Episode 12 Antiques Road Trip

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

Well, duck, do I buy you or don't I?

Who can make the most money

buying and selling antiques as they scour the UK?

Look at the colour.

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

but it's not as easy as it looks,

and dreams of glory can end in tatters.

Thank you.

So, will it be the fast lane to success

or the slow road to bankruptcy?

Bad luck for Thomas. £50 down.

This is the Antiques Road Trip.

This week, we're out on the road with a right pair of rascals -

auctioneers Thomas Plant and Mark Hales.

-Gentle as you can.

-I know! What are you talking about?

-Beautifully, smoothly.

-Yeah, all right.

Do you think I'm a back seat driver? I most definitely am.

Thomas Plant isn't afraid to name his price.

-How much is on it?

-350.

What would you like it to be?

I want it to be for nothing, really.

And this is Mark Hales. He just loves antiques.

That's made my day.

Whatever happens to me now today, I'll still be smiling

because I've seen that and I've held that.

Thomas suffered more losses than profits yesterday

but remained positive.

Made money though, didn't it? Made money, made money.

And Mark was rather boisterous at auction.

Go, Floppy, go!

From his original £200, Thomas now has a limp £209.75.

Because we're about to buy in the Republic of Ireland,

this converts to 226 euros and 53 cents.

And just ahead by a nose is Mark Hales.

He managed to add to his £200 kitty

with a respectable figure of £223.89.

Converted into euros, he has 241.80.

The vintage 1967 Sunbeam Alpine is the stylish choice of automobile

for this week's antiques adventure.

This week, Thomas and Mark will travel all the way

from Northern Ireland and will notch up a whopping 460 miles

all the way to the beautiful village of Pontrilas in South Herefordshire.

And on today's show,

we start in Dublin with an auction showdown at Ballybrittas.

The River Liffey flows through the centre of Dublin.

What better place for the chaps to kick off today's rendezvous

and indulge in a bit of shopping strategy?

-A lovely big river.

-Very nice indeed.

-Teeming with salmon and possible bargains in Dublin.

-I hope so.

Are you going to strike hard bargains this time?

Are you going to deal strongly?

I think if you keep pushing, you make your own luck.

You can't play too safe, Thomas, can you really?

You have to step out of your comfort zone if you're going to win a round.

Like you did with your spoons.

You might have noticed that in the last round I bought silver.

I know. Come on, less of this self-congratulation.

-I told you I wouldn't mention it.

-This praise!

-One-nil.

-Let's go.

One-nil!

# One-nil! #

Well, they're certainly playful.

They're making their way

to Dublin's Antiques Mecca, Francis Street.

It's Mark's turn first.

He's having a good old gander at Michael Connell Antiques.

-Good morning, sir.

-Good morning, how are you?

-I'm Mark.

-Michael Connell, pleased to meet you.

-How do you do, Michael?

How refreshing to walk into a shop that is very much the real thing.

-Thank you very much.

-Absolutely wonderful.

Would it be OK if I had a jolly good look?

-Have a good wander, there's loads of stuff here.

-Lovely.

-Thank you very much indeed.

-No problem.

Mark is a master spy of hunting down unusual antiques.

He's a lovable charmer that knows how to work the room.

He takes his time, slowly but surely narrowing down the items

he wants to consider.

-And then Bingo! He makes his move.

-Nice little camera here.

These are very, very collectible.

Maybe if we can get this for a good price, this might be worth a go.

This little beauty is said to be an original spy camera from the 1940s.

A lot of people will buy this sort of thing at auction to place online.

Postage is very little, it's easy.

It can be posted anywhere in the world easily and it's very collectible.

It's got its original leather case. It's all working, it's all there.

I'll have a little think about that.

And as he thinks about it, the search continues.

This just caught my eye because there's always RAF collectors.

That's just come in, yes.

There are in my part of the world anyway. I'm down in Devon.

Whenever we have anything that's RAF,

there's always somebody that wants to buy it.

I just thought that's a bit of fun so that's definitely a maybe.

Right, the camera, Michael. 60-odd euros.

