The Repair Shop

S08:E20 - Navy Letter Hat Box, JFK Chair, Walkman

An item that played a part in political history arrives at The Repairs shop, joined by an unorthodox container for a collection of wartime love-letters and an iconic gadget from the 1980s. Arriving for an appointment with expert Brenton West are brother and sister Kay Vann and Peter Jeff who've brought with them a hat box. But whilst the box itself is in need of repair – it's when combined with its contents that it has become truly special for the siblings and their large extended family. The hat box belonged to their dad Albert who was enlisted in the Navy in 1941 shortly after meeting their mother Joan. Throughout the course of the war Albert and Joan exchanged hundreds of love letters, all of which came to be stored in the hat box. Now somewhat battered, and with Albert's name missing from the engraved plate on the top, the siblings are entrusting the hat box and letters to Brenton to revive them to a condition befitting such a wonderful memento of their parent's early courtship. With dexterity and skill Brenton injects some romance and life back into the old hat box. For upholstery expert Sonnaz Nooranvary a repair with political significance arrives at her workbench. Michael, originally from Galway in Ireland, would like her to restore a curved wooden chair that once hosted the derriere of a 20th century political titan. In 1963 the chair, owned by Michael's parent's Mary and Kevin, was used during a visit to Galway by then President John F. Kennedy. The U.S president, of Irish descent, was on a rare trip to receive the 'Freedom of Galway' which required some sitting and some signing. But organisers had forgotten to provide seating arrangements, so Michael's parents saved the day with a loan of the now treasured chair. But with dry, cracked leather and a moth-eaten cushion, Sonnaz has her work cut out to restore this tiny bit of political history back to its former glory. The final restoration falls to electronics maestro Mark Stuckey who's faced with dissecting and reassembling an iconic eighties accessory brought in by Rich from Essex. Presenting a humble Walkman Rich explains that the item belonged to his older sister Tracey, who handed it down with some cassettes in the mid-80s. Sadly Tracey passed away in 2017 and Rich attempted a repair on the broken Walkman with no luck getting it working again. He hopes that Mark can pinpoint the circuit board problem and get the mechanism working so that he can once again listen to music on the device that reminds him of his beloved older sister.