Episode 3 Antiques Road Trip

It's the nation's favourite antiques experts...

I don't know what to do!

PARP!

..with £200 each, a classic car

and a goal to scour Britain for antiques.

What a little diamond!

The aim? To make the biggest profit at auction. But it's no mean feat.

Happy days!

Ha-ha!

There'll be worthy winners,

-and valiant losers.

-Oh!

So, will it be the high road to glory

or the slow road to disaster?

Oh!

This is the Antiques Road Trip!

Yeah!

It's the third leg of this week's epic road trip

for our treasure hunters, Paul Laidlaw and Christina Trevanion.

-This is it! This is it! We're living the dream!

-Living the dream.

What's not to love? The weather's amazing, the car's fabulous...

-The company, the company...

-The sun is shining...

HE COUGHS

-The company!

-The company's amazing!

Oh, it is, isn't it? I feel exactly the same way!

CHRISTINA LAUGHS

Paul is the leader of this pack and he's using every trick in the book.

Whatever it takes.

And if you need me crying, I can turn that on, just like that.

Challenger Christina is keeping her eyes peeled in her bid to catch up.

Ha-ha!

Really, I can't see a price tag.

But both our auctioneers are basking in profit.

We're both in, in the black.

-Yeah.

-Profit central.

-Yeah, seriously.

Now, I think maybe just get some world leader on the phone

because I think, by the end of this road trip,

you are single-handedly going to be able to pay off world debt.

Seriously! I'm not kidding!

THEY LAUGH

Christina started the trip with £200

and has nudged her total up to £218.14.

Paul started with the same amount

but made a smashing profit, and has £427.04 in his pocket.

Impressive? Much like their 1999 HNC MkIV.

What's not to love, eh?

Look at this buzzard, look at this buzzard in this hedge.

Look at it. He's like you. Diving in for the kill!

Just...crazy. Crazy, in fact.

You, I mean, you're the most modest man I've ever met.

Outside, you went, "Ah, behave yourself!"

Inside, you're going, "Yes! Yes! Yes! Come on!"

Paul and Christina started their journey in Clare in Suffolk.

They are careering through Worcestershire

and the West Midlands and twisting up through Staffordshire before

their journey of over 700 mile culminates in Northwich in Cheshire.

Our pair kicked off today's leg in the Herefordshire town of Leominster

and head north for their next auction in Nantwich, Cheshire.

Leominster is a beautiful, chocolate-box village in

the heart of the rolling borderlands between England and Wales.

It's also Paul's first pit stop.

Meanwhile, Christina has toddled less than 25 miles

along the road to Ledbury, where she is being

shown around Rod's Curiosities, by none other than Rod himself.

Now, this is nice. Tell me about this. That's quite fun, isn't it?

-This is a British Thomas Houston Bakelite cone speaker.

-Speaker?

-Yeah.

-Ooh!

See, I don't really know huge amounts about these

but that looks...I mean, it's so typical of its time, isn't it?

-Oh, it's absolute, absolutely of its era.

-1930s?

-Round about the '30s, yeah.

-Beautiful.

And Bakelite, I'd imagine, at that time, was such a new material.

It was the new plastic.

The new plastic, so they could, it was one of the first things

-they could really mould into quite wacky shapes, wasn't it?

-Absolutely.

I like that. OK, what have we got on that, then, Rod?

Well, at the moment, we've got £95 on it.

Do you think £25-30 might be beyond the realms of possibility?

-We might be able to do something.

-Do you think?

-Yeah.

-That would be exciting.

-We might be able to.

-Because I've virtually got it free, really.

-Brilliant.

You're a man, you're a man of honour, Rod, I like that.

I like that. Right, let's keep wandering

and see what else we can find.

Not a bad price for a speaker that doesn't work!

Something to think about.

Because so often now you see Staffordshire, don't you,

and it's late Staffordshire that was mass-produced.

And you can just tell, can't you?

Look, the way the decoration's done is so much more hand-applied.

That early Staffordshire figure has a ticket price of £35.

What could you do on that?

Bearing in mind I'm buying this with my heart, not with my head.

It's not going to do particularly well at auction,

but it's very sweet.

-I really couldn't go below £20 on that, I'm afraid.

-OK.

