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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
00:12and 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.
00:24I 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.
01:14We're off to Birmingham.
01:15I know.
01:16Yeah.
01:16Road trip.
01:17Whoop, whoop.
01:19On today's travels,
01:20Dom and Will are heading to the Midlands.
01:22You call this a jewel as I'm flaking this data.
01:26Doesn't look pretty much like a jewel at the moment.
01:29Ringing in the changes.
01:30Ringing in the changes.
01:31Restoring a telephone box.
01:32I've been absolutely itching to do that crown.
01:36A pair of secateurs tell an astonishing story.
01:41Nothing would defeat him.
01:42If he could do it, he would do it.
01:45And a fan maker reveals her secrets.
01:49You're almost there though, Will.
01:50If there's a will, there's a way.
01:53You've got all the lines, haven't you, today?
01:57Situated at the heart of England
01:59and the second largest city in the UK,
02:04Birmingham was a medieval market town
02:06before becoming a manufacturing powerhouse
02:09in the Industrial Revolution.
02:12Today, with a population of nearly 1.2 million people,
02:16it's a major commercial and cultural centre.
02:21You know how we need to start every road trip.
02:25With some snacks.
02:26Oh, you bring snacks.
02:27I bought you some breakfast.
02:28Oh, Dom, pastry.
02:31Thanks, buddy.
02:31Yeah, I didn't get the coffee.
02:33We'll have to get one on the way.
02:34Yeah.
02:35Well, today, I'm going to help Rupert
02:36fix up an old telephone box.
02:40I love that old classic design of the red phone box.
02:43You can see it a mile away.
02:44Yeah.
02:45And there's something quite nostalgic about it.
02:47Very, very British.
02:53Will's come to the Birmingham suburb of Harbourn,
02:56south-west of the city centre.
03:00Look at this.
03:01This is lovely.
03:02Slightly flaky, but what an iconic piece.
03:06Tell me a bit more about it.
03:07So this is Harbourn's last remaining phone box.
03:10And we really want to try and hold on to it
03:12and do something special with it.
03:14Keen to see the phone box saved
03:16is local resident and teacher, Rupert Conway.
03:19For me, they're just really pretty.
03:21It's an iconic bit of British street furniture.
03:24We're known around the world for these things.
03:26And I think we sort of neglect them a little bit.
03:29And I presume it hasn't been used for quite a long time.
03:32It's been in this state for, I would say,
03:34as long as I can remember.
03:35It had a phone box in it until about a year ago,
03:38and it was in a dire state then.
03:40So BT have been allowing people, communities, to adopt them,
03:43as long as they have the backing of a charity.
03:45And then we were able to adopt it
03:46for the nominal fee of a pound.
03:48I'm a local resident,
03:49just live a couple of minutes up the road.
03:51We're a great city, loads of things going on,
03:53but sometimes we don't do ourselves justice.
03:55And a lot of our heritage, we seem to just forget.
03:57And I think this is something,
03:59like a bit of a jewel in our community.
04:00You call this a jewel?
04:02Yeah.
04:03As I'm flaking this paint off.
04:05Doesn't look very much like a jewel at the moment.
04:06Give it time, and with your wonderful expertise,
04:08we'll get it back to its original form.
04:11The classic red telephone box
04:14was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott,
04:16the architect who created Battersea Power Station.
04:21The first was installed in London in 1926,
04:25and the basic shape remained largely unchanged
04:28until the late 1960s.
04:30Oh, hello there. How are you?
04:32All right.
04:33Harbourn's box is a model K6,
04:36the most popular,
04:38introduced in 1936.
04:41What is the plan for the phone box?
04:43Is it to actually have it as a working phone box again?
04:45The plan really is to repurpose it as a defibrillator.
04:48What exactly is a defib?
04:50Is that what they sort of use to restart someone's heart?
04:53Yeah, so it's a medical device that's placed somewhere in a public space,
04:56but they're really accessible,
04:58they're really easy to use.
05:00I mean, it makes sense to have it housed
05:02in such an iconic thing like this.
05:05And once it's restored,
05:06I mean, if you need one,
05:08and someone says go to the phone box,
05:10you know where to go to.
05:11Perfect place.
05:12Intersection with lots of traffic,
05:14lots of different types of people, elderly people.
05:17I think it's a really good opportunity
05:17to make something that is redundant,
05:20to make it relevant again.
05:21Well, I absolutely love the phone box,
05:23and your passion and drive to having this restored
05:26is absolutely amazing.
05:28Can't wait to get started.
05:29But where to start on such a big project?
05:33To answer that, Will's phoned a friend,
05:36specialist restorer Liam Carr.
05:39What do you think?
05:40Yeah, it's looking a bit worse for wear.
05:43Are you being very polite?
