Restoration and Repair

Recently we found a television show produced by the BBC, The Repair Shop. Talented artisans receive a wide variety of keepsake items brought in for restoration and repair, their owners hoping these treasured items can once again be enjoyed as they had before time took its toll.

Each piece brought to the shop has a story, something which makes it personal and priceless to that individual. Watching the item being worked on creates a link between the owner and the artisan performing his/her skills while bringing it back to life.

Through the magic of Netflix, this television program, along with others, can be viewed as if newly released, opportunities to enjoy shows which otherwise would never have been seen. The Repair Shop is such a show.

Speaking of priceless…not once during the show was the cost of restoration or repair brought up. I’ve no idea how much it would cost on most of the items presented; however, from my own experience in restoring an old Steeple Clock that’s been in our family for as long as I can remember; expert craftsmanship doesn’t come cheap.

On our Christmas tree are several hand-me-down ornaments which we’ve been able to keep safe over the years from the cat’s attempts to destroy. This one is from the 1950s and didn’t cost that much, even when it was brand new; but seeing it allows my mind to travel through time, back to my youth. It’s only for a short trip; but the vision provided is real and no price can be affixed to it.

I was distracted by another thought, one from an old black and white television series; can’t remember if it was from the Outer Limits or the Twilight Zone. If memory serves, the story had an older couple reaching the end of their lives, bent over and disfigured from the process of aging, presented with an opportunity to be restored to youthful bodies so they could enjoy an extension available at considerable expense by a company providing this service.

As the story developed it became apparent they only had enough money to permit one of them the miraculous transformation and it was decided the husband would go first; his coming out of the procedure a handsome man in his early twenties. His wife, encumbered by old age, took his hand and it became obvious the results were not what they had envisioned or intended.

The last scene, at least as I recall, showed the husband, having been returned to his aged body, walking hand in hand with his wife as they return to the life that they had enjoyed for so many years as a couple. They choose to grow old together and appreciated the memories more than the opportunity to extend mortality separated by age.