Episode 25 Antiques Road Trip

The nation's favourite antiques experts, £200 each and one big challenge!

Cos I'm here to declare war.

Why?

Who can make the most money buying and selling antiques as they scour the UK?

There's nothing in here.

The aim is to trade up and hope each antique turns a profit...

Disappointing.

But it's not as easy as you might think and things don't always go to plan.

Push!

So, will they race off with a huge profit or come to a grinding halt?

I'm terribly nervous now, James.

This is the Antiques Road Trip!

All this week we've been on the road with antiques guru James Braxton

who's been pitting his wits against young whippersnapper auctioneer Jonathon Pratt.

And it's been a far-from-close competition.

Devilish James has stormed ahead, leaving poor Jonathon floundering.

Disaster strikes!

So while Pratt fell flat,

old Brackers made loads of smackers, which means he did jolly well.

-That's not to say he's a bit conceited, though.

-I'm not smiling!

From his original £200, James now has an impressive...

Great hat!

But Jonathon is only scraping through to the final leg

with less than half of James's budget, a pretty pitiful...

Bad luck!

It's been a tough week for Jonathon, but his spirits are still high.

And that could be because James is letting him drive his pride and joy,

the 1952 MG, to their first shopping location.

This week, they're travelling all the way from Altrincham, Greater Manchester,

to sunny Cornwall.

Today we kick off the fifth leg in Crewkerne,

then head to the final auction showdown in Lostwithiel.

The earliest record of Crewkerne in Somerset was in the will of Alfred the Great back in 899.

And during the 18th and 19th centuries, the main industry was cloth-making,

including crafting sails for the Royal Navy.

Our fellows will certainly need a fair wind,

not so sure about the rain up their tails, to shop until they drop.

But it's time to zip up and get the final leg of their competition underway.

Good. Anyway, good luck.

Perfect.

Noah's Antiques is packed to the gunnels with goodies,

but will anything entice James?

What a day out there!

Morning.

-Hello. James.

-Michael.

-Michael. Good to meet you, Michael.

Morning. Now, what Michael doesn't realise is that James has a whopping £320.94 to spend,

so he can really afford to splash out on some expensive top-quality lots.

I might have a quick look through your bargain area, Michael.

Uh-oh! Bargain area! James is acting like a rag-and-bone man again,

not someone whose pocket is bulging with cash!

There were things for more rarefied dining, really.

This is a rather unusual one, but it's sort of entree-dish shaped,

elongated octagonal, it's got sort of fruiting vines all the way around it...

But they're fun, you know. You can use them for anything.

These ones are all quite early, Edwardian, turn of the century, that sort of thing.

This one's inscribed, that one's inscribed.

This one's a very nice chamber stick.

So it would have had a cylindrical glass thing to protect it from the wind.

Cylindrical glass thing? Is that a technical term, then, James?

And then we've got the old swing basket, as they're known.

Would have been stamped out on some great machine in Birmingham or Sheffield...

and then...this is probably the youngest of the lot.

This is just a clean bit of plate.

It's quite a big fellow. What are we? It's 10 or 12 inches across.

It's just been stamped out.

So you won't be buying that, then, James?

It's a good little lot, that.

So you will, then? James is planning to buy and then sell this bundle as a job lot,

which auction houses often do with cheaper items.

There's no price on this as a group, but that's not stopping our man from chancing his arm.

Let's see if I can make you a, you know, tempting offer.

A tenner?

-Er...

-Stop wincing!

-Put your hand out.

-Go on, then.

-Thank you.

Gosh! James's strategy seem to be spending as little as he can,

so how about the man who has no choice? That's Jonathon, by the way.

He's arrived at his first shop, Crewkerne Antiques.

-Morning.

-Good morning.

-Nice to come inside in the dry.

-Not the best of days, is it?

-No.

You've got some great things. There's a lot of things I can't afford already,

-but you've got some good quality things here.

-A good mix.

-Do you have any sort of house-clearance type areas, a bit junkier?

-Not really.

My budget has been depleting of late, so I'm looking for something...

-The ultimate bargain?

-Yes!

Well, you're not going to find the ultimate bargain if you hang around talking to Eddie!

So how are you feeling today, Jonathon?

I'm quite nervous now.

Oh!

Mmm...best head under the stairs, then. It's worked for you before.

Reasonably well painted, actually.

And it's going to be off the South Coast.

Dated 1911.

