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00:00A remarkable workshop of wonder.
00:03This is amazing!
00:06Home to experts of every kind.
00:09Thank you!
00:11Together, they revive beloved belongings.
00:14Oh, get an idea of it.
00:16This is amazing.
00:17This is absolutely brilliant.
00:19Bringing both the items...
00:22This looks like it's seen much better days.
00:26...and the memories they hold.
00:30It's him.
00:31You ready?
00:31Yeah, yeah.
00:32I'm ready.
00:33Back to life.
00:38Wow.
00:39It's amazing.
00:41They are stunning.
00:43I like it.
00:47Welcome to the Repair Shop.
00:57It's so mild, Steve.
00:59It is.
01:00I love it this time of year when it's like this.
01:02Absolutely.
01:03Everything's still going in the garden as well.
01:05It is.
01:06Hey!
01:07Good morning.
01:08How are you?
01:09Look who we've found.
01:10I'll get the door for you.
01:12Of birth.
01:13Thanks.
01:14Cheers.
01:14Lovely.
01:22First, a tale of adventure for Sonaz and plastic restorer Charlotte Abbott.
01:29Hello, hello.
01:30Hello.
01:30Mike Webb from Bedfordshire has a well-deserved souvenir he's hoping to get back on track.
01:37What do we have here?
01:40This is a trophy presented to me by the Rover Company on the successful completion of the
01:47first ever crossing of the American continent from north to south by vehicle.
01:52What?
01:53I was in the forces at the time and our regiment was chosen to lead the vehicle part of the
01:57team.
01:58They said you can have two of these new vehicles and you can drive them the 18,000 miles from
02:03Alaska to Cape Horn.
02:05Wow.
02:0518,000 miles?
02:07Yes.
02:08Just the six of us started off from Anchorage in Alaska and we drove down through the American
02:13continent and then unfortunately in the middle there is the Darien Gap.
02:18And what is the Darien Gap?
02:20Well that's a 250 mile area of jungle, swamp, ravines, mountains and it splits Panama from
02:29Colombia.
02:29Oh wow.
02:30And normally you would get on a ferry and go from Panama to Colombia and then carry on
02:36the trip further south.
02:37But no one had actually taken the vehicles through the Darien Gap.
02:40You were the first ones to go through that gap?
02:42The first to complete it.
02:43People had tried before.
02:45Also when was this?
02:46This was 1971, 72.
02:48Okay.
02:49Navigating through that forest.
02:52It was extremely muddy.
02:54Some days we had to winch the vehicles.
02:56Even the swamp tires weren't capable of taking it through the mud.
02:59There's not much of this left now but there was a roof rack here and we had two aluminium
03:04ladders on the top.
03:05You put two together over these obstacles.
03:09Oh right.
03:09That got us over so many different obstacles.
03:12Gosh, the amount of determination.
03:13Some days we might only do 25 metres.
03:17What?
03:17Because when we...
03:18I don't imagine.
03:19And the rivers, how did you get across the rivers?
03:22Basically if the base of the river wasn't too good you could put the ladders down and drive
03:26over them.
03:27That was one of the basic things we really relied on.
03:29Yeah.
03:30And then we drove the Range Rovers onto dinghies if the river wasn't fordable.
03:34And how old were you at this time?
03:36I was a lovely 21 years old when I started.
03:4022 when it finished.
03:41It was an unbelievable experience.
03:43Wow, I bet.
03:44It really was, yeah.
03:45Once we'd rested up a little bit, the six of us headed south through Colombia and down
03:49into Peru and then into Chile.
03:51We drove across to Tierra del Fuego and that is the end of the journey.
03:57The road ended right there.
04:00Wow.
04:00You couldn't go any further.
04:01And that's how you knew you'd made it.
04:02We knew there was nowhere else to go except back.
04:05Yes, yeah.
04:05It took just over six months in all.
04:08Okay.
04:08So this vehicle is a representation of the exact vehicle that you guys drove.
04:13Yes.
04:13It's such an achievement.
04:14Have you had this pride of place in the house?
04:17It's always been pride of place.
04:18We had a daughter and grandchildren now and it's quite likely that their little fingers
04:23have been opening the doors and dropping the boot.
04:26Well, the temptation is too great, isn't it?
04:28It is, yeah.
04:29Obviously, there has been a bit of damage done, but what would you like me to do?
04:33Well, ideally, what I'd like it to look like is what it was just before it went into the jungle.
04:38I'd be really grateful.
04:39I can't tell you how brilliant it's been to hear the story of the adventure and your experiences.
04:45Thank you for bringing this in.
04:47My pleasure.
05:11This trophy, bless it, I think it's looking probably how the Range Rovers did look at the
05:15very end of the trip, very worn.
05:18The bones are there, but there is a lot missing.
05:21The roof rack, the ladders that were just so important for the expedition, they've gone.
05:27And then all the logos that were on the side have sadly disappeared.
05:31There's only one left on here.
05:33One of the seats, the back is gone.
05:36I think this guy looks like he's been through a swamp himself.
05:39So it's going to be getting a little car wash as well, I think.
05:52Next into the barn is Julie Felix from Cornwall with the footwear that helped her soar to dizzy heights.
06:01Hello.
06:02Hello.
06:03She's meeting Lucia and cobbler Dean.
06:06Wow.
06:08Oh, wow.
06:09I have bought my pointe shoes that I wore on the stage of the Royal Opera House.
06:16Oh.
06:16And I was Britain's first professional black ballerina.
06:20Wow.
06:21That's pretty impressive.
06:23How did you get into ballet in the first place?
06:25Yes.
06:25So when I was seven years old, my mum was fed up of my dancing all around the house.
06:32And there was a local ballet school around the corner.
06:34So I went to the first lesson and I was absolutely besotted.
06:41And when I was 12 years old, my mum, she knew how desperately I wanted to make this a career.
06:48And she got some tickets for the two of us to go to the Royal Opera House in London.
06:53And she said to me, if you work really hard, one day you'll be down there on that stage.