So if we said 25 on the speaker and 20 on this,

could you do 40 for the two?

-Since it's you...

-No, not since it's me!

SHE LAUGHS

-Could you do it?

-Yeah.

-Could you?

-Yeah. We could.

-You're a legend, Rod.

Thank you very much. You're a gentleman. I love it!

Oh, God, no! I need to start thinking more commercially.

Perhaps. But you do seem rather keen.

I'm really, really pleased with this little figure.

It's got this wonderful hole in the base here

because, at this stage,

porcelain or pottery was still very experimental,

in the early 19th century, so basically, for it not to

explode in the kiln, they couldn't make anything that was too thick.

So that's a really good sign that it's a nice, early piece.

And the piece de resistance for me

is that I know that the auction house we're selling at,

which is up in Cheshire, is really very good on early ceramics.

So hopefully we're selling it in exactly the right place.

Someone's done their homework!

There we go. 10, 20, 30, 40 Great British pounds.

£40 seals the Bakelite loudspeaker

and the 19th-century Staffordshire figure for Christina.

-Thank you.

-Bye!

Meanwhile, back in Leominster...

I recently bought a piece of WMF metalwork,

which didn't inspire me at all, it wasn't real good WMF, as far as I was concerned.

I think there's a good WMF group down there.

Wurttembergische Metallwarenfabrik, or WMF, was one of the largest

European manufacturers of metalwork in the late 19th century.

They're not uncommon, so what's caught your eye here then, Paul?

Look at the aesthetic here.

Some would be tempted to say Art Deco

because the nature of the decoration is very geometric, a box grid,

and that sounds pretty industrial and pretty harsh,

but it is an aesthetic that I, for one,

would associate with the designer Hoffman, Koloman Moser.

These are giants, and I see their Wiener Werkstatte

influence in this little christening set here.

I'm pretty excited. That coming across?

Certainly is, old bean!

And with a ticket price of £25, time to call on Angela.

Ha-ha!

Now that is a bunch of keys if ever I saw one.

They're for the cabinet round here.

Right, Angela, so I spotted this early on.

It's a pretty little WMF christening set. I don't see any,

but I was just worried that there would be a problem.

I think your only problem with a christening set is when it's been

engraved, as this has, but otherwise I think that's fine and dandy.

She already reduced it? I'll just check for you.

Nope.

We can knock you 10% off, actually.

I'm happy to take 10% discount on that. I think that's not bad.

-That's lovely, yeah.

-Yeah, I really like that.

For a total of £22.50,

Paul has secured his first purchase of the day.

-That's great.

-Thank you very much indeed.

-All the best to you. Thanks, Angela. See you.

-Bye.

Meanwhile, Christina's heading for Great Malvern

to discover how the water that springs from the nearby hills

helped spark a Victorian health craze and put the town on the map.

She's meeting curator Cora at the Malvern Museum.

So why is Malvern so famous for its water?

It's because most places that are famous for water are famous

because their water has got minerals in it, but Malvern water

is famous because it's hardly got any minerals in it at all.

The dense, granite rocks that make up the eight-mile ridge of the

Malvern Hills strip the minerals from the water flowing through it.

In early medical treatments, it was understood that

different minerals could be used for different ailments.

By having so few minerals, Malvern's water was considered to be purer and

was used by two pioneering doctors in their own brand of water cure.

In the 19th century, we had two water cure doctors, Dr James Wilson

and Dr James Gully, who came to Malvern

and they set up hydropathic practices.

And they encouraged wealthy people to come here

because wealthy people had the sort of problems

that could be treated with Malvern water.

During Wilson's European travels,

he encountered the work of a ground-breaking individual,

Vincent Priessnitz, who had started to develop water cures

based on his observations of animals

submerging their injured limbs into water.

Wilson, suffering from his own ailment,

stayed at the pioneering clinic and was astounded by his work.

He stayed about six months. He drank about 2,500 tumblers of water.

He walked about 200 miles, and he got better.

And he thought it was so surprising and dynamic,

he decided he would like to set up a hydropathic institution in England.

So he came back here, collected his friend, Dr Gully,

inspired him with hydropathy and then the two of them came to Malvern.

Wilson and Gully opened their establishment in 1842

and were among the first to create such a centre in Britain.