I'll do 50 on it, Mark.

I'm out of my comfort zone as usual.

I'll do 40 to bring you into your comfort zone.

-Is it...?

-It's working.

-Is it rare enough?

-It's rare.

-It's a miniature spy, what they call, spy camera.

-And it's all there?

The leather case, the lot.

Little spy camera in its original leather case, 40 euros.

-Oh, let's have a go. Let's have a go.

-Right.

-All right, I'll have that, Michael. We'll shake on that one.

-Thank you.

I'll have that one. I'll get the money out in a minute.

What about this little match box holder? This has to be pennies.

I'm not that enamoured with it, it's just RAF. It's a collectible.

-If it's really cheap, I'll have a go.

-I'll do a tenner on it.

All right, we'll have a go with that. Thank you, Michael. Shake on that as well.

The job's a good 'un, Mark. It's an impressive start to your day.

Meanwhile, Thomas Plant is making his way to St James's Gate in Dublin,

the home of the world-famous Guinness beverage.

Obviously, there are other stouts available

but it would be rude not to visit whilst one's in Dublin.

10 million glasses of this world-famous stout are enjoyed

in 150 countries across the globe, but Thomas is not going for a drink.

Oh no. He's here to find out about the history.

It all started in 1759, when Arthur Guinness signed

a rather unique lease for a disused brewery in Dublin.

Archivist Evelyn Roche is Thomas's guide for today.

-I keep on hearing about this famous lease.

-Absolutely.

One of the most famous leases in Irish history, probably,

and I've a copy of it here to show you.

-OK.

-This is it.

It's an indenture, the term that would have been used back in the 18th century.

It was signed 252 years ago for an incredible 9,000 years.

9,000 years!

That is an extraordinary amount of time.

Did he think, I may as well buy it?

Very hard for us to conceive of 9,000 years as a period of time.

I guess all you can say, about Arthur, he certainly had

a belief in his beer and a belief that he was going to be around for 9,000 years.

-I hear you've got something else to show me.

-I do indeed.

I'll take you over here.

This is one of the absolute gems that we hold here in the archive.

It's a recipe book that dates right back to Arthur's time.

It's a recipe that he himself would have brewed.

What this shows is that he was actually brewing West India Porter.

Why this particular recipe is of such interest to us

here at Guinness is that it's the direct precursor

of a beer that we still brew today over 200 years later

here in St James's Gate which we call Guinness Foreign Extra Stout.

That is fascinating, it really is.

What are these here, these children's books?

Sort of Alice in Wonderland?

These are what are known as doctor's books.

They're really, really highly illustrated booklets

that were first produced in the early 1930s

and they're called doctor's books because they were actually issued

by Guinness to GPs, general practitioners,

around Christmas time of every year as a thank-you gift to GPs

who, at that point in time,

would have been endorsing Guinness as a health tonic.

Very much, you have to look at it as a point in time.

This is the very first one here and it's based on Alice in Wonderland

so would have been the Lewis Carroll centenary

around the 1930s, so would have been very topical, I guess, at the time.

What they would have done is just adapted a lot of the copy

and a lot of the ditties to Guinness.

This one here at the end is just one of my personal favourites.

You have the hare here looking at his pocket watch and saying,

"Oh my ears and whiskers! It's Guinness time!"

Well, my ears and whiskers indeed.

While Thomas enjoys a touch of the black stuff,

Mark's still shopping in Dublin's Francis Street.

-Good morning.

-Good morning.

-Good morning, I'm Mark.

-I'm Esther.

-Hello, Esther. How do you do?

-Fine, thank you.

-What a lovely day out there.

-It's lovely.

-What a lovely shop.

-Thank you.

-Would you mind awfully if I just have a little browse?

-No.

Off we go again.

This chap is a likeable fellow with a real love of antiques.

Do you know, it sort of makes the day worthwhile

when you see something like that. I absolutely love this.

19th century French Rousseau.

Superb. Acid-etched, look at the colour. That in front of the light.

Unfortunately, a lot of damage. Actually, it's not for sale.

