The Repair Shop expert Steve Fletcher was left telling off his co-star Dominic Chinea after he decided to try and make his life more difficult when fixing a clock which was brought in by guest Maria Grey.
Entering the barn, she placed the clock on the table and revealed that it had stopped ticking and chiming, delving into the history of having it in her life since she was a child.
She explained: “I have my mum’s retirement clock, her name was Philomena Doyle. She worked in Dublin in the civil service in the general post office and her job was to write up the phone bills for people and then post the bills out. All being done by hand.
“She lived in a flat with other girls and she had great independence having the job, and she liked that, she enjoyed that. Mum was 27 when she retired. Unfortunately, back in the 60s, there was a marriage bar in Ireland.
“That means that when you get married you must give up your employment, you must give up your job and you must stay in the home. That was the law and I know Dad asked her to marry him and she deferred her yes for several years to him because she didn’t want to give up her independence and her job.
“Mum’s colleagues clubbed together to buy this for her, there is a plaque on the front of it, an inscription and it meant a lot to her and she took it home and put it pride of place on the mantle piece.
“She jokingly referred to it as her retirement clock and I know she didn’t want to retire at 27. So the clock signifies the end of her career in business but also the start of her life with my dad and what was to become my family.”
The plaque on the front of the clock read: “Presented to Mrs Philomena Doyle, on the occasion of her marriage 14/09/1972.”
“I quite like that. I am glad things have changed,” Chinea noted before Maria revealed: “The marriage bar was lifted in 1973.”
Fletcher was curious as to whether her mother returned to work when the ban was lifted, to which she said: “No she never went back to work. In the 70s, 80s, and 90s, the technology changed rapidly, fax machines, phones, computers.
“I think it just went too fast for her, she was quite a shy modest lady so she never had the opportunity to get back into work,” leaving Steve to notice Maria was speaking of her mother in the past tense.
After confirming that she had died in December 2022, Maria left the clock with Fletcher for him to take a closer look at, but it was Chinea who nearly left Fletcher with more work than intended.
“Where does this bit go Steve?” Chinea asked jokingly, leaving Fletcher to state: “I know where that goes.”
Playing with the clock piece, the Chinea teased: “Yeah? Are you sure? If iI twiddle this bit in the middle, does it change things?” before Fletcher quickly intervened and quipped: “No don’t do that!”
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Once he found out where the issue was coming from, Fletcher got to work and successfully managed to make the clock tick and chime again, inviting Maria and her father back into the barn.
Unveiling the clock, Maria’s father expressed: “Well that is marvellous I tell you that,” before Maria added: “The plaque looks lovely and I can hear it ticking, it’s brilliant, isn’t it? But does it chime?”
As Fletcher gave them their wish, Maria added: “That’s it, perfect! It sounds a bit bigger than it is.”
