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Episode 1

Jay Blades and the team restore a refugee family鈥檚 wooden trunk, a memorial trophy, a wobbly toy cyclist and a bell used by generations of East End ice cream men.

Jay Blades and the team bring four treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life.

Metal expert Dominic Chinea and wood restorer Will Kirk join forces to work on a very special wooden travelling trunk. It contained all the worldly possessions of a family of Polish refugees as they travelled across continents looking for a new home after the Second World War, eventually arriving in Britain aboard the Empire Windrush in 1948. Theresa Sothcott and her sister-in-law Jane from Leicester tell the fascinating story of their mother, aunt and grandmother as Dom and Will work out how best to conserve this precious but battered heirloom.

Next to test the Repair Shop鈥檚 knowledge and expertise are Gil and Sue Duffy from Worcestershire, with a delicate and damaged parcel for the attention of ceramics expert Kirsten Ramsay. Their glass memorial trophy was created in honour of their daughter Krissy, a keen horse rider and racing driver, who died at just 31 years of age. Glass restorations are notoriously challenging, so Kirsten must use all her skill to get the damaged trophy ready for presentation at the annual classic car race sheld in Krissy鈥檚 memory.

Clock restorer Steve Fletcher has trouble keeping an ageing, wobbly toy cyclist on the straight and narrow. Brought in by father and son Martin and Richard Scott, the cyclist has been in the family for over 70 years, but it now needs Steve鈥檚 attention to keep him on the road for future generations.

Finally, silversmith Brenton West tackles a memento of a once-flourishing family ice cream business: a brass bell that was used to herald the presence of one of the first ice cream men in the East End of London. Michelle Amato鈥檚 grandfather, originally from Italy, arrived in Newham in London in the late 1800s and would peddle his wares from a push-cart, ringing the bell. His son, Michelle鈥檚 father, followed in his footsteps, exchanging the cart for a van but always using the same bell. Brenton now faces the tough task of repairing and restoring the damage and wear of over 100 years of use to bring it back to its former glory.

59 minutes

Last on

Fri 16 Apr 2021 08:00

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Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Jay Blades
Narrator Bill Paterson
Executive Producer Hannah Lamb
Executive Producer Rob Butterfield
Series Producer Tanveer Bari
Series Producer Helen Page
Production Company Ricochet Limited

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