Malvern's pure water already had a reputation for healing properties,

but Wilson and Gully's patients did not simply drink it.

They were prescribed various bathing treatments

to treat ailments as diverse as eye, skin and digestive disorders.

Forgive me for being a cynic

but was there any science behind this theory

-that Wilson and Gully had got together?

-Oh, yes.

It...you have to know

just one or two rudimentary things about the body.

If you get into a hot bath, your skin turns pink.

That's because, without you doing anything, the body is

naturally trying to cool itself down

by bringing the blood to the surface.

I thought I'm just turning into a lobster!

THEY LAUGH

If you get into a cold bath,

without you doing anything, your body has the opposite effect

and that is for the blood to go inwards

-to keep your internal organs warm.

-Yeah.

So once you know that, then you know that you can move the blood

around in the body just by the application of warm and cold water.

Water therapy was used to stimulate the flow of blood

and was combined with strict regimes of exercise and diet.

-This is a hip bath?

-This is a hip bath.

So, if you'd got some sort blockage in the lower

bit of you around here...

So digestive problems, right?

Yes, in the lower digestive tract, this would be ideal for you.

In the tub. It's cold, remember.

To treat abdominal complaints, patients would

sit in the bath with cold water and be wrapped in cold, wet towels

to encourage blood vessels to contract.

Water cures caught the imagination of Victorian society

and Malvern flourished.

Trade in bottled water from the town increased

and grand hotels were built

to accommodate the tourists brought by the new railway.

Thanks to the craze of water cures,

the town became known across the country

and the water that flows from its granite hills

became the stuff of legend.

How long am I prescribed to sit here? How long until I get better?

Well, you've got 15 minutes in the tub twice a day, but actually, your

complete treatment, seeing what state you're in, three to six months.

-Three, six months?

-I'm going to leave you to it.

-OK.

All right, then. Right, three to six months? Am I in that bad shape?!

Might be a year.

Looking better already! Ha!

While she indulges her ailments,

Paul is just a few steps along the road.

-Hello!

-How you doing, all right?

-Yes, I'm fine, thank you.

That's the lovely Bridget, who's on hand to help.

-How much have you got to spend?

-You see, that would be telling.

-That would be a rookie negotiating mistake from the off.

-Right, OK.

COUGHS: £300!

-No, it's 400! 400, I've got.

-Gosh.

-You going to extract that from me?

Yeah. Hopefully!

PAUL LAUGHS

-I'll take him into that back room!

-Ha-ha!

Get medieval on me! Like it!

Watch yourself, Paul!

Right, let's get spending some of that money.

What we have here is one of a family of clocks that were made to

government contracts in the 1930s, '40s.

And they have certain features in common.

The first and most important one, from a horological point of view,

is that they have fusee-driven movements.

A fusee was a technical advancement that regulates

the power from the mainspring.

This technology helped keep the clock accurate,

but this one has a ticket price of £275.

They gave them to, for instance, army and air force officers' messes.

And they were used as smart, accurate,

for the officers' mess, you could set your watch at seven o'clock,

and then, "Shall we retire for dinner?"

So that's one for the shortlist. And he's already onto another timepiece.

This time, it's a mid-20th century pocket watch with a ticket price of £68.

To be honest with you, I think that's an unusual

and not unattractive watch.

Could you possibly... now, that, for my purposes,

is a country mile off £68.

But I don't know what slack's in that.

Could you do me a massive favour and just see

if there's any giveaway price on that?

-I doubt that.

-And I'll just keep rummaging.

There's no stopping Paul.

He's already on to something else.

That's...

..some size of a perfume bottle, isn't it?

It's not a perfume bottle. It's...

This is saddlery, or this will be carried in saddlery.

The discerning person's choice for taking refreshments on horseback,

the flask would have been held on a gentleman's saddle

by a leather pouch, which is sadly missing.

The ticket price is £48.

In this instance we have got a silver-mounted glass flask.

What on earth are you going to do with that?

I'd need a horse and a lot of leather-work

and an estate before I could use it.

What price on that? What could that be?

-Make it cheap. Can something be cheap? Come on!

-48.

-Tell me this came in, it was inexpensive.

-48.

-40, that would be the best.