07:01So your mum was the fuel behind your fire?
07:04Exactly.
07:04She put all her efforts and energy into me.
07:08And when I went to full-time ballet school, those three years were one of the best times in my
07:15life.
07:16In my final year at the ballet school, the director asked if I could do a short apprenticeship with this
07:23prestigious London ballet company.
07:26And I was called in with the director.
07:30And, of course, I was like, oh, my God, I'm going to get a job.
07:33I'm going to get a job.
07:34However, she said, because of the colour of your skin, we're not going to be able to offer you a
07:40contract
07:40because we can't have a brown ballet dancer in the line-up of the Swans.
07:47They actually said that?
07:48Yes.
07:49I was absolutely mortified.
07:52You would be.
07:53What did your mum think?
07:55My mum said when I went home and told her, and I was in floods of tears,
08:01don't give up, there's going to be something else.
08:04And as good fortune has it, this ballet company, Dance Theatre of Harlem, the all-black ballet company,
08:11came over from New York to do a season at Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet.
08:16And I was invited to take up a contract with them.
08:20Oh, what a blessing.
08:22And I went to New York.
08:23Oh, my goodness.
08:24In those days, there weren't very many ballet dancers of colour.
08:28So they would have pink satin pointe shoes.
08:32So we got our tights dyed to match our skin colour, and the pointe shoes dyed.
08:38This is why they're tan-coloured.
08:41We had to have them sprayed.
08:43How long were you out in New York?
08:45It was seven years, and that's when the ballet company came back to the Royal Opera House.
08:51And I was offered my first solo role.
08:55No!
08:56Then my mum and dad had the opportunity to actually see me on the Opera House stage.
09:02So these were the shoes that I wore when mum and dad came to see me perform on the stage
09:09of the Royal Opera House.
09:10And I said, Mum, you were right.
09:14I've made it, and I'm here.
09:17It's like a fairy tale.
09:18It's beautiful, isn't it?
09:19And right here on this table, these symbolise all the work, effort, love and devotion from my mother.
09:31What would you like, Dean, to do to these?
09:35Tidy them up.
09:36Obviously, the materials strayed away from it.
09:40They must have faded over time.
09:42Yes.
09:42If you can preserve them as much as possible, I would so appreciate it.
09:47I'm looking forward to it.
09:49Thank you so much.
09:50Bye.
09:50Bye.
09:50Bye.
10:20Bye.
10:20The side seams are split.
10:23Now, they are a bit patchy in terms of colour.
10:26It's not very uniform all the way around.
10:28I'm going to dye them back to a tone that is closer to Julie's skin colour.
10:33The right foot is a lot straighter than the left.
10:38I'm going to have to have a real think about how I'm going to reintroduce that arch.
10:43Now, I know I need to remove a lot of this ingrained grime,
10:47but before I go any further with that,
10:50I'd like to just glue some of these frayed bits of material down
10:53to make everything a little bit neater.
11:01With the expedition trophy,
11:03Charlotte is taking steps to replace the missing ladders
11:07that sit on the car's roof.
11:10I've cut some strips of plastic
11:12and I'm now going to assemble them into a ladder shape
11:14and chemically weld them together.
11:18Looking at photos of the original cars,
11:21I can see the ladders ran from roughly the boot
11:24to about halfway in the bonnet.
11:28I'm just using a little bit of wax
11:31to keep the two pieces of the ladder
11:33in place on this piece of glass.
11:40I'm going to start inserting the rungs
11:42and I'm just going to keep adding them
11:44until it looks like there's enough of them.
11:52To attach all these rungs on,
11:54I'm going to use a chemical welding solution.
11:56And what this does is it melts both parts of the plastic
11:59and then they melt together and form one whole piece.
12:06I've made a little spacer
12:09and I'm going to just keep going all the way down the ladder
12:11and that way I'll get really perfectly evenly spaced rungs.
12:25They're all really evenly spaced.
12:27It's all come together nicely.
12:32So I just need to leave that to set
12:35and then once that's done,
12:37I can get cracking on the other ladder.
12:40In order to make them look like metal ladders,
12:43I'm actually going to be coating them
12:44in a thin layer of metal
12:46and then that should make it strong
12:48and should be able to last the tests of time.
13:00Having glued all the frayed bits of silk back down,
13:04I've now got a reasonably flat surface
13:06that I can use the cleaner on
13:10and I'm just dabbing it to try and lift the grime out.
13:14Being careful not to oversaturate.
13:16I don't want any shrinkage or distortion in the silk.
13:20What I'm trying to do with this fabric
13:22is prepare it in a way that it will take the dye.
13:26I'm going to do the same process to the other shoe.
13:29Then I can look forward to bending the right shoe
13:32to match the arch of the left.
13:37From ballet dancing accolades to sporting prowess,
13:41Gail Newsham from Preston has a tattered book
13:45charting a major turning point
13:47in the history of women's football
13:49for bookbinder Chris.
13:53Hello.
13:53Hello.
13:54Hello.
13:55Welcome, welcome.
13:57What have you got there?
13:58This is a scrapbook compiled by Alfred Franklin,
14:01who was manager of the Dick Kerr Ladies football team,
14:05who are the most important team
14:07in the history of women's football.
14:10Wow.
14:10You can see it's in a bit of a delicate condition.
14:13It's set from 1917.
14:15It's falling apart.
14:16Wow, this is.
14:17And, gosh.
14:19Wow.
14:19It says 1917 on there.
14:21Yes.
14:21This relates to the first match at Preston North End.
14:25Oh, my word.
14:26This is, right, the origin of the Dick Kerr Ladies.
14:29I've never heard of that team before.
14:30They were from a munitions factory.
14:33Dick and Kerr were the factory owners.
14:36At the outbreak of the First World War,
14:37most of the men were sent to the front,
14:39so the women were left in the factories,
14:41keeping the home fires burning.
14:42Yeah.
14:43And so why football?
14:44Why did they play football?
14:46Football really became the official sport
14:49of the munitions girls.
