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Today we're in Northamptonshire, where tradition runs deep. | 0:00:06 | 0:00:09 | |
The Spencer family have been part of this community for five centuries, | 0:00:09 | 0:00:13 | |
running the vast estate and the house, | 0:00:13 | 0:00:15 | |
and employing local people to work here. | 0:00:15 | 0:00:17 | |
And today we get a chance to see how it all works | 0:00:17 | 0:00:19 | |
as we make Althorp our home. | 0:00:19 | 0:00:21 | |
Welcome to "Flog It!". | 0:00:21 | 0:00:23 | |
CHEERING | 0:00:23 | 0:00:25 | |
The Spencers have an unbroken link with Althorp | 0:00:47 | 0:00:50 | |
and the family includes Diana, Princess of Wales, | 0:00:50 | 0:00:52 | |
who was laid to rest here after her death in 1997. | 0:00:52 | 0:00:57 | |
Covering 13,000 acres, the estate is largely unchanged | 0:00:57 | 0:01:01 | |
and we're looking forward to exploring this and the house, | 0:01:01 | 0:01:04 | |
and our crowd is just starting to arrive. | 0:01:04 | 0:01:08 | |
Gosh, look at this, what a fantastic queue. Morning, everyone! | 0:01:08 | 0:01:11 | |
-ALL: -Morning! | 0:01:11 | 0:01:12 | |
Hundreds of people have turned up, laden with bags and boxes full of | 0:01:12 | 0:01:15 | |
antiques and treasures, and hopefully one or two of you are going to go home very rich! | 0:01:15 | 0:01:19 | |
They're here to see our experts and our experts will give every single item a valuation. | 0:01:19 | 0:01:23 | |
And if you're happy with the valuation, what are you going to do? | 0:01:23 | 0:01:26 | |
-ALL: -Flog It! -Let's do it. | 0:01:26 | 0:01:28 | |
And we've brought in the best experts to help us. | 0:01:29 | 0:01:32 | |
Ever the fashion icon, we have Christina Trevanion. | 0:01:32 | 0:01:36 | |
I love that, where's that come from? | 0:01:36 | 0:01:37 | |
-GASPING: -It matches my coat! -It does, yeah. -Oh! | 0:01:37 | 0:01:41 | |
And hot on her tail is Will Axon. | 0:01:41 | 0:01:43 | |
-It's still wet. -Yeah. -LAUGHTER | 0:01:43 | 0:01:47 | |
And they're getting ideas above their station. | 0:01:47 | 0:01:49 | |
-Sandringham. -Sandringham or Althorp, which would you prefer? | 0:01:49 | 0:01:52 | |
Well, they're both a bit pokey, aren't they? | 0:01:52 | 0:01:55 | |
Well, it's time to open the doors and get on with the valuations | 0:01:56 | 0:01:59 | |
and get the crowd inside. Come on in. | 0:01:59 | 0:02:01 | |
So while they're settling down and unpacking all their antiques | 0:02:01 | 0:02:04 | |
and collectables, here's a quick look at what's coming up on today's show. | 0:02:04 | 0:02:08 | |
Christina makes a new friend... | 0:02:10 | 0:02:12 | |
Well, that's a nice spa day for me, then. | 0:02:12 | 0:02:14 | |
Oh, that's a great idea. Can I come too? | 0:02:14 | 0:02:16 | |
Will faces temptation... | 0:02:16 | 0:02:19 | |
-I live on a narrow boat. -You live on a narrow boat? -Yeah. | 0:02:19 | 0:02:21 | |
-What fun! -It is. -I've always been tempted, you know. | 0:02:21 | 0:02:24 | |
'There are lessons to be learned at auction...' | 0:02:24 | 0:02:26 | |
That's better than being in the skip, isn't it? | 0:02:26 | 0:02:28 | |
'And I navigate one of the longest canal tunnels in the UK | 0:02:28 | 0:02:32 | |
'and find out what it was like to be one of the boat people | 0:02:32 | 0:02:35 | |
'who kept Britain in business.' | 0:02:35 | 0:02:38 | |
Now we can't get too cosy because our experts have got to work flat out today. | 0:02:38 | 0:02:41 | |
Let's join up with them at the valuation tables | 0:02:41 | 0:02:43 | |
and take a closer look at what THEY'VE spotted. | 0:02:43 | 0:02:46 | |
Christina's found a snug place at the top of the stairs. | 0:02:47 | 0:02:50 | |
Marion, it really is a very estately home, isn't it? | 0:02:50 | 0:02:53 | |
-It is, beautiful. -Beautiful. | 0:02:53 | 0:02:55 | |
It really is. | 0:02:55 | 0:02:56 | |
And exactly this sort of home would have accommodated a box like this. | 0:02:56 | 0:03:00 | |
-Really? -Yeah, it's a really lovely thing. | 0:03:00 | 0:03:02 | |
Now, tell me where you got it from. | 0:03:02 | 0:03:04 | |
It was given to my husband over 50 years ago by a neighbour. | 0:03:04 | 0:03:08 | |
It's been in one loft to another after moving house... | 0:03:08 | 0:03:12 | |
-Right. -..and I decided to bring it today... | 0:03:12 | 0:03:16 | |
-Mm. -..because my husband was going to put it on the skip. | 0:03:16 | 0:03:19 | |
-On the skip?! -On the skip. | 0:03:19 | 0:03:20 | |
-Why was he going to put it on the skip? -Cos he said it's a load of rubbish. | 0:03:20 | 0:03:23 | |
-A load of rubbish? -Exactly. | 0:03:23 | 0:03:24 | |
And I said, "Well, we need to know what it is..." | 0:03:24 | 0:03:27 | |
OK. How interesting. | 0:03:27 | 0:03:29 | |
This is what we call Visakhapatnam. | 0:03:29 | 0:03:30 | |
-Right. -OK. Now this was made a very, very long way away from here. | 0:03:30 | 0:03:34 | |
This was made on the Coromandel coast of India. | 0:03:34 | 0:03:37 | |
-OK. -OK? From a little town called Visakhapatnam, | 0:03:37 | 0:03:40 | |
where they made these type of wares. | 0:03:40 | 0:03:42 | |
Now, if we open it up, | 0:03:42 | 0:03:44 | |
inside we can see that this originally | 0:03:44 | 0:03:47 | |
-was once a writing slope... -Mm-hm. | 0:03:47 | 0:03:49 | |
-..or a writing desk, if you like. -Right. | 0:03:49 | 0:03:51 | |
Now, these sorts of wares were made between the sort of | 0:03:51 | 0:03:54 | |
mid-17th century and the mid-19th century. | 0:03:54 | 0:03:57 | |
But this particular example was made in about... | 0:03:57 | 0:04:00 | |
I think probably about 1830, 1835. | 0:04:00 | 0:04:03 | |
So this is antler. | 0:04:03 | 0:04:06 | |
-Antler? -Antler. | 0:04:06 | 0:04:08 | |
So all this knobbly bit on the top here is antler. | 0:04:08 | 0:04:11 | |
This is probably ivory, but because this is an antique piece, | 0:04:11 | 0:04:16 | |
-ivory is OK to offer. -Right, OK. | 0:04:16 | 0:04:18 | |
Right. So, it would have had a covering here, which, sadly, has now gone. | 0:04:18 | 0:04:21 | |
There is also a bit of a condition issue. | 0:04:21 | 0:04:24 | |
I think I saw a little bit of missing stringing just here. | 0:04:24 | 0:04:28 | |
-Yeah. -Just there, sadly. | 0:04:28 | 0:04:30 | |
But you've got all the components to it. | 0:04:30 | 0:04:32 | |
You got your wonderful little pen well here. | 0:04:32 | 0:04:34 | |
I'm so glad you salvaged it for us, Marion, I really, really am. | 0:04:34 | 0:04:37 | |
-Good, good. -It's such a beautiful thing. | 0:04:37 | 0:04:39 | |
I mean, they were made for a Western audience, | 0:04:39 | 0:04:41 | |
-they were shipped back home from India. -Right. Yeah. | 0:04:41 | 0:04:44 | |
-So they are in very much sort of Anglo-Indian style. -Mm-hm. | 0:04:44 | 0:04:48 | |
Value-wise, at auction they are very popular. | 0:04:48 | 0:04:52 | |
Well, I would happily put an estimate of £200-£300 on this, | 0:04:52 | 0:04:57 | |
with a reserve at 150. | 0:04:57 | 0:04:58 | |
-Are you all right? -I'm shocked. -Are you all right? -I'm shocked. | 0:04:59 | 0:05:02 | |
£200 worth of box in the skip! | 0:05:02 | 0:05:04 | |
Well, that's a nice spa day for me, then. | 0:05:04 | 0:05:07 | |
-Oh, that's a great idea. Can I come too? -You can. | 0:05:07 | 0:05:09 | |
Ooh, fantastic. | 0:05:09 | 0:05:10 | |
Well, that's a date, then! | 0:05:10 | 0:05:12 | |
And it looks like Will's uncovered some real craftsmanship | 0:05:12 | 0:05:15 | |
from the historic workshop of Robert Thompson. | 0:05:15 | 0:05:18 | |
Hi, Anne, nice of you to come along | 0:05:18 | 0:05:20 | |
and thank you for bringing this rather wonderful, | 0:05:20 | 0:05:22 | |
of course, Mouseman tray. | 0:05:22 | 0:05:24 | |
-No problem. -Not only have we the one mouse - | 0:05:24 | 0:05:26 | |
I've got a rather nice plump long-tailed mouse my end - | 0:05:26 | 0:05:30 | |
but your end another one, | 0:05:30 | 0:05:32 | |
because it is, obviously, a two-handled tray, | 0:05:32 | 0:05:35 | |
so the mice themselves actually become part of the tray | 0:05:35 | 0:05:38 | |
and make it easier to carry. | 0:05:38 | 0:05:41 | |
Tell me, are you a Mouseman fan? | 0:05:41 | 0:05:44 | |
I am, we've got a lot of Mouseman furniture in the house | 0:05:44 | 0:05:47 | |
and in the family, and... | 0:05:47 | 0:05:49 | |
-Have you? -..parents and grandparents... | 0:05:49 | 0:05:51 | |
-Really? -..on my husband's side have got a lot of Mouseman furniture, so... | 0:05:51 | 0:05:54 | |
-Wow. -..we've got a few mice running around our house. | 0:05:54 | 0:05:58 | |