-Oh!

I do like clocks and watches

and I am still thinking about that pocket watch.

The unusual but high quality,

the fusee-driven mantel clock in the oak case.

That's a hell of a lot of my budget,

but is there slack in the price of that? It's 275 squids.

The one facing the door, aye.

Can that be cheap?

Is there SOMETHING can be cheap?

We're selling that for someone so...

-Oh, a private...

-No, it is another dealer. We'll give him a call.

-No harm in it. I've no self-respect.

-OK.

OK, whatever it takes.

And if you need me crying, I can turn that on just like that.

It may come to that.

I love the flask. I LOVE the flask.

I wish I had the leather pouch, that's its Achilles heel.

It does look a bit like another perfume bottle.

You put the leather pouch on that, you've got something good.

-175 for the clock.

-175.

A good discount for the mantel clock and Bridget also offers

£50 for the pocket watch and £40 on the saddle flask,

but can Paul get a deal for all three from owner Nigel?

On what he was quoted before.

It's 175, 40 and 50 - 265 at the minute.

230.

That's a good offer.

At £230 it certainly is, even if it was haggled across the room.

It's a great discount and Paul snaps it up to secure all three items.

Bold move, Paul.

-Thank you very much. Next time, I hope.

-Bye-bye.

And after a hard day of antique acquisition,

it's time for some rest.

Sweet dreams, you two.

The next morning, our curio crackerjacks are headed through

the West Midlands, just to the south of Coventry.

My granny used to say, used to terrify me going to Coventry,

because she'd always say, "I'll send you to Coventry,"

-and it was just the worst possible.

-What? What? But what's in Coventry?

Yeah, sort of the worst thing.

And where does it come from? Why would you get...?

Well, I always thought it was a military thing.

-Of course I think everything is a military thing.

-Yeah!

Paul spent big yesterday, landing four items for a total of £252.50.

Christina pocketed a Bakelite speaker

and Staffordshire figure, shelling out £40.

Today they're continuing northwards

and heading for the village of Balsall Common,

where their ways part once more.

-Have a lovely time.

-See you later.

-See this afternoon.

-All the best.

-Bye.

-Good morning.

-Hello. Nice to see you.

-Nice to see you. How are you? Are you well?

-Fine.

Antiques In A Barn is housed in a 200-year-old barn, funnily enough.

With a lot of ground to cover, perhaps owner Diane can help out.

I would quite like to have a look in this cabinet, if that's all right.

-Are you as much of a sucker about Georgian paste as me?

-Terrible.

Nobody buys it, though, apart from me!

But it's just...

I mean, you can see why people just fell in love with it, can't you?

-It's very effective as simulating diamonds.

-It looks the part, doesn't it?

-Yes.

In Georgian society, diamonds were rare and expensive,

as they are today, so glass was cut to imitate diamonds

and called paste. This one has a ticket price of £25.

So, unless you had the budget of the Queen, and you couldn't

really afford diamonds, then this was the best next option.

Right, OK, let's think about that. I do love that.

I was looking at this fan.

-Now, is that the box for it there?

-Yes.

-Can I give you that then, my love? OK.

-Isn't that pretty?

So, we need to have a look at the leaf and see if the leaf

is in good condition, which it is.

So often you find that they perish along these creases, don't they?

And that actually looks as if it's got a little bit of damage on there.

It's got this ivory...

..obviously what they call the sticks here,

and it's actually carved in there as well.

Now, ivory is quite controversial, isn't it?

But as long as it's pre-1947 it is legal to sell ivory in this country,

and I would say this is certainly 19th century French.

Yes. Not to everyone's taste, but Christina seems smitten by it.

I love the subject matter, these beautiful birds in flight here

and the cornflowers and the wheat, it's obviously very summery.

It's beautiful. And that tassel is something else. Look at that!

Lovely. OK.

So, what have we got on this, Diane? 19th century fan, £78 on there.

What could be your death on that? For a trade buyer?

I'll do you £50.

-£50 on it. And that...

-That includes the box. Yes.

That's a £28 discount, one to hang on to and to carry on rummaging.

This is interesting and it's got "Macintyre & Co, Burslem" on here.

James Macintyre founded a successful Staffordshire pottery in 1860.

