BBC Repair Shop’s Will Kirk issues warning to guests after ‘nerve-racking’ repair: ‘Maybe not!’
The Repair Shop expert Will Kirk gave a crucial disclaimer to guests on Wednesday’s BBC episode after preforming a “nerve-racking” repair.
Mother and daughter Gurcharan and Dimple Singh from Manchester brought a well worn and beloved coffee table to the barn to see it revived.
While examining the simple wooden table, Kirk heard that the table had been in the Singh family for more than 50 years.
The table was the first thing Gurcharan had purchased after coming to the UK in 1975 after leaving her birthplace of Punjab, India.
“This is my first thing, so I can’t forget this,” she explained.
Gurcharan had tied the knot after having an arranged married to Dimple’s father, who was from England, and came to the UK when she was “already pregnant… So it was very scary in the beginning because I had no family, hardly, here in England”.
As such, the table quickly became a grounding object for her – especially as she cooked, baked and helped her children, and 11 grandchildren, learn to walk on the table.
“This is like one of the family,” she said touchingly.
However, the table had seen better days. A botched varnish attempt and the rough and tumble of small children, including the table surface being used a stage for dance performances, had taken its toll.
A touched Kirk ensured: “For me to have a very small part to play in the history of this table is a lovely thing to be part of. It’s in safe hands.”
Despite his assuring words, Kirk later admitted he had the tricky task of replacing the table’s wooden spindles in order to restore its magazine shelf.
For each of the 11 spindles, he had to take a precut strip of beechwood and shape it on a lathe machine.
Kirk said as he prepared to get to work, adding: “It’s slightly nerve-racking work because, it being so thin, it has a tendency to bounce and flex whilst you’re putting pressure on it.
“So I need to go really easy with this and not rush it.”
When the time eventually came to reveal the table, Kirk was excited to share the rejuvenated family treasure.
“The table is everything for me,” Gurcharan said before both she and Dimple were stunned into silence as the repaired table was unveiled.
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“This is how it was. This is how it was. And I’ve got it (again),” Gurcharan uttered, voice quivering with emotion, as she caressed the newly waved table surface.
“Most importantly, I have finished this in a food-safe oil. So you can prepare food on the table,” Kirk informed with a proud grin.
However, the expert also issued a semi-serious warning to the mother and daughter: “Maybe not dance on the table, but that’s completely up to you”
“The table brings us happiness. It’s so beautiful… I can go back to my same cooking again. It’s like I’m young again, that’s how I feel,” Gurcharan said touchingly.
Dimple revealed that she wanted to keep it in the family for “another 50 years. Maybe more.”