Episode 9 Antiques Road Trip

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

-That's cracking.

-..with £200 each...

-Wonderful.

..a classic car and a goal, to scour Britain for antiques.

That's exactly what I'm talking about.

I'm all over a-shiver.

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

-No-brainer.

-Going, going, gone!

There will be worthy winners and valiant losers.

So, will it be the high road to glory...

-Push!

-..or the slow road to disaster?

How awfully, awfully nice.

This is Antiques Road Trip.

Yeah!

Today we blast off on the second instalment of our road trip

adventure with auctioneers Claire Rawle and Paul Laidlaw.

I can't wait.

New girl Claire clinched the lead on her first outing, with a World War I

periscope. She is playing Paul at his own game.

£110 for the periscope.

The old hand didn't like that, I tell you.

He remains as supportive as ever, though.

I've got pressure on me now to keep it up.

-Added pressure.

-Good, good!

Now, now, Paul.

From his original £200, Paul's got

£279.60 to stick in his back pocket.

Claire also began with £200.

She is ahead by a whisker with a total of £300.30.

They are roaring around town in this sporty 1968 TVR Tuscan.

Paul and Claire set off from Wooler in Northumberland.

They will take in the sights of the North East,

traversing through Yorkshire,

to finally land in the town of Stamford in Lincolnshire.

Today our adventure begins in Roker,

in an area within the city of Sunderland,

and we shall auction in East Boldon

in Tyne and Wear.

Very kindly, Claire is dropping Paul at his first shop in Roker.

We'll catch up with Claire later.

Now, who knows what will happen in here?

Hello, pleased to meet you. I'm David.

Good to see you.

You've got a certain thing going on here.

-Giraffe.

-I noticed. Holy Moses, a real one?

-Yes.

-What on earth?

What's this little beauty?

Is there any age to that?

A miniature chest of drawers.

Who doesn't want one?

Look at this. It's old cigar boxes.

Fantastic!

Priced at £50, will owner David be open to discount?

How good a deal can you do me on the chest of drawers?

Don't look at that.

I'll do you 25 quid.

I think it's yesterday's news, that's my problem.

So much that we see is yesterday's news.

Blimey! It's tough on old Laidlaw today.

Right, Paul, anything else?

They are candle snuffers.

You knew that. You know what candle snuffers are for, don't you?

Candle snuffers are for trimming the wick of one's candle.

These gadgets are actually wick trimmers and

a candle douser or snuffer to put the flame out.

We're looking at 1770.

1770, come on!

This is powdered wigs territory and frock coats and genteel living.

All right, love.

What's he up to now?

Looks like he's got his metal mojo working.

He has spotted a pair of brass candlesticks

and a pretty copper pot.

If I grabbed the candle snuffers and a pair of candlesticks,

that makes sense.

If I tried to buy...

Ignore the price tags, please.

If I tried to buy...

That's a pretty little lot, is it not?

Ah, the combined price for the snuffer,

the candlesticks and the copper pot is £55.

Can it be cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap,

and then we'll talk about your chest of drawers?

I think he wants it cheap, David.

I'll do you 30 quid the lot.

Where were we, we were 25 quid for the wee cigar box lined chest?

Yes.

25 quid for that and 30 quid for that.

I'll do you 50 quid the lot - there you are.

And you've got a deal.

OK, sir, thank you very much indeed.

Good deal.

No hesitation for Maestro Laidlaw.

Generous David has sold the miniature chest of drawers for £25

and the mixed metalware, also for £25.

Wow!

Meanwhile, Claire has travelled a short distance away

to the South Tyneside village of Cleadon.

-Hello!

-Hello.

-Judith. Hello.

Rachel. Nice to meet you. I'm Claire.

Now, Judith is the proprietor here.

Stand by, because Claire is looking to get some bargains.

Now then, what's this?

Hopefully photographic slides. Let's have a look.

OK.

Oh, OK.

Old glass negative slides.

Produced in stereoscope, the two.

They are in their original box.

Probably for using with a Magic Lantern in the early days.

Before people went to the cinema,

you would go to the Magic Lantern shows.

Magic Lantern shows were very popular with the Victorians.

A precursor to the modern-day movie,

they featured projected images accompanied

by live music and narration.

They will date from the late 19th century.

Might be slightly earlier than that, sort of 1860s.

Time for some narration with Judith.

You've got 95 on those.

I could do 45 because I got those quite cheap.

All right, that's what I like to hear!

Kind discount.

Oh, thank you very much.

Thank you. It's a pleasure, thank you.

Judith has been kind.

The collection of glass slides for

£45 is Claire's first purchase of the day.

Back to Paul. He's journeyed south to the coastal town of Hartlepool

in County Durham.

How are you doing?

-All right?

-Yes, pleased to meet you.

-Good to see you. I'm chomping at the bit, Alan.

-OK.

And he's off for a good rummage.

Paul's laser eye focus has found something.

-That's not just a walking stick, is it?

-No.

It's a sword stick.

So, what we have here is a Victorian gentleman's means of

defence when he is wandering the back streets looking for a carriage,

having just walked out of the opera, and the bad guys jump out of

the dark and say, "Hand over your wallet!"

And he says,

"Be gone, braggart, and don't be back or I'll call the Peelers!"

-That's exactly what you need.

-He should be on the stage!

A good find, Paul.

Reasonably collectable, as well, and not a bad one.

I've seen worse. What can it be, Alan?

I was hoping to get 50 quid for it.

Oh, I'll make you a cheeky wee offer.

