BBC’s The Repair Shop: Restoring a community beacon

The relationship we have with the team from Bullock Fair Charity Shop in Harleston, Norfolk means the world to us. Supporters of East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) for over twenty years, the Bullock Fair team are passionate about helping to protect the 24/7 air ambulance service for people in their community. In 2024, they passed the incredible milestone of raising £1 million to save lives across the region.

Until around a year ago, a large model yellow helicopter stood on the shop’s roof; a proud beacon of the support from Bullock Fair for EAAA.

The helicopter was made by Alec Garrard, the father of Sally Wilkinson, who is the Managing Director of Bullock Fair. When Alec passed away in 2010, the helicopter continued to stand aloft the shop; a reminder of Alec’s passion for supporting people and causes in the heart of his community.

“When it was on the roof, the team inside the shop could hear the noise of the rotor blades turning in the wind,” Sally explains.

Over the years, the helicopter’s condition deteriorated as time and elements took their toll. In 2023, Sally had the helicopter taken down and asked somebody local if they could restore it. But the damage was too great, and the task was too big.

“However, they suggested that I try contacting BBC’s ‘The Repair Shop,’” Sally says.

The Repair Shop is a BBC1 programme, which shows expert craftspeople bringing loved pieces of family history, and the memories they hold, back to life. Sally applied by sending in a video of the helicopter and its story. She described the sentiment it holds – not just for her, but for the community too.

Sally continues: “It was around three months later when I received a phone call from the production team at The Repair Shop, where I was able to talk it through with them. Two weeks later, it all started to happen.”

The first step was for the helicopter to make its way over to The Repair Shop team.  “It took several of us to wrap it up safely. We actually sent it off in a sleeping bag!” Sally laughs.

The repair took longer than expected, around five to six months, as it was a difficult and complex project: “You’ll have to watch the programme to see why,” Sally teases.

When it was time to collect her beloved helicopter and the memories it holds, Sally couldn’t wait. It was quite the journey from Norfolk to the Sussex filming location as she had to battle flooded roads and some awful M25 traffic, but she says the experience was worth it.

Sally’s expert from The Repair Shop was Dominic Chinea, ‘Dom’: “I was really nervous, but Dom was very nice and so kind. He explained everything. There are cameras all around and above, I knew they were there but they’re in the background.”