Reading 30 Flog It!

Today we're in the town of Reading, in Berkshire,

and our production team and crew are already hard at work

preparing this magnificent concert hall, ready for filming.

And just in case you've missed it,

the centrepiece of this magnificent building has to be

this gigantic organ. Later on in the programme,

we'll be finding out more about it,

and David, here, has kindly agreed to give us a demonstration.

Now, I've just been told there's quite a queue gathering outside,

so take it away, maestro, and welcome to "Flog It!"

Reading boasted the third most important

Benedictine abbey in England during the medieval period

and the ruins can be seen in the town today.

Then, in the Victorian era,

the coming of the railway contributed to the success

of local manufacturing, and Reading prospered.

It was during this time that the beautiful town hall

was remodelled and extended.

Inside the town hall is Reading Museum,

which is comprised of 11 galleries

and the town hall also boasts a superb concert hall,

where we are setting up our valuation tables today.

HOARSELY: The concert hall opened in May 1882

and the first performance was the Hallelujah Chorus.

But in the year 2000, it underwent magnificent restoration

and today it's one of the finest examples of its kind in the country.

I'm keen to get inside to find out more,

but I know this lot are keen to get on with those valuations.

They are here to see our experts to ask that all-important question,

-which is... ALL:

-What's it worth?

And if you're happy with the valuations,

what are you going to do? Flog it!

We haven't even opened the doors yet and I've already lost my voice.

I'm so excited!

And searching the queue to find treasures to take off to auction,

we have Anita Manning...

-That's lovely!

-..and David Harper.

I really like that.

And Anita is already building a rapport with the crowd.

Aren't the Reading folk wonderful?

You say it... She says it about everybody!

Anita, you charmer!

It's time now to open those doors so we can get the proceedings underway

and, whilst everyone gets inside the concert hall,

let's take a look at what's coming up later on in the show.

Anita finds a silver sugar shaker in need of a polish...

We thought we shouldn't over-clean it.

-There appears to be no chance of that happening!

-No.

..and emotions run high at the auction.

I'm going to start crying in a minute.

Did you hear that result? That was fantastic, wasn't it?

Oh, bless you!

'And I'll be getting hands on,

'learning the art of making stained glass.'

Phew, I'm hot!

Well, everybody is now safely seated inside the concert hall,

so it's time to get on with those all-important valuations.

Let's hand the proceedings over to our experts.

Here's the first lucky owner. Who's it going to be?

Now, Amanda, that is a very posh bowl.

Tell me about it. Are you a very posh person?

No, not at all. Car-boot sale.

What?! No!

-Yeah.

-Tell me, which car-boot sale?

It was somewhere outside Salisbury and, yes,

it was just one of those things.

I saw it and I liked it and I bought it.

I thought it was a Lalique, but I wasn't too sure.

OK, why did you think it was Lalique?

Just because of the colouring and the shapes and I just thought,

"Well, you know, it has to be something lovely."

Right, OK, so when we're looking at Lalique,

I'm just going to handle it here, what did you see?

I just saw the bluey, kind of...

Like opalescent, yes?

I mean, the design is absolutely fantastic.

You've got fish, there, swimming amongst waves.

When you pick it up and you feel it,

you can feel the texture and the weight

and it's just such a lovely piece of glass.

It really is. It's very, very tactile.

And how does it ring? Have you given it a bit of a ding?

-No!

-Do you trust me?

-Yeah...

-Amanda, trust me, I've only broken four pieces today.

Ready?

-GLASS RINGS

-Oh, wow!

-I've never done that before!

-It rings well.

There are no cracks there.

So, how much did you pay for it?

-£70.

-£70.

OK. Now, then, let's discover whether, in fact, it is Lalique.

Well, I can tell you from 20 feet away that this is in fact...

Rene Lalique.

And I emphasise the Rene bit

because Rene Lalique formed his business in 1885.

When he makes the glass, he marks it R Lalique.

Rene dies in 1945

and, as soon as he dies, the company continues trading,

his son takes it over, but they drop the R.

Yeah? So, there's a big difference between an R Lalique and a Lalique.

So if it's R, we know it's pre-1945.

It's a genuine thing, it's a gorgeous thing,

it's in great condition.

You've got a very good eye

to spot that Rene Lalique bowl before anyone else.

Because if I was there, I would have been in and out like a shot.

-I was in and out like a shot!

-You were? Right, OK.

Well, now we've got to talk, Amanda, about valuation, haven't we?

So, you've got to, when you're putting things into auction,

make sure that you get them in at a sensible estimate

to get people interested.

