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.Bicycle restorer Tim Gunn is the first to receive his project – a trusty yet rusty tricycle, wheeled in by Dorothea Stevenson and her daughter Katie. Father Christmas delivered it to Dorothea over sixty years ago and it has been enjoyed by generations of children. She remembers those halcyon days of whizzing around the back yard with cousins and as the years passed, it was used by her own children, then nieces and nephews. However, all the overzealous peddling has taken its toll. The front forks are bent, the saddle is crumbling, the frame is rust ridden and scuffed. Dorothea and Katie would love Tim to refurbish it so that the newest addition to the family, baby Bronte, can also experience the joy the tricycle brings. Suzie tackles the saddle and replaces the missing saddle bag, while Tim goes all out to revive the treasured trike. Elayne Gardner is next at the barn with her parents' wedding album. The album was created in the early 60s and is now very frail so she's hoping bookbinder Chris Shaw can help to rescue it.  Her parents met and fell in love in Jamaica and came to the UK with many others as part of the Windrush Generation. They were devoted to each other for over 50 years and, now that Elaine's mother has passed away and her father suffers from dementia, Elaine feels it's important for the entire family to preserve this book so that it can live on. The cover is missing, electrical tape holds much of it together and Elaine is concerned that the beautiful photographs of her beloved parents on their special day will no longer be protected. The final visitor brings a treat for ceramics specialist Kirsten Ramsay – a Chinese, porcelain figurine of a Buddhist goddess. The proud owner is Mickey Adagra. He grew up in Mumbai and spent every holiday with his aunt and uncle in the countryside. This unusual figurine fascinated him as a boy due to a special feature - when filled with water, drips fall from her hand into the mouth of awaiting carp fish at her feet. She was gifted to him as an adult but sadly by that time she had sustained several injuries, including a detached feeding hand. She remained damaged for over 50 years. Kirsten is just as charmed by the figurine as Mickey is and repairs her, hoping that she can perform her feeding trick once again.