Episode 12 Antiques Road Trip

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

-What a job.

-..with £200 each...

-Are you with me?

-..a classic car...

-Buckle up.

-..and a goal - to scour Britain for antiques.

Ooh! Sorry.

Ha-ha!

The aim? To make the biggest profit at auction.

But it's no mean feat.

-There will be worthy winners...

-Yes!

..and valiant losers.

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

Have a good trip.

This is the Antiques Road Trip.

Yeah!

Prepare yourself - it's the second helping of our road trip thrills

with Margie Cooper and Paul Laidlaw.

I'm fizzing with excitement.

Here we are again.

How are you feeling?

I'm fine. Fresh and ready.

Excited.

That's the spirit, Margie girl.

How often do you make a bad purchase?

Uh...

I'll tell you after the auction.

It ain't easy, this.

You're telling me. On this trip,

manly, hirsute Paul discovers a softer, feminine side. Uh-oh.

You may be surprised Mr Militaria goes and buys

two items for the ladies.

And Margie has a dilemma.

Is anybody going to want it?

And for what would they want it for?

Good question. How about Paul when he was a wee bairn?

I wanted to be a punk, but...

-You told me once you were a Goth.

-I was slightly Goth.

I cannot believe you were a Goth.

It can't be proven. All the photographs were found and destroyed.

That's what he says.

From her original £200,

Margie now has £210.60.

Paul started with the same budget

but has increased it to a lovely £288.40.

We have the super-cute Morris Minor 1000 convertible.

A classic.

It's quite a nice little car, this.

It is. Bit hipstery, arguably.

-Do you reckon?

-Is there any hipsterism in your life, Margie?

No. Strictly conventional.

Always have been.

Okey-dokey.

Our pair's road trip kicked off in Hemswell Cliff in Lincolnshire.

They'll gallop around Yorkshire, take a spin around the Midlands,

before concluding in Shrewsbury in Shropshire.

Today, our adventure begins in the spectacular city of York.

We conclude with the Darlington auction in County Durham.

Nobody should say we don't cover the land.

-Heading to York.

-Heading to the wonderful city of York.

Fabulous history.

-Absolutely.

-I think of the Civil War when I think of York.

Oh, here we go!

Can we have five minutes without you and your flipping civil war?

Oh, dear.

Nowhere says medieval quite like York.

From the Minster to the Shambles, history is around every corner.

Righty-oh, then, let's get stuck in to a good bit of shopping.

Here we go.

I thought you were going to park on a rug!

Standards, Margie. From henceforth, we only park on rugs.

Blimey, we've created a monster.

-Have a good one. See you later.

-See you.

Fully Furnished is a warehouse stuffed to capacity

with all things imaginable. Stock's even spilling out on to the street.

Look at that lot.

What a joy! Look at that.

Look at this. A good piece of furniture, legged furniture,

should have a vitality.

That's John Bull. That's not a chair, that's John Bull.

He's got tension. Do you get that?

That little chair could run off.

If you say so.

Right, let the methodical sifting begin.

All furniture, which is great. I love my period furniture.

But you've got to work really hard

to get me to take a piece to auction.

Let's leave him to it and find Margie.

That's Mr Laidlaw, plus beard...

..dropped off at the shop. But he's ahead of me and I'm just hoping that

the shop I'm going to is going to be good for me.

Margie's shopping at a different antique emporium, also in York.

There are 50 dealers selling goodies in here.

Can you guess what it's called?

-Good morning.

-Hello.

Hi. Welcome to the Red House.

-Got it?

-I'm Stephen.

-It all looks brilliant.

-Good, good.

-I'm going to look round.

-Have a good look around.

Let the mooching begin.

Hello, who's she?

Wow.

It's everywhere.

It's a shop, Margie.

And there's more.

We'll leave Margie to browse.

I wonder if Paul has had any luck now he's found dealer Dominic?

I'll tell you what, this is a blast.

It's not obviously me, but...

a wee powder compact.

