- 6 hours ago
The Repair Shop Season 16 Episode 4
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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. This is amazing.
00:17This is absolutely brilliant.
00:19Bringing both the items...
00:22This looks like it's seen much better days.
00:26And the memories they hold.
00:30It's him.
00:31You ready?
00:32Yeah.
00:32I'm ready.
00:33Back to life.
00:38Wow.
00:39It's amazing.
00:41They are stunning.
00:44I like it.
00:47Welcome to the repair shop.
00:59There was a time I used to walk you to school and now we're walking to work together.
01:03This lovely spear with you.
01:05Aw, that's so sweet.
01:13I'm no builder but needless to say this looks like it's seen much better days.
01:19Yeah.
01:20I mean, I've done up old buildings and I don't think any of them were as bad as this.
01:26Bad as this.
01:27No.
01:28Looking to put Steve Fletcher's building experience to the ultimate test is Dawn Shrides from West Sussex.
01:37This must be yours?
01:38It is, absolutely.
01:39What are we looking at?
01:41A ruin.
01:42Yes.
01:43No, this is a watermill.
01:45Okay.
01:45That my father built in 1996.
01:49Okay.
01:49He put it all together to go in front of our family home to replicate the red brick work of
01:56the house.
01:56Every little brick he made by hand.
01:59Individually?
02:00Individually.
02:01He wanted it to be a working watermill and obviously the years of it sitting on the ground outside.
02:08Yeah.
02:09The weather had gotten to it.
02:11I bet it was glorious when it was first built.
02:13Absolutely.
02:14What was your dad's name?
02:15My father called Brian.
02:16Was he always creative?
02:19Yes.
02:20As a teenager, he was an apprentice carpenter and he was always building extensions, porches,
02:28archways.
02:29Constantly on the driveway there was a pile of sand.
02:32Oh, right.
02:33So my sisters and I and cousins, we would play with toys in the sand and that's just how
02:39I remember him with old clothes on, digging sand, tinkering away in his shed at the end of
02:46the garden.
02:47So he had lots of projects on the go all the time then.
02:50Yes.
02:50Sounds like you, Steve.
02:53What was it that inspired your dad to build this mill?
02:56Having built the big family home and the extensions, I think it was the next project for him.
03:01I can remember it sitting there and we went in the front door.
03:03This matched in very nicely with the red bricks of the house and I only ever saw it as a
03:07little house.
03:08Wow.
03:08And yeah, so he wanted it to be a working water mill.
03:13His intention was to put an underground chamber so that the water mill would turn.
03:19He died in 2014 and mum downsized and in the move it actually took four people to lift it and
03:27transport it
03:28and they put it down on the driveway and there it sat for the last four years.
03:33So having lived in those houses with all the extensions, she's now moved into a bungalow.
03:38Mm-hmm.
03:39There's nothing around her that reminds her of him.
03:42And this is so important because he's touched every single piece of this.
03:50Yeah.
03:51He's crafted this and she looks out her front window and sees this deteriorating.
03:56It's just so sad to see.
03:58So to have it brought back to life for the family, for mum, just be amazing.
04:06Just to see it put back together.
04:09Yes.
04:10And whole again, I think is almost, we can't even think of that.
04:14I will do my absolute best for you and your mum.
04:19Thank you so much.
04:20Bye-bye.
04:20Bye-bye.
04:23What an amazing creation, Steve.
04:25Where do you think you're going to start?
04:26I don't know.
04:28I can see everything you need to work on.
04:30Absolutely everything.
04:32Yeah.
04:32Well, you're a very brave man.
04:45It's a long time since I've done any building work.
04:48It looks like a real old building.
04:52And that's one of the beauties of this model.
04:55So I need to retain that.
04:58I'm going to have to get a frame made to put the whole of the building on so that it's
05:05completely stabilised.
05:07The roof is absolutely just falling apart.
05:11And I've got to start from afresh and make a new roof.
05:16I've got lots and lots of sections of the brickwork.
05:20And even some single bricks.
05:22And I'll have to think about making some more bricks.
05:26But I won't know until I start putting things back together whether I've got all the parts or not.
05:32And it'll be really nice if I can get the water wheel actually turning with some water going over it.
05:38The first thing I'm going to do is just clear the decks and start taking some of the rotten parts
05:46away.
06:04Nice shirt Brenton.
06:06I like it.
06:06You do like a good shirt.
06:07I do, yeah.
06:08Where is it?
06:09Like a greyhound?
06:10It's a lurcher.
06:11It's a lurcher.
06:15Next to arrive into the barn, Simone Williams from West London.
06:20She's hoping Brenton can bring back the sparkle to a unique piece of carnival history.
06:26Hi.
06:27Hello.
06:27How are you?
06:28This looks really interesting.
06:30What are we looking at here?
06:32You are looking at a headdress that was made by my father, Vernon Fellows Williams.
06:37He was a founding member of Notting Hill Carnival.
06:40Was this in like the 60s?
06:42Yes.
06:42The very first carnival was in 1966.
06:45And then in 1980, my dad started Genesis, a carnival band.
