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CreativityTranscript
00:00Welcome to the Vipershaw.
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 breath.
00:10Are restored to their former glory.
00:12I don't think I'm even breathing at this point.
00:14Lovely. So exciting.
00:16A dream team of expert craftspeople
00:18Stroll, stroll, stroll.
00:20Back, back, back.
00:22It's going to look absolutely stunning.
00:24Using traditional techniques passed down the generations.
00:26If someone's made it
00:28then I can fix it.
00:30So much fun.
00:32Restore irreplaceable treasures.
00:36Take it away Mark.
00:38And unlock the stories that they hold.
00:42Oh my god.
00:44It's like it's brand new.
00:46You're a wizard.
00:48Thank you so much.
00:56All ready for another week in the barn boys?
00:58Yeah.
01:00I think so.
01:02Work's piling up.
01:04Morning Susie.
01:06Hello.
01:08You're in early.
01:12With work always on the go in the barn
01:14it's Angelina and Will
01:16up first today.
01:18Yellow you got the memo.
01:20We should start a little band.
01:22What?
01:24Yellow mellows.
01:26The yellow mellows.
01:28No I can sing very well.
01:30I'd like to hear that.
01:34Here to enlist Angelina's
01:36paper conservation expertise
01:38are former miners
01:40John Beard and John Greaves
01:42from Yorkshire.
01:46Hello there.
01:48You must be John and John.
01:50I'm John Greaves.
01:52Hello.
01:54What do we have here?
01:56What we've got is a serviette
01:58commemorating a mining disaster
02:00in a place called West Stanley
02:02in 1909
02:04where 168 people
02:06lost their lives.
02:08We're very fortunate to have been gifted it.
02:10It was made for what we now know as a benefit
02:12at dinner
02:14and was sold to raise money for the
02:16relatives of the dead people.
02:18And these were sold for a pound.
02:20How exactly did this accident
02:22take place?
02:24There were usually gas explosions.
02:26I think it was a new type of safety lamp.
02:28A new type of safety lamp?
02:30Yeah, which they used to test for gas.
02:32They seemed to think it was a spark
02:34or a naked flame.
02:36168 lost their lives.
02:38The youngest was 13.
02:4013 years old.
02:42We got some miners
02:44that were as young as five,
02:46six years old.
02:48Five or six went down into the mines?
02:50They were considered to be cheap.
02:52They did menial tasks.
02:54They were opening doors.
02:56Restricting airways.
02:58Some were pulling the tubs,
03:00crawling on all fours, dragging the coal.
03:02Are you both miners?
03:04Ex-miners, yeah.
03:06I've got coal running through my blood.
03:08My dad was a miner.
03:10Went underground at 16.
03:12That was in 1970.
03:14Continued working up to 1995
03:16when we actually filled the pit in.
03:18Personally, I loved it.
03:20It was hard. It was difficult.
03:22Camaraderie and trust
03:24were just unbelievable.
03:26Day in, day out, you're trusting people with your life.
03:28I have to say I was really sad when it ended.
03:30With all the mines shutting down,
03:32do you think it's really important
03:34to keep that conversation going
03:36about how many people have lost their lives
03:38to kind of get us where we are now
03:40as a country?
03:42Absolutely. It's part of our rich heritage
03:44that we're preserving.
03:46We've got quite a collection of mining memorabilia.
03:48We don't buy it. We don't sell.
03:50People will see this stuff.
03:52We're going to schools, talking to children
03:54about what it's like to be a miner.
03:56Touch on the disasters a little bit.
03:58Sooner or later,
04:00it's going to disappear and they'll not know.
04:02There's areas where
04:04you would never know
04:06there'd been a mine.
04:08It's all been glossed over and got rid of.
04:10It's important that we keep it alive.
04:12Well, Ange is here to help preserve you.
04:14There you go.
04:16What do you think, Ange?
04:18Well, I can see that it's been eaten by some bugs,
04:20for sure.
04:22I can see that it's crap paper
04:24and it looks so thin.
04:26I think you did well
04:28to just put it in the frame
04:30and just leave it in there.
04:32Having it survive this much is quite a feat.
04:34I mean, it's over 100 years old.
04:36I'd like to see it
04:38stabilised so it doesn't
04:40deteriorate anymore.
04:42If you could make it a little bit more presentable,
04:44that'd be fine.
04:46We'd like to take it into schools and let the children
04:48see it. Ultimately,
04:50we'd like it to go back to West Stanley
04:52where the disaster actually happens.
04:54We're pretty certain they'd like to have it.
04:56I think it's lovely that you're trying to preserve this
04:58not just for future generations
05:00but also for those that lost their lives as well.
05:04We'll see you very soon.
05:06Thank you so much for coming.
05:08Bye.
05:22What an amazing
05:24piece of history.
05:26It's so sad to see actually all these
05:28names written here.
05:30It's just really heartbreaking.
05:34It was quite common
05:36in the early 1900s to use
05:38crepe paper as a printing method
05:40for commemorative things
05:42such as this.
05:44It was considered more of a luxury.
05:46It was kind of a lush thing to use.
05:48Oh, I can see
05:50how discoloured this is.
05:52I would love
05:54to be able to give this a clean
05:56and there's so many losses.
05:58I would love to
06:00line this paper
06:02with another piece of tissue
06:04but before I do anything
06:06I'm just going to apply a tiny, tiny
06:08drop of water onto one
06:10specific area and then
06:12see how it reacts.
