The Repair Shop

S08:E17 - Heavy Horse Bells, Mark's Mid-Century Chair, Colin's Toy Car

The repair shop is alive with noise and colour as the experts bring their skills to a set of horse bells and a stunning mid-century lounge chair.First into the barn is Heather from Abergavenny. She's brought with her a bespoke set of bells mounted to a harness that at one time would've sat proudly on a working shire horse. The noisy bells were used as an effective warning system – alerting anybody close that a heavy working horse was on the way through. Decades of use have taken their toll and the wooden frame of the harness is now broken whilst the decorative leather is also in need of thorough restoration. To fix the bells and harness requires Suzie Fletcher and Dominic Chinea to join forces on a repair that means Heather can finally put the beautiful bells on display for all to see. Meanwhile, visitor Nicki has a unique mid-century chair she needs expert Sonnaz Nooranvary to restore to its former glory. The sleekly ergonomic chair belonged to husband Mark who sadly passed away after a cancer diagnosis. The chair was handed down from Mark's father and was a comforting place for Mark to sit during his final few years. One of the chair's timber legs has completely snapped meaning it can't be sat in for fear of collapse – and the once vibrant green upholstery is torn and faded. Sonnaz's sympathetic and skilful repair returns the chair to the comforting and cherished memento that Nicki was dreaming of. Last to arrive at the barn are father and son Colin and Steven who have a job for expert Steve Fletcher. He's tasked with reconstructing a very special toy car that was gifted to Colin for Christmas in 1938. The mechanical car accompanied Colin when he was evacuated during WW2 and served as a comforting reminder of home. Years of enthusiastic play have caused the car's mechanism to stop working – and despite previous attempts at repair it's not worked for over 30 years. Steve's determination to use as much of the car's original mechanism for a truly faithful restoration leaves Colin and Steven both astounded and truly grateful.