Episode 18 Antiques Road Trip

It's the nation's favourite antiques experts.

What about that?

With £200 each, a classic car and a goal to scour Britain for antiques.

Can I buy everything here?

The aim - to make the biggest profit at auction, but it's no mean feat.

Feeling a little "sore"!

This is going to be an epic battle.

There will be worthy winners and valiant losers.

So, will it be the high road to glory or the slow road to disaster?

-The honeymoon is over.

-I'm sorry!

This is the Antiques Road Trip.

Yeah.

On this Antiques Road Trip,

we are motoring along with a pair of splendid auctioneers

who are becoming the best of pals.

D'you know, Paul, it's been such good fun

driving in this wee daft car with you. Such good fun.

Paul Laidlaw's a knowledgeable chap.

Based in Carlisle with a love for all things military

and a habit of winning at this game.

-You are in my sights.

-Yes.

-I'm coming to get you!

-Ah!

-I think you might be, I think you might be.

-Oh, I don't know.

While Anita Manning is a glamorous Glasgow girl

who is certainly no pushover either.

I'm still a teensy wee bit in front.

And I've got you snapping at my heels.

Anita won big on the very first leg of this trip

but stumbled in the last auction with a pricey African tribal mask,

allowing Paul to make up ground.

I made a small loss of £70(!)

So, there is everything to play for on this third leg.

Both of them started with £200.

Paul's managed to parlay that into a current budget of £238.49.

While Anita's now holding wealth totalling £272.90.

And today,

they are driving a darling little 1957 Morris Minor 1000 Traveller.

That's right, of course, of course, you've come over in a car.

Yeah, you are.

The car was manufactured before seat belts were mandatory

and so it's legal to drive without them.

On this whole grand road trip,

they'll clock up more than 1000 miles.

From Ford in Northumberland,

crisscrossing England's ancient shires,

to end up in Stamford in Lincolnshire.

On today's leg, they will begin in South Cave in the East Riding

of Yorkshire, aiming for auction

in the London area of Twickenham.

We are going to London.

And I hope that the streets are paved with gold!

-But before then...

-I'm enjoying Yorkshire.

Oh, isn't it a marvellous place?

It just shows you, Yorkshire's got everything.

-It's got everything and now it's got you and I.

-I know.

-Talk about gilding the lily.

-Quite.

They've nearly arrived in South Cave,

a pretty little Yorkshire village.

And they're pulling up at Olde English Furniture

which sounds like a promising place to start the day's buying.

I see the sun's shining on the righteous again.

-The beginning of our new adventure.

-New nightmare, maybe.

There's my heels, snap at them. PAUL LAUGHS

There's a challenge. Go on, in there, you two.

Now, this looks great. This looks terrific.

Does it look big enough for both of us?

I hope this is big enough for both of us.

-You go that way, I'll go this way.

-Sounds like an excellent plan.

What is Anita's stratagem on this leg?

My tactics are to be very, very careful on this leg

because this is the leg that he can make up and pass me on.

And so she's carefully casing the joint.

I rather like this. It's an Edwardian travelling writing case.

It's the type of thing that a rather fine lady from

the beginning of the 20th century would take with her on her travels.

And what is very charming,

in this writing case are a couple of postcards.

They are sentimental. They are the type of postcard

that a young man would send to his sweetheart.

The text on it is, "These flowers are the sweet smell of your heart."

The smell of your heart?!

Yeucchh! How ghastly!

But, it's captured Anita's romantic sensibilities.

It's rather a nice thing.

And I love these cards here.

Cheap sentimentality, but who can resist it?

Ticket price is £85.

So, time to make a heartfelt appeal to dealer, Fiona.

Fiona, I like this little Edwardian travelling writing box here.

-Only the best ladies have theirs.

-Well, that's...

That's why you need it.

I was wondering, what sort of price could you come down?

My absolute best on it, just because you are a special lady,

would be 65.

-65.

-And that's a bargain.

It might be, but Anita is being cautious today.

I'm thinking, can I... Could I make a profit on that?

If I could buy that for £40, I would think that I could...

-I wasn't taking much of a chance.

-I'd do 60.

-Would you take 50 for it?

-Make it 55, meet me halfway.

