everything you carve away
26:48will be the colour
26:48of the paper.
26:49OK, so at the moment
26:50it's a flat surface,
26:51the whole thing
26:52would be covered in ink.
26:52Yeah, so...
26:53We're going to use
26:54these tools to carve away
26:56and remove material.
26:58Yeah.
26:58So anything we remove
26:59won't be printed.
27:01Yeah.
27:01Yeah.
27:02So you've got
27:02different size gouges
27:04and I would always recommend
27:06having the gouge
27:08in the palm of your hand.
27:09OK.
27:10Always move the board,
27:12don't move the chisels.
27:13Would you like me
27:13to show you first one?
27:15Please do, yes.
27:16Great.
27:17So you just need
27:18to take the top layer,
27:19follow the grain of the wood,
27:20you'll probably be able
27:21to just get one.
27:22Look at it peeling all...
27:23Oh, wow.
27:24Two in one.
27:25And that is as deep
27:27as you need to go.
27:27Yeah, yeah, yeah.
27:27That's it.
27:28Let's have a go.
27:29All right.
27:30Is that deep enough?
27:31Yeah, perfect.
27:34And then...
27:35Following all the way together.
27:39How's that?
27:40Yeah, excellent.
27:41Because this is a very
27:42traditional technique,
27:43isn't it?
27:43Yes, it is, yeah.
27:44And I went on a residency
27:45to China in about 2006
27:47and I was taught this technique.
27:51And it's quite amazing
27:53over there because
27:53you're not actually allowed
27:54to design your own piece of wood.
27:57You have to just learn the craft.
27:58So we had to carve their designs.
28:02What sort of things
28:02were you printing there?
28:03So I was printing, like,
28:05images onto paper,
28:07but it was then
28:08when I went to India
28:09that I saw the incredible
28:11block printing there
28:12and that's when I transitioned
28:13to fabric.
28:15Do you have a preference?
28:17Wallpaper's still my love.
28:19Is it?
28:19Yeah.
28:20Yeah.
28:20I just love how
28:22it can tell a story.
28:28This is...
28:29It's taking shape.
28:30OK, shall I have a go
28:31at the mountain?
28:32Yeah.
28:35Oh, no.
28:37No, no, no.
28:37I've chipped a bit.
28:38I've gone the wrong.
28:39Big old chunks flaked out.
28:41We've had it.
28:42No, we can just make
28:43the mountain a bit bigger.
28:45OK.
28:46So just chisel that bit away.
28:47Yeah.
28:50Nobody will ever know.
28:52Perfect.
28:53Shall we try and ink it up?
28:54Are we ready?
28:55I think so.
28:56The print that Dom is making
28:58will be a single colour.
29:00For Annika's designs
29:02are multi-colour.
29:04Using the same block
29:06after printing one colour
29:07she'll then cut away
29:09more wood
29:09adding each new colour
29:11layer by layer.
29:14Called reduction woodblock
29:16it's a time-consuming process
29:18and any mistake
29:20means starting again
29:21from scratch.
29:24So try and make the paper straight
29:25and get the print in the middle.
29:29Oh, I'm really nervous.
29:31It's the best fit though.
29:33OK, so then turn the wheel
29:35once through
29:36pull it through.
29:37All the way through?
29:38Yeah, and then back again.
29:40OK.
29:41You can feel it, yeah.
29:42Yeah, that's it.
29:44Helping through.
29:45OK.
29:46Steamrollering it.
29:47That's it.
29:49Good there?
29:53Oh, look.
29:55Yay.
29:57That's worked really well.
29:58That has worked.
29:59I think it'll make
30:00a really good wallpaper.
30:02Seriously,
30:02you've actually been there.
30:04I'm honestly
30:05really quite pleased
30:06with that
30:06and I've got
30:07a new appreciation
30:08for the craft
30:09that you do
30:10and how long
30:11and how much skill
30:12goes in
30:13to some of your prints.
30:14Oh, thank you.
30:15I really do,
30:15especially adding
30:16multiple colours.
30:16It must be,
30:17I mean,
30:18very time-consuming
30:19but so rewarding.
30:22Do you mind
30:22if I keep this?
30:23No, please do.
30:24Is that OK?
30:25Yeah, that's great.
30:25I'm actually going to
30:25take that home with me.
30:27I love it.