Again, this chap's not in superb condition, but that one's better, by a chap called Flowers.

Flowers? Mmm... Not quite Turner, then!

I do like those though, actually, I do like those.

Royal coat of arms.

Quite like that.

Yes, nice piece of needlework there, but will it sell well at auction?

It all depends on whether Jonathon can do a good deal. Now...

-Do you mind if I ask you a few things about these?

-Yeah, go on.

-That's the first thing that struck me.

-That is fabulous.

Nice 19th-century needlework, Royal coat of arms...

-Would you accept for that...

-KNOCKING

-..£60?

-Probably not.

-Probably not?

-I've got in mind about 80, I'll be honest. I think it's worth that.

-I think it's a nice thing.

-I'll put that down on the iffy list, OK?

Flowers. OK, slightly faded paper, bit of foxing, but nice subject.

He's not an Academy hand, but it's still quite competently painted.

-£60 for them?

-I could probably do that for those.

-You could do that?

-That would be OK.

-And this music stand. It's not in the greatest of order...

-It's a little tired.

It's a little tired. It's only pine.

A little tired? Jonathon does seem to like buying bashed and broken items.

-30?

-Yeah, that's fine. I can do that on that one.

-OK.

-But of all the things I want most is this one here.

-Cos that's the best one.

Yeah, that's the one I like the most, this one being...

-I think that's quite a charming thing.

-£60 for that one, providing you buy that one for 30.

£80 the two?

-A little tear? Yeah, OK.

-OK.

-All right.

-Oh, my word! There we go.

Hang on, Jonathon! What about sailing pictures?

Oh, gosh!

I know I've already said a price for them...

Er...

but I can't afford that, now, can I?

Would you

take...

..would you take £40 a pair?

I'd like to help you out, but no.

£50?

Yeah, OK. If I can take all your money, I will.

You've almost done that, Eddie.

And just as Jonathon is paying up, he's spotted yet another picture.

I really quite like this, only because it's... Funnily enough, it's St Paul's.

The paper's nice and white and actually what's drawn me to it

is this little image here which is a little vignette, presumably of the artist...

-DOOR CLOSES

-James is just arriving.

Limited edition print, and it's quite a charming subject, a nice painting.

-You're only asking £15 for it.

-Today's special price!

-Today's special price!

-Is it cheeky for me to make an offer?

-Yeah.

-It is, is it?

-£12.

-Yeah, go on.

-Hey, you're in a good mood.

Nothing wrong with being a bit cheeky in my book!

James has arrived, so Jonathon needs to shove off.

-Hi, James. How are you doing?

-Hello, Jonathon. Very well.

-How are you doing?

-Very well, thank you.

-You're looking chipper.

-You're smiling. Nice to see a man smiling.

-Yeah.

-There's plenty here, James.

-Is there? Looks plenty. Fabulous, isn't it?

-A good hunting ground. I think you'll have fun.

-Good, good, good.

You cleared all the broken stuff out now?

No, nothing that's broken, James. You'll see!

Not going to tell him about the bashed-up music stand, then, Jonathon?

-Looks very good. I'm going to get exploring.

-And there's upstairs as well, James.

-Thank you.

-Any basements?

-No, I'm afraid not.

-No? No basement, no?

-No.

-OK.

Aha! So just to recap in case you missed it...

Jonathon started the day way down behind James.

His solution on his first day in his first shop was to buy four items and spend nearly all his money.

Rather him than me.

As Jonathon heads off with just £13.36 left in his pocket, James is keen to get spending,

as he still has over £300,

and he's giving the place a good once-over, hoping to hunt out a hidden gem.

See, that's got big ears, hasn't it, that brass fellow.

Nay I have a look at old Big Ears?

-Look at that, big-eared fellow!

-It's clean too.

Clean! Somebody's put some work into it, haven't they?

Lovely sort of wing-nut ears to it, isn't it?

-Kind of royal.

-It is royal! A study of the...

Might be tempting, mightn't it?

Moving upstairs, will anything else catch James's roving eye?

Traditionally, Braxton always buys one of these, every time!

It's probably Syrian.

They're a generic sort of Middle Eastern coffee table.

So all those sort of cafes and things like that would have these outside.

And you would take your mint tea or your dark Turkish coffee out of them.

Hang on, James! Didn't you have a disaster with ethnic goods this week?

-I can see how it would really work in the contemporary home, this.

-Yeah.

-150? For the two?

Thank you very much indeed.

