The Repair Shop S2023E22 - Episode 22

The team breathe new life into a military bugle that is far from fit for parade, a portable radio that once filled a hair salon with musical memories, a Big Ben-shaped clock painstakingly built from matchsticks, and a pair of children's shoes that represent a family's story of survival.

Arriving first are Nicky and veteran Billy, who have brought with them a military bugle that once belonged to Nicky's great-grandfather. The bugle has seen better days, with a plethora of dents and dinks along its once-shiny surface. Billy was in the army for 20 years before contracting a virus that left him blind. Now he wants the bugle brought back to a condition that's fit for parade and the role it still serves in his work at a blind veteran's rehabilitation centre in Llandudno.

On experienced cobbler Dean Westmoreland's to-do list is the restoration of a pair of children's shoes that are over 75 years old. The leather boots belong to 83-year-old Nechama from Tel Aviv. They were her first ever pair, given to her by her parents, who left Eastern Europe in the 1930s as Hitler rose to power, and they are a poignant reminder of the tough times the family endured during the 1940s.

Next to arrive is Charlotte, with a unique replica model of Big Ben made almost entirely from matchsticks. The model, measuring just over five feet, was handed down to Charlotte from her grandmother Barbara, who in turn inherited it from her artist father Edwin Aldous, who painstakingly built it in 1953 to commemorate Queen Elizabeth's coronation.

The final restoration falls to electronics whizz Mark Stuckey, who must disassemble and repair a Russian-built portable radio brought in by hairdresser Karl. It belonged to his father Enoch, a pioneer of Black British hairdressing, who owned numerous salons and hairdressing schools from the 1970s onwards. For Karl and his brothers, the radio brings back vivid memories of their father's shop, where he would sing along to his favourite songs and entertain customers.