30:34In the barn,
30:37having strengthened
30:39and consolidated
30:40the book's component parts,
30:43Chris is also beginning
30:44to focus on decoration.
30:46The boards now
30:48have all been repaired.
30:49I've covered them
30:50with some tissue paper
30:52and it's nice
30:54and rock-hard now,
30:55absolutely fantastic.
30:57But it's come now
30:58to the point
30:59where I need to
31:01reinforce the marbling
31:04by putting
31:05some new marble paper.
31:06It's a Dutch pattern paper,
31:09very period for 1771.
31:11The original bit of paper
31:13was this sort of colour,
31:14as this would have been
31:16at the time,
31:16a very bright
31:17and vibrant colour,
31:18which with age
31:19and it's got to blend,
31:21I've painted
31:21the marble paper down
31:22with some watercolour.
31:24You're trying to get
31:25a lifetime
31:26into this new bit of paper.
31:27And I'm really happy
31:29with that.
31:30First thing I've got to do
31:31is slip it underneath
31:33the original
31:34and get it to the point
31:36where I want it to be.
31:37Line up the pattern
31:38so it's all
31:39going the same way.
31:41Then I'm going to
31:42flip it over
31:43and just mark
31:44sort of a rough turning.
31:46I'm going to make
31:46two marks.
31:49Now I'm just going to
31:50cut it to size.
31:52Just double check.
31:54Pleased with that.
31:57And now I'm going to glue it.
32:13Just pleat in the folded,
32:15the cut pages round.
32:16I just need to
32:19start getting it to stick.
32:30I'm really happy with that.
32:31And once it's blended in
32:33you're not going to
32:33notice it at all.
32:35Now I just need to do
32:36the other two edges.
32:39In East London
32:41Ray is now rebuilding
32:43Trevor Bill as his chair.
32:48Laying new webbing.
32:54Then having sourced
32:56colour matched leather.
32:58Replacing the worn panels.
33:03Finally, he treats the leather.
33:05First with saddle soap.
33:08This will clean it.
33:11Before a final application
33:13of hide food
33:14to ensure that the chair
33:16stays in good shape
33:18and looks its best
33:22for its return journey
33:24to the west of the city.
33:32How come I'm walking backwards?
33:34At the Ilpye Island Museum
33:36Will and Ray are
33:37sneaking the chair in.
33:40Out of sight
33:41of museum curator Michelle.
33:45Yeah, it would be really nice
33:46to be able to sit in that chair
33:47and just think about Trevor.
33:49I feel quite emotional
33:51about it actually.
33:52And she's not the only one.
33:55Let's get this covered up.
33:56Right.
33:57I pour my heart and soul
33:59into every stitch,
34:01stuff,
34:01tack,
34:02staple,
34:03tuck.
34:04I just love
34:04what I do.
34:06Everything I do
34:07goes into my work.
34:09I'm proper nervous
34:11to be honest.
34:12Yeah.
34:12Brilliant.
34:13Good.
34:14Right.
34:15You ready?
34:16I was born ready.
34:17No, I wasn't.
34:19Hey, Michelle.
34:21Hey.
34:21This is Ray.
34:22Ray, lovely to meet you.
34:23I'm the man
34:24that's been working
34:24on your chair.
34:26Okay.
34:26He's a bit nervous.
34:27I'm a bit nervous.
34:28So am I.
34:29So am I.
34:30Why are you feeling nervous for?
34:32Because this chair
34:34has been part of the museum
34:35for the last seven and a half years
34:37and it got to the point
34:38where we couldn't allow
34:39visitors to sit in it
34:40because it was so damaged.
34:41We like the idea
34:42that people can sit in this chair
34:43and maybe have a bright idea
34:45like Trevor Bayless did.
34:46Are you ready to see
34:47what Ray has done?
34:48I am.
34:48I am ready.
34:49I am ready.
34:52Oh, wow.
34:54Oh, wow.
34:55What have you done
34:56to the cushion?
34:56That looks amazing.
34:58I was literally
34:58just expecting the cushion
34:59to come back repaired.
35:01I can see what you've done
35:02to the chair.
35:03It looks phenomenal.
35:05Yeah.
35:05That looks really beautiful.
35:06Well, please,
35:07if you wouldn't mind having this.
35:08Can I sit in it?
35:09Yeah.
35:09Can I?
35:13Oh, yes.
35:14Oh, here you go, Trevor.
35:16The chair's back.
