麻豆约拍

Jay Blades and the team bring four treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life.

First in to see mechanical expert Steve Fletcher is Suzanne Richeux from London. She brings an enchanting trinket belonging to her late mother, who was a world-famous trapeze artist. The decorative cage contains ornamental birds that, when wound up, would sing and flutter. Suzanne remembers being mesmerized by it when her mother wound it up for her and her sister at bedtime most evenings. Sadly, the birds have not uttered a peep for over 20 years and look very shabby. Steve calls upon the talents of David Burville, whose experience in renovating organs means he can recreate the miniature bellows that generate the sweet birdsong.

Four more winged creatures are carried carefully to the Repair Shop by church wardens Brian Tidswell and David Dickinson from Lincolnshire. They are hoping wood restorer Will Kirk can work a miracle. The wooden angels were carved by Belgian refugees during the First World War and gifted to the church as thanks for welcoming them into the community. They are cherished by the congregation but have seen better days, with missing features and faded paint. Will soon makes the exciting discovery that the angels were originally painted with gold leaf and works tirelessly removing the layers of old paint, restoring the celestial gold with transformative results.

Tony and Jenny Barrett have brought along a much-cherished keepsake that they hope Dominic Chinea will be able to restore. They received the Georgian peat bucket as a wedding present 40 years ago, and it has served them well. For them, this item represents many happy times together, but years of use has left it unstable and no longer fit for purpose. The wooden slats are held together with two brass bands, rather like a barrel. Brenton is on hand to fix the broken bands, while Dom carefully removes centuries of ash and grime from the 200-year-old wood.

Finally, Clare Jackman from Pulborough brings in a century-old leather case that served her great aunt, who was a trailblazing female surgeon in the 1930s. Suzie Fletcher rolls up her sleeves and restores it back to health.