05:45I mean, like, the paint is just flaking all over the place.
05:48Yeah, yeah, the weather's got to this one.
05:51Have you restored a phone box before?
05:52We have, yes.
05:53I think we're coming close to about 80
05:55we've done up and down the UK now.
05:5780?
05:58Yes.
05:58Yeah, our company specialises in British heritage,
06:00so it's K6 phone boxes
06:02and church restorations that we do.
06:04So this is a normal day's work for you?
06:06It is, yes.
06:08Two of them we've done with telephones in,
06:11and the rest of them go to food banks,
06:14defibrillators, bookshops, art galleries.
06:15But it's interesting that you say that,
06:17because Rupert wants this to turn into a defib station.
06:20It's ideal housing for a defib,
06:22life-saving equipment.
06:24What is the plan with this, then?
06:26First stage, we'll remove the glass,
06:28and then we'll lightly sand this paintwork down,
06:30remove the flaky paint.
06:32What about the door?
06:33Now, oh, gosh, that's heavy.
06:35Yeah.
06:36Yeah, the outside is a hardwood frame,
06:38and then it's got a cast insert.
06:40We'll keep the cast insert,
06:42but we'll replace the hardwood frame,
06:43so it'll last a lot of years.
06:45Yeah?
06:45Yeah.
06:47Can you help me put this back up?
06:49Really, Harry?
06:54We want this to be like a big red beacon.
06:57Is there a specific type of red colour?
06:59Because they all look exactly the same, don't they?
07:01They do, yeah.
07:02They're a BT red, what the original BT used,
07:04and it's called a current red.
07:06Current red?
07:06Yeah, yeah.
07:08But Will's getting ahead of himself.
07:11There's a lot of hard work to be done
07:13before the paintbrushes come out.
07:17As the site is made safe,
07:20he's making a clean sweep of things.
07:24Oh, that's perfect.
07:25We're all nice and clean here now.
07:27Right, what's next?
07:28We'll start to remove the glass, I think.
07:30Is that a case of just...
07:31No, I'll knock the pins out from the inside,
07:34and then if you could gently push it towards me.
07:36So I'll be on this side.
07:37Yep.
07:38You got tools?
07:38I have, yep.
07:39All right, let's go.
07:40First, I'm going to put my glasses on.
07:46Ready?
07:47Perfect.
07:48All right, let's do this.
07:53So that's the bottom.
07:55Oh, look, look at that.
08:04Should I take it out?
08:06Yeah, we'll put it out and we'll push it your way.
08:09Oh.
08:10Perfect.
08:16That's pretty good.
08:17All right, so that's one down.
08:18How many more to go?
08:19That was quite cheap.
08:20Yeah, we just work our way down.
08:22Oh, look, I can push it with my hand.
08:24Yeah.
08:25These ones are all the plastic ones now.
08:27Oh, I see.
08:28It's a bit easier.
08:29They used to repair them with a plastic polyglazer.
08:31It's just a cheaper option than repairing the glass.
08:39Hello.
08:41Got it?
08:41Yeah, I've got that one.
08:43Oh, I'm getting the hang of this.
08:52As Will and Liam strip the phone box back to Bear Essentials...
09:00Out on the road,
09:01Dom is in search of a time-worn treasure,
09:05a possession with a personal connection,
09:08in need of care from the expert team in the barn.
09:14Brenda Meehan and daughter Catherine Barrett
09:17are from Teesside in the north-east of England,
09:20and what they're bringing to Dom may be small in size,
09:24but tells the story of a giant of a man.
09:28What have you brought in for us today?
09:29Well, these belonged to my dad.
09:33They were his garden secateurs.
09:35OK.
09:36And he passed them on to me,
09:37because we were both left-handed.
09:39But unlike me, my dad wasn't born left-handed.
09:43OK.
09:44He sadly lost his arm during the war.
09:47So what was dad's name?
09:49Dad was called Ivor, Ivor Custer.
09:52Gardening was his hobby, along with breeding budgerigars.
09:55Yeah.
09:56And he had an allotment and group prize croissants.
10:00Wow, so gardening was a big part of his life, by the sounds of it.
10:03Yes, absolutely.
10:04But gardening was a later chapter in Ivor's life,
10:08because this story begins in the Second World War.
10:12He went to France, start of 1940.
10:14Obviously pushed back to Dunkirk, as they were.
10:17Yeah.
10:18It was a Dunkirk evacuee.
10:2019.
10:2119.
10:22But he made it back OK?
10:24Well, yes, made it back,
10:25and then they were shipped out again to North Africa.
10:27Wow.
10:28In 1942, he was seriously injured.
10:31He'd had a shell injury.
10:33OK.
10:33Oh, my God.
10:34So that nearly killed him.
