On Wednesday's episode of The Repair Shop: Beyond the Barn, ceramics specialist Kirsten Ramsey restored a Pride of Birmingham Award that had been shattered. The trophy belonged to Mikey Akers from Coventry, who won the award in 2018 at age 16 for his advocacy work raising awareness of verbal dyspraxia, a neurological speech condition he was diagnosed with at age 2.
Campaigner's Journey
Mikey faced difficulties learning to communicate and required extensive speech therapy during his formative years. At age 13, he wrote a poem titled I Am The Boy about his challenges and established the campaign organisation Mikey's Wish to promote understanding and assist other children with the condition.
In a separate segment, viewers saw Mikey, accompanied by his mother Louisa, share more details about the story behind the award. Louisa explained: "It affects the messages from the brain to the mouth, and they struggle to move the muscles and the nerves in order to form the sounds needed for speech."
Accidental Damage
Discussing his diagnosis, Mikey added: "Growing up with verbal dyspraxia was quite lonely. People outside of my family struggled to understand what I was saying. It was quite common that people thought I weren't as intelligent because of my speech. It was very frustrating."
Mikey described the award as his "proudest achievement," but the angel-like trophy was damaged when Louisa accidentally knocked it from a shelf while doing housework, smashing it to pieces. "When it shattered, I was mortified. I felt so guilty," Louisa told the camera.
Restoration Success
At the Repair Shop, Kirsten remained committed to restoring the award to pristine condition, remarking: "You don't get this unless you've done something quite extraordinary." The specialist acknowledged the challenge of recreating the award's gleaming finish, given the numerous fragments requiring reattachment.
When Mikey and Louisa arrived at the barn to retrieve the restored award, Louisa expressed that she "just wanted to see it back in one piece again." Kirsten had succeeded in making the statuette appear completely new, leaving Mikey delighted. "Oh wow," Mikey and Louisa gasped, before thanking Kirsten. Louisa quipped, "The guilt has gone," prompting laughter from mother and son.
"I am proud of him," Louisa remarked as Mikey confirmed: "It brings me back to when I first got it; it's a nice feeling." Kirsten observed: "You're clearly an inspiration to many, many people, which really spurred me on to try and do the best job that I possibly could, and It's ready to go back to whatever safe spot you've got for it."
The Repair Shop: Beyond the Barn is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