Yeah, well, I'm very envious because I love Mouseman, | 0:05:58 | 0:06:01 | |
I think it's relevant in the modern decoration, with its simple lines | 0:06:01 | 0:06:05 | |
and its back to sort of basics manufacture. | 0:06:05 | 0:06:08 | |
I don't need to tell you the story of the mouse, do I? You know that? | 0:06:08 | 0:06:11 | |
"Poor as a church mouse." | 0:06:11 | 0:06:12 | |
Exactly. Who knows if that's true or not, but it's a beautiful... | 0:06:12 | 0:06:15 | |
-A lovely myth, isn't it? -Yeah. -A lovely sort of idea to think that. | 0:06:15 | 0:06:18 | |
It's not cheap to buy from the workshop itself up in Kilburn. | 0:06:18 | 0:06:22 | |
It is expensive and they themselves | 0:06:22 | 0:06:25 | |
still sell some of the antique pieces. | 0:06:25 | 0:06:27 | |
Where has this come...? | 0:06:27 | 0:06:28 | |
Tell me it's out and used. Have you had a few TV dinners on it? | 0:06:28 | 0:06:31 | |
Unfortunately, it's not. | 0:06:31 | 0:06:33 | |
We've got other Mouseman furniture that we use every day - day in, day out - | 0:06:33 | 0:06:37 | |
but this was given to my husband by his great-aunt... | 0:06:37 | 0:06:40 | |
-Right. -..and unfortunately, it's not used. | 0:06:40 | 0:06:43 | |
-Mm... -And it seems a shame for it not to be in use and admired, so... | 0:06:43 | 0:06:48 | |
It does seem a shame because it's got everything going for it. | 0:06:48 | 0:06:50 | |
It's got the nicely carved mice with the long tails... | 0:06:50 | 0:06:53 | |
It's got this lovely adzed surface and importantly, the colour - | 0:06:53 | 0:06:56 | |
that's what's very important | 0:06:56 | 0:06:58 | |
because I don't know if you've been up to the workshops recently... | 0:06:58 | 0:07:01 | |
-Yeah. -..you know, now the oak is quite pale, | 0:07:01 | 0:07:04 | |
that sort of pale yellow oak, | 0:07:04 | 0:07:06 | |
whereas this colour oak, where it's just natural patternation | 0:07:06 | 0:07:10 | |
building over the years and it's this rich, deep, | 0:07:10 | 0:07:13 | |
almost a sort of... Well, I suppose it's almost like a mahogany. | 0:07:13 | 0:07:17 | |
We've never really known the date of it, | 0:07:17 | 0:07:19 | |
except it looks quite early to other furniture that we've got. | 0:07:19 | 0:07:22 | |
I know people in the business who are specialists in Mouseman | 0:07:22 | 0:07:25 | |
and they just have to have one look at a mouse | 0:07:25 | 0:07:27 | |
and they know exactly when it was carved and who carved it, | 0:07:27 | 0:07:30 | |
because each carver had their own little quirks. | 0:07:30 | 0:07:33 | |
You know, one made the ears perhaps a bit longer, | 0:07:33 | 0:07:35 | |
-the tail longer, the tail thinner, fatter. -Right. | 0:07:35 | 0:07:37 | |
Well, I'm going to say it's probably 1950s, that sort of period, | 0:07:37 | 0:07:40 | |
-possibly '60s, but I don't think it's any later than that. -Right. | 0:07:40 | 0:07:43 | |
-Yeah, no. -Well, listen, I think we've got to price it sensibly. | 0:07:43 | 0:07:46 | |
You know the name of the game. | 0:07:46 | 0:07:48 | |
What you don't want to do is scare buyers off | 0:07:48 | 0:07:49 | |
by overcooking something's estimate, | 0:07:49 | 0:07:52 | |
so I would suggest a sensible auction estimate | 0:07:52 | 0:07:55 | |
has got to be £200-£300... | 0:07:55 | 0:07:57 | |
I mean, are you happy at that sort of money? | 0:07:57 | 0:07:59 | |
Yeah. That's lovely, thank you. | 0:07:59 | 0:08:01 | |
Well, Will's not the only one who loves oak. | 0:08:01 | 0:08:03 | |
I'm a real fan and at Althorp there are some amazing specimens. | 0:08:03 | 0:08:08 | |
There used to be formal plants and flowerbeds surrounding the house, | 0:08:09 | 0:08:12 | |
but the park and the magnificent oaks are very much part | 0:08:12 | 0:08:14 | |
of Althorp's historic landscape | 0:08:14 | 0:08:17 | |
and the current Earl is keen to see that the eye is drawn | 0:08:17 | 0:08:20 | |
to these wonderful trees in the typical traditional English scene. | 0:08:20 | 0:08:25 | |
And this one is known to be the oldest oak on the estate, | 0:08:25 | 0:08:28 | |
it's called the Crimea Oak and it dates back to 1589, | 0:08:28 | 0:08:32 | |
and just look at the girth on that! | 0:08:32 | 0:08:34 | |
Memorial planting has continued here on the estate. | 0:08:37 | 0:08:40 | |
When Diana, the Princess of Wales, died, | 0:08:40 | 0:08:42 | |
36 oak trees were sown to commemorate her life - | 0:08:42 | 0:08:45 | |
one for each year she lived. | 0:08:45 | 0:08:48 | |
We're back at the house and Christina's spotted a real gem. | 0:08:50 | 0:08:53 | |
Now, Anthony, this is just beautiful, isn't it? | 0:08:54 | 0:08:58 | |
-Thank you, yes. -My goodness, how did you come by this? | 0:08:58 | 0:09:00 | |
I came by it because it belonged to my late mother, | 0:09:00 | 0:09:03 | |
-who never actually wore it and it was... -Oh, really? | 0:09:03 | 0:09:05 | |
No, it has always been in a cupboard or a drawer somewhere | 0:09:05 | 0:09:08 | |
and it was left to her by her godmother. | 0:09:08 | 0:09:12 | |
It just seems criminal to me | 0:09:12 | 0:09:13 | |
that this hasn't seen the light of day for how long? | 0:09:13 | 0:09:16 | |
30 years at least. | 0:09:16 | 0:09:18 | |
-30 years at least. -30 years. | 0:09:18 | 0:09:19 | |
I mean, it is just a little treasure, innit? | 0:09:19 | 0:09:21 | |
Look at that, it's beautiful. | 0:09:21 | 0:09:23 | |
So, date-wise, I would put this at sort of maybe late 1930s, | 0:09:23 | 0:09:28 | |
the end of the Art Deco period. | 0:09:28 | 0:09:30 | |
Would that tally with the dates? | 0:09:30 | 0:09:31 | |
Possibly. I mean, obviously, her godmother would have been born | 0:09:31 | 0:09:34 | |
about the turn of the century, | 0:09:34 | 0:09:36 | |
so I don't know whether it would have been a 21st present for her, | 0:09:36 | 0:09:39 | |
or whether she bought it for herself. | 0:09:39 | 0:09:41 | |
The reason I'm saying that maybe it's slightly later than that, or it certainly might be of that period... | 0:09:41 | 0:09:45 | |
-But if we look at the hoop of the ring here... -Right. | 0:09:45 | 0:09:48 | |
..it's actually stamped platinum. | 0:09:48 | 0:09:49 | |
Platinum wasn't used in this country until the 1920s and I think it's | 0:09:49 | 0:09:52 | |
quite a sophisticated setting, | 0:09:52 | 0:09:54 | |
-so I'm thinking it might be slightly later. -Right. | 0:09:54 | 0:09:56 | |
Nonetheless, it is the most stunning ring. | 0:09:56 | 0:09:59 | |
It's beautiful. We've got this fabulous, rich, | 0:09:59 | 0:10:02 | |
velvet blue sapphire in the middle here, | 0:10:02 | 0:10:05 | |
which is sort of an oval mixed cut, really beautiful. | 0:10:05 | 0:10:08 | |
-I would suggest it might be a Ceylon sapphire... -Right. | 0:10:08 | 0:10:11 | |
..which is the best of the best of the best you can get, | 0:10:11 | 0:10:14 | |
it's just gorgeous. | 0:10:14 | 0:10:15 | |
And then surrounded by this wonderful row of diamonds... | 0:10:15 | 0:10:18 | |
We've got baguette-cut diamonds on the shoulders here | 0:10:18 | 0:10:21 | |
and old-cut diamonds around the outsides there. | 0:10:21 | 0:10:24 | |
And then obviously centred by this approximately | 0:10:24 | 0:10:27 | |
six-carat beautiful sapphire. | 0:10:27 | 0:10:30 | |
Now, when I started out in this business, | 0:10:30 | 0:10:33 | |
coloured stones were not particularly fashionable. | 0:10:33 | 0:10:35 | |
They weren't what people wanted and they weren't particularly sought after. | 0:10:35 | 0:10:38 | |
Therefore, they were relatively cheap. | 0:10:38 | 0:10:40 | |
Ever since the Duchess of Cambridge and her very beautiful sapphire | 0:10:40 | 0:10:44 | |
-and diamond ring arrived in our lives... -Right. | 0:10:44 | 0:10:47 | |
..coloured stones have been incredibly sought after | 0:10:47 | 0:10:49 | |
and they've become fashionable again and they've become very sought after. | 0:10:49 | 0:10:53 | |
This is absolutely the right time to be selling it. | 0:10:53 | 0:10:56 | |
-Good, good! -Ten years ago I would have said, "Mmm..." | 0:10:56 | 0:10:58 | |
-But, no... -Excellent. | 0:10:58 | 0:10:59 | |
..I think it's gorgeous and the fact that it's set in platinum, | 0:10:59 | 0:11:02 | |
it's a nice early piece, the sapphire is incredibly beautiful, | 0:11:02 | 0:11:06 | |
-it really is a lovely piece. -Thank you. | 0:11:06 | 0:11:07 | |
I would suggest that an appropriate auction estimate for this piece | 0:11:07 | 0:11:11 | |
would be somewhere in the region of, I would say, | 0:11:11 | 0:11:13 | |
