Enter a workshop filled with expert craftspeople, bringing loved pieces of family history and the memories they hold back to life. A heartwarming antidote to throwaway culture.
Season 10 - Episode 8
Jay Blades and the team bring three treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life.
Master cobbler Dean Westmoreland is put through his paces when Neil Scott and his granddaughter Saadia arrive with a custom-made pair of running shoes, complete with metal spikes on the soles. Neil wore these racing spikes in countless running events throughout his life. He began running in the 1940s and twice won gold at the Amateur Athletics Association 100 yards event. He has just celebrated his 90th birthday and would like to have the shoes preserved to stand testament to his impressive achievements and remind him of those halcyon days. It certainly is a marathon restoration - the shoes are so dry that the leather is disintegrating, and a tear close to the sole requires an ingenious fix.
The next arrivals are Nigel and Karen Garry, who are here to bring ceramics expert Kirsten Ramsay an unusual side table that raises a smile or two in the barn. Made of textured resin, it is in the shape of a bulldog in a suit and monocle, who stands obediently holding a drinks tray. Nigel is registered blind and likes to surround himself with tactile objects like this comical creation, and the bulldog barman has become part of their family. However, when the couple were moving house, an unfortunate turn of events left the bulldog with a missing ear and a major crack down his back. Nigel now has nowhere to place his gin and tonic, so he hopes Kirsten can repair his cherished chum.
Art conservator Lucia Scalisi has her skills put to the test when Sophy Bellis and her son Harry deliver a portrait of Sophy as a little girl. Sophy grew up in the 1960s on the same street as the artist Roger Hampson, and Sophy’s mum requested that her daughter sit for him. The resulting oil painting brought Sophy’s mum’s much joy and hung in her living room for all to admire. Over the years, the paint has become dry and is now flaking off the canvas at an alarming rate. Sophy always intended to have it restored for her mum, but sadly time ran out, which she feels badly about. Now is her chance to have the beautiful piece of work revitalised to remind her of her lovely mum.
The final item really strikes a chord with organ restorer David Burville. Norman Kench and his daughter Sarah have brought in the town of Henley-in-Arden’s barrel organ, which is in dire need of David’s expertise. The organ has played a major role in community celebrations and fundraising events for decades, but it is now scuffed, shabby and terribly tuneless. This project is a huge undertaking for David, but he rolls up his sleeves and cannot wait to start work.
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Thank you,
skorpion.
