The Repair Shop

S07:E32 - Deborah's Doll, RAF Dress Boots, POW Ring

Today in the Repair Shop, Jay Blades and the team breathe new life into three family heirlooms, reviving cherished memories.First, talented toy restorers Julie Tatchell and Amanda Middleditch greet Deborah Aloba who's brought her Afro Caribbean doll Lulu to be fixed. Deborah was gifted the doll recently by her old friend, Joy. Lulu originally belonged to Joy's mother who showed great kindness to Deborah when they were young women, always making her feel like one of the family. When Joy's mother passed away Joy knew how much Deborah loved the doll and decided to gift it to her friend. However, Lulu is now very fragile – her head has had to be taped to her body, her red dress ripped and her face chipped and scratched. Julie and Amanda take the little doll under their wings to make her beautiful again.Peter Burton and his sister Nicole are next to arrive with their late father's RAF mess boots. Their father, Officer Mike Burton wore them to smart occasions and dances. He and their mother loved to dance and were well known for their jiving. Both Peter and Nicole describe an affectionate, charismatic man and these boots serve as a reminder of their late dad. Peter has inherited the boots and is partial to a dance himself. He'd love nothing more than to wear them just as his dad did. The barn's cobbler Dean Westmoreland is impressed by the workmanship on these well used handmade black boots and goes to great lengths to get them dancefloor ready for Peter.And Master goldsmith Richard Talman is on hand to help Sidney Harbor and his daughter Alison, when they deliver a bespoke signet ring that was gifted to Sidney's father in extraordinary circumstances. It was forged from steel spoons, as a thank you, by a German prisoner of war who spent Christmas day with Sidney's family at the end of the war. The German jeweller was based at a nearby POW camp when local families were asked if they would be willing to welcome POWs for the day. The family became friends with several POWs during that time and Sidney, who was just a boy, remembers them all fondly. This project is a first for Richard who is more accustomed to working with precious metals, but he rises to the challenge to restore the ring that Sidney feared was broken beyond repair.