-Meet you halfway?

-OK. Let's go for it, let's go for it.

-OK.

-OK. That's smashing.

A hearty haggle gets an excellent deal on the romantic writing desk.

-Let's live dangerously.

-Bring romance back.

Bring romance back into the world.

Meanwhile, Paul seems to be earwigging.

I can't concentrate for listening to the deal going down.

-Let me have a wee think about that.

-OK, yeah, have a think.

For all I know

she's negotiating on the crown jewels back there for a fiver.

Paul's not used to being in second place

and is determined to turn his fortunes round today.

Oh, I love that Poole dinner service.

I do actually wonder if that's dear.

Just out of interest...

It's a 1950s dinner and coffee service

by iconic British ceramic makers, Poole Pottery.

That works for me. Poole Pottery.

And they really do produce striking wares.

It's got that '50s, retro vibe going on.

So it's practical, it displays well.

Me likes.

Then you haggles.

-Oh, Fiona?

-The Poole coffee and dinner service?

-Yeah.

£60, just to you.

We've got 85 on it.

That's a bargain. You'll double your money on that.

You're good at this, you know that? You're a temptress, I can tell.

Absolutely.

-OK.

-And I'll even package it for you.

How about I pack it myself but you come down on your price?

-55's my absolute bottom.

-Yeah.

-You'll do well on that.

-I am very tempted.

Paul wants that, so, he's going to see if he can find another item

with which to sweeten the deal.

-But, in the meanwhile...

-(Don't sell it to Anita.)

Let me show you something.

This is something that might, just might have a wee bit of potential.

Here we have a little watercolour

of rather a smart residence.

Yeah, it depicts a mansion house in Oxted, Surrey. Ticket price is £10.

Oh, Fiona?

Fiona, that can be dirt cheap, can't it?

What would she do on the painting and Poole Pottery combined?

How about we do that and the Poole...

..for 60?

How about we don't? That is a good deal, but...

That's an exceptional deal. 56 quid.

58, just so that I feel I've got somewhere.

He spends £58 total

on the Poole Pottery dinner and coffee service and the watercolour.

Meanwhile, Anita's still on the hunt.

-It's not going to give up its secrets.

-Best leave it alone, then.

But here's something.

I think this is a rather pretty thing.

It's a piece of oval tapestry which has been mounted and framed.

The needlework is probably Victorian

although the frame is more modern.

This isn't marked up at very much.

£12.

So, it might be something that would appeal to the buyers in the auction.

So, I'm going to have a wee try at that.

She'd like to pick that up, but she's still looking.

CLOCK CHIMES

And soon, finds something that chimes with her tastes.

We're going to auction in London

so I'm trying to think what the London buyer might want.

They've got the kind of cool guys

and gals that are interested in interior decoration.

This set of six quirky, gilt metal napkin holders

are branded to the upmarket department store of Garfinckel's,

which was headquartered in Washington DC in the US of A.

They have come a long way.

They probably date from the 1950s and are ticketed at £12.

And I think that the buyers might think

that they're fun to have on their dining table.

It could be a tactical buy.

Anita will try and strike a deal on the needlework

and napkin rings, combined.

-You could do me a superb deal on the...

-For you, special lady, OK.

How about, for both of them... Are you ready for this?

-Are you excited?

-I'm really excited.

-How about a cool £15?

Oh, man, that is so cool. Thank you so much.

Great!

She's a winner.

Not even lunchtime

and she's already bagged three lots at a bargain price of £70, total.

But her competitor, Paul's already back in the car.

He is heading for the environs of the village

of Elvington, North Yorkshire.

He's on his way to the Yorkshire Air Museum,

which is on the site of the only Second World War air base in Britain

to be controlled by French forces.

Here, he is going to learn about the extraordinary sacrifices made by

Allied airmen during World War II, including one French pilot who

has one of the most extraordinary war records in the whole conflict.

He's meeting museum director Ian Reed.

-Hello there, is it Ian?

-It is. Hello.

-Hello.

-Pleased to meet you.

-Welcome to the Yorkshire Air Museum.

-Well, thank you very much.

I am overwhelmed by the scale of it.

-It is on a former RAF Bomber Command station.

-Right.