Stress the cheeky. 30 quid.

Can we go to 40 and then I'll make just a little bit on it, which makes

-me happy.

-Oh, do you know what?

Yes, and here's hoping I make a little bit.

-You'll definitely make a little bit.

-Then we're both happy.

You'll definitely make a profit, I'm sure.

Nicely done, Paul.

Anything else lurking in the attic?

I've just pulled that out of the back, actually, to clean it up.

-Is that what the matter is, just dust?

-Just dust.

But what the heck is it?

That, for my money, is about the sexiest

standard-lamp-cum-occasional-table I've seen in years.

That is going to date to 1930, 1935, and what is the aesthetic?

It's Art Deco, isn't it?

For once, it's fair to say it's Art Deco.

It's a much abused term.

That is going to polish up an absolute treat.

Do you like?

Depends on what price you can get from Alan.

Can I get 50 quid for it?

-40?

-What?

-30?

-You'll be in freefall.

-All right, 30, 30.

Well, I don't want to go more than 20 quid.

-Yes, that's good.

-Sweet?

-Yes, let's do it.

-Happy with that.

Brilliant.

An Art Deco standard-lamp-cum-table for £20 and the gentleman's

sword stick for £40, excellent work.

Time to call it a day and break for a nice bit of shuteye.

Nighty-night!

# Good morning, good morning

# We've talked the whole night through... #

Wakey-wakey! We're heading north this morning.

Ever the gent, Paul's dropping Claire off

in Whitley Bay.

-Here we are.

-Looking good.

This fine emporium is run by Philip

and Claire has over £250 burning a hole in her pocket.

I have to say, I do rather like cats.

-He is quite eye-catching.

-Quite fun, isn't it?

-Yes.

-Oops.

It's heavier than I thought it was going to be.

Italy, so presumably a souvenir type piece?

I don't know. It's got no name to say where it came from,

just that it originated in Italy.

Yeah.

What's your best price? Cos you've got £25 on him. So...

I'm sure we can do something to help on that one.

-Music to my ears.

-Yeah.

Why don't we do it for 15 for you?

He's just begging me to buy him, isn't he?

-Oh, I'll go for it.

-You're going to have him, are you?

-Lovely. Thank you very much.

-Thank you. Thank you.

One purchase down and she's on a roll.

Oh, a leather suitcase.

One of my favourites.

Is that for sale, or is that just a doorstop?

Nice old one. I'm sure we could sell it to you if you like.

Now, Claire bought a suitcase in the first leg and made a nice profit.

Could this one do the same?

What price would that be?

Well, we've got 45 on it at the moment, Claire.

-Yeah.

-So possibly we can do

something to help you on that one, yeah.

Yeah, because I know what they make at auction...

Yes, at auctions they are not going to bring as much as that.

No, no. I would hope at auction it might make, sort of, 20, 25.

Can you come down somewhere closer

to that where I can make a bit of a...

Well, I wouldn't really like to come down as low as 20,

but we'll do it for 25 for you if there's enough room in there.

We'll split the difference and 22?

Yes, all right. We'll do that.

-Excellent. My cat and my suitcase.

-Great.

-Thank you.

Thank you very much, Philip. That's excellent.

There we have it. £15 for the pottery cat

and 22 for the vintage suitcase.

Meanwhile, Paul's off on a mission to the town of Blyth.

At the time of the First and Second World Wars,

the north-east of England was significant,

due to its naval shipbuilding and weapons industry.

This, combined with the long, exposed coastline,

made Northumberland a prime target for a German invasion.

In 1916, the MoD gave orders to build

Blyth Battery to ensure the coast was defended.

Paul's meeting with Colin Derwood to get the lowdown.

Colin, how are you doing?

-It's a pleasure to meet you, Paul.

-I like the look of your beach hut.

Come on, we'll go and have a look at it.

Blyth Battery has the most intact

coastal defence buildings in the world,

with the First World War observation post

being the only surviving example of its type.

The armoured turret was a look-out post for

gathering intelligence.

Oh, man. What!

So the whole cupola revolves?

Yes, the whole lot rotated and from

the sides there was smaller gear wheels,

shafts, and you can see some of the original plugs...

-I see, yeah.

-..where there was a cranking mechanism.

-Hand?

-One either side for to rotate the whole top.

Fantastic.

The operator would have either stood in a basket suspended from it...

-What?

-..or on a base.

-Right.

-Remembering it doesn't turn very fast.

It only has to follow a ship.

And from that door there, and that door there,

was a nine foot Barr & Stroud split-image rangefinder.

-Yes.

-A big brother to this one.

-Yeah.

This enabled the artillery spotter

to observe anything unusual at sea up to several miles away.

The information could be passed

downstairs and they would have phoned it

across to the gun platform,

where the guns could have been loaded and ready

-to take enemy action.

-Oh, my word.

What a thought.

I'd love to have been here in 1918.

A howling gale blowing like today, guys cranking the cupola,

and the Kaiserliche Marine cruising up there.

-What!

-Yes, it would have been tremendous.

Enemy action, action stations!

It is absolute...

What a gem of a place.

I think it's safe to say Paul is in his element.

When World War II loomed,

another battery post was built to strengthen defences.

Again, this sweeping horizon,

-whereupon the enemy could be lurking.

-It's beautiful.

I've got to say, for the guy in 1918 it could be quite terrifying,

the hum of a Zeppelin engine overhead. But I don't know in 1940,

the prospect of the horizon being black with landing craft...

