Episode 7 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!

Whey-hey!

It's leg two of this week's adventure for top auctioneers

Charles Hanson and James Braxton.

Where are we? Fife?

We are north of the Fife of Forfar, is that right?

Forfar 4, East 55.

Yeah! No, we are north of the Firth of Forfar.

I think you will find it is the Firth of Forth, old bean!

While geography clearly isn't Charles' strong point,

thankfully, sniffing out hidden antique treasures is.

Give me a high five. Thanks a lot.

His rival on this road trip is his old mate, James.

Risks equal rewards, or sometimes abject failure.

Well, taking a risk proved profitable for James on the last leg.

After starting with £200,

some good results at auction saw him finish with £260.34.

Brilliant!

Charles also kicked off with £200 and he, too, pulled in a profit,

pushing him into the lead with £266.40.

Hardly a sheet of Bronco between them.

Hah! On this trip, our boys are travelling in a forerunner of the modern Audi,

a 1964 DKW 1000 Coupe.

It was manufactured before seat belts were mandatory. Got it?

I think the way to do a Scottish accent is always speak very low.

Low!

And very guttural.

It's a very manly, manly...

Aye, you're right, laddie!

After beginning their epic trip in the Highlands,

Charles and James are journeying all over Bonnie Scotland,

taking in the North East and Central Belt before finishing over the border in Berwick-upon-Tweed.

This leg will kick-off in Inverkeithing

before ending up in Dundee for auction.

Inverkeithing has ancient origins which some claim go back over 1,900 years,

so hopefully, there will be lots of really old antiques on offer

at Charles's first shop.

I can't see any antiques sign, James.

-New beds and...

-antique furniture.

There we are! That's a green light to you, Charles.

Yes, a green light. Go, go, go.

Have a good day!

It's a new day. Bye!

Charles has arrived at the Inverkeithing Bargain Centre.

-Good morning.

-Good morning.

-How are you?

-I'm fine.

-And you?

-I'm Charles Hanson, good to see you.

What an amazingly big antiques centre.

It certainly is, yes. Plenty for you to look at.

And there's some antiques and collectables.

Will Gail have a hidden gem for Charles to uncover?

You live and dream that that piece of Faberge will wink at you.

Or that lost Rembrandt will smile at you.

Dreaming big, eh?

I like it. But what tickles your fancy, then?

I like the old cannon ball down here on the bottom shelf.

And often, when you see these early cannonballs,

you hope on the back of the card,

there might be some indication as to where it was found.

Has this cannonball got some romantic, Scottish history?

Sometimes, it's that romance behind an object which creates a sentiment

and an emotion which can suddenly give it extra ammunition at auction.

Time for a closer look.

I love social history, Gail,

and just on the bottom shelf here is a cannonball.

I think if I was ever to go to a gym, rather than a dumbbell,

I would rather use an old antique cannonball and really feel the history

whilst doing some good for my weightlifting as well.

-Yeah.

-Now, what's its history?

Well, the trader actually bought it from a gentleman at a fair in

-Ingleson.

-Yes.

He said at the time, when he asked where it was from,

he was told that it was found in Stirling.

Whether it could be connected to Bannockburn, we're not too sure.

It might not be that old but it's a lovely find, nonetheless.

It's priced, Gail, at a fairly heavy £25.

Uh-huh.

So, what would you like to offer me?

Well, I like it, Gail.

I think it's full of Scottish history and I would like to offer,

if it met your approval, £15.

Yes, Charles, I would give it to you for £15.

-Would you really?

-Yes, certainly.

Well, Gail, you know what?

Us Fifers aren't that bad!

I'll take it, Gail. Thanks ever so.

I'll leave it on the settee for the time being.

I'll carry on wandering and I'm delighted.

No messing about here, then.

£15 buys Charles the Scottish cannonball.

Right, anything else catch your beady eye, old boy?

It's quite a pretty little...

little what you might call octagonal fluted dish.

And here's a galleon, beautifully enamelled,

with these billowing sails

on this gorgeous oily lustre ground.

I love how the seagulls are picked out.

What's nice is you have the original label from the manufacturer

and that's Crown Devon and Crown Devon were renowned in the 1930s

for creating these iridescent oily lustre glazes.

Yeah. Ticket price is £14.

Will Gail be open for another deal?

