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The Repair Shop expert Kirsten Ramsey was on hand to help restore a prized Pride of Birmingham Award, which was accidentally smashed

A mum was left feeling terribly guilty after accidentally breaking her son’s most prized possession while doing the housework.

During Wednesday’s (October 21) episode of The Repair Shop: Beyond the Barn, BBC viewers saw ceramics expert Kirsten Ramsey tasked with fixing an award statuette belonging to Mikey Akers from Coventry. In a cutaway scene, viewers saw Mikey alongside his mum Louisa share more about the incredible story behind the award.

In 2018, Mikey was 16 years old when he won a Pride of Birmingham Award for his tireless campaigning to raise awareness about verbal dyspraxia, after being diagnosed with the rare neurological speech disorder when he was two.

Mikey struggled to learn to speak and, throughout his childhood, needed intensive speech therapy to find his voice.

When he was 13, he wrote a poem called I Am The Boy about his struggles and set up campaign organisation, Mikey’s Wish, to raise awareness and support other young people with the condition.

Louisa explained: “It affects the messages from the brain to the mouth, and they struggle to move the muscles and the nerves in order to form the sounds needed for speech.”

Speaking about his diagnosis, Mikey added: “Growing up with verbal dyspraxia was quite lonely. People outside of my family struggled to understand what I was saying. It was quite common that people thought I weren’t as intelligent because of my speech. It was very frustrating.”

Mike was ecstatic with the Pride of Birmingham award and called it his “proudest achievement”; however, the angel-like trophy was damaged when Louisa knocked it off a shelf while doing housework, shattering it. “When it shattered, I was mortified. I felt so guilty”, Louisa told the camera.

Back at the Repair Shop, Kirsten was determined to make the award look brand-new again and said, “You don’t get this unless you’ve done something quite extraordinary.”

The expert explained that it would be tricky to recreate the award’s shiny surface because of all the broken pieces that would need to be reattached.

As Mikey and Louisa visited the barn to collect the award from Kirsten, Louisa said she “just wanted to see it back in one piece again.”

Miraculously, Kirsten had managed to make the award statuette look brand new, leaving Mikey elated. “Oh wow, Thank you”, he told Kirsten while Louisa joked: “The guilt has gone”, as the mother and son giggled.

“I am proud of him”, Louisa added as Mikey confirmed: “It brings me back to when I first got it, it’s a nice feeling.”

Kirsten commented: “You’re clearly an inspiration to many, many people, which really spurred me on to try and do the best job that I possibly could, and It’s ready to go back to whatever safe spot you’ve got for it. “

The Repair Shop Beyond the Barn is available to stream on BBC iPlayer

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 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

Conceived by owner Heidi Ledger as a showcase for small independent makers, including women in particular, Thread Spun is a sunny, inviting retail space offering fair trade apparel, home goods, accessories and gifts from around the world.

Inside, you’ll find plenty of great gifts for others — or yourself — including Los Angeles women-owned brands such as Amente clothing, Flowerhead Tea, hand-poured candles from Roen Candle Co. and Jessica Gonzalez’s playful asparagus-shaped candles for Happy Organics.

Grab a cold drink while you shop — visiting on a hot day, I appreciated that they offered refrigerated drinks for sale — while perusing a wide assortment of cards, books, apothecary gifts and jewelry.

The boutique also offers creative workshops for the local community on the back patio, including sewing, upcycling, journaling and, fittingly, the art of making sun catchers to brighten your home.

Around Encinitas: The boutique opened here in 2020, right next to 101 Piercing, Child of Wild jewelry and Leucadia Floral and Plant, known for its great selection of houseplants and fresh flowers. If you head farther down North Coast Highway 101, you’ll find plenty of restaurants, surf shops and coffee houses, including the longtime favorite, Pannikin Coffee and Tea.