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An item that was used to smuggle cash arrives, and there is a broken, ceramic soldier with a trademark moustache for restorer Kirsten Ramsay.

Arriving for an appointment with expert Dominic Chinea is Amanda Jane Graham from Longford in Ireland. She’s brought with her a simple doll’s pram. Behind this unassuming toy that once belonged to her grandmother is a story of subterfuge, worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster.

The pram belonged to Amanda Jane’s grandmother Mary, who was born in Butte, Montana, USA. Mary’s parents Ned and Jane had emigrated to Butte to find work, as employment was scarce in rural Ireland. When news reached Ned and Jane of a planned uprising against British rule in Dublin in 1916, they wanted to help fund the rebellion. And so a plan was hatched to smuggle $3,000 in Mary’s pram, carefully concealed inside the mattress. Despite being an important part of family history, Amanda Jane’s uncles removed the pram’s wheels decades ago for a go-kart, and now the pram sits bent and immobile. With rusted steel and missing wheels, Dom has his work cut out to restore this remarkable piece of family history back to its former glory.

For ceramics expert Kirsten Ramsay, a repair with military significance arrives at her workbench. Nicky from Swansea brings with her a figurine of her late husband Clive, a soldier who served in the British Army for 22 years, reaching the esteemed rank of Warrant Officer. Nicky had the caricature model made in 1992 to mark Clive’s new posting in Germany, with the instruction that Clive’s trademark bushy moustache be prominently featured! Sadly, after losing Clive to cancer in 2014, Nicky accidentally knocked the figure from a shelf, causing it to break in numerous places. Now, she’s hoping Kirsten can rebuild Clive so that he can take pride of place once again for Nicky and her family.

Next in is Anjali Prasad from Manchester, who is hoping that expert bookbinder Chris Shaw can revitalise a copy of the Ramayan, an important Hindu scripture, created by her great-grand-uncle in 1914. The paper booklet was written and printed in India, in a dialect specific to where Anjali’s great-grand-uncle Munshi Ram lived. As a self-educated man, Munshi Ram took it upon himself to help improve the lives of his community and set about writing his accessible copy of the Ramayan, meant for mass consumption. Over 100 years have taken their toll and the front page of the Ramayan is torn in two, with disintegrating binding and badly frayed edges throughout. With dexterity and skill, Chris injects some vitality back into the sacred text that means so much to Anjali.

The final restoration falls to horologist Steve Fletcher, who is faced with dissecting and reassembling a device brought in by Gill from the Wirral. Presenting a humble metronome, Gill explains that the item belonged to her choir conductor Doris Parkinson, who passed away in 2010. Doris - affectionately known as ‘Parky’ - started an old girls’ choir in 1952, running it until she was 97 years old! The metronome sat proudly at the end of the piano and helped the choir keep time, but now it is out of beat, with tarnished woodwork and a missing bottom. Gill hopes that Steve can pinpoint the problem and get the mechanism working. She hopes to use the metronome with the choir again, and have the spirit of ‘Parky’ in the room with those who love and remember her so fondly.