14:50Almost every factory across the country
14:52had a ladies' football team.
14:54Goodness.
14:55And they set up this team to raise funds
14:58for the wounded soldiers,
15:00and they played the first match on Christmas Day 1917.
15:03And why was the Dick Kerr football team so important then?
15:07Or were they the first women's team?
15:09They weren't the first, but they were the best.
15:12Oh, that's right.
15:13They absolutely were,
15:14and we have documentary evidence of that.
15:17Wow.
15:17You can see there that that's what they were regarded as.
15:21And they were really world champions.
15:22They were, yeah.
15:23They really were very, very famous.
15:26But throughout 1921,
15:28the FA made it increasingly more difficult
15:30for women to play football,
15:32and on 5th December 1921,
15:34the FA banned women from using league grounds.
15:37They said football was quite unsuitable for females
15:40and should not be encouraged.
15:42I feel incensed just now.
15:44Yeah, yeah, yeah.
15:45And the ban lasted for 50 years
15:47and effectively changed the course
15:48of the women's game forever.
15:50But the Dick Kerr ladies,
15:51this is what makes them special,
15:53is that they carried on right through to 1965.
15:56So the majority of their existence
15:59was playing against the establishment,
16:02not giving up, no matter what.
16:04And so did you grow up knowing about the ladies?
16:07I grew up near the factory.
16:08It was just a stone's throw from where I lived.
16:10So I was always aware as a child
16:11how strange it was
16:12because we're not allowed to play,
16:13yet there's a women's team.
16:15Once I realised that these women
16:16had been so unfairly treated
16:19and the injustice of it all,
16:21I just wanted to tell this story.
16:23In 1991, I met Brenda Eastwood,
16:26who played in the first match
16:28after the Second World War,
16:29and I just had the idea of organising a reunion.
16:32It was awesome.
16:34Just seeing them all together
16:35and the joy that it gave them made me joyous.
16:38So how did you get the scrapbook?
16:40I went to see Kath Latham,
16:42who was manager of the team,
16:44and Kath gave me the book
16:45and it blew me away.
16:47To be given what, in my opinion,
16:49is a very valuable piece of history,
16:50to be entrusted with that
16:52has just been wonderful.
16:53And I want to leave
16:55as complete a record of these women
16:58as I possibly can.
16:59That legacy needs preserving, Chris,
17:01and that's where you come in.
17:02Yeah, gosh.
17:03I'd like you to get it
17:05so it can be looked at
17:06without falling apart
17:09and make it worthy.
17:11I'll do my best.
17:12I'm sure you will, thank you.
17:14Thank you so much
17:15for bringing the scrapbook in, Gail.
17:17Thank you. Bye.
17:18Bye.
17:21Wow, Chris.
17:23Yep.
17:23You really are the perfect person
17:25for this as well, aren't you?
17:26I hope so.
17:27I will leave you to it.
17:28Thank you very much, Sanis.
17:39I'm in total awe of this scrapbook.
17:42The Ditka women's team
17:44I never knew anything about.
17:46And this is the holy grail of it all.
17:49What a stroke of luck
17:50that it landed with Gail.
17:54But it is at the point of total collapse.
17:58The pages are loose.
18:00Lots of the archival pieces inside
18:02are dog-eared and rolled.
18:04They need attention.
18:06The pages all come into pieces
18:08so it needs re-sewing
18:09and it's got no spine.
18:11So all of those need to be sorted.
18:14So I'm going to start dismantling the book.
18:16Once the scrapbook has been dismantled,
18:18I can start doing some paper repair
18:20to any of the articles that needed.
18:27Having fashioned a bespoke metal tool,
18:31Dean can now address
18:32the uneven arches of the ballet shoes.
18:36I've had to hammer this metal bar
18:38into the shape of the arch of the left shoe
18:40to kind of copy the curve on the arch
18:44to the right shoe.
18:45And now what I'm going to do
18:47is wet this leather sole.
18:49It's very, very stiff,
18:50which will allow it to easily form
18:53and strap it to this metal bar
18:55and let it dry.
18:57When I take the metal bar away,
18:58it should hold that shape in the arch
19:01and it should match the left one.
19:22This may seem quite rough
19:23to do with these pointe shoes,
19:24but you think of what they go through
19:26when they're worn,
19:27when they're broken in.
19:30Now that is the web being on nice and tight
19:32and I can see
19:33that it's followed the shape
19:35of that metal bar.
19:36I'm just going to put some tape on
19:38to hold everything in.
19:44Now it's just a case of letting that dry
19:46and hopefully I've got a lovely arch
19:48that stays within that shoe.
19:59Outside, Charlotte is calling
20:01on her technical toy know-how
20:03to replicate the miniature plastic features
20:06of the Expedition four-wheel drive.
20:09In order to cover my ladders in metal,
20:13I have painted them with a conductive paint.
20:15I'm going to be using an electroplating tank.
20:18I dissolve a metal salt,
20:20in this case copper sulfate,
20:22into the solution.
20:23Attach both of my ladders
20:25with a copper wire
20:26and this is going to allow
20:27the current to flow all the way through.
20:30Then I can turn on the plough supply.
20:33So this is sending
20:36about 0.3 amps through here
20:39and very, very slowly
20:41the ladders will begin to be covered
20:43with a copper surface.
20:45and then I'll be able
20:46to plate it with nickel
20:47and it will be beautifully shiny
20:49and ready to go back
20:50on Mike's car.
21:03I'm really hoping this has worked.
21:08That's brilliant.
21:09That's really, really good.
21:11That curve is exactly the same
21:13as the other one.
21:19You know, ballet is about poise
21:21and balance and elegance
21:23and these shoes just exude that.
21:28Because I'm wanting to dye these shoes
21:30to a brown that Julie did
21:32when she first got them,
21:34I'm going to move on to
21:35just splitting this bead
21:37that holds the outer
21:38and the inner together.
21:39So it's really important to me
21:41that I treat the silk satin
21:43on the outside of the shoe
21:44separately.