All done at £24.

Across the room at £50.

-Oh, dear, oh, dear.

-Never mind.

-Never mind.

Lesson learnt?

No.

I'm a North African at heart, I think.

Oh! It's sort of Damascus like.

Brass tray and stand. My offer for that is £20.

He's asking 48.

-Or 25 for Big Ears!

-I couldn't do that one.

-Couldn't do that one.

-This I could.

-You could? £20.

Thanks a lot. I can't resist. I can't resist these.

-Thank you very much indeed.

-Thank you very much.

-It's very kind of you. Thanks a lot.

Time to get back on the road.

James and Jonathon are crossing counties and driving 34 miles west to Honiton,

a town which used to have a ceremony called hot pennies,

where local gentry would throw hot pennies from windows to local peasants,

which resulted in burnt hands. Nice!

Perhaps James will spend a penny or two in the Grove Antiques Centre. Stand by!

-Hello. James.

-Lesley.

-Hello. Nice to meet you.

Now, this is... Surrounded by lots of lovelies here.

-Where should the astute buyer be looking for that elusive bargain?

-You naughty thing.

Well, would it be a good idea if you had a look around? Or do I take you around?

What an excellent idea, Lesley!

Go on, James, don't be lazy. Get looking. Get working.

Exactly, James! You've still got nearly £300 burning a hole your pocket.

Time to buy!

I must admit, I don't think I've seen the like.

James has spotted a French scent bottle, costing £75.

It's got a little pillbox in the top there. You take that off...

and you've got a little stopper there. Very pretty, isn't it?

I think it's a lovely novelty item. I like the fact that it has a pillbox.

My only problem is... is the donks in it. 25?

-30 and it's yours.

-30, and I want to buy something. Well done.

Thank you, Lesley. You're a very kind lady.

James did quite well there and still has time to explore the rest of the antiques centre.

And what should he find, but something which isn't even for sale?

Typical!

Just been chatting to Lee here

and looking at all these fabulous clocks, and I just noticed this rather nice Chinese stand.

This red marble. We used to call these blackwood

and now we use the name wang wally, a very nice tropical hardwood.

It's not Lee's, it's his mother's, and he's used it as a shop fitting for seven years,

and he'll find out whether she wants to sell it or not.

-No.

-No?

Phew!

Unless you pay 225.

-225?

-Yeah.

-She said?

-Yeah.

-Would she settle at 200?

You're a gambling man.

What I wouldn't gamble on is how she reacts if I were to tell her...

But we know, mothers and sons... it's...it's...unconditional love.

-When it comes to money with my mother...

-Oh, right, is it?

I'll tell you what...

-200.

-OK. Well done. That's great. Good. Thanks a lot.

I better go and let her know. Where am I going to put my £20,000 clock?

Jonathon's nearly all spent up,

so it's time to play instead.

He's travelling 50 miles to Bovey Tracey to discover the history

of one of our most treasured childhood games, marbles.

Has he lost his? No, but he's found the House of Marbles,

a museum situated on the site of the old Bovey Pottery, but before he gets to play,

marketing manager Andrea's going to take him on a mini tour.

This is the old pottery site. I think it's about 1750 around the area that they started making pottery.

-Have you still got some chimneys and things?

-We do, yes. A lot of it is very derelict.

The three here are protected and they're outside.

-There's not much of it left.

-No, there isn't today.

-So where do we start with the very earliest of examples?

-The earliest, we do have some examples over there.

-I'll just show you...

-Lovely.

-..Some artefacts here that have come from the site.

Seeing on the label at the back that Josiah Wedgwood came here,

-obviously links into what was the fashion of that period.

-That's it.

-There was some rivalry with Mr Crisp here.

-Mr Crisp was the man who ran it?

That's it, yes. And he was trying to develop...different techniques were being developed at that time,

and Mr Crisp was really striving to get a successful business, as many people do.

I believe Wedgwood pipped him to the post and became the famous man.

-Mr Wedgwood was a very clever man, though.

-Yeah.

-He did...he was probably the ruin of many a pottery!

Enough of all that lark! Please, can we see some marbles?

No-one is quite sure where the game of marbles first began,

but archaeologists have found games, boards and clay playing pieces in the tombs of Ancient Egypt.

China and ceramic marbles were introduced around 1800,

but it wasn't until the middle of the 19th century that German glassblowers invented

the tools to enable the marbles that we all know and love to be made out of glass.