06:16That drop was more than enough
06:18to get this orange
06:20activated
06:22which means that at least the oranges
06:24are sensitive to the ingress
06:26of water and that's exactly
06:28why I test before I do anything
06:30because if I had introduced water to this
06:32straight away without thinking
06:34I would have run the risk of
06:36actually having everything disappear.
06:38I need to continue
06:40testing all of the areas and once
06:42I finish I will be able to know
06:44how best to proceed with my treatments.
06:46Like the badges?
06:48Have you got a sparkly panda?
06:50Of course you have.
06:52Arriving next
06:54is Sarah Ruffell
06:56accompanied by her son, James.
06:58She's pinning her hopes
07:00on toy restorers Julie Tatchell
07:02and Amanda Middleditch
07:04to help them
07:06get the job done.
07:08Sarah is a
07:10professional toy restorer
07:12and she's been working
07:14with Julie Tatchell and Amanda Middleditch
07:16bringing the smile back
07:18to a cherished gift.
07:20Hello.
07:22Welcome. Come on in.
07:24You look very summery.
07:26Thank you very much.
07:28Very nice weather.
07:30Have you bought us?
07:32This is Teddy Greaves.
07:34I'm very sorry.
07:36Oh, Teddy Greaves.
07:38Is there something missing?
07:40Yeah, he's lost his face
07:42because he's 53 now.
07:44I used to sit in my cot
07:46apparently and pull out his fur.
07:48So take us back
07:50to your early days with him.
07:52Tell us all about him.
07:54I was born with spina bifida and hydrocephalus.
07:56Okay.
07:58It's very, very similar
08:00to somebody that's broken their back
08:02so I can't feel the lower part of my body
08:04and he was given to me
08:06when I was a month old
08:08and he's been with me ever since.
08:10So my sister's
08:1215 months older than me
08:14so mum and dad were never able to stay
08:16with me in hospital
08:18where I couldn't share things with mum and dad
08:20maybe because it might upset them more
08:22to share them with dad.
08:24Your comfort, your kind of go-to.
08:26Yeah.
08:28The doctors, they didn't know if I'd live.
08:30They didn't know if I'd walk
08:32so I've proved doctors wrong
08:34all my life really.
08:36Walked and I lived and I've
08:38three children.
08:40Mum's always had a can-do attitude.
08:42She's done the race for life
08:44and she's made it to the top of Snowdon.
08:46No, really?
08:48She climbs out the wheelchair
08:50and there's a picture of her stood there
08:52right at the top plaque of Snowdon.
08:54That is fantastic.
08:56Well done.
08:58What's Teddy's role now?
09:00What does he do for you?
09:02He still comes into hospital with me
09:04whenever I go.
09:06So,
09:08what would you like us to do?
09:10He's too fragile.
09:12I'd like him to be a bit more stable.
09:14His bandage went on when I was nine.
09:16It was initially on his legs
09:18but it moved to his tummy
09:20because there's nothing of his tummy left
09:22but stuffing I'm afraid.
09:24So give us a little clue as well about his face.
09:26Yeah.
09:28He did have Slate's grey-blue eyes.
09:30Is he a serious chap?
09:32Is he a happy chap?
09:34What will it mean to you
09:36for us to do the work?
09:38Yeah, it means the world to me.
09:40Thank you very much.
09:44Come on to meet you both.
09:48We'll see you very soon.
10:00Here he is.
10:02Look at him.
10:04When you think about what Sarah's been through,
10:06Teddy Graves has been with her the whole time.
10:08It's his turn now.
10:10It is.
10:12Our biggest challenge is going to be this face.
10:14We don't know who the maker is
10:16and we're going to have to use our creative skills
10:18to try and work out
10:20what that face would look like.
10:22Yeah.
10:24Apart from that, his fur's all worn away.
10:26I think we're looking at full relining
10:28which will give him that strength
10:30and then the repairs into that lining.
10:32If I take the stuffing out...
10:34OK.
10:36Once you've got all that out...
10:38Yeah.
10:40Shall I take the body and you take the head?
10:42Yeah.
10:44Are you happy with that?
10:46What?
10:48We've found some treasure.
10:50Have you?
10:52Oh, gosh.
10:54Show me.
10:56It's a tingling!
10:58The sweet little noise that this would have made
11:00would have actually given him
11:02a lovely tingling sound.
11:04Hence tingling.
11:06I think we should really try and get this put back together,
11:08get it working.
11:10It would be lovely.
11:12I'll just pop this to one side
11:14and we'll concentrate on getting one stuffed.
11:16Yeah?
11:18Sure.
11:26David, what are you cooking?
11:28Well, this is actually glue.
11:30It's not my lunch.
11:32Oh.
11:34Because it stinks.
11:36It does.
11:42At her bench,
11:44Angelina's also cooking up a solution
11:46to clean the stains embedded
11:48in the mining disaster serviette's
11:50fragile crepe paper.
11:52I can't wash it
11:54because all of the orange areas
11:56are very sensitive to water.
11:58So I've prepared an agar gel.
12:00Basically, it's agar powder
12:02dissolved in water.
12:04I'll just cut a rough shape
12:06and I'll just put it
12:08directly onto
12:10my discoloured area.
12:12The agar gel
12:14is able to release
12:16moisture, but it releases it
12:18really, really gradually onto the paper.
12:20It's very slow.
12:22By the time that I am done,
12:24to John and John,
12:26this should all look much brighter
12:28and much more even
12:30as a surface.
