Episode 9 Antiques Road Trip

It's the nation's favourite antiques experts with £200 each...

I want something shiny.

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

-I like a rummage.

-I can't resist.

The aim? To make the biggest profit at auction

but it's no mean feat.

Why do I always do this to myself?

-There'll be worthy winners...

-Give us a kiss.

-..and valiant losers.

-Come on, stick 'em up.

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

-Onwards and upwards.

-..or the slow road to disaster?

-Take me home.

This is Antiques Road Trip.

Yeah.

Time flies when you're having rip-roaring fun.

It's the fourth outing

of the Road Trip for Mark Stacey and Christina Trevanion.

I'm like Samson. My strength's gone. My hair's been cut off.

-Did you meet Delilah?

-Mm.

# Why, why, why, Delilah? #

-You do sing! You're singing!

-Not necessarily a good thing.

Dealer Mark began his career at a prestigious London auction house,

don't you know? Same as me.

And auctioneer Christina is a hot-to-trot specialist

in jewellery and silver.

-# Mama mia

-Here we go again

-# My, my

-How can I resist you?

-Just how much I missed you. #

-Oh!

-Well, I know the words, at least.

-# Mama mia... #

More's the pity!

From her original £200,

Christina has £294.60 safely stashed in her sparkly purse.

Excellent work.

Mark also started out with £200.

He's our current leader by a teeny whisker.

He has £309.30.

This is proving to be a close-run race.

And look! We've an upgraded version of their classic car -

a plush Alfa Romeo Spider. Dead flash!

-Maybe we should call it Maroon 5, the car.

-That's a pop group.

-Yeah, who was the singer of Maroon 5?

-Are you asking me?

-Yes.

I stopped at Abba!

-CHRISTINA LAUGHS

-Goodness.

Do you know something? I think she's amused.

Christina and Mark began in West Sussex, God's Country,

jollied their way north as far as Merseyside

and have auctioned in Cheshire and Gloucestershire.

They will conclude the adventure in Bolton, Greater Manchester.

Today, the West Midlands town of Brierley Hill is our first stop

and we'll auction in Heaton Mersey in Stockport.

This morning, our pair of antiquers will share a shop.

Hope it's big enough. Best behaviour, please, girls and boys.

-It looks like a big fire engine, doesn't it?

-Does it?

-Oh, there's a wedding dress!

-Oh, Christina, will you?

-We can get married.

-Let's do some shopping first, shall we?

-Ooh.

-Oh, hello.

-Hello, hi. Christina.

-Hi, I'm Tony.

-Tony, nice to meet you.

Hi, I'm Mark, nice to see you.

Niceties concluded,

we should be able to keep out of each other's way in here.

-Oh, my God, that's huge!

-Gosh, it is big.

-Oh, fantastic!

-Oh, my goodness!

-It's slightly cooler in here, isn't it?

-It's wonderful.

-I think I might go down that way.

-OK, crack on.

-See you later.

-See you later.

-Thank you, Tony.

-Leaving Christina with Tony, so stand by.

-That's pretty cool.

-What's that?

-It's a Chinese dragon. It's still in working order.

-Can we get it down?

-Course we can. Do you want it down?

-Yes, please.

Actually, what's the price tag on it, cos I have limited funds?

He's got £300 on it. Do you want me to give him a ring first before?

-I haven't got £300.

-I understand. I'll give him a ring then.

-All right.

-OK.

-Awesome. Thanks, Tony.

Do you know, I said that this time I would go not wild and wacky

and a bit crazy but how often do you see a Chinese dragon for sale?

-Not often.

-It would be really quite cool. Oh, here he comes.

-I've just spoken to him and the least he'll go to is £150.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Half price?

-Half price, yes.

-Oh!

Now for a better look at this oriental treasure.

I love a workshop. Can I come and have a rummage?

-Of course, of course.

-He looks even better from here, actually.

-It looks a little bit dusty though, Tony.

-I'll clean him off.

No, original dust. Leave it like that. So, this is his body here?

-Yeah, that's the body.

-OK, that's interesting. Ooh, that's lovely!

-It's in a bad state of repair but...

-That is gorgeous.

So, it's in a bad state of... Where is it...? Oh, I see.

The strap's gone and it needs the handle stitching back together.

-Oh, I see. Is that why it's up here?

-Yeah, this is the workshop area.

I like that. I really like that.

OK, all right. What do you think?

Let's leave Christina to nosy in Tony's man cave. What's Mark up to?

This looks unusual.

That's a weird picture, isn't it?

That could be me and Christina and, for once,

I'm speaking and she's quiet.

