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Glasgow - A Fix at the Top of the Cathedral

Dom and Lucia help an iconic Glasgow landmark that has lost its lustre, save an endangered Chinese Unicorn, and discover how street art is changing one city before our very eyes.

In this episode, the experts lend their skills to a community project, hear the story behind a new treasure to be repaired, and visit a local crafting hero.

Dom and Lucia are in Scotland’s biggest city for one of their biggest, or at least highest, fixes yet. Roof works mean once-in-a-generation access to Glasgow Cathedral’s weathervane, so the pair are helping blacksmith Stacey and apprentice Jameel clean and re-gild this iconic cockerel. The medieval building has a storied history, but it definitely predates lifts, so Lucia volunteers to go boldly where no Repair Shop expert has gone before – straight to the top of the 225-foot-high spire.

Back on solid ground, Kaming, a member of Glasgow’s Hakka Chinese community, has a Chinese unicorn head he hopes Lucia can bring back to life. The fragile bamboo-and-paper mask plays an important part in celebrations and festivities, but years of vigorous dancing have left it tattered and torn, its once-proud horn now held on with sticky tape. As he is the last person, as far as he is aware, who still knows how to do the traditional dance associated with the mask, he hopes having the costume repaired will mean he’s able to teach it to future generations before it's lost forever. It’s not a simple fix though, as Lucia has to contend with unfamiliar materials and balance her artistic restoration with creating a mask that will stand up structurally to years' more use in the future.

As they travel the country, the Repair Shop experts love to meet fellow craftspeople, but it’s not all stonemasonry and pottery. There’s been a vibrant graffiti scene in Glasgow for decades, and Dom is meeting celebrated street artist Pizzaboy to discover how his large-scale works engage with the local community.

Available now

43 minutes

Audio described

Credits

Role Contributor
Expert Dominic Chinea
Expert Lucia Scalisi
Narrator Bill Paterson
Executive Producer Rob Butterfield
Executive Producer Hannah Lamb
Series Producer Dave Martin
Producer Tanveer Bari
Production Company Ricochet Ltd

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