Seeing as you're such a charmer...

Get out of here! I'm no Bonnie Prince.

How much would you like to offer on the plate?

Give me your biggest and best price

and at least then, you call that shot.

-Right.

-And be as kind as you would like to be.

So, what if we do it for £12.50?

Would you do it for £10?

Oh, well, seeing as it's you!

You smoothie, Charles!

That's two lots bought in his first shop.

Great stuff!

-Take care.

-Bye, Charlie.

-Bye-bye. See you.

-Bye-bye.

-Oops!

-Show off!

I play cricket. Can you tell?

James, meanwhile, has motored ten minutes up the coast to Aberdour.

This picturesque seaside town is home to James' first shop,

Blake's Vintage and Collectables.

It looks nice.

Hello!

JAMES LAUGHS

Hello, James, welcome.

-I'm Debbie.

-Hello, Debbie, James.

-Welcome to my shop.

-Oh, thank you very much indeed.

I like your suitcase outside.

It's a very stylish open sign.

-Thank you. I have a thing about suitcases and telephones.

-What, travel?

As well as suitcases and telephones,

there's plenty of vintage goodies and antiques on offer, too.

Now, OK, so, I'm after smallish things, probably.

-OK.

-Silvery things.

So have you got any silver?

I think I've got silver ashtrays here.

Ooh, looks like you're in luck, James.

-I think that's...

-As in a silver case.

-That's got a good weight to it, hasn't it?

-Yeah.

God, the old eyes are deteriorating, Debbie, isn't it?

-Do you wear glasses?

-I have about seven pairs of glasses,

because I can't be without my glasses.

HE LAUGHS

And then I've got about 15 pairs of sunglasses.

15? I didn't realise Scotland was so sunny!

It's funny, isn't it, cigarette cases,

they saved many lives in world wars, didn't they?

People used to have their cigarette cases there.

There's quite a few cases where bullets...they've saved themselves from a bullet.

It's probably about 1920s, I would have thought.

Do you know, I haven't sold a cigarette case for years.

Because, of course, they went out...

and nobody's really found a workable application for them.

But it's quite a nice one. Let's have a think about that.

-OK.

-It's only the first thing I've seen, Debbie, isn't it?

-Yes.

Debbie's silver cigarette case is priced at £38.

One to think about.

Anything else?

These are lovely.

Yeah. So, abalone.

So rather like mother of pearl.

Just slightly more oily, aren't they?

They've got a richer look to them.

So, opera glasses.

-Yeah.

-You know, like all opera glasses, they don't actually work, do they?

Moving on, then.

I think I'm slightly too big for this shop.

HE LAUGHS

I think I might need this.

I spotted something and as all the best hagglers do,

you do need the fez to get you in the mood. OK?

So I'll wear this - I'll wear this for the big haggle.

Brace yourself, Debbie!

Oh, James! You do suit that.

-Do I?

-You look very, very...

Now this is in preparation...

Casablanca!

Watch out, this is in preparation for a major haggle.

I like, Debbie, the cigarette case.

-Right.

-What can we do on this?

This...a bit of damage, but, you know, essentially,

it's all there. But I've got to take it to auction.

Go on, make my day. How about 15, Debbie?

So what have we got it for again?

-We've got it for...

-No clues, no clues.

38.

-No clues.

-15.

We'll do 15, we'll do 12.

-12?

-Come on, give me a kiss.

-What happened there?

-Thank you!

That's very kind. Thank you.

Just like that.

Well, that fez worked wonders and

James is off to a flying start with a huge £26 discount.

Well done, that man.

In the meanwhile, Charles has made his way to Falkland.

This picturesque village

became Scotland's first conservation area in 1970.

A wonderful part of the world.

Charles has arrived at the violin shop, with over £240 in his pocket.

Not, I hope, for a violin, though.

-How are you?

-Bob Beveridge is the name.

I'm Charles Hanson.

Well, welcome to the ancient and historic Royal Borough of Falkland.

It's so beautiful.

There's such character here.

And Bob, you have character.

-Oh, thank you.

-Full of flamboyance.

-Full of flair.

-Aye, he's trying to get stuff cheap, eh?!

He's onto you, Charles!

Right. Bob's shop is jam-packed with great antiques.

Let the hunt begin.

There's got to be something, Bob, that jumps out at me.

