The Repair Shop's David Burville brought music to the home of Yvonne Burgess, a centenarian registered blind, by playing a street organ outside her house in Kent. Yvonne called the musical visit a "lovely surprise", Kent Online reported in 2022.
A special visit for a familiar face
For David, the celebration was a chance to do something special for someone he had known for several years. He said: "It has been wonderful being invited. We have known Yvonne for a few years and she is such a wonderful soul. It is quite fitting to bring the organ along and play a few of her favourite tunes."
The Dutch street organ was built in the mid-60s, and David added a lot of modern tunes to the repertoire.
Yvonne's reaction
Yvonne said of her special day: "To think they have done all of this for me, I can't get over it. I said 'you have to take me out so I can feel it' and it was lovely."
The instrument was a fitting choice for the organ specialist, whose career has involved both building and restoring organs.
David's career and personal life
David runs D. R Burville Organ Builders in Canterbury, Kent. He started his career at F H Browne before moving to Belgium in 1998 for an apprenticeship, later returning to the UK to set up his own business. According to his website, he became the UK's youngest full-time organ builder.
Although he largely keeps his personal life private, David has shared glimpses of family life with his wife Kelly. The couple married at Marleybrook House in Canterbury, and he later posted on Instagram about returning to the venue around their anniversary.
His warmth also extends to his Repair Shop colleagues, including electronics specialist Mark Stuckey. After buying Mark's book, Bright Spark, David shared a Facebook video celebrating his friend's stories. "I'm very honoured to call him my friend," he captioned the post. In the video, David called the title "very aptly named" and revealed that the cast know his colleague as "Mark the Spark". He added: "Mark has got some wonderful, wonderful stories and no doubt this book is going to be jam-packed full of stories."