probably £1,000-£2,000. | 0:11:13 | 0:11:15 | |
-Right. -How would you feel about that? | 0:11:15 | 0:11:17 | |
Um, yes, yeah, I'd like to see it get £1,000, I think. | 0:11:17 | 0:11:20 | |
OK, so you'd want to have a firm reserve at 1,000? | 0:11:20 | 0:11:23 | |
-Yes, yes. -You sure I can't push you down to 900? | 0:11:23 | 0:11:26 | |
-Just in case we should need it... -Well, yes, OK, discretion of the auctioneer, shall we say? | 0:11:26 | 0:11:30 | |
Discretion of the auctioneer, I like that. | 0:11:30 | 0:11:32 | |
Now, tell me, Anthony, without probing too much, | 0:11:32 | 0:11:35 | |
do you have a special lady in your life? | 0:11:35 | 0:11:37 | |
-Yes, but if I gave... -So why isn't she wearing it? | 0:11:37 | 0:11:39 | |
If I gave it to her, she would be feeding the horses or mucking them out | 0:11:39 | 0:11:43 | |
and it would disappear, I guarantee. | 0:11:43 | 0:11:46 | |
-Really? -Yes, definitely. | 0:11:46 | 0:11:47 | |
-It would end up at the bottom of a manure heap somewhere. -Yes, yeah. | 0:11:47 | 0:11:50 | |
-Never to be seen again. -Really? | 0:11:50 | 0:11:51 | |
-Definitely. -Oh, my goodness, OK. | 0:11:51 | 0:11:53 | |
-Well, in which case, we should definitely sell it. -Yes. Yes. Yes. | 0:11:53 | 0:11:55 | |
-Yes. -And you never know, it might be heading off to be someone's | 0:11:55 | 0:11:58 | |
engagement ring, mightn't it? | 0:11:58 | 0:12:00 | |
-Good. Thank you. -You never know. | 0:12:00 | 0:12:01 | |
No, thank you very much. | 0:12:01 | 0:12:03 | |
Well, thank you for bringing it in, it's been an absolute pleasure to see it. | 0:12:03 | 0:12:06 | |
Anything can happen in an auction, so do not go away. | 0:12:12 | 0:12:14 | |
But before that, let's take a closer look at our sumptuous surroundings, | 0:12:14 | 0:12:17 | |
the state dining room! | 0:12:17 | 0:12:19 | |
This was added in 1877 to be closer to the kitchens. | 0:12:19 | 0:12:22 | |
Prior to that, the kitchens were in one wing and the family ate in the other, | 0:12:22 | 0:12:26 | |
so you could imagine the servants having to get there in such a rush | 0:12:26 | 0:12:29 | |
before the food got cold, and we don't like cold food, do we? | 0:12:29 | 0:12:32 | |
Well, let's hope our items are red hot in the saleroom. | 0:12:32 | 0:12:35 | |
They're going under the hammer right now | 0:12:35 | 0:12:37 | |
and here's a quick recap of what we're taking. | 0:12:37 | 0:12:39 | |
Bound for the skip but luckily re-routed, | 0:12:39 | 0:12:41 | |
a writing desk all the way from India. | 0:12:41 | 0:12:45 | |
And the handcrafted oak tray with the telltale Mouseman emblem. | 0:12:45 | 0:12:50 | |
And the beautiful diamond and sapphire ring. | 0:12:50 | 0:12:53 | |
We've left Northamptonshire behind and travelled half an hour north to | 0:12:53 | 0:12:58 | |
Market Harborough in Leicestershire. | 0:12:58 | 0:13:00 | |
The town had its own canal branch line | 0:13:00 | 0:13:02 | |
and the wharf was busy in the 19th century, | 0:13:02 | 0:13:05 | |
when it was a distribution centre for coal and corn. | 0:13:05 | 0:13:09 | |
For us, though, it's time to see | 0:13:09 | 0:13:10 | |
how the riches we found at Althorp | 0:13:10 | 0:13:12 | |
were going to fare | 0:13:12 | 0:13:14 | |
as they go under the hammer. | 0:13:14 | 0:13:16 | |
And it looks promising. | 0:13:16 | 0:13:17 | |
We have two auctioneers on the rostrum for us today - | 0:13:17 | 0:13:19 | |
Mark and Will Gilding. | 0:13:19 | 0:13:22 | |
We're hoping we'll find a new home for the antler writing desk. | 0:13:22 | 0:13:25 | |
Going under the hammer right now, something from India from the Coromandel coast. | 0:13:25 | 0:13:29 | |
-That's on the east, isn't it? -Certainly is. | 0:13:29 | 0:13:30 | |
Yes, it's that lovely little writing desk belonging to Marion. | 0:13:30 | 0:13:33 | |
This is a bang-on trend, current interior design piece, isn't it? | 0:13:33 | 0:13:37 | |
I mean, it is, let's face it. | 0:13:37 | 0:13:39 | |
-Yeah. -You see it in the magazines, everyone wants something like this, so... | 0:13:39 | 0:13:42 | |
-Yeah. Exactly. -..this is it, good luck. | 0:13:42 | 0:13:44 | |
This Anglo-Indian antler bone and ivory writing box... | 0:13:44 | 0:13:50 | |
Bidding opens here with me on my book at 110. | 0:13:50 | 0:13:53 | |
120. 130. 140... | 0:13:53 | 0:13:56 | |
-Oh, bidding in the room, fantastic. Look at those hands. -Yeah. | 0:13:56 | 0:13:59 | |
170. 180, 190. 200. | 0:13:59 | 0:14:02 | |
210. 220, I'm bid in the room, now, at 220. | 0:14:02 | 0:14:05 | |
230 online now. | 0:14:05 | 0:14:07 | |
-Come on. -Rightly so. | 0:14:07 | 0:14:08 | |
-Chap's in the room, 240. -(Come on!) | 0:14:08 | 0:14:10 | |
-240. -Back online, come on... -240. | 0:14:10 | 0:14:12 | |
At 250 now with the internet. | 0:14:12 | 0:14:14 | |
260 in the room. | 0:14:14 | 0:14:15 | |
260. Come on, come on, let's do 300. | 0:14:15 | 0:14:18 | |
Selling away at £260... | 0:14:18 | 0:14:21 | |
-It's gone anyway, £260. -Wow! | 0:14:21 | 0:14:23 | |
Now that's better than being in the skip, isn't it? | 0:14:23 | 0:14:25 | |
My husband's shocked! | 0:14:25 | 0:14:27 | |
-He will be. -Fantastic, brilliant. | 0:14:29 | 0:14:30 | |
-Fantastic. Thank you very much. -Oh, that's all right. | 0:14:30 | 0:14:33 | |
-Thank you. -I hope you've enjoyed the day as well. | 0:14:33 | 0:14:35 | |
-Thank you. Oh, I have. -It's been wonderful. | 0:14:35 | 0:14:36 | |
-It's been brilliant. -Thank you very much. | 0:14:36 | 0:14:38 | |
-Well done you for making him bring it. -Thank you. | 0:14:38 | 0:14:40 | |
Thank you very much. I'm so excited. | 0:14:40 | 0:14:42 | |
A happy customer and a great start. | 0:14:42 | 0:14:45 | |
Let's hope the luck continues. | 0:14:45 | 0:14:47 | |
Well, we are literally serving up on "Flog It!" today a tray. | 0:14:49 | 0:14:52 | |
Yes, it's a Robert "Mouseman" Thompson one - | 0:14:52 | 0:14:54 | |
there's two chunky mice as handles! | 0:14:54 | 0:14:56 | |
I love it, Anne, I think it's absolutely brilliant. | 0:14:56 | 0:14:59 | |
I've not come across the tray before, so that's quite nice. | 0:14:59 | 0:15:01 | |
Yeah, it's nice. Good size. | 0:15:01 | 0:15:03 | |
-Yeah. -You know, very usable. | 0:15:03 | 0:15:04 | |
-We're used to seeing the cheeseboards, aren't we? -Bookends, that sort of thing. | 0:15:04 | 0:15:07 | |
Exactly, but I love the tray. | 0:15:07 | 0:15:09 | |
-Yeah, so do I. -It can be a little bit tricky because of the adzed top... | 0:15:09 | 0:15:12 | |
Little bit of a wobble, but, you know, | 0:15:12 | 0:15:14 | |
you put up with that to hold a bit of Mouseman, don't you? | 0:15:14 | 0:15:17 | |
-Course you do. Anyway, good luck, Anne. -Thank you. -It's going under the hammer now. | 0:15:17 | 0:15:20 | |
The Mouseman tea tray, starting at £140. | 0:15:20 | 0:15:24 | |
140, 150 here. | 0:15:24 | 0:15:25 | |
At £150. 160, 170. | 0:15:25 | 0:15:28 | |
180, 190. 200 bid. | 0:15:28 | 0:15:31 | |
In the room at £200. | 0:15:31 | 0:15:33 | |
At £200... At 200, 210 online. | 0:15:33 | 0:15:35 | |
210, the online bidder, thank you. | 0:15:35 | 0:15:38 | |
210. The internet has the bid at £210. | 0:15:38 | 0:15:41 | |
-210, yes! -That's good. | 0:15:43 | 0:15:44 | |
That's good, isn't it? | 0:15:44 | 0:15:45 | |
-Well done. Thank you for bringing that in. -Thank you. | 0:15:45 | 0:15:47 | |
It's always nice to talk about great British craftsmanship. | 0:15:47 | 0:15:50 | |
That's what it's all about. | 0:15:50 | 0:15:52 | |
Now for one of Christina's favourite lots. | 0:15:52 | 0:15:55 | |
Good luck, Anthony. Hopefully we can find a loving home for your late mother's diamond and sapphire ring. | 0:15:55 | 0:16:00 | |
-Thank you. -It's going under the hammer right now, £1,000-£2,000. | 0:16:00 | 0:16:04 | |
-Do we have to sell it? -That's a lot of carats, isn't it? | 0:16:04 | 0:16:06 | |
That's a lot of carat, that's a lot of ring. | 0:16:06 | 0:16:08 | |
Anthony, don't you want somebody to give it to? | 0:16:08 | 0:16:10 | |
-£1,000-£2,000. -No, no. No. | 0:16:10 | 0:16:12 | |
I can understand why your wife doesn't want to wear it | 0:16:12 | 0:16:15 | |
cos she'd be so frightened of losing it... | 0:16:15 | 0:16:17 | |
Mucking out the horses or just riding and, you know, on a gallop one day, and... | 0:16:17 | 0:16:20 | |
-Yeah, but really...? Really? -Oh... | 0:16:20 | 0:16:22 | |
-I'd wear it all the time! -You would. You'd have to wear gloves over the top to protect it. | 0:16:22 | 0:16:26 | |