-Cheeky!

-It's a really weird picture.

It looks like, from the style of it and from the frame,

it's probably painted in the '60s or something.

And it has got what might be initials. I don't know.

Dared if I take it off the wall and see if there's anything underneath.

-Shall I have a go?

-Yeah!

-I'll try.

-Don't tell anybody if I break anything.

-Mum's the work.

Ooh, it's quite heavy, actually.

Oh... No. Oh, gosh.

Whoever's selling it clearly doesn't know much about it either

because the ticket just says £100.

Well, it appears to be in the style of the Northern School

and works by popular artists in the North

attract big money, but this is no Lowry.

If it's the right artist, it could be worth...

..more than £100. If it's not, it isn't.

But I don't know. It just rather attracts me.

We'll leave Mark to ruminate then. Let's get back to the man cave.

-What's that?

-We had it out of a barn. It's a display trolley.

They used it for weddings and for fetes and things

in a local village and they were going to break it up

-and put it on a bonfire.

-What?!

I said, "No, I'll find a use for that."

And we brought it in here.

-That looks like an old market trader's barrow, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

When in one piece, a barrow looks a bit like this.

The style harks back to Victorian street markets.

-What have you got on that?

-£45. I've got the top. It's here.

Have you got the top? Right, OK. And that sort of matches this...

It's a got a great distressed look about it, hasn't it?

And that matches, obviously, the base there.

-And how much have you got on your bag?

-£30.

If you just look really, really carefully on the top there,

that says "LFT, Lieutenant".

-Lieutenant.

-Yeah, that's a British flight, isn't it?

This could be a real find.

Fans of militaria would certainly be attracted

to this rare Second World War RAF flight lieutenant's holdall.

Now, back to Mark. Has he made his mind up?

I see he's managed to nab Tony from Christina's clutches.

Now, I don't know why, but I rather like this picture.

I like things that are original and haven't been touched

and this hasn't been touched.

I'm not terribly keen on the price of £100, I have to tell you,

cos I don't know the artist.

It could be worth thousands, it could be worth ten quid.

Tony kindly calls the vendor for their best price.

Where's your socks, Mark?

-Ah, Tony, you have news.

-Yes, yes.

What's the best price they can do?

-The best they can do is £80.

-£80!

-Gosh, is that a good buy, do you think?

-I think so, yes.

-Well, you are slightly biased, of course.

-Well, there is that.

-But I really like it, so I think I'm going to buy it for £80.

-OK.

Cos I think it's got a chance. There we are. That's £80 there.

-OK, thank you.

-Thank you very much, Tony.

-OK.

-See you shortly.

Well, paintings are always a tricky area.

This looks like a case of Mark backing a dealer's hunch.

One deal down for him and well done.

Christina's still interested in a gaggle of goodies up the stairs.

Is she any closer to buying something?

-Do you think I'd be a good Chinese dragon?

-Crikey Moses, that's scary!

-Yeah, you would.

-I'm not sure I would.

-I think he's got an eye missing.

-Aye-aye.

-It looks like it.

-He's a one-eyed dragon. Well...

-Ooh!

-Maybe that's lucky.

Just made a hole in the roof!

The dragon is the highlight of the Chinese New Year celebrations.

It's believed a longer costume will bring greater luck.

-If you take that.

-OK.

Gosh, what a fantastic thing!

Oh, my goodness!

This one must be VERY lucky. It's enormous!

-That's a long dragon, isn't it?

-It is, it is.

-Proper street dragon, isn't it?

-Yeah! You can just see him moving.

-That's awesome! OK, so, we were saying...

-£150.

OK, all right, £150 for the dragon.

-How much for the bag?

-£20?

-And then how much did we say for the...?

-£45.

-Really?

-What do you think?

-Go on, £30.

That's a grand total of £200. Christina, it's decision time.

Can we say £180 for the lot?

-Go on then, yeah.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-Are you happy at that?

-Yes, I am, more than happy.

-£180?

-OK, yeah.

-It's a deal.

-OK, thank you very much.

-Thank you. My goodness. I just bought a dragon.

That you have. Blimey!

£150 for the dragon,

£20 for the World War II holdall

and £10 for the display barrow.

-Are you having a rest?

-You deserve a sit-down after that, love.

-Have you bought much?

-Yeah.

-Have you?

-Yeah.

You haven't been spending anything?

I said I wasn't going to buy quirky or weird or wacky

-and I wasn't going to spend much money.

-Did you say that?

-Yeah.

-And you have?

-Yeah.

-Oh, well.

-I've done every single one.

-Crumbs! That's the shopping finished in here.