And lucky old Jonathon is going to find out how it's done,

as there's a glassmaking factory onsite.

Jonathon's going to be shown the ropes by seasoned glassblower Paul.

-We're going to gather some glass out the furnace and make the inside coloured part of the marble.

-OK.

-OK?

-Go on, then.

All of these marbles are handcrafted.

-So there's like a pool of glass down there?

-That's right.

-Oh, my word!

Glass is melted in a sweltering 900 degrees centigrade, then shaped and moulded.

There we go. Look at that.

Dye is added to create the colours inside the marble, the glass is twisted and shaped...

Give it a squeeze. At the same time...a twist.

Then a clear glass bulb is melted around it.

It takes a special pair of pincers to get that perfect marbley shape.

Finally, it's snipped off and, hey, presto, the perfect marble.

Simple! Well, sort of.

Amazing.

# Goodness gracious, great balls of fire! #

Well, after all that hard work, I think it's time for both of our dear experts to snuggle down

and get a good night's sleep before the final shop tomorrow.

Day 2 dawns and our antiques experts are back on the road,

pumped up and ready for battle.

Yesterday the boys both spent the majority of their cash. Jonathon blew £142,

practically all his pennies, on four items all from the same shop.

That leaves him with a mere £13.36 for his second day of buying.

James started his day frugally, but then blew a mind-blowing £200 on one Chinese stand.

So all in all, he's spent £260 in three shops.

Which means today he's got £60.94 to play with.

I'm heading to the MG.

Today our boys are journeying south

to the popular tourist destination of Dartmouth.

Set on the banks of the estuary of the River Dart,

the port was used as the sailing point for the crusades of the 12th century,

and James and Jonathon are on a crusade of their own today

as they don't have much time or money left to spend.

James heads straight off to Penny Farthing Antiques to see what treasures he can uncover.

-Hello.

-Hello there.

-I'm James. How do you do?

-Hi. Keith Williams.

-Good to meet you.

-Well, I'll just have a look round.

-Do.

-Thank you.

Thank you. With just £60 left in his pocket, James needs to be clever with his cash.

-Can I look at your Tudoric jug?

-Of course, yeah.

-Thanks.

Liberty's, circa 1910.

-It's lovely, isn't it?

-Mmm.

-I imagine it's part of a set, isn't it?

-Yeah, we think that's hot water.

-Yeah.

-But it's the right style, it's a good look.

-It is, isn't it? It's very simple.

This type of jug was often used to carry and keep water hot until required to refresh the teapot.

The cane-covered handle protected the user from the heat of the metal.

The founder of Liberty & Co, Arthur Lasenby Liberty,

began to import modern pewter from Germany in 1899,

and the success of this venture encouraged him to commission the Tudoric British-made range.

-May I look at your chamber stick?

-Certainly.

They've got "made in England" at the bottom... Oh, Torquay down there.

Yeah, I think it's early sort of Torquay ware.

-That's rather nice, that.

-Again, good style, isn't it?

-Great style.

Majolica glaze.

With only £60 left, James will have to do some hard bargaining to bag both items, I can tell you!

-£60 for the two.

-I was thinking more sort of 85 for the pair.

-I've only got 60.

-I reckon you should go for this one. Don't miss that, cos that was privately sourced.

The trade hasn't seen that.

OK? So that's going to be good for the saleroom.

The only problem is that handle, isn't it? But, you know, these things can be repaired.

-Yeah, it's a proper name, isn't it?

-Yeah, a proper name.

-Yeah.

-Nice fellow. Good design.

-Could you do 35 on that, Nick?

-I could do 40.

-40?

-Yeah.

We'll have a deal. There's got to be a profit in that at 40, hasn't there?

I think there is. Nick, I'll do it.

-That's very kind. You've probably saved me a lot of agony.

-OK.

It might seem like a good buy now, but will it sell well at the auction?

Further down the road, Jonathon is popping into Commerce,

hoping to blow his final £13.36 on a star buy. Good luck with that.

-Good afternoon.

-Good afternoon. How are you? All right?

-Very good, very good.

-What a charming shop you've got here.

-Thank you.

I'm going to have to be honest. I have £13.36.

So it doesn't really leave me very much, I think.

Well, hopefully, this could be an interesting turning point, for your, you know...

So I'm looking at basically anything you think that you could have, that you may offer me

for less than £13.36.

With such a small amount of cash left,

I fear Jonathon is going to be hard pushed to find a profit-making purchase at all!

