The Repair Shop 255x24 - Episode 24

The team repair a microscope that once belonged to a pioneeringscientist and is now in the hands of a keen youngster wishingto use it once again. Elsewhere in the barn, there arerestoration jobs on a pair of well-worn war boots thataccompanied a captured soldier during the Second World War andan abstract sculpture that links a mother and daughter. OnWill's list is the substantial repair of a swinging bench fromIndia that threatens to collapse the next time it's saton.Arriving first are eight-year-old Felix and his dad Sam fromHertfordshire. They have broughtwith them a microscope handeddown from Felix's great-grandfather John D Bernal. Felix has akeen interest in science, perhaps unsurprising considering hisgreat-grandfather was a pioneering figure in the field ofcrystallography and helped pave the way for the scientists whodiscovered the double-helix structure of DNA. But despiteFelix's enthusiasm, he won't currently be making anydiscoveries as the microscope, dated 1890, no longer works.Optics expert Richard Biggs diagnoses the key problem: themicroscope is missing a crucial lens. He must also restore thereflective mirror that illuminates the glass slides.CobblerDean Westmoreland has an appointment with Malcolm, who isentrusting him with a very special pair of boots that saw hislate father Jack through some very difficult wartime years andbeyond. Jack was captured in Norway before seeing any combatand spent five years as a prisoner of war. His diaries, whichMalcolm still has, detail the horrific conditions that Jackand his fellow soldiers endured including periods of starvationand freezing winters. When Jack eventually returned home, theboots came with him, but the heel has worn down, thestitching is falling apart and the moths have attacked the feltuppers.Next to arrive is Krishna from Hertfordshire. She'shoping that woodwork maestro Will Kirk can repair a swingingbench that has been in her family for over 120 years. Thebench, a traditional item of furniture from Gujarat in WestIndia, belonged to Krishna's great-grandfather, and sheremembers it being in family members' homes as a child inIndia. When Krishna had cancer, the bench was a sanctuarywhere she could recover from her chemotherapy sessions. But nowits joints are loose and precarious, and the whole structurethreatens to break if sat upon. Will's plan includesdismantling the entire bench so he can assess which parts needto be replaced and remade, and he enlists Sonnaz Nooranvary torestuff the upholstery.Finally, Maria has a unique challengefor ceramics expert Kirsten Ramsay. She has brought in ahandcrafted sculpture made by her mother Betina, an artistfrom Buenos Aires, Argentina. The marble sculpture is thefirst in a triptych of works depicting a growing organicobject, and it's a work of which Betina was particularlyproud. However, when brought to the UK, it split from itswooden base, with pieces sheared off the sculpture itself.It's a tricky repair, so Kirsten calls in Dom to assist.