But it's unique in that it was the only station

in the United Kingdom that was manned and operated by the French.

There were two French squadrons here.

2,300 French personnel were based here.

The two squadrons based here

were part of the exiled French Air Force,

fighting for the Allies following the occupation of France by Germany.

They fought in the struggle against the enemy

and for the liberation of France from Nazi control.

Ian's taking Paul into the base's control tower

to hear the story of these courageous airmen.

One of the things that really gets to me

about the French here is that most of them were young people.

One of the commanders here, who is still alive today, he is 94,

he had to leave his fiancee, who was 19 and he knew,

a few months after that they'd left, she'd been arrested by the Gestapo.

Now, they had to then go and bomb France, remember.

They were bombing their own country.

Hadn't a clue what would happen to his girlfriend.

She survived, she escaped and they are still married today,

both in their mid-nineties.

I'm going to well up, stop that! Holy Moses.

The details are just...

-They tear at you.

-Absolutely, and that is just one of many.

The two squadrons based here played a major part

in the bomber offensive against Germany, but suffered heavy losses.

They suffered over 50% fatalities whilst here, just in 18 months.

So, it was not a great time.

As well as the French airmen serving here as part of

the French Air Force, other French pilots escaped from territories

controlled by the Germans in North Africa

and went on to serve as part of our own Royal Air Force.

The guys that made the difference, of course, were those that escaped,

joined the Royal Air Force, just before the Battle of Britain,

because we were very short of pilots.

Perhaps the most extraordinary of these was a young pilot

called Rene Mouchotte, who was stationed at a French air base

in Algeria when France fell to German forces.

Placed under armed guard, Mouchotte and his fellow pilots staged

a daring escape in a partially disabled plane,

aiming for the British base of Gibraltar.

And you've got to hand it to these guys, they...

-Every second, they could have been killed.

-Yeah.

And as they set off for Gibraltar, just skimming the waves

-because they didn't have enough power...

-Yeah.

-..they could hear the fighter planes being sent after them.

-Oh! Gee whiz.

They said that the welcome by the British tommies was overwhelming

and they were driven through the streets singing the Marseillaise

and they came back by ship and joined the RAF.

Mouchotte went on to be one of the most celebrated French pilots

of the Second World War.

Extraordinarily, Ian has Mouchotte's RAF logbook

on loan from the Musee de la Liberation in Paris.

He is a bit of an artist as well.

"Experience on type."

-Posted to B Flight 615 Squadron.

-BOTH:

-Churchill's own.

Look at this. Fantastic.

Pilot scrambling, what a wonderful first scramble.

A close escape from heavy anti-aircraft position,

behind a few trees, one ME 109... Messerschmitt, 109 damaged.

Despairing solitude. My word.

Ian also has an English translation of Mouchotte's wartime diaries

which detail the terrible realities of war

experienced by Mouchotte and his fellow servicemen.

-Charles Guerin was Mouchotte's best friend.

-Ah, right.

And they escaped together.

But on May 10th, 1941, Guerin was killed in front of his eyes.

He crashed into the sea.

He writes here, "The cruel reality was borne in upon me.

"I went back home alone.

"My companion throughout the war, who left France with me,

"who escaped from Algeria with me, my brother-in-arms,

"with his great hope for the future, has left me forever.

"We were inseparable.

"And it was to be my fate to hold him by the hand until death.

"I could not repress the sobs that were choking me as I flew back."

Oh, my word... That's real, as you say.

Tragically, Mouchotte himself was also killed in combat.

His plane shot down in a mission to Northern France in 1943.

He had flown an extraordinary 382 sorties

and is remembered as one of France's greatest heroes of the conflict.

The road down the side of Gare Montparnasse, in the centre

-of Paris, is Rue de Rene Mouchotte.

-Right.

-He was very famous.

I've got to say, the picture you paint so well,

-it will leave an indelible impression on me.

-Good.

-I am eternally yours. Thank you very much.

-Wonderful to meet you.

Now, Anita has motored on to the city of Hull,

where she is wandering into Waterloo Antiques Reclaimed,

where dealer, Eddie, is ready to meet her.

-Hello, I'm Anita.

-Hello there, I'm Eddie.

-Nice ponytail, Eddie.