10:35But then he applied to join the newly formed paratroopers.
10:40I think after everything that he'd been through,
10:42to then volunteer to, like, throw himself out of a plane as well,
10:45on top of everything else, it's incredibly brave.
10:47I can't really get my head around it, to be honest.
10:50The paratroop regiments were essential to the battle plans for D-Day,
10:55the Allied invasion of Europe, in 1944.
10:59He went to his barracks to train for D-Day,
11:03and he was reading a letter from my mum in his barracks,
11:07and somebody shouted his name
11:10and threw what they thought was a dud grenade at him.
11:14Right.
11:15And my dad looked up and caught it.
11:17It blew his arm off.
11:19No.
11:19Yes.
11:21So it wasn't a dud grenade?
11:22No.
11:23And it exploded in his hand?
11:25Yeah, he lost teeth and shrapnel in his face and...
11:28Oh, that sounds horrible.
11:30So, obviously, he didn't make D-Day,
11:33but most of the friends in his section
11:38didn't come back from D-Day.
11:40And he always carried tremendous guilt that he didn't get to go.
11:46My mum and dad had only been married a month when he lost his hand,
11:49and she hadn't seen him.
11:51And the wedding photograph is the last photograph he had with two hands.
11:56So because of that grenade that he caught,
11:58he ended up losing part of his arm?
11:59Yes.
12:00Yeah, from below the elbow, yeah.
12:02Oh, bless him.
12:03But it never stopped him.
12:05Yeah.
12:06So what happened next?
12:07He went and got his job back in the steelworks,
12:10and he eventually became foreman.
12:12Yeah, senior foreman.
12:14This is amazing.
12:15I mean...
12:15Sheer determination, grit, and, I mean, he drove cars.
12:20Nothing would defeat him.
12:22If he could do it, he would do it.
12:24And for his family, nothing was too much trouble.
12:27He'd do anything for any of his family.
12:29So where do these secateurs fit into that amazing life
12:32that your father had?
12:33Well, my dad loved gardening,
12:35and it was his solace, his passion.
12:38He could sit in his greenhouse for hours,
12:41and he'd prick out tiny little seeds
12:43into little, tiny little white cups and see them grow.
12:47And he just became brilliant at it, really.
12:51And taught us all.
12:54Good.
12:55Yeah, he knew, like, if he went for a walk,
12:57he knew what every single plant was.
12:59Really?
12:59Yeah.
13:00Can I take a look?
13:01Yes, absolutely.
13:02You can tell that they were, like, good quality.
13:04Yeah, they're sturdy, aren't they?
13:06Yeah, yeah.
13:06Look at that blade.
13:07What have you done to those?
13:09That is some wear and tear.
13:11They're not supposed to be serrated.
13:13No, they're not.
13:13No.
13:14Well-loved and well-used.
13:16But I just loved feeling them
13:18and knowing that they were his
13:20and his hand had been on them.
13:22What do you mean by that?
13:24I love gardening, he loved gardening.
13:26You know, it's a proper physical connection.
13:28So is it important for you, then,
13:29that these get repaired?
13:30Oh, yeah, definitely.
13:32Yeah, I think it's just so wonderful
13:34to be able to, like, tell my grandad's story
13:36through these secateurs.
13:38So are these something that you see
13:40on the wall as a display piece
13:42or is the dream to actually
13:43take them out into the garden?
13:45The dream is to take them into the garden, but...
13:48If that's possible.
13:49If that's possible, but if not,
13:50then I would like them to look,
13:52at least look nice.
13:54A lovely memory of an amazing man.
13:57This is going to be an interesting challenge
14:00for Jonathan.
14:00I can't wait to see what he's going to say,
14:02especially when he sees these blades.
14:04Yeah.
14:05Yeah.
14:11Also facing a challenge...
14:13Look at that.
14:14And not a single broken panel.
14:16Are Will and Liam
14:17restoring the Birmingham phone box?
14:20How far back are we sanding these?
14:22We're literally just removing the flaky paint
14:24and sanding to key for the undercoat.
14:26Masks on and a very light sand.
14:28Perfect.
14:34Oh, yeah.
14:36This is just flaking away.
14:53This is looking really good.
14:54It's good now, isn't it?
14:57Now, I realise the more flaky paint that I take off,
15:00it kind of reveals areas of damage.
15:02That's right, yeah.
15:03It probably needs to be filled.
15:04Yeah, you're usually fine then.
15:06It's really coming along.
15:08On the flatter, less fiddly surfaces,
15:11Liam is using an orbital sander,
15:14speeding up the process,
15:15so that painting can start.
15:19And for that, he's brought in Bagub.
15:23Because it's a family firm,
15:26there's Uncle Richard on the filling
15:27and Brother Daniel on the prep,
15:33making it ready for the undercoat.
