• 3 months ago
RS 13 / 8
Transcript
00:00Welcome to the repair shop.
00:02I'm ready to see some magic.
00:04Where precious but faded keepsakes
00:06It's in a bit of a sorry state.
00:08Deep breaths.
00:09Are restored to their former glory.
00:11New beginnings and new memories.
00:13Lovely.
00:14We can do that.
00:15A dream team of expert craftspeople.
00:18Perfect teamwork.
00:20That's the fun part.
00:21It's going to look absolutely stunning.
00:23Using traditional techniques passed down the generations.
00:27If someone's made it, then I can fix it.
00:29Go on my son.
00:31Restore irreplaceable treasures.
00:37Take it away Mark.
00:38And unlock the stories that they hold.
00:42Oh my god.
00:43It's like it's brand new.
00:45You're a wizard.
00:46Thank you so much.
01:00Morning.
01:01Morning.
01:02How you doing?
01:03Very well, thank you.
01:04I think that ends to your talents, Joe.
01:06Look at that.
01:07That looks nice, doesn't it?
01:12Awaiting the barn's first arrival,
01:14master craftsman Jonathan Reid.
01:17One of only a handful of scissor makers left in Britain.
01:21What's the official name for a scissor maker?
01:24It's a putter.
01:26A putter?
01:27A putter, yeah.
01:28Short for putter-togetherer.
01:31Yeah.
01:32Wow.
01:33Hoping Jonathan can do just that,
01:36is Janet Stanley,
01:38who's brought some tools of her trade
01:40that carry a very special meaning.
01:43Hello.
01:44Hello.
01:45You must be Janet.
01:46Yes.
01:47I'm Jonathan, nice to meet you.
01:48So what have you got in the bag?
01:49My dad's hairdressing, cut throats and his scissors.
01:53So he must have been a barber then?
01:55Oh, definitely.
01:56Yeah?
01:57I'm the hairdresser, he's the barber.
01:58He's the barber?
01:59Yeah.
02:00So how did your dad become a barber?
02:01He got called up National Service.
02:03Right.
02:04They obviously needed barbers,
02:05and that's where he learnt his trade.
02:07So when my dad came out of the army,
02:10he carried on doing his barbering.
02:12He'd become the manager of the salon
02:14and just stayed there.
02:16He never left.
02:17He must have loved it, though.
02:18Oh, he did.
02:19Yeah, he did.
02:20He had people queuing for him.
02:22If you've had a couple of thousand heads go through your hands,
02:25then you know what you're doing, do you know what I mean?
02:27So, yeah, they were queuing for my dad.
02:29Wow.
02:30And that made me proud as well.
02:31Good on you.
02:32I just wanted to follow in the footsteps of my dad.
02:34Yeah.
02:35So I went into the salon with him
02:37and this cut throat here was the one
02:40that my dad sort of allowed me to use on somebody.
02:44When I was 16, I used to cut my dad's hair.
02:47He said, I've got the knack.
02:49Oh, good on you.
02:51And then I got my own salon when I was 19.
02:54So what did your dad think of that?
02:56I'll never forget, the very first day, we'd got it all set up...
02:59Yeah.
03:00..and he just looked at me and said, I'm so proud of you.
03:03I am so proud of the fact that you did what I felt I couldn't do.
03:07Good on you.
03:09So when my dad passed away,
03:11the only things that I got of my dad were his cut throats.
03:15So I have nothing else.
03:17So what is actually wrong with each of these items?
03:20Your scissors, they have a hard job opening now,
03:23so you've got to literally prise them to open them,
03:26how rusty they've gone.
03:28And how did they look?
03:29I don't ever remember them being silver-silver.
03:32OK.
03:33It was the matte silver, if you like, do you know what I mean?
03:36Yeah.
03:37But the cut throats themselves,
03:39so you can see where he would have kept it nice and oiled.
03:43Yeah.
03:44But the tips there, they've just gone to rust.
03:47To have them looking that I can use them,
03:51honestly, it would mean the world to me.
03:53My dad would be proud and I would be proud.
03:56Yeah.
03:57Well, Jeanette, thank you for bringing these in.
03:59I do appreciate it, I really do. Thank you.
04:01See you soon. Bye. Bye-bye.
04:08That is rusty.
04:11Well, got your work cut out?
04:13Yeah.
04:15I'm still confident.
04:17That's what I like to hear,
04:18cos I know the short back and sides when you're finished.
04:21All right?
04:34These are really precious to Jeanette.
04:37She doesn't remember these being polished to a mirror finish.
04:41A mirror finish polish actually protects the scissors from rust.
04:46So I have to figure something out to get a matte finish on this scissor blade
04:51while also providing some rust protection for the scissors.
04:55Now with the cut throat razors,
04:58I'm going to have to find a way of grinding that rust away
05:02without grinding that metal too thin.
05:07And the scissors, before I can grind any of that rust away,
05:11I'm going to have to take that tail down
05:13so I can actually take these scissors apart.
05:29Next, a tale of love and resilience,
05:32the legacy of Leslie Anderson and daughter Nicola.
05:37You're a cat person, aren't you?