Anita's still on a buying binge this afternoon.

-Eddie.

-Hello.

-Come and tell me about these.

Crikey, those are interesting.

I found them in an old tubber.

I thought I'd put them in that cabinet just to...

-enlighten my cabinet.

-Well, they've certainly done that.

-Quite scary, aren't they?

-Yeah, well, I'm scary enough but...

-Are you?

You're not scary!

-That remains to be seen.

-How many have we got of them, four?

-There's six.

-Did you pay a fortune for them?

-We got the heads for free.

-Don't tell me things like that!

-Don't tell her things like that, Eddie.

All right.

-This is like something out of the Hammer House of Horrors.

-Yeah.

The heads are fairly modern

and might be used by novice hairdressers and the like. Hmm.

Still, with no ticket price, what's Eddie's starting price?

I'd probably take about £25 for them.

That's quite cheap, I would have thought.

Have you got a headache, Anita?

Huh, I'm not sure Eddie's quite serious about that price,

so Anita's going to browse on and see if she can find

something else with which to build a bigger deal.

You know what they say, get a hat, get ahead.

I'll keep on looking.

A bit of craziness, a bit of kitsch. How much is this one?

-This clock, here?

-Mm-hmm.

-65 on that.

I like it, but it's too much for me.

It's a 1970 sunburst wall clock.

A real bit of retro, if you like that sort of thing.

But Anita's ready for a haggle. Stand by.

What I'd like to be buying that for, is probably £28.

That's the sort of price that I am thinking, round about.

What about if I give you it for 45 and some free heads?

Could you come further than that?

Could you come down to, say, to 32 or something like that?

-If you came near there, it would give me a chance...

-35.

-35?

I could not go any lower than 35.

Put it there.

OK, thank you. That's great.

So, a deal on the clock and all the heads, at £35, total.

I mean, I like them, they are...

hopefully what the cool kids are buying.

The cool kids, eh? Let's get down with them!

And with that rather Gothic flourish,

it's the end of a jam-packed first day.

So, night-night, you two.

The next morning finds them back on the bargain trail

and trying to scavenge information.

And are there any tactics?

Are you going to continue to go canny or are you going to go for bust?

I'm always going to go where it...

There's always a fighting chance of a buck in it. Seriously.

You need to go for it, if it's a good thing.

So far, Paul's spent £58 on two lots.

The dinner and coffee service by Poole Pottery

and the little watercolour of a house,

leaving him £180.49 to spend today.

While Anita's gone all out, spending £105 on five lots.

The Edwardian writing desk,

the framed needlework,

the set of six gilt napkin rings,

the 1970s sunburst clock

and yes, the collection of six mannequin heads.

She still has £167.90 left. Wow.

-I could be satisfied...

-Yeah, yeah.

-..with the mad stuff that I've bought!

-Right! Ho-ho!

-Right!

-And I don't know if I'm going to get ahead with this lot.

Very good, Anita.

They've nearly made it to the town of Filey, North Yorkshire.

A quaintly traditional English seaside resort

that boasts award-winning beaches.

Anita's dropping Paul off.

Here we go.

-How's this for a bit of parking?

-This is great!

THEY LAUGH

You could walk to the kerb from there!

-See you later.

-Hah!

Paul's not just here to promenade, though.

He's heading for Antiques & Home, where he is meeting dealer, Neil.

-Morning.

-How you doing?

Neil.

-Good to see you, Neil, I'm Paul.

-Paul, hi. Welcome to Filey.

Paul's feeling the pressure this morning.

Very, very conscious that this auction's in London.

It's a big city and...swamped in material.

I'm a wee bit quiet and a wee bit intense

because I really am focusing on finding that piece.

I need wow, don't I? I need wow, I need wow, big-styley.

Then, wow it will have to be.

And he's soon found something that might fit the bill.

I mean, it cries out London, doesn't it?

Spitalfields, there will be plenty of these hung up today.

It's a Victorian oil lamp,

which would have been mounted on the exterior of a building.

And they're fantastic things. Great architectural, decorative pieces.

It's got £75 on it, which is cheap.

So, with the metropolitan auction in mind, that's a distinct possibility,

and he is continuing the search.

There are two items in the window that pique his interest.