So that interesting estimate for me would be

-300 to 500, so that's a pretty good return.

-Yeah.

-Sounds good.

-Is it in line with what you were thinking? Yeah.

-Are we going to reserve it at 300?

-Yes.

OK. Rene Lalique bowl, going to auction, 300 to 500.

-You've done really well.

-Thank you.

Next, it's a family affair over on Anita's table.

Are you two sisters?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-And it's Heidi?

-Yes.

-And Laurie?

-Yeah.

And you've brought along this poor wee thing

that hasn't been cleaned, doesn't look as if it's been loved.

Tell me where you got it.

We had it left to us by our mother,

but it's been in the family for as long as we can remember,

but it's just been in the cupboard, hidden.

Even before we lost our mum, I think it was in the cupboard, hidden.

We thought we shouldn't over-clean it.

That's really... Yeah, what we've done.

Sometimes that's a good thing

cos we don't want to erase the hallmarks,

-but there appears to be no chance of that happening!

-No.

We thought we'd make your job easier!

And do you know what it is, girls?

-We presume is a sugar shaker...

-Yeah.

..but, other than that, don't know anything.

Well, it's from the late 1800s,

the Victorian times,

and if you can imagine, big families at that time -

big tables, elaborately decorated with all the bits and pieces

and, at pudding time, this would have sat on the table

and it would have been used to dispense sugar

onto your strawberries and cream.

Do you girls like strawberries and cream?

-Yes. I do.

-Not so much the cream.

-I like the sugar on it as well.

Yeah. That's why we've not used it,

it's been in the cupboard cos I don't like strawberries and cream.

That's no excuse.

If we look at the hallmark, we can see the Britannia mark.

Now, Britannia silver has a slightly higher silver content

than our usual standard hallmarked silver.

The letter mark tells us that it was made in 1899,

so it was the last year, really, of the Victorian era.

The decoration is very attractive.

We have this nice engraved top with leaves, flowers and so on.

So, it's a nice item.

It's in good condition apart from one part,

and that is the dent here.

-So it's taken a tumble at some point.

-Yeah.

Price on it, girls, I would say that,

going into auction with this damage,

-I would like to put it in about £60-£80.

-Mm-hm.

-I think that that might invite the bidding.

-Yeah.

Would you feel happy parting with this?

-Yeah, I don't think we are going to miss it.

-OK, girls,

see you at the auction and I hope we make lots of dosh for you!

# Halleluia

# Halleluia

# Halleluia, halleluia

# Halleluia... #

Well, look at that, we've got a full house!

Now, this concert hall was designed to have great acoustics...

Just listen to this. CLAP ECHOES

..which perfectly accompanies this magnificent organ.

We heard a few bars at the top of the show,

played by our organ player here, David.

Now, this is a Father Willis organ.

The chap who built it is called Henry Willis,

the greatest Victorian organ builder.

He built over 2,000 organs,

including the one at the Royal Albert Hall,

so he is affectionately known as Father Willis

because he's the master builder.

Now, this one here in Reading is the least altered example

of his work left in the country.

It's a real gem and I'm going to catch up with David

so we can hear a bit more.

Those few bars you played were absolutely fantastic.

Is it difficult to play?

Well, it's a problem of coordination, I think,

is the main thing.

If you've got some keyboard skills, you are halfway there.

-OK.

-People often say to me,

"How do you cope with all the pedals?"

-There are a lot of pedals down there.

-There are, yes,

and, yes, it takes a long time to get used to that,

but I say to people, "You don't think about looking at the pedals

"when you're driving your car after you've practised for a while,

"and it's much the same here."

-Although I've got 30 pedals rather than just three!

-Yes.

And also, the consequences of getting a wrong note here

are rather less severe than getting the wrong pedal in a car.

Mind you, the wrong note with this, with a packed house...

-Oh, it could be deafening!

-Well, yes, I wouldn't like to be you!

-It's like the human octopus, one of my friends often says.

-Yes!

Hey, you'd be... You need an octopus to play one of these!

Well, look, play us out with something,

-one of your favourite tunes.

-OK.

-Just a few bars.

-Thank you, David.

-Thank you.

HE PLAYS

Finlandia, composed by Jean Sibelias.

Beautiful! But now it's time for a change of key

as we enter the world of pop over on David's table.

Tony, what on earth are we looking at here?

This is meant to be an antiques valuation day!

Yeah, well, it's pretty old, goes back to 1967.

'67, OK.

-What are we looking at?

-In 1967, Radio 1 started...

-Yeah.

-..and just after it,

I think there must have been some sort of publicity campaign

or something like that,

suggesting that people write in for posters, so I wrote in

and these are posters that I got.