35:18How does it feel
35:18to sit in the chair?
35:19It feels much better
35:21than it did before.
35:22Yeah, yeah.
35:22That crunchy old cushion.
35:23This is lovely.
35:25Ray, that looks beautiful.
35:27You wear it well, Michelle.
35:30Now, Ray,
35:30what exactly have you done
35:31with the chair?
35:32OK, so I've nourished
35:34and cleaned all the hide,
35:35replaced the piping,
35:38refitted new things
35:38to zip,
35:40repaired any holes.
35:42You can just see his circle.
35:43Oh, yes, of course.
35:44So, yeah,
35:45that would have been
35:45100% him sat there
35:46with his pipe
35:47and maybe dropping a mat.
35:49Yeah.
35:50Ray thought it could have been
35:51a stiletto hole.
35:52Yeah, well, it could have been.
35:53Well, you know,
35:54Trevor was known
35:55for his royal cross parties
35:56back in the day,
35:56so you never know.
35:58You never know.
35:59And I love how you've kept
36:01the marks and things on here.
36:02Oh, absolutely.
36:03It was a character.
36:04Yeah.
36:05We used to put his oily hands on there
36:06when he'd been tinkering
36:08in his workshop.
36:08No, it's beautiful.
36:09Absolutely beautiful.
36:10You've done such a great job.
36:13Now, we really hope
36:14that this chair
36:16inspires the next generation
36:17of inventors.
36:18you could feel free will.
36:20Sit down and see
36:20if you can come up
36:21with a great idea.
36:25Oh, Ray.
36:28That is nice.
36:29Oh, that's really nice.
36:30I've got so many great inventions
36:31just flooding in now.
36:33Shut my eyes for a minute.
36:36Have a cap.
36:36Oh, I could do it
36:37with the pipe.
36:37It's hard, actually.
36:39This is lovely.
36:40I could get you
36:40to have a pipe
36:41out of the display case.
36:42Yes.
36:43And the blanket came off.
36:44I was just transported
36:45back to, you know,
36:46the times when I'd just
36:47be able to pop in
36:48and see Trevor
36:49sit there
36:49and have a cup of tea
36:50with him.
36:51So, yeah,
36:52I could literally hear him
36:53talking to me
36:54when I saw that chair again.
36:55I feel really relieved
36:58that Michelle loves the chair.
37:02I think the reason
37:03why people resonate
37:05with furniture
37:06is because of all
37:08the memories
37:08that it evokes
37:09and the feelings.
37:11Yeah, it was good
37:12to work on.
37:16Back in the barn,
37:19there's still more
37:20to be done
37:21before Chris
37:22can close the book
37:24and what has been
37:24a very challenging
37:26restoration.
37:28All the pieces
37:29of the book
37:29are just about
37:31all together.
37:32All the edges
37:33now have been
37:34marbled and repaired.
37:36I've attached
37:37a new leather spine
37:38which it needed
37:39but I don't want
37:41to leave anything behind
37:42and I've got
37:43the original spine
37:44that I'm now
37:45going to remount
37:46back onto the new spine
37:47that I've just fitted.
37:51These slivers
37:55are very, very fine.
37:59I'm now sort of
38:00applying some paste
38:01because it's quite
38:02a wet paste
38:03makes the leather
38:05slightly malleable
38:06so it allows it
38:08to fall into place
38:10nicely.
38:13I really have enjoyed
38:14working on this book.
38:16It's very, very daunting
38:17to start with
38:18and to be able
38:20to return it
38:21in a state
38:21that they can actually
38:22use and study
38:25the book
38:26is reward enough.
38:30Book safely
38:32stored on board.
38:34Time now for Dom
38:36to chart a course
38:37back to Yorkshire.
38:39I'm on the way
38:39to Whitby
38:41to reunite
38:42Rob and Dennis
38:43with the Captain Cook's
38:45journal.
38:46It's a very special book.
38:49Chris has done
38:49such a beautiful job.
38:51I just can't wait
38:52to get it back
38:52into the museum
38:53where it belongs
38:54back with the community.
38:58Really excited
38:59to see what it looks like.
39:00It's one of our
39:01most important documents
39:02because it's telling
39:04a little bit
39:04of hidden history
39:05and it'd be nice
39:06to have it in a condition
39:07where people can actually
39:08come and see it
39:08and enjoy it.