What? 1950s American powder compact.

20 quid doesn't sound crazy money.

Model is the wee package to go,

tied, wax sealed and stamped.

That's a blast, but...

Can that be cheap?

It's not a fiver, is it?

Well, as the sun's shining, why not?

OK. Well, that's probably sold,

but what's that?

In that box of costume jewellery, there's another powder compact.

-One for the ladies.

-Love hearts.

"Enessa, made in England." Frankly, I'm none the wiser for that.

'40s, maybe?

Who knows?

Are these a fiver apiece? Going rate?

Yeah, go on. Why not?

I think we'll do that. That's done, yeah?

Bit of white metal.

Gosh, this is a cabinet that just keeps giving.

Georgian sugar tongs at 12 quid

doesn't sound crazy either, by the way.

They're priced to sell.

That said...

they're about as yesterday's news as they get.

And what's that? A wee continental...

..strainer... That's Roman, isn't it?

Italian silver.

All the money and some.

Is there a deal to be done on the pair?

Hit me with it, Paul.

If that was... 12 became 10,

but if I buy the pair, could that be 15, so 25 the lot?

-Yeah, let's have a deal.

-Yeah?

-Let's have a deal.

Well, that happened in the blink of an eye.

-Certainly did.

-Thanks very much.

-Brilliant. I'll have a wee rummage,

I'll come back and sort you for these.

Came out of nowhere, that.

Now, what did we buy?

Well, you may be surprised

Mr Militaria goes and buys two items for the ladies!

No fortunes being made here, but profit, and that's what I want.

-Ha-ha!

-Me hearties!

So that haul of goodies consists of the rather lovely ladies' compacts,

the silver sugar tongs and silver tea strainer for a total of £35.

Back to Margie in the lovely Red House. Got it?

I've seen something down here that doesn't have a price.

So ever the optimist...

..I'll have a look. This looks all right.

That's pretty.

I think it's bronze.

Obviously, one of a pair, I should think.

She looks as though she's going to sing or something, doesn't she?

A bit of age to it.

It's probably early 20th century, so it's probably 1910-1920.

Bit of weight. It's quite attractive.

Hmm. I wonder how much it's going to be, though?

How much are you going to be?

Bronze is often gilt to give this decorative and attractive effect.

Let's get Stephen over. Stephen?

There's no price on it.

I've only just brought that over.

-Good.

-I would do £65 on that.

Any easing on that?

A tiny little chip there.

Let me think.

-I'd do it for £40.

-Right, OK...

-£40.

-OK.

-Is that a deal?

I think she'll stand a small profit at £40.

-Good. Good.

-Thanks, Stephen.

-Thank you.

I think she's happy with that little purchase.

Her first of this trip. Well done, Marge.

In the meanwhile, Paul has travelled

to the North Yorkshire village of Elvington.

He's come to the Yorkshire Air Museum,

formerly RAF Elvington,

a World War II airfield extensively used by Allied bomber crews.

Paul is meeting with museum director Ian Reid

to learn about one of the most

important figures in the history of aeronautics, Sir George Cayley.

I just walked in past a host of iconic 20th century aircraft.

But I believe you're going to take me beyond that, to the 18th century.

Absolutely. To this man here, Sir George Cayley,

A Yorkshireman who lived very near here,

but whose inventions changed the world.

From prosthetic limbs to tracked vehicles,

Sir George Cayley was a brilliant inventor in the 18th century,

but it was his fascination with flight

that would prove to be his biggest gift to the world.

He was the first person that

actually designed and put an aircraft construction together.

He did experiments in lift, in drag,

all the things that are required to produce modern aviation.

The Montgolfier brothers' ascent skywards

in the first hot-air balloon in 1783

fuelled the imagination of the nine-year-old Sir George

and is said to have sparked a lifelong obsession with aeronautics.

In the early 19th century, Cayley began a series of experiments

that would result in his large gliding machine taking flight.

This is an exact replica.

So here it is, the governable parachute.

