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Transcript
00:00Welcome to the Vipershaw.
00:02I'm ready to see some magic.
00:04Where precious but faded keepsakes
00:06It's in a bit of a sorry state.
00:08Deep breath.
00:09Are restored to their former glory.
00:11I don't think I'm even breathing at this point.
00:13Lovely.
00:14So exciting.
00:15A dream team of expert craftspeople
00:18Stroll, stroll, stroll. Back, back, back.
00:21It's going to look absolutely stunning.
00:23Using traditional techniques passed down the generations.
00:27If someone's made it, then I can fix it.
00:30So much fun.
00:31Restore irreplaceable treasures.
00:37Take it away Mark.
00:38And unlock the stories that they hold.
00:41Oh my god.
00:43It's like it's brand new.
00:45You're a wizard.
00:46That means so much.
01:00How busy are you?
01:01Oh, it's good, it's good.
01:02It's going to be a busy week.
01:03But I'm ready.
01:04Okay, well done.
01:05Take care.
01:14Sonaz, this one's for you.
01:16Ooh, Dom, look.
01:18Beautiful office chair.
01:19Isn't it stunning?
01:20Although I say that, it doesn't spin.
01:24Quite unusual, isn't it?
01:25We'll have to figure out why.
01:26For an office chair?
01:27Yeah.
01:28Arriving with all the answers,
01:30broadcaster Sally Magnusson.
01:33Hello.
01:34Hello.
01:35Welcome to the barn.
01:36Thank you very much.
01:37This must be your chair then.
01:38It is.
01:39This is the original mastermind chair
01:43that was featured in every mastermind programme
01:47for the first 25 years
01:48under the chairmanship of my father, Magnus Magnusson.
01:51How fantastic.
01:53And it's lived in my house since my father's death in 2007.
01:57And as you see, it's not maybe in the best of nick any longer.
02:02This is an iconic chair, isn't it?
02:06Yeah.
02:07This is what people will remember watching that programme.
02:10Yes.
02:11It reminds me of that era.
02:13I was still living at home and he was making programmes
02:16and Mastermind gradually turned him into a celebrity.
02:21Right.
02:22Suddenly, when he walked down the street, it was,
02:24Magnus, I've started, it's all finished.
02:27Oh, yeah, the iconic line.
02:32In Tarka...
02:33I've just started, it's all finished.
02:35In Tarka, where in the white clay pits did the dog otter Marlon Jimmy
02:38particularly like to play hide-and-seek in his old age?
02:41I was wildly proud of my father.
02:43He was a beautiful writer.
02:45So did he write the concept for Mastermind?
02:48No.
02:49A producer in the BBC who had been an RAF pilot
02:54in the Second World War and questioned by the Gestapo
02:57in the interrogation chair.
02:59And he had to give his name, rank, number.
03:03Had an idea for a quiz programme.
03:05Name, your occupation, your specialist subject.
03:09Wow.
03:10And this stern question master,
03:12who is the sort of Gestapo interrogator, if you like.
03:15And that was your dad?
03:17Yes.
03:18And that was my dad who could not have predicted
03:22that it would last for 25 years.
03:25And it was at the end of it,
03:27the production team presented him with the chair.
03:31Oh!
03:32The BBC at that time, 1997, was taking Mastermind off the air
03:36and then, of course, discovered a few years later
03:38that it was worth bringing it back again.
03:40But Mastermind had and continued to have in his heart
03:44a very special place.
03:46You know, this has played its part, this chair,
03:49frankly, in the life of the nation.
03:51And yet here it is,
03:52doing what my father would have loved to see it doing,
03:55which is to be a place where the great-grandchildren
03:59he'll never meet can crawl around over it
04:01and where it can be a part of our family life.
04:05Objects are so important for telling stories
04:09that can then be passed on down through the generations.
04:12And that continuity is precious to me.
04:15What are you hoping Sonaz is able to do to the chair?
04:18Because I've noticed already it doesn't spin.
04:21I feel like most office chairs spin around.
04:23The original chair had, in fact, swivel wheels.
04:26And as soon as you put a nervous person in that chair,
04:29you know, they're going to be all over the place.
04:32So they got another chair and they took the legs off
04:36and they bolted it onto the bottom.
04:38And what about the patina on the front of the arms?
04:41I love this because they painted it all black
04:45so that you just had this kind of vision of a black chair.
04:49But as you get tenser and tenser,
04:52starting to do this, that's history.
04:55This is thousands, thousands of sweaty palms.
04:59Nervous, sweaty palms, yeah.
05:01These armrests were put on to make it nice and comfortable
05:04for you to sit in.
05:05And they're getting a bit frayed.
05:07It just needs preserving.
05:09Maybe a bit more plump in the base.
05:11Absolutely. We don't want this to deteriorate.
05:13We want to keep steering that lovely balance
05:16between looking beautiful but also honouring its own history.
05:21I really, really look forward to doing it justice.
05:25Pleasure to leave it in such good hands.