15:36I found out a fun fact.
15:39Telephone boxes were painted red
15:40because of a competition in 1924.
15:43Do you know that?
15:44Yes.
15:45You didn't know that.
15:46Rich, do you know that?
15:47I didn't know that.
15:47Did you?
15:48I did.
15:49OK, what about you?
15:50Did you know that?
15:50I did.
15:51Ah, of course you did.
15:54You got any fun facts, Liam?
15:56Yeah, every kiosk is stamped of where it was built.
15:59Really?
16:00Yeah, just on the back.
16:01Yeah, but look at this.
16:02Look.
16:03Let's have a look.
16:05Oh, yeah.
16:06Yeah.
16:06Was it C?
16:07Glasgow, that one.
16:09What founder is that, Rich?
16:11Saracen, isn't it?
16:12Saracen.
16:15I think we're making really good progress.
16:17We are, yeah.
16:18It's coming along nicely, isn't it?
16:20After we've done the primer and undercoat,
16:22we'll give it another very, very light sand.
16:24And then after the sanding,
16:25is that when that big bright red topcoat goes on?
16:28The bright red topcoat will go on
16:29and then finally we can get onto glass
16:32and rehanging the door.
16:33I've been absolutely itching
16:35to do that crown.
16:38There we go.
16:40Oh, yes.
16:42That's lovely.
16:54At the barn, another team of skilled craftspeople
16:59are taking care of the nation's heritage.
17:03Among them, Jonathan Reed, a master putter or scissor maker.
17:10Dom's brought me this pair of secateurs
17:12that belong to Brenda's father, Ivor.
17:16But in the state they're in at the moment,
17:19they might struggle to cut through anything.
17:23Wear and tear or rust
17:24has created all these notches and gaps
17:27along the blade's edge.
17:29Secateurs are supposed to open themselves up
17:32with some form of spring mechanism.
17:35Now, clearly this one isn't working.
17:38Normally what you'd find on a pair of secateurs
17:41would be a volute spring,
17:44which is one that pushes the shanks apart.
17:49But on this pair,
17:51the spring is on the inside of the secateurs.
17:55So the first thing I'll need to do is disassemble them.
18:08So immediately we can see
18:10what the problem is with that spring.
18:13It's completely rusted and it's compressed.
18:16So when they were unlocked again,
18:19the spring no longer expanded.
18:25There's actually a second spring in here.
18:28What I think's happened
18:30is there's been an attempt to repair these in the past.
18:34So a second spring has just been put in there
18:38when the first spring stopped working.
18:41Unfortunately, this spring is beyond repair.
18:44So I'm just going to have to replace it.
18:46I have a few springs myself,
18:51but they're just a bit too short.
18:56Which I think means I'm going to have to ask Steve
19:01and see if he's got any springs that might fit in here.
19:05Steve, I've got this pair of secateurs
19:09and the spring's broken so they won't open anymore.
19:12I was hoping that you had a replacement.
19:14Well, have a look in my magic spares drawer.
19:25It's quite a thick spring, isn't it?
19:27Yeah.
19:28That's doing a lot of work.
19:29Yeah.
19:32I'll tell you what, I'll make them.
19:34Brilliant.
19:35So can I leave this with you?
19:36Yeah, of course.
19:37Yeah, no, absolutely.
19:37Thank you so much.
19:39I'll pop it over in a minute.
20:10Steve's made me this spring,
20:12which looks good,
20:13but I'll have to see if it works.
20:19Now, it fits okay.
20:27I'm really impressed with that.
20:29I mean, it feels great.
20:31I mean, it feels great.
20:31It's smooth.
20:32There's enough resistance.
20:34It's opening all by itself.
20:37Steve's done a really good job with that spring.
20:40Now I just need to disassemble them again
20:43to focus on the handles.
20:46Brenda said she wanted these looking good as new,
20:50so it's a case of removing that old paint
20:53and repainting them.
20:56Now I can already see that the paint
20:58is starting to peel away,
21:01so I should be able to get a majority of it off
21:04with a knife.
21:16Now that I've removed all of that old paint,
21:19I'm just roughing the surface
21:21so the new paint can bind a bit better.
21:26All right, I'm really happy with that finish.
21:30So it's time to start painting.
21:46Elsewhere, Will's taking a break from restoration duties.
21:50He's stepping out to discover another chapter
21:53in Britain's crafting heritage.
21:56On a suitably warm day,
21:59he's meeting someone to help him cool off.
22:02Expert fan maker, Victoria Adjoko.
22:06Oh, my God, look at that.
22:07Perfect weather to learn how to make a fan.
22:10Absolutely. Follow me.
22:11Come on, then.
