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Episode 7

Episode 7 of 14

Jay Blades and the team restore a vintage telescope, beekeeping equipment, a 1950s radio and a handmade leather elephant.

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

The first visitor to the barn is Ed Hammond, with a damaged telescope to focus the attention of optics expert Richard Biggs. The telescope, complete with a worn leather case, belonged to Ed鈥檚 father. He and Ed would spend hours looking at the moon and stars together, talking about astrology and adventure. Ed has wonderful childhood memories of climbing trees to find the best vantage points and going wandering with the trusty telescope. However, all those treetop escapades have left the telescope in a bad way. It is so dented that it won鈥檛 extend or retract smoothly, and is no longer fit for adventuring. Ed intends to use it with his children and hopes Richard and Susie can get it back in action.

Neither Brenton nor Dom can believe their luck when Vanessa Tyler arrives with her beekeeping kit. Both experts dabble in beekeeping themselves and are only too happy to help get the old honey extractor and smoker back in full working order. Vanessa鈥檚 father bestowed upon her the great honour of taking care of his bees when he passed away. He had kept bees since he was a boy and continued to do so into his eighties. However, the equipment that has served them well for decades is now on its last legs, so Brenton and Dom pool all their metal mastery to get them up and running again.

Carrying a precious but broken relic from his childhood, Aziz Shaikh is next to enter the barn. The 1950s radio is literally shattered into pieces after an unfortunate accident, and Aziz is desperate for help. Aziz was fascinated by the radio from the moment he received it as a gift from his father back when he was a boy in Pakistan. He would listen to children鈥檚 programmes and cricket matches for hours each day. It鈥檚 not a job for the faint-hearted, but electronics experts Mark Stuckey and mechanical whizz Steve Fletcher roll up their sleeves and give it their best, with miraculous results.

The final visitors are Peter Newband and his daughter Jackie, with one of Peter鈥檚 childhood toys for the attention of leather restoration specialist Susie Fletcher. Pookie the elephant was crafted from scratch by Peter鈥檚 father while he was recuperating in an Iraqi hospital during the Second World War, and it symbolises a father鈥檚 love for his son. It鈥檚 an impressive creation, made of what was once brightly coloured leather, but Pookie is now a shadow of his former self and in dire need of Susie鈥檚 undivided attention.

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57 minutes

Signed Audio described

Last on

Wed 21 Feb 2024 20:00

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Jay Blades
Narrator Bill Paterson
Executive Producer Alex Raw
Series Producer Rebecca McLaughlin
Series Producer Tanveer Bari
Director Rich Merritt
Production Company Ricochet Limited

Broadcasts

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If you have a treasured possession that needs restoring, please get in touch.