05:27Thank you. See you later.
05:29Take care.
05:31I'm still in my chair. I know.
05:34I'm feeling nervous just standing here.
05:36I would be so useless on Mars.
05:38Me too, me too.
05:39Come on then, let's get over to your desk.
05:55I actually can't believe I'm even touching
05:57I actually can't believe I'm even touching
05:59the original Mastermind chair.
06:01The immediate areas that need attention that I can see
06:04are on the arms.
06:05The leather on the arms has slowly worn over time.
06:09And at the base, there's some really heavy creasing.
06:13What I might have to do is line the leather
06:17to give it some extra strength.
06:20Over the years, the padding on the inside
06:22has really compressed down
06:25and that needs to be brought back to life again.
06:29But first of all, I need to start getting it apart.
06:32It's a nice jumper, isn't it?
06:54How did you guess?
06:56Because it's clean, it's the cleanest I've seen your feet.
06:58Yeah, well it came out of the packet an hour ago.
07:01Musical instrument restorer Pete Woods
07:04always aims to get the tone right.
07:06This time for sisters Mandy Fletcher and Tina Kay from Leeds.
07:11Hi there.
07:12Hi.
07:13You must be Mandy and Tina.
07:14That's right.
07:15I'm Mandy.
07:16And I'm Tina.
07:17Nice to meet you.
07:18What's inside the funny-shaped suitcase?
07:20This is a glockenspiel, which was our father's.
07:25Dad was a musician, a percussionist and a drummer.
07:29What was your dad's name?
07:30Ken.
07:31Ken?
07:32Ken Newton.
07:33Dad played at a club called Batley Variety Club
07:36and it was one of the biggest variety clubs
07:40and he was part of the resident band.
07:42He played with some of the biggest stars, didn't he?
07:45Yeah.
07:46I think for me, Louis Armstrong always sticks in my mind.
07:49What?
07:50Yeah, yeah, Shirley Bassey, yeah.
07:52Oh, my God.
07:53Yeah.
07:54And then your groups like the Drifters, they were there a lot.
07:58A little name-dropping there.
08:03A world away from London's West End,
08:06the Batley Variety Club opened its doors in 1967,
08:10affording the people of West Yorkshire
08:12the chance to see some of the biggest stars of the day.
08:17The brainchild of James Corrigan,
08:19a local man who made his dreams a reality,
08:23an attractive performer such as the Bee Gees,
08:26Roy Orbison and Louis Armstrong.
08:30All I got to say about Batley, it's a living aspirin.
08:35Sadly, the club closed its doors in 1978.
08:43After the show, Dad would take us backstage
08:46and try and introduce us to whoever the stars were.
08:49How old were you then?
08:50I was about nine or ten.
08:52When I look back now, I just think how proud I am of Dad.
08:57He was so talented.
08:59It's just in later life that we've come to realise
09:02what a great profession he did have.
09:04Yeah.
09:05That's when Dad passed away, he felt a big loss.
09:08How long ago did your dad pass away?
09:10Ten years ago.
09:11A lot of the instruments Dad had already got rid of,
09:14but this, the glockenspiel, went nowhere.
09:18Now's the time that it needs a bit of TLC.
09:21TLC, yeah.
09:22What's the difference between this and a xylophone?
09:25A xylophone is wooden, a marimba is wooden,
09:28a vibraphone is metal and so is a glockenspiel.
09:33Fountain of knowledge, Pete. There you go.
09:35What exactly is wrong with this?
09:37Well, I think just to make sure that the keys are all OK
09:41and put it in a playable state.
09:44The case needs definitely some attention
09:47because it is absolutely battered and torn.
09:50It feels it's part of the family.
09:52It's part of our childhood.
09:54So to us, that's important.
09:56It's been lovely to meet you both in here.
09:58What about you, Dad?
10:00We'll see you soon.
10:01Bye.
10:06I wonder what stories this could tell.
10:08It's been about, hasn't it?
10:10Yeah.
10:11Can you give us a hand to get it onto the bench, please?
10:13It's a bit on the heavy side.
10:16Oh, Pete!
10:17Thanks, Mike.
10:21MUSIC PLAYS
10:34What Andy and Tina's got,
10:37it's usually referred to a glockenspiel,
10:40is in quite good nick for its age.
10:43There's no notes that have been damaged or anything,
10:47but the plating's all come off.
10:49So the first thing I've got to do is just take all the notes off.
10:53I've got to have the chrome stripped off
10:56before I can polish them and tune them.
10:59The note rails, they get a bit wobbly.
11:04So I've got to fix them so they're nice.
11:12The biggest problem is the case.
11:16It needs quite a bit of repair.
11:18It's getting really damaged and it's quite weakened.
11:22I'm glad to say I think that's a Susie job.
11:25So I'll be quite happy to hand that over to her, to be quite honest,
11:29while I get on with the glock.
11:48Mandy and Tina brought me this glock for repair.
11:51OK.
11:52But the case is a bit on the worn side.