05:39Yeah, I love a kitty.
05:41I might have a surprise for you.
05:43Really?
05:44Oh, I can't wait.
05:46They're hoping cuddly toy conservators Julie Tatchell and Amanda Middleditch
05:51can revive a furry feline friend.
05:56Hello.
05:57Hello.
05:58Welcome to the barn.
06:00Who's with us today?
06:03Oh, look!
06:04This is Jess and he belongs to my son, Colin.
06:08Colin is now 12 years old.
06:11Okay.
06:12And he's our foster son and now we're legal guardians for him.
06:16And he has loved Jess from the day he came into our house.
06:19He's been loved to bits.
06:20He has been loved to bits, he really has.
06:23Colin lived in hospital for his first two years
06:27and Colin came on our radar, let's say,
06:31as a child with very complex medical needs looking for a home.
06:36Colin was born with piruban sequence,
06:39which means his jaw hadn't grown out and his windpipe was quite flat.
06:44So he had to have a tracheostomy in.
06:47Right.
06:48And also he was never able to eat.
06:50So he's peg fed through a tube in his tummy.
06:53Goodness.
06:54He talks with a talker.
06:56He has no speech.
06:57He also has a very severe heart condition.
07:00He's had two major open-heart surgeries.
07:03Okay.
07:04And Jess goes in to the theatre with him
07:07and Jess is there when he wakens up.
07:09Yeah.
07:10So Jess has been his comfort of two stomas that keep him alive.
07:15And so Colin had to put a tracheostomy and a peg in
07:19and he holds him like this.
07:20Oh, look!
07:21So he does.
07:23What was it like when you first met him?
07:25I just fell in love with him.
07:27Colin came home for palliative care.
07:29He wasn't supposed to survive.
07:31No, really?
07:32And that was 10 years ago.
07:35So, yes, it's been a journey.
07:38What's it like having Colin as a little brother?
07:40It's great.
07:41I mean, he just brings so much fun and mischief to our house, so he does.
07:46He's never felt anything but, you know, a brother.
07:49Like he's just part of the family.
07:50And he was like that as soon as he came into the house, wasn't he?
07:53Well, he's a rascal, but he's very good.
07:55We wouldn't be without him.
07:57And Jess has been the one thing that has been with him since the day he came home.
08:04He looks for him every night before he goes to bed.
08:08He's very, very important to him.
08:10So can you please tell us what you would like us to do with Jess?
08:15Well, I have patched him with felt here and here.
08:21He is a bit of a mess. I'm sorry.
08:23Don't worry. This is what we do.
08:25We don't know what the future holds for Colin.
08:27You know, against all the odds, he's still here and Jess is still with him.
08:31Thank you so much for bringing little Jess in and for trusting us with him.
08:37Thank you very, very much for your help.
08:41Bye.
08:45What an amazing family.
08:47Incredible.
08:48We've got a really important job to do here.
08:51What a responsibility.
08:53Oh, Jess.
09:04What I propose is where the stomas are, add like, how can I explain it?
09:11Like the finger of a glove.
09:13Yep, that goes actually into his body.
09:15That goes into his body.
09:16Lovely.
09:17And that way, he can still put his fingers in there and he'll have more strength.
09:21Perfect.
09:22And he's going to be lined so that that is another added layer of strength.
09:27But definitely a nice bath.
09:29Oh, yes.
09:31And hopefully, Jess will be feeling more like his old self.
09:34Yes.
09:48The first cutthroat razors were manufactured in Sheffield in 1680
09:53and the design has changed very little since.
09:56It's down to Jonathan to restore this one to its traditional best.
10:03I've noticed the wedge has actually come loose.
10:07So the wedge is this white part at the bottom of the handle
10:10that holds the handle in a V shape
10:13and allows us to shut the blade inside of the handle.
10:16It doesn't look like that pin is holding the handle together very well.
10:22So I'll need to take that pin out of it,
10:24remove that pin,
10:26and all I'm left with is a thin, loose-fitting wedge.
10:31pin is holding the handle together very well. So I'll need to take that pin out of it, replace
10:37it so that that wedge doesn't shift.
10:53All this needs is a bit of light sanding.
10:56The real damage is on the inside of the handle, where the toe of that blade has been rusting.
11:03Now we want to ensure that we clean the inside of this handle as best we can, otherwise that's
11:09going to cause problems for the blade when it sits inside the handle.
11:26That's the wedge and the handle looking pretty good now. I just need to focus on the blade and then put this thing back together.
11:48This razor has a lot of bad water damage at the toe of the blade.
11:52The really deep stuff is unfortunately going to have to stay. To remove that I'd have to hollow grind this blade all over again.
12:00Simply using a bit of oil and this abrasive pad, eventually this blade should really brighten up.
12:15Next, a doorstep delivery.
12:19Hi there, you must be Sebastian. I am. I'm Will, nice to meet you. Right, let me give you a hand. Thank you very much.
12:28Sebastian Ames has driven from Edinburgh with a fascinating piece of history.
12:36Right, what do we have here? We have a dictaphone. A dictaphone? A 1928 dictaphone, I think.