12:46Oh, I love these clocks.
12:48Really shiny. Very gold.
12:50Next, a decadent timepiece
12:52and a restoration treat
12:54for horologist Steve Fletcher,
12:56courtesy of Angela Douglas
12:58from the Highlands of Scotland.
13:02Hi there. Hi. Hello.
13:04So this is yours?
13:06Well, it's my family's, yes.
13:08So it belonged to
13:10our beloved late dad.
13:12OK.
13:14And it's a 17th century,
13:16we believe, Dutch
13:18ornate wall clock,
13:20which dad absolutely
13:22adored and treasured.
13:24What was your dad's name?
13:26He was Reverend Peter Carstairs Douglas.
13:28Dad was a real
13:30character, larger than life.
13:32There's a Scottish word,
13:34kenspeckled, which means
13:36once seen, never forgotten.
13:38He wore a kilt,
13:40was rather careless about
13:42whether a haircut was needed or not.
13:44He wasn't a man for half
13:46measures, whether that was pouring a dram
13:48or setting off fireworks.
13:50He sounds like a real character.
13:52Yeah.
13:54So how did this clock come into possession?
13:56My dad's father was
13:58rather a rascal. Married at least
14:00four times that we know of.
14:02And he abandoned him
14:04and my dad's mum
14:06when he was young.
14:08And my dad's dad had a cousin
14:10and he felt that my dad
14:12had been hard done by
14:14and therefore wanted to
14:16make restitution and very
14:18generously left this
14:20magnificent clock to my dad.
14:22It was a spark
14:24that changed his life
14:26and it gave him a tangible part
14:28of his older family.
14:30That was really, really important for him.
14:32How long did your
14:34father own this clock?
14:36So he inherited it
14:38in the 1980s.
14:40And did it tick away then?
14:42Well, the clock mechanism was very erratic
14:44when it was on the wall. It was ticking.
14:46Not at the right time.
14:48It did
14:50chime on the half hour
14:52and the hour, but not
14:54at those times.
14:56My dad has had people look at it
14:58but, as you can see, it's in need of
15:00quite considerable TLC.
15:02Why is it important
15:04to get it working now?
15:06It would keep part of his
15:08memory and his spirit alive
15:10for future generations.
15:12The tick-tock of it would remind me
15:14of my dad's heart.
15:16Reliable, resilient,
15:18comforting.
15:20That's lovely.
15:22I just hope I can get it working.
15:24Thank you so much for bringing this in.
15:26I don't know where I'm going to start
15:28on it, but I'm going to enjoy it, I know.
15:30That's fantastic to hear.
15:32Thank you so much.
15:34We'll see you very soon.
15:36Bye-bye.
15:40I absolutely
15:42love these Dutch clocks
15:44because I don't see many
15:46of them.
15:48This particular one,
15:50the mechanism,
15:52I think is English.
15:54It's not Dutch at all.
15:56I quite like that.
15:58It means that someone has loved
16:00the clock and they don't want it to
16:02be thrown away, so someone's
16:04gone ahead and
16:06put a new movement in.
16:08The paintwork, I'm going to have
16:10to take some advice from Lucia on that.
16:12I think the first thing I'm going to do
16:14is just take it all apart,
16:16take the dial off, get the mechanism
16:18clean, have a really good look at
16:20everything, and then I might find out
16:22a whole bunch of other things as well.
16:38Music
16:50With something unexpected already
16:52discovered inside Teddy Greaves,
16:54Amanda is seeking
16:56out the services of master
16:58metalworker Dominic Chenier.
17:00Amanda, hey!
17:02How are you? What brings you in here?
17:04We found this in Teddy Greaves.
17:06It's a tingling, and it's the first one
17:08we've found actually in the repair shop.
17:10What is a tingling?
17:12It makes a lovely tinkling sound inside.
17:14Oh yeah, I can hear it.
17:18Okay, so cardboard structure.
17:20Yeah, absolutely.
17:22Metal pin in each hole.
17:24A dangly sort of weight at the top
17:26to sort of hit each pin as the bear
17:28moves.
17:30That jingles around.
17:32So I'll clean all the rust off,
17:34cardboard tube with a lid,
17:36and get that swinging loosely.
17:38Yeah, that's it. Leave it with me.
17:40Oh, you're a star. Thank you.
17:42Okay.
17:44This is so rusty.
17:46So the first thing I need to do
17:48before I can even think about reassembling any of this
17:50is submerge these steel parts
17:52in my rust removing solution.
17:56In the meantime,
17:58I'm going to work out
18:00a bit of a plan for this
18:02cardboard tube.
18:20We can see quite clearly
18:22that there isn't very much of his tummy
18:24or his back left.
18:26If we started to line them,
18:28it would just disintegrate.
18:30We have made the decision to actually
18:32give him a new tummy
18:34and new back.
18:36And I think for Sarah, that's what's important.
18:38He's going to feel stronger when she holds him.
18:40We've been lucky enough
18:42to source some fabric that is
18:44exactly the same as Teddy Greaves.
18:46So to be able
18:48to make new pieces out of this,
18:50first of all, I've got to start
18:52taking this apart.
19:00This is
19:02the panel
19:04that formed the front and back
19:06of Teddy Greaves' head and face.
19:08I'm definitely going to replace it.
19:10It's completely in shreds.
19:12And bearing in mind that we want
19:14to make a lovely, cute, new, furry face
19:16for Sarah to see,
19:18this is the only way we can do it.