11:56It is a bit, isn't it? My goodness.
11:59Just up your street, I thought.
12:01Is the interior OK? Let's have a look.
12:05I think it needs redoing.
12:07Yeah, it's a bit tired, isn't it?
12:09So, in essence, it needs a major overhaul?
12:11Yes, basically, please, yeah.
12:13OK, well, you don't want much, do you?
12:15No, no, but you've got a chance you're on, mate.
12:17Thanks.
12:30Sonners is in the hot seat,
12:33stripping back the infamous black tear so she can line the seat leather.
12:38Over the years, all those contenders have sat on the base
12:42that it has created these really, really deep wrinkles,
12:46and if this wasn't addressed, eventually it would crack.
12:49This is a really, really thin leather,
12:52which is used especially for lining.
13:00Because the problem area is this massively creased section here,
13:06I'm actually going to start with that first and work my way out.
13:13The lining will flatten the creases,
13:16but you will see the line of where the crease was,
13:19which is part of the character.
13:23I remember watching the original Mastermind as a child.
13:28Never would I have thought that I'd be the one restoring this chair
13:32decades later.
13:34It feels quite momentous and extraordinarily daunting.
13:39That's that first section glued in.
13:43That has worked perfectly, but I've still got a lot to do,
13:47so I'm going to repeat that same process across the base.
13:51Janey Jewett-Harris has travelled to the barn from Surrey
13:55with a storybook that has its very own extraordinary tale to tell.
14:02Hello. Hello.
14:04Lovely to meet you. What have you brought in?
14:06I've brought in a book.
14:08A book?
14:09Yes, a book.
14:10A book?
14:11Yes, a book.
14:12A book?
14:13Yes, a book.
14:14A book?
14:15Yes, a book.
14:16A book?
14:17Yes, a book.
14:18A book?
14:19That's lovely.
14:20And what have you brought in?
14:21I've brought a children's book that belonged to my dad.
14:24Oh, wow.
14:25What is your father's name?
14:26Tony.
14:27And what's the story behind the book?
14:29My dad was given this in 1943, when World War Two was raging,
14:35on his eighth birthday by his mum.
14:38And you can see the inscription there from her
14:41wishing him a happy birthday.
14:43In 1944, my dad was lying in bed in his home in Chingford and Hitler dropped a bomb to
14:51try and hit the reservoirs and it ripped the front and the roof off my dad's house.
14:57And he was found lying with this book on his chest and a big shard of glass sticking out
15:03the back of the book, which pierced well into the book, so this is the book that saved my
15:09dad's life.
15:10Oh my goodness.
15:11That's the scar.
15:12Yes, absolutely.
15:13It's a sort of puncture wound.
15:14I'm speechless.
15:15It's unbelievable.
15:18Thanks to this book, my dad was around to live and tell the tale.
15:22So were you aware of this book?
15:24So did your father tell you all the tales and...
15:26No, that wasn't his style at all.
15:28He gave me the book in 2006 and he passed away sadly in 2007.
15:33I didn't know about it growing up and it wasn't until he was moving out of the family home
15:39and I went up into the loft to give him a hand and he picked up this book and sort of
15:45stopped in his tracks and I just said, well, what's that, dad?
15:49And he said, oh, there's a bit of a story behind this.
15:53And I was just, how do I not know this?
15:56I was speechless.
15:57So what would you like me to do for you?
15:59So I would love to be able to hand it on to my kids and for them to tell their kids the
16:04story and I don't know if you can see, but it's, this is almost off at the front and
16:10at the back.
16:11So I would love for this to be repaired in some way and made safe, but please don't touch
16:19the site of the story.
16:22We're saving the book that saved his life and that's the thing that means the most to
16:26me that it carries that story.
16:29Yes.
16:30Well, Jenny, I'm really honoured you brought it in and I look forward to seeing you soon.
16:35I can't wait.
16:36Thank you so much.
16:37I'll see you then.
16:38Bye.
16:39I've heard and know that contents of a book can change people's lives, but I've never
17:01actually seen a book physically saving someone's life.
17:05The damage is the history of this book, but I do have to mend this.
17:12There's no spine and the pages need re-sewing, but it's so important that I keep the age,
17:19the provenance.
17:20So the first thing I need to do is take it to pieces and then I can make a list of what
17:25I need to do after that.
17:30It does seem really drastic to sort of start cutting and mutilating almost a book, but
17:35it's the only way you can really do any form of repair.
17:40So, Liz, is that actually the proper mastermind chair?
17:52This is the one and only.
17:55Never thought that I would come into contact with such an iconic thing.
17:59And the mastermind chair too?
18:01Of course.
18:13I'm just doing Mandy and Tina's glochenspiel here.
18:16They only had little pins holding those rails on there and, of course, with the exceptional
18:25heavy steel notes, it just starts to loosen and rock.
18:30They just end up getting wrecked and the notes fall off.
18:33I've just made up these squares of wood.
