The Repair Shop

Today in the Repair Shop, Jay Blades and the team bring three treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life. First to arrive at the barn is a musical challenge for the barn's instrument expert Pete Woods. John Barnes and his daughter Hazel have a very precious cornet that once belonged to John's wife, and Hazel's mum, Kath. Kath started playing the cornet when she was just 6 years old, and first met her future husband John in the Cleethorpes band they both played in as children. Kath and John married at 20 and were together for 58 years until Kath was diagnosed with cancer in 2019 and died last year. Kath passed on her passion for music to her daughter Hazel, and now Hazel hopes to be able play this cornet again in memory of her mum. A Repair Shop team effort is required from Pete Woods and Suzie Fletcher to get the cornet, and its case, looking and sounding it's best.  Next to be called into action are the barn's soft toy specialists, Amanda Middleditch and Julie Tatchell. Keith Jones form Cheshire has a small, but very important young monkey in need of their care. The monkey belonged to Peter, Keith's partner of nearly 15 years, before he died after catching Covid. Although Keith has always heard about monkey, he had never seen him until going through Peter's possessions he came across him in a small box. Sadly, monkey was showing all the signs of an ageing toy that had been loved for many decades, and Keith is hoping the bear repair pair can work their magic and get Monkey back on his feet.Finally, an important period of British history encapsulated in a fragile and fading autograph book. The book belonged to Helen Brooke's great aunt, Cynthia Maguire, a Suffragette who campaigned for votes for women in the early 20th century. The book contains messages and signatures of many of the most notable suffragettes of the time, including Emmeline and Sylvia Pankhurst. This incredibly important historical record of the campaign for women's votes is in the hands of the barn's book binding expert Chris Shaw and embroidery specialist Sara Dennis to ensure it is preserved for generations to come.