During a repeat episode of “The Repair Shop” tonight, Brenton West left a guest and his stepson speechless and moved to tears after he successfully restored a garden ornament.
Quentin Long and his stepson Tim Stockwell entered the barn hoping that West could restore a rusted bee that Long had received as a gift from his grandson Miles.
Long placed the garden object on the table and explained, “It’s a garden bee figurine that my grandson Miles, Tim’s son, bought me. He bought it for me and carried it around, and he always called me Grandpa. So that’s Grand Bee.”
“It’s been in the garden since he bought it in 2014, and because it’s made of sheet metal, the elements just had to stay put and that’s it. But it’s very, very special. Um… the reason is,” Long couldn’t continue speaking and burst into tears.
Taking the lead, Stockwell continued: “About 18 months ago, Miles was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a very, very aggressive bone cancer, and as a result, he had to have his leg amputated. And he was a very athletic boy, so it was…
“It was terrible to see him go through that, but he did it like everything he did in life, with enthusiasm and full conviction: ‘I will beat this.’ Unfortunately, he lost the battle against cancer. He was 15…”
The bee was rusted and fell apart
BBC
Quentin pulled himself together and added: “Just over three and a half months ago, God bless him. I just want people to know and be aware of what Miles went through. He was an incredible kid and if that can help someone, that’s great. But that’s just for Miles.
“When he was little, he was with us almost every day. We always picked him up from school and the bond between us grew stronger and stronger, didn’t it? Whenever he went to sports, I was with him.”
Stockwell revealed that Miles was captain of Whitstable’s football team before moving to the Kent League and that he has had a passion for roller hockey since he was nine years old, winning national championships with his team.
When asked what he wanted from West, Long said, “When he bought it, it was a garden ornament that I loved, and now it’s become the most important thing in my life. I want Brenton to make it brand new for me. Put it all back together.”
Quentin Long burst into tears when he saw the restored bee
BBC
As he said goodbye to Long and Stockwell, Brenton picked up the bee and explained, “Wow. I have to make this beautiful for them, don’t I? This is going to be a little difficult. I can’t imagine what it feels like to lose a child at that age. And Quentin and Tim were so brave to come and tell us their story.
“So I’m going to pull out all the stops and make sure this bee looks as good as possible for Quentin because I know what it means to him. This bee is made of tinplate, which is basically mild steel. It’s very, very fragile.
“I’d like to salvage some of this paint, but the rust has gotten deep in there, it’s everywhere, and I couldn’t properly clean and repaint the paint without it rusting again almost immediately.”
After sandblasting the bee and repainting the whole thing, he took one last look at the camera before Long and Stockwell returned and said, “I hope this can put a smile on Quentin’s face someday.”
Brenton West managed to bring the bee back to life
BBC
“I know he’s deeply sad right now, but he’ll see this every day and I hope it will make him really, really happy in the future.”
As he unveiled the bee, Long burst into tears and exclaimed: “It brings back so many memories for me, it really does. Oh… that’s amazing! That’s absolutely amazing. That’s fantastic, thank you so much!”
“I can’t believe it. You’ve done us proud,” Stockwell added, before West said, “I imagine you’ll see it every day when you…”
Long interjected, revealing, “Oh, where it goes, it goes in a plant that Miles bought me, and every time I go out, it will be there looking at me.”
Coming out of the barn, Long added, “Oh yes, without a doubt! Thank you so much and fantastic work. When I look at the bee in this condition, I remember the day Miles gave it to me. It’s definitely a piece of Miles, a little bit of Miles, and it’s beautiful because I know he took care of it and that means the world to me.”