12:43Okay, this is beyond my average bit of woodwork, so we might need some help here. Mark, do you mind popping over?
12:50Gladly, what have we got? Authority on all things audio, Mark Stuckey.
12:56What a fascinating piece of machinery. It was my godfather's. He was an author and he used to use it to dictate his books to his secretary.
13:06So he would dictate onto these wax cylinders and she would type out the manuscripts.
13:11Now how exactly does this work? Because I've got no idea. Wax cylinders? Yeah.
13:15You see this one has got recordings on it. That has got a recording on it.
13:20And it would just slip on like that.
13:26It's the opposite of a gramophone concept. Your voice there activates a diaphragm, that diaphragm moves the stylus and it goes in and out recording the sound.
13:35Whilst the wax cylinder is turning around. Oh, I see. Yeah. So you can play back on this as well. Yes.
13:42What was your godfather's name? William Jihadi.
13:45He was born in Russia to British parents in 1895 and stayed in Russia until he came to England to be educated.
13:57And he had quite an interesting First World War. He joined the British Army and was immediately sent back to St. Petersburg or Petrograd as it was then to the British Embassy because he had a knowledge of Russia that not many British people had.
14:17He then went to Oxford and started writing and had his first book published while he was an undergraduate in 1922 and that book was Futility.
14:28Yeah. So it was about his experiences in Russia and his books did sell really well.
14:34He started writing about his experiences in the jazz age in the 1920s.
14:40That fantastic period of the 20s and 30s he must have met some amazing and famous people.
14:46He knew George Bernard Shaw, Graham Greene. Evelyn Waugh said that he had talent but he thought Jihadi had genius.
14:54So he had very high praise from his fellow authors. Yes.
15:00So how does he know the family?
15:03My mother met him during the Second World War. They lived in flats next door to one another.
15:08He became very close to the whole family.
15:11We used to spend quite a lot of time round at his flat.
15:14When I was older I used to speak to him on the telephone quite often for an hour or two.
15:21Really? Yeah. I think he felt that our family was part of his family.
15:26Yes. So when did he actually die?
15:291977 and my mother inherited this.
15:34I'm afraid that we have never seen it work.
15:38Right. Really? No.
15:40All we know or we think we know is that what is on some of the cylinders will have been recorded 80 years ago.
15:48Wow. A little time capsule. Yeah. How exciting.
15:53Have you ever worked on something like this before?
15:55No. No? No.
15:57Well I hope you manage to be able to do something with it.
16:00That makes two of us.
16:02OK. Well thank you very much indeed. It's been a great pleasure. Nice to see you. Bye bye.
16:11What an amazing machine.
16:13It's superb. I can't wait to sort of dive in and have a look.
16:16I just want to know what's on there.
16:18Yes. Don't we all?
16:19I hope we're going to find out. Good luck.
16:22It's a fascinating piece of equipment.
16:40This is totally foreign to me.
16:42And that's why it's exciting but at the same time a bit of trepidation thinking oh what have I put myself in for?
16:49I'm going to take this off here.
16:51But I can see that I can unscrew these.
16:54And this has got a hinge at the back.
16:57This should open up.
16:59It's incredibly heavy.
17:02First thing I've got to do is look at every detail of this and study it intently so I've got a good understanding how it was meant to function before I take anything apart.
17:12Very important.
17:24While Mark masters the insides of the dictaphone, Amanda has been tasked with helping Jess the cat with his tummy trouble.
17:36The tummy panel is really where Colin puts his fingers into the stoma and you can really see the damage that this has caused.
17:45It's in really poor condition and I think on this occasion I am going to replace this tummy panel.
17:52So from what's left of it I've managed to make myself a template and I'm about to cut out the new fur.
18:05What's really important when you're cutting out fur is to make sure you use tiny pointed scissors and cut just the back.
18:14Don't cut any of this pile because that can really ruin the work that you're doing.
18:19If there's a chunk missing it can look really really ugly.
18:35Before I washed Jess I removed all Leslie's previous repairs and patches.
18:45It did reveal that these patches had covered areas of damage where Jess's body had stretched out and it's my job now to bring Jess back to the shape that he should be.
18:59This is fiddly but only in as much as I'm gently encouraging those ladders to close back up again.
19:08Once I'm happy with the shape I'll then be able to draw around that body and the legs and create the template that I need for the fleece that will line his body.
19:30Jonathan is using a sharpening stone to give the rust on the scissors its marching orders.
19:37So the trick to doing this well is a very subtle hand movement.
19:43The blade not only has to be curved but I have to put a twist into the blade like a propeller.
19:52The shape should be there now.
19:55Judging on how the light bounces off the inside of that blade I can see that there's a twist and a curve.
20:03So if I was to compare that to the blade that I haven't yet ground, I'm really pleased with how this one's turned out.
20:11I just have to do the same with the rusty one.
20:22Watch this then.
20:26Lovely. Two. That's a warm up.
20:30One, two, three. Oh, that's, oh. Now that is ten.
20:33That was good. That was very, very good.
20:39So I've gotten the scissor blades to this mirror polish.
20:44So I've gotten the scissor blades to this mirror polish.
20:48But this isn't how Jeanette remembers these.