06:50And this was one of the first headpieces he made.
06:53He was born Trinidadian.
06:55And Trinidad is the home of carnival.
06:58And all of that came out in his work in the costumes as well.
07:01Did your dad play an instrument in the band?
07:04No.
07:04He wouldn't play.
07:06He gave up the drumming when he started making costumes.
07:09Yeah.
07:09That was his love.
07:10Was this a full-time job?
07:12No.
07:12He had a business as well.
07:14And he would do this in the evenings and weekends.
07:16And my mum used to help.
07:18She had a job in the NHS and would come after work and come in.
07:21Everyone pitched in after work.
07:23So we really didn't sleep much.
07:25That's real dedication.
07:26Huge dedication.
07:27So have you been involved since you were?
07:29Since I was born.
07:31Yeah.
07:31I used to sleep in the workshop.
07:33We used to get sheets of foam and roll up in the foam.
07:37And your dad was making these things all the time.
07:40Yeah.
07:41This is fantastic, isn't it?
07:43Oh, is this metal?
07:44It's copper.
07:45It's actually copper.
07:46Wow.
07:47And on the inside, you've got galvanised wire, which is falling apart here.
07:52And there's velvet.
07:54There's these decorative pieces and trims.
07:56It's quite bashed up.
07:58And it's 45 years old.
08:00And it would be great to see that character come back to life.
08:03If I get it fixed, what's the plan for the headpiece?
08:07So the plan for the headpiece is for it to feature in the next carnival, which is in
08:122026.
08:13And that's going to be part of the 60th anniversary.
08:17And either my brother or my nephew will wear it to celebrate my dad and celebrate this piece
08:24that he made all those years ago.
08:26For now, it's in the right place.
08:28We'll see you very soon.
08:29Bye-bye.
08:30Bye.
08:33This is really cool, isn't it?
08:35It's so different, isn't it?
08:36Enjoy.
08:47Even close up, the work that Simone's father Vernon has done on it, it's incredible.
08:54But this poor headpiece has had better days.
08:58It's been crushed somehow.
09:00The copper is bent, it's gone dull, needs cleaning up and straightening.
09:05I've got something missing from the front, and I'm going to think about that and create
09:09something for that.
09:10I think the most important thing for me to do, first of all, is to separate the copper
09:16from the material, hopefully, without doing any more damage.
09:23That's going to pop out quite nicely.
09:25So, the cloth part, I'm going to ask Rebecca to help me, because that's not my forte.
09:31I'm going to do the bit I'm good at, which is the metalwork.
09:41Hi, Rebecca.
09:42Hi.
09:43I've got a Notting Hill Carnival head dress.
09:47Wow.
09:48And the material has become rather torn.
09:52Oh, yeah, look at that.
09:53I wonder if you could try and tidy it up for us.
09:56Yeah.
09:57And it just needs a bit of attention.
10:14The miniature water mill is sitting level on its new foundation frame.
10:19Steve must now gauge the missing brickwork.
10:23I've had a look at this fragment of one of Brian's bricks, and it's not like clay at all.
10:29It is sand and cement.
10:31So, I'm going to make up a four-to-one mix of sand and cement.
10:36And I'm just going to now put one scoop of the colour powder, which should give it the right colour
10:45to make the red brick.
10:49Right.
10:50I'm just going to pop a little bit of water in.
10:52Bricks, I don't think, are made this way.
10:55They're made with clay.
10:56But I'm doing it as Brian did.
11:00So, I've made up a mould for the bricks.
11:08I've made up a block of wood to go into the mould as well, so I can push it quite
11:14hard.
11:15I can squeeze a lot of the water out as well.
11:22That's not bad for a first attempt.
11:24It is very, very red, though.
11:26I might have to decrease the amount that I've put in.
11:30But, yeah, that's one brick.
11:34I've got to experiment making some more.
11:58The bricks that I've made are pretty good, actually.
12:02And I'm sure they're weathered down really well, the same as all the old bricks.
12:06So, I'm just starting now to put them permanently onto the metal frame.
12:12I'm actually going to glue the larger sections together.
12:16This is a really strong glue.
12:21It's waterproof.
12:24And it will stick the mortar together as well.
12:27Right, I think that's enough glue now.
12:29I'm just going to pop this into place.
12:31I'm just going to pop this.
12:45OK.
12:59Right, so far, so good.
13:03Once I get all the base bricks in place, I can then start adding some of the new bricks.
13:21Next to glide into the barn is Steve from Leicestershire, along with his daughter Frankie.
13:28They're hoping master cobbler, Dean, will be able to give a sporting souvenir a second chance of glory.
13:37Hello.
13:38Hello.
13:38Hi, welcome.
13:40What have you got for us today?
13:42These are very old long track speed skates.
13:46They're like ice skates?
13:47Ice skates, yes.
13:47Ice speed skates.
13:48Can we take a look?
13:49Yes, you can.
13:49They're huge.
13:51Yeah, the size of the blades on these.
13:52Yeah, they're about 17 inches in length.
13:55So, whose are these then?
13:56So, these are my skates.
13:57There's two types of disciplines in speed skating.