Yes, that's an idea. Don't suggest the gloves. | 0:16:26 | 0:16:28 | |
Let's sell it. | 0:16:28 | 0:16:29 | |
-Don't suggest gloves... -Let's get the money. | 0:16:29 | 0:16:31 | |
Horses cost a lot of money, don't they? | 0:16:31 | 0:16:33 | |
-You need the money. -Yes. | 0:16:33 | 0:16:35 | |
Right, let's find out what the bidders think, shall we? | 0:16:35 | 0:16:37 | |
Sapphire and diamond cluster ring... | 0:16:37 | 0:16:40 | |
At £850, at 850, I bid. | 0:16:40 | 0:16:42 | |
850. 900, and 50. | 0:16:42 | 0:16:45 | |
1,000. 1,100. 12. | 0:16:45 | 0:16:47 | |
1,300. 14. 1,500. | 0:16:47 | 0:16:49 | |
My bid at £1,500... | 0:16:49 | 0:16:51 | |
-No, he's out, he's out, he's out. -£1,500, come on, telephone bidders. | 0:16:51 | 0:16:55 | |
Surely a telephone bid on this... | 0:16:55 | 0:16:57 | |
Now is your chance. At 1,500. 1,600. | 0:16:57 | 0:16:59 | |
(Come on!) | 0:16:59 | 0:17:00 | |
-1,700. -1,700. -Ooh! | 0:17:00 | 0:17:02 | |
1,700. 1,800. | 0:17:02 | 0:17:04 | |
-That's why you need two people. -Exactly. -Yeah. | 0:17:04 | 0:17:06 | |
Thank you. £1,800. John's telephone... | 0:17:06 | 0:17:09 | |
£1,800, are we all done? | 0:17:09 | 0:17:11 | |
-It's exciting, isn't it? -It's good. | 0:17:11 | 0:17:13 | |
-Although I'm very sad to see this go. -Good result. | 0:17:13 | 0:17:15 | |
1,900, right in the corner at 1,900. | 0:17:15 | 0:17:17 | |
2,000 bid. | 0:17:17 | 0:17:18 | |
£2,000, telephone bid. | 0:17:18 | 0:17:20 | |
-Oh, fantastic. -2,000... -Anthony, that's brilliant. | 0:17:20 | 0:17:22 | |
-£2,000, we got that top end. -Yay! Fantastic. | 0:17:22 | 0:17:25 | |
-Thank you. -We got that top end. | 0:17:25 | 0:17:26 | |
-Well done, you. And well done, you. -Will it pay for the horse? | 0:17:26 | 0:17:29 | |
Just about, just about. | 0:17:29 | 0:17:31 | |
They are expensive, you know, I know what that's all about. | 0:17:31 | 0:17:34 | |
We're off to the Channel Islands, to Herm in a few weeks, | 0:17:34 | 0:17:38 | |
-so that'll be nice. -Right, OK. -Lovely. | 0:17:38 | 0:17:39 | |
-It'll pay something towards that. -Aw! -Fantastic. | 0:17:39 | 0:17:42 | |
Well, there you go, our first three lots under the hammer done and dusted. | 0:17:45 | 0:17:48 | |
Some good results, but more importantly some very happy owners | 0:17:48 | 0:17:51 | |
and that's what it's all about. | 0:17:51 | 0:17:53 | |
We are coming back here later on in the show, so don't go away. | 0:17:53 | 0:17:55 | |
We could have that big surprise. | 0:17:55 | 0:17:57 | |
But before that, I had the opportunity of finding out what life was like | 0:17:57 | 0:18:01 | |
for thousands of workers around here | 0:18:01 | 0:18:03 | |
who navigated the waterways in narrow boats full of cargo. | 0:18:03 | 0:18:08 | |
This is a tranquil setting now - | 0:18:12 | 0:18:14 | |
the perfect place for a peaceful stroll. | 0:18:14 | 0:18:17 | |
But back in the 19th century, | 0:18:17 | 0:18:19 | |
the Grand Union was the canal equivalent to the M1 - | 0:18:19 | 0:18:22 | |
linking London to Birmingham, bustling with narrow boats, | 0:18:22 | 0:18:26 | |
their crew with horses pulling them along. | 0:18:26 | 0:18:29 | |
It was a trunk route for getting cargo from A to B. | 0:18:29 | 0:18:33 | |
Sculptor was a working boat | 0:18:33 | 0:18:35 | |
owned by the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company. | 0:18:35 | 0:18:38 | |
She's now in the hands of the Canal and River Trust, | 0:18:38 | 0:18:41 | |
who make sure she is shipshape. | 0:18:41 | 0:18:44 | |
I'm taking to the water with Lorna York, | 0:18:44 | 0:18:46 | |
whose family have been boat people since canals were first built. | 0:18:46 | 0:18:51 | |
She's been researching her family's heritage. | 0:18:51 | 0:18:54 | |
-Hi, Lorna. -Hello. | 0:18:54 | 0:18:55 | |
So, what did boat people do? | 0:18:57 | 0:18:59 | |
They were the lorry drivers of their day. | 0:18:59 | 0:19:01 | |
-Yeah. -They carried cargo to wherever it was wanted, | 0:19:01 | 0:19:05 | |
and they were continually moving up and down. | 0:19:05 | 0:19:07 | |
And how far do your family go back in the trade? | 0:19:07 | 0:19:09 | |
Well, the earliest mention I've got is the marriage of Timothy Bailey | 0:19:09 | 0:19:15 | |
to Mary Pemberton, 1796. | 0:19:15 | 0:19:18 | |
-Gosh! -Yes, it says, "boatman". | 0:19:18 | 0:19:20 | |
Are you an official boatman? | 0:19:20 | 0:19:22 | |
-Or boatwoman? -Boatwoman, yeah. -Boatwoman... | 0:19:22 | 0:19:25 | |
-This is your patch, isn't it? -Yeah. Oh, yeah. | 0:19:25 | 0:19:28 | |
-Definitely. -SHE CHUCKLES | 0:19:28 | 0:19:30 | |
This is a photograph | 0:19:30 | 0:19:31 | |
of my great-great-grandmother, Caroline Yarnell, | 0:19:31 | 0:19:35 | |
and her daughter, Julia. | 0:19:35 | 0:19:38 | |
It's not a pretty picture. | 0:19:38 | 0:19:39 | |
It's not. She looks tough. | 0:19:39 | 0:19:40 | |
Yes. She was 81 when she died, on a boat, and she was still captain. | 0:19:40 | 0:19:46 | |
Wow. Formidable. | 0:19:46 | 0:19:48 | |
-Like me. -PAUL LAUGHS | 0:19:48 | 0:19:49 | |
Yes! | 0:19:49 | 0:19:50 | |
-Wow. -As you can see, there's lots of boats cos there's a stoppage. | 0:19:52 | 0:19:55 | |
-Yeah. -So they all had to stop. | 0:19:55 | 0:19:57 | |
-I think what... -And what would they have been carrying? | 0:19:57 | 0:19:59 | |
-Grain. -Yeah. -Metal. | 0:19:59 | 0:20:01 | |
Wood. Coal, of course. | 0:20:01 | 0:20:03 | |
Anything you can think of. | 0:20:03 | 0:20:05 | |
As I said, they were lorry drivers. | 0:20:05 | 0:20:07 | |
-Yeah, yeah. -But they travelled on water. | 0:20:07 | 0:20:08 | |
-Any load, it doesn't matter. -Yeah. | 0:20:08 | 0:20:10 | |
It doesn't matter, brings in the money. | 0:20:10 | 0:20:12 | |
And what about your parents? Obviously they were boat people. | 0:20:12 | 0:20:15 | |
-My father was the last one born on a boat. -Yeah. | 0:20:15 | 0:20:17 | |
And I'm the first generation of what they call "on the bank". | 0:20:17 | 0:20:20 | |
-On the bank, OK. -Yeah. -Is there another generation? | 0:20:20 | 0:20:22 | |
-Have you got kids that are going to...? -Yes, I have three children. | 0:20:22 | 0:20:25 | |
And are they going to be boat people? | 0:20:25 | 0:20:26 | |
They've done their university education, they've got good jobs, | 0:20:26 | 0:20:31 | |
so maybe later, in another ten years, | 0:20:31 | 0:20:34 | |
they may decide that they want to be on a boat. | 0:20:34 | 0:20:36 | |
But it wouldn't be one of these. | 0:20:36 | 0:20:37 | |
-No. -They'd like a bit of comfort. | 0:20:37 | 0:20:40 | |
-It'd have a roof on it. -Oh, yeah. | 0:20:40 | 0:20:42 | |
-Yeah. -And a proper toilet! | 0:20:42 | 0:20:44 | |
And a bathroom. And a television. | 0:20:44 | 0:20:48 | |
Now, THIS is Blisworth Tunnel. | 0:20:52 | 0:20:54 | |
It was built 200 years ago to carry the canal under Blisworth Hill | 0:20:54 | 0:21:00 | |
south of Northampton. | 0:21:00 | 0:21:02 | |
Now, nowadays these narrow boats have an engine. | 0:21:02 | 0:21:06 | |
You can hear it, listen to that - boom, boom, boom, boom... | 0:21:06 | 0:21:09 | |
Chugging along nicely. | 0:21:09 | 0:21:10 | |
But back in the day, | 0:21:10 | 0:21:11 | |
they were pulled along by a heavy horse, harnessed up | 0:21:11 | 0:21:14 | |
on the towpath, pulled by rope. | 0:21:14 | 0:21:17 | |
Now, bear in mind, this tunnel is one and three quarter miles long, | 0:21:17 | 0:21:22 | |
and there are NO towpaths. | 0:21:22 | 0:21:24 | |
So how did they do it? | 0:21:24 | 0:21:26 | |
The canal company would employ men called "leggers", | 0:21:28 | 0:21:30 | |
who would literally be laying on boards off the side of the narrow boat, | 0:21:30 | 0:21:33 | |
legging their way through - one this side and one the other. | 0:21:33 | 0:21:37 | |
Now, can you imagine...? That is hard work | 0:21:37 | 0:21:39 | |
because when these boats are full with cargo, that's a heavy payload. | 0:21:39 | 0:21:43 | |
It's damp, it's cold. | 0:21:43 | 0:21:44 | |
Sometimes they'd have been soaking wet as well. | 0:21:44 | 0:21:47 | |
And once they'd finished this way, | 0:21:47 | 0:21:48 | |
there'd be another team ready to go back that way, | 0:21:48 | 0:21:50 | |
and then backwards and forwards, | 0:21:50 | 0:21:52 | |
so you'd work in tandem all day long. | 0:21:52 | 0:21:54 | |
And these boards were known as "wings", | 0:21:54 | 0:21:55 | |
so they were literally winging it as well! | 0:21:55 | 0:21:58 | |
We'll be finding out more about the life of the people who worked | 0:22:01 | 0:22:03 | |
on the boats a little later, but first, | 0:22:03 | 0:22:05 | |
