There’s a celebration of art and industry in the Repair Shop today.

First into the barn are John and his daughter Jo. They’ve brought along an intricate wooden automaton created 156 years ago by the family’s much-loved Uncle Bob. This feat of handmade engineering was crafted during time spent in quarantine after he contracted smallpox. The mechanical device contains 12 carved wooden figures representing rural tradesfolk from Victorian England. It’s a labour of love for the barn’s master of all trades, David Burville, to bring the machine back into motion once again.

Meanwhile, visitor Helen arrives with a pair of ceramic doves she hopes Kirsten Ramsay will take under her wing. The hand-painted ornaments were a gift from her grandfather to his wife during their final holiday together. They were purchased from Vallauris in France and were dubbed ‘the Picasso doves’ by Helen’s family. Pablo Picasso lived and worked in Vallauris, and Helen believes there’s a possibility that the dainty doves were based on the famous artist’s designs. However, they are now cracked and broken, so Kirsten needs to breathe fresh life into the two damaged doves.

The final restoration of the day is for one of the barn’s newest experts, Angelina Bakalarou. Her challenge is to fix a mining helmet made from compressed paper, used by a Welsh colliery worker during his 51-year career underground. Current custodian Ceri cherishes the helmet as a reminder of his late grandfather, who started working down the mines at just 14 years of age. It’s a tough task for the new expert, breathing new life into this historic helmet so that teacher Ceri can take it into his school to teach the children about the dangers faced by brave workers of the past. Show less