So, young dealer David will assist.

You see that silver photograph frame in the far corner.

-I'm making you work, sorry about that.

-If I can reach!

-Yeah, I was going to say.

-I'm not very tall!

That's smart, isn't it?

It's an Edwardian photograph frame made of silver

and hallmarked to the year 1905.

Flamboyant Art Nouveau, whiplash curves.

Lovely...floral, stylised floral motifs. Thoroughly pleasing.

That will be expensive because it's a good thing. 175.

And there's one more thing in the other window display.

There's a bizarre walking cane in that window, there, the vertebrae.

Yeah. I'll just get that out for you.

If I could see that, that would be great.

Thank you very much, David.

They're grotesque but fascinating, these things.

Let me tell you what we have here. This bizarre walking cane...

-What's that made of?

-I think it's a shark spine.

Hah! The lad's got imagination.

-It's what it is.

-Hmm, maybe.

They're marine vertebrae, it's a spinal column. And these were...

This is quite a popular Victorian marine novelty.

Utterly, utterly grotesque. But undeniably collectable

because of their distinctive nature and the collectors of canes abound.

What's the damage on that? 145.

The Edwardian frame and the spinal column cane he's keen on

have a stratospheric combined price tag of £325.

The problem is, Paul has only got £180.49 in his wallet,

so he'd better hope he can negotiate a super deal.

-Well, I've gone back to Neil, the owner...

-Yeah.

-..and he said the best on the pair would be 150.

-Mm-hm.

Taking the frame down to 90 and the cane down to 60.

-I'm going to throw something else into the melting pot.

-Right.

You've got me, I'm...the hook's there.

But we've got to reel to you in?

You've not reeled me in, yet.

Huh. Paul wants to add the Victorian oil lamp he saw earlier,

into the deal.

For you, for you, I'm sure we can come to some sort of arrangement.

Would you?

Owner Neil will do £200 on all three items.

-But Paul's £20 short of that.

-I'll give you all my money.

-That's made you a happy man.

-That is good work.

-Do you know, I get a buzz out of, "All chips in."

-Yeah.

"I'll see you...and your money."

A very sympathetic deal from Neil and Paul parts with £180 exactly

for the three items, leaving him with only 49p.

Meanwhile, Anita's driven onwards,

towards the area around Sewerby,

in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

She's aiming for Georgian country house, Sewerby Hall,

which, today, holds some fascinating items

relating to the extraordinary story of one local woman of the 1930s,

who flew high in the daredevil world of early aviation.

She's meeting museum's registrar

for the East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Dr David Marchant.

Hello, I'm Anita.

Hello, Anita. Welcome to Sewerby Hall.

Once a private residence, Sewerby Hall now holds

the collection of the Museum of East Yorkshire.

Anita is here to explore the story of Amy Johnson,

a record-breaking pioneer of early flight, whose courageous

exploits made her an international star.

A local hero, who was invited to cut the ribbon, as it were,

when these premises were first opened to the public.

Well, what we have here, Anita, is part of a collection

of Amy Johnson memorabilia that was donated by her father in 1957.

Amy Johnson was born in Hull in 1903, the very year that the

Wright brothers made their first aeroplane flight.

She had a fairly humble upbringing.

Her father was in the fish processing industry in Hull.

They were probably comfortably well-off

but they certainly weren't rich.

She was extraordinary in this history of early flight,

both in being female and in her relatively modest background.

As a young woman, she moved to London to work as a legal secretary

and it was there that the flying bug first took hold.

When she moves to London, and she is working down there...

that she sees planes flying and goes into a flying club to investigate.

And it takes her a number of months to learn how to fly.

She actually has three different instructors.

-So, she wasn't fairly good at it at the beginning?

-Well...

Funny you should say that because one of her instructors said,

-"Give up, you'll never make a pilot."

-Really?

And how he must have rued his words years later on,

when she became famous, of course.

But of course, she stuck with it, didn't take any notice of him.

Quite right, too.

Having obtained her flying qualifications,

the bold Amy then decided to set her sights on the very ambitious

goal of becoming the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia.

This was an extraordinarily difficult and dangerous

mission which she undertook in the harsh conditions of an open cockpit.