I've already bought a pair of maritime watercolours, which I think are quite good, quite nice.

And I quite like the idea of trying to find something in the same vein,

almost like, you know, you've got like a lifebelt up there and little things like that.

A lifebelt? Surely not? I feel a metaphor coming on.

-I'd let that go for a fiver.

-Would you?

-And you'd be in pocket!

How much are your paddles? Would you do a couple of paddles for £13.35, and I'd keep a penny back.

Oh, dear!

-Yes.

-You would?

-Yes. I'll do obviously that which we discussed and the pair of paddles...

Not with it. I wasn't suggesting with the ring. Unless you want to throw the ring in as well!

-It might be my lifesaver!

-DRUM ROLL

-Oh, no, I knew it was coming!

Pair of paddles and that, I'll take all your money.

Keep your penny.

-There we go.

-Brilliant. Thank you, sir.

-Thank you very much.

-You're welcome. It was a pleasure.

JAMES SIGHS

-Right, then, is this going to be my lifesaver? I jolly well hope so.

-DRUM ROLL

That's number 2!

So while Jonathon leaves, clutching his lifebelt,

James has taken himself off to Chudleigh.

He's here to visit retired council officer Robert Hough,

a passionate collector of some rather amazing musical devices.

-Hello, James. Come on in.

-Hello, Robert.

Robert's collecting urge started when he was only 12.

Back then it was butterflies, but it soon graduated into antique mechanical musical machines.

Now he has 35 and they've taken over his entire house.

-James, welcome to our music room.

-God, the house really opens up, doesn't it?

-It's lovely.

-The music room was really conceived

as a space to store our mechanical music collection,

-but it's evolved into a function space now and we do concerts and all kind of things here.

-Oh, lovely.

-So you're the musical hub of Chudleigh?

-Something like that.

LAUGHTER

-And what do we have here?

-It's called the piano melodica.

And it's got a rather weird and wonderful kind of mechanism.

You load it up...

through like this.

-Goodness!

-Put the form, the pressure bar...

-Put the lid back down.

-Put the lid down.

And you crank away.

MUSIC PLAYS

That's amazing.

-So well-geared...

-Would you like to try?

-I'd love to try.

You get an empathy for the music. Off you go.

-And what does that mean? "Hurry up, James"?

-Move to the right.

Come on, James, give it some welly!

And then you come back to about there.

JAMES LAUGHS

There was always a little bit of hardship to entertainment.

-Well...

-The Victorians didn't like anything too easy, did they?

-No.

Not sure this winding lark suits you, James. What about a bit of pedal power?

And what have we next, Robert?

-This is a very early form of pianola called a piano-player.

-Right.

And we have got 65 wooden fingers that come out of the back of this mechanism,

-and they match up with the keys on the Bechstein piano.

-Really?

And when you sit down and you pedal, which I'd like you to have a go at in a minute...

-OK, I'll sit down.

-I'll just give you a little crash course on how to play it.

Start pedalling and don't be frightened of it.

-1900, but it's still going. All right?

-Yeah.

MUSIC STARTS FEEBLY A little bit more pedal. That's it.

Oh, this is pitiful! Stop him, please!

Feet flat on the pedals and then I'm sort of waggling?

This was sold to be played by young ladies of a refined nature.

They'd have to work jolly hard peddling, I think!

Blimey! I'm feeling some lovely toning coming on here...

just beneath the thighs.

-Would you like me to take over?

-Yes, I think it needs the hands of a master. Come on, Robert.

This is a little bit of Beethoven. Here we go.

MUSIC STARTS FLUENTLY

Ah, that's how it's supposed to sound!

-The machine has come alive.

-Years of practice!

Oh, it's very good.

Yes, it is... when it's being properly operated.

One machine that Robert won't be letting James loose on is his pride and joy, his organ.

-This is the Aeolian Residence Player Pipe Organ.

-Right.

I actually persuaded my wife to take 8 feet off the room to build an organ chamber,

-because behind the tapestry there's 1,100 pipes.

-Really?

-Robert, fire away!

-Would you like to hear it?

-I'd love to.

We've got a little selection from Cavalleria Rusticana.

-And if you want to have a peek behind the tapestry, you can see the organ pipes.

-OK.

-MUSIC STARTS

-So it's behind here, is it?

Yes, if you go to the right and have a little look.

Oh, I see.

My word!