19:22So I'm making a template onto felt
19:24because I don't want to
19:26have to make a template
19:28onto felt because
19:30I want to save the actual fur
19:32until I'm happy with my template.
19:44This is the cheek
19:46pieces and back of his neck,
19:48which I've already lined.
19:50And I'm just going to give myself
19:52a rough idea
19:54where this panel
19:56would fit in.
19:58And what I'm going to do is allow myself
20:00that extra bit of fabric
20:02to bring a little bit of shape
20:04to the front of his face.
20:06When it comes to putting his features
20:08back on, it'll make it a little bit more
20:10sort of believable.
20:12Music
20:24Across the barn,
20:26Angelina is also hoping
20:28to restore some much needed strength
20:30to the now clean
20:32commemorative serviette.
20:34The serviette is very thin.
20:36It needs to be lined because
20:38it's really, really fragile.
20:40When you put it into
20:42a humidification chamber, it just creates
20:44some vapors to allow the serviette
20:46to slowly relax,
20:48to be nice and supple in order to
20:50take in the lining tissue.
20:52It's looking good.
20:54It's nice and flexible.
20:56The remoistenable tissue has
20:58the adhesive applied on it
21:00and then it's allowed to dry.
21:04It will take very little
21:06water to activate
21:08and then I will be able to apply it
21:10on the back of the serviette without
21:12reactivating the orange colors.
21:14So I'll start spraying
21:16on this side first.
21:32Okay.
21:34This is very tricky.
21:39This is not,
21:41not liking anything.
21:45Even though both papers
21:47were quite nice and humidified,
21:49they don't seem to like each other.
21:52Gosh!
21:54I need to remove it
21:56and then try to find
21:58a better way to do it.
22:09While Steve
22:11has turned his attention
22:13to the Dutch clock's erratic
22:15chime, painting conservator
22:17Lucia Scalisi
22:19has been tasked with tidying up
22:21its troubled face.
22:24Initially, I'm going to clean
22:26the whole of the clock face
22:28and then I'll do some retouching.
22:30A lot of cleaning ahead,
22:32but we can anticipate
22:34some improvements.
22:37One of the main levers
22:39in the striking mechanism
22:41is this
22:43rack arm here.
22:46The rack arm
22:48actually falls onto
22:50what's called a snail cam
22:52and this snail cam
22:54looks like a snail.
22:56And if the rack arm pin
22:58falls at the highest point
23:00of the snail,
23:02then it strikes just below
23:04the highest point of the snail,
23:06then it strikes just one o'clock.
23:08Next step, it's two o'clock.
23:10The next step, three o'clock,
23:12et cetera, et cetera.
23:14And this arm is supposed
23:16to ride over the snail
23:18and that's why this arm
23:20needs to be very flexible.
23:22If it's not, then it'll strike
23:24at four o'clock at two o'clock
23:26or four o'clock at eight o'clock.
23:28This has been repaired
23:30incorrectly with a bit
23:32and there's no giving it whatsoever.
23:35So what I need to do now
23:37is to make a new arm here,
23:39a nice flexible arm.
23:41And to do that, I'm just going to
23:43cut a piece of brass
23:45off this old dial,
23:47just roughly at the moment.
23:51So what I'm going to do now
23:53is just hammer it and that pushes
23:55the molecules together and makes it
23:57nice and springy.
24:03So that's made it nice and springy.
24:05I just need to cut this out now
24:07and smooth it off
24:09and then it'll be ready to fit.
24:11So that's made it nice and springy.
24:13I just need to cut this out now
24:15and smooth it off
24:17and then it'll be ready to fit.
24:42I've just got to remove this,
24:44pop this on and then
24:46that's probably good now for
24:48it could be another two or three hundred years,
24:50which is a lovely thought.
25:04Right, I think I've found the solution
25:06to my lining issue.
25:08The lining tissue was too big
25:10and the paper of the serviette
25:12was moving in different directions.
25:14I realised that by cutting
25:16the lining tissue into smaller pieces
25:18that allows me to control the paper
25:20much, much better.
25:22I've done the bottom half
25:24and it has worked extremely well.
25:26It's just a big sign of relief.
25:29Three down, one more to go.
25:41You've got the kitchen sink there.
25:43You've got everything else.
25:45Everything and the kitchen sink.
25:47How ever do you find anything
25:49that you're looking for?
25:51It's always the last one, isn't it?
25:53Yes, but don't forget,
25:55always start looking in the last place first.
25:57Ah, that's great advice.
25:59I'll forget that completely.
26:11Labouring over his repair,
26:13the reconstruction of Teddy Greaves'
26:15de-rusted tingling
26:17is proving a delicate operation
26:19for Dom.
26:22I'm using just a soft, lead-free solder
26:24so I don't have to get it too hot.
26:28I will admit that I'm more used to
26:30working on much bigger things.
26:32This is very small and very intricate.
26:36That might be all it needs.
26:41So far, so good.
26:43Yes.
26:45They're all quite nice and firmly in place.
26:47This is really good.
26:49I wonder now
26:51if it's going to tingle.
26:53Oh!
26:57That is quite promising.
26:59Once I get that in a cardboard tube,
27:01it will kind of amplify that sound.
27:03Hopefully.
27:11Now that I've made Teddy Greaves
27:13a new tummy panel,
27:15I can start putting everything back together.
27:17This is his original leg
27:19and I'm attaching it to the new fabric
27:21that we've made his tummy from.