18:36I'm going to screw and glue them to these note rails and it'll make sure that it will
18:41last them for quite a few more years.
19:00I just had a look at this case that Pete's given me to do and it has definitely seen
19:06better days.
19:07The covering is coming away.
19:10The base on the inside is breaking apart and the lid and the base is coming away, which
19:16is all very problematic.
19:18The best thing I can do is a complete recovering of the exterior.
19:24But the first thing I'm going to do is start removing this base and we can see what's going
19:28on inside.
19:53Jonas has repaired the leather on which so many quiz contenders sat.
19:58Now the sagging padding needs attention.
20:02I've taken off the original wadding layers and I'm adding some new wadding on top of
20:07the foam.
20:08Then I will put the original back into place because it's in such great condition.
20:14I'm building up the layers section by section, each layer slightly smaller than the previous
20:22one to create a bit of a dome shape, which will make the chair look nice and plump and
20:29refreshed.
20:31And then I can glue them in place, repeat that process for the back and the headrest
20:36section and then the original wadding layers can go back on.
21:02Chris has dismantled the book that was damaged during Hitler's air raids.
21:07Now his mission is to secure it for future generations to cherish.
21:12The first thing I need to do is sew the pages together and I'm going to run a length of
21:18sewing thread all the way along and then link all of them together so they become one block.
21:24My brief was to get this book back together again and the scar on the back boards left
21:30intact so it's a tricky repair for me because it's normally I would press the pages which
21:39I can't do because the impression of the shrapnel coming through will get lost.
21:46So there's an awful lot of things I'm sort of tweaking and having to adapt my repair
21:51to accommodate the end outcome that I want.
21:56So now the book's sewn, I can make a new spine.
22:27The original spine of this book was paper and because it's lost I'm having to repaint
22:33and tone down a nice new bit of paper to the approximate colour that I can then put on
22:39the book and blend it in and at the end, which I'm quite excited about, there's some little
22:45blodges so I can do a bit of flicking, everyone likes flicking paint.
22:52My original idea was just to put a new spine on but there's this little loss of the fox
23:01and as I've been looking at the boards, the front cover, it's a mirror image and I'm going
23:07to ask Dom to do me a favour and with his magic graphic design, take a copy of the front
23:14and then print it on a piece of paper that I'm going to get to a good colour and then
23:18I can cut it in at the end.
23:23Chris isn't the only one looking for a favour from Dom. Having uncovered a split in the
23:28mastermind chair's armrest, Sonaz is beating a path to him too.
23:35My trusty problem-solving friend.
23:37Sonaz, how's it going?
23:38I'm out here for a favour. You know those padded bits on the arms?
23:42Yes.
23:43This is a shape that clips over the top of the cast bit that was covered with the leather.
23:49Look.
23:50Oh no.
23:51So...
23:52Is it made of plastic?
23:53Yeah.
23:54How can we fix this back together without adding too much bulk to the size of it?
24:00Pass.
24:01Next question.
24:02Yes, this is not your specialist subject.
24:03No, that is not my...
24:05Yeah, what do you think?
24:06Leave it with me. I will try my best.
24:08Thank you so much.
24:09Alright.
24:18Sonaz has brought over this piece of broken plastic for me to try and repair. So I've
24:33got myself a plastic welder. I think it's fair to say plastic is not a material that
24:37I am using very often, but the principle of welding I am very confident with. I've got
24:43a heat source that I'm melting the parent material with. I've got some plastic filler
24:47material and some stainless steel mesh, a very fine mesh. I'm going to melt it into
24:53the plastic body. Once that plastic cools, it should go hard again and that should hold
24:57it together.
25:14As it's heating up that plastic, I'm putting a bit of pressure downwards and it's melting
25:19that mesh into the plastic. There we go, look. Look at that. It's a bit messy, but once this
25:28is dried, structurally it will be okay and then I can sand it down and redress it and
25:32tidy it up and it will be perfect.
25:34That is awesome.
25:35Sonaz, are you okay?
25:36Darn.
25:37Here you go, I've tried my best. It's all the original bits, plastic welds. I'm going
25:59Here you go, I've tried my best. It's all the original bits, plastic welds. I'm going
26:02to put it back together again.
26:03Fantastic. Look at that. Absolutely perfect.
26:06Thank you. The chair's looking good. How are you getting on?
26:08Thank you. Well, I've started to finish.
26:11Sonaz.
26:12Oh, God. Bye.
26:19Dom has done an incredible job and I'm absolutely thrilled with how strong it feels. So, now
26:27I can start to recover it in the same black leather style as what was on there originally.
26:34To ensure perfect percussion, Pete needs to retune the metal notes of the glockenspiel,
26:58but there's other preparation to do first.
27:01I've had all the notes stripped of the original finish, which was a nickel underneath and
27:07then a very thin flash of chrome. I've got to polish them to prepare them for plating.
27:14So, I'm just going to polish it up so it looks as smooth as I can get it.
27:19That's the first one done. Just about another 30 to go. Now I'm getting off to the chrome
27:35platings.