20:51The matte grey finish that Jeanette remembers is actually probably down to the care of these scissors.
20:58If you treat them well and you apply oil and you keep them clean, they will slowly develop that darker grey patina.
21:09So I'm actually going to be forcing a patina with a home remedy that was used to treat carbon steel to prepare it for work that involved moisture and water.
21:22I need the hot water to speed up the reaction.
21:27And I've also got white vinegar, which will be the acid that forms that patina, but evenly and very quickly.
21:35That's what's going to give us that grey finish.
21:38So we just need to put these in the solution now.
21:49All I've got to do is wait.
21:56As Jonathan stands by, Mark's repair to the 1920s dictaphone is gathering pace.
22:08I've had a good look around now at all the mechanisms and I've got a good idea how this is expected to function.
22:14Now the next thing is putting power to it and to see what actually happens.
22:18Mainz electricity in the late 1920s and early 30s was around the 110 volts, not the 240 we know today.
22:27So I need something to turn the power up slowly, not fully, because I could damage it.
22:34To do that, I'm using an item called a Variac.
22:38I slowly wind the voltage up, looking to see if there's any current flow.
22:43We're now at 40 volts.
22:46It's trying to turn.
22:48And when you consider this has been asleep for over 70 years, and now we're going up into the 50s and 70s, about 120 volts.
23:01And it's ticking over nicely.
23:05No smells whatsoever, which is always a good sign.
23:08Well done, old thing. You are doing remarkably well.
23:12It's really important that I make sure that Colin can still hold Jess in the way that he's used to.
23:38What I've come up with is one tube so he can put his thumb in one end and his finger in the other.
23:47And we have to imagine that this is all going to be inside Jess's body.
23:52So the first thing I need to do is to attach this tube to the lining of the tummy panel.
23:59I'm going to stitch around this twice to make sure it's good and strong.
24:03And we'll take all the love that Colin wants to give him.
24:16I actually have pet ducks.
24:19Do you fit in?
24:22Oh, this is lovely, isn't it?
24:25Very well deserved break.
24:27Ducks seem to be enjoying our company as well.
24:30I think they just want the food.
24:32You reckon?
24:33I don't think they'd care who it was.
24:40Mark is coaxing the 1920s dictaphone back into action after decades lying dormant.
24:48I've cleaned up the clutch and all the gears so they're now moving freely.
24:52What I need to do now is the sound head, which is here.
24:56What have we got?
24:58Right, air comes into this chamber.
25:01This diaphragm will flex, which makes the needle point move up and down.
25:06And when you put it to play mode, it will go up and down in those indentations on the wax cylinder.
25:12Part of the original gasket made of rubber has deteriorated.
25:16Therefore, there's no longer a perfect seal.
25:19So I'm going to have to very carefully take all this out, redo the gaskets, reassemble it.
25:26And hopefully by then, we should have a nice, tight-filled chamber again.
25:30And then it should work as good as the day it did over 70 years ago.
25:44Here we go.
25:57This is the lining that I've made from the fleece for Colin's cat, which I've just got to feed into Jesse's body.
26:08There.
26:10I now have a good, tight fit.
26:13This is the lining that I've made from the fleece for Colin's cat, which I've just got to feed into Jesse's body.
26:23There.
26:25I now have a good framework to make the repairs into.
26:44So how's his tummy coming along?
26:46It's done.
26:47Oh, let me see.
26:48Yeah. Have a feel. See what you think.
26:51Oh, it feels really robust.
26:53Good.
26:54I really like that.
26:55So I guess the question here is, are they going to fit together?
27:01Well, that'll be down to our templating skills, I think.
27:04There you go.
27:05Oh, thank you very much.
27:07I'll watch in a supporting role.
27:09OK.
27:10That goes around. I think we're going to be OK, you know.
27:13That goes around his little leg, look.
27:16It's going to fit perfect.
27:17Brilliant.
27:18So I'll get this stitched in here, put the stuffing in, head on.
27:21Jesse will be ready to go home.
27:23Exciting.
27:24Well done.
27:41Jonathan has managed to recreate an aged matte patina
27:46on the newly restored barber's scissors.
27:49The water-vinegar solution that I used
27:52has actually put a really even grey finish
27:56that's closer to what Jeanette should remember.
27:59Now, with the cut-throat razors,
28:02the last thing I need to do is put that edge on it.
28:05The stone I'm using here is a wet stone.
28:09I'm starting with the roughest one
28:12before I then go on to a finer grit stone
28:16where I can begin to hone that edge.
28:19It's been a massive joy working on this barber's set.
28:24So I'm really looking forward to Jeanette's reaction
28:27when she sees the state closer to what she remembers.
28:31Jeanette used these very tools
28:34to cut her beloved dad's hair from the age of 16.
28:38Those are beautiful.
28:41Wow.
28:42You happy?
28:43Very happy. They work as well.
28:45Well done.
28:48They also hold powerful memories of being taught by him.
28:55How you doing?
28:56Hello, hello.
28:57Are you all right?
28:58So, how are you doing?
29:00Nervous.
29:01You're nervous?
29:02Yeah, I am.
