³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

The Repair Shop team bring their expertise to a host of cherished objects that have travelled the globe, from a chest bought for an African adventure to a parlour guitar from Frankfurt via Vienna.

First into the barn is Inge, who has brought with her a broken guitar that has been in her family for over 100 years. The guitar - a small acoustic ‘parlour’ instrument - once hung proudly on the wall of Inge’s grandparent’s home in Frankfurt. As a child, Inge wanted to learn to play it, but she accidentally broke the head, meaning that despite owning it for decades, she has never once heard it played. The fix falls to stringed-instrument expert Julyan Wallis, who has a special place in his heart for parlour guitars - even ones in as dilapidated a condition as this! With the head broken and the bridge cracked, there’s plenty of strengthening work to do if the guitar is to be made robust enough to play without risk of it snapping again.

On Geoff Harvey’s to-do-list is a dream restoration of a 1970s pinball machine with colourful comic-book styling. The machine, brought to the barn by Louise and her nephew Jack, once belonged to Louise’s twin brothers Michael and John, both now sadly passed on. The machine was a joint birthday present for the twins, who racked up countless hours (not to mention points) playing pinball together. John’s son Jack would love to pick up where his father and uncle left off - if Geoff can get it working again, that is. With his pinball wizardry, Geoff sets about repairing the mangled innards of the machine and restoring the comic-book playing surface, returning this stunning game to perfect playable condition.

The final restoration of the day is a collaboration between experts Steve Fletcher and Dominic Chinea. Their aim is to reconstruct a travel chest brought into the barn by Norma and daughter Fiona. The chest once belonged to Norma’s father, William, who originally purchased it for a job in Africa before returning to the UK to work in the fire service. William was tragically killed in a train crash aged just 44, and Norma has clung onto the chest as a keepsake of her father ever since. Although it is currently stored in the attic, Norma wants the chest down in the main house for it to have a purpose again, namely as a toy box for her great-grandchildren. But it is in poor condition, with a warped lid and broken locks, so there’s plenty for Dom and Steve to get their teeth into before this treasured chest can be used by the next generation of Norma’s family.