27:42Susie's work to help Pete also has a way to go.
27:46Now that I've got the pieces of the glockenspiel case stripped of its old covering and the lining,
27:53I'm now having to glue the new covering on.
27:58This is a cloth covering that was used a lot as a substitute for leather back in the day.
28:07I really love that the case is in effect part of the instrument, so it is important that I get this looking really nice.
28:20So now I'm going to paint over this with the PVA. I want to get a nice even coat.
28:30So I'm just going to flip this over. This glue is going off so quickly. I just haven't got a moment to wait here.
28:39Flip this over. I feel that it's a really nice bond.
28:46I'm just going to put this to one side and do the same to the top, and then I can focus my attention on the inside.
29:00I've got to get these off to plating now.
29:25They're all polished up, but first I need to tune them. We tune them by taking off material in the right place.
29:36The A is quite sharp. It's to do with the way the note vibrates.
29:43Taking out the middle makes it flatter. Taking off the end makes it sharper.
30:00That note now is spot on. I've just got to keep going through them now until you've got them in tune.
30:09Then I'll get them off to the chrome platers.
30:29Just as she promised, Sonners is finishing what she started, and with a sense, she scored highly.
30:37It's lovely to see the new leather of the arm next to the original leather, and it's all sitting together really nicely as if it had always been there.
30:46Together with the newly plumped seat, I'm very, very pleased with the way that it's looking.
30:54There we go. That's nice and secure, so I can get the other side on now, and then it's ready for Sally.
31:08This chair was the centrepiece of one of the nation's favourite quiz shows, presented by Magnus Magnusson.
31:17Sonners, look at that. What do you think? I'm slightly nervous walking towards the chair. It's lovely, though. Perfect. Well done.
31:24The quiz master's daughter, Sally, is hoping to honour her father's memory and the TV programme that propelled him to fame.
31:33Hi, Sally. Hello, hello, hello. Welcome back. Thank you. Oh, gosh, it's like a throne, isn't it?
31:40Yeah, it certainly has a presence, doesn't it? It does. It's a symbol of what my father did.
31:46Mastermind was so much a part of his life, and the chair is a symbol of that.
31:51Do you want to see it? I do want to see it, very much. Yeah. Go on, Sally.
31:54Oh, that's lovely. Oh, and you've kept this. Oh, that's beautiful. That is lovely.
32:10You've absolutely answered the challenge to retain the character of how this chair has lived and sort of suffered under the sweaty palms of all the people that have been on it.
32:23And that's its story, and it's right there. But at the same time, I love the way the cushion part is sort of inviting looking now, because it was looking a bit sort of squished.
32:36Would you like to sit in it? Well, if you're asking. Yeah, absolutely. Okay. Oh. How is it?
32:46It is comfortable. Yeah. I can feel both the firmness and also you sink into it at the same time. And this is just lovely. Yeah. Thank you.
32:59Hopefully your father would approve. He would so approve. He would be touched.
33:04He would be moved that we've all gone to the trouble of conserving this piece of his history and the nation's history.
33:13Thank you so much, both of you. You're welcome. Thank you for trusting us with your special chair. We will get it all packaged up and sent back to you. See you later. Bye. Bye.
33:24It's brilliant. Oh, I couldn't do it without you. As usual. Another job well done.
33:31The chair symbolizes 25 years of the Mastermind program, but it also symbolizes my father himself because the chair speaks to me of him.
33:42And I just can't wait to use this chair to introduce my grandchildren to their great grandfather who they never knew.
33:51But this will say this was Magnus. This is what he was about. Love it. And they will.
34:16Chris's artistic skills are under the spotlight as the papers he painted to repair the bomb damaged book are now showing their true colors.
34:26All my palette of papers dried and now I'm whittling them down to the one I'm going to use.
34:33So I'm really happy with this one. It just feels right. The speckles are right. That's going to provide me with the new spine.
34:42I'm just going to position the boards on.
34:50So checking the joint. I'm happy with that. That can go in.
34:59And then finally.
35:07That's worked.
35:10I'm happy with the tone, the paint. I'm really pleased with that blob because that sort of marries up with Mr. Fox's foot.
35:19It does feel right. So I'm just going to leave it to dry.
35:41Next to arrive, Peter Chilver and his granddaughter, Laura, with a treasured companion.
35:47It's been grounded after a mishap and needs Will's woodwork skills.
35:52Hi there. Hello. I'm Will. Nice to meet you. Hello, Will.
35:57What is this? It's a wooden box.
36:01Let me show you. Surprise. Here he is, Mr. Tuk. There's one wing and his body.
36:08He's a wooden toucan baby mobile, or supposed to be. Amazing.
36:14OK, I can see there's definitely something missing here. Yeah.
36:17So he actually has a cloud where he's meant to have a cloud here and then it hangs with this string and then obviously another wing.
36:25And then he flies if you pull the pulley.
36:29He does look really cool when he's not broken. Who does this belong to?