-Bye.

While Christina sports her new headgear... What a player, eh?

..let's jump in the Spider with Mark.

-GEARS CRUNCH

-Ooh, gosh.

Would help if I got the right gear.

Mind you, it's nice to have this car.

I love the colour and leather seats. They're spoiling us.

We certainly are.

Mark's travelled to the city of Birmingham.

Victorian mourning jewellery is something we regularly come across

on the Road Trip, so Mark is going to find out why death

was such a lavish affair in the 19th century.

Newman Brothers were one of the many companies

cashing in on the pomp and ceremony of a grand Victorian send-off.

Now a time capsule museum,

Mark is meeting with collections manager

of the Coffin Works, Sarah Hayes.

First stop is the stamp room.

This part of the building closely resembles its Victorian past.

-You can smell the history.

-Wow, this is amazing.

Now, the stamp room, I presume,

was for doing the little bits on the coffin, the nameplates and things.

Exactly. So, the breastplates, the ornaments,

anything decorative that was metal, was made in here,

that then went on the outside of the coffin.

But, looking around here,

-this would have all been expensive, wouldn't it?

-Very expensive.

So, Newman Brothers were suppliers to the top end of the market,

-middle-class, upper-class funerals.

-Right.

They eventually started to branch out and produce tin-plate,

lower-end products to your sort of more working-class people

but, yeah, you get everything here.

Certainly do! Cornelius, the resident drop stamper,

is going to operate the mighty 19th-century drop forge.

It's a tribute to the early Victorian engineers.

Each of these hammers has done well over a million blows each

-and they would do it again easily.

-Gosh!

MACHINERY SQUEALS LOUDLY

-Oh, gosh.

-Cover your ears.

-People were working in this?

-Yeah, 12 hours a day, as Cornelius said.

Seven o'clock in the morning, seven o'clock in the evening.

-MACHINERY SQUEALS

-But they just got on with it.

-There you go.

-Thank you, Cornelius. And there it is. "RIP".

Very appropriate. The Victorian funeral was an expensive thing.

It was part of the ritual of society, wasn't it?

The middle and upper classes, it was for them to show,

"Look at my wealth.

"I was important in life, I'm also important in death."

But for your lower-class, your working-class people,

it was the fear of being erased from society

and having a pauper's funeral that drove them forward.

Actually, quite a few people must have got

into quite severe debt doing all this.

Yeah, and that's why the burial clubs came about

because you'd put a penny in a week, you'd pay for your family and you,

you'd go into debt for it almost,

so you had a good funeral at the end of it,

but you might leave your family without any money.

So, it made no sense, but it was this obsession with a good death.

In some of the upper-class funerals, there was quite a lot of pomp,

-wasn't there, lots of mourners and things?

-Oh, yes.

What did they get up to, do you know?

Well, if you were a solicitor,

you'd have four horses pulling the cortege, the funeral hearse.

You'd have feathers atop the bridles on the horses,

you'd have mourners or mutes behind,

people paid to grieve on your behalf.

One floor up and the warehouse used to be full of workers

boxing all the finished products.

Wow, and they're all full and unwrapped?

All full and unwrapped, yeah.

On here, my favourite piece, which really demonstrates

almost the demise of the Victorian funeral and the change in attitudes

-is that this is a Victorian breastplate.

-Wow!

-It's big.

You can see it's big. They liked their bling.

Your name would go on here, who you were, when you died.

-The most important part on the coffin, goes on the top.

-Yes.

But look, today, this is a nameplate. It does the same thing.

-Yeah.

-But we fear death today, so much so that's it's small.

We don't want to embrace it as the Victorians did.

In the Victorian period,

there was a uniform for the living when they were in mourning as well.

-Yes, there was.

-So, we know Queen Victoria was...

We do, and she started that, didn't she, with the death of Prince Albert

-in 1861?

-She did, and she never came out of mourning, did she?

No, she didn't. She liked her black and white.

I think, actually, a lot of people, after a while,

got a bit fed up of it and started adding colours to the black.

At over 100 years old, the Newman Brothers' factory illustrates

Victorian Britain's macabre obsession with death

and that providing a funeral of the utmost extravagance

was the ultimate wish of both the rich and the poor.

Meanwhile, Christina has travelled to the town of Solihull

in the West Midlands.

Let's have a nose in here. Looks lovely!

Ooh.

-Hello.

-Oh, hello.

-Hi, Christina, how are you?

-Hi, very well, thank you.

-Who are you?

-Paul Burrows.

-Very nice to meet you, Paul.

-Lovely to meet you too.