Was she an experienced pilot at that time?

She was not at all an experienced pilot.

No, she hadn't flown any further than London to Hull, basically.

She certainly hadn't flown across oceans or major mountain

-chains or anything like that.

-I don't believe that.

I know, it's incredible, isn't it?

And obviously, lots of people thought,

there's no way she's going to like this.

David has Amy's original pilot's logbook.

Her journey was taken in stages, stopping to refuel.

And on this page, you can actually see, up here,

you've got starting point - Croydon. Vienna.

So, here we come all the way down through Southeast Asia

-to Darwin in Australia.

-To Darwin.

19 and a half days later. 24th May.

Did she become celebrated throughout the world at that point?

Oh, she was, yes. When she landed, there was a huge crowd at Darwin.

Thousands of people, that she had not been anticipating at all.

And there were congratulatory telegrams from the King

and the Prime Minister and all sorts of other people.

And we can see in the case here, for instance,

we have the CBE medal that she was awarded for the Australia flight.

Ah, right.

Amy continued her career as a world-famous aviatrix,

breaking several long-distance records throughout the 1930s,

and in 1932, married fellow aviation pioneer, Jim Mollison.

The couple were celebrated around the world as the flying sweethearts.

But that was no bar to their competitive instincts.

So, they were both record-breaking pilots.

Did they ever try to compete with one another

-and break each other's records?

-Oh, absolutely, yes.

Because Jim Mollison, at one point, held the England to South Africa

solo record and after they were married, Amy went and broke that.

After the outbreak of the Second World War,

female pilots were barred from flying for the RAF

so Amy joined the Air Transport Auxiliary,

delivering newly manufactured planes to RAF bases.

But, like so many talented pilots of the era,

Amy was to meet with tragedy.

On a routine flight in 1941,

Amy crashed into the Thames Estuary and was killed.

She and her plane were never recovered.

But David has an item of her luggage.

-And you can see there...

-Her initials?

AJ, picked out probably in gold, originally.

Amy died aged only 37, but the legend of her extraordinary

exploits lives on to inspire future generations.

-She was a thoroughly modern woman.

-She was.

She is a truly inspirational character.

So, thank you very, very much, it's been wonderful.

Now, Paul's caught up with Anita

and our pair are motoring on to the nearby town of Bridlington,

where they're both heading off into one last shop. The Georgian Rooms.

Another nice bit of parking there, Anita. Whoops!

How much money have you got to spend?

-Quite a lot, how much have you got? Tons?

-Fer...fer...49 pence!

49 pence?!

49 pence.

-Come on, let's have a look.

-Come on.

Good luck.

I think you're more in need of good luck, than me, Paul...

..with your 49 pence. PAUL LAUGHS

Good point, Anita.

UPBEAT PIANO MUSIC PLAYS

Before long, the relatively wealthy Anita's had a brainwave

concerning the six mannequins heads she bought earlier.

It might be fun if my heads were served on a silver platter.

I think your definition of fun and mine are quite different, Anita.

Ticket price for the mid-20th century tray is £8.

This is electroplated nickel silver

and the plate has rubbed off it, considerably.

But, that's good because the dealer might be willing to give it to me

for a throwaway price.

-Here's hoping. Let's speak to dealer Sue.

-Can it be dirt cheap?

For some dirt cheap heads?

-Four would be the very best.

-£4?

-£4.

I've got to go for it, for that, haven't I?

-I'm sure you have, I'm sure you will.

-I know.

-And I think my heads will look...absurd.

-Yes.

-Absurd on that.

You said it.

But she's got the macabre presentation tray for her heads.

And unsurprisingly,

it doesn't look as though Paul's found anything for 49p.

So, they're all bought up.

Anita bought the Edwardian travelling writing desk,

the framed needlework,

the set of six 1950s gilt napkin rings,

the 1970s sunburst wall clock

and the job lot of mannequin heads presented on a silver-plated tray.

She's spent £109 exactly.

While Paul picked up the watercolour of a house,

the Poole Pottery dinner and coffee service,

the Edwardian silver photograph frame,

the large Victorian oil lamp

and the cane, fashioned from vertebrae,

totalling £238.

But what do they make of each other's buys?