36:33Well, it used to belong to Laura when she was a baby and I hang in her room.
36:39It was their favourite. I loved him. He was in my room the whole time till I left home at 18.
36:45When Laura had baby Rory, we came to great grandfather Peter to set up Mr. Tuk for Rory.
36:52I replaced the strings, the new balance weights and it did go. It was all done.
36:56He was perfect. He was perfect. And then disaster.
37:00I went to his house, picked him up, put him in my car. He's very precious to me, obviously.
37:04So I made sure he had a nice place on the back seat of the car.
37:07Went to a farm the next day with my mum and she bought loads of plants.
37:11They didn't just fit in the boot. They had to go on the back seat as well.
37:14So I thought, oh no, Mr. Tuk, you're going to have to go somewhere safe.
37:17Put him on my roof of my car. You can see where the story is going.
37:22Put all the plants in and then obviously forgot to put Mr. Tuk back in the car.
37:27The next day, I rang the farm and I was like, excuse me, have you seen a wooden toucan around?
37:32Because I've lost him. Couldn't find him.
37:34My mum went for a drive the next day and found this wing on this main A road.
37:38Really? Yeah.
37:40And she was like, Laura, I'm sorry. He's gone. He's gone.
37:43And I was like, no, that's so sad.
37:45I was surprised how upset I was actually because I think my whole family loves him.
37:49And I didn't quite realise that until I saw the look on mum and dad's face.
37:53A couple of weeks later, call on my phone, it was the farm.
37:56They were like, Laura, we found the toucan. I was like, no way. He's alive.
38:01So when she went and got him, there was only this at the farm.
38:04Poor guy. I mean, he definitely looks like he's come off the roof of a car, doesn't he?
38:08Yep.
38:09Perhaps run over.
38:11I can do the strings, I can do the hinges, but new wing.
38:16No.
38:17He doesn't have to be perfect.
38:19I would just like him to be able to fly again
38:21and be able to hang him from the ceiling in Rory's nursery.
38:25Yeah.
38:26It would be absolutely amazing.
38:28Also, Grampy's provided these in case she wanted some weights.
38:31What these are is one and a half old pennies.
38:35So it's old money.
38:37And this turned out to be the exact weight to balance the wings on each side.
38:42So in theory, if I use these, I should get perfect balance?
38:45You should get the balance.
38:46I'm going to do my very best to get him flying once again.
38:49It was lovely to meet you.
38:51Thank you very much.
38:52Yes, lovely to meet you.
38:53Bye-bye.
38:54Bye-bye.
39:03I can imagine, as a child, having this little bedroom must be really cool.
39:07The wingspan, absolutely huge, flapping up and down.
39:10But I need to do quite a lot of work here.
39:12I've got to replace the missing wing and I've got to repaint the new parts.
39:16And most importantly, he needs to be able to flap properly.
39:20The good thing is I can use this as a template to mark out my new wing.
39:26Now, one of the issues here is that I'm actually missing the tip of this wing.
39:31There's a lot of artistic licence here that I'm going to have to use to get this looking right again.
39:43Once I've got this drawn out, then I can cut out on the bandsaw.
39:50While Will recreates his feathered friend,
39:53Dom is applying his design expertise to a different branch of the animal kingdom.
39:59Chris has asked me to take a look at this cover for a book that he's working on.
40:03And it's got an unfortunate tear on the back of the cover,
40:07which means there's this whole sort of section missing.
40:10The fox has only got half a head and only one leg. It's not ideal.
40:14Fortunately, I can just isolate the front cover, flip it,
40:20and then something else I need to think about is the colour.
40:23That is going to be dictated by the paper that Chris Shaw has given me.
40:28When you print on different materials, it can change the colour of things.
40:30And the fox is holding a bright red book and the tear is right down the middle of that book.
40:35So it will probably take a few goes to print out some samples and offer them up to the book and have a look.
40:39I can only really do that in real life, but for the minute, I'm quite pleased with that.
40:43Looks good.
40:57OK, Chris, I have got a few options.
41:00There's four on there, slightly different colours, slightly different sizes.
41:03I'm hoping one of them is going to be OK. What do you think?
41:07Goodness, it's fantastic.
41:09I would hug you, but the bench is in the way.
41:11I'll get out of here before you change your mind.
41:13See you.
41:26Fantastic, the fox size and everything.
41:31The only thing, obviously, that's shouting out is I darkened the paper to blend it in.
41:38Then the printer's printed on top and it's made it go a really dark colour, so it really is jumping out.
41:45So I think the only way to solve this problem is to actually get Dom to reprint on some white paper and hopefully it will work.
42:01Happily, Will has suffered no such setback as he works on getting the battered toucan's flight feathers fixed.
42:09I've finished cutting out all my wooden pieces and now I'm looking at the damage to the original wing
42:15and it seems I'm missing three feathers just on the tip there.
42:19I'm going to start off by cutting off all of this where all the damage has occurred.
