The Repair Shop

S06:E33 - Silver Tea Set, Papa's Post Box & Leather Desk Folder

Today in the Repair Shop, Jay Blades and the team bring three treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life.Up first is Sue Kent from Manchester, with an heirloom – and a guilty secret. She's hoping silversmith Brenton West can help restore a prized tea set given to her by her uncle and godfather John. Sadly, a collapsed kitchen shelf has knocked a fair few dents into the family silver, and as a result it's been hidden away in a cupboard for nearly 10 years. This has left poor Sue wracked with guilt about the accidental damage. She is desperate to see it restored and gleaming once more. Brenton rolls up his sleeves and gets to work. Next to arrive is Sarah Lindsay from Scotland, she's hoping Dominic Chinea's expertise in metals can salvage this unusual family relic: an old cast iron post box. Sarah's family heritage is linked to the post office. Her great grandfather, grandfather and her dad were all proud post men. The family call the post box 'Papa's post-box' after her grandfather Angus, known as Gus. He was in the Royal Mail for over 40 years and the Post box was a retirement gift. It has been standing steadfast in the family garden since the 80s, but over 40 years of exposure to Scottish weather has taken its toll, and the key to access the letters was lost long ago. Dom is only too happy to set to the challenge and help Sarah revive this much-loved tribute to her Papa.Next at the barn is Philip Birkenstein from Buckinghamshire. He has a precious keepsake that symbolises his family's wartime experience of the 1930s and 40s – and it needs Suzie Fletcher's leatherwork expertise. Phillip's parents grew up in Germany, and sadly experienced the worst of the Nazi regime, before managing to flee and escape to England, where they met and married. When they fled, they left all their possessions behind them arriving in the UK with very little. Phillip's item is a leather folder, intricately detailed, it is a precious and important piece of his heritage, as it is one of the only items, his parents were able to salvage from their family home in Germany. Suzie has a tricky challenge on her hands as reviving the perished leather folder is slow progress and fiddly work. However, she's determined to do justice to this important piece of Phillip's family history.