Just over there, that piece of stained glass.

That's not for sale, it's part of the building.

Oh, is it, I'm sorry!

Oh, dear. Thankfully,

it looks like Charles has spotted something that he CAN buy.

We are going to Dundee.

It's got all these lovely old etchings of Dundee in it.

And I've never handled such a large book.

Aha. It's a lovely, limited edition

on Dundee with a hefty ticket price of £300.

Look at this. Limited edition,

this is number 118

of 357 copies.

We've got a date here of 1895.

Dundee, Its Quaint And Historic Buildings by AC Lamb.

-I'm going to Dundee.

-Right.

If I put this in my car and it broke my suspension,

I might have to bring it back!

Just out of interest,

what would be your best price on this book on Dundee?

Well, I'm going to tell you what I'd give you it for.

I'd give you it for my purchasing price and I bought it for £200.

-Oh, don't say that.

-And I would let it go at that.

It could do very well.

But it's almost all my money tied up in one investment.

Oh, you've got deep breeches, you people from England.

No, I wish I did.

-Aye, aye!

-The Road Trip is only in first gear at the moment.

I'm far from day five or Friday and fifth, I've got a long way to go.

So the book's set aside to be mulled over.

Anything else grab you?

How much is that, Bob?

I could do that for about £80.

Yeah. Actually, Bob, it says £60 down there.

The price tag says 60, Bob says 80.

I like your style!

I can see we're going to have some trouble squeezing some money

out of your pockets!

No, I'm not spendthrifty, it's just as you say.

I believe the art of buying antiques is to buy with a love and buying

with love is when you feel the heart flutter

because it's something a bit special.

And it looks like there's one object in particular that's giving

Charles that fluttery feeling.

The book on Dundee.

-Best price?

-I bought it with other books.

I've since sold the other books at a profit.

So while I would be selling it to you for much less than my original

asking price, I could still let it go for £150

and that would be the absolute minimum on it.

That's half price. Charles?

For £150,

..I'm tempted to shake your hand and say...I shall learn from this.

Is that a deal, then? It is indeed.

And with that very generous discount from Bob,

Charles has bagged himself the book.

-Bravo.

-See you, Bob!

-Bye!

-All the best to you. All the best.

James, meanwhile, is still in Aberdour.

Back during World War I,

this small fishing town was home to a top secret Naval Research Station

set up to discover a way to defeat Germany U-boats set to attack the

British Navy. James has come to

Hawkcraig Cottage to meet local historian

and author Diana Maxwell to find out more.

Diana, why are we here, next door to the sea?

Well, we're here because

in the First World War, between 1915 and 1918,

this was a hub of activity.

The U-boat had become a very severe threat to Britain.

That's the German submarine, isn't it?

Yes, that's right. It was actually shooting down one in three of the

merchant fleet and the Germans were

boasting that they were actually going to defeat Britain that way.

So they had to find a way of detecting U-boats.

The U-boats were not only sinking British warships,

they were also attacking the Merchant Navy.

It was feared Britain would become starved of food and materials.

The Government had to do something and fast.

There was a very clever chap called Cyril Ryan.

He was in the Navy and then left to work with Marconi

and he was called up because he was working with wireless radio...

-Yeah.

-..inventions and he had

invented a microphone that could detect sound underwater.

Situated on the Firth of Forth,

the Government chose Hawkcraig Point

in the sleepy village of Aberdour

as the ideal location for Captain Ryan and his crack team

of naval and public scientists to set up a base.

It was here that some of the best brains in Britain developed the

hydrophone, an underwater listening device that would change the course

-of the war.

-It looked a little bit like a bedpan,

but it was in a waterproof container.

-OK.

-And it had two...

erm, diaphragms, that's the way it worked.

When a sound wave hit the diaphragms,

they would vibrate and they would be

changed into an electrical signal

that would go to a chap that was

listening and he would be able to detect the noise.

With all vessels making different noises,

like the difference between a car and a motorbike,

they were able to determine whether

they were listening to friend or foe up to four miles away.

The sound wave travels across water very well?

Well, it travels across water very well,

but it travels even better UNDERWATER.

They worked out here it travelled

4½ times faster underwater than over water,

which they hadn't known about before.

All of the British Marine fleets

were fitted with these hydrophones.