I must say, Robert, you have a very tolerant wife.

-It is very impressive. How many pipes was it?

-There's 1,100 pipes.

-1,100?

And that is relatively small as Aeolian Pipe Organs go.

Aeolian had the policy that if you could afford it, they would install an Aeolian Pipe Organ anywhere,

-under stairs, under bedrooms, in cellars, and goodness knows what.

-Yeah.

And some of the installations were enormous.

Mrs Vanderbilt in New York had a 70 rank...a 70 rank...

-we've got 14, so you can imagine the size of it!

-God!

Robert's house isn't open to the public but he holds concerts there and welcomes enthusiasts.

But for now it's time for enthusiastic James to say goodbye

and head off to catch up with Jonathon back in Dartmouth

for a little game of I'll show you mine if you show me yours.

Oh, look at that! That's very nice, isn't it?

Mid to early part of the 19th century, formerly a banner of a pole screen,

-but nice needlework.

-Very nice, isn't it? How much did you pay?

I paid £60.

£60? That's good. That's very nice.

-Yeah. Nicely framed. Rosewood frame. Good item, good start.

-Thank you very much.

-Over to you.

-OK, here we are. My first lot.

-A little job lot of plate.

-OK.

-Oh, I'm missing something. Here we are. And that fellow.

-OK. Er...

A bit bitty but very good.

-£10.

-Phew!

-Well, you've got a profit there, haven't you?

-I hope so.

OK.

-God, Mr Picture!

-There we go.

-That's nice, isn't it?

-Though it's hard to see.

-A little engraving.

I'm hoping it's Saint Paul's, but I don't know whether you've got these little turrets...

-It's Sacre Coeur.

-Sacre Coeur?

-Yeah, in Paris.

-Oh, OK.

It's been reframed, not very well.

And I paid...

..£12.

£12. Yeah, that's nice, isn't it?

Mmm, a little unimpressed there, James! So what will Jonathon make of your North African table?

Here you are. So a nice sort of Damascus-Syrian fellow.

Here's your coffee table.

-That's a pretty...

-That's your scrap of brass.

-And it sits very happily up there.

-There's not an enormous amount of age to the base, particularly.

-No.

-It's 20th century.

-Yeah.

It's 1920s or '30s.

-£30?

-20.

-20 paid?

-£20.

-Yeah. OK, there's a potential profit there.

-Another little profit there.

-I don't think he was blown away there!

-Get rid of that, then.

-There we go.

-Oh, marines, very nice.

-Rounding The Buoy.

-Rounding The Buoy, yes.

-By Mr Flowers.

-A pair to it. There we go.

-That's very nice, isn't it?

-That chap there.

-Nice marine tint.

Again, shame they're not in contemporary frames, but they're nice bright pictures, aren't they?

-How much did you pay for them?

-For these, I paid £50.

-£50?

-Yeah.

-You're racking it up, aren't you?

This is my third item.

OK...

-It's got a little pillbox on the top there.

-Yeah.

-Which unscrews.

That's rather sweet, isn't it?

Cracked on the inside of the lip there.

-Nice to have that function. Without that bit there...

-It would have been dead.

-Boring.

But that makes the difference, doesn't it? Very good.

You've paid...

-..£30?

-Correct.

-Well done.

Ah, now I get it! This is a game of who can underwhelm whom the most.

There we go.

It didn't really start off life, I think, looking like this.

-But functional, you could paint it.

-Quite fun.

Children learning to play a musical instrument in the front room.

You paid £20.

-Yes, £20.

-That's good.

Now for James's star buy!

-This is where good sense departed me, I'm afraid.

-Oh, good.

OK. Cool.

Nice sharp edges on it. 100 years old, perhaps.

Chinese hardwood. Nice little functional thing.

-I paid £200 for it.

-You didn't, really?

-That was a bold buy, James.

-It's a bold buy, but it's a lovely buy,

it's a very fashionable item at the moment. It might make 150, it might make 250, it might make 700.

-Yeah.

-You know, it's impossible to predict these.

-Well done. Very good.

Now, bearing in mind I had £13.36 left...that's all...

I bought...

-A rubber ring. Well done!

-I thought these could be my lifesaver.

-DRUM ROLL

Oh, no! Another one!

-I got some change out of my money.

-How much?

-There we go.

-I have my penny left.

-Well, it's great fun.

I think...you've correctly targeted your purchases to where we're going.

-I'm hoping.

-Here's my last.