22:13Fans can be traced back 3,000 years
22:16but became popular in Europe in the early 18th century,
22:20highly decorated
22:22and associated with seduction and romance.
22:26But in recent times,
22:27the art of fan making became endangered
22:29until revived by enthusiasts like Victoria.
22:36So we have three main components
22:38with the folding fan.
22:40The paper, the pleaters and the frame.
22:45So what do we start off with, then?
22:47We've got some colourful paper here.
22:49Yes.
22:49We want to use a paper
22:50that's no more thicker than 160 GSM.
22:54Like a bit of paper you put in your printer?
22:56That's right.
22:57OK.
22:57That's right.
22:58Just so it allows and enables us
23:00to make the folds quite easily.
23:02The pleater works as a template
23:04to mould the creases into the paper.
23:07Right, so...
23:09..that goes on there.
23:11Like that?
23:11Yes.
23:13OK.
23:14So now we take all the pleats...
23:17Yeah.
23:17..and you're going to go all the way
23:18to the edge of the table.
23:21That's it.
23:21Yeah.
23:22So your thumb and your forefinger...
23:24Yeah, like that.
23:25Perfect.
23:26And the other three fingers are pushed away.
23:27Keep it like that.
23:29So that's just the first...
23:31..and then you're going to bring the fold up...
23:33Like that.
23:34..and then slide everything towards you
23:39till the next fold.
23:41Yeah, so bring it to there.
23:42Here.
23:43Yes.
23:43That's it.
23:44So then you bring the fold up...
23:46Like that.
23:47That's it.
23:48Leaves the forefinger down.
23:49I know.
23:51You're almost there, though, Will.
23:52If there's a will, there's a way.
23:55You've got all the lines, haven't you, today?
23:57LAUGHTER
23:58But it's Will who's got to get his lines together.
24:01Bring the fold up.
24:02That's it.
24:03Like that.
24:04To make perfect, crisp creases.
24:06Are we going down?
24:07Yep.
24:08Yes.
24:09This is the last bit there, right?
24:11Bring it all over like that.
24:13Well done.
24:14There you go.
24:15And there's my fan.
24:17LAUGHTER
24:18Well, not quite.
24:20Will's fan is still inside the pleaters.
24:22Shall we take a look?
24:23Yes.
24:24Go for it.
24:24Take this off.
24:29And...
24:31Voila!
24:32Yay!
24:33Well done.
24:34And what we can do is make sure...
24:38Flip it.
24:39The other...
24:39Hi, see.
24:39See?
24:40Ah.
24:41Ah, see.
24:44There we are.
24:45Well, that worked really well.
24:46That's pretty straightforward.
24:47Once...
24:48Pretty straightforward.
24:49Once you know the secrets, you see.
24:50That's it.
24:51That's it.
24:52Next, it's time for the fan to be glued to the frame, made from thin strips of wood, which
24:59first need a light sanding.
25:01You start that side, I'll start that side, and we'll see who gets to the middle faster.
25:05Three, two, one.
25:05Go.
25:06Begin.
25:10Why are we sanding these for?
25:11It enables the glue to adhere better to the paper.
25:16So, we're likely keying the surface, then?
25:18Absolutely.
25:21It's coming off quite easily, actually.
25:23Yeah.
25:24I presume that you don't want to take it below the line.
25:27That's right.
25:27So, I'd say you've gone in deeper enough there.
25:29Yeah.
25:29Maybe just a little bit more at the bottom there.
25:31Yeah.
25:32You are a really, really good natural teacher.
25:36Have you taught fan making, or what's your background in fan making?
25:40Well, my background is in drama theatre, and I just fell in love with it from there.
25:45They're just beautiful.
25:46They just carry so much history, like the Georgian period, the Regency era.
25:51And, obviously, there's the language of the fan as well.
25:53The language of the fan.
25:55It's basically a subtle language used with gestures of the fan itself.
26:02Right.
26:02And it was usually used in social settings, mostly for women, as a flirtatious way to find a suitor.
26:11Mm-hmm.
26:12I say no more.
26:13Have you used a fan in the past to find yourself a suitor?
26:19What does that mean?
26:20I peed on the spot there.
26:21I don't know.
26:26Frame prepared.
26:27Time now to attach the paper.
26:30So, here we have our glue.
26:33Thank you, babe.
26:34So, what we want to have is our leaf.
26:36Pattern side is down.
26:37Yeah.
26:38So, we take our glue, spread it along across.
26:41Then, we put the stick on the first fold, right here.
26:47Mm-hmm.
26:48Then, we turn this over.
26:50Okay.
26:51Then, it's the next guard stick.
26:54So, you do the two outer sticks first?
26:57Yes.
27:05So, it's the next one on the top?
27:07Yes.
27:08Okay.