-Enemy ships.

-That's... That's seriously hairy.

It's different, different.

With the advent of World War II, the Blyth Battery was still a deterrent

to a Northumberland invasion.

Colin, what number of men served here during the war?

There was five officers and 110 regulars

from the garrison artillery.

They were supplemented by men of the Home Guard,

who used to come down from 1940.

But by 1944, the threat of an invasion had subsided

and when all the regulars went away for the big push in Normandy, it was

-the Home Guard who ran this all by themselves.

-Dad's Army.

At the end of the Second World War, the guns were removed

and the battery became popular beach chalets in the '50s

and thereafter was used by lifeguards.

This continued use has ensured its survival.

Baywatch, eat your heart out!

So we've gone from the Great War and Zeppelins,

the Second World War invasion threats,

and now we are enjoying this as...

Its legacy is educational, isn't it?

It's as educational centre, exactly, yes.

It's went from wartime to education.

Over 100 years.

Isn't that fantastic?

Well, I've got to say, I have had the best couple of hours

-I've had in many a moon. Thank you very much.

-Pleased you've enjoyed it. Thank you.

Blyth Battery is the lasting testimony of a small

British town playing a vital role during the war effort

and, thankfully, still survives to this day.

Claire's also travelled to Blyth.

She's got over £218 to play with.

Johnny Boy's Antiques & Modern Furnishings

is her last shop of the day. So watch out, Johnny.

Ah, John, hello. Hiding behind your desk.

-How are you? I'm Claire.

-I'm fine.

Rustic walking sticks.

I always like looking in cabinets. What have we got here?

A Sikes hydrometer. Is it all right if I have a look at that?

-Yes. Feel free.

-Right.

Quite nice little instruments, these.

I like the boxes, as well, with the original plaque in the top of it.

There we go. There it is.

Sikes hydrometers were used by

distillers to measure proof of alcohol,

and hence the duty payable.

It isn't dated but I would think, looking at the quality of it,

we are looking at a very late 19th, early 20th century.

No price on it at all...

I've got to see 40.

It's a nice item. They're quite collectable,

but they've got a reasonably limited market. So 25 no good?

-30?

-28?

-Go on.

-28?

OK. Yeah. 28's good on that one.

-No problem.

-The other thing I noticed, John,

when I came in, some walking sticks over here.

Which I think would make a nice little group, actually.

I quite liked the look of these.

I think that was the other I quite liked.

I was thinking maybe £5 to £8 for the group?

As a nice little group? £5?

Cheeky! She'll stop at nothing, that one.

They've got a price of a tenner each!

-Make it ten.

-Eight.

Go on.

Thank you very much, indeed. That's good.

You're lucky, Claire, that Johnny is so generous.

Thank you indeed, Johnny.

The hydrometer for £28 and the walking sticks for £8.

Wow!

Now Paul's heading up the coast to Amble

with just under £170 tucked away.

Artique is his final shopping destination.

It's a huge emporium with around 30 dealers. He'll love that!

-Is it Mark?

-It is Mark. Hello.

-How are you doing?

-Nice to meet you.

What is going on here then?

HE EXHALES

Be still, my beating heart.

I turned around, looked down, period photographs.

Aerial photographs. Who takes aerial photographs?

The military and spies, do they not?

OK, I'm interested.

You've got me.

I can tell you for nothing they are mid-20th century, are they not,

so we're probably, possibly looking at the Second World War.

A group photo of U-boats at Danzig, similar at Kiel.

Absolutely fantastic stuff, this.

A Dutch gunboat and M-class minesweeper.

Wait a minute - here's a box.

Description, stereoscope and German naval views.

Don't get me started about stereoscopy.

Incredible subject. Traces its...

This is the viewing of photographs

through a viewer, giving a 3-D effect. £45.

Come on. That's not a lot of money by any measure.

What might it be worth? Well, the truth of the matter is,

I suspect the photographs and the stereo viewer may not be related,

they may have been brought together.

If I'm right, the more valuable element, arguably,

is the aerial photographs.

The World War II reconnaissance photographs are a real find.

Could this be his flyer at auction?

Dealer Mark is on hand to talk money.

Caught my eye. Stereoscopic photographs of German battleships.

Fantastic, Second World War.

I'm really into stereoscopy.

I see the stereo viewer, I see it in what looks like Admiralty grey,

and I think, "I've got a wartime package here."

I am wrong, as you probably know if you're familiar with this lot.

-Because the viewer itself is post-war.

-Right.

It's late '60s, '70s.

And it is for large-scale stereo views, not these.

Not the smaller ones, OK.

So I know that we could do... For the whole package, we can come down.

It's £45 on it.

-Yeah.

-We could do that for 30.

There's no point clowning about.

-30.

-Yeah.

-Done deal.

And that exciting lot brings this leg's shopping to a close.

Paul adds the reconnaissance photographs and stereoscopic viewer

to his combo lot of metalware,

the miniature chest of drawers, the gentleman's sword stick and

the Art Deco lamp and shade.

Paul has spent a total of £140.

Claire was a little more cautious, but also bought five lots.

The collection of glass slides,

the pottery cat, the vintage suitcase, the Sikes hydrometer

and a group of walking sticks.

For all that, she spent a total of £118.

Come on, you two. Thoughts on one another's buys?

I was a bit confused by... Well, I thought they were library steps.

But I gather it's a lamp.

I don't quite understand that.

OK. I think maybe I claw back the deficit

and go into the lead with this one.

You heard it.