Esther's keeping this and I really don't blame her

because if I found this somewhere, I would keep it.

Oh, wonderful piece of glass. That's made my day.

Whatever happens to me now today, I'll still be smiling

because I've seen that and I've held that.

MUSIC: "Magic Moments" by Perry Como

I think he likes it.

But you're here to buy, Mark. Back to it!

Have you got any little bits and bobs?

Anything there's a profit left in. Anything I can turn a copper with.

-I doubt it.

-Anything you've bought well.

-This is a very English thing.

-I like that. Isn't it lovely?

-Yes.

-Mother of pearl, little penknife, fruit knife.

-A fruit knife.

Little ladies' penknife or fruit knife. Is that pennies?

-Little penknife.

-There's 20 euro on it. We could do something.

Could it be 10?

-That will give me a chance, wouldn't it?

-It would.

-It would, wouldn't it?

-It could be 10.

-Yes?

-Yes.

-Esther, I think I love you.

I love that.

-It must make more than that, mustn't it?

-It has to.

Bless your heart, you're a lovely lady.

-Thank you.

-Right, 10 euros. Thank you very much.

Gosh, Mark really likes to dish out the kisses and the compliments.

The charm seems to be working though.

That's another cheeky lot to add to his bag of tricks.

Thomas, on the other hand, has a lot of catching up to do.

His first bout of shopping begins in Michael Connell Antiques.

-Hello.

-Hello, how are you?

-Good, thank you. How are you?

-Not too bad.

-Michael Connell, pleased to meet you.

-Michael, I'm Thomas Plant. Nice to meet you.

Can I have a good scoot around?

Feel free. Work away, take your time.

Thomas loves sniffing out a bargain and like Mark,

he loves to get stuck right in.

I will ask Michael about this.

A big decorative drum, isn't it? It's made of, this is pigskin.

This is brass and this is wood round here.

Somebody could have that on a sideboard or somebody

could have that as almost like a coffee table now.

They're quite decorative things. I quite like the painting around it.

I think that's quite good fun. But it's got a lot of money.

350 euros.

The thing is, nobody's offended by an offer.

-The drum.

-Yeah.

-What can that be?

-How much is on it?

-350.

What would you like it to be?

I want it to be for nothing, really.

It can be 50.

Eh? What's that you say? 50 euros!

-You couldn't make it for 50 quid.

-No. And it's old as well.

It's definitely Victorian, Edwardian, Victorian.

It's got a bit of age to it.

-If we said 40, would you do it?

-If we said 50, I'll do it.

I am just now... Do you see the door there?

It's a good price at 50.

45. Thank you.

HE LAUGHS

-Oh, you're giving me a tip as well?

-No!

Blimey, that was a super quick deal.

Perhaps Thomas has got a lucky shamrock in his pocket.

Bye, thank you very much.

Meanwhile, we can't seem to get Mark away from Francis Street.

He's still shopping there. This time it's Lantern Antiques.

-Good afternoon, sir.

-Good afternoon.

-I'm Mark.

-I'm John.

-How do you do, John?

-Some very, very nice things here. Can I have a browse?

-Of course, yeah.

Thank you very much, John. Thank you.

Mark wastes no time having a good old rummage.

And before too long, he spots a glass scent bottle.

Have a good old dust.

That's all right. A bit of dust is always very nice.

-Helps the ageing process, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

-Lovely scent bottle.

It's quite late, isn't it, John? Oh, yeah, I think so.

-Bright gilding on it.

-Yeah.

-Is it pennies?

-Did you buy it with other things?

-15 euro.

Well, that's tempting, isn't it? I like that. It's very pretty.

-Could it be 10 euros?

-12.

Yes, yes, yes. I think we'll buy that.

That's decorative and that's fun, isn't it?

I think the ladies will like it. My wife would like that very much.

She'd be quite happy to have that.

But then she'd be quite happy to have anything I bought, frankly.

There we have it.

Mark has yet another goody to add to his collection.

After all that excitement,

Heaven knows what they'll get up to tomorrow.

The boys are up nice and early.