27:09We'll bring it round to see where we begin.
27:11Good.
27:12So, you're looking for quick now, aren't there?
27:14You're getting into it.
27:15Getting into it.
27:15I love the confidence.
27:17That's it.
27:20Great.
27:23Flip back over.
27:24Yes.
27:25Next top one.
27:26That's it.
27:28Is this something you could see yourself doing again?
27:32I can get a picture of myself, put it onto a fan, and give it to Dom.
27:36He would love that.
27:37You see?
27:37That's the idea.
27:39There you go.
27:40Well, that's his birthday present sorted out.
27:42Last one.
27:43There we go.
27:44Sometimes, this can be quite tricky.
27:45It is.
27:46Getting it on.
27:47Right, Janelle.
27:48And we're on.
27:49Are we on?
27:50Yes.
27:50Yes.
27:52And I presume we're there now.
27:54Yes.
27:55Moment of truth.
27:56I'm excited.
27:57Oh, yes.
27:58Oh, yes.
27:59Okay, here we go.
28:02Oh.
28:03That's it.
28:04Oh, yes.
28:07Oh.
28:08I can cool down now.
28:09Please, do you like it?
28:11Yes.
28:11Do you know what?
28:13You've just made another fan.
28:14I have.
28:14In me.
28:15Yay!
28:16Yeah, you like what I did there?
28:19Do you know what?
28:19I love your passion for your craft.
28:22It's absolutely amazing.
28:23Thank you for handing some of those skills over to me as well.
28:26It's been a pleasure.
28:28Oh, nice and cool now.
28:34In the barn.
28:39Jonathan's next job is to restore the blades of Brenda's secateurs.
28:43I suspect that there's been an attempt to sharpen the insides of these blades, meaning this blade
28:50is potentially thinner than it once was.
28:54So I have to be careful when I'm grinding that rust away.
28:56I want to minimise the amount of material I'm taking off this blade, as the more I take off,
29:02the thinner it'll get.
29:03So the first thing I'm going to do is flat grind the outside blade on a sharpening stone.
29:27Even after only a few passes, that's looking miles better.
29:31I've gotten rid of most of that rust, so I'm going to carry on with this for a while
29:36and then move on to the inside blade.
30:03I'm already quite happy with that because you can tell from how even that grind is,
30:09that I'm taking height down in the right spot as I slowly work my way towards the front of the
30:16blade.
30:21Still got a bit of grinding on this inside blade to do, but once I've done that,
30:25it's just a matter of putting a blade's edge on there.
30:40I'm going to be using a circular grindstone to put this edge on
30:43and it moves slow enough that I won't be introducing any heat to the blade,
30:48which could affect its hardness.
31:05Can you see how all of the burrs are just really inconsistent and falling off?
31:13Once it's all the way back and it's past those lines of warping,
31:17that burr will be really consistent and you'll just see the metal curl up onto the underside of the blade.
31:34These secateurs mean a lot to Brenda because they represent the resilience of a dad, Ivor.
31:41They've been an absolute joy to work on.
31:44I'm really pleased with these blades and this paint.
31:47They're already looking brand new.
31:49I just need to get both halves together
31:52and hand them back to Brenda.
32:02In Birmingham, with Will out of town,
32:06Liam's working a solo shift, getting ready to paint.
32:10All sanded and primed, just ready for the top coat.
32:14The red that we're using is the iconic current red,
32:18which would have been used by BT.
32:20It's very important that we use this colour of red
32:23because if the shade's off,
32:25it doesn't look like the iconic British foam boxes that you used to see.
32:33While most of the restoration is done on site,
32:37Liam has taken the door to his workshop
32:39to be sanded,
32:42painted,
32:43then brought back to Birmingham
32:45on time
32:47to start putting the telephone box back together.
32:51We're back here at the Birmingham foam box
32:53and we're about to start installing the glazing.
32:56We're going to replace this with all toughened glazing
32:58so there won't be a mixture of perspex and toughened glass.
33:01They'll all be made to measure bespoke glazing.
33:23Rupert wanted to give his local phone box
33:26a new purpose.
33:27So in preparation,
33:29Liam's made a special sign.
33:33Right, that's all the glazing finished now.
33:35It's ready for its defibrillator unit,
33:38which will benefit the whole community.
33:45At the barn,
33:48Jonathan's expert restoration
33:49is complete.
33:53It's time for Brenda and Catherine
33:55to be reunited with the secateurs
33:57that belong to a much-loved father
34:00and grandfather.
34:04Welcome to the barn.
34:05Yeah, nice to see you again.
34:07How have you been feeling
34:08since leaving me with the secateurs?
34:10I'm excited, really.
34:11Sort of wanting to see
34:13what you've been able to do,
34:14if you've been able to fix them completely
34:18or just enough so that they look better.