There's more than a touch of the Jules Verne about it,

but it predates Jules Verne.

Absolutely, yes. You can see the streamlined shape.

It's almost like a boat.

It's got a tail on it.

It's all done on the lightest possible fabrics

that there were in the early 19th century.

Cayley established the modern configuration of an aeroplane

as a fixed-wing flying machine.

So, I take it some, er...

daring, or crazy fool is rolled down a hill in this?

Yes. It was one of Sir George's footmen who was

deigned, if you like, to fly it.

"Yes, m'lud." And he flew down Brompton Vale

and was the first adult to fly an aeroplane.

He did crash. It's quite heavy and it would come down with a thump.

But this was a triumph.

And in the mid-'70s, the museum built this replica

which managed to become successfully airborne -

all testament to Cayley's detailed design.

Interestingly, there's a thing called wing warping on it.

One of the wires is connected to the very extremities of the wing,

so if you pull it down, it will actually steer.

This was the beginning of man's control of the skies.

Nothing like this had been done before.

Cayley was very much a modern man

and he knew that the materials he was using

were really too heavy, and the way to fly it was to have an engine.

So he actually designed a propeller

and he experimented with engines that ran on gunpowder

and things like this. But they would be cast-iron-based and

far too heavy for a shape like this.

He foresees

-what we now know as internal combustion engines...

-Very much so.

..propelling heavier-than-air aircraft.

He said as much in some of his papers,

that certain areas will need the advancement of time

in order to make this better. But he knew it worked.

And so much so, the Wright brothers acknowledged

Sir George Cayley's valuable contribution to aeronautics

as inspiration for their own flying machine.

The museum also has a replica of this.

Here we are, the Wright Flyer.

50 years after Cayley's governable parachute, December 1903.

And with this, the Wright brothers fulfil Cayley's vision

-using some of the principles that he's discovered.

-Absolutely.

What an achievement.

Astonishing. What a man. I had no idea.

-Ian, what a pleasure.

-It's a great pleasure to have you.

Sir George Cayley was the Yorkshire-born aristocrat

who became a pioneering aeronautical engineer.

A ground-breaking scientist and inventor,

he truly is the father of aviation.

Meanwhile, Margie's on the ground

just outside the village of Barmby Moor.

I've got to be very careful I'm not squandering my money.

I've got to think very, very, very clearly

about "Don't buy with your heart, buy with your head" a bit

to try and catch up with Paul.

You can do it, Margie.

Bar Farm Antiques consists of four barns full of lovely things.

Plus a pretty big warehouse.

There's plenty to see here.

Margie's got a smidge over £170 to spend.

Oh, my goodness, that's a clerk's slope, isn't it?

Like a desk top. He'd be sitting at a chair, working, doing his figures

and doing his numbers and doing all his accounts back in the day.

1850-1860. It's old.

That's how you did it in those days.

And he's got a punch there for his paper.

Punches holes in there.

And then he's got his...

..ancient pencil sharpener.

Nice thing.

A real antique.

And it's priced at £95.

I hate the word quirky, but it's quirky, isn't it?

I mean, you find me another one.

That's the thing, isn't it? But is anybody going to want it?

And what would they want it for?

Oh, look. It's friend of the Road Trip, dealer Greg.

Howdy, Greg!

Sort of what are we talking about, price-wise?

-What were you thinking?

-Well, I'm like Mr Scrooge...

-It's put me in the mind of a Dickensian person.

-Yeah.

I was thinking 38 quid.

38? I was thinking maybe 45, but...

-Yeah.

-38's doable.

-Is it?

-Yeah.

-You sure?

-Yeah, positive.

-Oh, well...

-You want it at 38?

-I'll go for it.

Looks like a good, solid piece, Margie.

Thanks for the generous discount, Greg.

I've just come across these.

This is absolutely lovely. This is a little Hornby signal box.

You know, for people who collect model railways?

Sort of like mid-20th century.

1950? And...

..in the original box.

This is quite a specialist area in the world of collecting,

but the condition and original boxes could attract bids at auction.