-My goodness,

this is a small but perfectly formed little shop, isn't it?

Well, you could say that.

-Let's see what she can root out.

-Oh, that's cute!

That's really cute!

It's silver-plated rather than silver but it's got marks on it.

It's quite misleading, isn't it? Cos you would think that it IS silver.

-Yeah.

-AJZ is by people called A & J Zimmerman.

-Oh, yes.

So, Birmingham makers who made silver as well

and registered the same mark.

Founded by Arthur and John Zimmerman, in 1889,

this well-known Birmingham silversmiths specialised

in small items of silver and plate.

This could be a goody, particularly if you like your bubby egg.

-How much is that?

-£25.

-I really like that.

-I really like that. That's great fun.

-Good.

Love that. OK, add that to my pile.

-Well, maybe we could start a pile.

-Start.

THEY LAUGH

-Brilliant.

-Now she's started, there's no stopping the girl.

What's that? Oh, your telephone.

Cos you've got a pile of stuff going on underneath there.

-What's going on there?

-This is my laziness of not putting things out.

-Oh.

-But it's...

-It just needs rewiring really and putting back to good use.

-Oh.

-So, is it for sale?

-Paul's priced it at £10.

The reason I am actually quite liking this

is cos my granny used to have one in green.

It reminds of being a child, sitting on the stairs at my granny's house.

My granny always used to answer the phone...

-IN TELEPHONE VOICE:

-"Worlingham, 3991". You'd say, "Hello, Granny."

-And she went...

-IN USUAL VOICE:

-"Oh, hello, love!"

Ha-ha, you might get in trouble with your granny for that, Christina!

What could you do me for a black telephone and an eggcup,

for the two? Best price, very best price.

£30.

-OK, brilliant. £30.

-Done.

-I'm a happy bunny.

£20 for the Edwardian eggcup and £10 for the vintage telephone.

Christina is certainly buying for Britain today.

I think it's time for a rest, don't you? So, nighty-night.

What a glorious morning!

Our pair are ready to rock and roll for another day in paradise.

I'll be Parker to your Lady Penelope.

CHRISTINA LAUGHS

Yes, milady.

"Bring round the Spider", doesn't have quite such an effect.

-"Bring round the Spider."

-CHRISTINA LAUGHS

-Yes, milady.

-They're in another world, those two.

Let's remind ourselves of what they've bought thus far.

Christina has travelled down the wacky route once more.

She has the Chinese dragon costume,

the Second World War holdall,

the display barrow,

the Edwardian eggcup

and the vintage telephone.

-She's quite a spending machine.

-Hi.

She has £84.60 left to spend.

Mark is the yin to Christina's yang.

Our current leader has only one item - the 1960s painting -

which means his wallet overfloweth.

He's got £229.30 for the day ahead and that's a lot.

-Are you all right, dear?

-ENGINE REVS

-Have you tried putting it in gear?

-GEARS CRUNCH

Ah, you just need to be smoother with the handling of the gearstick.

Yeah, all right! Who's driving?

-Mr Backseat.

-You tell him, Christina.

Next stop for Mark

is the Warwickshire town of Henley-in-Arden.

And good mate that she is, Christina is dropping him off.

-Oh, this looks lovely.

-This does look good.

-I like that sign there.

-What's that?

-I'll be straight in there.

-Yeah.

-I'm excited about this.

-Yeah, can I come too?

-In a word, no.

-Oh, thanks.

-Thanks.

-So kind.

-Charming!

-Have fun.

-Have a good day, bye.

-Bye.

The Vintage Barn is certainly vintage.

Looks like a tin shed to me.

-Hello, I'm Mark.

-Hello, I'm Sarah.

-This is a lovely spot.

-It's great to be here.

-Thank you very much.

-How long have you been here?

-Just over two years now.

-Fantastic.

-Hello, I'm Mark.

-Steve.

And Mark manages to gain permission to enter the out-of-bounds area.

Wow, this is great, isn't it?

This is the sort of place where the dealers will have unrestored things

and maybe things they've just bought

and they haven't had chance to put in the shop yet.

These are for your garden. If I just bring one out.

You can stick it in.

It's a sunflower but they're made of horseshoes.

I don't think they're terribly old,

but I like the fact that somebody's used something

you would normally throw away, and created a bit of fun.

You can see those in a child's garden or something. Makes me smile.

I quite like them.

But are they worth £20 each?

We DO like to see you smile, Mark. He's got a lot of buying to do.

Ah, lucky charm, eh, Mark?

Oh.

That's rather fun. It's quite cool.

It's difficult to date these sort of things.

It could be made as little as 20 years ago or something.