I've spotted something that would have been vital | 0:22:05 | 0:22:08 | |
to the labourers and the vessels they operated... | 0:22:08 | 0:22:11 | |
A blacksmith's, right here on the towpath. | 0:22:11 | 0:22:14 | |
Bob Nightingale is a modern-day blacksmith | 0:22:14 | 0:22:18 | |
who's been perfecting his craft for 40 years. | 0:22:18 | 0:22:21 | |
What a great spot you've got here, right on the towpath as well. | 0:22:22 | 0:22:25 | |
So, how old is this blacksmith's? | 0:22:25 | 0:22:27 | |
Well, the blacksmith's shop was built in 1902 | 0:22:27 | 0:22:30 | |
and it repaired the boats. | 0:22:30 | 0:22:31 | |
It repaired the metalwork on the boats | 0:22:31 | 0:22:34 | |
cos most of the boats were wood, | 0:22:34 | 0:22:35 | |
so there's always been a blacksmith's here... | 0:22:35 | 0:22:37 | |
And the blacksmith made all the tools for the bankmen, | 0:22:37 | 0:22:40 | |
cos all the banks would have been stripped bare... | 0:22:40 | 0:22:43 | |
and all the towpaths had to be maintained. | 0:22:43 | 0:22:46 | |
So you were really vital to the life of these people | 0:22:46 | 0:22:49 | |
that worked on these boats. | 0:22:49 | 0:22:50 | |
All of those people would have used me at some stage. | 0:22:50 | 0:22:55 | |
Yeah. Would there have been quite a few blacksmiths? | 0:22:55 | 0:22:58 | |
-As the canal cut was dug... -Yeah. | 0:22:58 | 0:23:00 | |
..there'd have been blacksmiths travelling along the canal. | 0:23:00 | 0:23:04 | |
They would have worn-out tools. | 0:23:04 | 0:23:05 | |
The tools weren't bought from central supply - | 0:23:05 | 0:23:08 | |
they were made on the spot. | 0:23:08 | 0:23:10 | |
Yeah. I guess having a location like this, right on the canal towpath, | 0:23:10 | 0:23:13 | |
a blacksmith would never be out of work, with all of this traffic | 0:23:13 | 0:23:16 | |
going backwards and forwards. | 0:23:16 | 0:23:17 | |
This was the major thoroughfare. | 0:23:17 | 0:23:19 | |
The tonnage that was carried in those days would have been vast. | 0:23:19 | 0:23:24 | |
-Yeah. Well, look, it's good to bump into you. -My pleasure. | 0:23:24 | 0:23:26 | |
And you know what? Life has stood still for me here. | 0:23:26 | 0:23:28 | |
I've gone back 100 or 200 years. | 0:23:28 | 0:23:30 | |
You know, I've had a beautiful trip so far. | 0:23:30 | 0:23:32 | |
I'm jumping aboard now and we're carrying on our journey. | 0:23:32 | 0:23:35 | |
-My pleasure. Enjoy your day. -Thanks. | 0:23:35 | 0:23:36 | |
OK, Bob! | 0:23:36 | 0:23:38 | |
So, what would life have been like on the boat here? | 0:23:40 | 0:23:43 | |
If you were the woman, you would be steering. | 0:23:43 | 0:23:47 | |
You'd be preparing the meals, you'd be looking after the children. | 0:23:47 | 0:23:51 | |
If you were the man, you'd also be looking after the horse on the bank. | 0:23:51 | 0:23:55 | |
It was different when the motorboats arrived | 0:23:55 | 0:23:58 | |
because the man would be steering the motorboat, | 0:23:58 | 0:24:00 | |
the woman would be steering the butty, | 0:24:00 | 0:24:02 | |
so you've got two boats then. | 0:24:02 | 0:24:04 | |
In this particular boat, you were allowed two adults and two children. | 0:24:04 | 0:24:07 | |
-Mm. -But if you had a butty boat, you could have another... | 0:24:07 | 0:24:10 | |
-Which is one that follows, that you tow with cargo in... -Yeah. | 0:24:10 | 0:24:13 | |
You could have another six children cos two children equals one adult, | 0:24:13 | 0:24:17 | |
so you've got eight children on-board already. | 0:24:17 | 0:24:20 | |
-That's a big family! -No, no, that's quite small. | 0:24:20 | 0:24:23 | |
PAUL LAUGHS | 0:24:23 | 0:24:25 | |
I wouldn't want to be with eight children on a narrow boat, | 0:24:25 | 0:24:27 | |
-that's for sure. -And, of course, if they had more children than that, | 0:24:27 | 0:24:31 | |
they sort of had to disappear when the boat inspectors came round. | 0:24:31 | 0:24:35 | |
Right, so they'd hide somewhere? | 0:24:35 | 0:24:37 | |
They would hide or they'd be on another boat | 0:24:37 | 0:24:39 | |
and so on and so forth. | 0:24:39 | 0:24:41 | |
The children were always with their parents | 0:24:41 | 0:24:43 | |
because the boats were their home. | 0:24:43 | 0:24:46 | |
-Yeah, exactly. -They ate fairly well. | 0:24:46 | 0:24:48 | |
Anything that moved on the towpath was theirs... | 0:24:48 | 0:24:51 | |
-if it was edible. -PAUL LAUGHS | 0:24:51 | 0:24:53 | |
-Really? -Whether it's pheasants, rabbits, or whatever. -Yeah. | 0:24:53 | 0:24:55 | |
So, all the kids were well looked after? | 0:24:55 | 0:24:57 | |
Oh, they were well looked after. | 0:24:57 | 0:24:59 | |
They might not have been clean, but then if you're in a boat | 0:24:59 | 0:25:01 | |
-with 60 tonne of coal on board, you're not going to be clean! -No... | 0:25:01 | 0:25:05 | |
What about the education of the kids? | 0:25:05 | 0:25:08 | |
They didn't have any education. | 0:25:08 | 0:25:10 | |
Occasionally, when they were at a place where they were off-loading | 0:25:10 | 0:25:14 | |
or loading, they would go to the local school, | 0:25:14 | 0:25:16 | |
but it may be for half a morning, a morning, or a day. | 0:25:16 | 0:25:20 | |
-But that was it. -Yeah. | 0:25:20 | 0:25:21 | |
And they might not go to another school for maybe another month. | 0:25:21 | 0:25:24 | |
There was no actual medical care available to them as such | 0:25:25 | 0:25:29 | |
because they were on the move. | 0:25:29 | 0:25:31 | |
-Yeah. -But saying that, | 0:25:31 | 0:25:33 | |
there were places like Stoke Bruerne where they could get medical care. | 0:25:33 | 0:25:37 | |
The lady that lived in Lock Cottage, Sister Mary Ward, | 0:25:37 | 0:25:42 | |
looked after the boat families for 30 years and they trusted her. | 0:25:42 | 0:25:46 | |
They were looked down on and there was always a stigma. | 0:25:46 | 0:25:49 | |
They were called gypsies, dirty bargees, and so on and so forth, | 0:25:49 | 0:25:53 | |
so they were very mistrustful of the general population. | 0:25:53 | 0:25:57 | |
What brought on the end of the boat people? | 0:25:57 | 0:25:59 | |
What was it, the railways, really? | 0:25:59 | 0:26:01 | |
It was in stages. | 0:26:01 | 0:26:03 | |
After the First World War, you had all the men coming back | 0:26:03 | 0:26:07 | |
and all the lorries came back, and the road systems improved. | 0:26:07 | 0:26:12 | |
-Ah... Yeah. -And they could transport goods and stuff much quicker by roads. | 0:26:12 | 0:26:17 | |
-Mm... -And then the last real bit was the big freeze of '62/'63. | 0:26:17 | 0:26:25 | |
That really put the nail in the coffin. | 0:26:25 | 0:26:28 | |
-And after that... -Nothing could move. | 0:26:28 | 0:26:31 | |
Nothing could move for months on end and, after that, | 0:26:31 | 0:26:34 | |
they'd lost all the contracts to the road. | 0:26:34 | 0:26:36 | |
-It just disappeared. It just... -It couldn't come back. | 0:26:36 | 0:26:39 | |
-It couldn't come back. -No. Which brings us nicely... | 0:26:39 | 0:26:42 | |
to a pub. | 0:26:42 | 0:26:44 | |
BOTH LAUGH | 0:26:44 | 0:26:46 | |
You know, I know life has moved on, | 0:26:52 | 0:26:54 | |
but my little trip today has given me time to reflect. | 0:26:54 | 0:26:58 | |
It's actually slowed right down. | 0:26:58 | 0:27:00 | |
I've thoroughly enjoyed it. | 0:27:00 | 0:27:02 | |
It's given me time to appreciate what life WAS like for those boat people, | 0:27:02 | 0:27:06 | |
people that Lorna is so proud of. | 0:27:06 | 0:27:10 | |
Back at Althorp, our experts are working their way through the queue | 0:27:14 | 0:27:18 | |
and Will has unearthed something belonging to a man who lives on a narrow boat. | 0:27:18 | 0:27:22 | |
As I've just discovered, | 0:27:22 | 0:27:24 | |
there's not much space on-board for treasures. | 0:27:24 | 0:27:26 | |
-Well, Harvey, we met briefly in the queue over a couple of cardboard boxes... -We did. | 0:27:28 | 0:27:32 | |
..as is often the case, | 0:27:32 | 0:27:33 | |
and you showed me a photograph of what was inside, | 0:27:33 | 0:27:37 | |
and here we have it. | 0:27:37 | 0:27:38 | |
Unwrapped in all its glory. | 0:27:38 | 0:27:40 | |
A gilt metal mantel clock under a glass dome. | 0:27:40 | 0:27:44 | |
Tell me, it had a life before it came to you. | 0:27:44 | 0:27:47 | |
Yes, it goes right back to my grandmother. | 0:27:47 | 0:27:50 | |
I know she had it prior to the Second World War. | 0:27:50 | 0:27:52 | |
-So it survived the Blitz? -It survived the Blitz in London. | 0:27:52 | 0:27:55 | |