39:12Can't wait to see
39:13what's been done
39:14with this book.
39:15Honestly, I'm so excited.
39:17It was in such
39:18a terrible state
39:19and we've all fallen
39:20in love with it really.
39:21So, yeah,
39:22it's going to be
39:23really, really good
39:23to see what's been done.
39:27Rob, it's so nice
39:28to see such a huge
39:30turnout today.
39:31We're all, well,
39:32really anxious
39:33and nervous
39:34to see what's happened.
39:36Yeah.
39:36Rob, I'm so excited
39:38for you to see the book.
39:39Ready?
39:39Yeah, yeah.
39:40Let's do it.
39:43Oh, good Lord.
39:46That's incredible.
39:48Is that the same book?
39:49Take a look.
39:55That is fantastic.
39:56The spine
39:57that we were
39:58so worried about
40:00is right back
40:01where it should be.
40:03all the pages
40:05back where they should be
40:07as well.
40:09Look at that.
40:11Yes, we can definitely
40:13let people handle this.
40:14I'm confident
40:15that it would survive
40:16handling again now.
40:18It feels like a book again
40:20rather than a collection
40:21of loose papers.
40:23Incredible.
40:24It's gorgeous.
40:26It's really gorgeous.
40:28But it's not just one book
40:29that's returned to Whitby.
40:32Dom's brought a second.
40:34There were so many
40:36clippings and notes
40:37in the front of this book.
40:38So Chris has
40:39gone and made
40:40another book.
40:41There's a kind of
40:42scrapbook in a way.
40:43So some of the clippings
40:44are in there.
40:45You can have a look
40:45and the newspaper cuttings
40:47and the history
40:49of the original.
40:50He's come up
40:51with a sympathetic cover
40:52to it
40:53and he's made it
40:53the same size.
40:54and replicated
40:55hand marble paper
40:57and also I've got him
40:58to put a few
40:59extra blank pages
41:00in there.
41:00Just because
41:01I'm hoping
41:02you're going to find out
41:03more in the future.
41:04Exactly right.
41:05So you can add to this
41:06now it's your turn.
41:07And now it's our turn.
41:09The responsibility
41:10is on us
41:11to fill in
41:12these blank pages
41:13with the research
41:14that we find
41:15and we will.
41:17Eager to begin
41:18mad work
41:19is Captain Cook
41:20curator
41:21Dennis.
41:24You're shaking
41:24a bit there.
41:25I know.
41:29When we discovered
41:31this in the
41:33archives
41:34I never thought
41:35I'd see it like this
41:36in this condition.
41:37I thought it would be
41:38put away in a box
41:40talked about
41:41but never allowed out.
41:45It's wonderful.
41:46Thank you very much.
41:49Would you all like
41:50to come over
41:50and have a look?
41:51Come on.
41:52Come on over.
41:54I'm allowed to touch it.
41:55You are.
41:56Are we?
41:56Yeah.
41:57You are but I've got
41:58my eye on you.
42:00The last time
42:01I saw the journal
42:02it was all in pieces
42:03just in
42:04you know
42:05little bits
42:06but to see something
42:07come back to life
42:08it's just brilliant.
42:09You can read
42:10what life was really
42:11like on a ship
42:12without it being sanitised
42:14and I think
42:15it'll give a lot of
42:16pleasure to a lot
42:16of wetby people.
42:18I would say
42:19this is probably
42:20the beginning
42:21of the book's
42:22journey now.
42:23Our team will be able
42:24to investigate it
42:25more thoroughly
42:26try and figure out
42:27some more about
42:28the history
42:28of that particular
42:29copy
42:29and also try to
42:31find out who
42:31wrote it.
42:36What a day
42:37it has been.
42:37I was
42:38I knew this was
42:39a big day
42:40I knew this was
42:41an important book
42:42to everybody here
42:43in the community
42:43but I was a bit
42:45taken back
42:46by Rob and
42:47Dennis' reactions
42:49they were speechless
42:51this meant a lot
42:53to them.
42:54Whitby is
42:55Captain Cook's town
42:56Whitby goes together
42:58with Captain Cook
42:59like fish and chips.
43:06If you'd like to see
43:08more fantastic
43:09fixes and restorations
43:10search BBC iPlayer
43:12for The Repair Shop
43:13on the road.
43:44We'll see you next time.
43:44We'll see you next time.
43:45Bye.
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