What I quite like is, looking at the quality aspect,

whoever has made this has put little wooden dowels in there

and you can see they're different colour wood,

so, to me, that gives it a little sign of quality.

But as we're going to a sort of general sale

which has sort of interior and vintage buyers,

that actually could be quite a nice item.

The other thing, actually, it's priced quite reasonably. £25.

So, if we could get a bit off that,

I think that might be something for the auction.

Stand by, Sarah, here comes Mark.

Now, Sarah, what do you think the best price would be for me?

-I could do it for £20.

-I think you've got a deal.

-Can you keep that to one side?

-Yes, certainly.

-Cos I'm still looking, but that's a sale for £20.

-OK.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

While Mark continues his quest for buying goodies,

Christina has travelled to the village of Hatton in Warwickshire.

The Stables Antique Centre opened 15 years ago

and is home to a gaggle of dealers selling their wares.

Christina still has £84.60 left to spend.

This is an interesting little vignette over there. Look at these.

I've got a bit of a thing about telephones at the moment, haven't I?

I bought a telephone yesterday. But look at this!

How unbelievably...dreadfully kitsch is that?

I love it!

Oh, my God, I love it!

I mean, that's kind of 1960s, 1970s, gone crazy.

£29. I'd have that. I think that's amazing.

Bob's in command today. Watch out, here she comes! Bob's the job.

-Hi, Bob.

-Hi, you found something?

-Well, I think so.

I'm not entirely sure. Do you know anything about this?

Well, um, it looks as though it's been...

It's been rewired, hasn't it?

Rewired so, in theory, that should work.

-Would you have that at home?

-Probably not me, no.

-It's quite kitsch, isn't it?

-Yeah, it is, yeah.

Now, tell me. It's got £29 on it. What could be your best price?

-What about £20?

-Hmm, it needs to be better than that.

-£15.

-Is that your very best?

That would have to be my very best, yeah.

-OK, £15, Bob.

-Lovely.

-You've got a deal.

-OK.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-Exciting!

-My Lady Penelope phone.

-Yeah.

-Right, Bob, there you go.

She's certainly tickled pink with that buy.

Back to Mark, still in Henley-in-Arden,

and Steve's got something interesting.

-There you go.

-Oh, wow!

-Gosh!

-There's more.

-Oh, there's more?

Where did these come from?

-They came from a house clearance in Birmingham.

-Wow!

And they were in the garden on top of a cat's grave.

These are referred to as Green Men, these sort of masks.

I see them on nameplates...

It's a sort of old pagan type god of the woods, if I remember rightly.

The Green Man motif has been around for centuries

and is found in the architecture of churches all over the world.

If Mark's hunch is right, this could be a lucky find.

Will I be lucky with the price though?

-Make me an offer.

-Oh, gosh.

I think, for that, I'd want to pay about £40.

-What do you think?

-I think we could go to £50.

But I still quite like those sunflowers that I saw earlier on.

-Mm-hmm.

-They're just rather quirky. If I did £50 on this...

-Yes.

..could I be really cheeky with the sunflowers

and say a tenner each, or £40 for the four?

-What do you think?

-I think so. I think we could do that.

-Can we do that?

-I think so.

-Are you sure?

-Yes, I'm OK with that.

So, we've got a deal.

So, I've bought this, the truck and the sunflowers.

-How much is that in total? £90...£110.

-Yes.

-Is that right?

Thank you, Sarah and Steve.

Mark's got the wooden van for £20,

the metal sunflowers for £40

and the unusual Green Man stone mask for £50.

It's not just Christina who's buying wacky.

The West Midlands town of Solihull

is where Christina is bound once more.

Well, if my geography serves me right -

and it doesn't very often, but it might today -

I think around here is one of the birthplaces

of a very, very special member of my family.

So, it would be very remiss of me

not to pop in and see if there's anyone about.

Who could this much-loved member of Christina's family be?

Well, Gilbert, the Series I Land Rover, of course,

bought by Christina's grandfather in 1951.

Gilbert is still very much alive and revving to this day.

Oh, look at Christina as a little one. What a sweetheart, eh?

It makes sense, therefore, that Christina visits the site

where this beloved star of British engineering

was created and developed.

Christina is meeting with retired engineer Roger Crathorne

to find out why this design trailblazer remained

a firm favourite for over six decades.

Well, I'm actually in complete heaven,

I have to be perfectly honest with you, Roger.

I've been a Land Rover driver all my life, all my life.

What is it about the Series 1 that has made it such a British icon?

Well, I think it's a British icon because of what happened

immediately after the Second World War.