-Yes. -So I remember it as a child, standing there looking up at it... | 0:27:55 | 0:28:00 | |
and-and loved it... | 0:28:00 | 0:28:01 | |
-Yes. -And, out of the blue, I found it had been left to me. | 0:28:01 | 0:28:04 | |
-Oh, wonderful. -So, I got it, I got it working... | 0:28:04 | 0:28:07 | |
-Yes. -..but had nowhere to display it, | 0:28:07 | 0:28:10 | |
-so it lived in its box... -Oh! -..and there it's lived ever since. | 0:28:10 | 0:28:13 | |
So why don't you have it on display? | 0:28:13 | 0:28:15 | |
Um... I live on a narrow boat and there's no space. | 0:28:15 | 0:28:19 | |
-You live on a narrow boat? -Yeah. | 0:28:19 | 0:28:20 | |
-What fun. I've always been tempted, you know. -It is. | 0:28:20 | 0:28:23 | |
-Well, you should. -And do you stay in one place, | 0:28:23 | 0:28:25 | |
or do you travel the country in your narrow boat? | 0:28:25 | 0:28:27 | |
We travel around. | 0:28:27 | 0:28:28 | |
We usually have a marina for the winter time. | 0:28:28 | 0:28:31 | |
-We get distracted. -We do. | 0:28:31 | 0:28:32 | |
-We've got to talk about the clock, haven't we? -Yeah. | 0:28:32 | 0:28:34 | |
Because I remember, in the queue, I asked you, we saw the photograph, | 0:28:34 | 0:28:37 | |
I said, "Is it spelter?" | 0:28:37 | 0:28:39 | |
And you said, "No, I think it's ormolu," | 0:28:39 | 0:28:41 | |
which would be gilded bronze. | 0:28:41 | 0:28:44 | |
-It's spelter. -It's spelter, yes. -It is spelter, I'm afraid. | 0:28:44 | 0:28:46 | |
-Cheaper alternative to bronze, cheaper to manufacture. -Yes. | 0:28:46 | 0:28:50 | |
By this stage, you're talking probably here late 19th century. | 0:28:50 | 0:28:53 | |
There was a great sort of explosion | 0:28:53 | 0:28:55 | |
in the size of the sort of middle classes. | 0:28:55 | 0:28:57 | |
Everyone wanted to sort of keep up with the Joneses. | 0:28:57 | 0:28:59 | |
You know, everyone had seen the big house on the hill, you know, | 0:28:59 | 0:29:02 | |
had the fancy clock on the mantelpiece and so on, so... | 0:29:02 | 0:29:04 | |
just to emulate that, really, and sort of your place socially. | 0:29:04 | 0:29:09 | |
Let me take this dome off. | 0:29:09 | 0:29:11 | |
You've done very well to keep that in one piece. | 0:29:11 | 0:29:14 | |
The dome itself has a value | 0:29:14 | 0:29:16 | |
cos someone might have a clock with no dome. | 0:29:16 | 0:29:18 | |
But let's have a look at the clock itself. | 0:29:18 | 0:29:20 | |
As I say, it's in spelter, | 0:29:20 | 0:29:21 | |
what we would call a sort of figural mantel clock. | 0:29:21 | 0:29:23 | |
We've got a lady here. | 0:29:23 | 0:29:25 | |
Is she emblematic of the seasons, perhaps? | 0:29:25 | 0:29:27 | |
They've used a harvest girl. | 0:29:27 | 0:29:28 | |
Here she is, look, | 0:29:28 | 0:29:29 | |
she's got her wheat sheaf here that she's harvested. | 0:29:29 | 0:29:31 | |
So, emblematic of the seasons. | 0:29:31 | 0:29:34 | |
You've got this white enamel dial, which, again, is in good condition. | 0:29:34 | 0:29:37 | |
You've got the Roman numerals nicely painted on there. | 0:29:37 | 0:29:40 | |
You've got a barrel movement - fairly mass produced, to be honest - | 0:29:40 | 0:29:44 | |
shipped all over the world | 0:29:44 | 0:29:45 | |
and placed into cases which were then retailed in those countries. | 0:29:45 | 0:29:49 | |
There's no bell on the movement, so it is a pure timepiece, | 0:29:49 | 0:29:54 | |
it's not a striking clock. | 0:29:54 | 0:29:56 | |
In theory, to be called a clock, it needs to strike - | 0:29:56 | 0:29:59 | |
either on the hour, quarters, that sort of thing. | 0:29:59 | 0:30:01 | |
So, it's a timepiece... | 0:30:01 | 0:30:03 | |
It may be a bit mean, | 0:30:03 | 0:30:05 | |
but I think it's got the look and the dome in good order... | 0:30:05 | 0:30:08 | |
I'm going to say £200-£300, how does that sound? | 0:30:08 | 0:30:10 | |
-Fine. -Yeah? Is that all right? | 0:30:10 | 0:30:12 | |
-Yes... Yes. -And what about a reserve? | 0:30:12 | 0:30:14 | |
I mean, how desperate are you to have it back if it doesn't sell? | 0:30:14 | 0:30:17 | |
Well, I've got nowhere to put it. | 0:30:17 | 0:30:18 | |
What's the least you would take for it, | 0:30:18 | 0:30:20 | |
and we'll stick that on as a reserve? | 0:30:20 | 0:30:22 | |
-Yeah, go 150. -Shall we go 150? | 0:30:22 | 0:30:23 | |
-150. -Tell you what, it's a deal. | 0:30:23 | 0:30:25 | |
-Right. -200-300, 150 reserve... | 0:30:25 | 0:30:27 | |
-Thank you. Lovely. -..and, uh, bye-bye clock. | 0:30:27 | 0:30:29 | |
Hope so. | 0:30:29 | 0:30:30 | |
After exploring the house, | 0:30:30 | 0:30:31 | |
Christina's taken her find to the driveway. | 0:30:31 | 0:30:34 | |
Dean, Janet, THIS is arriving in style, is it not? | 0:30:36 | 0:30:40 | |
-It is. -There's no messing around here, is there? | 0:30:40 | 0:30:42 | |
-It's fabulous! -It's amazing. | 0:30:42 | 0:30:44 | |
Where on earth did you get it from? Dean, is it yours? | 0:30:44 | 0:30:47 | |
-It is mine. -Mm-hm. | 0:30:47 | 0:30:48 | |
I was given it from my nan as a Christmas present | 0:30:48 | 0:30:50 | |
when I was four years old. | 0:30:50 | 0:30:51 | |
-God bless Granny. -God bless Granny. | 0:30:51 | 0:30:53 | |
-Yeah. -And... -Four years old. | 0:30:53 | 0:30:55 | |
Four years old, so we're talking 26 years ago now. | 0:30:55 | 0:30:57 | |
And did you have it when you were a child, Mum? | 0:30:57 | 0:30:59 | |
I was with her when she bought it. | 0:30:59 | 0:31:00 | |
-Oh, really? -Yeah. | 0:31:00 | 0:31:02 | |
-Oh, wow. -In 1957. | 0:31:02 | 0:31:04 | |
-And she bought this... -She did. -And was it as a present for you? | 0:31:04 | 0:31:07 | |
For the family, brothers and sisters. | 0:31:07 | 0:31:10 | |
On Christmas Day we all had a go and then it was locked away. | 0:31:10 | 0:31:15 | |
-It was locked away? -Boxing Day, locked away. | 0:31:15 | 0:31:17 | |
-Oh, my goodness. -I know. | 0:31:17 | 0:31:19 | |
And then it came to Dean here? | 0:31:19 | 0:31:20 | |
-It did. -And there is literally not a mark on it. | 0:31:20 | 0:31:24 | |
-No. -It's been well looked after. -It's been really well looked after. | 0:31:24 | 0:31:27 | |
Granny really cherished it, didn't she? | 0:31:27 | 0:31:29 | |
-She did. -Mm! -All the Christmas presents, she did. -Wow. | 0:31:29 | 0:31:32 | |
-Locked 'em all away. -Oh, did she? | 0:31:32 | 0:31:35 | |
-Yeah, she was a rotter. -At the time... | 0:31:35 | 0:31:36 | |
-I was going to say! -She was a rotter. | 0:31:36 | 0:31:38 | |
At the time, that must have been incredibly frustrating, wasn't it? | 0:31:38 | 0:31:41 | |
It was. Dolls, everything got locked away. | 0:31:41 | 0:31:43 | |
-Really?! -Yeah, everything. -Oh, no! | 0:31:43 | 0:31:46 | |
So, Dean, as a four-year-old, were you allowed to play in this? | 0:31:46 | 0:31:49 | |
I was allowed to play in it a couple of times, | 0:31:49 | 0:31:51 | |
but it was never allowed outside the house. | 0:31:51 | 0:31:54 | |
I only pedalled around the living room in it. | 0:31:54 | 0:31:56 | |
-Oh! On the carpet. -On the carpet, yeah. | 0:31:56 | 0:31:58 | |
So was that Granny telling you that, or was that Mum? | 0:31:58 | 0:32:00 | |
-I think that was Mum. -So you inherited it from your mother! | 0:32:00 | 0:32:02 | |
-I did. -ALL LAUGH | 0:32:02 | 0:32:04 | |
-I mean, how does it drive? -It just pedals along. | 0:32:04 | 0:32:07 | |
But there are no chips or anything on here, | 0:32:07 | 0:32:09 | |
so well done you guys for keeping it in such good condition, | 0:32:09 | 0:32:12 | |
because that is where your value is now. | 0:32:12 | 0:32:14 | |
We do see these a lot, | 0:32:14 | 0:32:15 | |
you know, they're not particularly rare. | 0:32:15 | 0:32:18 | |
-Mm-hm. -It's made by a company called Tri-ang, who, in the 1940s, | 0:32:18 | 0:32:22 | |
laid claim to being the largest toy manufacturer in the UK. | 0:32:22 | 0:32:24 | |
-So it's not a particularly rare, rare model. -Mm-hm. | 0:32:24 | 0:32:28 | |
But nonetheless, the fact that it's in such good condition | 0:32:28 | 0:32:30 | |
is really quite exceptional. | 0:32:30 | 0:32:32 | |
You've done incredibly well. | 0:32:32 | 0:32:33 | |
And the piece de resistance for me... | 0:32:33 | 0:32:35 | |
is you've got the box! | 0:32:35 | 0:32:37 | |
The box! | 0:32:37 | 0:32:38 | |
I mean, how did you think about keeping the box? | 0:32:38 | 0:32:41 | |
So many people just fling 'em away, burn them. | 0:32:41 | 0:32:43 | |
-That's Mum again. -Mum always says, "You keep it in the box!" | 0:32:43 | 0:32:46 | |