Eventually, they were able to detect boats at 12 miles.

And did that happen quite rapidly?

-Very rapidly.

-The technology, yeah.

Because they had all of the Chief scientists of the day

-here working on it.

-Was the hydrophone successful?

Yes, it was very successful.

They proved to pick up at least 54 U-boats,

so that saved a lot of lives.

-Yeah.

-It was responsible for sinking four U-boats.

-Really?

-Yes. You know,

I grew up in Aberdour knowing people that were alive at that time.

Nobody mentioned what was going on.

-Really?

-They just didn't mention anything about it.

Of course, they'd signed the Secrecy Act.

-I see.

-They wouldn't talk about it.

Well, as we know, Diana, loose talk costs lives, don't we?

Major technological advances were achieved

at the top-secret base at Hawkcraig.

But it will forever be remembered for the crucial work done with

the hydrophone, which made such an impact

on Britain's fight against the German U-boats.

And so ends a busy day for our boys.

Night-night, chaps.

It's a new day and our experts are up and at 'em early.

I look at you and I feel like this morning, you're the baddie in that hat, and I'm the goodie.

Do you think so?

-You look the baddie.

-I am the villain.

But you do, you look a baddie.

Are you intimidated by my villainous bearing?

I am!

So far, Charles has secured himself three lots.

The Scottish cannonball,

a crown Devon maritime dish

and the late 19th-century rare book about Dundee.

He still has £91.40 in his pocket.

James has only bought the silver cigarette case so far,

leaving him a huge £248.34 available to spend today.

This morning, our esteemed auctioneers

have made their way to Abernyte in Perthshire.

They've decided to start the day with a spot of shopping together

at the Scottish Antiques And Arts Centre.

Here we are, James. Look at the size of this antique shop.

Well done, look at this. I know. It's amazing, isn't it?

Right, first one in.

I almost feel like you're the king and I'm your chauffeur, James.

First one to the market.

With a huge selection of antiques and collectables,

there's plenty on offer for both our experts.

Breathe in the antique!

-Hello.

-Look at it.

-Gordon Bennett!

-I know. It just goes on, doesn't it?

-It's big!

-I think I'll go that way,

you go that way and I might see you halfway around?

-OK.

-Do you agree?

-Do you think so?

-Yeah, I think so.

-OK.

-Dig deep.

-For the cause. Good luck, good luck to you.

May the best man win.

And they're off.

I've never been, I think, in all my time

on the Antiques Road Trip in such a massive antiques centre.

It's almost tactics, how do you play,

how do you work a big antiques centre?

And the way you work it is to either run and panic,

or zone in and keep calm.

Come on then, chaps.

This is the sort of stand that you might find a bargain on.

This is quite nice. This has a real French, rustic feel.

There's nice stuff all over the place.

Even in a shop this size, they're still stumbling over one another.

Why have you been drawn to this stand, Charles?

I heard your voice!

LAUGHTER

I heard your voice and business.

Have you bought anything yet, James?

-No. Have you?

-Don't you find it's quite odd how when you're in such a

massive centre, you just can't actually...

Focus.

And what you're doing, Charles,

is you're listening out for my dulcet tones, aren't you?

-Yes, I am.

-You're slightly panicky - is he onto something?

It's the patter of your feet

and I just like to follow your lead sometimes!

Enough of that, back to the task in hand, please.

I quite like this object in here, actually.

-What's that, what's that?

-There's a very nice...

-I'm not talking to you about it!

-Which object is that?

I like the little antique toleware candlestick.

-Oh, that's got age, hasn't it?

-On original base, yeah.

-That's got history.

-Can you do me a favour?

-Speak to the lady and get me a key for this cabinet, please, James?

-No.

-Please.

-No.

-Can you be my agent?

-Will you go and speak to the lady for a key?

-Oh, no,

that's aiding and abetting.

I don't want to improve your chance of success here.

Without the help of James,

Charles manages to get his hands on the toleware candlestick

for a closer inspection.

I think it has had some minor restoration.

You can see some scratching around the almost nozzle of the base.

It just has a wonderful feel of age

and I do believe that when we look at antiques, we need to be cautious.

Has it been made up?

And I believe the base does belong to this section.

It's late 18th, early 19th century

and it just has a favourable look for, I hope,

that rustic Dundee home and at £45,

I don't think it's bad value.