Laidlaw just jinxed himself at auction.

Let's hope not.

It's auction time, and our road tripping pair

are heading for their second auction at East Boldon in Tyne and Wear.

-Right, well, here we are.

-Still in glorious sunshine.

-Beautiful, isn't it?

-Clash of the stereo views begins.

Yes, may the best man or woman win, eh?

This family run auction room has been on the go for over 30 years.

Our auctioneer today is Giles Hodges.

Come on, spill it, Giles, about our duo's offerings.

The Art Deco standard lamp,

great 1930s, classic of the period, might fly,

especially because we're online as well.

Well, what do we say about the ceramic cat?

Icon of the 1950s.

Not to everybody's taste.

Quiet, please. The auction is about to begin.

Quite comfortable, isn't it?

-Let's slide off this.

-Oh, you can't take these two anywhere.

First up are Claire's batch of walking sticks.

Somebody bid me a tenner for all the walking sticks.

-Please.

-Tenner I'm bid.

10 in the room. At £10.

15, anyone else now?

15. The bid's upstairs at 15. 20? 25. 25.

At £25, we're upstairs.

30? At £30, downstairs right.

At £30, ladies and gentlemen, in the room at 30 quid.

Look at that. Not bad, Claire. A good profit to start proceedings.

I'm trying not to look too smug at the moment,

because I think it could be all downhill from here, but still...

That's not the spirit, Claire.

Paul's next with his Art Deco lamp-cum-table.

I'm bid 10 to start, at 10.

£10? 10. 15 by the door.

15. 20? 5. 30. 5. 35 by the door.

Anybody else? At 35, 40.

-£40.

-No!

What you mean, no? It's lovely, I'm telling you.

In the room at £40 for the last time.

-£40!

-Very good.

Paul Laidlaw!

£40, beautiful.

Yeah, precisely.

And this means you're just behind Claire in the profit stakes.

Next, it's Claire's pottery cat.

Do you wish it was still back in the sanctuary?

-A tenner and away.

-Cheeky!

Bid me a fiver, then. £5 upstairs.

5, 10, 15.

£15, all done, ladies and gentlemen?

At 15.

OK, so I've lost a little bit on that.

I think you did well there, to be honest.

On we go.

Can Paul's metalware lot help him edge into the lead?

£10 starts me.

15. Straight in the room at £15.

20, anybody now?

£15 on the right.

At £20. 25.

At £25 in the room. We're waiting online, yes or no, £25.

Another break even means Claire still clings on to her lead.

It's Claire's Sikes hydrometer next.

30. At £30. 30. £30?

Anybody else for a fiver?

35? Got the hand.

At £35. 40, anybody else?

40, downstairs left.

£40. 45. 50. 55.

£55, upstairs right. Your bid, sir.

That's more like it.

Claire's launched further into the lead.

-Smile. Keep smiling.

-I can't. I'm struggling.

I'm getting aching cheeks, you know.

Maybe the miniature chest can cheer you up.

Somebody start me, £20 for it.

£20, we're in straightaway at 20.

£20. 25. 30. 35.

35, shakes his head. At £35.

40, anybody?

At £35, last chance.

All done at £35.

Nice little earner, Paul,

but it's not enough to move in front of Claire.

Claire loves her vintage luggage, it's the suitcase next.

I'm bid straight in on commission, £10 to start me.

15. £15. 20.

25. 30. £30 online, 35.

It's against you now, 40. 45.

At £45. It's gone quiet to my left. At £45, in the room at 45.

Luggage is a good bet for profits, eh?

Claire's still in the lead.

I'll be keeping my eye out for more of that.

It's Paul's stereoscopic viewer and aerial photographs next.

He loves this lot.

50 bid, straight in at 50.

-At £50.

-Straight in at 50?

-60. 65, 70. 75. 80, 5.

£85.

Someone wants them in the room.

95. 100. 110. We're upstairs at 110.

You're out online. 120. 130, 140.

150?

We're still upstairs. You're out downstairs at 150.

Are we all done at 150?

-Well done.

-In the room as well.

And that wasn't through gritted teeth, Claire.

An astounding result, well done.

Can Claire's glass slides help her catch up on Paul?

£40. Straight in on commission.

£40? Anybody for another five?

At £40, for the last time, ladies and gentlemen.

At £40?

Somebody got a bargain.

Bad luck, Claire.

And to finish the proceedings, it's Paul's gentlemen's sword stick.

Fingers crossed.

Not too hard.

I've got two commission bids. 80 starts me.

At £80.

That's where I hoped it would end.

85, 90. 95. 100. 110. £110 upstairs. Anybody online?

At £110, are we all done, ladies and gents?

At £110?

-Fair enough.

-Here endeth the journey.

Another monster profit for Paul.

-I think we need coffee and a bun, don't you?

-I think we do.

Lead on.

What an auction, and I think we can work out the winner, eh?

Here are the calculations, anyway.

Claire began leg two with £300.30,

and after auction costs made a profit of £33.70.

Claire's grand total to carry forward is £334 exactly.

Paul started the second leg with £279.60

and left Claire far behind with a huge profit of £155.20.

The Laidlaw is back.

He is today's victor

and has a mighty £434.80 for the next leg.

Good man.

So, with their newly acquired cash,

it's time to hit the road for the next leg of the trip.

You take me to the best places, Claire!

Yes, yes, I was going to say,

is it you or me that's drawing this beautiful weather?

We begin in sunny Scarborough, in North Yorkshire, and will

auction in the town of Beverley, in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

Good chum that she is,

Claire is dropping Paul at his first shop of the day.