You've got "at fault" on there. Is that...?

-Yes, there's a crack, unfortunately.

-Oh, yes.

Oh, what a shame.

Damaged or not, it's priced at £55.

Because of the... I mean, perfect - 200, something like that?

-Mmm.

-But because of the damage...

-It's not perfect, is it?

No, it's not perfect.

I do really like that and I think there would be a market for it

at auction, but I think they do want them in good condition, don't they?

I mean, what if we did a bit of a deal on the two

because I do worry about condition here, what did we say on the fan?

-We said 50 on the fan.

-We said 50 on the fan.

For the two, could we come up with like a combined price for the two?

-£70 for the pair.

-For the pair, for the two?

I mean, £50 on that is fine.

Could you meet me in the middle at 65? For the two?

For the fan and the little...perfume bottle at 65?

Yes, I'll do you 65.

-Yeah?

-Yes, yes.

-OK. It's a deal. Brilliant.

You're an angel, thank you, very much.

Obviously I've bought with my heart again.

Two shops down and Christina's heart has won in both.

Oh, nice till!

£65 bags Christina the scent bottle and the 19th century silk fan.

Just a few miles away, Paul is making his way to Kenilworth

to find out how the town's castle was shaped by

one man's desire to woo the Queen of England.

-Is it Holly?

-It is indeed.

-Man alive!

-Welcome to Kenilworth Castle.

In the 16th century it was home to Robert Dudley

and was the centrepiece of a tale of unrequited love.

Right, come on through, I'll bring you through to the drawing-room.

Oh, my word!

So, this is what we refer to as the Oak Room in the Gatehouse.

I wonder why.

That looks like that was commissioned by quite a man, I assume.

-Yes, it was.

-Who is this?

It was Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.

What's his back story, then - where does he come from,

how does he get the wealth to do this?

Well, he actually comes quite poor.

His father, John Dudley, Earl of Northumberland,

was actually beheaded for treason,

particularly for his part in trying to get Lady Jane Grey on to the throne.

With Dudley also imprisoned in the Tower of London for a year,

the family's reputation was in tatters.

But it's believed this may be where he met the future Elizabeth I,

who was being held in the Tower by her sister Mary.

When Elizabeth takes the throne in 1558, Dudley's fortunes soar.

Obviously he's rising through the ranks

and as he starts to rise through, he becomes a favourite

-of Elizabeth I and she gives him Kenilworth Castle in 1563...

-Right.

-..and a few other properties.

-That's a favourite indeed.

That is a favourite indeed.

Dudley was an active suitor to the Queen.

He was free to pursue Elizabeth after his wife died,

but the suspicious circumstances of the death cast a shadow over him.

His rise in influence and wealth was also treated with suspicion.

Despite his reputation, the Queen continued to show him favour.

To be perfectly honest,

the massive majority of his money came from Elizabeth,

so she's almost funding her own property and house.

There were lots of discussions whether or not it was a love match

or whether or not this is a man aiming for the power

and to get to the very top and to the crown.

No-one knows the full extent of their relationship,

but Dudley was romantically interested in the Queen

and she granted him land and titles that kept him close at hand.

He is kind of the Master of the Garter, so to speak,

which to me or you meant that he looked after all the horses

and all of her progressions and all her travel,

which was really important, which meant that he could

never really leave her side so everywhere she went, he went.

During her reign, Elizabeth made 25 Royal Progresses,

touring the country for weeks at a time.

Those graced with a visit went to extreme lengths

to prepare for the Queen and Dudley was no exception.

He lavished money on Kenilworth Castle,

including the creation of an ornate private garden.

It is a Renaissance garden and this is one of the first ones

that's in the UK at that time.

And when you look down on the garden, there's going to be

a lot of flowers in there that people would recognise.

-So he would have put wild strawberries into the garden.

-I see.

-A sign of righteousness.

-I see there is symbolism in these.

And the cherry's a sign of her virginity.

And most particular, we've got carnations and marigolds,

and they're all about marriage.

Dudley's intent was clear.

In 1575, Elizabeth enjoyed 19 days of celebrations at Kenilworth,

the longest stay of any tour.

It was Dudley's opportunity to woo Elizabeth

and to show the world and the Queen his accumulated wealth.