27:25I could quite easily machine-stitch this,
27:27but there's something satisfying
27:29about doing this by hand.
27:31I can do this by hand
27:33and I can do this by hand
27:35and I can do this by hand
27:37and I can do this by hand
27:39and I can do this by hand.
27:41I can put a bit of love in every stitch.
27:53With all the holes
27:55of the strengthened serviette now filled,
27:57it's time for Angelina
27:59to camouflage her delicate repair.
28:01The only thing that's just remaining
28:03is for me to tone down the infill paper
28:05just a tiny bit to make it look
28:07kind of like an off-white colour.
28:09This is a dry pastel
28:13and in the more tricky areas
28:15like this one,
28:17I'll just use
28:19the powder of it.
28:23Tap it down.
28:25Just blend it in
28:27with a brush
28:29and I can already see
28:31that the colour is matching
28:33really well.
28:35I will continue working
28:37through the rest of the serviette
28:39and then I will have it ready
28:41for John and John to come and pick it up.
28:47This commemorative serviette
28:49pays tribute
28:51to 168 coal miners
28:53who lost their lives
28:55in the West Stanley Pit disaster
28:57of 1909.
29:01Angie, all done?
29:03Yes, I am.
29:05Let's have a look.
29:07That is very nice. I hope the guys love it.
29:09Me too.
29:13Hoping to preserve the history
29:15of Britain's once thriving coal industry
29:17for future generations,
29:19the two Johns
29:21are back.
29:23Hello.
29:25Welcome back, guys.
29:27Have you been thinking about the serviette
29:29quite a lot since it's been here?
29:31What are we going to do with it
29:33when we get it back?
29:35We only think it's right that it should go back up to West Stanley
29:37where it can be placed for everybody to see.
29:39There are still many families
29:41at West Stanley
29:43relative to these people,
29:45so it would be nice for them
29:47to actually see this.
29:49Shall we have a look?
29:51Yes, please.
29:57Goodness.
29:59That is truly amazing.
30:03Beautiful.
30:05That is amazing.
30:07Yes.
30:09The difference is far more
30:11than I ever expected
30:13with the infill.
30:15It's now recognisable as an object.
30:17It's so much cleaner,
30:19and you just focus
30:21on the names.
30:23The beautiful artwork around the sides,
30:25it's amazing.
30:27What does this symbolise to you both?
30:29It's a mark of all the people
30:31who's worked in the mining industry.
30:33It's also a mark
30:35of all the people who lost their lives,
30:37and that's why we'd like to preserve this
30:39and talk to the younger generations about it,
30:41making sure they don't forget.
30:43You're both doing a great job
30:45at making sure those names are never forgotten.
30:49Thank you for the trust.
30:51I really hope you'll be able to give more knowledge
30:53to people about the coal industry.
30:55Thank you so much.
30:57Thank you very much.
30:59Safe travels, guys.
31:01Thank you very much.
31:05That amount of people
31:07dying in one accident,
31:09when you rearrange this
31:11of the children that died,
31:15it makes me emotional.
31:17The serviette
31:19symbolises a way of life
31:21that's now gone,
31:23now it's in the state it's in.
31:25It'll remind generations
31:27for another hundred years or more
31:29that we'll never forget the sacrifice
31:31a lot of people made working in the pits.
31:49With one precious keepsake safely returned,
31:51someone of the younger generation
31:53has just arrived with another.
31:55For the attention of violin restorer
31:57Becky Houghton.
31:59It's so great to see you.
32:01It's been a while since you've been in the barn.
32:03It's so great to be back.
32:05It's lovely to be here.
32:07Thirteen-year-old Savannah
32:09and her mum Adelaida
32:11are hoping Becky can save a musical monument
32:13to their family's war-torn past.
32:15Hello.
32:17Hi.
32:19Wow.
32:21It's in a few pieces.
32:23Yes, it is.
32:25It's beautiful. Where is this from?
32:27It was owned by my
32:29great-grandfather's sister.
32:31Her name was Maria Zbeta Potocka.
32:33She lived in Poland.
32:35She played the violin
32:37as a hobby, but I'm told that
32:39she had a natural talent
32:41and she played
32:43until she unfortunately had to
32:45abandon her violin.
32:47Why did she give up the violin?
32:49Well, in early September 1939
32:51when the war started,
32:53Maria and her family
32:55had to flee the Germans,
32:57leaving my great-grandfather
32:59to look after his father.
33:01Maria had to leave this violin
33:03at home as she could only take
33:05the essentials.
33:07After the war ended,
33:09my great-grandfather, Joseph,
33:11went to the Red Cross to ask
33:13if they had any information
33:15about their family and unfortunately
33:17some witnesses had
33:19seen them around an area that
33:21had been heavily bombed, so my great-grandfather
33:23came to the conclusion that they
33:25had probably died.
33:27Oh, what a terrible loss.
33:29I think, you know, during the war
33:31my grandfather especially,
33:33there was that hope that they'd all
33:35be reunited at the end,
33:37which obviously unfortunately
33:39didn't come to fruition.
33:41My great-grandfather
33:43took care of this violin.
33:45He kept it as a keepsake of his sister.
33:47He gave it to his daughter
33:49who gave it to her daughter,
33:51my auntie, and then
33:53she gave it to me.
33:55Wow.
33:57It's a real family instrument then.
33:59Yeah.
34:01So when did the violin come to England?
34:03So it's obviously in Poland for quite a long time
34:05after the war.
34:07Very long.
