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Episode 5

Jay Blades uses three repairs – a butter churn, spinning wheel and a set of ploughing trophies – and some fascinating archive to trace the changing face of rural life in the UK.

Jay Blades uses three recent repairs and some fascinating archive to trace the changing face of rural life in the UK.

The first item is a spinning wheel that once belonged to Christine's great-aunt in the Shetland Islands. Christine can remember collecting wool that had snagged on fences for her great-aunt to spin, and she would love the wheel to be working again. Jay unearths some fascinating archive that tells the story of the spinning wheel and how its role has changed between the Industrial Revolution and the present day.

Next is Carolyn and her partner Karl's butter churn, which Carolyn's family used to churn butter by hand. The repair required expert help from master cooper Alastair Simms, one of the country’s last remaining experts in making and fixing wooden barrels. Jay reveals the amazing history of the butter churn and how it gave birth to the store cupboard staple that we continue to enjoy to this day. He also discovers some eye-opening footage about the ancient initiation rituals in the world of coopers.

Finally siblings Liz and Sam brought in three trophies that their father won when he became world champion at tractor ploughing back in the 1950s. Jay tells the 4,000-year history of the plough and how this important farming implement developed over the centuries, culminating in the invention of the kinds of tractors that Liz and Sam’s father drove to ploughing championship glory.

44 minutes

Music Played

  • Blur

    Country House

  • Feist

    1234

  • Ellie Goulding

    Your Song

  • José González

    Heartbeats

  • Tommy Steele

    Butter Wouldn't Melt In Your Mouth

  • Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeroes

    Life Is Hard

  • Ian Campbell Folk Group

    The Ox-Plough Song

  • Take That

    Shine

  • The Queen's Hall Light Orchestra: Robert Farnon

    All Sports March

  • Keane

    Somewhere Only We Know

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Jay Blades
Series Producer Paula Fasht
Executive Producer David Sayer
Executive Producer Rob Butterfield
Executive Producer Emma Walsh
Production Company Ricochet Limited

Broadcasts