21:50Preparing to kick off
21:52his delicate repairs
21:53to the football scrapbook,
21:55Chris has been immersing himself
21:57in the contents.
22:00It's been a fascinating delve
22:03into the women's achievements.
22:04This article is 1927.
22:06This is after the ban
22:08and it says,
22:10Everyone who went to the
22:11Leicestershire agricultural showground
22:13last night to watch the football
22:15came away with one big impression
22:17and that was that they'd seen
22:19an outside left who,
22:20if she'd been a man,
22:22would have gained international honours.
22:25Just says everything
22:26about the ridiculousness of the ban.
22:29So on this article,
22:31the missing bit has come detached
22:34and has been carefully
22:36squirrelled away in the scrapbook.
22:38I'm very surprised
22:39that this little bit of paper
22:41actually survived.
22:42There's quite a lot wrong with this,
22:44but the first thing I'm going to do
22:45is remove the sticky tape.
22:47And to do that,
22:48I'm using a hot iron
22:50and I'm just going to press it down
22:52and hopefully the sticky tape
22:54will get all nice and sweaty
22:55and then come away.
22:59You just have to be very careful
23:01as you're removing the tape
23:04that it doesn't take any of the letters
23:06up with it.
23:10Offending article off.
23:13To fix this,
23:14I'm using a very fine Kozo paper.
23:16I'm using some wheat starch paste
23:19just to get it into place
23:22and it's just a matter of narrowing it all up.
23:37And because this Kozo paper
23:40is so very, very thin,
23:42as soon as you paste it,
23:44it goes transparent.
23:46But it's very strong paper.
23:58With the ribbons and beading
24:00carefully separated
24:01from the ballet points,
24:03Dean can now reinstate
24:05the colour they were given
24:06in New York.
24:08I am ready to dye these
24:11and try and get them back
24:13to a skin tone
24:14that is closer
24:15to what Julie had them.
24:17I'm so nervous.
24:18This is a point of no return.
24:21If I get it too dark,
24:22I really can't pull it back
24:23to being lighter.
24:28Now that works,
24:29that colour,
24:29and in fact,
24:31being darker,
24:31I think that really
24:32enhances the shine.
24:34So,
24:35if I can continue this
24:36and get the result
24:37like it's looking I'm getting,
24:39I'll be very, very happy.
24:43Hey Chris,
24:44that's a big old book.
24:45It's a fantastic
24:46women's football team scrapbook.
24:49Did you ever do any sport?
24:50Well,
24:51I was never very good,
24:52but I was always picked
24:52first for basketball.
24:53I was never picked.
24:55Oh, Chris,
24:56were you not?
24:56I wasn't.
24:57But as an early age,
24:58I obviously had the hands
24:59ready for bookbinding later on.
25:02There you go,
25:02you see,
25:03it was meant to be,
25:03wasn't it?
25:04It was.
25:09With the plastic car ladders
25:11now gleaming with copper,
25:14like Dean,
25:15Charlotte also has to do
25:16some clever colour correction.
25:19As much as I love
25:21this gorgeous copper colour,
25:22the original ladders
25:25were a more silver colour,
25:26so it's not really appropriate
25:27for the final finish.
25:35I'm going to brush plate
25:37nickel onto this ladder.
25:39For that,
25:40I have my little brush plating pen.
25:42This actually has a piece
25:44of nickel in here
25:45and a sponge
25:46that's soaked in
25:47a nickel solution.
25:48This is positively charged.
25:50I've attached
25:51the negative
25:52to the piece
25:53and
25:54as I start to rub
25:57the little sponge
25:58on here,
25:59the nickel wants to go
26:00towards the negatively charged ladder.
26:02As it gets to the surface
26:03of the ladder,
26:04it reacts
26:05and it starts to form
26:07a very thin layer
26:08of nickel
26:08over the top
26:09of the copper.
26:11That has just gone so fast
26:13and it just looks amazing.
26:15It's so shiny,
26:16so silvery.
26:18It just looks like
26:19the ladders did originally.
26:20Just really tiny.
26:23And Charlotte
26:24is not the only one
26:25impressed
26:26by her handiwork.
26:28That really,
26:29seriously is impressive.
26:31If I didn't know
26:32that was plastic,
26:33I'd think it was made of metal.
26:34Even,
26:35it sounds like it's metal.
26:37Yeah,
26:37I think it works really nice
26:38for kind of a toy
26:39because it's lightweight.
26:41Yeah,
26:41exactly.
26:41It's so interesting
26:42of everybody's
26:43different skill sets
26:45because if I'd been asked
26:46to make that
26:46or Brenton
26:47had the task
26:47of making that,
26:48I think we'd both be
26:49soldering something together.
26:51Cool,
26:51my mind is spinning.
26:59Chris has been
27:00meticulously mending
27:02all the frail contents
27:03of the football scrapbook
27:06and is now moving
27:07on to the next chapter
27:09of his repair.
27:11So all the pages
27:12and the articles
27:13have been repaired.
27:14It feels like
27:16a completely different book
27:17and now I can
27:18sew the book together.
27:19It fell to pieces
27:21because there wasn't
27:22enough thickness
27:22in the spine.
27:24So to overcome that,
27:25I'm going to add
27:26these guards
27:27and that's just
27:28basically a bit of paper
27:29and that's going
27:30to create some thickness
27:31but it's also guarding
27:33the section,
27:35the original scrapbook
27:36from any harm.
27:38Structurally,
27:39these tapes
27:39are really significant
27:41because one side
27:43of the tapes
27:44gets stuck
27:45on the backboard,
27:46it's on the spine
27:47and then it's
27:48on the frontboard
27:49so it links
27:50all three bits
27:51of the book together.
27:54It's coming together
27:55really nicely.
27:56It's going to take
27:57me a bit of time
27:58though to sew
27:59the scrapbook together
27:59but once that's done
28:01I can get it ready
28:02to reattach the boards.
28:11On his bench,
28:13Dean's colour correcting
28:14attempts
28:15on the ballet shoe pieces
28:17have taken a tumble.