Go on, level with me.

You've got the level crossing,

you've got a signal and you've got the signal box.

Maybe if he's had them a while, he might do me a deal.

So I'm going to ask.

Oh, Greg!

Yep.

I've spotted these.

Don't know much about them, but I do know Hornby's good,

and I do know that railway...

People with train sets like to buy them.

-Yeah. And the box.

-And the box.

So if you tell me what you're thinking,

and I'll tell you what... I've got a price in mind.

So you want all three of them?

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

Somewhere around 70.

-What were you thinking?

-45?

-Yeah, I could do that.

-OK.

Great. That's all right. Yeah.

Well, there we have it.

A total of £83 on the Victorian desk slope

and the assortment of Hornby train set items.

Happy days, Margie?

-Another good one.

-Yep, not bad at all.

-Chops for dinner?

-Yeah.

Bit of garlic butter and some rock salt.

Sounds delish!

Nighty-night, you two.

Wakey-wakey. Our pair in the moggie are on the move once more.

I had two, at least two surreal nightmares.

-You didn't!

-No joking.

-I was in the war, I was a prisoner of war escaping.

-Oh, no!

-Was I there?

-It was all going wrong. There were heights.

Isn't it marvellous when you're so glad you've woken up.

Oh, but I had to go for a walk around the bedroom

to try to get it out of my head.

You know, when you wake up and it's still there?

Oh, blimey.

Let's remind ourselves of what our lovely twosome have bought so far.

Margie has three lots -

the gilded bronze figure,

the Victorian desk slope

and the assortment of Hornby train set items.

So much stuff!

Margie has £87.60 left to spend.

Whereas Paul is buying unlikely Laidlaw things.

He has two lots - the ladies' compacts

and the combo lot of the George III silver sugar tongs

and the silver tea strainer.

Ha-ha!

Leaving him a large kitty of £253.40.

I want a coffee! I want a coffee!

So you've had nothing?

Er, nicht.

-So just the war...

-I'm a fine machine, Margie.

I'm honed and I can run on...

-I can handle this.

-Yeah, right!

The big fella is dropping off his compadre

in the city of Wakefield,

West Yorkshire.

BELL STRIKES

That ringing sounds ominous, Margie!

A harbinger of the Apocalypse!

Anyway, get out!

-Have a good one, Margie.

-See you.

Do you know, they're a right couple of giggling Flirty Gerties, those two.

Margie's starting the day with some history at the city's museum

where local man and hero of Sir David Attenborough is celebrated.

He's Charles Waterton, a naturalist like no other.

Margie's meeting curator John Whitaker.

-You must be John.

-Hi there.

-Hi.

-Hi, Margie.

-Yeah.

In the late 18th century, early 19th century,

he was an extremely fascinating, pioneering man.

He travelled out to the wilds of South America,

exploring in a time before many Europeans had been into the interior of the rainforest there.

A man of the landed gentry,

Waterton's far-flung travels saw him hunting specimens to bring back

and create a museum within his home at Walton Hall,

three miles south of Wakefield.

Whilst the idea of killing wild animals for research purposes

might seem shocking today,

early naturalists saw themselves as pioneers who had much to learn.

And how could they learn if they hadn't got any specimens?

So, John, what are we standing on?

It's amazing, isn't it? This is a caiman.

-Yeah.

-Which is a type of...

It's like a crocodile, like an alligator.

-Yeah.

-It's found in South America.

This is quite a large one

-that Waterton brought back in the 1820s.

-Right.

We've got it under the floor in the museum because it was to get

a Waterton eye view on it,

because Waterton actually rode this out of the river.

He rode it out of the river?

He rode it out of the Essequibo River in Guyana.

They'd reached a point, they'd got it on a hook.

-Yeah.

-But they couldn't get it out,

so he leapt on its back and helped it out of the water.

Waterton's trip to South America

allowed him to develop a fascination with the local culture.

Waterton was a pioneer in many, many different ways.