34:09But when my aunt was there, she decided
34:11to buy a violin and she brought it back
34:13to England in 2000.
34:15Okay, so the vital question is
34:17do you play the violin?
34:19I want to play the violin.
34:21Oh, that's good.
34:23It has so much emotion to it.
34:25It's the most beautiful
34:27instrument that I've ever seen.
34:29Oh.
34:31That is lovely.
34:33What things do you think need to be repaired?
34:35Oh gosh, where to start?
34:37It's been
34:39through a bit.
34:41Obviously this is
34:43missing here. I think our main
34:45thing would just be to get it playable again.
34:47I was really close to my grandfather.
34:49I know how much it meant to him.
34:51He lost five members of his family
34:53and the violin is pretty much
34:55all that he had left of them.
34:57I just know he would be really happy
34:59to know that it is being passed on.
35:01So Savannah needs to give it a new lease
35:03of life then. Hopefully.
35:05It's been lovely to meet you both.
35:07Lovely to meet you too.
35:09We'll see you soon.
35:17What an amazing
35:19story. I mean such sadness
35:21but such a pathway down
35:23from the past to the future really.
35:25And Savannah is the future.
35:27What a strong family as well. It's incredible.
35:29I think you've got your work cut out
35:31but I don't doubt it's going to be
35:33fantastic.
35:37Well, Savannah's violin
35:39is a lovely violin for any student
35:41to learn on. We obviously
35:43have the issue of the fingerboard
35:45being completely adrift.
35:47What I'm slightly more concerned
35:49about is this lack
35:51of a front corner
35:53here. So I'm going to have to
35:55replace that with some new wood
35:57and then blend that in and make that
35:59seamless repair. But really first things
36:01first, the whole of the
36:03set up, the strings, the strings
36:05the tailpiece and everything, I just need to take off
36:07so I can really see what I'm up against.
36:29Amanda.
36:31What have you got for us?
36:33You can have the first shake.
36:39That is brilliant!
36:43Yeah? Yeah. Is that it?
36:45Absolutely perfect. Thank you so much.
36:47You are so welcome. Good luck with the rest of it.
36:49Thank you. See you later.
36:57With his repair of the Dutch clock
36:59also ticking along nicely,
37:01Steve has ventured outside
37:03to try his hand at something
37:05new. I've got all of the
37:07repairs to the mechanism done now
37:09so I'm very, very happy with that.
37:11I've just got to get it all assembled.
37:13But I thought I'd start on some
37:15of the case as well now.
37:17I noticed that there was a little bit of the mount
37:19missing and I thought it might be nice
37:21to cast a little
37:23bit up and add the missing
37:25part to this mount.
37:27And I've seen
37:29Brenton doing some of this
37:31casting before and I thought, right,
37:33I'm going to have a go at this.
37:35I've never done it before so I'm hoping
37:37it's going to actually work out all right.
37:39So I'm just going to
37:41push this in to this casting
37:43sand and
37:45hopefully
37:47this will take a good impression.
37:51Good.
37:53That's come out really well.
37:55The next stage is
37:57I've got to heat up
37:59the lead until it's molten and then
38:01pour it into the mould.
38:15Melting nicely.
38:27Melting nicely.
38:45Oh, look at this.
38:47That's worked really well.
38:49Oh my goodness, that's good.
38:53I'm chuffed with that.
38:55I've got all the detail that I wanted
38:57and I just need to
38:59cut it to shape to fit in
39:01with the existing one and
39:03Lucia can work her magic
39:05and make it look like the old one.
39:17I've got all the surface dirt
39:19off of the clock face and
39:21the gold and now I'm just
39:23putting in a base coat for my painting
39:25which will come afterwards.
39:29I'm really interested in these
39:31little miniature paintings that are in each corner.
39:33This is a hunter
39:35and there's a dog in there
39:37somewhere, although it's not quite obvious
39:39but I can see a tail.
39:53I've completely dismantled
39:55Savannah's violin now.
39:57The first thing I'm going to do is
39:59turn my attention to the fingerboard.
40:01The reason that fingerboards fall off
40:03is usually because there's not been
40:05enough glue in there to hold it on
40:07and then in conditions where it's
40:09very humid or damp or cold
40:11then they can become detached.
40:13So I'm going to cut a channel
40:15in the bottom of the fingerboard
40:17which will allow the glue to collect
40:19and then I'm going to cut
40:21which will allow the glue to collect
40:23and give me a stronger joint.
40:27All I need to do is just cut a fairly
40:29shallow channel. That will give the
40:31glue somewhere to go.
40:33If I was making a new violin I would do this as well.
40:41And that's probably
40:43all I need.
40:47I'm using a hot glue.
40:49It's been traditionally used forever
40:51in violin making.
41:01The glue gels incredibly quickly.
41:03I don't have much time
41:05before it starts setting this fingerboard
41:07in the position that it's in.
41:09It's always really nerve-wracking
41:11doing this job.
41:13If it's not in the correct position
41:15I'll have to take it off and start again.
41:19It looks pretty good.
41:21I think that's gone on
41:23exactly how I wanted it to.
41:25It's not slipped or slid around.
41:29I'm going to leave this now to dry
41:31to make a firm bond.
41:43We've actually got Teddy Greaves
41:45all back together again
41:47and now I've got to put the details
41:49on his face.
41:51It's quite nerve-wracking
41:53when you have nothing to go by
41:55but Sarah remembers
41:57the little felt eyes, particularly
41:59in a slate blue grey.