There's still more antiques to hunt down in Dublin.

So far, Mark has spent 72 on three auction lots.

The spy camera, so called,

an RAF match box holder, the lady's fruit knife

and the glass scent bottle, leaving 169.80 for the day ahead.

Thomas, meanwhile,

had a tremendous result with the fabulous deal on the Victorian drum.

He spent a total of 45 euros on one lot.

Goodbye, thank you very much.

He has 181.53 to splash around town.

So, onwards with our Irish adventure.

Thomas needs to catch up with the old shopping.

He begins his day where Mark ended his shopping yesterday.

Its Lantern Antiques, located on the boys' beloved Francis Street.

-Good morning.

-Morning.

-I'm Thomas.

-Morning. Welcome.

-Thank you very much. And you're?

-John.

-Do you mind if I have a good look around?

-Of course.

Thank you very much.

Thomas has been a tough taskmaster when it comes to naming his price.

Who knows what he will get up to today?

Crumbs. That's a whopper.

This is a Victorian brass grain measure, as it says on there.

You can see it's Victorian because just here,

you've got a Victorian mark - V.R. and the Crown.

Then you've got these proof marks here.

I rate that. I like that. I think it's a lovely thing.

You must sort of scoop into the grain and then you sort of,

off it comes, and then that's your measure of grain.

Beautifully made. I might ask about it.

Interesting item, Thomas. Let's hope it's in your price range.

This is a Stilton waiter or Stilton stand. A cheese dish.

It's mahogany and Georgian, I would have thought.

Cheese coasters would have been used around the Georgian dinner-table

to contain a round of Stilton.

Normally they would have had casters for ease of use.

It's the kind of thing which is still quite collectible

because it's small and it would fit into a modern interior.

There's no price on it so I'm going to have to ask John about it.

Hold on to your hats! He's going in for the deal.

It's the grain measure first.

I mean, I know you've got quite a good price on it

but obviously, I'm looking.

-I'm sort of hoping.

-200.

Really? You wouldn't sort of think again on that one?

-Would you?

-150.

-No less.

-Really?

-Yes.

-Go on.

-No.

-No way, no.

It's worth a lot of money, that. What's your price then?

-I'd like to give you 75.

-No way.

-I can only ask.

-I'll split the difference.

100 and something-five or something.

-I want to get it under the three-figure.

-No. No less, no way.

-OK. We can just think about that for a second.

-OK, right.

I want to ask you about something else.

-Just up this way if at all possible.

-Of course.

Can I ask you about this Stilton piece?

Well, you know, it's incomplete. The wheels.

-The wheels are missing.

-Yeah.

-I bought it and didn't realise that.

-Was that cheap?

-It is, yeah.

-How much?

-80.

Would you do a little bit less?

-60 is my lowest now, OK.

-Halfway, 50.

-No, 60.

-50, go on.

-No, no way.

-With the grain thing, What about 140?

-OK, go on.

-If it will get rid of you, go on.

-You want to get rid of me!

-Yeah, yeah.

-Really?

You're certainly being tough today, Thomas.

Remember, people do have to make a living.

-Been a real pleasure.

-Thank you.

Mark, meanwhile, has hopped in the car

and is making his way to Sandycove, located eight miles south of Dublin.

He has got an appointment with Robert Nicholson,

curator of the James Joyce Museum.

-Good morning, sir. You must be Robert.

-I am indeed.

-I'm Mark.

Morning, Mark. Welcome to the James Joyce Museum.

-Why don't you come on in and I'll show you around?

-Thank you.

James Joyce is considered one of the most influential writers

in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century.

The museum is situated in a Martello tower that was originally built

by the British as a defence against the expected Napoleonic invasion.

Joyce is best known for Ulysses, a landmark novel

that features a day in the life of a fictional character in 1904 Dublin,

which was considered rather experimental and controversial for the early 20th century reader.

Here we are. This used to be the living room of the tower.

We still have it more or less the way it was when Joyce was here.

In 1904, James Joyce spent six nights here along with friend

Oliver St John Gogarty,

owner of the tower, and acquaintance Samuel Chenevix Trench.