-Yeah.

-When he travelled out in Guyana,

he made contact with the local tribe, the Macushi tribe.

He discovered how they made this special poison

that we now call curare.

-They called it wurali at the time.

-Yeah.

It's what they used... They tipped their blowpipe darts with it,

-to hunt with.

-Knock out the animal.

This is when he had an idea to push the boundaries of medical science

by developing a more humane way of sedating animals.

He gave this wurali to a donkey.

They used a set of bellows to keep its lungs going...

-Right.

-..while it was under.

And it made a complete recovery and lived for 20-odd years afterwards.

And he proved that this substance could be used in anaesthetics.

And it is a derivative of it today is used in modern anaesthesia.

The Industrial Revolution was in full swing

and would make Waterton become

one of the first campaigners against pollution.

Along with the museum, he created

-what we think is the world's first ever nature reserve.

-Ah!

He thought that animals and birds needed to be protected.

He lived at a time in Victorian England, where industry

was everywhere and pollution was everywhere and he wanted to create

a little safe haven for birds and animals to live in.

As well as that, he wanted people to learn more about them.

There was a soap works near his home that was polluting the land.

He took them to court,

which is completely unheard-of in Victorian England to take a company,

an industry the court because it was polluting.

-Yeah.

-He was one of the first people to do that as well.

Waterton won the case

and the soap factory had to move away from his estate.

Charles Waterton lived until the ripe old age of 83

and was dedicated to the environment until the day he died.

So he must be a hero to modern-day conservationists.

Absolutely a hero.

He believed that nature and people needed to find a balance.

-Yeah.

-And he fought to create a safe haven for nature

and keep out polluting industries and to challenge pollution.

-Yeah.

-That was considered eccentric and strange during his lifetime.

It's taken us... He's been dead for 150 years now.

It's taken us that long to catch up with those ideas and those values

-and those beliefs.

-Yeah.

We look around us today and we now realise he was right.

We should be protecting these things.

Let's return to our man in the Morris.

Here we are. Traipsing through Yorkshire,

steeped in history and no doubt full of treasures.

Whether there are any such waiting for me at my next

port of call remains to be seen.

The West Yorkshire town of Featherstone is Paul's next stop.

The A645 Trading Post is crammed with a plentitude of potential.

Let's see what he can find in here.

Can't afford that.

You know what that is, don't you?

It is one half of a pair.

There is its companion.

These are...

..andirons.

You may know them as fire dogs.

Now, their origin is archaic.

Originally these stands would be placed in the hearth

and logs or kindling or whatever could be laid across them and burnt.

It forms part of the hearth proper.

And they're priced at £22.

Why am I looking at them?

Because, per se, not so appealing at the moment.

These, however, are appealing

purely because of the aesthetic and they hail from

or they come from the Arts and Crafts movement.

That's one potential.

Blimey, that was quick. Is this another?

I don't know enough about that.

That frustrates me.

But I know this much.

That is a little Islamic vessel.

Brass bodied.

But what I can't tell you is what that exquisite calligraphy

translates to.

And I can't tell you how old it is

but I wouldn't be standing here showing it to you

if I thought they were of no consequence.

What about the white metal overlay?

This technique is called "Damassening".

Or Damascening, which is

the intricate art of inlaying different metals

but this looks like onlaid silver.

This is quality workmanship

and I love it.

I love it.

I think he loves it.

What's it going to be priced at?

£30, £40, £120.

£5.

That is low risk.

And I'm going to take that to auction

and I'm going to see someone out there, a specialist in the field

of Islamic art and metalwork,

doesn't take one look at that and go, "My word, I am having a go."

Interesting find.

It looks as though it's got a story to tell.

Let's find dealer Linda. Linda!

-Right!

-Right.

Islamic pot, pair of fire dogs.

-Very cheap.

-£22. Are they going to be very cheap?

-Yes!

-They are.

All right, Paul. Cool it.

I'm saying nothing.

27 squids.

What are they going to be?