42:01So we've done our best
42:03to find some slate blue grey.
42:05She's got to fall
42:07in love with this face the minute that she
42:09sees him and that's actually a lot of
42:11pressure. And this is the all
42:13important bit. I've got to get
42:15these eyes in the right place.
42:17I think they're going to be about here.
42:23Straight up the back
42:25of the head.
42:39That's it, that's it.
42:41Oh wow.
42:43This is the first time
42:45Teddy Greaves has been able to see
42:47in I don't know how long.
42:55This well-loved
42:57Teddy has seen Sarah
42:59through her darkest hours
43:01living with spina bifida.
43:05How's he looking? Adorable.
43:09Now Sarah's back
43:11with son James to
43:13declaim her lifelong companion.
43:15Hi. Hello.
43:17Hello. Welcome
43:19back. Thank you.
43:21So how are you feeling? Excited.
43:23Yeah? Oh that's good.
43:25Yeah, missed him.
43:27So are you ready to see him and to be
43:29reunited? Oh yes.
43:31Yes. Shall we?
43:33Ah.
43:39He's fluffy.
43:41He's fluffy, he's got some
43:43eyes. Can I pick him up?
43:45Of course, he's all yours.
43:47He's got blue eyes,
43:49look. Oh my goodness me.
43:51Oh he's so lovely.
43:53He's really cute, isn't he? He's got a nose
43:55and a mouth. I'm so
43:57pleased that you like his face because
43:59for us, that was our biggest
44:01concern. Back to
44:03the old teddy.
44:07Can you hear something?
44:11Do you remember that noise?
44:13No. No?
44:15He had a completely crushed
44:17mechanism called a tingling.
44:19Fortunately
44:21Dom was able to repair it.
44:23Really? Yes.
44:25Oh amazing. How are you
44:27feeling now you're looking at him?
44:31I don't think
44:33I'm going to put him down for a while.
44:39You're so welcome.
44:41He's all yours now, you can take him home
44:43and enjoy him. Thank you very
44:45much indeed. Thank you so much for
44:47all you've done. You're really welcome. Absolute pleasure.
44:49This is goodbye Teddy Greaves.
44:51Yeah. Goodbye.
44:53Bye bye.
44:57I'm so relieved
44:59I'm so relieved.
45:01So relieved. Well done.
45:03Are you okay?
45:07It feels priceless to have him back, it's
45:09amazing. He's heard
45:11many things that probably you couldn't
45:13share with a parent.
45:15He's always been my strength
45:17and my confidant.
45:19And now we can look back at you
45:21forever more. Yeah.
45:23Very precious.
45:29The beautiful
45:31clock face. Fantastic.
45:33Oh look at that.
45:35Wow. These little strips
45:37that was the original bit and then you've made that one
45:39so I've kind of toned it in
45:41a little bit on top of your gilding.
45:43Thank you so much.
45:45All of this is brilliant.
45:47I look forward to seeing the clock when you put it in.
45:57I look forward to seeing the clock when you put it all together.
45:59Thank you very much. Okay.
46:03While Steve sets to rebuilding
46:05the clock with its bespoke
46:07adornments, Becky's
46:09repair of the broken violin
46:11is also picking up pace.
46:13The fingerboard
46:15is now nicely aligned, all in position
46:17exactly where I want it.
46:19The next thing, I'm going to need to look at this corner.
46:21So I think my
46:23first job is going to be
46:25to tidy up these ragged edges.
46:29This band around the edge is called the purfling.
46:31It's made of three
46:33strips of pear wood which are stained
46:35so you have a black, then a white
46:37and then a black strip.
46:39The grain of the purfling goes into
46:41the violin vertically and it
46:43provides a protective band all the way
46:45around the edge of an instrument.
46:47This stops any potential damage
46:49getting further onto the violin
46:51which is exactly what it's done here.
46:53It has a purpose as well as looking pretty
46:55so I'm being very careful
46:57not to cut into it, not to
46:59damage that.
47:05I think I've got that where I want it now.
47:07I found some wood
47:09that I used
47:11to make a violin with and I always
47:13keep the offcuts and I
47:15think the grain lines might match
47:17the grain lines that I've got here
47:19and if I can glue on a grain
47:21line as well it will make the joints stronger.
47:23So I'm going to cut some very
47:25oversized pieces of wood here.
47:27If I cut them nice and large I'll have plenty of wood
47:29to hold onto and shape
47:31how I need to shape.
47:51So
48:07I'm now taking
48:09down the excess wood that I've glued
48:11on to repair this missing corner.
48:13I want it nice and curved
48:15and rounded like the existing one.
48:21This corner is now smooth.
48:36The next stage is going to be to use my filler varnish just to fill in all those little crevices.
48:45When it's dry, I'll be able to sand all of this back.
48:49And then it's going to make a really good base layer to retouch on top of.
49:03Breathing new life into a very different family heirloom has been Steve's priority.
49:08Good, that's the mechanism in now.
49:11It's nice and firm.
49:13Lucia's done all of the paintwork on the case and the dial, which is brilliant.
49:18Just need to get the gilded lead decorations back onto this, get the dial on, get the
49:23hands on.
49:24And then I can get that tick back that Angela remembers and reminds her of her dad.
49:46The slow march of time had left this treasured timepiece with a dicky ticker and in desperate
49:53need of attention.
49:54It's looking good, isn't it?
49:55Oh, it's looking really good.
49:56It's so beautiful to see it all together again, isn't it?
