The Repair Shop

S05:E23 - Writing Bureau, Ploughing Trophies, Dancing Clog

Writing Bureau, Ploughing Trophies, Dancing ClogToday in the Repair Shop, Jay Blades and the team bring three treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life.Furniture restorer Will Kirk is tasked with repairing a writing bureau. Owners Kathryn Lovell and her dad John from Northamptonshire have a family writing bureau that's been rendered unusable and they'd love Will's help. The bureau belonged to Kathryn's grandfather, who ran the village post office for decades and was loved by all. He sat for hours at the bureau, writing letters and doing his books. The family cherishes this piece of furniture and are keen to use it, just as he did. However, the wood is warped and split, the desk panel that folds down has suffered a nasty fracture and a main hinge is broken. Will sands back the wood, glues and makes flush all the splits in the panels and secures the writing surface.  Brenton tends to the snapped hinge and when Kathryn and her father return to be reunited with it, memories of grandad come flooding back.Next in through the barn door are Liz McMordie and her brother Sam from Northern Ireland, hoping precious metal expert Brenton West can preserve a link to their rich farming heritage. The two gold plated trophies awarded to their father who, in the 1950s, won the World Ploughing Championships three times. The miniature replica ploughs are missing details, most of the gold plating has worn away and their wooden plinths are scratched and chipped. Brenton gets to work recreating the tiny missing parts, including linking chains and gold plates the silver ploughs. Will refreshes the wooden bases and the finished results are impressive….a shining recognition of Liz and Sam's fathers' stature in his field.And Leather expert Susie is intrigued by a pair of dancing clogs. Louise Robertson from Oxford brings the clogs which are precious and unique to her family. They were handmade by her grandfather, over a century ago. Susie nourishes the parched, stiff leather, fills in the many holes left by woodworm and returns them to stand testament to Louise's family's dancing legacy and the craftsman that created them.