-Don't say 26.

-20 quid.

For everything?!

OK.

-No problem.

-Linda.

-They are lovely, aren't they?

I could live with them. I kid you not.

I'd happily take those home and find a corner for them.

Yeah, but you can't.

£15 for the pair of brass andirons

and £5 for the Islamic vase.

That's cheap.

Go on, give it a bit of welly.

Darling Margie has made her way

to the village of Cawthorne in South Yorkshire.

Her final shopping rendezvous is here, Cawthorne Antiques.

Margie's purse still has £87.60p inside.

Right, I've spotted the Scottish brooches here

which I think are quite good sellers.

The two I'm going to go for, one is 35 and one's been reduced to 40.

So, maybe I can get the two for 40-ish, 40-odd.

I've got a chance.

Let's get a better look.

This one's typical Victorian with that decoration round,

isn't it, Karen? You see that a lot on Scottish brooches.

So there's the hallmark on the back,

which is there.

And that's 35.

That's really in pristine condition.

This other one doesn't have a hallmark.

But it feels silver, you can feel it's silver.

Right, let's talk money.

So, Karen, these are really nice.

I haven't got that much money.

She smiled. So what sort of deal... If I had the two?

Two for 40?

Is that pushing it?

Yeah, what about 45?

Right. £45.

-Yeah.

-Thanks, Karen, very much.

-Thank you.

-I will give you some money now.

Well done, Margie. You honed in pretty quickly on those.

Right, let's find Paul.

Margie and I are heading to the same destination,

which is always awkward.

Unless of course I get there first and I snaffle all the bargains.

Sorry, Paul, Margie's beaten you to it.

But there's plenty of space for both of you.

If you behave nicely.

Look what the wind's blown in, my friend Mr Laidlaw.

-How are you doing? It is good here, isn't it?

-Yes.

-You not bought anything?

-Not yet.

You're joking. I've been through the door five minutes

-and I've bought something.

-You little liar.

Yeah, Margie, he's a big fibber.

And a wind-up merchant.

He really does need to get a move on, though, if he is going to spend

his £233 before closing time.

Here we have a silver shoe,

a gentlemen's shoe.

And assay marks...

..Blanckensee & Son at Chester.

An Edwardian piece, early 20th century.

It has an oak sole.

There's not a lot of silver here

and because the silver is relatively thin, it's crimped just a wee bit

round the opening of the shoe.

Therein is some padding and some plush velvet,

telling us that this was a hatpin stand.

I like the period. I like its nature.

Hatpin stands sell.

And I like the humorous side to it.

Now, price.

It was 98. They've reduced it to 89.

And if I pay in cash, which I will,

there's 25% off that

so that is another...

That's about £65.

The hatpin cushion belongs to a dealer who's not there

so manager Margaret makes the call.

-Go for it, Mags.

-Margaret, any joy?

45, is that any use?

That's very much of use, Margaret.

-Right.

-Thank you.

-Thank you, Paul.

-We're both going to sleep well tonight, are we not?

-We are.

-You go that way, I'll meet you at the other side and give you

-some money.

-Right. Thank you, Paul.

And it happened. Yes.

He's happy again. The smart little silver shoe pincushion

completes Paul's shopping.

What of Margie?

I've just found the sweet little Edwardian chair.

Probably about 1900, 1910.

This is when furniture became much finer

after the very heavy Victorian furniture.

In fact, this is what we call Sheraton Revival.

This design was 100 years earlier

at the end of the 18th century.

So this is a really sweet little chair.

I'm just looking at the price.

Ah!

This might be a bit of a sticker maybe.

Gone from 98, which is completely out of it,

to 60, which is still too much.

Yeah, especially as you've only got just over £40 left, old girl.

So, Karen, this is this little chair I have found.

-Sweet.

-That's lovely.

Yeah, yeah. So, I am getting to the end of my purchases now.

-Right.

-It's already been reduced, as you can see,

but I haven't really... I've only got very little money left.