50:01A reminder of Angela's larger-than-life late father, its familiar chime will echo down
50:07the ages once more.
50:09Hello.
50:10Hi.
50:11Good to see you again.
50:15How are you doing?
50:16I'm very well, thank you.
50:17How are you?
50:18Good, thank you.
50:19Are you excited?
50:20I am really excited and fascinated to see what you've been able to do.
50:25Would you like to see it?
50:26I can't wait.
50:27Good.
50:28Oh, my goodness.
50:29Oh, wow.
50:30That is amazing.
50:31What have you done?
50:47It's utterly transformed.
50:48Goodness, look at the work on the inside.
50:54Lucia's done a lot of work to the paint work and all the gold work.
50:58Oh, it looks beautiful.
51:00Thank you both so much.
51:04Let me just swing the pendulum.
51:06Oh, wow.
51:09Very regular.
51:12It actually strikes as well.
51:19Oh, wow.
51:22Three times.
51:25That is superb.
51:28I haven't got words to express how much this means to us all.
51:38For the older generation, my generation, and for the future generations,
51:43it absolutely symbolises our beloved dad.
51:47And I kind of think he'll be looking down, absolutely beaming from ear to ear.
51:54He'll be so very proud.
51:57It's kind of brought him back alive.
52:00And that is just the best, best gift ever.
52:04I can't thank you both enough.
52:07I've so enjoyed working on it and going through all those repairs.
52:11We'll get it packed up and we'll get it out to you now.
52:14Well, thank you and goodbye.
52:16Bye-bye now.
52:17Bye.
52:18Bye.
52:20When I heard the clock ticking, it brings a lot of comfort.
52:24It's a living, true memento of my dad's life and his passions and his character.
52:31So it keeps his memory and his spirit alive.
52:35And I can't think of anything else that does that.
52:38So it's really, really special.
52:54I'm really pleased with how Savannah's violin's turning out.
53:07The corners come out really well and I've done all the retouching on it
53:11and tried to age it in with the rest of the varnish to follow the patina.
53:15I think it blends in pretty well.
53:17Now all I need to do is put the new strings on.
53:20I've already fitted two. I can now go ahead and fit the rest of them.
53:24Now I'm happy with the string heights here and the fit and the look of everything.
53:29I'm so excited to get this back to Savannah.
53:32She was so passionate about keeping this violin in the family and played again.
53:38I've got a last couple of adjustments to make to get this really perfect
53:42and then it can go back to Savannah and Adelaide.
53:48This violin belonged to a talented musician,
53:51but she and most of her family did not survive the horrors of the Second World War.
53:57Honestly, really, really good.
53:59Yeah, it's come out quite well, hasn't it?
54:01I just want to hear it now.
54:03Now her great-great niece Savannah, accompanied by mum Adelaide,
54:08hopes to keep her legacy alive by learning to play.
54:13Hello. Hi.
54:16You excited?
54:17It would just be so awesome to see it finally restored.
54:20It's been so special to all the people in my family.
54:22I want to make it special too.
54:25Well, do you want to see it?
54:27Yes, please.
54:28Come on then.
54:35Wow.
54:38Oh my goodness.
54:40She's speechless.
54:43It's so beautiful.
54:46Oh my, wow.
54:48I can't believe it could even look like that.
54:52I feel like you can really appreciate how beautiful it is now,
54:55and the beauty and the wood and everything and the character.
55:00Everything that's been through, how many people, how many people's hands that's passed through.
55:03Yeah.
55:04And you can see the evidence of that still.
55:06I've left the patina as was, so it's got your family history still in it.
55:11Yes, yes.
55:12Visible.
55:13Oh, this just means so much to everybody, especially for my granddad's side of the family.
55:18We don't have anything really apart from this violin.
55:22Nothing else has been passed down.
55:24I can only imagine how happy he would have been to see it like this again,
55:28because I know it meant a lot to him, and I think he would be happy that it still means a lot to us.
55:33I'm wondering if you might like to be the first person to play it, if I show you what to do.
55:38Yes, please.
55:39You would?
55:40Yes.
55:41So, you're going to sit on your shoulder and tuck it into your chin like you're hugging it.
55:45Lovely.
55:46Now, I'm going to give you the bow.
55:47Okay.
55:48Bring your arm forward.
55:50Are you ready?
55:51Ready.
55:52Okay.
55:58Wow.
56:00That's so amazing that that could come out of that violin.
56:04Just wait till you get going.
56:07Would you like me to play you something so you can hear the full range of it?
56:11Yes.
56:25That's amazing.
56:26Beautiful.
56:27Wow.
56:28And just a couple of lessons, you'll be able to do that too.
56:31Oh, I hope so.
56:33And thank you so much for repairing it.
56:35I can't express how happy this makes me.
56:38Bye-bye.
56:39Bye-bye.
56:40Thanks again.
56:44Those smiles said it all.
56:45Yeah, absolutely.
56:49I'm just so happy.
56:50And it was really, really lovely.
56:52I felt so connected to my family when I played it.
56:54It's just so amazing how even after 100 years, you can still feel that kind of connection.
57:00Now that Savannah's going to be able to play it, it's going to be able to bring a lot of happiness.
57:05As well as remembering a sad time, we're going to be able to really enjoy it.
57:13If you have a treasured possession that holds a Christmas memory
57:17and would like to ask the team for a special festive fix,
57:21please get in touch at bbc.co.uk
57:25and join us in The Repair Shop.
57:55The Repair Shop