It's Tudoric, Liberty & Co.

It is...a touch boring.

Oh, that was a lethal jab!

-It needs something a bit bright going on.

-It needs a bit of flowers going on, a bit of embossing.

-Handle's not in great shape, but then you didn't have a lot of money left.

-No.

How much money did you have left?

I paid £40 for that.

-OK... That could be a good purchase, that.

-Mmm.

-So, good, excellent. I think that's a good mixture of stuff, isn't it?

-The die is cast!

Well, it looked civilised, but these two spared no punches.

I don't think I can bear to hear what they really thought...

Oh, go on, then!

Jonathon has bought items according to his budget.

I think he's put a lot of thought into where we're going,

so there's a lot of marine interest and that might serve him very well.

I'm relieved that James has been bold and has spent a lot of money.

£200 on that table was...

It is a gamble. It may do it. But I'm pleased, it's a real battle now,

because there's... we've got a lot between us.

You certainly have!

It's been a highly competitive fifth leg of this road trip

from Crewkerne to Honiton and on to Dartmouth.

The destination for the final auction showdown is Lostwithiel

in Cornwall.

Situated on the wooded banks of the Fowey River,

Lostwithiel boomed 800 years ago, exporting tin,

becoming the second busiest port on the South Coast of England. Wow!

Our final auction of the week is at Jefferys Auctions,

so does auctioneer Ian Morris think our experts' items shine or lack lustre?

Obviously the Chinese rosewood four stand...

is going to do well, but obviously it's a nicer piece, it's a more expensive piece anyway.

I'd hope we get in the region of £180-220 for that.

That's the real thing that really stands out.

Then everything else really is maybe bumbling along in the region of...

as low as £10 start up to £50 or £60,

so I'm hoping the guys haven't paid a lot of money for their bits and pieces, really.

Well, James started this leg with an impressive £320.94,

and has gone on to spend exactly £300 on five auction lots.

Jonathon, meanwhile, began with a rather measly £155.36,

but he managed to spend every penny except one...

on five auction lots.

Time to find out who's able to flex the most financial muscle.

First up, Jonathon's rather bashed music stand.

Part 19th century, on bobbin-turned support there.

£20? £10 to start me off.

10 bid. I'll take 12 now. At £10. 12?

14. 16. At £16. 18. At £18. 20. At £20 bid.

-Keep going, keep going, keep going!

-We all done?

-No, no, no!

£20 to 547.

-£20.

-It's like Groundhog Day. This is what happened to me last time.

Bought for 20, sold for 20.

It certainly didn't sing to the buyers!

Next up, James's silver-plated job lot.

Some items of silver plate

including a Mappin & Webb pierced bordered chamber stick

and Bevan & Webb pint tankard. Lot 115. £20 to buy very quickly?

Tenner bid. At 10. I'll take 12. 12. 14.

16. 18. 20? At £18. 20 no? At £18. 20 no. We're done.

At £18. £18.

-Steady James.

-Steady profit there.

A small profit for James, but a profit nevertheless.

Jonathon's engraving of the Sacre Coeur is up next.

Let's hope a little French charm goes a long way in Cornwall.

French school, early 20th century, signed limited edition etching,

Parisian street scene. That one there, very quickly. Can I say £20?

£10? Tenner bid.

At 10. At 12. At 15. At £15, the bid's with me.

Come on!

At £18, the bid's at the back. At £18. 20 no. We all done? At £18.

-Well done. Back in the game!

-Result!

Back in the game! Back in the game!

Un petit profit for Jonathon! Ooh la la!

Continuing the French theme...

Novelty French white-metal topped bottle with integral pillbox,

complete with stopper. Pretty little thing. £50 to buy? £30 to buy?

£20 I'm bid. At £20. 25. 30. 35.

£40. 45? At 45 I'm bid. At £40 I'm bid.

We're done at £40.

Tenner.

Disappointing as per normal.

The good folk of Cornwall

certainly seem to like items from across the Channel.

So will they be drawn to Jonathon's marine theme?

A pair of signed watercolours there.

-Dated 1911.

-Here we are. Good luck. Good luck, lovely lot.

-£50?

£30? £20 I have.

At £20. 25. £30. 35.

£40? At £35.

-At £35. 40?

-Come on!

At 38. 40 now. At 38 I'm bid. At 38, 40 no, I'm done.

At 38. 825.

Oh, Jonathon!

Don't worry.