34:21Jonathan has worked on these.
34:22He's our scissor and blade expert.
34:24Yes.
34:24He's so talented.
34:25But that really was a big if,
34:27because they were in...
34:28Yes, they were in a bad way.
34:29Quite a state, weren't they?
34:30Yeah, they looked as though they had teeth.
34:34Hadn't treat them well, really.
34:37These have been used and worn out.
34:40Worked into the ground.
34:42Yes, yeah.
34:43I would just really like my mum
34:44to be able to use them again,
34:45because I think it just gives that connection
34:48from one generation to the next.
34:50And I think we'll all be planting
34:51a lot more roses, if that's the case.
34:53Yes, I hope so.
34:54She can come round and shape them all.
34:56Teach you.
34:57Yeah, exactly.
34:58OK, are you both ready to see them?
35:01Yeah.
35:01No.
35:02No?
35:04Yeah, you ready?
35:11Wow.
35:12Oh, my goodness.
35:13They look brand new.
35:19You're speechless, aren't you?
35:21I am.
35:21Yeah, I am.
35:22Wow.
35:23I can't believe that.
35:24It's incredible.
35:25I promise you, every bit of them
35:27are still your dad's.
35:29They are amazing.
35:31They look great, don't they?
35:32They're fabulous.
35:34Fabulous.
35:35Didn't think I'd cry.
35:37Yeah.
35:39Where do you think,
35:40where's that emotion coming from?
35:41I think just seeing them like that
35:43and knowing they were like that
35:45when dad bought them
35:47and, you know,
35:51just thinking of him, really,
35:53and how special he was.
35:55And how we all loved him.
35:56We did.
35:57Yeah.
35:58We still do.
35:59It's amazing what these things can do, isn't it?
36:01Just bringing memories back.
36:02It's the memories, that's it.
36:04It's just...
36:05Can I pick them up?
36:08Of course you can.
36:10We need to test them out now.
36:13Oh, look at that.
36:14Beautiful, aren't they?
36:14You need to be careful.
36:15They're very sharp.
36:16Oh, they're amazing.
36:19Jonathan has...
36:20He's completely stripped them down,
36:21taken them completely apart.
36:22They are the same blades.
36:24He has spent a long time
36:26grinding them down,
36:27reshaping them,
36:28straightening them up
36:29and polishing them
36:30and sharpening them
36:31so they are really sharp now.
36:33Dad would be so pleased.
36:34I know he would.
36:35What do you think he'd say?
36:37Look after them.
36:38Yeah.
36:39We've had one chance, that's it.
36:40Yeah, yeah, that's it.
36:41Look after them.
36:42They'd be treasured,
36:43absolutely treasured.
36:44That is the bare steel.
36:46So, Jonathan says,
36:47if you keep them clean,
36:48keep them dry
36:48and oil them every now and then.
36:50Oil them, yes, yes.
36:51Stop them going rusty.
36:52Yeah.
36:52Yeah.
36:53That's the best way to look after them.
36:55I'm overwhelmed, to be honest.
36:56I'm just...
36:58..just thinking of Dad
37:01and how he used to come and do my roses
37:04with those secateurs
37:05and taught me how to use them.
37:09But, yeah.
37:10Happy memories.
37:11Very happy memories.
37:13I'll let you take them home then.
37:15Thank you so much.
37:16Thank you both.
37:16It's been lovely to meet you both.
37:19You can carry them.
37:21I can't take my eyes off them.
37:24I can see myself in them.
37:25They're that shiny.
37:26They're amazing.
37:28I'm absolutely thrilled for my mum.
37:30You can see how overwhelmed
37:32and how happy she is
37:33and it's just wonderful
37:35that they've been able to be repaired
37:36to this kind of standard.
37:38It's way beyond what we expected.
37:40My dad faced such adversity in his life
37:45and he overcame it
37:48and he passed that on to us
37:50that nothing is too difficult.
37:53You just have to keep trying
37:55and keep believing that you can do it
37:57and you will.
37:59I can't wait to start using them
38:02and having that feeling
38:04of pruning the roses with them
38:07and to do it the first time
38:09is going to be amazing.
38:12As Brenda takes her father's
38:14treasured secateurs back home to Teesside,
38:18Will's on his way to Birmingham
38:19to add the finishing touches
38:21to the Harbourn phone box.
38:24I'm really excited to be back in Birmingham
38:26and I'm on my way to see Liam.
38:28It's great to restore something
38:30so iconic to British history
38:32but it's really lovely
38:34that Rupert and the community
38:36want to take this one step further.
38:44Hey, you've been busy.
38:47It's getting there, isn't it?
38:48Just checking that's not wet paint.
38:49No, definitely not wet.