-Talk about overselling your item!

-Listen, I'm upright.

Talk about overselling an item, come on.

Just believe in passion.

Close your eyes and imagine you are back in time with this.

Are you going to buy it? Are you going to buy it?!

Lights out!

Lights out, all-out, mate.

Charles has one lot he likes.

What about you, James?

Right...

I spotted this out of the corner of my eye.

It's rather fun, isn't it? It is exactly what it says on the cover.

It's table billiards.

So this is the transformation of your...

..dining room table, or your kitchen table,

into billiard table.

So what you do is this will be the edge of the table.

You'd attach your pockets like that.

It looks as though it has absolutely everything here, bar the cues.

We've got lots of balls here.

Rather nice.

I like that.

-It's fun.

-Ticket price is £49.

Time to find dealer Margaret.

What could that be, Margaret?

-Make my day.

-The best price on that would be 44.

44?

Margaret, thank you, I'll take it.

-That's very kind. Well done.

-No, delighted.

-Done.

-And just like that, the deal's done.

Top notch.

Charles, meanwhile, is with dealer Martin

checking out more candlesticks, brass ones this time.

What I like about these sticks is you can see how, over the years,

through fairly honest, loving polishing...

..we've got holes in the actual cast stick, just on here.

Look at that split there.

And you can see my finger right through, can't you?

Yeah.

Of course, let's not forget, these are probably almost 300 years old.

So with the ticket price of £45

on the brass candlesticks and another 45

for the toleware one, is there a deal to be done?

If they were on their own, you know, I'd be saying...

45, I'd be saying probably best price on that would be 42.

-Yeah.

-Probably the same there, that's 45.

That's 90.

The best price that we would

probably be able to do on that would be...

..80 for the two.

I love them, Martin, and I'm burning inside to buy them,

-so I'm very happy to pay you £80 for them.

-OK, right.

Those two lots mean Charles has almost blown his entire budget

and is all shopped up.

So, he's having the afternoon off and taking the scenic route to the

ancient town of St Andrews on the east coast of Fife.

He's come to the University of St Andrew's

Bell Pettigrew Museum of Natural History - try and say that quickly -

to find out all about its namesake,

Professor James Bell Pettigrew.

He was a renowned surgeon,

anatomist and naturalist

who developed a passion for human-powered flight.

Charles is meeting Pettigrew researcher, Bianca Packer.

Great names.

Bianca, who was this man, James Bell Pettigrew?

He was a medicine man.

But while he was studying at Edinburgh and Glasgow University,

he showed a keen interest in natural history and I think he kind of kept

that interest throughout his life.

So while he was studying the heart in particular,

he was also studying animals and he was watching them move.

In particular, flight, I think

because he was interested in being one of the first men to achieve

controlled flight. It hadn't been achieved by the time we were getting

to the end of the 19th century,

and the race was becoming quite intense.

An expert in animal locomotion,

Pettigrew believed the natural world would reveal the secret to

achieving successful human flight.

He came up with a figure-of-eight theory that he's largely credited with discovering.

There are a couple of people around the same time who were also

looking at this theory and he was supposedly the first to publish

on it, so he's able to claim ownership over that.

How is the figure of eight, how is that...

-to do with flying?

-Well, I can show you a little illustration here.

-Yes.

-If you have a look here, you can see that birds...

Well, birds do this, don't they?

Not quite. They actually do two shapes.

They do a forward loop and a backward loop.

And together, they make a figure of eight.

So I think the best way to describe it is coming down...

-Yes?

-..and around...

-Yes.

-..and back again.

-So down...

-So down, and that's my eight.

-Round?

-Down and round and back again.

-Wow.

-And the reason why that's very important is because

when their wing goes up, it creates a bit of a current

while it goes up, and the other side of the wing

forms a sort of kite, and when the wing

has the downward stroke, it creates a current again

and the other side of the wing becomes the kite.

So Pettigrew described this as birds flying on a whirlwind

of their own making. Which was quite a nice idea.

So it's a very efficient way of flying.

-Was this his book?

-That's correct.

-Wow!

Published in 1873, this book was supposedly

the book that the Wright brothers read when they

were doing their early research in animal locomotion.

It's believed this book helped inspire Wilbur and Orville Wright,

the famous American brothers who are considered the fathers

of modern aviation.