-That'll do me.

-That's it, here we are.

It's got my name written all over it.

Oh - didn't know your name was Antique & Collectors Centre!

We'll return to Claire a little later.

Paul is in the lead by £100,

but he's not resting on his laurels, oh, no, sir!

And he's found something.

And, uh-oh, he's got that look on his face.

Whatever it is, it's got a ticket price of £15.

Brace yourself, Matt. The going could be rough.

I've never had this quandary before, in this position.

-When I'm road tripping, I am looking for objects for auction.

-Right.

-I want that for me.

-OK.

-And I can't have it, because I am on a mission.

This is an artillery shell.

And these studs here are not decorative.

The studs engaged with the rifling grooves, and that introduced

the spin that gives ballistic properties to the projectile.

-Keeps it straighter.

-I think Lord Armstrong's behind it.

Lord Armstrong was a Victorian armaments magnate,

who dedicated his life to the improvement of artillery.

This little beauty is a great example of his ingenuity.

Now, why on earth did somebody do that, make a watch fob?

Because that's what we've got there.

I'm interested in ordnance, I love watch fobs,

this is why this was making big eyes at me.

But more than that, rose-gold mount, and the mount is dated 1870.

-What would you take for that?

-£10.

-Spot on.

-Cheers.

-I am not joking, I love that.

-Good, good.

£10 for the bullet watch fob.

What's he found now?

That's a carnival glass,

which is glass with a flashing of metallic lustre.

Very iridescent.

If that makes £30 on a £4 purchase, you think I'm a superstar.

£4?! That is cheap!

I think that's just sold.

And I'm not haggling. I'm just going to stick that there,

we'll add that to the tab, will we?

That's another to add to his growing collection, then.

Meanwhile, Claire has travelled down the coast to the seaside

resort of Filey.

Now, Claire's got to pick up the pace and square up to the might

that is Paul Laidlaw.

He's nice.

With over 30 dealers selling their wares in here,

there should be lots of choice for Claire's £334.

There's some interesting bits of militaria here, nice little bits.

What a shame Paul isn't here.

Hang on...

Looks like she's thinking of stepping into

a certain someone's specialist area.

-Look out, Paul.

-OK, so what do we have here? OK.

Always looks vaguely military or official, doesn't it,

something painted that colour, in metal?

It's actually a gas mask, it says on the label,

so let's get the lid off and see what we have.

OK, and gas mask inside.

I won't take it out, because I'll never get it back in there again.

Civilian type, because everybody had to carry their gas masks,

-OK... I quite like that.

-Where's owner Neil, to talk cash?

-Neil.

-Hi, Claire.

-We've already got a...

-We have reduced it already, yes.

Would you come down to £10 for it?

I would, yes, yeah.

-Oh, OK. Thank you very much indeed.

-No problem.

-Thank you. Great.

-Gas mask - £10.

-Half-price discount for Claire's first buy, eh?

While she has another nose, how's Paul getting on?

He's still in Scarborough.

And has discovered owner Matt has another antique shop just

a few doors along.

So we think we've got there a mid-19th century novelty snuff,

in a glazed earthenware.

Modelled, of course, as a gentleman's shoe. Unmarked.

I think it's probably a reasonable assumption that our mount

here is silver and not electroplate.

That's a hell of a price tag - 125 quid?

It's a hell of an item.

Cut to the chase then. 50 quid.

-Proper money.

-£60. And you can...

-£55.

-Go on, then!

-Oh! Brilliant.

Brilliant. I'll say it now, I love this as much as you.

Golly, a third buy, the little novelty snuffbox for £55.

That's not expensive.

Claire is still in her first shop,

and her beady eye has spotted something quite PLANE!

Ooh, that's nice.

It's a plane.

It's a type of moulding plane, quite a specialised one.

These are actually quite collectable because they're just

such attractive items.

Beautifully made, gorgeous patina to the wood here.

I'll just keep looking around.

Hey presto, hang on a minute. In amongst all the garden ornaments.

Got another one. Let's have a look.

That's nice as well. Not quite the colour of the other one but

very similar, just not so clean.

It's still got brass on it.

Let's see if there's any more.

Oh, OK, more woodworking tools.

That actually would make quite a nice group.

So quite nice with the earlier wood planes with the brass on and these.

The combined ticket price here is a total of £60.

And she's about to ply owner Neil with her chance. Look out, Neil.

-I've found some woodworking items.

-Yes.

There are two items there and there's some more behind me.

Now, I've totalled up what they'd all come to.

So I'm hoping you're going to be very generous to me.

What are you thinking? I'm difficult to offend.

CLAIRE GIGGLES

TIM GIGGLES

-That's good. Because she chances her mitt.

-I was hoping for sort of £20.

20...

30, I think, would be a fair.

You wouldn't split the difference and try 25?

-Yes, I would.

-That's very good of you.

Let me relieve you of that one and shake you very warmly by the hand,

and thank you so much.

That was swift. £25 for the collection of wooden tools.

Guess what. Paul STILL hasn't finished shopping with owner Matt.

I've always liked things that are on floors,

behind other things, thick in dust.

Victorian writing box down there.

They're not flying out the door any more, are they?

-Not like they used to.

-60 quid on that one. Could that be cheap?

-Yeah, I don't see why not.

-Tempt me. 20 quid.

Half price, £30.

And it's only the quality of that inlay that's half-tempting me.

Could that be bought in the middle, for £25?