28:20The fabric
28:21for the beading
28:22and ribbons
28:22really hasn't gone
28:24to plan
28:24if I'm honest.
28:25The colour
28:26has gone a lot darker
28:27than I anticipated.
28:29Unfortunately,
28:29it needs to be
28:30a lot closer
28:30to that golden brown.
28:31It's been quite difficult
28:33as well to anticipate
28:34because there are
28:35so many different
28:36materials here
28:37and all those materials
28:38have taken this dye
28:39to different depths
28:41so it is a little bit
28:42of a conundrum
28:43but I'm not deterred
28:44by this.
28:45I believe I can
28:46strip that colour
28:47back out
28:47and get these
28:48closer to the colour
28:49of that lovely golden brown
28:50on the pointe shoes.
28:54Whilst Dean
28:55has to take a step
28:56back with the ballet shoes,
28:59Charlotte is ploughing
29:01on with the rest
29:01of her repair.
29:03One of the seat backs
29:04was missing from the car
29:05so I've used
29:07the remaining seat back
29:08and I've made a mould
29:09of that
29:09and then I'll be able
29:10to cast a new piece.
29:12To do that
29:13I'm going to be injecting
29:14in some resin.
29:15This resin goes off
29:16quite quickly
29:17so I need to work fast.
29:27The silicone
29:28is just filling up.
29:30Now I'm just going to
29:33roll it around
29:34a little bit
29:34and try and get resin
29:35into all the gaps
29:37because if you have
29:38an air bubble
29:39it basically looks like
29:40there's a big chunk
29:40missing out of your piece.
29:55It's always a bit
29:58trepidatious
29:59when you're taking
30:00something out of a mould
30:01for the first time
30:01because it's very easy
30:03for an air bubble
30:04to kind of settle in there
30:05but actually
30:07it looks like a chair.
30:12That's looking good.
30:13they've come out
30:14really nice and smooth
30:15so it matches
30:16the remaining one.
30:25Rebecca,
30:26I need your help.
30:27OK.
30:28Please.
30:29removing the excess
30:30dark colour
30:31from the ballet fabrics
30:32has not gone well
30:34for Dean
30:34who's in need
30:35of expert advice
30:37from textiles guru
30:38Rebecca.
30:39I have dyed
30:40the ballet points
30:42a really nice
30:42golden brown.
30:43Unfortunately
30:44the ribbons
30:44and the beading
30:45but it's so far removed
30:47from the shade I need
30:48and being the queen
30:49of fabrics
30:49that you are
30:50I wondered
30:50if you could
30:51maybe help me.
30:53Of course I'll help you out.
30:54Have you got an idea
30:55of what colour you'd like?
30:56I have actually.
30:57OK.
30:58I'll do some samples
30:59and then go from there.
31:00Fingers crossed.
31:01OK.
31:07Fast approaching
31:08the destination
31:09without repair
31:10Charlotte is adding
31:12her specially created
31:13additions
31:14to the expedition trophy.
31:17Unfortunately
31:18a lot of the logos
31:21were from the 1970s
31:23and they were
31:24very hard to find
31:25so I ended up
31:25actually making them
31:26myself
31:27and they're all
31:28absolutely tiny
31:29so cutting them out
31:30is quite tricky.
31:36Pop it in the water
31:39and on the car
31:41I've got a setting solution
31:46I'm going to pop that
31:47down into place
31:51and I leave that to dry.
31:53That's one down
31:54I've got 19 more to go
31:56and then I can varnish
31:57everything and reassemble.
32:04This trophy was awarded
32:06to Mike Webb
32:07in 1972
32:09on completion
32:10of his groundbreaking
32:11expedition
32:12the first successful drive
32:14from north to south
32:16of the Americas.
32:18It looks absolutely amazing.
32:20Well done you.
32:22Today
32:23Mike has returned
32:24with daughter Natasha
32:26in the hope of recapturing
32:28treasured memories
32:29from his greatest adventure
32:31at the age
32:32of just 21.
32:35Hello again.
32:37Hi.
32:37Hi.
32:38Lovely to meet you Natasha.
32:39Thank you and you.
32:40How are you both feeling?
32:41Very excited at the moment.
32:43Are you?
32:43I know how special
32:44it is to my dad.
32:46It was a very
32:47significant time
32:48in his life
32:49or once in a lifetime
32:50opportunity.
32:51Shall we go for it?
32:52Oh why not?
32:54Do you want to do
32:55the honours?
32:55Yeah.
33:00Oh wow.
33:08That's amazing.
33:09Can I touch it?
33:10Yeah.
33:14It's stormy.
33:16How did you manage that?
33:19Everything looks so
33:20realistic
33:21and just as it was
33:22and the driver's seat
33:23has miraculously reappeared.
33:26And the ladders.
33:27Yeah they are
33:28they are amazing.
33:30That's fantastic.
33:32Oh thank you.
33:33Takes me back.
33:34Yeah does it?
33:35Really does yeah.
33:38It's been so wonderful
33:39delving into the history
33:40of it
33:41to try and get it
33:42as accurate as possible.
33:43It's such a beautiful thing
33:45to reflect on
33:46as a family together.
33:47It is definitely.
33:48You know my children
33:49will be thrilled
33:50to see it back
33:51to its original condition
33:52and it will be lovely
33:53for my dad
33:54to sit there with them
33:55and discuss it
33:57with them more.
33:57Oh and regale
33:58the tales of the jungle.
34:00Yes.
34:01I wish we could talk more
34:02and hear more
34:03of these stories
34:04but thank you so much
34:06for sharing what you have
34:07and for bringing this in.
34:08Thank you very much.
34:10Take care.
34:16Well done Charlotte.
34:17It looked incredible.
34:19That was a good one.
34:19That was a good one.
34:20This is absolutely
34:22fantastic work.
34:23The difference
34:24from when I brought it in
34:25to what it is now
34:26it's taken it right back
34:27to how I remember it
34:28and how it should look
34:29and it looks proud of itself.