42:31I'm going to have to make another cut going through the wing here, but half of the way down, pretty much like that.
42:40That way I can put some glue in the middle, flip it over and they should sandwich together.
42:51I'm going to start chiselling. There's no going back from here, so I'm going to take it nice and slowly.
43:00I'm hoping I'm there now.
43:18That slides together really nicely.
43:23I'm going to glue that and clamp it up and once it's dry I can trace out the rest of the feathers and cut them out on the bandsaw.
43:53As I paint this one now, I can barely see that join line between the new patch of wood and the old, which is perfect.
44:06Once I've done this wing, I can then think about getting him ready for flight.
44:23The Glockenspiel is almost ready to play sweet music once again.
44:36I got the case back from Susie. She's done a lovely job.
44:40The notes are back from the platers.
44:42Once I've got these note posts here on, I can put the notes on and see how it sounds.
44:49The thing that I've enjoyed working on this is the lovely steel bars.
44:54They get a bit tired, like we all do, but it's great to give them another lease of life.
45:01Well, that's all the rubber insulators on. Now all I've got to do is the final bit is put the keys on.
45:09This Glockenspiel once accompanied the hit makers of the day at the renowned Batley Variety Club, but the years had dimmed its star quality.
45:21All finished? All ready to go, mate.
45:23Look at that case. I know, Susie's done a lovely job on that.
45:30Now Mandy and Tina are back to reclaim this reminder of their much-loved musician dad and his stellar career.
45:43Wonderful to see you both. Thank you. You too.
45:45Are you excited today? Very excited. Yeah? Yeah, can't wait.
45:49How long has it been since you've been played then?
45:51Well, properly, since Dad was alive. 20, 25 years, easy. Really? Yeah.
45:57I'm hoping that we've done him proud in what we're doing.
46:03Yeah, and remembering him. Yeah. It's just part of Dad.
46:07Yeah. Would you like to have a look?
46:10Yes. Yeah. Yes. Yeah? Mm-hm.
46:13Wow. That looks amazing. Sorry.
46:19No, it looks lovely. It's amazing.
46:22Wow, and the keys are all there. And you've polished them up. How shiny are they?
46:27Beautiful. They were just all falling apart. He would love it. He would love it. He really would.
46:33Yeah, it's amazing. Yeah, it's lovely.
46:37I'll try. I'll try.
46:39Oh, no. Oh, what have I let myself in for?
46:43If I can remember.
46:45Yay!
46:47Great job!
46:49I'm going to give you another chance, thanks.
46:51I'm going to give you another chance.
46:53I'm not going to let you down.
46:55Huh?
46:56I'm going to give you another chance.
46:58I'm not going to let you down!
47:00I am going to give you a chance.
47:02You're going to do it.
47:03I'm going to give it a go.
47:05I can tell you you're good.
47:07That was a tune he showed us how to play when we were kids, and I suppose it's stuck in
47:22my brain ever since.
47:23Lovely memories.
47:24Yeah.
47:25That sound.
47:26Yeah.
47:27Definitely.
47:28We kept it because it was something that we didn't feel we wanted to let go of.
47:32Just look at it now.
47:33It's amazing.
47:34It's been lovely to see both again and hear such sweet music.
47:37Thank you very much.
47:40There you go.
47:41That's lovely.
47:42All yours.
47:45All right.
47:46Safe travels.
47:47Well done, Pete.
47:48Are you happy?
47:49They're happy.
47:50Mike's very happy, yeah.
47:51There you go.
47:52It just brought back so many emotions, because obviously when you lose your loved ones, you
48:03never want to forget about them, and we never will.
48:06The glockenspiel is my dad.
48:08It's brought back some wonderful memories for us and the love that we have within that
48:13family and still do.
48:15Yeah.
48:16We do.
48:17Yeah.
48:18Don't get me going.
48:19Sorry.
48:37Woodwork's done, paintwork's done, I'm just trying to work out how to reattach these wings.
48:44So I've found these tiny hoops.
48:48Now these should be perfect for the job.
48:51My plan is to pretty much screw one into a wing, the other one into Toque's body, and
48:57if I can attach them just right, it should mean that the wings will be able to flap up
49:02and down and there'll be no rubbing against the wood.
49:06Just going to lightly mark out on here where the wings should be.
49:10There.
49:11There.
49:12I'm going to start drilling my first hole now.
49:32So I've created a very small hole there and I'm hoping when I put this hoop in, it won't
49:45spit out the wood.
49:48Oh, that's a tight fit.
49:55Oh, look at that.
50:01Beautiful.
50:02That's really good.
50:03One wing down, another one to go, then I can get to reassembling him.
50:14Reprinting the fox image from the bomb-damaged book onto white paper has given Chris an almost
50:21perfect replacement.
50:22It's fantastic.
50:24It's just Mr Fox's book just needs a bit of colour bringing back in.
50:29At a sort of fleeting glance, it's not really noticeable, but I just need to do a slight
50:32bit of blending just to get rid of that sort of straight mark along here.