-So, tell me, Dean, when you were pedalling this round... -Yes. | 0:32:46 | 0:32:49 | |
-..four-year-old Dean... -Mm. -..what does this do? | 0:32:49 | 0:32:51 | |
Well, this button here, | 0:32:51 | 0:32:53 | |
this is for the horn... | 0:32:53 | 0:32:54 | |
-Yeah. -And this little button here is for the lights. | 0:32:54 | 0:32:56 | |
Oh, it's got lights! | 0:32:56 | 0:32:57 | |
-You have lights at the front and lights at the back. -Oh! | 0:32:57 | 0:33:00 | |
Oh, the horn doesn't work! | 0:33:00 | 0:33:01 | |
No, the battery got left in there | 0:33:01 | 0:33:03 | |
-and it got a bit eroded... -Oh, shengles... -..but apart from that... | 0:33:03 | 0:33:06 | |
-Yeah, she forgot to take that out. -..it's OK. | 0:33:06 | 0:33:08 | |
-CHRISTINA SIGHS -It's not a biggie. | 0:33:08 | 0:33:09 | |
It's great, though, isn't it? | 0:33:09 | 0:33:10 | |
-You've got your adjustable seat here. -Yeah. | 0:33:10 | 0:33:12 | |
-Does the boot open? -The boot does open, yeah. | 0:33:12 | 0:33:14 | |
I bet you put your packed lunches in there, did you? | 0:33:14 | 0:33:16 | |
-I put a radio in there. -Oh, did you? | 0:33:16 | 0:33:18 | |
-Yeah. -Oh, I like it! | 0:33:18 | 0:33:19 | |
-Radio in there... -And does the front open? | 0:33:19 | 0:33:21 | |
Yeah, the front opens as well. | 0:33:21 | 0:33:22 | |
Oh, I see, so there's your batteries and things in there. | 0:33:22 | 0:33:25 | |
-Brilliant. -Your batteries and whatnot... | 0:33:25 | 0:33:26 | |
Exactly. Love it. | 0:33:26 | 0:33:28 | |
I really, really think that this will do well at auction. | 0:33:28 | 0:33:32 | |
I don't think... I mean, I've seen them sold before. | 0:33:32 | 0:33:34 | |
They tend to make maybe £100-£150, but for ME, | 0:33:34 | 0:33:38 | |
the fact that you've got this in such good condition | 0:33:38 | 0:33:40 | |
and the fact that YOU have kept it in such good condition, | 0:33:40 | 0:33:43 | |
-and YOU... -Thank you. -..all through the generations... | 0:33:43 | 0:33:45 | |
The fact that you've got the original box - which, I mean, | 0:33:45 | 0:33:47 | |
-I've never seen an original box - will really help the value. -OK. | 0:33:47 | 0:33:52 | |
Now, I would like to put an auction estimate of maybe £200-£300 on it. | 0:33:52 | 0:33:57 | |
-OK. -What do you think about that, guys? | 0:33:57 | 0:33:59 | |
-That's not too bad. -Not too bad? | 0:33:59 | 0:34:00 | |
As long as it goes to the right person. | 0:34:00 | 0:34:02 | |
It will go to somebody who absolutely cherishes it because... | 0:34:02 | 0:34:06 | |
-Exactly. -I mean, where do you get another one in such good condition? | 0:34:06 | 0:34:09 | |
-That is where its value lies now. -Exactly that. | 0:34:09 | 0:34:11 | |
So, well done, you. | 0:34:11 | 0:34:12 | |
I really, really love it, and I hope it goes va-va-voom... | 0:34:12 | 0:34:15 | |
-Hopefully. -Be good. -..over £300 for you. | 0:34:15 | 0:34:18 | |
-LAUGHTER -That'd be nice! | 0:34:18 | 0:34:20 | |
We're staying outside for the time being. | 0:34:20 | 0:34:23 | |
I'm meeting up with the gamekeeper at Althorp, Adey Greeno, | 0:34:23 | 0:34:27 | |
who's been here for 26 years. | 0:34:27 | 0:34:29 | |
Tell me about the deer. | 0:34:30 | 0:34:31 | |
Well, these are red deer | 0:34:31 | 0:34:33 | |
and they're a relatively new herd for us... | 0:34:33 | 0:34:36 | |
well, for Lord Spencer, | 0:34:36 | 0:34:38 | |
and we picked our blood stag up from Norfolk. | 0:34:38 | 0:34:41 | |
He's a big boy. You've also got, what, 400 other...? | 0:34:41 | 0:34:44 | |
-Yeah, we've got some fallow deer... -Fallow, yeah. | 0:34:44 | 0:34:46 | |
..which have been here since 1508. | 0:34:46 | 0:34:48 | |
And they're all named after cheese, aren't they? | 0:34:48 | 0:34:50 | |
Well, we bought the blood stag from Lord Leicester in Holkham Hall | 0:34:50 | 0:34:56 | |
and because he's a red deer and he was from the Earl of Leicester, | 0:34:56 | 0:34:59 | |
we called him Red Leicester, and then we've got Edam. | 0:34:59 | 0:35:01 | |
They're all named after cheeses and the little tiny one is Babybel. | 0:35:01 | 0:35:05 | |
-Yeah. -So it's just easier to keep them... | 0:35:05 | 0:35:07 | |
But as they... They'll be doubling up this June | 0:35:07 | 0:35:09 | |
and I think we're going to run out of cheeses quite soon. | 0:35:09 | 0:35:12 | |
PAUL LAUGHS | 0:35:12 | 0:35:14 | |
It's a marvellous sight to see here on a late afternoon, | 0:35:14 | 0:35:17 | |
with this sun coming down, | 0:35:17 | 0:35:18 | |
and you expect to see them here in this parkland, don't you? | 0:35:18 | 0:35:21 | |
Yes, you do, and they do go hand in glove | 0:35:21 | 0:35:25 | |
with stately homes in this country, | 0:35:25 | 0:35:28 | |
and, as I say, the fallow deer have been here as long as the Spencers, | 0:35:28 | 0:35:31 | |
and Lord Spencer is always telling me | 0:35:31 | 0:35:33 | |
-that they have as much right to be here... -As the family. | 0:35:33 | 0:35:36 | |
..as he and his family, yes. | 0:35:36 | 0:35:38 | |
Lovely. Absolutely beautiful. | 0:35:39 | 0:35:41 | |
Time to get back inside and Will's been busy. | 0:35:46 | 0:35:50 | |
Marion, tell me, are you local to Althorp? | 0:35:50 | 0:35:53 | |
Um, I am, about eight miles away in Overstone. | 0:35:53 | 0:35:56 | |
OK, so, tell me, how does someone eight miles from here | 0:35:56 | 0:35:59 | |
end up with something from halfway around the world? | 0:35:59 | 0:36:01 | |
It was my Uncle Bill's, who lived in London, | 0:36:01 | 0:36:04 | |
and who was a curator at the British Museum. | 0:36:04 | 0:36:07 | |
-Was he really? -The Roman section, | 0:36:07 | 0:36:09 | |
and he loved actually anything that was Chinese or Japanese. | 0:36:09 | 0:36:13 | |
So he loved the Oriental...? | 0:36:13 | 0:36:15 | |
-Yeah. -It's the skill involved in creating these pieces, you know... | 0:36:15 | 0:36:18 | |
-Mm. -If you have a look at this... what is an ivory cardcase, | 0:36:18 | 0:36:22 | |
-the intricacy of the work there is amazing, isn't it? -It's amazing. | 0:36:22 | 0:36:25 | |
It makes you wonder how they... | 0:36:25 | 0:36:27 | |
How on earth they did it, how... | 0:36:27 | 0:36:28 | |
-They must have been super skilled... -Yes. -..or had a lot of patience, | 0:36:28 | 0:36:32 | |
-because I'm not sure I would have the patience. -Both, I suppose. | 0:36:32 | 0:36:35 | |
Exactly right. | 0:36:35 | 0:36:36 | |
And first of all, it is ivory and I'm just going to... | 0:36:36 | 0:36:39 | |
-I wasn't sure. -Really? | 0:36:39 | 0:36:40 | |
-You thought it might have been...? -Bone, or... -OK. -Bone. | 0:36:40 | 0:36:43 | |
Well, a good way of telling the difference between ivory and bone | 0:36:43 | 0:36:46 | |
is if you look at bone, generally it will have little flecks in it, | 0:36:46 | 0:36:49 | |
little black flecks. | 0:36:49 | 0:36:51 | |
-No dark flecks, it's going to be ivory. -Right. | 0:36:51 | 0:36:53 | |
And I've got to stress here that this certainly dates before 1947 | 0:36:53 | 0:36:57 | |
because with the Cites licence | 0:36:57 | 0:37:00 | |
needed to sell pieces after that date, | 0:37:00 | 0:37:03 | |
pieces before that date are exempt from the legislation, | 0:37:03 | 0:37:06 | |
-so it's perfectly legal for us to sell this. -Yes. | 0:37:06 | 0:37:09 | |
Well, it's come from China, you know that, but where in China? | 0:37:09 | 0:37:13 | |
There were two major sort of centres of ivory production in China. | 0:37:13 | 0:37:17 | |
-Right. -One was Beijing and one was Canton. | 0:37:17 | 0:37:20 | |
Beijing tended to concentrate on more natural carvings of ivory, | 0:37:20 | 0:37:27 | |
-intended for the domestic consumption... -Right. | 0:37:27 | 0:37:29 | |
..whereas Canton really was a centre of export, | 0:37:29 | 0:37:33 | |
sort of more bleached white ivory pieces that were intricately carved. | 0:37:33 | 0:37:38 | |
-Yeah. -They would turn it into bowls, cardcases, boxes, | 0:37:38 | 0:37:41 | |
all sorts - you name it, you could get it - | 0:37:41 | 0:37:43 | |
whereas in Beijing, I think they concentrated on more | 0:37:43 | 0:37:47 | |
the sort of natural organic shape of the ivory and worked around that, | 0:37:47 | 0:37:52 | |
-if you see what I mean. -Yes. | 0:37:52 | 0:37:53 | |
Date-wise, again, turn of the century, 1900. | 0:37:53 | 0:37:56 | |
Canton, Chinese, little ivory cardcase, | 0:37:56 | 0:38:00 | |
but I think we're going to have to be sensible with our estimate... | 0:38:00 | 0:38:03 | |
-Mm-hm. -..and I would like to straddle that £100 mark. | 0:38:03 | 0:38:06 | |