OK, so you must have been just a young boy.

I was about 14, yeah.

-14. Radio 1 just had started in September.

-Yeah.

-This is the original envelope.

-The envelope they came in, yeah.

And that is dated the 9th of the 11th, '67,

just a couple of months into it.

-Yeah.

-Tell me more, because this must have been an amazing time

-to be a 14-year-old.

-It was quite, yeah.

I used to listen to Radio Caroline and things like that,

-under the bedclothes.

-So you used to listen to the pirate radio?

-Yeah.

-And, of course, Radio 1 came in, didn't they,

to combat the scourge of the pirate radio?

-That's it.

-That was the idea, wasn't it?

-That's it,

and they stole quite a lot of the people from pirate radio.

-This chap, Emperor Rosko.

-Emperor Rosko!

-Do you remember him?

-I remember the name.

-Kenny Everett, looking remarkably conservative.

-Yes.

Yeah, very conservative.

It's incredible. And the badges, tell me about the badges.

Well, they came with the posters, and I think they're a bit naff.

I think they're not naff, Tony.

I think they're so 1967!

Ring-a-ding, Radio 1, 24/7.

It's such a '60s thing.

They're fascinating, and remarkable that you've kept them

in their original envelope as well.

Well, that's really because I didn't like them much,

I was very disappointed when I received them.

-Right.

-So they did go on the wall for a few months, I think,

but then I decided I didn't like them that much and put them away.

Gosh! OK, have you seen them anywhere else for sale?

I've never seen them before, but there must have been

-thousands and thousands produced.

-You're right,

these would have been produced in the hundreds of thousands,

but most found themselves binned after six months.

-I guess so.

-But what would you do with them today?

I mean, 1960s stuff is incredibly fashionable.

-Hence your shirt.

-Hence my shirt, exactly!

Bang on trend!

So, I think they'd be very popular, but what they're worth...

Would you be disappointed if they sold for 20 quid?

-Well, no, I wouldn't.

-OK.

Well, then I think we are on safe ground

because I'd like to put them into auction

as an interesting collection,

-at 30-50...

-All right.

-..and see what happens.

-You never know.

-That's jolly good.

Do you...? Would you be happy to take them home again

-and put them in the drawer if they don't sell?

-If they do come home,

they are going to go back into the loft, so probably not, so let's...

-Shall we let them go?

-OK.

-Shall we be brave, Tony?

We'll put 30 to 50, but they're going to sell anyway.

OK. I love your style.

'60S MUSIC PLAYS

Well, we've certainly had a busy morning

and our crews are working extremely hard,

but we have found our first three items to take off to auction.

-This is where it gets exciting!

-It does.

It's hard to put a value on an antique, isn't it?

-Yes.

-You know that, you know that, you've been watching the show.

Who's your favourite expert?

You are.

-Oh! Well, I'm not really an expert.

-Anita.

-Anita! Well,

let's find out if she's on the money, shall we?

We're going straight over to the auction room.

Here's a quick recap of all the items we're taking with us.

Amanda bought her Rene Lalique bowl for £70 at a car-boot sale,

so fingers crossed for a healthy profit at the auction.

Heidi and Laurie's silver sugar shaker

has been languishing unpolished in a cupboard,

so let's find it a new home.

And finally, Tony's Radio 1 posters and badges

are heading under the hammer.

We are staying in Berkshire for our auction today,

but we're relocating to the market town of Wokingham,

to Martin & Pole.

Well, it's the day of reckoning.

It's auction time and I'm feeling terribly excited

and I haven't even set foot inside this saleroom.

I know our owners are in there, we've got our items in there.

It's got all the ingredients of a classic sale,

so let's get inside and enjoy it.

You can sit back and watch this rollercoaster ride of emotions

as we put our items under the hammer.

Remember, whether you're buying or selling at auction,

there is commission and VAT to pay.

Here, sellers pay 15% plus VAT.

Our auctioneer Matt Coles is already hard at work on the rostrum.

Our first lot under his gavel is the silver sugar shaker.

Laurie and Heidi, good luck.

Good luck. I've got my voice back today, I lost it at the valuation.

-You did.

-I remember seeing this.

We're getting some good prices for silver here in the saleroom,

so fingers crossed we can get the top end.

We're on now, it's going under the hammer. Good luck.

Got some interest in this and I'll start it with me

at £90. 95 anywhere?

-Straight in with that.

-High!

-Four bids on the books.

£90. At £90.

95, 100.

There you are, girls!

With me at £100, and 10 on the internet.