29:03I didn't realise how much I'd miss them.
29:05It's daft, I know it's daft.
29:07It's not daft, it's not.
29:08Well, I hope I do you both proud.
29:10Yeah.
29:11I'm sure you will.
29:13Go on, do the honours.
29:15Are you ready?
29:16Yeah.
29:27Oh, my God.
29:28I can't believe that.
29:30I can't believe the brilliant chop.
29:33Look at those.
29:35Oh, my Lordy.
29:37Oh, that is absolutely...
29:39That's spot on.
29:41That is spot on.
29:43And look at those.
29:47Is that the finish you remember?
29:49Yeah, it's just...
29:50That's just blown me away, Matt, I tell you.
29:54That's just brought back so...
29:56So many happy memories of me and my dad.
29:59I can't thank you enough.
30:01I really can't thank you enough.
30:03It's just...
30:06That's my dad.
30:08My dad right there.
30:14This is all I have of my dad.
30:17And to see him in this condition is just...
30:20Outstanding.
30:22Absolutely outstanding.
30:26Thank you, Jonathan.
30:28Of course.
30:31Thank you so much.
30:37You take care now.
30:40Bless her.
30:43See, you did that.
30:44Well done, man.
30:46Good on you.
30:47On to the next one.
30:52Absolutely elated.
30:54I never thought that anybody would be able to fix these.
30:59My dad was everything to me.
31:01So this is the biggest of things that I could ever have done for my dad.
31:06To see them go from rust to silver to shine
31:11makes me feel so happy.
31:25The next day
31:31Pete, squeeze it.
31:32There you go.
31:33All right, I got it.
31:34I got it, got it, got it.
31:35Let go.
31:36Keep going.
31:37I got it.
31:38Keep going.
31:39Shut up.
31:40Keep going.
31:45More stories from the past as items continue to arrive at the barn.
31:51Sisters Christine Sippers and Sian Gwyer from Newport in South Wales
31:56are hoping conservator Kirsten Ramsey can work her ceramic sorcery.
32:01Hi there.
32:02Come in, grab a seat.
32:03Oh, thank you.
32:06I'm sure there's something glamorous inside this cardboard box, right?
32:09This is the top of it, which is not damaged.
32:13Oh, look at that.
32:15This is what was damaged.
32:17Oh, dearie, dear.
32:19Goodness.
32:20There's quite a few small pieces.
32:22OK.
32:23There you go.
32:24Right, so I'm not too sure exactly what I'm looking at,
32:26apart from a lot of broken pieces.
32:28What exactly is this?
32:30Fruit dish.
32:31Fruit bowl.
32:32Yeah, that stands up and that goes on the top.
32:35It's from Hungary, isn't it?
32:36Yeah.
32:37OK, and what's the connection with Hungary?
32:39My husband, Istvan, but he's known as Steve.
32:42That's where he was from.
32:44So you're Welsh?
32:45I'm Welsh.
32:46How did you both meet?
32:48In a pub.
32:49I was playing darts.
32:51Steve threw a packet of cigarettes over.
32:54He said, open them for me.
32:58I picked them up and I threw them back.
33:01I said, open them yourself.
33:04And it just went from there.
33:07He was very muscly, strong.
33:10His mannerisms was like Sean Conway.
33:14Really?
33:15Yeah.
33:16Young, muscly, Hungarian Sean Conway.
33:18Oh, yes, yes.
33:20I couldn't have asked for a better person.
33:22He was kind, gentle.
33:25You say was, has he passed away?
33:28Oh, sorry, yes.
33:29He was killed by a drunk driver 23 years ago.
33:34Gosh.
33:35He was a very caring man.
33:37When and why did Steve come over to the UK?
33:39Well, he had the uprise in Hungary
33:43and that's where he escaped then from Budapest.
33:52After the Second World War, under a Soviet ally government
33:56and the iron fist of communism,
33:58the Hungarian people suffered oppressive rule
34:01and poor living standards.
34:03But on the 23rd of October 1956,
34:06a protest in Budapest demanding the withdrawal of Soviet troops
34:10sparked a revolution.
34:13Soviet tanks rolled in to crush the national uprising
34:16and as thousands were killed and wounded,
34:19nearly a quarter of a million Hungarians fled the country.
34:26They were running towards Austria
34:30because there was two planes in Austria.
34:33One was for America and one was for Britain.
34:36He got through the border and the American plane was full
34:40so he had to go on the British one.
34:42And the rest is history, as they say, isn't it?
34:45Steve came over in 1956 and we met in 1975.
34:51So can you tell us how you came to have this beautiful bowl?
34:55He hadn't been back home since the uprise.
34:58I kept on and on to him about,
35:00we're going to visit your mum.
35:02So in 1985 was the first time we went over there.
35:05She couldn't believe he was home.
35:07Yeah.
35:08Me and Steve then, we was going past this shop
35:12and I said, oh, look at that, isn't that beautiful?
35:15And Steve said, do you want it?
35:18Aw.
35:19It was beautiful.
35:20And nobody had seen one like it.
35:23It's memories of my first visit to see his mum.
35:28And it was pride and joy on the cabinet, isn't it?