-Mm-hm. -It's an old "Flog It!" favourite, I know... -Go on. | 0:38:06 | 0:38:09 | |
..but if I said to you 80 to 120... | 0:38:09 | 0:38:11 | |
-Right. -..and we'd fix the reserve at 80, is that acceptable to you? | 0:38:11 | 0:38:15 | |
-Um... -Tell me if it isn't. -I think I would like to try it at 100... | 0:38:15 | 0:38:17 | |
-That's fair enough. -..if you don't mind. | 0:38:17 | 0:38:19 | |
-Listen, it's bang in the middle of my estimate... -Yeah. -..so it stands a chance, doesn't it? | 0:38:19 | 0:38:23 | |
-Yeah. -And the estimate in that case will be published at 100 to 150. | 0:38:23 | 0:38:27 | |
OK, lovely. | 0:38:27 | 0:38:28 | |
I don't appreciate it as much as somebody else would. | 0:38:28 | 0:38:32 | |
-Well, that's the joy of auction - whoever buys it, wants it. -Yes, that's it. Yeah, exactly. | 0:38:32 | 0:38:36 | |
-Have you enjoyed yourselves today? ALL: -Yes! | 0:38:38 | 0:38:40 | |
Ye-e-es! They've done us proud. | 0:38:40 | 0:38:42 | |
We've found some real treasures | 0:38:42 | 0:38:44 | |
and right now we're going straight over to the auction room for the very last time. | 0:38:44 | 0:38:47 | |
I've got my favourites, you've got yours, | 0:38:47 | 0:38:49 | |
let's find out what the bidders think. | 0:38:49 | 0:38:51 | |
They're going under the hammer right now, | 0:38:51 | 0:38:53 | |
and here's a quick recap of the items we're taking with us. | 0:38:53 | 0:38:55 | |
There's no room for it on Harvey's narrow boat, | 0:38:55 | 0:38:58 | |
but the mantel clock will make a real statement in the right place. | 0:38:58 | 0:39:02 | |
It's absolutely pristine and should attract the bidders... | 0:39:02 | 0:39:05 | |
The smart Tri-ang pedal car. | 0:39:05 | 0:39:07 | |
And the intricate ivory cardcase from China. | 0:39:09 | 0:39:12 | |
We're back in the auction room, | 0:39:12 | 0:39:14 | |
with both Will and Mark Gilding on the rostrum, | 0:39:14 | 0:39:16 | |
and it's time to see if any bidders are keen | 0:39:16 | 0:39:19 | |
to fill their mantelpieces. | 0:39:19 | 0:39:21 | |
Good luck with this clock, Harvey. | 0:39:21 | 0:39:22 | |
-Thank you. -Certainly not the thing you want to keep on a narrow boat. | 0:39:22 | 0:39:25 | |
Yes, Harvey's sold his house, he's now living on a narrow boat. | 0:39:25 | 0:39:28 | |
I'm jealous. I'd love to live on a narrow boat, wouldn't you? | 0:39:28 | 0:39:31 | |
-Um... -Well, when you retire...? | 0:39:31 | 0:39:33 | |
Well... I wouldn't mind spending a night or two on a narrow boat... | 0:39:33 | 0:39:36 | |
-Aw! -..and experiencing the whole thing, but not living on one. | 0:39:36 | 0:39:39 | |
Oh, you old lightweight! | 0:39:39 | 0:39:41 | |
PAUL LAUGHS | 0:39:41 | 0:39:43 | |
He's only saying that cos you know he wouldn't really! | 0:39:43 | 0:39:45 | |
ALL LAUGH | 0:39:45 | 0:39:47 | |
I'm going to go on the Blue Angel. We're going... | 0:39:47 | 0:39:49 | |
Hopefully, if we get a good result, you two can buddy up. | 0:39:49 | 0:39:52 | |
Right, let's find out what this is worth. | 0:39:52 | 0:39:55 | |
It's the French gilt metal and alabaster mantel clock... | 0:39:55 | 0:39:59 | |
With me at £120, I bid. | 0:39:59 | 0:40:01 | |
At 120. 120, I have, and 30. 140, I have bid. | 0:40:01 | 0:40:04 | |
150 and, 60, I have. | 0:40:04 | 0:40:06 | |
-It's going there. -At £160, it's here with me at 160. | 0:40:06 | 0:40:09 | |
170, 180 bid. | 0:40:09 | 0:40:11 | |
At £180, I have, the absentee bidder at 180. | 0:40:11 | 0:40:14 | |
-I think he's going to sell at 180. -He's got to sell it. | 0:40:14 | 0:40:17 | |
Yeah, using discretion. Yes! | 0:40:17 | 0:40:19 | |
180, just got away with it. | 0:40:19 | 0:40:21 | |
-Oh, well. -Well, listen, at least it solves a problem for you. | 0:40:21 | 0:40:24 | |
-Yes, it does. -It doesn't need to go on-board and that money can be spent | 0:40:24 | 0:40:27 | |
on antifouling paint or anything like that... | 0:40:27 | 0:40:30 | |
-Some new fenders. -Yes, that's it. | 0:40:30 | 0:40:32 | |
Yes. No, that's great. | 0:40:32 | 0:40:33 | |
Lucky Harvey! | 0:40:33 | 0:40:35 | |
We are on a roll! | 0:40:35 | 0:40:36 | |
-Marion, it's great to see you again. -Thank you. | 0:40:38 | 0:40:40 | |
Going under the hammer right now we've got that ivory Chinese | 0:40:40 | 0:40:43 | |
cardcase and I think this is a good time to sell. | 0:40:43 | 0:40:45 | |
We're looking at around £100, £150? | 0:40:45 | 0:40:47 | |
-Yep. -I think, in three or four years' time, there'll be a total ban | 0:40:47 | 0:40:50 | |
on ivory, irrespective of works of art or age, don't you? | 0:40:50 | 0:40:54 | |
-And rightly so. -I think you might be right. -I think everything's moving in that direction now, | 0:40:54 | 0:40:58 | |
-so a good time to sell. -Yeah. | 0:40:58 | 0:40:59 | |
Some Cantonese carved ivory, a visiting cardcase, | 0:40:59 | 0:41:02 | |
and bidding opens with me at £90. | 0:41:02 | 0:41:05 | |
-90, I'm bid. -Close. -Yeah. | 0:41:05 | 0:41:06 | |
100 in the room. | 0:41:06 | 0:41:08 | |
110, 120, 130. | 0:41:08 | 0:41:10 | |
140. 150 online. | 0:41:10 | 0:41:13 | |
At 150. | 0:41:13 | 0:41:14 | |
Bidders all out down here then. | 0:41:14 | 0:41:15 | |
In fact, you're out this side as well. | 0:41:15 | 0:41:17 | |
It's 150 with the internet. | 0:41:17 | 0:41:18 | |
I will sell away then, fair warning at 150... | 0:41:18 | 0:41:23 | |
-£150. Well done, Will, top end. -Great. | 0:41:23 | 0:41:24 | |
-Well done you for looking after that... -Thanks. | 0:41:24 | 0:41:26 | |
..and hanging onto it, and bless you for coming in. | 0:41:26 | 0:41:29 | |
-I know you were really nervous, weren't you? -Thank you very much. | 0:41:29 | 0:41:31 | |
Time now to press down hard on the accelerator. | 0:41:31 | 0:41:35 | |
I absolutely love this. | 0:41:35 | 0:41:37 | |
It is a classic and I've just found out today it's still boxed, isn't it? | 0:41:37 | 0:41:41 | |
You've got the original box. | 0:41:41 | 0:41:42 | |
-£200-£300 we said at the valuation day. -We did. | 0:41:42 | 0:41:45 | |
Now I know you've had a chat to the auctioneer. | 0:41:45 | 0:41:47 | |
-You've upped that valuation, 300-400, fixed reserve at 300. -Yep. | 0:41:47 | 0:41:51 | |
So it can't sell for any less than 300. | 0:41:51 | 0:41:53 | |
No, and I sincerely hope it does... | 0:41:53 | 0:41:54 | |
I really hope that because it's in such good condition and it's got | 0:41:54 | 0:41:58 | |
its box, that it just nudges up there for you, | 0:41:58 | 0:42:00 | |
I really hope it does. | 0:42:00 | 0:42:01 | |
-Yep, great. -Fingers crossed, eh? -OK. | 0:42:01 | 0:42:03 | |
-Fingers crossed. -Gear change. | 0:42:03 | 0:42:05 | |
Pedal to the metal, let's go! Here we go. | 0:42:05 | 0:42:08 | |
The Tri-ang Farina pedal car, with original packaging... | 0:42:08 | 0:42:11 | |
They start the bidding here with me at 260, 270, £280, I'm bid, at 280, | 0:42:11 | 0:42:16 | |
290, 300. | 0:42:16 | 0:42:18 | |
300... 20, 40, 60, 80. | 0:42:18 | 0:42:20 | |
400. 20, 40, 60, 80, 500. | 0:42:20 | 0:42:23 | |
My bid. £500, at 500. | 0:42:23 | 0:42:26 | |
50. 600. 50, 700. 50, 800. | 0:42:26 | 0:42:31 | |
And 50. I'm out. | 0:42:31 | 0:42:32 | |
At £850, watching you all carefully in the room at 850... | 0:42:32 | 0:42:34 | |
-Fantastic. -That box... | 0:42:34 | 0:42:36 | |
900, telephone. | 0:42:36 | 0:42:37 | |
And 50. 1,000. 1,100. | 0:42:37 | 0:42:41 | |
-£1,100 here, standing at £1,100. -Fantastic! | 0:42:41 | 0:42:44 | |
-(£1,100!) -That's brilliant, absolutely brilliant. | 0:42:44 | 0:42:46 | |
1,100. | 0:42:46 | 0:42:48 | |
-Yes! -1,200. And 50. | 0:42:48 | 0:42:51 | |
1,250. Last chance... | 0:42:51 | 0:42:53 | |
1,250... | 0:42:53 | 0:42:55 | |
-Yes, 1,250, how about that? -Wow! | 0:42:55 | 0:42:57 | |
The classic Top Gear! How about that? | 0:42:57 | 0:43:00 | |
Yeah, well done you for putting the reserve up. | 0:43:00 | 0:43:02 | |
-That was just fantastic. -I'm glad I kept it on the wardrobe! | 0:43:02 | 0:43:05 | |
D'you know what...? Yeah, cos you must have looked after it for a little while. | 0:43:05 | 0:43:08 | |
-26 years. -26 years. And it's so big, what do you do? | 0:43:08 | 0:43:11 | |
-On top of the wardrobe. -And if you put it in a shed or the garage, it just gets rusty, | 0:43:11 | 0:43:14 | |
the box gets damp, you chuck the box... | 0:43:14 | 0:43:16 | |
Always keep it boxed. | 0:43:16 | 0:43:17 | |
Join us again for many more surprises, but until then, | 0:43:17 | 0:43:20 | |
from Market Harborough, from all of us here, it's goodbye. | 0:43:20 | 0:43:23 |