By the look of it, we might sell the table for about £30.

Don't give up, James! The auctioneer liked your table.

But first the pewter jug, remember?

The one the trade hasn't seen and which is sure to make a profit.

Liberty Tudoric pewter hot water jug. Pattern number 0213.

£20 away? £10 away?

Tenner bid. At 10. At £10. I'll take 12. At £10 I'm bid. 12.

14. 16. 18. 20.

£20, the bid's right at the back.

22. 25? 25. 28? 28. £30? £30.

32? £30 still at the back. 32? At £30, then, going at the back.

At £30. 228.

-Up and down, James.

-Up and down, up and down.

Oh, dearie me! Moving on...

Jonathon's got a right royal hope with his embroidery.

19th-century framed needlework panel,

depicting the Royal coat of arms in a nice rosewood frame there.

Start there very quickly. Can I say £50 away? £30 away.

£30 I'm bid.

-He's got someone.

-One or two in the book. Keep going.

Keep going. Keep going. Keep going.

At £45? Are we all done? At £45.

He gives with one hand and he takes with the other, doesn't he?

That's life!

How coy!

We may be in the Duchy of Cornwall but no-one's feeling very patriotic!

It's James's North African coffee table.

Are the good people of Lostwithiel up for a little ethnic charm?

Brass circular coffee tray...

-Lovely tray! What a lovely tray!

-£20 away?

-Feel the weight, sir!

-Shh!

At £10 I'm bid. I'll take 12.

At £10 I'm bid. 12?

Are we all done at £10? Going at £10.

-This isn't the 1970s!

-What a crime!

£10!

Oops! I could have told you, James!

Now, could Jonathon's life be saved in more ways than one?

Red-and-white lifesaving ring and pair of military painted paddles.

Somebody might need lifesaving. DRUM ROLL

-Oh, even the auctioneer's at it!

-£10 away?

At 5. £5 I'm bid. I'll take 6. At 5. 6. 7.

-8. 10. At £10 I'm bid.

-Keep going.

-12 now?

Up the river without a paddle!

At £10 I'm bid. 12 no. Going at £10.

-Steady work.

-Steady work, yeah.

-Steady work.

-Yeah, sorry, kids.

Yeah, lovely.

Well, there'll be no bird on the table this Sunday!

The bidders are just not in today.

The final lot of the day is James's big punt,

his pricey Chinese rosewood stand, bought for £200.

Lot 104 there is a late 19th-century Chinese carved rosewood stand.

There it is, it's in a prime place.

One, two, three, four bids on this one. I'm going to start at £210.

-Oh, no!

-At 210. At 210.

AUCTIONEER LAUGHS

Far too much! Shall I go down to £50?

At 210, all the bids with me.

210. 220 no? We all done at 210? Well, the bid's with me at £210.

Really? 210?

Oh...!

-That's very good, James.

-The top bid was probably 500!

His dreams dashed.

This has not been the final hurrah James was hoping for.

Nervous Jonathon started this leg with...

..and, unfortunately, made a loss of £47.93,

so he ends up with...

In fact, that's nearly half what he started with.

Not great!

Devilish James, however, kicked off today with...

He also made a loss, of £47.44,

but he ends with a grand total of...

..making him this week's clear winner. Well done, old fruit!

And what a competitive week it's been.

Since leaving Altrincham, near Manchester,

James and Jonathon have driven over 300 miles south

to glorious Cornwall. James has needled his rival from the start.

MUSIC: "Stir It Up" by Bob Marley and the Wailers

It's nice to see a man scratching around, isn't it?

You can hear him now, can't you? He's round there, skulking around, putting me off!

I'm not smiling!

Lot number 7.

Good, good, good.

You cleared all the broken stuff out now?

No, nothing that's broken, James.

Occasionally, he's lost the birdie...

For a cuckoo clock, do you need a cuckoo?

While Jonathon has been confused...

-MUSIC: "Confusion" by Electric Light Orchestra

-Oh, dear! God!

He's dithered...

OK, £100... Oh, God, I'm so...

But at least they've had a jolly good jaunt down the country in James's trusty MG.

Next week we're on the road with David Barby and David Harper,

as they travel all the way from Northern Ireland to Wales.

There's plenty of rivalry...

-No.

-Oh!

And occasionally the gloves come off...

Oh, dear! I feel so awful for you!

But which David will win the day?

-Come on!

-Hey, David! David! Best of luck.

-Oh, sorry.

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