We do hear in some of the resources that they corresponded,

but it's not quite sure exactly on what,

and I think perhaps during that race for the skies

there was a lot of communication between rivals,

and ultimately, I think he did have an impact

on their early research, and it's really interesting

because almost everybody was looking at birds at that time.

-This was 1873?

-Correct.

How long later did he then come up with maybe a contraption

to fly in or to fly with?

Well, we speculate between 1900 and 1903,

which is just before the Wrights had their successful flight,

that he gave it a shot himself.

He built something that we would call an ornithopter today,

and if we look here, we can see

it's quite an expanse, and the reason why is he was

quite determined that by having such a long wing expanse

it wouldn't need to flap as quickly,

and the reason for this is he had, witnessed how hawks and eagles fly

and they didn't have to flap their wings very often to achieve flight.

So he felt that the larger wing expanse here

would maybe be suitable.

Although there are no official records,

legend has it that Pettigrew flew the machine

down a slope in St Andrews for a distance of 60 feet before crashing,

with the then 70-year-old professor

breaking his hip in the accident.

He felt that having a rigid, fixed plane wingspan

was not the answer for flight, and unfortunately, we know today

with the planes that we have that that IS the most successful way

to achieve human flight.

So, I don't think that he was successful,

but I think his idea was really interesting,

because he was looking for something efficient designed by nature.

Shortly after Pettigrew's unsuccessful and painful flight,

the Wright brothers went on to achieve the first

powered, sustained and controlled flight of an aeroplane in 1903.

James Bell Pettigrew died in 1908,

but his research on animal locomotion

and his passion for flight is not forgotten.

I think he showed us how keen attention to detail

and looking at these animals very closely

could reveal secrets that even today if we look at

aeronautics and how things are developing,

and our race for the skies continues onwards and upwards into space,

that there's still many secrets to behold

in the natural world around us.

Bianca, it's been wonderful to see how this great man, Bell Pettigrew,

achieved what he did.

I've really enjoyed it and thank you for an education.

James still has some serious shopping to do,

so he's made his way to Rait in Perthshire.

He's come to Rait Antiques Centre.

There is an eclectic mix of antiques and vintage items,

and James still has over £200 available to spend.

Dundee - our next stop.

Hang on, hee-hee, it's another copy of Charles' so-called rare book.

Oh, dear!

What does it say here?

Right, James, with dealer David at your side, what can you find?

That's got a good top, hasn't it?

-Hmm, is it a marble top?

-Yeah.

-Chinese.

Got a simplified look about it, hasn't it?

We've got some Chinese character marks on it.

The only problem is it's got a slight crack through it.

The dealer who owns this rosewood table is asking £150. Wow!

That is going out on a limb, isn't it?

150 for that.

David, it would be helpful if you, you know,

if I could get it nearer the hundred, but, you know,

it's worth a call, isn't it?

Yeah, sure is, it's Chinese.

What's he said then?

Tony would accept 100 on it because

-he needs to clear his stock.

-Oh, well done.

-I think I'll buy it.

-Excellent.

-Thank you very much indeed.

-Good.

-Thank you.

Cor, with £50 knocked off,

James has picked up the marble topped Jia Juan Li table.

Right, what's next?

This is quite fun, isn't it?

I remember no home was without a cradle, wasn't it?

Everybody had a cradle on their landing.

I believe this is a Scottish one and you can imagine sitting in a chair

using your foot to rock the cradle.

It's rather nice, isn't it?

What's the best that could be?

The price is on it at the moment.

It's on at 95.

Is that the sort of thing that could be sort of 40 or 50?

50 would be possible.

-50 would be...

-It's certainly possible, yeah.

We've also got this and I don't know if that would make a lot with it?

It's a child's woven cradle,

and the two perhaps would make a lot together.

This one's only on at £18, but...

Are you offering to throw that in then, David?

An extra tenner would be fine.

CHUCKLING: Nice try, Braxton.

Would you do that one for £4?

-So making 54?

-Yes, we would.

-You would?

-Yes, that would...

-OK, go on, I'll buy that.

-Thank you very much.

-For the two.

-That's super.

Another kind discount and another lot bought.

But it doesn't look like James is done just yet.

What are these woods here?

They look rather nice. Are they anything to do with you?