34:53Next to arrive
34:54is Fenella Haffenden
34:56from Tavistock.
34:57She's counting on
34:59David Burville's
35:00mechanical expertise
35:01to resurrect
35:03a clockwork treasure
35:04from her childhood.
35:07Hi there.
35:09Hi.
35:09Hello.
35:10Look at that.
35:14That's not a real bird
35:15is it?
35:16No it isn't.
35:17It's a beautiful
35:18musical bird
35:20in a cage.
35:21My grandmother
35:23hang this in her house
35:24in Bocash
35:25in Jersey.
35:26Now when I was a child
35:29she used to bring it out
35:30for our dinner
35:31and then she said
35:33like
35:33I'm going to wind it up.
35:35So the bird
35:36would tweet
35:38and sing
35:39and move its head
35:41and tail.
35:42Now because
35:43I was born deaf
35:45and I couldn't hear
35:46for me
35:47it was all about
35:49watching the bird
35:50move
35:51and I used to think
35:54it's a shame
35:55I can't hear it.
35:56You were profoundly deaf?
35:58Yes.
35:59I was born profoundly deaf
36:00so for years and years
36:02I've always wondered
36:05what does this bird sound like?
36:08What have I missed
36:09Southam?
36:10Obviously
36:11technology improved
36:13and 20 years ago
36:15I was offered
36:17an opportunity
36:17to have a cockney
36:18implant
36:20and it's been
36:21the most
36:21amazing thing.
36:24So what happened
36:25is the bird
36:26will tweet
36:27it winds up
36:28you've got a little
36:28winding up mechanism
36:30at the bottom
36:31so if I turn it up
36:33a little bit
36:34so you can hear
36:36this bird
36:36tweet here
36:38but although
36:39the birds
36:40tweeze a bit
36:41it's not the same.
36:44For me
36:44it's very bittersweet
36:46because
36:47now that I can hear
36:51I want to hear it
36:53but when it's
36:54all beautifully
36:55done up
36:55it's rather shabby
36:58and I feel
36:59that that's something
36:59you can help me with.
37:01Please.
37:02It's so priceless.
37:04I can hear
37:05that he's not
37:06he's not singing
37:08correctly.
37:09Oh.
37:10So although
37:10he's making a noise
37:12it's not
37:13as it should be.
37:15Should his cage
37:16have been shiny
37:17or painted
37:18or?
37:19As a child
37:20it was sort of gold
37:21it was like
37:22the most beautiful
37:24treasure
37:25that you could
37:26come across
37:26and his feathers
37:28were definitely
37:30much more colourful
37:31I think
37:32when he's fully restored
37:34and the sound
37:36is restored
37:37that would be magical.
37:39It's been wonderful
37:40to meet you
37:40and hear all about
37:41this fantastic birdcage.
37:43Thank you so much.
37:44You're very welcome
37:44it's lovely to meet you.
37:45We'll see you soon, Penella.
37:46See you soon.
37:46Bye-bye.
38:00Well this little guy
38:02is absolutely wonderful.
38:03Hopefully
38:04I can actually
38:05get him
38:06back to
38:07what he should be
38:08so that
38:09he can give
38:10a really good performance.
38:11instantly
38:13I can see
38:14that his
38:15cage
38:16has actually
38:18been overpainted
38:19with gold paint
38:20so
38:21I'm going to
38:21strip all of that
38:22and get back
38:23to the bare brass
38:24and buff that up
38:25and bring that gold
38:26colour back to him.
38:27The clockwork mechanism
38:28that operates him
38:29is making noises
38:31so that's a good sign
38:33but
38:33it's not working
38:35really efficiently
38:36so
38:37it's in need
38:38just a good clean
38:39degrease it
38:40lubricate everything
38:41that needs lubricating.
38:43My main concern
38:44is the little bird.
38:46Typically
38:47they would turn
38:48their head
38:48they would flap
38:50their tail
38:50in time
38:51with his twitterings
38:52so
38:54that's not working
38:55so I think
38:56the first thing
38:57I've got to do
38:57is to actually
38:58dismantle the cage
38:59and then I can see
39:00what's going on
39:00with the mechanism.
39:08while David
39:09tries to fathom out
39:10how to fix
39:11the mechanical bird
39:14solving the
39:15ballet shoes
39:16colour conundrum
39:17is proving tricky
39:18for Rebecca
39:19and Dean.
39:21Dean.
39:22How's it gone?
39:23It's not gone so well
39:24I'm afraid.
39:25OK.
39:26It's not the brown
39:27you wanted.
39:27I don't know
39:28if something's been
39:29sprayed onto the fabric.
39:30It's definitely
39:31reacting with something.
39:33Yeah.
39:33There's obviously
39:34something within this fabric.
39:35So you've got a plan B?
39:36I know we like to try
39:37to keep things original
39:38but in a case like this
39:40I think it's
39:41probably best
39:42I make some new.
39:43Yeah.
39:43But listen
39:44thank you so much
39:44for trying.
39:45We want to get
39:45some green ballet shoes
39:46I can save them
39:47and use them
39:49on them.
39:49Great.
39:55Chris is deep
39:56into his quest
39:57to return
39:58the Dick Kerr
39:59Lady scrapbook
40:00to the top
40:01of the league table.