14:00One is called long track, one is called short track.
14:02Short track is more accessible across the world because it's done in traditional ice rinks.
14:07It's on a shorter track, over 111 metres track.
14:12So, I took up short track speed skating as a young boy and I've done it for most of my
14:15life.
14:16And then in 1985, I was only 16, 17 at the time, a friend and I got a phone call
14:22to say
14:22there's a long track competition on the fens.
14:26So, we went down to Bowie Fen, which is in Cambridgeshire.
14:31Fen skating is a time-honoured sporting tradition that takes place in East Anglia
14:37on the now rare occasions that the temperature drops well below freezing.
14:42The flooded meadows freeze solid and transform into a vast natural ice track,
14:48perfect for all types of skating.
14:52I was an indoor short track speed skater who has very different equipment
14:56to the natural ice or long track speed skating.
15:00Yeah.
15:00And using our short track speed skates ended up in the final.
15:05Literally five minutes before the final, somebody said,
15:08would you like to borrow these skates?
15:10Because they're long track skates, which again are very different to short track.
15:15So, how did you do?
15:16I ended up winning the competition.
15:20What I hadn't realised, it was the King Edward VII Cup donated by King Edward VII.
15:25I was just so naive of the enormity of the event.
15:29Just so naive about the enormity of the trophy, the history of the trophy,
15:32the history of the sport on Fenland's natural ice speed skating.
15:37How significant was that win to the rest of your career then?
15:40Quite significant, I think, because winning that gave me the confidence
15:43of the speed skating ability and I made it onto the world championship team that year.
15:47And I got a bronze medal in the world championships.
15:51I was lucky enough to be part of the Olympic team in 1988.
15:55And my daughter has started skating as well and has been speed skating.
15:58How do you find it, skating with your dad?
16:01It's good.
16:02We don't race against each other often, but we train together a lot.
16:06It's just really nice to have something that we can do together.
16:08It's lovely.
16:10Fantastic.
16:12Because certainly after my wife died, Fanky's mum died three years ago.
16:17Oh, I'm so sorry.
16:18We've become a very small unit and supported each other through some tough times.
16:24Yeah.
16:24So there's a strong bond between us in the skating because it's something we can do together.
16:30And because skating's been such a big part of both of our lives, especially recently,
16:34I think it's just important to recognise that and to restore them, to have something to show for what we
16:40both do.
16:41So what is actually wrong with them? I can see the blades are rusted.
16:45You can see they've completely failed there.
16:49And I think a couple of the eyelids have gone.
16:51Lost on this one too.
16:52Yeah.
16:52They're just generally scuffed.
16:54If I was able to repair them, would you be tempted to take them out?
16:58I think I would be, yeah.
16:59We need the fins to freeze over.
17:01Freeze over.
17:01Yeah, we might be waiting a few years.
17:03Well, thank you so much, both of you, for trusting us with these beautiful skates.
17:09I know how much they mean to you both.
17:10We'll do our best.
17:12Thanks a lot.
17:13See you later.
17:13Bye-bye.
17:21Imagine strapping those to your feet.
17:22I couldn't even stand up in these, that alone, scared.
17:24Absolutely no chance.
17:26I look forward to seeing what you do with them though.
17:28Yeah, there's a lot to think about, yeah.
17:29Good luck, mate.
17:40What an incredible piece of footwear these are, from an incredible man actually.
17:46Now there is quite a lot to do here.
17:49The skates themselves require quite a lot.
17:52There's a rust on the blades that I like to try and clean off as much as possible.
17:57The leather itself, it's got obvious damage to it.
18:01The first thing I'm going to do is to turn my attention to this chrome.
18:06Now there's a lot of tarnishing on that.
18:09I'm hoping with some wire wool, I can take a lot of that off.
18:18Already, that's working.
18:22That's quite astounding actually.
18:25I'm going to continue with the wire wool on the chrome.
18:30And then I can put these blades in some de-rusting solution.
18:35And I'm just hoping, looking how well that chrome's coming up,
18:39from just a little bit of work, I'll be onto a winning streak.
18:43I'll be very happy.
18:53That's quite something, isn't it?
18:55It is.
18:56This water wheel is really, really very, very rotten.
19:01Yeah.
19:01Absolutely rotten to bits.
19:04Yeah.
19:05And it's got to have water running over it.
19:07Yeah.
19:08I just wondered whether you could make another one and use this one as a pattern.
19:12Yeah.
19:12OK.
19:13Do you want it sandblasted, make it look a bit aged?
19:15That would be amazing.
19:17OK.
19:25Outside, Brenton is trying to cork the crumpled copper headpiece back into shape.
19:30Copper is quite soft, very malleable.
19:33That's part of the reason why it's damaged,
19:36because any sort of force on it will bend it.
19:38You can really see how badly bent that is.
19:42And a lot of this I can do by hand.
19:46The first thing I'm going to do is try and bend this area.
19:51My thumb can bend that bit quite easily.
19:55I've done some crowns and various headpieces,
19:58and I know the bit that goes on a head is oval.
20:02And if I can get this to a rough oval shape,
20:06half the battle is won.