I suspect Anita's had more fun shopping this past couple of days

than you can shake a stick at.

Now, what has she bought?

The napkin rings, I'm going to be honest with you,

I really like the napkin rings.

It taps into that retro thing.

Price on those, £5. Come on, it's a no-brainer.

Aarrrggh! She flipped out and bought these heads!

Well, flibbertigibberty!

Mad. I don't think she'll get away with that.

-And Anita?

-He spent all his money, but he has spent beautifully.

My favourite item there is that wonderful Art Nouveau

photograph frame.

It's slightly understated, which makes it even more beautiful.

The walking stick, I have to be frank with you, it doesn't turn me on.

I'll give it another 20, 30 years and then I might be interested in them.

But I think that one might be a wee bit eachy peachy.

So, if I understand them correctly, this game could be anyone's.

On this road trip, they've sallied forth from South Cave

in East Yorkshire, all the way to

auction in Twickenham.

So Paul, we've come a long, long way from Yorkshire. In the big smoke.

We're in London!

You certainly are and that's a lovely hat, Anita.

They're just about to pull up at High Road Auctions

for this early evening sale.

And we've certainly come the high road to London.

THEY LAUGH

You have. Best get inside, though.

Auctioneer David Holmes will be bearing the gavel today,

and before the off, what does he make of their lots?

The silver picture frame is the favourite, my favourite item.

It's typically Art Nouveau. I rather like it. It should do well.

What can I say?

Five or six composition heads, a cheap silver-plated tray.

If we get £10, I'll be a happy man.

The sale is about to begin.

May Lady Luck be with you both.

First up, it is Anita's Victorian needlework in a modern frame.

Anyone got a bid? £10 for the lot. £10 for a bit of Victorian...

Thank you, sir. Going to be 15 again. £10, I have a maiden bid.

I'll take 15, internet buyer. At £10 only. We've got to sell it.

At ten, 15 bid. Give me £20, sir.

I'll take 18 on it, any good to you? £15, the lady's bid.

I'll take 18 for it. Are you sure? At £15... You're not sure?

LAUGHTER

18? No, 15, the lady's bid, right in front. Final time.

I've got to sell it. Are we done at 15?

That is an auctioneer I would have on my side any day.

-He is good.

-He tried hard.

-He is good.

He is, and Anita's off to a lovely start.

Next, it's Paul's watercolour of a house.

Will this auction be as kind to Paul?

£10, get it started, who is going to bid on it?

It must be worth ten, surely?

-Internet, what a lovely little watercolour.

-Maybe more.

-He is trying hard.

-He is.

-Thank you, sir. Bid me 15 again.

At a £10 bid. I'll take 15 again.

Drive down to Oxted, find the house, knock on the door, £50,

job's a good'un. Your bid, sir, at £10 only. I'll take 15 again.

Any further bids? I've got to sell it.

Maiden bid at 10.

And that's a profit to Paul.

You have just made 300% profit.

It's a little less than that before costs, actually.

Anita's set of '50s gilt napkin rings are next.

Will the punters love their retro charm?

Guys, give me £10 only. Set of six, thank you very much.

£10 is a maiden bid. I'll take 15 again. At £10 only.

-I'll take 15 again.

-For all that style.

Got to be of interest to you, surely? £10 only.

-I'm going to sell them. Maiden bid. £10. 15, sir.

-Yes! Oh, wow.

Are you bidding at 15? Thank you. 20. 20. 5 again. 25. 30.

£25 right at the back there, sat down. Done at 25.

Is that a 500% profit?

Well, 400%, actually, but a golden profit all the same for Anita.

Large Victorian oil lamp is next.

-Will the London crowd take it to their hearts?

-£20, get it started.

-Thank you, sir. Take 5 again.

-No, this cannot be happening.

-Yeah, surely, somebody's got to get this.

-5. 50. 5 again. £60.

5 again. 70. 5 again.

Good, good, good, good, good, good, good, good.

Take 5, internet buyer. At £70...

I'm not going to make anything on it,

I'm not going to make anything on it.

Any further bids? The gentleman has it. I have to sell it.

-Done at 70.

-We both liked that one, didn't we?

I thought that would be fatal.

But it does turn a profit. Just.