120, 130, 140, 150,

160 with me now.

170 on the internet now, £170.

Any more? Selling, then, at £170.

-Good.

-That was great!

-That was a terrific result.

-That's respectable, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-It is, yeah.

-You're both happy?

-Yeah, yeah.

-We never thought that.

-No.

-The kids will eat tonight!

-Yeah!

-Well, no, they can sort themselves out, we'll eat!

-Yeah...

-I think someone's going down the pub, maybe!

-Me.

10? 10 I have, thank you.

Next up, Tony's Radio 1 posters and badges.

Let's hope our next lot is pick of the pops,

so they say if you're a DJ!

That's right, isn't it, pick of the pops?

Tony, it's great to see you again.

They're probably worth a lot more now than back then.

-Hopefully they've got...

-They were free then.

-Exactly!

So let's find out what they're worth.

They're going under the hammer right now.

Here's the four Radio 1 posters and the badges.

-Retro!

-Retro, this is where it's at!

£20 anywhere? 20 on the internet, I have.

On the internet at £20.

25 now on the internet.

It's all online, isn't it?

There's two people on the internet fighting away amongst themselves.

It's at £30 now.

See, nobody in the room.

It's at £30 on the internet.

Any more? Fair warning now. All finished?

They've gone. 30 quid's better than nothing, isn't it?

Yes, I've got six hangers-on here

and they all want a cup of coffee, so...

-You're going to blow the 30 quid in about five seconds!

-On coffee,

-yes!

-After all these years...

That's rock and roll!

Finally, it's time to test the market for Amanda's Lalique bowl.

I don't think you're taking this home.

-No.

-No, not at that sort of price.

-No, I hope not. I hope not.

-It's signed, it's an early one.

-It's pre-1945, it's got everything going for it.

-Yeah.

OK, let's find out what the bidders think, it's going under the hammer.

Start this with me at £250.

260 anywhere?

260, 270.

280, 290.

It's with me at 290.

Any more? At 290.

300 on the internet.

Any more? 320 on the internet now.

-At 320...

-Well, we're selling, aren't we?

It's going to go.

Any more? £320.

350, 380 on the internet.

400 in the room.

-A bit better than 70 quid, eh?

-At £400 in the room now.

All done. At 400...

-That's good, that's really good.

-Respectable, mid-estimate.

-It's about right, isn't it?

-Yes.

-And a good margin for you.

She's got a really good eye, this one.

She can spot a good thing from ten feet away.

What will you go out and buy with that, then? More...more...

-Go to the boot fairs?

-Yeah, I'll just keep my eye open.

-More Lalique?

-Do some more shopping.

-Studio portrait, anything?

Glass, pottery, silver.

And then put it back into another saleroom?

-Probably.

-Good for you, good for you!

30, 30 I have.

Well, there you are, that's our first three lots.

Three happy owners. So far, so good.

And we're coming back here to Martin & Pole

later on in the programme, so do not go away.

While I was in Reading,

I had the opportunity to get hands-on

and have a go at an art form I have greatly admired -

stained glass!

The craft of stained glass dates back to the medieval era,

when churches had windows that told Christian stories through pictures

to a population that was largely illiterate.

Today, new pieces of stained glass are created

using many of the original medieval techniques.

Reading boasts many churches which have beautiful examples,

and the town also has row upon row of Victorian houses,

which would have been built with stained-glass panels in them.

Today, many people are either restoring

or reinstating the stained glass in their period homes.

Of course, it isn't just about historic pieces.

There's also growing demand for new, ambitious pieces,

like this magnificent installation.

Isn't that special?

Now, the homeowner of this house has given me permission to come inside

and have a look, and it really does have the wow factor.

It's made up of thousands of pieces of coloured glass.

Quite breathtaking.

It's the work of a local man called John London

and his team of artists and craftspeople

and now I'm going to join up with him and do some stained glass,

get hands-on, but on a much more modest scale.

Reading Stained Glass is situated on a busy road

on the way into the town.

John and his team of dedicated craftsmen and women

restore period stained glass

and create new pieces for homes and churches.

They've even made windows for feature films such as Harry Potter,

where they created hundreds of genuine leaded windows for the sets.

-What a great workshop! Hi, everyone.

-Hello.

I'm really excited to do this.

Where do we start? What do we do, John?

OK, this is the drawing, which I've already prepared for you,

to make your little panel. Yeah.

So, first we're going to cut the glass.

When we're talking about history, talking about the Victorian period,

the medieval period, what sort of colours were in vogue then?

In the little borders, you'd have red glass.

-Yeah.