I don't see why not.

Blimey, that was a bit of a shop-athlon.

He spent a grand total of £94 on the bullet watch fob,

the Victorian cuff,

the little snuffbox

and the writing slope.

Wow.

Meanwhile, Claire's journeyed back north to the glorious

seaside town of Scarborough.

In the 1930s, this town on the Yorkshire coast became

a resort for the rich and famous. Why? The tunny.

Atlantic bluefin tuna began to show up in nearby waters,

attracting big-game fishermen hoping to catch one of the most

powerful fish in the world.

Over 80 years ago, game fishing was widely accepted,

and modern-day practice views it alongside conservation.

Back then, the hunting of the tunny fish was very much a sporting

thrill and, as such, the elite flocked to the town in their droves.

That's a big one.

Claire is meeting with local historian Jennifer Dunn,

to find out more.

In the late 1920s, early 1930s, the herring fishermen started

noticing tuna off the coast of Scarborough, and the tuna were

eating the herring, so they were following the fleet.

Weighing up to 900 pounds and measuring as much as nine feet long,

the tunny was one heck of a mighty fish.

A chap called Lorenzo Mitchell-Henry

caught his first tunny fish off the coast of Nova Scotia in 1914.

He was an English aristocrat, a bit of an eccentric and he started

the sport after catching that first tunny, and so he brought the sport

to Scarborough. And in the first season they started catching fish

in about 1930, and then that brought more and more people across to the town.

All the great and the good, so it was people that had the money and the means.

So we had military men, film stars like Errol Flynn and

John Wayne, and then aristocrats from all over the British Isles.

The real tragedy here is that the tunny was caught purely for sport

and sometimes methods used were barbaric.

As a result, the Tunny Club was founded in 1933.

So presumably because it was a special sort of game hunting,

there were rules, were there, to it?

Yes, so the British Tunny Club was founded as

a means of regulating the sport,

but the most simple ones were that it had to be two men in either

a rowing boat or a motor boat and it had to be caught by rod and reel.

Claire has another appointment,

this time with local fishermen Fred Normandale.

And they're meeting at the original Tunny Club, now a fish and chip shop.

That's rich!

So this new sport must have drawn people from all over the place?

There was big-game hunting on your doorstep - well, when I say on

your doorstep, people came from all over the world to do it.

But it was on our doorstep. It was unique.

Everyone wanted the thrill of the hunt and it was some hunt.

Quite spectacular.

You didn't have to travel to the middle of Africa with

a big gun and camp.

Gosh. Imagine being hooked into one of those.

So tell me, what are your memories of it all?

I was right on the last latter part.

I was six in 1954,

and this is me with my dad in his little rowing boat.

I can remember going into the tunny hut, and it cost tuppence,

old money, to see the tunny.

Because they didn't know what to do with them once they've caught them,

the sport was catching the fish.

They tried frying them, fish and chip shops, but most people

would rather have had haddock or cod.

Shoals of herring started to decline,

and as the tunny fish's main source of food,

they too started to disappear.

From about 1954 when they caught the last,

through to about 1965, I would think, '66...

I'm not sure when the last one was but they never caught a fish for many years.

They kept going and trying but they never found one.

The appearance of this powerful fish transformed this Yorkshire port

into the UK's game fishing capital in the 1930s, and illustrates

a snapshot into time when game fishing was highly applauded.

Paul, meanwhile, is continuing his shopping marathon -

he's journeyed to the town of Pickering,

situated on the edge of the North York moors.

With four lots under his belt,

he's off to find more goodies in JSC Collectables, owned by Caroline.

Hello, Caroline.

And - he's zoning in on something.

Do you a good deal on them.

What's a good deal...

on a strange-looking Victorian garniture,

that you're trying to stitch into me?

45?

Fundamentally there is a lot of ingenuity in this.

And on the bottom, we've got Charles Barlow, Smithfield Works

at Hanley, Staffs, not everyone's cup of tea.

For my money, I think they're lovely, to be honest with you.

Give me the absolute bottom line, not a penny more,

not a penny less but you can have them for that,

is it 20 quid or something just to get rid of them?

-I'll do 20 quid for the vases.

-Done. Thank you very much. It was easy.

-You've got your shelf back.

-And you've got a pair of vases for £20.

Gosh, good work.

Well, there we are, then. What a packed day.

And time for a rest for our two weary travellers. Night-night.

We're back on the road, and Paul's psyching out the competition.

So, have you waded in deep?

Have you hacked into your considerable budget with your two purchases?

Oh, well, no. I'll just keep that to myself.

Quite right, Claire.

Righty-ho, next pin in the map is in the village of Skirlaugh,

in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

Vintage Home Store is a huge emporium,

and Claire is holding onto a sizeable £299.

Claire's found the lady in charge, Steph,

to have a look at something that has caught her eye.

Sweet little case. Nicely marked on the lid.

And then we put the little pince-nez,

which just basically sit on your nose, pinch your nose.

Glasses cases are quite collectable.

Got a little dent in the back of it.

I think that's actually quite sweet. Nicely chased.

Ticket price is £69.

One to think about. Oh, hello - what's this?

BR Western Region.

Hence the W in brackets after the name stamped in on the neck there.

This is the rear light of a train. Good heavy thing.

Standard black paint.

Lid open, so there's like a little funnel inside,

for the fumes to come out.

It should have a burner inside it. Let's have a look.

This hasn't been opened for a while. And there it is.

Which slides in and out there.

£55 on it, though, which is top-heavy really, for auction.