40:03All the boards
40:04now are repaired
40:05the corners
40:06along the edge
40:07here
40:08are all nice
40:09and firm
40:10and the next thing
40:11I need to do
40:12is create a spine
40:14and I'm using
40:15this bit of leather
40:17which is going to get
40:17tucked in
40:18underneath the original
40:20sides
40:20but the problem
40:22with it
40:23it's too thick
40:24the end needs
40:25to be really
40:26wafer thin
40:27so there's not
40:27any VBLs
40:28any visible book lines
40:30otherwise it could
40:31just be really
40:32unsightly
40:33and to do
40:34the thinning
40:34on the leather
40:35I have to spend
40:35a bit of time
40:37paring it down
40:38using a sharp
40:39paring knife
40:39taking the very
40:40edge off the leather
40:43I'm angling
40:44the knife
40:46a bit of a
40:47jaunty angle
40:48because I'm trying
40:49to get that
40:50point at the end
40:51so I'm taking it
40:52down quite a lot
40:57and then I swap
40:58to a spokeshave
41:15the paring now
41:16is finished
41:18I've wet it
41:19the idea of wetting it
41:21is I'm going to
41:22stretch it
41:22over the back
41:24of the book
41:25so that it folds
41:27and goes into
41:28every nook and cranny
41:29and as it dries
41:30it's going to shrink
41:32and dry in the
41:33position you leave it
41:44wow
41:46looks divine
41:47love it
41:49it's all these
41:50little pleasures
41:50you get along
41:51the way
41:52now just the
41:53other side
42:02with its cage
42:03dismantled
42:04David can find
42:05out why the
42:06wind-up bird's
42:07movements
42:08and sound
42:09aren't working
42:10in harmony
42:13so now I can
42:14see into the
42:17main mechanism
42:18this is really
42:19the heart of
42:20the whole machine
42:20it's really
42:21really grubby
42:22there's a lot
42:23of caked grease
42:24and that's
42:25slowing the
42:26mechanism down
42:27so I need to
42:28give that a good
42:28clean
42:29then that will
42:29help to
42:30actually get it
42:31running a bit
42:32quicker
42:32however
42:33I'm looking at
42:34the bellows
42:35first
42:35which actually
42:36pump air
42:37into the
42:39little whistle
42:40which is
42:40actually the
42:41bird's tweet
42:42is sounding
42:42really breathy
42:48so he's not
42:49giving a nice
42:50even sort of
42:51note
42:52so I've got
42:53to get inside
42:54which means
42:55stripping all
42:56of the leather
43:04off
43:05so now
43:07I can see
43:09the internal
43:10valves
43:11what we've
43:12basically got
43:12is a little
43:13tiny piece
43:14of paper
43:15and that
43:17is
43:18the
43:19valve
43:20this
43:22is
43:22a little
43:23bit
43:23dark
43:24and that's
43:25effectively
43:26that's
43:26soot
43:27and that's
43:27where this
43:28valve has
43:28not been
43:29quite sealing
43:30properly
43:31so
43:31what I'm
43:33going to do
43:33is make
43:34some new
43:34paper valves
43:54so that's
43:55the valve
43:56in place
43:57and then
43:58what I'm
43:59going to
43:59fit
43:59over the
44:00top of
44:00that
44:01is this
44:02little piece
44:02of leather
44:03so that
44:04limits
44:04how far
44:05the valve
44:05can open
44:06so that's
44:07one of them
44:07done
44:08I've just
44:08got the
44:09other one
44:09to do
44:10and then
44:10it's
44:10actually
44:10ready
44:11for testing
44:14so
44:20unable to
44:21dye
44:21the
44:21original
44:22beading
44:22to the
44:23correct
44:23colour
44:23Dean
44:24has
44:25sourced
44:25replacements
44:26and the
44:27ballet
44:27shoes
44:27are
44:28nearly
44:28ready
44:28for
44:29their
44:29encore
44:31this
44:31beading
44:32just
44:33finishes
44:33everything
44:34off
44:34brings
44:34everything
44:34together
44:36I need to
44:37get the
44:37ribbon and
44:38the elastic
44:38on now
44:39then the
44:39final stage
44:40will be
44:40to give
44:40that sole
44:41a lovely
44:42wax polish
44:43and they'll
44:43be ready
44:44to go
44:44back to
44:44Julie
44:45I really
44:46hope she's
44:46as happy
44:47as I
44:47am
44:52dull
44:53threadbare
44:54and
44:54misshapen
44:55this pair
44:56once saw
44:57Britain's
44:57first black
44:58professional
44:59ballet dancer
44:59take her
45:01long-awaited
45:01debut
45:02at London's
45:03Royal Opera
45:04House
45:05Julie is
45:06back
45:07to see if
45:08her precious
45:08points are
45:09now worthy
45:10of display
45:10in honour
45:11of the mum
45:12who encouraged
45:13her to
45:13break
45:14boundaries
45:14and to
45:15pursue
45:16her dream
45:19Hi Dean
45:20Nice to see
45:21you again
45:21Julie
45:22Nice to see
45:22you too
45:22How have you
45:23been feeling
45:24since leaving
45:25the pointe
45:25shoes with me?
45:26It just
45:27made me
45:28relive
45:29the time
45:29when I
45:30was wearing
45:31them
45:31and obviously
45:33reliving the
45:34time that
45:35my mum
45:36was around
45:36and being
45:38able to
45:39dance for
45:40her
45:41Are you
45:42ready?
45:43I'm ready
45:55Dean
46:02They are
46:03stunning
46:09Oh Dean
46:11what an incredible
46:12job you've done
46:14I'm just imagining putting my feet in them, doing the ribbons up and especially that particular day when I knew
46:22that mum was going to be in the opera house and watching me perform.
46:28They're just beyond my expectation.
46:32It looks like they could be worn again.
46:34Well because of that curve now they will stand on their own.
46:38Yeah, lovely. You've done an amazing job.
46:41I think the colour is just the way it was.
46:45Do you think your mum would be happy?
46:48Happy is an understatement, Dean. It's incredible what you've done.
46:54Dean, can I give you a curtsy? I'd like to say thank you.
46:59Thank you so much.
47:01Take care. Thank you very much.
47:03You're welcome.
47:04Bye-bye, Dean.
47:04Bye-bye.
47:05Bye-bye.
47:09Oh, well done, Dean.
47:13It's absolutely amazing.
47:15I had no idea that Dean could make these look like this.
47:22They will just bring back all the memories of wearing these on that day.
47:28So I'd like to say, mum, these are for you.
47:34Bye-bye.
47:35Bye-bye.
47:35Bye-bye.
47:35Bye-bye.
47:36Bye-bye.
47:38Bye-bye.