50:37It's not going to take much.
50:43I think I'm really happy with that.
50:46Oh, it does look really good, actually.
50:50That's a real shock, actually, because it's been missing all this length of time and then
50:54suddenly Mr Fox is there.
50:59So now I can start attaching the book in and then I'm at the point where I can hand this
51:05back to Jenny.
51:11When Jenny brought her father's childhood book to the barn, the spine was gone and the
51:16pages hanging by a thread.
51:19She hoped Chris could strengthen it, yet retain the damage that bore testament to it
51:25saving her dad's life in an air raid.
51:27Hello again.
51:28Hello.
51:29Hello again.
51:30Nice to see you.
51:31Nice to see you again.
51:32Oh, lovely to see you.
51:33How are you feeling?
51:34So excited.
51:35I've missed the book and I think I've missed my dad even more.
51:40That object signifies that's his story.
51:45Well, Jenny.
51:59It's the same, but it's different.
52:02Can I have a good look?
52:04Oh, my word.
52:06It looks strong.
52:11What magic is this?
52:16And his, the whole, thank you for leaving that there.
52:20That's amazing.
52:21I was worried it would not look like his anymore.
52:25And it just looks, it's his book.
52:29Oh, I just can't believe it.
52:35Thank you so much.
52:37I have actually replaced Mr Fox's legs.
52:40I got Dom roped in who did the scan.
52:43Oh, my God.
52:45That's amazing.
52:47You have.
52:48Thank you so much.
52:49I can't wait to show it properly to my children.
52:53And then hopefully one day they'll tell the story as well.
52:57It's been an utter joy and I'm not going to hold you back anymore.
53:02You can take your book home.
53:04You have no idea how much joy you've given us.
53:15Seeing the book again is lovely.
53:18And I just wish I could share the moment with dad.
53:22It is strange how an object can hold a moment in history like that.
53:28So it feels very special to feel connected to him through it.
53:34It's precious.
53:35It's absolutely precious.
53:56Look at that.
53:57Mr Took's flying again.
53:59Now the tricky thing is attaching him to the cloud.
54:02This is the cloud I've cut out.
54:04I've primed it and I've painted it.
54:05I somehow have to attach it.
54:17There we go.
54:19Oh, this is fiddly work.
54:21That's my last loop.
54:24All these knots are really tight.
54:26Now, let's see if this works.
54:34He looks majestic.
54:37Hey, look at that.
54:40Oh, yes.
54:42Oh, that's really good.
54:44Now, Peter gave me a couple of coins.
54:46And apparently, if I put the coins underneath the wings,
54:50it should keep him pretty much level like that.
54:53So when you do actually pull down on him, it's a really nice sweep.
54:59When Mr Took arrived, he was more flat pack than flight ready.
55:06For Laura and her granddad Peter, he represents a happy childhood
55:11and their desire to give Laura's young son Rory the same start in life,
55:16full of joy and love.
55:19Hello.
55:20Hi.
55:21Hello.
55:22Nice to see both.
55:23You too.
55:24And you too.
55:26The elephant in the room.
55:27Or maybe the toucan in the room, fingers crossed.
55:29Hopefully, he's still a toucan.
55:31Yeah.
55:32What are you hoping to see?
55:33A functioning...
55:34Perfection.
55:35Perfection.
55:36You didn't ask for perfection in the beginning.
55:38No, I didn't.
55:39Would you like to see what I've done to Mr Tookie?
55:42Yeah.
55:43We're really excited.
55:44Please.
55:50Look at that.
55:52There he is.
55:55Look at that.
55:57Oh, that's amazing.
55:58Thank you, Will.
55:59That's it.
56:00Yeah.
56:01That's it.
56:06That's just how I remember him.
56:07Yeah.
56:08There you go.
56:09Oh.
56:10He's lovely.
56:11Thank you so much.
56:12Isn't that lovely?
56:13He is great.
56:14Will, Will, Will.
56:15That's...
56:16That's great.
56:25Well done.
56:26You've made a lot of people very, very happy.
56:28You have.
56:29He lives on now.
56:30Yeah.
56:31We thought that was it, but he's back and he's going to be in Rory's room and, yeah,
56:36it's perfect.
56:38Well, it was really nice to see you both again.
56:40You too.
56:41And I'll see you soon.
56:43Thank you so much.
56:44Yes.
56:45Bye-bye.
56:46Bye.
56:47All right.
56:48And many, many thanks.
56:49Oh, it's absolutely great that Mr Tookie's been repaired.
56:51Just seeing him hang in there reminded me of what he was like during my childhood.
56:56Just knowing that he can fly again in Rory's room in the future is just, is brilliant.
57:01I am over the moon.
57:03I'm absolutely delighted.
57:05All is forgiven.
57:06Mr Tookie's back.
57:15If you have a treasured possession that holds a Christmas memory and would like to ask the
57:20team for a special festive fix, please get in touch at bbc.co.uk slash take part and
57:28join us in the repair shop.