-Red glass is actually coloured in the metal oxide of gold dust,

so it actually represented wealth,

so you would have that in just small pieces,

because it has to be used sparingly because of the cost involved.

So if we'd picked this glass for the outside,

-that'd work for it very well.

-Yeah.

-OK.

-And then if we have some pastel colours on the inner borders,

quite pale colours, but they let plenty of light through.

-That's a different technique?

-This is English muffle glass.

You get this in old Victorian windows.

-So we've got that and now we pick the roundel?

-Yeah.

-The dark blue with that?

-Yeah, lovely.

-Very rich.

-Yeah, that's perfect.

Right, I guess it's time to get stuck in.

I'm going to take my... I'll take this off.

Where do we actually start? What do you do? The borders?

First thing you're going to do is cut all the pieces of glass.

We're going to cut the glass with this glass cutter.

-One more?

-That's it.

And then we put these on the line.

-This will apply pressure evenly on both sides of the line?

-Yeah.

-We hope!

-It will.

-Ready?

-Yeah.

There we go.

-Did it.

-Lovely.

-Right, I'm going to cut this side of the line, about there?

-That's it.

That's it, you just line that up where you've cut.

That's it, that's fine.

-That's delicate!

-You've cut your first piece.

-That's quite a good fit.

-That's a good fit?

-Yeah, yeah.

So, now I just go around and do all the red?

So, the next piece and then the next piece and so on.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight...

-11.

-Yeah.

OK.

Has glass always been cut this way?

Well, in medieval times,

-they didn't have things such as a glass cutter.

-No.

-They used to have a steel pole...

-Yeah.

..and they would heat it up in the fire until it was glowing red

and then drag it across the glass

and the glass would crack in that place

-where the metal rod had touched the actual glass.

-Gosh!

Thankfully, I've got it a bit easier today.

Here we go, the last one.

OK.

'But now it's time for the challenging part -

'guiding the cutter freehand around the curve.'

Gosh, this is difficult. Agh!

-There's a squiggle towards the end!

-I'm sure it'll be fine,

if you tap that off with this end of the glass cutter.

-There we go.

-It did pop off OK, didn't it?

-That's it, that's fine. Lovely.

-Are you sure that's all right?

Yeah, that'll be fine.

-That's the frightening bit.

-Yeah.

Right, here we go.

-That's my best bit.

-That's your best bit.

-That's the best bit.

-The last bit was the best bit.

How satisfying is that?!

Now, look, the pieces of the jigsaw.

-That's a lovely colour.

-Ta-da!

Phew, I'm hot!

-Are you tired out now?

-Yeah, I am tired!

-Gosh.

-It's hard work.

It was the pressure, the pressure of getting it wrong.

I wouldn't like to sort of pick out knights in armour

and do all of that kind of thing, you know.

-That's very, very skilful, isn't it?

-That's very, very advanced, yeah,

it's an original Victorian panel from about 1850.

-It's all hand painted and then kiln fired.

-Beautiful!

'Stained-glass styles varied drastically

'throughout the centuries,

'but the one thing they have in common

'is that they're usually set in a lead framework...'

That's it, lovely.

'..and creating the leaded frame is painstaking work.'

That's it.

-OK.

-Next piece of lead in.

'The lead borders, or channels,

'slot in between the pieces of glass.'

-You need three hands, don't you, doing this?

-So...

'And then, when it's all done,

'it all needs to be soldered together.'

That's it, if you put that on there and then take the iron off.

HE SQUEALS

There is a slight awkwardness and clumsiness to it,

which I'm kind of enjoying.

Yeah, I think it's going to look super when it's finished.

I know it's not as good as you would do cos I know it's a bit uneven.

It's very good for a beginner, and it's got charm.

-Right, I guess the final stage now is the puttying.

-That's right.

Let's get dirty with the putty!

That's it, and you work it in all the way round...

'The black putty is worked in with a brush

'between the glass and the lead.

'Overnight, the putty turns hard like cement

'and it makes the panel rigid and waterproof.'

Right, I think that's the last little bit now.

-That's it.

-Got to clean that up.

That's it, so you clean it all up with one of those.

So, basically, we're still just following traditional methods.

Exactly, yeah.

-Someone did exactly this hundreds of years ago.

-Mm.

'Once the excess putty is removed,

'whiting or chalk is brushed onto the glass to take the grease off.'

-Enough?

-That's...

-Too much?

-Bit too much, yeah.

A polish is then applied

to stop the lead oxidising and forming a white film

and then one last final brush.

-Getting really hot now!

-Yeah.

-How much more?

-I think that's about ready.

Ready for what? Just to hold up and admire?