We are currently in Elizabeth's bedroom which is in Leicester's building

and these were her state apartments that Robert Dudley built for her.

-These windows are huge. Is that normal for the time?

-Not at all.

This was really the beginning of the Renaissance influence

coming across and the want for light and also a sign of extravagance,

so glass was hugely expensive, so he's making these really

ornate large windows, full of glass, showing his wealth.

Without explanation,

Dudley's pursuit of the Queen waned after this grand visit,

and a few years later he married Elizabeth's cousin.

But despite this, the Queen used Dudley's role at court

to keep him constantly at her side,

and on her deathbed, Elizabeth's affection towards him was clear.

And when she died, she had his last letter in her hand

and the ring that he gave her as well.

To this day, the truth behind his relationship with Elizabeth

remains a mystery.

Whether for love or ambition, the sandstone ruins at Kenilworth Castle

stand as a measure of his efforts to win the Virgin Queen.

Reunited, back in the car,

our twosome are travelling through some of Northamptonshire's

finest countryside towards the village of Weedon Bec.

Shall we just abandon the wheels here?

THEY LAUGH

I'm not entirely sure this is a parking space.

Neither am I.

It's the last chance to shop on this trip.

Christina still has over £113,

while Paul is holding over 170.

Oh!

-Oh, this looks good.

-Is it big enough for both of us, do you think?

You take that side, I'll take that side.

What I find quite fascinating is that both Paul and I will

walk in here and we'll both go for entirely different things.

He will go for stuff that I probably wouldn't even look at

and I will go for stuff that he probably wouldn't even look at.

It is like we're yin and yang, isn't it?

Yeah. And Paul's already yanging on to something.

How far am I from the door?

Three paces.

And that's what I'm buying.

OK?

Hold on!

Wait a minute, you may be wanting to know why and what.

-That would be nice.

-OK.

It's that.

And it's going to cost me that.

And it dates to 1740,

1750,

and it's an incredibly scarce little Georgian English glass...

For all the world...

..it's like a tiny little sweetmeat dish, OK,

or a miniature tazza. We would call a tazza, a cake stand.

And you've got a little shallow bowl there,

this abs...trust me -

absolutely delicious little knopped stem

and it sits on a domed and folded foot.

A folded foot is one in which the glass has been

turned back on itself to give a double thickness at the edge.

That is serendipity.

It's also a colossal bargain.

The truth of the matter is I think that's worth,

to a specialist collector...

£100 of anyone's money.

I kid you not, three paces from the door,

second shelf down on the bric-a-brac stall - ta-da!

Incredible find, Paul.

Hurry up, Christina, would you? Come on! Christina!

How long is this going to take? I'm done! Come on!

Hang on a second, you're not supposed to heckle me from across an antique shop!

-No pressure.

-What are you doing?

-Seriously?

-Done. Done.

I hadn't even started looking. What?!

He was quick.

Would you be Lawrence, by any chance?

-I would be, and I presume you're Paul.

-Good to see you, my friend.

-Are you all right?

-Very well indeed.

-This it is going to be the quickest visit I've ever had to an antique shop.

-Really?

I found it within two paces of the door. I ain't going to haggle,

funnily enough, so I will give you all of... £1!

-Would you believe it, Lawrence?

-That's very kind of you indeed.

I am going to shake your hand and run.

Can I have my glass?

Thank you.

Paul's eagle eye strikes again and no haggling indeed.

What a spot, eh?

What a little diamond?

A pound note.

A pound note. Three steps in from the door.

Right, Christina, the pressure's on now.

-Alison, could I have a look in this cupboard here?

-Of course you may.

-We're selling in Cheshire.

-Oh, right?

So, I'm thinking footballers' wives, bit of bling.

Yes. And that's so unusual on the setting of the diamond.

Yes, I mean it looks it almost looks sort of Boodles or Chopard

or something like that. It's quite sweet.

It's a modern diamond and white gold pendant and chain.

Ticket price £150.

To be perfectly honest, it's the kind of thing that leaves me cold

but in Cheshire, I'm thinking that modern jewellery is probably very popular.

-So what could your best trade price on that be?

-£120.

Ah.

OK.

Is there any chance we could go £100 on it?

Not really.