No, they're not, but they are beautiful.

They're lignum vitae.

Beautiful condition, actually.

-Bowling balls.

-"G.O. McKay of Edinburgh."

They're beautiful objects, aren't they?

The dealer has a ticket price of £69 on these bowls.

I haven't got £69. I HAVE got 50.

Do you think they might do 50?

I think it's very close to the mark.

Would you like me to contact them and ask?

My only tolerance is 34p above 50.

£50.34 is your...

JAMES LAUGHS

I'll go and see if that... I think...

I'm willing to give them the 34p!

Another quick call and David's back.

-What news, David?

-You're in luck. £50.50 will do it.

I haven't got 50p, I've got 34.

-That will do fine.

-Good.

Phew!

I'd hate 16p to be the breaking point!

With every last penny spent, James walks away with the table,

the two rocking cradles, the set of woods,

which he adds to his earlier purchases -

the silver cigarette case and the Victorian table billiards set,

giving him a total of five lots to take to auction.

Charles has also bought five lots.

The Scottish cannonball,

the Crown Devon Maritime dish,

the late 19th-century rare book on Dundee -

well, they say "rare" -

the pair of brass candlesticks and the toleware candlestick.

He's spent a total of £255.

So, what do they think of each other's lots?

Not a lot, I suspect.

My great dapper man, and he is dapper,

he's bought a really interesting, dapper array of objects.

I love his Chinese table.

That really has potential Eastern promise to create worldwide news

and could be the headliner at the auction.

Charles has steamed in with the big tactical buy,

a very large Bible of Dundee.

Some great plates in there.

£150, it's good, fresh condition, who knows?

Love his cigarette case.

It was inexpensive, it was heavy, it was solid silver.

Fantastic gauge.

If it doesn't make £50, I'll be very, very surprised.

Early candlesticks used to make big money, but they're... No more.

I don't know, would I swap or not? I think I'll stick with mine.

There's no time to change.

James has been reunited with Charles and they're now en route

to auction in the city of Dundee.

The place with the rare books.

-James, hold tight. We are going over the River Tay Bridge...

-Tay.

Look at this.

Today's auction will take place at Curr & Dewar Auctioneers

in the heart of the city,

where they know about rare books.

-What a beautiful day.

-What could go wrong?

Exactly. Exactly.

What could possibly go wrong?

Sometimes do you feel, James, a city's on your side?

Do you feel Dundee will be right for us?

Hmm, Charles is hopeful. Could be to do with rare books.

But what will the man with the gavel today, auctioneer Stephen Dewar,

think of our experts' lots?

Well, one of the lots today is a Lamb's Dundee,

as they call them locally, a big leatherbound book

of Dundee properties and Dundee as the old city.

They usually sell quite well.

They're quite collectable in the local area.

The rocking cradle's quite nice.

It's nicely painted.

Value-wise, I would be looking at around 50 to £80 on the cradle.

The room's filling up and the boys are seated and raring to go.

You know, I think we could be smiling

-on our departure from Dundee.

-Really?

-If we get lucky.

Yeah, well, time will soon tell - as we're off.

First up are James' two rocking cradles.

-30?

-30!

-30 is bid.

-Oh, hello!

I have £30, front left, £30.

A bid anywhere? I have £30.

35. 40. 45. 50.

-Wow.

-£50 is front.

£50 front right, at 50 and selling, all done?

Ah, that's a shame, but it's only a little loss.

Unlucky. Doesn't matter.

It's...

It's a start.

That it is, Charles.

Up next, your brass candlesticks.

£60 now. Opening bidder, at £60...

-Are you sure?

-Come on!

-On commission at £60.

-On commission!

-Are you sure now?

-There's legs in them, there's legs.

-There's legs, there's legs!

-Last chance, first bidder, first price.

-Thank you.

-Cor, cheap enough.

A maiden bid there sees Charles kick off with a profit.

One small Dundee step.

Right, James, you're playing catch up with your lignum vitae woods.

Commission starts me at £20.

-Oh, God.

-Need to move.

-I have £20, a set of four woods at £20.

Any advance now at £20?

All done then?

Another maiden bid, but this time producing a loss.

You bought with your heart,

you bought with passion, and those balls were cheap,

-and that's life and that's...

-That's life, isn't it?

Charles' next lot is up now.