20:11There we go.
20:12So this headband is now a pretty good oval shape,
20:15and I can now look at the wings.
20:18So I'm going to bend these forward to where I feel they would have been.
20:30I think that's pretty much the shape that's meant to be.
20:34That's looking pretty good to me.
20:37The next thing I can do to this is to give these a good polish.
20:54I've successfully removed the central fabric from the headpiece,
20:59and I'm now going to support it onto this black velvet.
21:03What I need to do is stitch the two pieces of fabric together.
21:08So this will do two things.
21:10It will hold the two pieces together,
21:12but it will also mean that all of this damage
21:15that's all the way around the edges,
21:18all of this loss, will be held nice and secure.
21:21So the holes will be infilled,
21:24and then this piece of fabric will be nice and strong
21:27and have a good structure.
21:29I'm going to start in the centre,
21:30and I'm going to work my way to one side and then to the other,
21:35but black thread on black fabric with a black support fabric.
21:39So it's actually quite tricky to see.
22:01Steve has completed the brickwork on the miniature watermill.
22:05He now needs to protect the structure from the elements
22:08with a much-needed new roof.
22:11I've tried to do it in the same way that Brian constructed his roof.
22:18The only thing that I'm going to do is improve slightly on Brian's design.
22:23I'm going to put a waterproof membrane over the roof
22:28before then starting to put the felt tiles on.
22:33Because this mill is going to live outside,
22:35it's got to stand up to all weathers.
22:38This is a real thick, loopy adhesive.
22:47It's really quite satisfying.
22:49It's like a thick treacle.
22:57Right, that's enough adhesive on.
22:59I need to get the membrane on now.
23:08Good, that should adhere nicely.
23:11I've got to get the other side on, then I can get the felt on.
23:25I've now attached a lot of strips of felt.
23:29And then I came up with the idea of using a soldering iron
23:33to score all the lines to make it look like they're all separate tiles.
23:40And this is working an absolute treat.
23:47After a long bath and a de-rusting solution,
23:51Dean is ready to see if the Speed Skate blades have regained their shine.
23:56So now's the moment of truth where I pull them out
23:59and hopefully all that rust has removed.
24:03It's quite nerve-wracking actually.
24:06That's worked really well.
24:08A lot of that orange rust has come away.
24:11That's going to polish up beautifully.
24:14I'm going to pull the other one out.
24:16That's actually in better condition than the other blade.
24:19But for now I'm happy with the result of the de-rusting solution.
24:23So I can concentrate on the other areas of damage.
24:34This huge area where the leather is simply scraped away
24:39is quite an odd shape.
24:41I've got to try and blend it in.
24:44So to do that I'm going to begin by putting some masking tape over that area.
24:49What I'm doing here is to try and create a template.
24:52that I can transfer onto a piece of new leather.
24:56I'm going to use my fingers just to press in.
24:59Try and create an impression of that area that has worn away.
25:04Then I can get a rough cut of the leather and trim down as I need.
25:08And hopefully I should get a perfect shape that just sticks on there and blends nicely.
25:12I'm going to transfer.
25:14I'm going to transfer my masking template onto the leather.
25:21I'm just going to cut that area off.
25:28Which will just make things a bit more manageable.
25:36So I'm happy with the shape of that.
25:38That should blend in really well.
25:40Now I'm going to skive the edges of the leather with my knife.
25:44And what I'm looking for is a paper thin edge.
25:49That should blend beautifully when I glue it onto the skirt.
26:20The main point of this was to get an edge.
26:22nice blend between that new leather and the old leather in terms of its texture and its handle
26:29and that positioning is really pleasing actually. I'm going to hammer that down just to make sure
26:35the bond is strong. That feels amazing, it's almost seamless. Now I can apply this same
26:48principle to the tear at the front here and then all the black leather will be nicely repaired.
27:01Steve has completed all the heavy building work on his repair of the watermill. He's now ready to
27:08move on to the finer fixtures and fittings. David has made such a good job of making this wheel.
27:15I've also made a little pump assembly and this will sit into the water bund there and I've got
27:27this lovely bit of lead pipe that sits over this copper pipe here and the water will come out of
27:34there and drive the water wheel. Now it's time to get all the bits back together, get the wheel on,
27:45get the pump in, get the roof back on and then it'll be ready. Very exciting.
27:58When Brian's watermill arrived, it was a crumbling relic after being exposed to the elements for over 30
28:06years. Now Don has returned with her mother, Pan, hoping Steve has been able to rebuild the ruin
28:13that keeps Brian's legacy alive. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello, Pamela. Nice to meet you. Yes, thank you, and you.
28:22Brian poured his heart into doing this, didn't he? What were your thoughts when it was sat in the garden
28:29in bits?
28:30I think we were all deciding what we were going to do, weren't we? Who was going to do it?
28:34Who could do it to his standard?
28:37So to see it restored and preserved, it would mean just everything. So would you like to see it?
28:45Yes. Absolutely. So excited to see it. Here we go. Oh, my gosh. Oh, look at that.
28:59Oh, isn't it so lovely?
