The Repair Shop: Tales from the Workshop of Dreams

The Repair Shop is here to save us all. A perfect show.

Far and away the best programme on British television.

Karen Farrington (Author) Karen Farrington is the author of over 40 books, including two bestselling titles with The Repair Shop. Her other books include the Springwatch Almanac, The Ambridge Chronicles, and Murder Mystery and My Family. Jay Blades (Foreword By) Jay Blades is a TV Presenter, Social Entrepreneur, Community leader and furniture designer. He co-founded the award winning social organisation Out of The Dark, a charity dedicated to teaching disadvantaged youngsters practical skills. Jay is best known for his furniture up-cycling on BBC One’s Money For Nothing and as presenter of the award-winning BBC Two series The Repair Shop.

We all have treasures hidden away in the attic, well-loved and well-worn belongings that have been passed down from generation to generation. They may be damaged or no longer working, but we can't bear to part with them. The expert craftspeople of hit BBC series The Repair Shop are dedicated to restoring and conserving these heirlooms. They know that the true worth of these possessions doesn't lie in their monetary value, but in the memories they hold and the stories they tell. 
 
In this fascinating book, you'll step inside The Repair Shop's Workshop of Dreams to explore some of the most moving family stories from the hit BBC series. From a glamorous sequinned dress that belonged to a popular travelling circus performer to a pump organ that was brought from Jamaica by a member of the Windrush generation, each family item is brought vividly to life - and lovingly restored by the team of Repair Shop experts who also contribute to these expanded stories. With a foreword by Jay Blades, Tales from the Workshop of Dreams is a heartfelt love letter to our collective past, and a fascinating slice of social history. 
 
This book features items fixed by Repair Shop experts Steve Fletcher, Will Kirk, Lucia Scalisi, Suzie Fletcher, Kirsten Ramsay, Dominic Chinea, Brenton West, Tim Gunn, Sara Dennis, Chris Shaw, Matt Nickels, Amanda Middleditch and Julie Tatchell. With great care and attention to detail, the Repair Shop team resurrect priceless pieces of family history and breathe new life into the stories they hold.

A True-Crime Casebook from the Hit BBC Series

Murder, Mystery and My Family

A compelling true-crime collection of female killers and their families’ search for justice, from the team behind hit BBC series Murder, Mystery and My Family

Five Women. Five families’ search for justice. 
 
All Sarah Chesham wanted was to survive, at a time when crops were poor and money was tight. By the time she died she was branded a merciless child killer. 
 
All Emily Swann wanted was the love of a man who wouldn’t abuse her. By the time she died she was depicted as a vengeful, drunken hussy. 
 
All Edith Thompson wanted was a romance with a man who adored her. By the time she died she was seen as a scheming and manipulative adulteress. 
 
All Louie Calvert wanted was to be heard. Yet when she died she slipped almost immediately into the shadows, like thousands of other women like her. 
 
All Charlotte Bryant wanted was a distraction from a dreary life. By the time she died she was deemed a seductress and an arch poisoner. 
 
No one wants to believe that their mother, sister or daughter is capable of murder. When a woman is charged with a killing, we judge more harshly and punish more severely than when a man does the same. 
 
Murder, Mystery and My Family explores five historical true-crime tales from the hit BBC series, each with a woman at the heart of the story, from a case of ‘poison panic’ in the 19th century to a post-war murder that gripped the nation. Tales of infidelity and greed, corruption and deceit run throughout – but was justice served for all? Descendants of those convicted revisit each case in search of answers. 
 
Based on extensive research, including original court records and interviews with descendants, Murder, Mystery and My Family delves deeper into each crime, while also looking at our changing attitudes to women who have found themselves at the centre of our darkest dramas.

A Make Do and Mend Handbook

The Repair Shop

To coincide with a new 30-part series of The Repair Shop on BBC2, a ‘Make Do and Mend’ manual for modern times, from the experts behind the hit series

It is my considered opinion that The Repair Shop is far and away the best programme on British television.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER AND OFFICIAL COMPANION TO THE HIT BBC SERIES 
 
BBC’s The Repair Shop is a place where Britain’s most skilled and caring craftspeople rescue and resurrect items that owners thought were beyond saving. Their shared love of craft has helped hundreds of people recover and relive cherished memories, and inspired millions to rediscover their own prized possessions. The skill required to properly restore those items may be beyond most of us, but there are small things we can all do to care for the items we love the most. How do you replenish the stuffing in your child’s beloved, tatty teddy bear, for instance? Or remove a water mark left on your wooden table? What’s the best way to prevent your leather from cracking? 
 
Direct from the Repair Shop's 'Workshop of Dreams', this ‘make do and mend’ guide collects advice and stories from each of the show’s experts, to help you understand and care for those aging treasures and heirlooms around your house or gathering dust in the garage. Whether it’s wood, ceramics, leather or silverware, you will get to know your materials, tools and terms from Britain’s best, as the Repair Shop experts share their tips on restoring and conserving, reveal their favourite tools, and provide a series of small, manageable projects that help tackle the most common problems that occur in their given medium. Their book, like the show it accompanies, with help you safeguard your sentimental legacy for generations to come.