47:55What is it?
47:56I don't know.
47:57I don't know what it is.
47:58What is it?
47:58I can see it out of the corner.
47:59Is it glue?
48:00It's good.
48:00It's black.
48:01It's coming off.
48:02There you go.
48:04Do you come all the way in for me to rub that off your nose?
48:08Having rid decades of grime from the clockwork components, David is ready to see whether the
48:14mechanism can bring the little bird back to life.
48:19That's the little bellows in, and I'm just literally connecting up the various little controls.
48:27This is the little plunger, and this is actually what changes the pitch of the little bird's whistle.
48:35So it's a little bit fiddly.
48:40Next is the connecting rod, which actually drives the little bellows up and down from the crankshaft, and then that
48:48should now actually work.
48:52Great.
49:00Here we go.
49:01Oh.
49:11Well, that's fantastic.
49:13His whistle is so much brighter.
49:15I can't believe that.
49:17Sometimes you surprise yourself.
49:19I know that's all working, so now I can move on to the little bird himself.
49:27There's quite a lot to do.
49:29My main concern is his little movements, because he's got two little wires here, and one actually moves his head,
49:40and then the other one is supposed to wiggle his tail.
49:44But there's not a lot of movement on his tail.
49:48Ah, here he goes.
49:50So, I can see that his rods are quite rusty.
49:56Now, if they touch each other within his little perch tube, they could bind.
50:04So, I'm going to clean those off using, like, an emery cloth, and that just allows me to get as
50:13high as I can on the rod itself.
50:20So, now that's looking nice and clean, that's certainly going to be much, much better.
50:24I can give him a little bit of a clean and a brush up, and then he should look nice
50:28and smart.
50:46As the final whistle nears on his repair of the women's football team scrapbook, Chris is adding an extra flourish.
50:56This book didn't have a title, but it definitely needs one.
51:00These women have achieved so much, so I want to really put a statement out there.
51:06Some tool in Dick Kerr, ladies on the spine.
51:10I've stamped that with a hot tool to get this impression, and then I lay the gold on top, and
51:17then when you wipe the gold away, hopefully it's stuck.
51:20I have really enjoyed working on this scrapbook.
51:25It's a world I really didn't know anything about, and these women were so resilient, so amazing, just like Gail
51:34with her campaign to get recognition.
51:38It's the first couple of words done, just ladies to go, and then it's all ready to go back to
51:43Gail.
51:46This book of press cuttings celebrates the incredible achievements of a courageous women's football team.
51:53But collapsing with damage, it was facing relegation.
51:59Its custodian, Gail, has been hoping these unique annals of history can defy the odds, to inspire again, just like
52:08the players are mortalised in its pages.
52:11Hi, Gail.
52:12Hello.
52:13Welcome back to the barn.
52:15How are you?
52:16Oh, um, the X-fect.
52:18I mean, I know it's going to...
52:19I'm getting emotional already.
52:21I don't know what to expect.
52:23I am so ready to see it.
52:26Are you sure?
52:27Yes.
52:28I am.
52:33Wow.
52:46They've got their name on it.
52:51That's amazing, Chris.
53:02You can turn the page and everything.
53:06Oh, fantastic.
53:08They'll be cheering.
53:09Can you not hear them?
53:11I think they're cheering for you, Gail.
53:16It's just beyond anything that I could have ever imagined.
53:19And it's, look at that.
53:20Look at that.
53:22Look at that, eh?
53:23That's very nice.
53:24Yeah.
53:26Looking at it now and in the years to come, there'll be so much joy that I'll be able to
53:31share with other people, with all the other memorabilia that I've managed to collect over the years.
53:37Thank you for bringing this scrapbook into us.
53:40I will treasure this for the rest of my days. Thank you.
53:47Absolutely over the moon.
53:49More than I could have ever hoped for.
53:51It's so important just to preserve the legacy of this team, from being football's best-kept secret, to people now
53:58knowing who the Dick Curl ladies were.
54:05Having painted and polished its cage, David is ready to put a brighter little bird back on its perch.
54:14I'm really looking forward to Fenella seeing the little bird again, but I'm so excited for her to finally hear
54:21him, as he should be heard.
54:23I've just got some little bits to put back on, put him in his cage, and then he's actually ready
54:28to go back to her.
54:35When it arrived, the tiny bird that had fluttered and twirled in Fenella's childhood sat forlorn, its tweet no longer
54:44matched by the magic she remembers.
54:48Now Fenella's back, hoping to see the bird move and sing in unison, a moment she's longed for since childhood.
55:03Oh, I don't know if I'm ready for this. This is really, really special.
55:11How have you been feeling?
55:14Excited, but I'm nervous, you know, because I don't know what it's going to sound like.
55:20Are you ready to see?
55:21Am I ready?
55:22Are you ready?
55:22I think I'm ready now.
55:25Okay.
55:26Okay, here we go.
55:34Oh my God, can I hold it?
55:38Oh, that's so beautiful.
55:41It's like it's brand new.
55:44It's so gold.
55:47Can I wind?
55:49Yeah.
55:49Are you sure?
55:54Oh, gosh.
56:05Oh.
56:07Oh, so beautiful.
56:12I never, ever imagined that it would sound like this. It's a new sound that I've not heard before. It's
56:21just pure heaven. It is music to my ears.
56:26And how it moves. It almost looks like it's a real bird singing away.
56:30It is. You have no idea how much it means to me that you've given me a missing piece of
56:37my childhood back.
56:39Thank you so much.
56:41You're very welcome.
56:42You're so grateful.
56:45You're so grateful.
56:48I just cannot believe how beautifully it restores this bird is.
56:57With somebody who's had no hearing to be able to hear this, it fulfills that Mrs. Jigsaw puzzle in my
57:05life.
57:06It's wonderful.
57:13If you have a treasured possession that's seen better days and you think the team can help, please get in
57:20touch at bbc.co.uk slash techpark and join us in The Repair Shop.
57:40We'll see you next time.
57:57We'll see you next time.
57:57You
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