-Cos I haven't got £120 left!

-Oh, dear.

How much have you got left?

Not that much.

I was really hoping to sort of secure that for about £100

if that's at all possible. What's your thoughts on that?

Let me go and have a word with John that works for me

because it's one of his pieces.

Oh, OK, all right, brilliant.

110 he said, he can't do 100.

-He can't do 100.

-No, unfortunately not.

-Oh.

Oh.

-Would he go 105?

-No, I can't.

-Are you sure?

-Positive, sorry.

-£110's the absolute death on that.

-It is.

-OK, 110.

-110, thank you very much, that's great.

-You're welcome.

I owe you some money. That's beautiful.

And with that, Christina's shopping is complete.

She's spent £215 on the Bakelite speaker,

the 19th century pearlware figure,

the scent bottle, the silk fan

and the diamond pendant.

Paul bought the WMF christening set,

the pocket watch,

the glass flask,

mantel clock

and his bargain buy of the Georgian tazza,

all for a total of £243.50.

So, what do they make of each other's items?

The little perfume, well, you see when I first saw that I panicked,

I thought, "Oh, she's bought a Macintyre silver-mounted egg perfume."

I thought I'd lost it all.

Praise the Lord, it's damaged and I have been let off the hook.

The guy is a genius, I mean buying a beautiful piece of very,

very early glassware like that for £1 is just amazing

and I was in the same shop as him.

That's quite depressing.

Do you know? You're right.

Our pair have trundled their way north

from Leominster in Herefordshire

and are headed for their last stop of this leg in Nantwich in Cheshire.

You walk into a shop, the same shop as me, might I add,

you walk into a shop, within two paces you have picked up

the most beautiful 18th-century glass

-for a pound!

-PAUL LAUGHS

Jealousy will get you nowhere, Christina.

It's off to the auction, which today is being held in Nantwich.

Once the stopping point on a coaching route from London to Wales,

it was famed for its salt and leather production.

For the last 60 years the town has been home to Peter Wilson Auctions,

and very nice it is too.

Come on, then.

So, what does auctioneer Chris Large make of our duo's offering?

In vogue at the moment is quirky items.

People like different things, you know the Bakelite speaker

that's in the sale, although historically has not done well,

it's just the sort of thing that might attract people's interest

and, you know, take off.

The little Georgian sweetmeat dish.

Really lovely early piece, cos it's got the folded foot around the foot rim

and a lovely grey colour in the glass which shows it's very early.

It would be so much more valuable

if it was a drinking glass or wine glass.

I think it will still sell for about £80-£120.

It could be Paul's lucky day.

To me the main event, it's all about your glass.

I think it doesn't matter what happens today.

We'll have to wait for that.

Christina's Bakelite speaker is up first.

I'm bid £30 straight away on commission for this lot

and I'm selling.

Internet's in here. 50.

50's bid on the internet.

Five on the internet?

Any further bids?

-I'll take that, I need it.

-More than doubled your money.

That broken old speaker's given Christina is a fantastic start.

Next up is Paul's mantel clock he fell in love with.

-My prediction?

-Yes.

-250 to 350 quid.

I have £65 now straightaway.

70, 75.

-80.

-In the booth.

90, against the commission.

95, 100, and ten now.

120.

120. 130.

140.

40, 50.

160. 160's bid on the internet.

Another internet bidder.

170. 180. 190. 190, 200.

I'm safe now, come on.

200. 220, now?

It's still cheap.

-£220.

-Not expensive but I'll take it.

At £220, I'm going to sell. If you're all happy now, at £220.

-I'll take it. I'll take that.

-Well done.

I'll just mop that brow.

Not quite your prediction, Paul, but still a strong profit.

I wonder what's coming up next.

It's Christina's 19th-century silk fan.

£35, the bid's going to be. 40, thank you.

40 in the room. At £40.

45 I'm looking for. At £40,

I'll sell if you're all happy. At £40 only.

Sadly, the room doesn't love it quite as much as you did, Christina.

That's great! No, I mean, no, no, what a disappointment.

Now the hour has come for Paul's second time piece of the day.

His pocket watch.

Now we've got your really sweet little Art Deco pocket watch.

And £20 I'm bid on commission here. With me I'm selling.