29:03Gosh, that's amazing. And you've done all these.
29:07Great work. Yeah. Lovely. Gosh, and this. Oh, gosh, thank you.
29:11And there's even water in there. And the wheel.
29:16Would you like to see if it works? Yes.
29:19OK, I'll just switch it on for you. Thank you.
29:23Oh, love.
29:26Wow.
29:28That's just amazing.
29:31Oh, it's so lovely, isn't it? Yes, it does. Yeah.
29:34That looks so good. Thank you. Oh, God.
29:36It's just beyond anything that we could have thought would ever happen to it.
29:41Thank you. Thank you so much.
29:44The watermill just sums up a legacy that will now stay in the family, be preserved.
29:51And Dad would be so pleased to know that it's working and it's loved.
30:00And it's still loved.
30:03It was just the best thing we could have done, wasn't it?
30:19From one Fletcher to another now,
30:22as Sharon from Western Supermare and Kelly from Plymouth
30:25are hoping Fred could get a treasured timepiece ticking again.
30:32Hi there. Hello. Hi.
30:33Hello. Nice to meet you, babe.
30:35And you?
30:35It's a great clock.
30:37It is.
30:38This was my dad Roy's clock
30:40and it was left when he passed to Kelly.
30:43Are you related to the family?
30:45Just very good friends, one of Dad's best friends.
30:47Very close to him.
30:48We actually met through a mutual friend.
30:50She was doing some care work for Roy
30:53and she asked me to help,
30:56which mainly involved cleaning and doing a bit of grocery shopping.
31:01And we made a friendship from there, really.
31:04He wasn't a typical older gent.
31:07He didn't act 90, did he?
31:09He was a very fun, energetic, youthful in soul and mind, actually.
31:20We had a lot of adventures,
31:22whether it was just going for Coco
31:23or a little drive and me getting lost,
31:25which I'm very good at.
31:27He was great company to be around.
31:29He had a lot of stories that he loved sharing
31:31and I loved listening.
31:33It seems like quite an unlikely relationship
31:36that the two of you had.
31:37I originally was there to help Roy
31:41and to make Roy's life that little bit easier
31:45and to bring a bit more joy.
31:46But I actually didn't know
31:48how important his friendship was to me.
31:52Life can be very overwhelming and very stressful.
31:55Roy definitely made my day a bit brighter
31:58and I wish he knew how important he was to me.
32:04What was Roy like as a dad?
32:06It was fantastic.
32:08He was a legend.
32:10I was always a daddy's girl anyway.
32:12I was very supportive in my life
32:14and he was just the mainstay, really.
32:17Yeah.
32:18Do you live quite near to Roy?
32:19No, we were a couple of hours apart.
32:21Oh, right.
32:22So Kelly kept him going
32:23and did all the fun stuff, didn't he?
32:25All the fun.
32:26She would be a bit of a daredevil,
32:27whereas we would keep Dad quiet.
32:28You're 90, you don't want to do that.
32:30And Kelly would be like,
32:31yeah, okay, don't worry, leave it with me.
32:33And then they'd be gallivanting off.
32:36And he loved it.
32:37This clock was the one next to Roy.
32:40He sat right next to it.
32:41So when I was sat in my space on that sofa
32:45and I looked over speaking to Roy,
32:46I'd always see the clock in the background.
32:49Roy always wanted me to have the clock.
32:52It was one of his wishes when he passed.
32:55So it's quite special to me.
32:57In an ideal world, what are you hoping for?
33:00I would just absolutely love to have it working.
33:04I've never heard it tick,
33:06so that would be amazing.
33:08Okay.
33:09Obviously, there's a chip.
33:12Roy was an avid DIYer
33:15and there's paint specs everywhere.
33:17And if you could help, it would mean so much to me.
33:23And it's not going to bring Roy back.
33:27But he would be really proud.
33:29I'll do my best.
33:30Thank you very much.
33:31And I can't wait to see what you're able to do.
33:34We'll see you very soon.
33:35Bye-bye.
33:36Take care.
33:44Would you like a hand?
33:45I think I'll be right.
33:46Yeah, you sure?
33:47I think so.
33:48You don't have to watch.
33:49Come on, nice and heavy.
34:01It's a great clock, but Roy's left Kelly.
34:03Unfortunately, it doesn't tick,
34:05which is obviously quite important.
34:06So getting to ticking and striking,
34:09two priorities.
34:10There's quite a lot of brass work on this case
34:12and it's all pretty dull and tarnished.
34:15There's this chip here
34:16and quite a lot of paint splattered all over the case.
34:19I think if I get Kirsten to have a look at this chip,
34:22just looking at the dial here,
34:23the numerals are a bit worn around here.
34:27So I'm going to have a think about
34:29what to do to try and tackle that problem.
34:31First things first,
34:32I need to take the mechanism out of the clock,
34:34disassemble everything,
34:35and remove all the dirt and grime
34:37so I can figure out what's really going on.
34:44Oh, ice skates.
34:46Yes.
34:47Do you ice skate?
34:48I've been once.
34:49Yeah.
34:50And I don't think I go back.
34:52I nearly broke my neck.
