The Repair Shop featured a ceramic bowl this week that had a special meaning for a young woman and her auntie.
In Wednesday (September 23) afternoon’s episode of the BBC programme, Charlotte came into the shop with her mum’s identical twin sister, Mary.
What happened with the bowl on The Repair Shop?
They had with them a cherished keepsake – a ceramic fruit bowl that, unfortunately, was broken into eight pieces.
Charlotte explained how it had belonged to her grandparents, and then her late mum. Her mum only owned it for a short while before Charlotte accidentally smashed it as a toddler.
Charlotte explained: “Sadly, we lost mum three years ago to motor neurone disease.”
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Mary then said: “We were very close. It’s hard to describe.”
“She was a very kind, selfless lady” Charlotte explained.
Mary, growing tearful as she described her late sister, said: “Oh yes, she did everything for everybody.
The bowl was ‘precious’ to Charlotte’s mum
“Until we knew what she had, she was still helping people. Very brave lady at the end. It was very hard to have such a terrible illness and none of us could help her.”
Explaining how significant the bowl was to them, Charlotte said: “We haven’t got many things that were precious to her, apart from this. So this will be a really lovely memory to have.
They may be gone but they definitely aren’t forgotten and I want their memory to live on.
“She loved it because it was her mum’s. It makes you remember the people who aren’t here any more. They may be gone but they definitely aren’t forgotten and I want their memory to live on.”
At the end, when they revealed the repaired bowl, it left the pair stunned.
“Oh my goodness, that’s amazing,” Charlotte said, gobsmacked.
The bowl ‘triggered memories’ Mary thought she had forgotten
“Beautiful,” said Mary, barely able to speak through her tears. “I can’t believe it… it triggers memories that you thought you’d forgotten.”
Charlotte laughed afterwards: “Now the bowl’s repaired, I’m sure my mum would forgive me… she’d be pleased as punch. I’m sure I definitely would be forgiven.”
Mary said of her late sister: “We were very close. Although we lived 50 miles apart, we spoke to each other every single day on the phone.
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“Having something restored like this seems to have given back something. It’s a strange sort of feeling that you’ve got. I’m overwhelmed with it, really. Words are hard to find in a situation like this.”
Charlotte said: “It’s another story to add to our family’s history and hopefully one that can be told for a few more generations.”
– The Repair Shop airs Wednesdays at 4.30pm on BBC One
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