25's on the internet, takes my bid out.

At £25 the internet bidder has it.

-30 I am looking for.

-I'm making a loss.

-£25.

-It is an outrage!

If you're all happy at £25 only.

-This is an outrage.

-Oh. Oh!

-I demand a recount.

-Lost it, you've lost it.

Is there a chink in Paul's armour, after all?

Still, only a small loss.

Can Christina's Staffordshire figure land another blow?

This lot I have £20 bid straightaway on commission

for this lot and I'm selling.

-Don't sell it straightaway!

-25 versus the commission.

At £25 my commission's out and it's on the internet.

It's got a little cheeky smile.

£25, I'm going to sell to the internet bidder

if you're all happy, £25 only.

A small profit, but Christina has another chance to catch Paul.

Her scent bottle is next.

-It's sweet.

-That does it for me.

20 is the bid in the room. At £20 with the lady. 25 I'm looking for.

£20 is bid. Any further bids?

I'm going to sell if you're all happy. In the room at £20.

That damage on the scent bottle seems to have been a problem

and Christina makes a small loss.

Next up is Paul's silver and glass saddle flask.

I'll start the bidding off at £60 here with me.

65 I'm looking for to continue.

At 65, 70's there on commission, 75.

75's on the internet. 80's on commission, 85.

-Someone's got the leather case for this, haven't they?

-Yeah.

At £80.

At £80, and I'm going to sell if you're all happy at £80.

Even without its leather pouch, Paul more than doubles his money.

Now, Christina has one last chance to catch Paul.

It rests on her diamond and white gold pendant.

-I can start the bidding at £135 here with me.

-Oh.

£135, the bid's here with me on commission and I'm selling.

-140, do I hear?

-Come on!

I'll sell to the commission bid if you're all happy at £135 only.

Any further bids?

It's a good profit,

but not enough to catch Paul, who still has two items to go.

Paul was passionate about the WMF christening set,

but will it set the auction alight?

A lovely lot this. I'm only bid £40 on commission.

It's a one-horse race, this.

If you're all happy, at £40 only.

45 just at the last minute.

£45 the bid. At £45, 50 still on commission.

55, can I tempt you, sir?

-He's getting greedy now!

-£55.

At £55, the bid's in the room. Any further bids?

That's, again, a great profit.

A great profit.

It is yet another profit.

And now it is Paul's incredible find, his Georgian glass.

Estimate, would you like to tell everyone what they've estimated?

-What is the estimate?

-Estimate...

How much did you buy it for?

-I think, a pound.

-100 pence.

And estimated at £80-£120.

Sorry, what was that? I missed that. Say it again.

£8-£12!

For this lot I have two conflicting bids straightaway.

-I can start the bidding at £110 and I'm selling.

-Well done!

120 I'm looking for to continue.

All right, the internet is running away with us. At 160 we're up to.

160's bid on the internet, 170.

-180.

-It is still going.

-180, 190.

Tell me when it stops.

200. £200. 220. At 240.

At £240. 260. At £260.

-280.

-£280. Two conflicting internet bidders.

Please join in in the room.

-300. 300!

-Oh, yeah.

320. At £320.

At 320. 340, do I hear?

At £320 is bid.

At 320, 340 now.

-At 340 now.

-360.

OK, I'm just a passenger at this point.

At 360, 380, do I hear?

At £360.

Slightly over estimate.

Any further bids?

Bravo. Well done. Well done.

Absolutely outstanding.

An unbelievable profit.

-Oh!

-Wow, seriously.

-I am not worthy, Paul Laidlaw.

-That was my moment.

Would you like a piece of cake?

Christina started this leg with £218.14.

After costs she's made a profit of £6.40,

raising her total to £224.54.

But, today's win makes it a hat-trick

of auction success for Paul. He had £427.04

and after costs he's run up an amazing profit of £353.30,

taking his total to a whopping £780.34.

I'll be the scout.

It's a whopping great big coffee shop with more buns

-than you can shake a stick at.

-It sounds good.

Cheerio.

Next on Antiques Road Trip...

Crying.

Aaaah!

Havoc.

-I can't sing!

-You just said!

And a dog, what's more?

Bye, Murphy! Bye.

Bye. Bye.