34:53Oh, no.
34:54The kids found it very entertaining.
34:56You're like a giraffe.
34:57Very much, yes.
34:59Skitting around.
34:59Like a long bambi.
35:06Happy with his headpiece,
35:08Brenton is ready to turn his attention
35:10to its croning glory.
35:12Got to make something for the front
35:14where there's something missing.
35:15And this is a piece of copper
35:17which I've just cut out,
35:19which I'm going to embellish.
35:21And I'm sticking this to a piece of wood
35:23with a thermal glue.
35:27What this glue will do
35:28is it will support the metal
35:30while I make the marks
35:32and hold it in position.
35:34I want the pattern
35:36to reflect the headpiece
35:37so the outside of the circle
35:39will have this chevron design on it
35:41and the middle of the circle
35:42will have these fish scale patterns on it.
35:53I'm always at my happiest
35:56when I'm recreating something
35:57so I'm just trying to do
36:00justice to his craftsmanship.
36:13That is the chevron pattern
36:14round the outside
36:15looking really, really good.
36:17I just need to mark up the centre
36:20for the scales pattern
36:22then I can solder that
36:24back onto its old bracket
36:26and reattach it to the headdress.
36:28close as to the edge
36:36and reattach it
36:38on it
36:47and
36:49under Sudam
36:50Beyond the outside
36:57the front
37:00So I've reshaped and covered the central section, so I'm now turning my attention to these lovely
37:06flowers. One of them is completely missing, so I'm going to attempt to remake it. So these
37:12flowers are beautifully made. They're made with this metal thread, and I've made a template
37:17so I can hopefully get this same shape. I've got to make sure that the springy thread stays
37:24on the outside, and this thinner, stiffer thread stays on the inside. So I'll pull that round
37:33a bit more maybe. Let's have a look.
37:42This is really, really tricky. I have used these metal threads before, but usually I'm stitching
37:47them down. It's much more controllable. So having them sort of free-flowing is, yeah,
37:54it's really hard. I'm going to need a bit of time to work this out. I'm sure once I've
38:00got a few petals in it'll be fine, but this is quite baffling.
38:11With the mechanism now sparkling clean, it's time for Fred to pivot and tackle the repairs.
38:18I've just finished cleaning the clock after disassembling it. I have identified a few issues
38:23with it. Right now, I'm working on some bushing. Just looking at this hole, it's really, really
38:29warm. The pivot inside it is moving back and forwards a lot. Should not be able to move as
38:34much as that. And it's on quite an important wheel, because it's the wheel that lifts the
38:38hammer for the strike. So if I leave it like this, the hammer might not lift. So no strike.
38:44So to fill this hole, I'm going to be using a bush. So bushes are used to make an existing
38:50hole a lot smaller. This is a slightly tapered piece of brass with a hole through the middle
38:57of it. When I put the bush in, I will open that hole up to the right size so that
39:01the
39:01pivot fits in quite snugly. If you look at this bush compared to the hole, the hole is quite
39:07a lot smaller. So this is a brooch, and I'm opening up the hole so it's round so that I
39:14can fit the bush quite snugly in it.
39:28I'm taking my time, but it's easy to get impatient and go too far. And then you're back to square
39:33one. But there you go. Perfect. I've got a really, really nice fit, and that's definitely
39:40not going anywhere. Now we just need to open up the hole and the bush so that the pivot fits
39:44in. Looks good. Moment of truth. Yeah. That's pretty good. That's one down. I've got plenty
40:03more bushes to get one. Fred's called in child restorer Cindy Welland to bring the smile back
40:23to the clogged face. So I've cleaned off the numerals, so I'm starting to repaint, but it's
40:30really, really tricky to paint onto a shiny metal surface, because the paint will have
40:36a tendency to puddle rather than flow together. So by painting the lines on the outside first,
40:44it gives the paint a boundary, because once it dries, then it contains it, and I can puddle
40:50the paint in a little bit more easily. I'm going to finish the rest of the numerals, and then
40:56I can add in all the minute markers as well. It's so lovely having Fred in the barn. He's
41:06an absolutely lovely lad. Very proud of him. Don't tell him as much as I should do, really.
41:18Dean's repair of the long track speed skates is gathering pace. Having patched and repaired
41:25all the areas of black leather that needed doing, I can now turn my attention to these
41:30torn eyelets. Now the friction against the leather of pulling the laces tight time after
41:36time has just torn through the leather. What I'm going to do is split this seam here, and
41:42that will allow me to get inside and really assess the damage. If I apply too much force
41:49to open this, it could cause irreversible damage. Now there is a temptation to just put some
41:55metal eyelets in these hull boots, but I really think that will change the look. I'm going to
42:01use a fabric tape. It's nice and thin, so it's not going to add unnecessary bulk. It should
42:07be quite invisible, but it should allow these skates to be laced up again and worn again.
42:13And I now need to turn my attention and do the same process on the opposite side.
42:22Oh, Fred, that looks really heavy. It is a little bit. Let me pop that there.
