The Repair Shop

S08:E39 - Wilma's Table, Rodney's Radio, Grans Suede Shoes

Today, a chance for woodwork expert Will Kirk to showcase his impressive carving skills, when Wilma from Bristol arrives with her late mother's occasional table. Wilma's mother, Eunice, immigrated to the UK from Jamaica as a young woman in the early 1960s with very little to her name. Only the determination to make something of herself. She worked hard her entire life and raised three daughters as a single mother, instilling in them the importance of education and kindness. The table is made of dark walnut wood with a veneered top and was Eunice's pride and joy. Wilma remembers it in her childhood home always covered with cloth to protect it but time eventually took its toll - several pieces of the veneer have lifted off and a section of the decorative moulding around the top has broken off. Will carefully carves a replacement piece and comes up with an ingenious plan to find the perfect colour match for the missing veneered patches.Next to arrive at the barn are father and son Stephen and Ollie with a challenge for vintage electronics expert Mark Stuckey. The 1950s lime green, Bakelite radio originally belonged to Stephen's grandfather and has been passed from father to son down the generations. Stephen's clearest memories of it were when his father Rodney used it in his workshop. Rodney was an accomplished carpenter and was forever embarking on ambitious house renovations, including digging out a cellar single handedly, with this trusty radio keeping him company. Ollie, Stephen's son, also remembers the radio in situ in the workshop and would love to use it…. that's if Mark can resuscitate it. Fortunately, Rodney wasn't just a talented joiner but an organised fellow too and he kept the radios original instructions and service manual which proves extremely helpful in its repair. Finally it's a task for cobbler Dean Westmoreland, when he works wonders on a pair of very tired suede shoes full of happy memories. Bev from Nottingham inherited them from her lovely grandmother, Betsy. Young Bev loved these shoes and every time she'd visit her gran she'd pop them on and march about in them…. enjoying the loud clomping sound the heels made. Betsy clearly remembered her granddaughter's love of them, as they were left specifically to her when she passed away. They could really do with some TLC, which Dean is only too happy to administer, and Bev is over the moon.