I wanted to get it a bit less than that.

I thought you might! Time to get in Steph.

I don't know if you know the fellow or what he might take for it.

-I can certainly give him a ring and see what we can do on that.

-OK.

-See what his very, very, very best price is.

-OK. Will do.

-Make him feel kindly towards me.

-You're in Yorkshire, though.

-You do realise, don't you?

-Oh, but my father was a Yorkshireman.

-Does that make any difference?

-Oh, that's all right then.

She'll stop at nothing, that one.

-We can do 25 on that.

-That's not bad.

-OK?

-Oh, that's good of him. I'll shake your hand.

-Thank you.

And there's more good news.

-The dealer with the pince-nez is actually in, Peter.

-Oh, is he?

-Go and talk to him.

-Oh, do you think it might be worth having a chat?

-You never know. Just flutter your eyelashes.

-Think that might work(?)

THEY CHUCKLE

One can but try.

Ah, Peter. Hello.

Right, let's see Claire in action.

I quite like them.

-You've got them marked up at 69.

-Yes.

But I am hoping for, you know, quite a bit of discount,

because I think they're pretty...

-How about £20 off, 45.

-Would you come down to 42?

-Yeah, that'll be fine.

-Excellent, Peter. You're a good man.

Thank you very much. Pleasure doing business. Thanks, thank you.

There we go.

The British Rail lamp for £25,

and the silver spectacle case and pince-nez for £42.

Paul is all shopped out, after his exploits yesterday

but Claire still has some serious shopping to do and is heading

to Bridlington for one last stop.

This looks lovely in here. Claire's got just over £230 to spend.

There's a little miniature gardening set, just in the front there.

It's got a little spade. A little rake.

And a dibber for making holes, for planting things.

The nice thing is that it looks like ivory - it's not, it's bone.

Ivory will be a very clear, dense white.

Bone has blood vessels going through it,

so you get these little brown flecks in.

Jane's the lady in charge.

Now for a closer look.

I like these. I just love the way the rake's made.

I mean, isn't that a lovely curved head on it?

Now, then, the all-important thing. We have £78 on it.

Is this something that I can speak to you about

or is it for someone else?

Jane manages to get the dealer on the phone.

But is there a deal to be done?

Chris has said he could do 62 on it.

62. I'm going to have them.

The collection of miniature gardening tools at £62

concludes this leg's shopping bonanza.

Claire's spent £164 on five lots.

As well as the miniature gardening tools,

she has the World War II gas mask,

the collection of woodworking tools,

the British Rail lamp and the silver spectacle case and pince-nez.

Paul also has five lots.

The bullet watch fob...

The Victorian beaded cuff, writing slope,

the novelty snuffbox, and the Charles Barlow vases.

Paul has spent a total of £114.

Right, my old antiques lovers,

thoughts on one another's collections?

It hurts me to have to say this,

but I think he's made some good buys there.

Would I swap for my offering? Well, what do you think?

It's a no, folks.

He's confident. Let's get ready to sell.

Our road trippers are heading for their third auction at Beverley

in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

Situated today at Beverley Racecourse, Hawleys Auctioneers

is run by husband-and-wife team John and Caroline Hawley.

Caroline is in command of the room today,

so what does she think of our duo's lots?

The little, tiny shell, inlaid with rose gold and silver,

and I thought, "Oh, yeah, that's a Paul Laidlaw lot, straightaway."

The railway lamp, I have to say, it's not really my cup of tea,

but there's an awful lot of interest in railwayana.

Well, we'll soon see. Take your seats!

The auction is about to begin.

Right, up first is Paul's Victorian beaded cuff.

£10 to start. £5.

Don't look at me like that.

Thank you, sir. It'll suit you nicely! £5.

Six anywhere? Are we done at six on the net? Seven, sir?

-Seven, are you back in?

-Don't go up in pounds, don't go up in pounds.

-Never good when you go up in pounds.

-Ten on the net. 12 anywhere?

12 on the internet. 14 anywhere?

14 on the net. 16.

Do feel free to join us. 18. 18 on the internet.

-18 now!

-Are we done at £18?

20. You just snuck in, madam. 20 in the room.

22 anywhere? 20 in the room...

All done at £20...

A good return on your £4 there, Paul.

-500%.

-Oh, be quiet.

If I stick to that...

Well, I'll be walking out of here in a minute!

Keep the faith, Claire. It's your World War II gas mask next.

Start me cheap. £10 for the gas mask. That's straight in. Ten.

12 anywhere? 12. 14, 16, 18, 20, 22.

No? 20 at the back of the room.

22 anywhere? 22. Who said 22?

24, 26, 28, 30. 32, 34? No?

32 at the back of the room. 34 anywhere?

All done at £32...

A pleasant surprise, Claire.

Nice profit to launch you into lead position.

You are in the lead, Claire Rawle. I couldn't be happier for you.

Aw, this has started well, hasn't it?

It has, Paul. The Charles Barlow vases are next.

I've got bids on the sheets.

I have to start you at £60. 65 anywhere?

Oh, it's all on commission. It's all on commission! It's all on paper.

£60, surely? All done at 60...

65, just in time. 70 anywhere?

65 with John, 70 anywhere?

All done at 65...

-That was all right.

-I think that's fair enough.

Very nice, and you've taken the lead.

The woodworking tools bought by Claire are next.

A nice little lot, everything you need to set yourself up

with a joiner's workshop.

What's this worth?

£40? 20 to go. Come along. Who's going to give me...