42:25Thank you. It's a bit of a chip here. Right, OK. I was wondering if you might be able to
42:30give
42:30me a hand. Is this slate? It is. Right. Slate can be quite difficult to repair so that it's
42:36invisible. OK. Well, absolutely do what I can. Thank you. Yeah.
42:47It's nearly carnival time for the Notting Hill headpiece. But first, Brendan has got to put
42:54it back together. Rebecca has done a remarkable job of this decorative part of the headpiece.
43:05There we go. That's gone in there. Look at that. Great. So I've got to sew the cloth bit in
43:13position
43:14so it can't move about. It looks absolutely beautiful.
43:25Handcrafted by Vernon Williams, a pioneer at the very first Notting Hill Carnival, this
43:31headpiece was one of hundreds he created to celebrate culture and history. But over time,
43:38the copper was crushed, the fabric frayed, and the embroidered details disappeared.
43:49I need sunglasses. Spectacular, isn't it? Wow. Returning to the barn to see if her father's
43:57masterpiece might be carnival-ready once again, Simone. Hi. Hello. Hello. Nice to see you
44:08again. Thank you. Nice to see you both again. How are you feeling? Nervous and slightly emotional.
44:15It means a lot to me. It's my dad's legacy. Where did the nerves come from? Is that because...
44:19I'm worried what you've done with it. Oh, dear. Are you ready to take a look? I am ready
44:26to take a look. Yeah. Oh, wow. Oh, wow. Wow. God, it looks so regal.
44:45And you put all the pieces together. Oh, it's beautiful. Quite emotional. Yeah. Yeah. This
44:53is beautiful. And you've kept all the colours and everything. I love it. 45 years old and
45:00still kicking. Oh, still kicking with the help of you, Brenton.
45:04Thank you, Brenton. I can't take all of the credit. Rebecca helped us with the fabric and did
45:08a fantastic job. You did. Thank you so much. You're welcome. Oh. And this is brand new, so this
45:15wasn't there before. And you've just mimicked what he's done. It complements it. Would you like
45:22to try it on? Why not? I'll give it go. It fits you perfectly. It goes with the jacket, right?
45:32Yeah. Well,
45:33that's your carnival outfit done. We have all enjoyed having this in the barn. We've all been
45:38talking about it. And we'll definitely be keeping our eye out this carnival for Genesis. Thank you so
45:42much. It's yours to take away. Thank you. I'll grab the door. Thanks. See ya. Bye. Well done.
45:56Good one, isn't it? There you go. You can have it. Hey. Well done. Great job, guys.
46:03Rebecca and Brenton have smashed it. They've just really honoured the craftsmanship. And it just feels
46:10like Dad made it. If my dad was here, he would say in a Trini accent, Brenton and Rebecca,
46:19Olya, come and work for me. That's what he would say.
46:40While Kirsten cleans up the clock case, it's time for Fred to get the mechanism ticking.
46:47I'm now moving my attention to the pallets. As this wheel spins round, it hits the pallet stones,
46:56which are attached to the pendulum. And as that swings back and forwards, that's what makes the
47:01ticking sound. These stones are currently at the wrong angle. They need to be completely perpendicular
47:07with the wheel, like this. But currently, they're all over the shop. This is the reason why Kelly has
47:14not heard this clock tick at all. Going to be needing to straighten up the stones. And they're
47:20held in with shellac. I'm just going to heat up the shellac by putting them on this heat mat. That's
47:25going
47:25to heat up the shellac so that it's soft enough for me to just pull out the stone.
47:33I'm just going to remove all the old shellac from the pallets so that when I reset the stones,
47:38I can just use fresh shellac.
47:48Now the pallets are nice and clean, first thing I'm going to do when setting in the stones is put
47:55the shellac into the pallets. I'm just going to pop that in here.
48:03So it's really important for me to get the pallet stones to be perpendicular with the pallets.
48:09If it's not perpendicular, then it won't run correctly. The difference between this being
48:15right and wrong is probably about a degree or two. Now I've got the pallet stones in the right place,
48:22I can put it in the movement and see how it engages with the escape wheel.
48:28This bit's always quite nerve-wracking because a lot of hard work has gone into this.
48:33I really hope it works.
48:46So I'm really happy with how one of the stones is engaging with the escape wheel. The other one,
48:50not so much. So I've got adjustments.
48:59I'm going to use a two-part epoxy modelling material to fill this chip.
49:06I really love slate as a material, but I do shy away from working on it because it's a very
49:16soft
49:16material. So with something like this, I want to try and get it as flat as I can because I
49:23don't want
49:24to have to introduce any kind of abrasive sanding fabrics just because I'm concerned about causing
49:34damage to the surrounding area.
49:39I've got a bit more smoothing and shaping to do, but that edge is looking really nice and crisp now.
49:58Dean's gliding towards the finish line with the long track speed skate restoration.
50:05Now I'm at a stage where I just need to buff the leather. This is a really enjoyable stage.
50:10It's where all the work kind of comes to life and that leather should get a lovely shine
50:14as I buff it over with a soft brush.
50:21Now these skates have had a storied history. And now with these repairs and this preservation,
50:29they can last well into the future. Now all there is to do is to lace them up and get
50:34them back to Steve.