35:32Why is this so damaged?
35:34Eight years ago, I went up to stay with her for a couple of days
35:38and I was cleaning and as I picked it up,
35:41I didn't realise that the bottom came away from the top
35:44and it just smashed and I was absolutely heartbroken
35:48because I knew how much it meant to Christine.
35:51I can see some glue.
35:53So someone has tried to fix this, right?
35:55Yes.
35:56It was, I don't know what glue she used, but it wasn't very good.
35:59Don't say much about my hand, you will.
36:02Well, it's going to be a pleasure
36:04to try and get these pieces back together.
36:06Oh, it would be more than a dream.
36:09And I know they'd all be up there cheering.
36:13Thank you for coming to see us and we'll see you very soon.
36:15All right, thank you very much.
36:17Thank you very much.
36:18Bye-bye.
36:23This is absolutely amazing.
36:25There's so much wrapped up in this.
36:27It does feel like quite a responsibility
36:30to get this back and looking good again.
36:37What a lovely story from Christine.
36:41The actual fruit bowl itself seems to be completely undamaged.
36:47So I think this would sit on top of this pedestal.
36:54So then we've got this base
36:56and I'm slightly concerned that this area here is missing
37:03and we've got these figures that sit on top of the base.
37:09I'm hoping that the pieces will go together quite nicely.
37:13They tend to with porcelain.
37:15I'm just going to start trying to remove this old adhesive.
37:20I'm just going to get it cleaned up
37:23so that I can get on to the next stage of reassembling this.
37:29♪♪♪
37:52Mark's all ears on his repair of the vintage dictaphone.
37:57vintage dictaphone.
37:59I've refitted the sound head.
38:01Now, before I can even attempt really to test it,
38:04I've got to get the speaker tube operational.
38:07Now, the speaker tube connects physically to there,
38:11so you can sort of talk down it and listen back.
38:14This particular mechanism also has the switch,
38:17which is effectively a non-off switch.
38:19When you want to record or play, you press that.
38:22That will then activate this cylinder, so it'll rotate,
38:25so you can then start your play or record.
38:28Unfortunately, it looks like here, the actual cable,
38:30the inner wire within that cable is actually broken,
38:34because when you depress the button, nothing's happening.
38:38It's quite tricky, it's quite small,
38:41and it's really something
38:42which I'm not so experienced to deal with.
38:45So let's go and see if I can have a chat with Dom.
38:48♪
39:15Mark has asked me to have a look at this handpiece
39:19for the dictaphone.
39:20I think there's a cable inside,
39:22almost like a brake cable on a pushbike.
39:26I bet that's broken,
39:27which is causing a weak link, essentially.
39:31I'm going to take the end off, have a look inside
39:33how this is put together.
39:37It's tiny.
39:38♪
39:43These little components are so small.
39:46♪
39:49A lot smaller than I'm used to working on.
39:52This is definitely a challenge for me.
39:55Oh, ah, hey, here we go.
39:59That is the inner cable.
40:01I found it.
40:02Yeah, look, the fact that that's coming out of there
40:05means that it's broken.
40:08This thin piece of wire is the answer to my problems.
40:13It's just the right size to fit all of the pieces
40:15from the original wire and solder them all onto this,
40:18which is easier said than done.
40:20Everything is tiny.
40:22♪
40:53I think Colin's cat is looking perfect.
40:57Absolutely perfect.
40:59The trachea hole and the stoma, we've got those in place,
41:02so Colin will be able to put his fingers in there
41:04and get that lovely comfort.
41:06So one of my final jobs,
41:09these little eyes, they're looking a bit scuffed,
41:12and they look a bit like he's got cataracts, bless him.
41:15So I'm going to try and bring some of that shine back
41:17with a little bit of an eyeball.
41:20Who would have guessed a manicurist's buffer
41:23would have turned out to be the perfect tool for shining eyes?
41:29There we go. Look at that.
41:32What a difference.
41:33I think that'll just put the finishing touches on him,
41:36and they'll be all ready to go back to Colin and his family.
41:39Perfect.
41:41♪
41:47When Jess the cat arrived at the barn,
41:50he was looking like he'd used up most of his nine lives.
41:54Very excited.
41:55Yeah, I think Jess is excited.
41:57Right, this is your moment.
41:59There you go.
42:01Right.
42:02But he's helped Colin,
42:04along with mum Leslie and sister Nicola,
42:07through the toughest of times.
42:10Hello.
42:12Hi.
42:14You must be Colin.
42:16Welcome to the barn.
42:18How lovely to meet you.
42:20Hello, Leslie.
42:21Hello, Nicola.
42:22Welcome back.
42:23Oh, this is such a lovely surprise.
42:26Have you come to meet Jess again?
42:29Yes, I know.
42:31Oh.
42:32He has really missed him.
42:34I know.
42:37He has really missed him.
42:39Really missed him.
42:41It's a strange thing.
42:42He has been missed by all of us
42:44because he's just such a part of Colin.
42:46Okay.
42:47You've waited really patiently, don't you think?
42:49Yes.
42:50Mm-hmm.
42:52Ready?
42:53Mm-hmm.