Moments that made the nation's favourite radio drama

The Archers: The Ambridge Chronicles

A collection of some of the best stories from over 60 years of the nation’s favourite radio drama

Joanna Toye worked for fifteen years on the production team of The Archers before leaving to become a freelance author and scriptwriter for the programme. This is her eighth Archers-related book. 
 
Karen Farrington works as an author, ghost-writer, editor and researcher for a range of leading UK publishers. She has written more than 40 books, as well as for women’s magazines and daily newspapers.

The Archers, like life, is made of moments: marriages and births, loves and losses, triumphs and disasters. It has been the soundtrack of our lives for over six decades, from stooking corn with Dan Archer in the 1950s to the tragic death of Nigel Pargetter in 2011. 
 
We know the characters of Ambridge – from much-loved Phil and Jill Archer and the irrepressible Grundys to wayward Brian Aldridge – like we know close friends. This book is their tribute. 
 
The Ambridge Chronicles relives some of the defining moments in The Archers history, delving into the rich archive of its scripts, to celebrate the highs and lows that have made the world’s longest running radio serial so treasured.

Springwatch: The 2019 Almanac

From the team at Springwatch, an inspiring collection of stories, practical advice and outdoor wisdom for every season of the year

‘Beautiful, fun, a great book… the best book ever written!’ - Chris Evans 
 
‘It is a brilliant book, a toolkit, packed full of information – even I learnt a few new things!’ - Chris Packham 
 
Explore the world outside your window. 
 
For 13 years the BBC's Springwatch and its sister programmes, Autumnwatch and Winterwatch, have been bringing the best of Britain’s wildlife into our homes. Now Springwatch: The 2019 Almanac offers the perfect guide for anyone looking to get out and explore the wonders of nature just outside their back door. 
 
Taking you month by month through the coming year, the almanac combines compelling stories with practical guidance that will inspire anyone to start exploring. It has all the information you need to discover the natural wonders around you, from how to identify animal tracks and bird nests to the best time to witness starling murmurations and mayflies hatching. Complete with monthly daylight and rainfall charts and beautifully illustrated with black and white line drawings, The Springwatch Almanac is the ideal companion for every nature lover.

As heard on Radio 4

Great Lives

Some of the world's most influential and fascinating characters, as nominated by the Great Lives guests

Karen Farrington has worked an an author, ghost-writer, editor and researcher for leading UK publishers. She is credited with more than 40 non-fiction titles, specialising in modern history and biographies. A former Press Association reporter at the Central Criminal Court, she has also written regularly for women's magazines and daily newspapers. 
 
Matthew Parris was born in Africa in 1949 and grew up in Cyprus, Rhodesia, Jamaica and Britain. He became an MP in 1979, and after seven years a Conservative MP he became the regular parliamentary sketchwriter for The Times. His books include his autobiography Chance Witness, Read My Lips, Scorn with Added Vitriol, and Inca-Kola. Parris is a regular travel writer, reviewer, broadcaster and columnist, and has presented Great Lives since 2006.

Based on the popular Radio 4 series, Great Lives highlights some of the world's most fascinating and influential characters. Chosen by the show's guests, each biography reveals the life and times of artists, sportsmen, statesmen, authors, monarchs, actors, musicians and scientists, showing why they inspire, what they achieved and how they have influenced the world at large. Discover the intriguing lives of Clement Attlee and Henri Matisse, King Alfred and Samuel Johnson, Tommy Cooper and Robert Kennedy, Robin Day and Edith Wharton, along with many more. 
 
From the famous to the obscure, the historical to the contemporary, each biography provides an insight into the character's personality, why they were driven to achieve so much, and separates fact from fiction. With a foreword by the show's presenter, Matthew Parris, Great Lives is an ideal gift for history and biography enthusiasts, and for fans of the Radio 4 series.

Karen Farrington

Bargain Hunt is a British institution, entertaining audiences for over 20 years, and encouraging us to look for diamonds in the rough at antique fairs and shops across the country. A Bargain Hunt is more than just a quest for cash, though - from traveller's trunks and tea caddies to walking canes, coins and quirky costumes, each of the items chosen has their own story to tell, forming a small part of our collective social history. 
 
The Bargain Hunt Spotter's Guide to Antiques is packed with essential information from the Bargain Hunt experts on identifying quality across a range of antiques. From makers' marks and tell-tale historical styles to details in foils and finials, this will be your one-stop guide to making good choices on your own bargain hunt - while also delving into the fascinating stories behind many of our favourite antiques. 
 
With a foreword from Natasha Raskin Sharp, as well as tips, advice, and stories throughout from each of the show's experts (including 'league tables' of best and worst finds), this is the essential companion to all your future Bargain Hunts!

Karen Farrington

Praise for Bargain Hunt: The Spotter's Guide to Antiques

Bargain Hunt is a right bobby-dazzler

Books by Karen Farrington

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