Yeah.

That's brilliant, that's fantastic. It's really brilliant, John.

-It's good, isn't it?

-Yeah, thank you so much!

-I bet you're really pleased with that, aren't you?

-I am.

I'm proud of it. I'm going to find a place,

you know, pride of place at home, let the whole family enjoy it.

You can stand it on a windowsill

and when the sunlight comes through, it'll just look amazing.

Yes, thank goodness for people like you, you know,

passing on these skills, these long-lost skills.

A bit of patience and...wow, you've got something to be proud of.

Welcome back to the Concert Hall here in the heart of Reading.

As you can see, we've still got a full house,

so let's raise the curtain and get on with our second performance.

It's straight over to Anita Manning.

Dave, one of my loves is paintings.

Tell me, where did you get it?

Well, the story began quite a number of years ago when my mother,

who was born in Greece, put an advert in a lonely-hearts column.

-Oh, wow!

-And my father, living in England, he saw the advert,

he replied and, on the third visit, they were married.

-Oh, wow!

-And Mum came to live in England

and still lives in Aldershot today.

And I'm here today to hopefully sell the painting on her behalf.

So, this was your mum's picture.

Where did she get it?

When mum came to England, she became very,

very good friends with another Greek lady.

Sadly, a number of years ago,

the lady passed away and the painting was left to my mum.

Given to your mum. Oh, that's lovely.

And did your mum like the picture?

She did, and initially, it was on display in the home, but, you know,

you decorate and, sadly, for quite some time it's been in a cupboard.

And what I'm seeing here is, I would say, a typical Victorian picture,

maybe from the mid-1800s.

It's a charming scene.

-Yes, it is.

-It's oil on board,

a beautiful woodland scene with a little girl who looks like

Little Red Riding Hood...

-Yes, she does.

-..coming through the wood.

What I love about this picture are the wonderful strong and clear

autumnal colours and, if you look at the bark here,

how realistic is that?

The light as well.

The wonderful light coming through the wood from behind.

Now, we've searched and we can find no signature.

But sometimes the back of a picture can tell you so many things.

And we have...

This label here is the label of the suppliers of the board and it's a

London board, so we think maybe it would be a London artist.

-OK.

-On here, we have a torn label and we've got Red Riding Hood.

-Yes.

-But not all of the letters, and then we have what looks like "Henry"

and then what looks like the beginning of the surname Darvall.

-OK.

-So, I know that there is a Victorian painter

called Henry Darvall.

-There is, OK.

-And I know this...

the subject of this painting is something

that he might have painted.

Let's look at this, and we'll need to turn the picture up this way.

What we have, again, Riding Hood, Little Red Riding Hood,

here and we have Henry Darvall, Camden.

So, if it came to me, I would attribute it to Henry Darvall.

OK, yeah.

Because there's enough evidence in the back.

That he was the painter.

That he was the painter.

-OK.

-I would probably put it in at perhaps £400-£600.

-We'll put a reserve on it.

-I'm happy with that. Absolutely.

Well, shall we put a reserve on it?

-Yes.

-We'll put a reserve of 400 on it,

but I hope that this lovely picture will soar and make lots and lots of

-dosh for your mum.

-You never know,

we may get an aeroplane ticket and go to Greece for a holiday.

Oh, I would love that to happen!

DAVE LAUGHS

Fingers crossed Dave and his mum, Maria,

will be flying high after the auction.

Over on David's table, things are taking off too.

Now, Sue and Robert, I've got to tell you,

I absolutely adore classic cars and classic aeroplanes.

Now, let me guess, Robert, who owns this one?

Well, we inherited it from my father-in-law and...

-You own it, then?

-I do! Yes!

-Oh, I see.

-OK, so, this was your dad's?

-It was indeed.

Yes. When he passed away, he had a shed full of

lots of interesting items.

It was actually packed to the gunnels

with different items and hidden away

in one corner, we found this little aeroplane.

He must have had it since he was a young boy.

He was born in 1925, so he probably had it something like the 1930s,

-I would imagine.

-Yeah, well, good guess,

that's exactly the period it dates from.

It screams the 1930s, doesn't it?

-Oh, right.

-It has been so incredibly well engineered,

made in the days when things that were made in Britain were renowned

for being the best quality in the world.

-Wow!

-Let's talk, Sue, about the box.

-Right.

-Boxes with toys, as we know, are so vitally important.

-Yes, yes.

-Because they're often

much rarer than the objects themselves.

-Yes.

-It's the Frog interceptor fighter.

-Do you know what Frog stands for?

-No, I did wonder.