Maurice Wilks had a very successful business

with his brother, Spencer Wilks, before the war,

manufacturing saloon cars.

The problem was there wasn't enough material available

to start production up again, building Rover saloon cars.

In 1947, Maurice conceived the idea

of a groundbreaking four-wheel drive vehicle

that used the surplus aircraft aluminium

that was readily available.

Maurice's US army jeep was the inspiration

for the prototype design.

He was saying to his brother, "Look, this is rusting away.

"Some of the mechanical parts need replacing.

"I can't get these spare parts.

"Wouldn't it be a good idea if we, the Rover company,

"made a four-wheel drive version of this vehicle?"

So, how did they go about actually developing

the actual design of the Land Rover?

Initially, Maurice was having discussions

on the beach at Anglesey at Red Wharf Bay with his brother, Spencer,

and he actually sketched with a stick in the sand

-and said, "Look, this is what we could do."

-Really?

-Is that honestly what he did?

-Absolutely, yeah.

-Fantastic!

The need was for this design to help rebuild

not only the flagging motor industry, but also the country.

The prototypes were sent on a special expedition.

There was an initiative from the government

to say that farming needed to get back into action quite quickly.

In fact, the Rover company sent

several of its pre-production vehicles out to Kenya

to help with this farming initiative.

The East African mission was a great success.

With a workforce of 4,000,

Rover was well-set to exploit the demand for this radical new vehicle.

It was the lower centre of gravity,

it was the aluminium body that made it a success,

but there are other things like four-speed gearbox,

permanent four-wheel drive, when it was first launched.

In 1948, the Series 1 Land Rover was launched

at the Amsterdam Motor Show.

It was very quickly, after that show,

that quite a few of the militaries around the world

took a lot of interest, including the British MoD,

who ordered just under 2,000 vehicles initially.

Wow, that's a good order to get.

And this vehicle we're leaning on now is one of those vehicles

that they ordered which very quickly went into military service.

But it was interesting that not only

were the military using the vehicles,

the farmers quickly started to use them

and once the farmers' wives realised

it was quite a comfortable vehicle to drive around in,

as well as the farmer himself,

-it very quickly became a leisure vehicle.

-Yeah.

-And, as we all know, Land Rovers are great tow vehicles.

-Yeah.

And, of course, towing caravans, boats and trailers became the norm.

Funny you should say about towing things,

cos I'm a very proud owner of a Series 1, 1951, called Gilbert.

This is the first photograph that we've got of him.

And the Land Rover was bought for my granny, who's still around.

Granny is now 106, and my grandfather bought our dear Gilbert

for her when they first were on the farm.

-That's fabulous that you've had it in the family that long.

-Yeah.

And that's Christina's daddy and grandfather, sitting beside Gilbert.

From a sketch in the sand,

this beloved four-by-four has sustained global success and renown,

an iconic brand, loved even by our darling Queen,

a testament to Maurice Wilks' design brilliance.

In the meanwhile, Mark has travelled to the village of Balsall Common.

Oh, he's enjoying himself.

There are over 20 dealers selling in Antiques In An Old Barn.

Mark should be spoiled for choice here.

God, what are these?

These are pressed card and they're French, I think.

But there's quite a little collection of them

and they're all of classical subjects.

They were dated to the sort of early part of the 20th century, I suppose.

Almost like a sort of decorative wallpaper, I suppose.

You could mount them on the wall.

Well, I suppose so.

They imitate the style of classical marble reliefs

and might create interest at auction.

Diane is the lady in charge. Let's talk dough.

I found these rather fun French sort of pressed cardboard panels.

I mean, they're probably about 1900 or so, I would have thought.

I would think so, yeah.

Now, they're priced up at £8 each or seven for £50.

Right, what are you thinking of?

Well, I was thinking about £30,

because they are a little bit worn in places, but I do love them.

(I don't know.) What about if I said £35? That's £5 apiece.

-That's a really good discount.

-It is a good discount, isn't it? £35.

-Shall we shake on it?

-Yeah.

-£35. Thank you very much indeed.

-OK, thank you.

-I like those.

-And me. I love them.

I bought them from France. I bought them back from France.

-I think they're lovely.

-They are lovely.

-Yeah.

-IMITATING VENDOR'S MIDLANDS ACCENT:

-They are luvly.

Mark, just stick to your own accent! That would be "luvly".

Mark adds the collection of French panels

to the rest of his antiques booty -

the oil painting, the wooden van,

the large sunflowers

and the Green man stone mask, which makes five lots.

Mark has spent £225 exactly.