Will his toleware candlestick attract much attention?

15 bid. £15 it is now.

Oh, £15, I thought 50!

Come on! That's too cheap.

At 15, any advance at 15?

25. £25.

Any advance at £25?

-Surely one more.

-All done then?

Agh, they're certainly proving a tough crowd here today. Bad luck.

I don't believe it.

That's... Now, that's what I call a result.

Hello? Is anyone here?

Don't get too smug, James.

Your pricey purchase it up next.

The Jia Juan Li marble-topped table.

At 75. 80. Five. 90. Five.

100. Five. 110.

-Good man.

-110 with the porter.

-Any advance at 110? Are you all done?

-It's a loss.

-At £110...

-Come on, come on.

Oh, James. After auction house costs,

that will be another small loss.

-£10 loss.

-Doesn't matter, though.

It was worth a gamble.

Time now to find out if the Scottish cannonball

will make Charles a profit.

I'll open it up at £30 on commission.

-Come on.

-At £30, two commission buyers.

-35. 40.

-Surely one more.

Five. 50. Five.

-Come on!

-Commission buyer's at 55.

-Any more?

-60 anywhere?

-Any more?

-At £55, any advance at 55?

Well done.

Fantastic profit there for Charles, well done.

Thank you, Scotland.

I'll come again.

How will the crowd take to James' table billiard set?

£25 is bid.

At £25 there , for a lot, at £25.

-Good lad.

-30. Five.

-40.

-40.

-Five.

-40 on my right.

At £40, any advance at 40?

Are you bidding? At £40 on my right, very last chance.

Needs one more for profit. One more, come on.

-At £40, 45.

-Well done, sir.

-50. £50 on my right.

-That's good.

-Well done. Profit.

-£50, all done then at 50.

-Good man.

I'm selling... Thank you.

That's more like it.

-Well done. That's good.

-I got away with it.

That's good. You know, chin down, bit of that.

-Slightly washing the face.

-Bit of that.

Next up, it's Charles's Crown Devon dish. Ooh-arr!.

£20 for it.

-10?

-Oh, I say.

-Ten is the wave.

-Come on.

-15, ma'am?

20. Five. 30. Five.

-£35.

-Come on.

-At 35 now, any advance at £35?

-Are you bidding?

-I'm stuck in my chair.

At 35....

Nicely done. Good news for Charles.

-Happy?

-I'm not happy. You may be happy.

Will James' final lot, his silver cigarette case,

put a smile on his face?

At £20. Five. 30. Five.

-40. Five.

-40...five.

There you go, told you - £45 for it.

-Almost.

-There you go.

£50 at the bed, at £50.

Any advance at £50?

-That's amazing, James.

-Better, isn't it?

-£50...

Now, you HAVE to be pleased with that.

-That's a good margin.

-That was my first purchase and my last sale.

And that gives you a nice big step forward.

Right, time to get serious, Charles. It's the biggie.

Your 19th century limited edition book on Dundee.

At £80 it is for Lamb's Dundee.

-Let's go.

-£80.

-Let's go.

-Come on, let's go!

-110, 120...

-Let's go!

-..130, 140...

-Come on!

-..150, 160...

-Come on!

-Fantastic!

-..170. I'm out now.

170 is there.

-Anybody else in?

-Surely.

£170...

It was a risky punt, and it's paid off. Marvellous.

Shall we hit the road?

Good to go, jacket on?

I think we should go, yeah.

Auction done, it's time to talk figures.

James started this leg with £260.34.

Unfortunately, he made a little loss of £30.74 after auction costs.

But this still leaves him with a healthy £229.60.

Oh, yes.

Charles began with £266.40 and he managed to make a profit,

gaining £27.90 after auction costs, giving him £294.30,

which means he wins again and goes into the next leg in the lead.

-How do you feel?

-Battered, both battered and bruised.

I truly feel you were unlucky today.

Do you? And you were lucky of course.

-Exactly.

-Smelling of roses again.

Name of the game, James.

-Hold tight, James.

-OK.

-Give our great friends a wave.

A royal wave from Dundee.

Tootle pip, road trippers.

Bye!

Next time, the Scottish road trip continues...

Bless you. ..as the boys hunt down top antiques and each other.

JAMES LAUGHS

Charles, you great berk.

THEY LAUGH