It stands for Flies Right Off The Ground.

-Oh!

-Isn't that just fantastic?

-Oh, it's amazing, yes.

-So, let's look at the plane itself.

If you just lift that, that is so remarkably light,

it is ridiculous. The structure itself is aluminium.

You have your working propeller. And the wings, which, of course,

have to detach so it goes back into its box,

they're just pegged there and they're made from paper,

as are the tail fins, so it is so incredibly light.

So, what you do is, you dismantle the aeroplane, you take its wings

off, you place the body of the aeroplane into its winder box,

here, so the propeller joins this little

instrument and you literally wind up the mechanism.

You take it back out of the box, you fit its wings,

you place it on the ground and it flies right off the ground,

and it takes off and where it lands, nobody knows.

Well, he used to have a very big garden in his young days,

so he probably flew it in the garden quite a bit, I should think.

I'm sure he did, and I'm sure he flew it into the neighbours' garden.

-Probably.

-It's probably been through a window or two.

It's probably got him into all sorts of bother.

And that's maybe why he put it back in the box and put it away!

Maybe! Yes!

The toy market is fabulously buoyant.

-Oh, right.

-What value do you think it might have?

I only thought probably about £30.

You know what, I think you're about right.

I would like, if you want to send it to auction,

to put it in with an estimate of £40-£60.

That seems to be what they sell for.

But it will sell and it will be sold to somebody who will absolutely

-treasure it.

-That's the main thing, yes.

-Well, I'm absolutely delighted.

I can tell you, I don't think it's going to fly again,

but I can see that,

you know, in a gentleman's office, displayed like so.

That's something we call in this business "mantique".

Yes. That's really nice, yes.

Fantastic. Thank you for bringing it in.

Well, we're certainly having so much fun here. This concert hall

makes the perfect venue to film in.

Having a good time, everyone?

-Yes!

-That's what it's all about.

-You're in good voice, aren't you?

-Definitely.

If you'd like to take part in the show,

this is where your journey starts -

at a valuation day just like this.

If you've got any antiques and collectables you want to sell,

we want to flog them for you. Bring them along.

Details of upcoming dates and venues you can find on our BBC website,

or check out our BBC Facebook page, or the details in your local press.

Come on - dust them down, bring them in and we will flog them.

Right, now for our final valuation of the day,

and something glittery has caught Anita's eye.

Barbara, tell me, where did you get it?

It was left to me by an aunt.

-Have you had it a long time?

-I think about 15 years.

Are you fond of jewellery?

I do like jewellery. I do wear the bit at the front, on a chain,

but not the actual complete lot.

This bottom piece here can be unhooked

so that you can wear the top piece on its own

or you can wear the bottom piece as a pendant or brooch.

It's a big, fabulous piece of bling, though, you have to admit!

-Oh, yes, yes.

-It's a yellow metal.

Now, there is no hallmark,

but it is my feeling that this is a high-carat gold.

-Yes.

-15, possibly 18.

And the reason that I'm saying that is because of

this lovely yellow, honey colour, which in Victorian times

you could associate with 18-carat or 15-carat gold.

But in auction, our auctioneer will only be able to

call it yellow metal, but those who know will know.

-Yes.

-It is encrusted with garnets.

And garnets are a wonderful stone.

They are not a precious stone,

like diamonds, sapphires, emeralds or rubies -

it's what we would call a semiprecious gemstone.

-Yes.

-Now, garnets have been used in jewellery

since Roman times

and it was a particular favourite of the Victorians.

Price on it...

I would estimate this at £200-£300 going into auction.

-Yes.

-I think it will be very well-fancied

-because it is a big statement piece.

-Yes.

Would you be happy to go forward and sell?

Yes, I think so. I'd like to put a reserve on it.

We will put a firm reserve.

-Yes.

-We will put a firm reserve.

Now, we can't put a reserve above the lower estimate,

so our reserve would have to be £200.

-Yes.

-Now, are you... You've got to be happy about it, Barbara.

Yeah, I wouldn't be happy to sell it for 200.

Shall we put it at 250?

-Yes.

-Let's do that.

A firm reserve of £250.

-Yes.

-Let's take it to auction

and I hope that this will fly because it's a splendid piece.

Yes, right, thank you very much.

-Thank you for bringing it in.

-Thank you.

Well, that's it - we've found our final three items

to take off to auction, so it's time to say goodbye

to the concert hall here, in the town hall at Reading.

But before we head back to the saleroom,

here's a quick reminder of all the items we are taking with us.

Fingers crossed the Victorian painting of Red Riding Hood

belonging to Maria, who is Dave's mum, will fly away at auction.

