A guest on The Repair Shop opened up about how the precious item meant so much to her family.
A guest on The Repair Shop broke down in tears (Image: BBC)
A guest on The Repair Shop broke down in tears as she opened up about her son’s health.
The BBC programme returned to screens on Wednesday, September 23, with spin-off Beyond the Barn. The series follows experts restoring precious items from guests across the country, while also discovering what happened after the special items were restored.
Wednesday’s programme saw a treasured trophy revived, as well as a coronation scrapbook brought back to life. At the start of the show, Ruth Dalton from Rochester arrived with a gardening tool.
She sought The Repair Shop team’s help, including expert Jonathan Reid, in reviving her grandfather’s gardening tool, a pair of secateurs, so her son could use them.
She explained: “I have my late grandfather’s gardening scissors. He used them all the time, and I kind of wanted to keep them as a reminder of him and his gardening.”
She continued: “His name was Stan. He was a real, real green-fingered guy. He had a massive garden. I used to love spending time with my grandad. As children, we were always up there, helping him in the garden.
“There were little steps that went up to a big lawn and different archways. He used to tell us what plants you could touch and what they did. You know, ‘Don’t touch the roses, you might get pricked by the roses,’ and that sort of thing.
“He was very encouraging and did teach us a lot, gardening was his life.” Ruth went on to reveal that she herself loved gardening, though her own garden wasn’t “at its best”.
Ruth explained how she wanted the secateurs fixed so she could tend to her own garden, which was built for her son. She said: “His name is Samuel, he’s got a condition called Bainbridge-Ropers syndrome.
“He was only the 12th person in the UK to be diagnosed, and there’s about 300 worldwide. He’s coming up to 26 years old. He can’t walk, he can’t talk, he doesn’t really understand much but he loves being outside. His demeanour changes completely when he’s out in the fresh air.”
She added: “He can’t do things on his own but he really loves doing things like when we’re weeding and stuff. If he can reach them, he’ll pull the weeds out himself. So I thought these would be perfect because they’re just about the right size for Samuel to hold.”
She went on to point out some “dreadful” issues with the scissors, including how rusty they were and how stiff they were to use, as well as the old paintwork that was flaking off.
When asked how it would feel for her son to be able to use the same pruners that her grandfather once used, Ruth broke down in tears. She said: “My grandad’s always there, and his guiding hand on Samuel’s… I do things hand-on-hand with him, I almost feel that if he could use those, it would be my grandad’s hand helping him and to get him out there doing something purposeful gives him that little bit of independence. It would be special, he’s a special boy, he deserves it.”
The Repair Shop: Beyond the Barn is available to watch on BBC iPlayer