50:36These long track speed skates kickstarted an illustrious sporting career and a shared passion
50:43between a father and daughter. But when they arrived, they looked as if they had been left out in the
50:49cold
50:49with worn out leather and rusty blades. Dean, they look so good. Thank you. Well done.
50:57Now Steve and Frankie have returned to the barn, hoping Dean has been able to restore the skates
51:03to their winning ways.
51:08Hello. Welcome back. Thank you. Nice to see you.
51:11How have you been since leaving the skates with us?
51:13I think about it most days actually. Winning that competition was a sort of pathway through the
51:18improvements I was making as an athlete in speed skating.
51:21Yeah. Are you both ready to take a look?
51:23I'm really nervous. I'm nervous as well.
51:26I'm nervous together. Come on.
51:31Wow. Whoa. Look at those.
51:39That is super.
51:44Wow. They look absolutely fantastic.
51:47You're fantastic where you, you know, the scuffs and the
51:53the holes and everything, the eyelets. I'm shaking. I'm actually shaking, physically shaking.
52:00It's such a complete contrast to what they were.
52:04I know how much he loves speed skating and I know how much these mean to him.
52:09Yeah.
52:10And I think it's just, it's phenomenal.
52:13If he does freeze over again on the fence, I'll take them with me and give them a,
52:17give them another try.
52:19It's been an absolute pleasure to work on them. It really has.
52:22Well, enjoy them.
52:23Thank you very much again.
52:25Very well.
52:25Bye.
52:26Bye-bye.
52:33It was just overwhelming to see what they've been able to, to achieve to repair the skates.
52:40I think, especially since losing my mum, the fact that skating keeps me and my dad
52:46more connected and I can look at these skates and it's kind of a signifier of
52:51kind of a bond we've created through skating.
53:06Now Kirsten and Cindy have returned the restored case and face of Roy's clock.
53:12Fred is almost ready to complete the repair.
53:16Well, I'm really happy with that.
53:18I've got the movement finally all together and it's ticking.
53:24So I'm going to put everything back together.
53:27This is one of my favourite parts of the job.
53:29It's all looking real bright and shiny and there's a, there's a sense of pride that I get.
53:50I've got the majority of the clock back together now and I think it's looking really good.
53:52I've had a little plaque made as a bit of a tip of the cap to Roy.
53:58And I think it means that every time Kelly looks at this clock, she'll be reminded of her good friend
54:04Roy.
54:09Silent for years, chipped and with faded numerals, this clock stands as a symbol of an unexpected yet treasured friendship.
54:19And you've polished up the casework as well.
54:21I don't need your fingerprints on it.
54:23Good work, Fred.
54:26Kelly and Sharon are returning, hoping to hear the clock tick as it did in Roy's headache.
54:36Hi, you two.
54:37Hi.
54:38Hello.
54:39Welcome back.
54:41How are you feeling?
54:42It would be fantastic to see it working and hear it if it makes a sound.
54:47Yeah.
54:47So I'm, I am very excited.
54:50I'm just like excited to see what you've done.
54:54Would you like to take a look?
54:55Yeah.
54:57Okay.
54:58Yeah.
54:58Fred?
55:03Wow.
55:04It's different, isn't it?
55:05It's lovely.
55:09Black bag.
55:12I was going to put a bag on.
55:14And all the gold in the scratches.
55:19It's gold.
55:20And the chip.
55:27It's amazing.
55:30Oh, look at it.
55:32It's a sequel.
55:34I haven't got to pick all the specs of paint on.
55:38You must have put some hours into this.
55:42That's been a real team effort.
55:43Yeah, it has.
55:45Kirsten's done a really good job on the chip.
55:47And, uh, Cindy's made the doll look amazing.
55:50And lots of work from you, Fred, as well.
55:51Yeah.
55:52Yeah.
55:52Yeah, I did.
55:53I did a little bit.
55:54Do you want to see it working?
55:56Absolutely.
55:56Yes, please.
55:57Okay.
56:01Gosh.
56:01Oh, listen.
56:05Heartbeat of the clock.
56:08That's, like, really reassuring and comforting, Vic.
56:11It's a bit reassuring, like Dad was.
56:14Yeah, yeah.
56:17So it is almost like, well, you'll be sitting in my front room.
56:20Yeah.
56:20That's lovely.
56:21Yeah, it's lovely.
56:22Well, it's all yours to take home now.
56:24So we'll wrap it up and we'll get it sent off to you.
56:26I am, and we'll be forever grateful.
56:29It's been an absolute pleasure.
56:30Thank you all of you.
56:31Bye-bye.
56:32Bye.
56:40Didn't realise it was going to look so beautiful.
56:43It was very emotional.
56:44Lots of different feels, but brilliant, absolutely fabulous.
56:49To have a constant reminder of the friendship that I had with Roy
56:53and the time we've spent together is absolutely wonderful.
57:03If you have a treasured possession that's seen better days
57:07and you think the team can help, please get in touch at bbc.co.uk
57:12slash techpart and join us in the repair shop.
57:16We'll see you next time.
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