Sue's Frog interceptor fighter plane is in fabulous condition,

considering it dates from the 1930s and has paper wings.

And finally, let's hope Barbara's garnet and gold pendant brooch

shines in the saleroom as we head back to Wokingham,

where auctioneer Matt Coles is still hard at work on the rostrum.

-You wore it, didn't you, Barbara?

-Yes, I used to wear it.

-You used to.

-Good on you!

-I haven't for a long time.

-No, good on you.

I know, it's a fashion thing, isn't it?

But garnets are fashionable just now.

-They are coming back again, aren't they?

-Yeah, they are.

Well, hopefully you will get the top end of your valuation.

Are you ready for this? Are you going to say goodbye to it?

-I think we will today, don't you?

-Fingers crossed.

Here we go.

Lot 548A is a Victorian golden garnet pendant brooch.

-I have absentee bids on this one.

-Good.

And I can start it with me at £260.

Yes! Straight in!

At £260.

Are we all done at 260?

Selling, then, at 260.

-All done?

-Yup, yup.

260. Well, straight in.

-That's all right, isn't it?

-Yes, yes.

-That's the price.

-It was a good thing.

Next up, it is Sue's Frog interceptor fighter plane.

I love this. This was your dad's, wasn't it?

-It was indeed, yes.

-And it's boxed! It's boxed!

-I know.

Doesn't it make you want to rip it out of its box and play with it?

Did you? I would have done as a kid.

-Yes!

-But your dad was so well-behaved to keep it all intact.

He must have been, yes.

It's all there and it's ready to go.

Let's hope it flies. It's going under the hammer right now.

The Triang Frog Mark IV interceptor fighter.

Absentee bids on this one.

I can start with me at £40.

Straight in at £40.

Selling. Any more at £40?

42, 45, 48,

50, 55, 60...

At £60 now. Any more at £60?

At £60, then, any more?

-£60, that's more like it, isn't it?

-That's really nice.

Brilliant. Well done for hanging onto that and bringing it along.

-It's been really, really good.

-We had fun.

-Yes.

It was really good.

And now for our final lot of the day,

the painting of Little Red Riding Hood.

We need two return tickets to Greece

so you can take your mum back to the village she was born in,

and this Victorian oil should do it,

and we have our own Little Red Riding Hood.

Look at this, you are dressed perfectly for it!

Yeah. Are you the big bad wolf?

HE GROWLS It's a great painting, isn't it?

It's just a shame it's not signed and dated.

We can attribute it to Henry Darvall,

but we are not quite sure.

Yes, in the end, the buyer has got to make up his own mind.

Exactly. Let's find out what the bidders think.

It is going under the hammer right now.

Lot 149.

I have absentee bids on this one, I can start it with me at £400.

With me at £400.

At £400.

And 20, 450. 480, 500.

520, 550, 580, 600.

620.

At 620. Any more?

-650 on the internet.

-Brilliant!

-680 in the room.

700 on the internet.

-Fantastic!

-At £700 now, on the internet.

-Are we all done in here?

-720.

-I'm going to start crying in a minute!

At £720.

Any more on the internet? 720, 750 now.

Yes! Yes!

780 in the room.

-800.

-Well done, well done.

800 on the internet.

At £800 on the internet now.

Any more at £800?

Are we all done, then? Fair warning now. £800.

-820.

-Oh, brilliant, brilliant.

Have we got 850 on the internet?

850 on the internet.

At £850 on the internet.

All done now? Fair warning.

At £850...

Yes! £850. Well, that's a great result.

-Wonderful, wonderful.

-That's the one we wanted.

Quality always sells. And your mum is here, isn't she?

-She's just sitting down there.

-Just behind the camera over there.

-Oh, how lovely!

-I've got a lump in my throat now

because we are going to get the plane tickets to Greece

-and that is for sure.

-Fantastic.

-Thank you both very much indeed.

Here she is now. Come on in, my darling, come and stand here.

Did you hear that result?

-Yeah.

-It was fantastic, wasn't it?

Oh, bless you! Bless you, look.

Come here, stand next to Dave. Well done, you two. And...

..that's a great way to end today's show, isn't it?

-Thank you very much.

-Flying off to Greece.

I'm going to Greece.

Well, look, thank you for joining us at the very last minute.

-Thank you very much.

-Enjoy Greece, and look after her. I know you will.

Mums are definitely the best. What a way to end today's show!

I knew there would be a surprise, and we certainly had one.

Join us again soon for many more, but until then, from Wokingham,

-it's goodbye.

-Yes, lovely, thank you.