The Repair Shop

Today in the Repair Shop, Jay Blades and the team bring four treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life.The barn's first visitor is Toni Hazel from Sussex, she's brought along something really special, a well-travelled piece of world war two history, that she hopes Hat Restorer Ian Harding can take command of. The RAF cap was her father's, worn proudly when he served as a pilot, flying a Lancaster Bomber. The cap is tired and worn but still bears the distinctive kink in the rim that the whole family adore. Ian carefully crafts a sturdy new peak from scratch to replace the badly disintegrating original and reinforces the fabric, ensuring it stands proud again. Toni brings her nephew Sam with her to collect the treasure. He was recently bequeathed the hat and the pair are delighted with Ian's work, complete with signature kink.Next Alan Reed from Warwick is next to arrive, he hopes upholstery expert Hannah Weston Smith can restore his little piece of history. The leather armchair belonged to his grandparents in occupied France and narrowly escaped being seized by the Nazis. Structurally the chair is weak with many of the ninety year old springs broken and the leather scratched and ripped. Hannah and Suzie work in tandem to rescue the chair from the brink. Hannah completely rebuilds the seat and Suzie manages to salvage the original leather. Alan is delighted with the work on this precious link back to his parents and grandparents.And finally, Art conservator Lucia Scalisi preserves a much loved piece of a village school's history, when headmistress Gill Davies from Cambridgeshire arrives with a plaque bearing the original deeds from 1838. Lucia discovers the text is painted on to a piece of metal rather than wood so calls on Dom for advice. She painstakingly cleans the treasure and restores the lost sections of paint and the refreshed deeds are returned to the proud staff and pupils of Barrington Church Primary School.