So I'm going to be really tough now and offer £38.

Oh!

Because I've just about got that amount of money.

We've got to stick together, us girls, so, yeah, let's do it.

-Are you sure?

-Yeah.

-OK.

-Thanks very much indeed.

-Thank you.

The Edwardian child's chair

signals the end of this shopping spectacular.

Next stop Darlington, Margie, here we come.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Are you happy with all your little purchases?

Happy enough. Not counting any chickens.

-You?

-Well, I just hope I can catch up a bit.

No, let's not go that far, Margie, come on.

I mean, we can have as pleasant time as like

but make no bones about it.

You want to thrash me.

Crikey. I think it's best you two get some shut-eye.

It's off to auction we go.

We have made our way down to the town of Darlington

in County Durham for our second leg decider.

How are you going to do? How are WE going to do?

Today's sale is being held at Thomas Watson.

They've been holding sales here for yonks, don't you know?

Paul has been very frugal,

with a total spend of just £100 on five auction lots.

While Margie has gone for broke.

She's almost spent her entire kitty,

with a total bill of £206, also on five lots.

Dish the dirt, then, on one another's buys, please.

This looks as though it could be a bit of a worry.

I think it's an Islamic pot,

which feels really right, it looks really good.

It seems to have a lot of age.

I think he's paid very little for it so

I'm a bit scared of that one.

It's Bob Cratchit's desk, isn't it?

That's the best we can do with this.

OK. Once upon a time, this was a desirable object.

Why, I have no idea.

There's nothing the matter with it, apart from...

..who's going to want it?

25 bid, £30.

David Elstob is today's auctioneer.

What does he think of their offerings?

The compacts are really fun, very vintage, very 1950s.

The celluloid one in particular I think will have collectors excited.

I am expecting quite a lot of internet bidding on this lot.

It's a nice little group of railway items by Hornby, very collectable,

and they are vintage ones so I think they will do quite well.

Thanks, David.

The auction is about to begin.

Today we are also open to internet bidders.

-Gorgeous sale room, isn't it?

-Yes.

First up is Margie's gilt bronze figurines.

£25 I am bid, I will take 30.

30 bid in the room.

Where's the internet?

The gentlemen's bid of £30, is that the finish?

At £30, all done.

HAMMER FALLS

Margie, what happened there?

Such a pity, eh?

But plenty more to go, Margie.

In fairness, I did start a rumour round the room that it was plastic.

I thought they would see the humour in it.

Joker Paul's turn next,

with the pretty compacts.

20 bid, 25. 30. Five.

40. Five. 40 on the gallery.

£40 on the gallery.

It's the little parcel, isn't it?

£40 then, fair warning at £40.

-That'll do.

-30 quid.

Decent-sized profit there, Paul.

Pleased for you.

PAUL CHUCKLES

Yeah, looks it.

Now your turn, Margie,

to pounce back with the assortment of Hornby train set items.

Collector's pieces, 35 bid.

35 I am bid, I will take 40.

40 bid.

45 online.

50 in the room.

I will take five. 55.

60, sir?

One more. 55 it is on the internet.

All done and finished at £55.

All done.

Not bad, Margie -

railway town Darlington gave you a bit of a profit.

A whopping tenner.

-A profit's a profit.

-A whopping tenner.

Come on, Margie, be grateful for the small mercies, girl.

Next, Paul's combo lot of the George III silver tongs and tea strainer.

We will start at £45.

Thank you.

45 I am bid. Do I see 50?

55 bid.

I think they like your strainer.

At 55, are we all done?

Fair warning at 55.

I think you have been a bit lucky there.

Perhaps. Maybe your luck will turn soon, Margie.

One makes one's own luck, Margie.

That's true. Now, shut up.

She is a fiery one.

Now, wait for it, the big Victorian writing desk is next.

This is the Antiques Road Trip...

-..so it's an antique...

-Yeah.

..going back to mid-19th century.

-OK.

-Really.

I wish I hadn't bought it.

I'll start you with interest at £40.

