The Repair Shop

S06:E02 - Workman's Vice, Midge the Monkey and Little Joe's Wife

Today in the Repair Shop, Jay Blades and the team bring three treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life.Toy restorers Julie and Amanda, welcome a stuffed monkey called Midge into the barn. Owner Charles received the toy primate as a Christmas present in the 1960s, but when he turned 14 his market trader dad put Midge to work on his Barnsley Market stall. To attract shoppers, the monkey hung from the stall whilst an invisible pulley waved his hand. Now retired, the years of hard graft have left Midge in dire need of a Bear Ladies makeover. Metal expert Dominic Chinea faces the heavy-duty task of unseizing a metal vice. Owner Daniel cherishes the multipurpose tool which has inspired four generations of his Derbyshire family to revive, make and mend. Seized up and rusty from years in the garden, Dom enlists Jay's help to try to prize the stubborn vice apart. It becomes a case of brute strength to get the vice working again in time for Daniel's return. And wood wizard Will Kirk puts his carving skills to the test as he tackles a Scandinavian folk figurine that has been mauled by a mischievous puppy. Owner Paula treasures the sculpture as a memento of her grandfather who was honoured for his work in the wood pulp industry by the King of Sweden.