38:51Amazing.
38:52I can see that a mile away.
38:54Literally, it's like a beacon.
38:55That's it.
38:57Now for the most important part,
38:59the defib.
38:59That's it, yeah.
39:00I've got it just in the box there.
39:02All right, let's have a look.
39:04Rupert's dream for the phone box
39:06is to install a defibrillator.
39:08Look at that.
39:09A device that can restore
39:11a heart's natural rhythm
39:12in case of cardiac arrest.
39:15Right, let's get this fitted then.
39:16It's a potential lifesaver
39:18and one that will be available
39:20to the whole community.
39:23How does this work?
39:24You phone a number?
39:26Yeah, there's a sign
39:27that we need to put on
39:28and they'll phone the number,
39:30get the cord
39:30and be able to access
39:31the defibrillator.
39:32Wonderful.
39:33Great job.
39:35With the defibrillator in place
39:38and the door back on,
39:40there's just one thing left to do.
39:43Right, let's get this covered up
39:44before the community turn up.
39:46Yeah.
39:46You grab that.
39:47Perfect.
39:48I'll get the steps
39:48and I'll do the top.
39:49Brilliant.
39:54You got it?
39:57Restoring Harbourn's phone box
39:59has taken a real community effort.
40:02I'm excited.
40:04Can you see the big veil?
40:06Ooh.
40:08Isn't that looking good?
40:09So Rupert and his family,
40:11friends and neighbours
40:12are all keen to see
40:14Will and the team's handiwork.
40:18Hi.
40:19There they are.
40:20Good to see you.
40:21Really excited
40:22to have so many people here today.
40:24Really supportive
40:25and really enthusiastic
40:26and excited to see
40:27what happens next.
40:29I'm feeling a bit anxious now.
40:31I'm ready for the phone box reveal.
40:33There seems to be a lot of people
40:34in the community
40:35coming to have a look at it.
40:36Well, I mean,
40:37this is an incredibly important phone box
40:39because not only
40:40is it a great piece
40:41of British history,
40:42but it could also save a life.
40:44It's a very, very exciting day.
40:46Are you ready to see it?
40:47Yeah.
40:48Yeah.
40:59What do you think?
41:00Stunning.
41:01Very well done.
41:02Yeah?
41:03Amazing.
41:03Thank you so much.
41:05Well, don't thank us.
41:06It's this gentleman here
41:07who started it all,
41:08so well done.
41:10It's absolutely stunning.
41:11Oh, you're welcome.
41:11The best in Birmingham,
41:13the best in the UK.
41:14That's right, yeah.
41:15You want to come and take a closer look?
41:17Rupert, do you want to come and check it out?
41:18Yeah, shall we?
41:20Wow, isn't that beautiful?
41:21Yeah.
41:23And the insignia at the top?
41:24Gorgeous.
41:25I painted that.
41:26Did you?
41:27This is a big event
41:28for the people of Harbourn
41:30and it's even attracted
41:31the attention of their MP,
41:33Preet Cowagill.
41:35So when Rupert contacted me now,
41:37it's been nearly two years,
41:39telling me about this project
41:40that he'd adopted this scheme.
41:42I was so, so excited.
41:45But the signs of defibrillation
41:46when the crown was called,
41:48I mean, wow.
41:49Proud to be grummy,
41:51proud to see this restored
41:52in all of its glory.
41:55Also here is Belle Lake
41:57of the Community Heartbeat Trust,
41:59who helps groups throughout Britain
42:01install defibrillators.
42:04The renovation of the phone box
42:06is just so fantastic.
42:08We build a network
42:09of the defibrillators around the UK.
42:12We know that defibrillators
42:14from our scheme have saved lives.
42:16So to have one in such a built-up area
42:19is amazing.
42:23We were very proud
42:24when the blanket came off
42:25and we were seeing Rupert's face
42:27and all the community
42:28stood behind him.
42:29I feel brilliant now
42:30that it's all finished.
42:33Blown away by it.
42:34It's really beautiful.
42:35All the little details
42:36that I hadn't even appreciated before
42:37have really come to the fore.
42:39The crown,
42:40all the paintwork,
42:41it looks absolutely stunning.
42:43What I really like
42:44is that the phone box
42:45has got that history behind it,
42:48but also, more importantly,
42:49it has that unit inside.
42:51I really hope that the people
42:52of Harbourn
42:53feel safer in the knowledge
42:54that that unit is there.
42:56Hopefully, they'll never
42:57have to use it,
42:58but if they do,
42:58they know where to find it.
43:06If you'd like to see
43:07more fantastic fixes
43:08and restorations,
43:09search BBC iPlayer
43:11for The Repair Shop
43:13on the road.
43:18We'll be right back next to you.
43:44We've got
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