42:56Oh!
42:58Oh!
42:59Look at that.
43:02Oh!
43:09Oh, wow.
43:14Isn't he beautiful?
43:15Come and have a look at him.
43:16Doesn't she look?
43:17She's got her collar.
43:19What do you say to the ladies?
43:21Do you have a high five for them or a hug for them?
43:24Yay!
43:25Oh.
43:28He really looks fantastic.
43:30Thank you so, so much.
43:32You're so welcome.
43:35You are so welcome, Colin.
43:37You're so welcome.
43:38Are you going to cuddle him tonight?
43:40Yeah.
43:41He will be there every night now.
43:43But listen, thank you very, very much indeed.
43:46We really do appreciate it.
43:48Can I shake your hand, young man?
43:50Mm-hmm.
43:51It's been a pleasure.
43:54Oh!
43:56Jess, it's been a pleasure to meet you as well.
43:58Yes.
44:00You take care.
44:02Thank you very much.
44:03Thank you very much.
44:04Bye.
44:05Bye, Colin.
44:06Bye.
44:07Bye.
44:08Bye.
44:09Oh, thank you for stopping.
44:12Oh, that was so lovely.
44:16Just to see the joy that Jess brings him was just wonderful.
44:23For him to just burst into tears, it did.
44:25It made it quite emotional for all of us, didn't it?
44:27It's very happy tears for Colin.
44:29He just is so excited to have him,
44:31and it's just lovely that he has his companion back.
44:35Is it a one thumbs up or a two thumbs up?
44:38Two thumbs up.
44:39All hands up.
44:40All hands up.
44:41Brilliant.
44:42Oh.
44:43Oh.
44:54Yeah, yeah.
44:55Got a vibe, didn't it?
44:56Yeah.
45:02At last, I've cleaned up all of the pieces for Christine's fruit bowl.
45:10So, I'm now going to put these bits back together
45:15and I'm going to hold them in place using tape
45:18to get all of these pieces in exactly the right position.
45:23This is quite fiddly.
45:26When you've got a section missing,
45:29it never quite balances and everything wants to move around.
45:34Right, that feels like it's aligned.
45:37I want to just get the tape in place
45:40and using quite a bit of pressure,
45:43pulling it and holding those two pieces together.
45:48Once I've got the whole thing reassembled,
45:51I'm going to introduce an epoxy resin using capillary action
45:57and that means the adhesive will be drawn down into the cracks.
46:10This feels like a real achievement
46:36just to see Christine and Steve's bowl base standing upright.
46:43The alignment is really spot on now,
46:46so I'm going to get my adhesive ready,
46:49which is a two-part epoxy.
46:54I've got it over some hot water.
46:57I want it as runny as possible
47:00so that it's drawn down into those joins.
47:06I'm confident that this is going to be strong and stable
47:11once the epoxy resin is cured.
47:16I then need to address this missing section here.
47:36This has gone together really nicely.
47:59I can now handle this and not worry that it's going to fall to pieces,
48:06but it's shown me some considerable areas of loss.
48:10The main area of concern is this section right at the front.
48:16It's got this raised decoration.
48:20I'm going to take a mould of another section of the base
48:25and see if I can cast it and transfer it to fill in this gap.
48:30I'm going to use a two-part silicone mould for this.
48:34They use this for making impressions for hearing aids.
48:39I'm going to press it on because I want to get all of that lovely detail.
48:49That's my mould, and I can see on there
48:53there's some of that lovely detail from the base.
48:57And I'm going to introduce the plaster into the mould.
49:04Whilst the plaster is hardening,
49:06I'm going to fill some of these other missing areas.
49:10I'm going to use epoxy resin paste and just shape these bits freehand.
49:21So that shape's coming along.
49:24I'm already thinking what colours I'm going to use when I start retouching this.
49:29These are such lovely, strong, vibrant colours.
49:36With Dom's switch work on the Dictaphone complete,
49:40it's Mark's time to test.
49:43So let's see if we engage that.
49:45There we go, that's working.
49:48And it stops, and it starts, and it stops, which is good.
49:51So what I'm going to do is put this now to play,
49:54and that's just pushing its back here.
49:56You can hear it, but it's a bit slow.
50:09Overall, considering it wasn't working at all,
50:11and we've now got a fairly good audible sound out of it,
50:14I'm happy that Sebastian can hear, once again, his godfather talking,
50:20which will bring the past back to the present.
50:25Anglo-Russian novelist and playwright William Gerhardi
50:31once used this Dictaphone to create his masterpieces.
50:38How are we doing, Mark?
50:39Hi, Jay. Already.
50:40Looking good.
50:41Yeah.
50:42It's working?
50:43Yes, yes, it's working.
50:44Sebastian's going to like that.
50:45Yeah.
50:46It'll be interesting to have a voice he's not heard for a long time.
50:50Having lain silent for decades,
50:52today William's godson Sebastian is hoping to hear his voice from the past.
50:59Hello, Sebastian.
51:00Hello.
51:01How are you?
51:02Fine, thank you.
51:03So, how are you feeling?
51:05Apprehensive, excited.
51:07I have no idea what's going to happen.