Christina also has a total of five lots -

the Chinese dragon costume,

the Second World war holdall,

the display barrow,

the lot of vintage telephones

and the Edwardian eggcup.

And, would you believe it, Christina has also spent £225 on the nose.

Right then, my old loves, thoughts on one another's collections?

He's gone a bit playful, hasn't he?

He's bought toys, he's bought stuff for the garden,

he's bought fun things. He's got his mojo back.

He's been...Christina-ed.

How can I call it politely, the sort of car thing, the display thing?

It's quite nice, it's quirky and in the right sale,

quirky sells very well.

I have to be honest. I think the sun may have got to his head slightly.

Those horseshow sunflowers are interesting, an interesting choice.

Do they have any antique merit? No.

I adore the Chinese parade dragon, but £150? I'm not sure.

I've never seen one and it's one of those things,

will you find another one?

So, it could well surprise us at the auction.

The Heaton Mersey suburb of Stockport

is our auction destination.

You are looking very...like you're on a school trip.

-Well, you're looking very... Yes.

-What does that mean?

-I don't know.

When I first saw you this morning,

I thought the employment had changed or something.

You look, you look very nine to five.

# Working nine to five

-# What a way to make a living. #

-God!

He's very jolly this morning.

-Right, come on then, Christina.

-Right.

-Let the excitement begin.

-Let the excitement begin.

-Are you excited?

I'm very excited, very excited.

Although, I am actually very nervous about my dragon.

Founded in 1826, Capes Dunn are hosting

our Road Trippers' auction today.

Commander of the saleroom is Caroline Lane.

What do you think of the colourful selection from Christina and Mark?

The dragon costume is really interesting and fun.

It's great and vibrant. It's a different, interesting piece.

I think the star lot is probably going to be the stone gargoyle mask.

Natural aging and weathering, which the buyers always like,

so, I think, hopefully, that should do really well today.

Thanks, Caroline. The auction is about to begin

and we're live for internet bidding also.

-DOOR SLAMS

-Ooh.

-Ooh.

-Sorry. That's what you call making an entrance.

-It is, isn't it?

-Trust you.

-We're here, Christina, and everybody knows it.

I think that happens wherever you go, Mark.

First up, it's your '60s oil painting.

Bid's with me at 20. 25, thank you.

At £25, I'm bid now. At £25 for the painting.

-Oh, my God.

-Any more?

-Gosh.

At £25, I'm bid. If you're all sure, I'm selling at 25.

-I think I'll just go home.

-Hot off the news.

A thumping blow for Mark's gamble buy. Bad luck.

Anyway, it's a good start to the day, isn't it?

I think it can only get better.

Oh, blimey. It's the big dragon now.

-Will it bring great fortune?

-Good luck.

And who will bid me £20 for this?

£20, I'm bid. Thank you, sir. At £20, I'm bid now.

-And 5. 30.

-Here we go.

And 5. 40.

At £40 standing. And 5, new place.

-There we are.

-50. And 5. 60.

-It's got a long way to go.

-At £70.

A maiden bidder at 70. And 5.

80. And 5.

90. And 5.

100. 110. 120.

-130.

-It is. I told you not to worry.

-160.

-Yep.

-£160 now.

Any more? If you're all sure, I'm selling at £160.

-It could have been a lot worse.

-It could have been a lot worse.

-Who bought it?

-I don't know, but I hate them.

CHRISTINA LAUGHS

Just ignore him, Christina.

Your risky purchase gave you a small something back.

I'm thrilled for you.

Mark's weighty little van is next.

And the bid is with me at £20 now.

-Well, I've got my money back.

-Bid's with me at £20.

If you're all sure, the bid is with me at 20.

25 now. 30 with me.

With me still. And I'm selling at 30.

-Ta-da!

-It's a small profit, isn't it?

It is and you need all you can get to challenge Christina.

-I wouldn't say it roared into profit, but it spluttered.

-Limped.

The very interesting Second World War holdall from Christina is next.

I have a bid with me at just £10 now. Bid's with me at just 10.

15 now. Right at the back at £15.

At 15, I'm bid. And 20.

-5. 30.

-Here we go.

-And 5.

-At £35, standing right at the back.

-Come on, it's worth more than this.

The bid's at £35. Any more?

-Come on!

-If you're all sure, I'm selling at 35.

-Come on!

It didn't quite take off,

but Christina is being consistent with steady profits. Well done.

-It's a profit, you know.

-It's a profit. I'll take it, I'll take it.

You've got to in this game.

Mark's horseshoe sunflowers are next.

They make me smile, you know. They really make me smile.

-Any interest at 10? 10 I have. Thank you, sir.