Anita's quirky mannequin heads on a plated tray are next.

Any trainee hairdressers in? Give me £20 for the lot?

Belonged to Vidal Sassoon.

Quickly guys, £20 only.

A bit of a fun lot.

That lady there would love you to bid on this lot.

Give me £10, only.

Give me £10 for the lot, thank you very much, take 15 on them.

-At £10 only.

-I'm in a pound profit.

Mannequin heads, £10, I've got to sell them. Are we done at 10?

-HE BANGS HIS GAVEL

-You did not lose money on that.

I think that's a good job.

I think you might be right, Paul.

Now, it is Paul's Poole Pottery dinner and coffee set.

I'll take 40 in the room. A load of Poole pottery there.

45 commissioned bid. Give me 50, internet buyer.

Must be, surely. 45, 50? Thank you, take 5 again.

At £50, the internet has it, I'll take 5 once more.

-Damn it!

-Anita.

It could be sold with the internet, you're all out in the room,

-commission's out. Done at 50.

-HE BANGS HIS GAVEL

£50.

But only a small loss.

-The 1970s sunburst wall clock for Anita, now.

-25. 30.

-Yes.

-40. 5.

£50. 5 again.

£60. 5 again.

Are you bidding, madam? 70.

65 with the lady seated. I need 70 for it. The lady sat down has it.

I'm going to sell it, final time, 65.

HE BANGS HIS GAVEL

And that's a very sunny profit for her.

Now, it's Paul's rather gruesome cane made from a spine.

£40 for it.

I'll take 5 in the room. Any bids online? £40, the bid with me.

I'll take 5. 45. I can go 48, sir.

-He is right on the line.

-I've got £48 as a commissioned bid.

I'll take 50 in the room. Any bids online? £48 sells it.

It's your final time. You're out. Are we done at 48?

HE BANGS HIS GAVEL

It makes a decent price, but sadly, not what he paid for it.

-Never mind.

-It is not going to plan.

The romantic travelling writing desk that Anita fell in love with

is her last lot.

£20, get it started. Who is going to bid for this one?

Thank you. £20 in the room. 5. 25. 30. £30, sir.

Are you sure?

-Oh, go on.

-I'll take 30. 30 at the back. 35.

This lady will be very unhappy. £30, right at the back of the room there.

I've got you, sir, at 30, I'll take 5 again. It's cheap. At £30.

-35, new buyer.

-Yes!

35, the lady's bid right in the middle of the room.

I'll take 40 again. It's a cheap lot. It is £35 only.

Anybody want to have a go at it? I've got to sell it.

-Are we done at 35?

-HE BANGS HIS GAVEL

Loved, but unlucky.

Yes! You've taken your fair share at a drubbing. Great, it's not just me!

HE CACKLES

Finally, now, Paul's Art Nouveau silver photograph frame gets

-a chance to shine.

-60 bid. 5 again, internet. At 65.

-The internet will go.

-Yes.

-75.

80? 5. 90? 5. 100?

-£100. 110 with the internet.

-Come on, come on, come on.

115 in the room, bid me 120, internet buyer.

-120.

-I'd take that home.

-Yeah. Yeah.

It's a beautiful lot, don't miss it for a fiver.

-And it's not a small one either.

-Good size.

125, 130. 5 again.

-That is good.

-140, internet buyer.

145, sir.

At £140 with the internet, I'll take 5 again. A lovely lot.

At £140, internet buyer, it's your final time. Done at 140.

-HE BANGS HIS GAVEL Are you happy?

-I am happy.

And so you should be, Paul.

A sterling profit on a sterling lot, well done.

Come on, let's go.

Anita started this leg with £272.90.

After auction costs deducted, she made a profit of £14 exactly

and ends today with £286.90.

While Paul began with £238.49. After costs, he made a profit of £22.76

and now has £261.25 to carry forward.

And they're off into the London night.

I'm still trying to work this out.

You are trying to make it a profit, a bigger profit than it is!

I demand a recount, Anita.

There'll be no recounts but there will be a rematch on the next leg.

-On the next Antiques Road Trip...

-I think this is a "bunnets off" job.

Paul spots a gap in the market.

This is an issue.

And Anita poses the question on everyone's lips.

What's that for?