40 bid. 45. 50. 55 bid.

55 bid in the room.

I've got a bid from South Africa.

-£60.

-Wait a minute!

A bid from South Africa.

Turns out they are hot in South Africa.

65 in the room. 65 bid, do I see 70?

65 then, fair warning.

Marvellous. I knew it was a good buy.

It's your best profit so far - well done, Margie.

What happened to "I wish I hadn't bought it"?

-That seems so long ago now.

-South Africa...

Your turn, Paul, with the shoe hatpin cushion next.

40 bid. 40 bid.

I will take five.

50. Five bid.

55 bid in the room.

-That'll do.

-60. 65 bid.

I'll take 70. 70. 75 bid.

-Well done.

-80. 80 online.

On the internet, £80.

Fair warning, at £80 all done.

Well done, Paul.

Good...

Oh, dear. Your turn, Margie, with the combo lot of Scottish brooches.

25 bid. 30.

Five. 40 in the room, 40 bid.

45? 50. 45 in the room.

45 I am bid. 50 I'll take.

55 online.

60, sir? 55 it is on the internet then.

At 55.

I am the tenner queen.

Oh, dear, she's a bit grumpy today, isn't she?

Still, a small return, Margie.

Don't blame yourself for buying that old-fashioned kind of thing.

Talking of old-fashioned, Paul's brass andirons are up next.

25 bid for this.

25, I will take 30. 30. 35. 40, madam.

40 with you.

-God bless her.

-At £40 in the room.

45 online.

Internet likes them.

50 in the room.

55 online.

60 in the room. 60 bid.

I will take 65. 70 next.

At 65 then, the room is out.

The bid is online. At £65, all done.

-That's great.

-Lovely.

Another steady result from Paul.

Well...purchased.

Is it going-home time yet?

Not quite, Margie. Your Edwardian child's chair is up next.

25 bid. 25.

30. Five. 40. 50, sir.

50 in the room. 50 I am bid in the room.

£50 it is in the room, all finished, are we?

Selling in the room.

At £50. All done.

So we have gone from £10 to £12.

It's not enough. Mister, it is not enough.

If we are still doing this in a decade,

you could be in triple figures.

Blooming heck, Margie, not quite what you wanted, eh?

I'm stopping laughing.

You can't maintain that, Margie.

I told you. See, goodness will out.

The final lot, Paul's mystery silver onlaid Islamic vase.

Well spotted. You are not as daft as you look, are you?

I'll start you with interest.

At £15.

-15 I am bid.

-That is nothing.

20. Five bid. 25 in the room.

30. 35. 35 bid.

40. 45. 45 anywhere?

40 I have in the room.

45. 50, sir.

55. 60.

Bids everywhere.

Bid's on the gallery. At £55, are we all done and finished?

60 online.

65. The bid is on the internet at £60.

Fair warning at 60.

Congratulations.

As I say, this time with sincerity.

Well, that paid off. Well done, Paul.

I think you have done all right there.

Ow!

Oh, did I catch you?

Come on.

Play nicely, Margie.

Let's work out the calculations.

Margie began with £210.60 and after sale room costs made a teeny,

tiny profit of £3.10.

Margie now has a total of £213.70.

Paul started the second leg with £288.40,

and made a splendid profit of £146.

Paul is victorious once again, and has £434.40 for the next leg.

No wonder the boy is smiling.

Ohhhhh!

What are you huffing at?

-Big profit, small profit. I'm getting mad.

-But I like that.

-I'm getting mad.

-What do you mean?

-It is going to stop.

She is fired up again.

Next time on Antiques Road Trip,

Paul is mischief-maker extraordinaire.

What have you done, Margie?

You have broken the weather.

Margie brings a wealth of experience.

A watch powder sifter.

What is that?

Paul is on the hunt for the unusual.

You don't see one of those every day.

And there is romance at the flicks.

-Oh, vicar!

-Look at that over there, isn't that nice?

-Yeah. Oh!

-Margie...