-I think they're good.

£10, I'm bid. 12.

-15. 18. At £18, I'm bid.

-Look at this.

-Don't know why SHE'S smiling.

-Any advance?

If you're all sure, I'm selling at 18.

Uh-oh! I don't think they'll make Mark smile now.

I love those glasses. I just keep thinking of you as a newsreader.

And the news today...

She'd be good. Oh, breaking news. Christina's telephones are next.

£10 for these. 10, I have, thank you.

15. At £15 with the gentleman now.

At £15, I'm bid. 20 now.

And 5. 30.

-CHRISTINA GASPS

-At £30, I have. The bid's at 30 now.

-There we are, you see.

-Ha, ha, ha.

-What did I say?

-Selling at 30.

A teeny, tiny profit,

but still keeping you very much in the lead, Christina.

Honestly, it's this much between us.

-It's a hair's breadth.

-It's a hair's breadth.

Yeah, right(!) It's the cardboard panels from Mark next.

And the bid is with me at £40 now.

-Ooh.

-Bid's with me at 40.

-Bid is with me at £40.

-Come on!

At £40, I'm bid. And 5. 50.

-Bid is with me still, at £50.

-How many are there?

-Seven.

With me at 50.

If you're all sure, I'm selling to the absentee bidder at 50.

-Come on!

-Come on, come on, come on.

Not quite what you wanted, Mark, but you need all the profit you can get.

-Well done, you.

-So, at least I haven't made a loss on them.

Christina's silver-plated eggcup is next.

-Bid is with me at just £5.

-There are no silver buyers here.

Any advance for the silver-plated...?

Thank you, sir. £10, I'm bid. At 10, in the room now.

-£10 for the eggcup.

-Put the gavel down, dear.

-Any advance? Seems cheap.

-Put the gavel down.

-If you're all sure, I'm selling it at just 10.

-Put the gavel down.

-15 now.

-Oh!

-Yay!

-20.

-Put the gavel down!

-I'm selling at 20.

Despite a break-even, you are still very much in the lead, Christina.

-Oh, it broke even.

-Ah! Not a double-yolker, though.

-It wasn't a double-yolker, no.

-Sadly.

I think just hard-boiled. It's Christina's barrow next,

the one that was destined for the bonfire.

I think plywood's making a comeback.

-Any interest at 30? I have, thank you, sir.

-£10 profit. £20 profit!

40. And 5. 50.

-There we are.

-And 5. 60. And 5.

70. And 5. 80. And 5. 90.

And 5. 100.

-110.

-Good Lord!

-120. 130.

-£130, I'm bid.

-Why?

-I have no idea.

-£130, I'm bid now.

-I've no idea.

At £130. Any more? If you're all sure, I'm selling at £130.

-Right, can I go?

-No, stay here and hold my hand.

My goodness, Christina, what a whopper of a profit! Well done.

Well, I'm flabbergasted, I'm really flabbergasted.

You're not the only one.

Mark's Green Man stone mask is the final lot.

Can he bring some much-needed luck?

Come on, positive thinking, the power of positive thought.

Well, I'm hoping maybe the internet might bid on it.

I have interest and the bid is with me at £50. Bid's with me at 50.

I think I've got back my money.

5. 60. 5, and I'm out now.

At £65. And 70.

-5. 80.

-CHRISTINA WHISPERS INAUDIBLY

-Your faith is restored.

-100. And 10.

-120. 130.

-All right, you can stop now.

-140.

-150. 160.

-Come on!

-170.

180. 190. 200.

And 20. 240. Thank you anyway.

At £240, I'm bid.

At £240 for the gargoyle. Any more?

-260.

-260, back in. Go on, one more!

-I

-may as well go now!

At £260, if we're all sure. I'm selling at 260.

Yay! Look at that smile back again!

I think I might have covered my losses.

My goodness, what a way to end. A truly magnificent result, Mark.

-It's been great, hasn't it? Come here.

-It has.

Gosh, he's all happy now. Let's tot up the sums, eh?

Christina began with £294.60.

After all auction costs, she's made a profit of £82.50.

Christina carries forward £377.10 for next time.

Mark set off with £309.30

and has a profit of £89.06.

Mark has clinched victory, just.

He has £398.36 for the final Road Trip.

-Wow-ee!

-What happened?

-I don't know.

-What just happened?

Go! Waaa!

Onwards and upwards, Road Trippers.

Next time on the Antiques Road Trip, Mark enters unknown territory.

I might get in, but will I get out again?

And Christina dabbles in property.

Who would have thought that a rabbit

would want to live in a traditional barrel-top caravan?