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East Lothian - Saving the Musselburgh Carriage

The experts race against time to restore a historic carriage before a town procession, a unique musical instrument needs some TLC, and Will gets a makeover at Scotland鈥檚 oldest bespoke tailors.

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.

Will and Kirsten are in Musselburgh, on Scotland鈥檚 east coast. It鈥檚 a town boasting a proud heritage that is celebrated each year with a procession led by their elected Honest Lad and Honest Lass. However, for the past few years, the antique carriage these local luminaries ride in has been off the road. Restoring the carriage is a huge job that requires the skills of local signwriter Ross Hastie and wheelwright Greg Rowland, and made more complicated by the impending deadline of this year鈥檚 festival.

It's a bit of a musical mystery when the team are faced with Erica鈥檚 Stroviol. In the family since the 1930s, it belonged to Erica's father, who was a passionate musician who played in several local groups. The distinctive horn has become detached from this turn-of-the-century musical oddity, so it might take more than just the skills of stringed instrument expert Becky Houghton to get a tune out of it once again.

In nearby Edinburgh, Will stops off at Stewart Christie & Co, Scotland鈥檚 oldest bespoke tailors, to discover how their handmade tweed clothes balance modern demands with century-old techniques. Will gets an insight into every step of the process, from an initial measuring to getting on the scissors himself and cutting out his own waistcoat pattern from the tweed cloth the company built their name on.

Release date:

43 minutes

Credits

Role Contributor
Expert Rebecca Houghton
Expert William Kirk
Expert Kirsten Ramsay
Expert Greg Rowland
Expert Pete Woods
Participant Ross Hastie
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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