The Repair Shop 255x25 - Episode 25

The barn welcomes the poet laureate, Simon Armitage, who'shoping organ restorer David Burville can revive his treasuredharmonium, the subject of one of his poems. For Simon, theinstrument holds precious memories of his late father Peter, acreative man who encouraged Simon's own artistic journey. Theharmonium was originally in their local church in WestYorkshire where both father and son were choristers. Now Simonwants the harmonium restored to not only rekindle memories ofhis dad but also strike a more contemporary note. David sets towork so that when Simon returns to the barn with his band, theexperts are treated to a nostalgic but modern performance.Nextto arrive is Valerie from Pontefract with a pair of child'sleather clogs to test the craftsmanship of fellowYorkshireman, cobbler Dean Westmoreland. The clogs belonged toValerie's sister Iris who, in 1946, was born at least sixweeks premature. With her chances of survival slim, she wasfed with a little dropper. Although she continued to haveproblems with her health and mobility, against all the oddsIris survived. When she was around four years old, theirmother bought the little clogs to help Iris with her balance,but the little girl hated them so much that she threw them inthe fire. Burned and no longer usable, the shoes sat on themantelpiece for the next 40 years. After their mother died,Iris kept them on her own mantelpiece having never got over theguilt of upsetting their mum. The tiny shoes carry so muchweight that Dean has his work cut out bringing them back tolife for Valerie.Next, seeking the sculptural skills ofKirsten Ramsay, is Martin with a precious memento thatchronicles an extraordinary life. As a 27-year-old ceramics andsculpture student in Czechoslovakia, Martin's mother Verabefriended a fellow student sculptor called Milos Axman. Thebroken sculpture that Martin has brought to the barn was madeby Axman in 1947 and depicts his mother as a young woman.Before her studies, at the beginning of the Second World Warwhen the Germans took over Czechoslovakia, Vera had been sentto work in an ammunitions factory in Berlin. She had planned anescape with two male friends but when caught crossing theborder, her companions had been shot dead. Vera was tried inNuremberg and given a life sentence but was freed from prisonin 1945. The sculpture is an important repair for ceramicsexpert Kirsten Ramsay, aided by woodwork whizz Will Kirk, whoturns his own artistic hand to sculpting a new oak base.