51:10And you've never seen this working, have you?
51:12Never.
51:13No?
51:14I strongly suspect that it hasn't worked since the Second World War.
51:18OK. Ready, Mark?
51:19Yes. Are you ready?
51:20I am.
51:23Wow.
51:28It's a lot cleaner than it was.
51:30Right.
51:31How does it work?
51:33How's it work?
51:34You had a number of these wax cylinders.
51:36Yeah.
51:37A lot of them, though, as you probably were aware, were badly damaged.
51:39Yes.
51:40And this one here was incredibly damaged.
51:42Yeah.
51:43There's hardly any sign of any information on there.
51:47Right.
51:48But the machine now is sensitive enough to pick up a ghostly impression, what was left.
51:53Oh, wow.
51:54So what I've got to do is put this on here.
51:56Yeah.
51:57Like that.
51:58So you can just hold the horn.
52:00Yeah.
52:01It's quite quiet because the impressions are very faint.
52:19Wow.
52:24That is... I'm astonished.
52:27That is fantastic.
52:29That is absolutely fantastic.
52:31Wow.
52:32I'm in awe.
52:34I think I'm absolutely in awe.
52:36I'm amazed.
52:39His main means of communication towards the end of his life was by telephone.
52:44And hearing his voice through this speaker was like hearing his voice on the telephone.
52:51Just hearing that again just is incredible.
52:56Thank you very much indeed.
52:59You take care.
53:00You take care.
53:02Bye-bye.
53:03Bye-bye.
53:04Bye-bye.
53:05He was over the moon.
53:06He was happy.
53:07That's good.
53:08Yes.
53:09He made his day.
53:10The dictaphone is more than I could have possibly imagined.
53:13I'm absolutely astonished.
53:15It's fantastic.
53:17I mean, to hear my godfather from 80, maybe even 90 years ago, I think is an incredible thing to have achieved.
53:25You forget somebody's voice over a period of time and it immediately comes back to you.
53:32So, yes, it was a wonderful experience.
53:35Absolutely wonderful.
53:44The Hungarian fruit bowl is back in one piece with just some final delicate touches required to get it to gold standard.
53:53We're finally ready to put this gold decoration back onto the missing section of the base.
54:01The lines are quite fine and you've got to try and recreate that looseness.
54:08I'm going to use a metal lacquer.
54:10I'm going to use a metal lacquer.
54:12I think putting this gold back on is really going to just pull all of that together.
54:17I'm looking forward to returning this to Christine and Sian and seeing what their reaction is.
54:28Christine and her late husband bought this fruit bowl on his first trip back to Hungary after fleeing a political uprising almost 30 years earlier.
54:38Joe?
54:39Yeah.
54:40Ready?
54:41Mm-hmm.
54:43Looks amazing.
54:46Cute.
54:47For Christine and her sister Sian, it's a symbol of reunions and remembrance.
54:54Hello.
54:55Hello.
54:56How you doing, ladies? You all right?
54:57Oh, fine, thank you. Nervous.
54:59You're nervous?
55:01I don't know how I'm going to react.
55:04We'll take a deep breath, yeah?
55:07Ready?
55:08Let's do it.
55:14Oh.
55:15Oh, my God.
55:16Oh, gosh.
55:17Oh, my.
55:19Oh, that's beautiful.
55:21Oh, it's beyond words.
55:24The word is the God.
55:25Right.
55:26It is.
55:27I know.
55:29Oh, Chris, thank God I have to come and cut you.
55:31Come on.
55:33Oh, thank you, sweetheart.
55:36Oh, bless you.
55:38You're an angel.
55:41Oh, bless.
55:42Oh, my God.
55:50I can't believe it.
55:52Oh, God.
55:53Oh, yeah.
55:55See, that's what we...
55:56I'm afraid to touch you.
55:57Steve always said, you know, that was him.
55:59That was you, yeah.
56:01Yeah, innit?
56:02Oh, thank you, sweetheart.
56:06Oh, I love it.
56:08Oh, God bless you.
56:10It's been a real pleasure to do that for you,
56:13and seeing your reaction is just incredible.
56:16I'm blown away.
56:18Yeah.
56:19No, we thank you both for bringing us in and telling us about Stephen.
56:23Thank you for taking it on, honestly.
56:24What a lovely thing for me to be able to do for you, so...
56:27Oh, thank you ever so much.
56:28That's all right.
56:29You take care.
56:36Goodness.
56:38Oh, makes you want to have a sister, innit?
56:40Oh, blimey.
56:42Bless them.
56:43Let's wrap this up really, really well.
56:45I'm going to wrap it so carefully.
56:46Good.
56:47Well done, you.
56:50It's just a miracle.
56:52It's as beautiful today as the day we bought you from the shop.
56:58He was precious to me, precious to Steve.
57:01It's nice to have a bit of Steve back.
57:03And I know he's going to be watching down and say,
57:06that's my girls.
57:17If you have a treasured possession that's seen better days
57:20and you think the team can help,
57:22please get in touch at bbc.co.uk
57:25slash techpath
57:27and join us in The Repair Shop.
57:33We'll see you next time.