Thank you, sir. £20. 22 anywhere? £20, surely.

22, 24, 26. 28, 30. 30.

32, 34, 36, 38. 38? Go on. 40. No?

38, with you, sir. 38 in the room. 40 anywhere?

Are we done at...?

40's back again. 42! Just one more. 42.

You're shaking your head the wrong way. No? £40, I have you...

All done at 40...

Not too bad, that could...

-HE GROANS

-You thought it...

Look at you couple of giggling Gerties!

Nice profit, though, there, Claire.

There's nothing in it.

-No, it's a bit neck and neck.

-I can just about touch you.

You're right, Paul.

It's anyone's game at the moment, and your writing slope is next.

-I've got to start you at £35, 40 anywhere?

-What a gift!

40. 45, 50, 55.

-60, 65.

-Smile, smile.

60 with you, Roy.

-65 anywhere?

-It's cheap.

-It is.

-It's a cheap box.

-It is.

-Are we done at £60?

It's a cheap lot. I have you. £60...

65. 70, Roy.

70, I have in the room.

-75 anywhere?

-Tell them how nice it is! Tell them how nice it is!

It's scratched, it's scratched! There's a huge scratch on it.

All done at 70...

Another chunk of a profit.

The quality inlay helped things along there.

By my reckoning, I'm up £790, but that's just roughly.

Hey, wildly wrong there, sunshine!

Yeah, your maths never was your strong point, was it?!

Claire's British Rail lamp is next.

Going to have to start you at £42.

-Bang on the money.

-Oh, OK.

-Bang on the money.

44. Thank you, 46?

46, 48. 50, 55, 60. 65, 70.

70, are you in? 70, 75.

£70 with you, madam.

All done at 70...

That's a corker of a profit. Well done, Claire.

It's Paul's favourite lot of the road trip next.

The bullet watch fob.

-£40. 45 anywhere?

-Ooh, excellent.

-It's worth...

All over. 45, 50. 55, 60. 65, 70.

70? 75. £70 with you, sir.

In the room, people know!

-£70 I have.

-People get it!

-75 anywhere?

-Oh, well...

All done at £70...

-Well done!

-Justice done!

Well done.

Well, the room appreciated the watch fob.

That's another large profit for Paul.

-I didn't think they'd know.

-Yeah.

-Wow.

-Well, yeah, there are...

This is a sophisticated crowd out here!

Certainly is. Come on, Claire.

Can your spectacle case help you catch up on Paul's lead?

Let's get into focus.

Give me £20 to start. Thank you, all over. 20, 22, 24.

26, 28, 30. 32, 34, 36. 38, 40, 42.

£40 with you, sir. 42. 44.

-46, 48, 50. 55.

-You're in it now.

60, 65. 70. 75. Just one more?

You're nodding your head the wrong way. Go on!

You know you want them. 75!

80. 85.

85? No? £80 I have from you.

All done at 80... Thank you.

Excellent profit, Claire. You're inching closer to Paul.

-There's nothing in this with two items to go each.

-Two to go.

-And our biggest spends.

-There are...

Correct.

It's the novelty snuffbox from Paul now.

Straight in at £100.

-110 anywhere?

-Mmm!

-MAN: Yes.

-Thank you, John.

110 in the room. 120 on the internet.

120 on the internet, 130 anywhere?

-MAN: 122.

-122! He's bloomin' awkward again!

-Good on you!

-122, thank you so much, John. I'll see you later, 122...

What are you doing, sir? Are you waving, or...? 125. Thank you, sir.

125. 130, John. 125, I have in the room. 130 on the internet.

-No!

-135, I'll oblige. No?

All done at £130...

-Fair enough.

-Yeah, they spotted it.

-Yeah, yeah...

-They spotted it.

Hey, Paul certainly knows what he's doing.

An astounding result.

Just looking in my rear-view mirror...

No, I can't see you!

You wait, you wait!

Don't get too cocky there, Paul. Come on, Claire.

The miniature gardening tools are the last lot of the day.

-I'm going to have to start you at £25.

-That's a bit disappointing.

Straight in, 30. Thank you, sir.

35, 40, 45. 50. No?

-45 with the lady at the back.

-I think they might...

-I know! Come on!

50, 55. 60, 65. 70. 65 at the back.

Are we done at £65?

-Hang on... Oh. Bid, bid.

-It's a gorgeous little lot.

Hello. 70. 75, 80.

85. 90. 95. 100.

-110. 120. 130. 140.

-I don't know, it looks like smart trade.

-You're shaking your head the wrong way, sir.

-You've made good money.

Yes, 140, he's in.

-140.

-Oh, nice.

-150. No?

All done at £140...

Hey, a rocketing profit, Claire. Phenomenal work.

-Off to the weighing room?

-I'm with you, come on!

A close-run race there. Who on earth will clinch victory today?

Claire began leg three with £334, and after auction costs,

made an excellent profit of £132.84,

giving Claire a delicious £466.84 to begin the penultimate leg.

For the third leg,

Paul began with £434.80

and made a corker of a profit of £177.10.

The Laidlaw continues with his victorious streak.

He has £611.90 for the fourth leg.

Nice one, Cyril.

-What an auction!

-It was good, wasn't it?

-What?!

-Yeah!

-A clean sweep.

See you soon, road trippers.

Next time on the Antiques Road Trip...

..Paul and Claire get the giggles.

What's new?

HE LAUGHS IN A SINISTER MANNER

-LAUGHING:

-Yeah!

Crikey, Moses!