This is actually the room described in the opening chapter of Ulysses.

You find the three men sitting here having breakfast.

If you can imagine the whole room, as he describes it,

filled with smoke from cooking breakfast.

It's all full of fumes.

He describes rays of light coming down from the window shafts, there.

They meet in the middle of the room.

-The rays cross and the smoke rising through it.

-I can smell it.

I'm there. Wonderful. That is wonderful.

Downstairs there's a very rare item that Mark must see before he leaves.

Let me introduce you to the most famous

and influential novel of the 20th century, Ulysses.

This is one of the rare first editions.

Joyce spent seven years writing Ulysses.

It's an immensely complex book.

The book was banned in America and London

due to the risque nature of some of the chapters,

hence the reason that its first publication was in Paris.

It was finally published on James Joyce's 40th birthday,

the 2nd of February 1922.

It took another 12 years before the ban was raised

in the United States and then Britain.

This edition is limited to 1000 copies. Number 819. Wonderful.

While Mark's been brushing up on Irish literature,

Thomas has travelled from Dublin to Newcastle -

that's Newcastle in the Republic of Ireland -

to visit his last shop of the day.

Thomas is going for a good old nosy in Foley's Storehouse.

-Hello.

-How you doing?

-All right if I have a look around?

-No problem.

Now, here he goes. Will his lucky run continue?

# I feel lucky

# I feel lucky, yeah

# No Professor Doom gonna stand in my way

# Mmm, I feel lucky today. #

Antique Sevres painted double-handled urn with floral design

and opposing English country scene.

It's a nice thing.

It's been completely off. It just needs complete restoration.

It's a nice thing, though.

It's lovely, the harbour scene, isn't it lovely? Gorgeous. Love it.

Love the shape. It's classical. Again, it's a proper antique.

Looks like Thomas is ready to negotiate.

Time to get manager Euan in on the action.

-This, here.

-It's an interesting piece.

It's whacked, it's completely been off its rim, hasn't it?

-Can anything be done there? In terms of price?

-Price? Certainly.

Well, let's just see. It's standing at 90 euros.

I could do it for 70. How would you feel about that?

I was thinking, because it's so badly damaged,

I'll give you 20 euros for it.

-Hmm.

-Because it is whacked all the way around.

It's an interesting thing.

-I love it for what it is, it's just a decorative item now.

-Right, OK.

I follow you, I follow you. Look, I'll give it to you for 20.

20? All right. Deal. That's a deal.

Good stuff, thank you.

What's wrong with you, Thomas? You really are pushing it today.

Anyway, with the purchase of the vase,

that means you have a total of five lots.

Back to Mark.

He's still in Sandycove

and has decided to have a bit of a nose in Sandycove Antiques.

-Good afternoon, madam.

-How are you?

-I'm Mark, how do you do?

-I'm Fiona.

-Hello, Fiona. Lovely things. Lovely shop.

-Thank you.

-Really nice.

-Can I have a browse?

-You can.

-Is it OK? Thank you very much indeed.

Our Mark loves a bit of a browse

and he's not afraid to have a good old feel of the goods.

But what's he in the mood for buying?

I would love to buy a little bit of silver.

But I would be very much in your hands.

I know it's straightforward, but have you any Dublin silver?

I have a few Irish silver spoons here. Two rat-tail spoons.

Rat-tail was typically Irish. That's called rat-tail.

This is the bright-cut one I was going to show you.

That's bright-cut, it's called. Star pattern.

-Isn't that lovely?

-How beautiful.

-Pretty.

-1832. Lovely hallmarks.

-I like your spoons.

Can we put them on your desk?

Mark fared well with his Dublin spoons at yesterday's auction.

Perhaps another set of spoons is a shrewd and canny move?

These are Irish, here. They are a pair of brass button shiners.

Apparently the people in the army,

to shine the brass buttons on their uniform,

they would put this on to stop the...

-Aren't they lovely?

-They're Irish. It says FCA on them.

-What does the FCA stand for, do you know?

-I can't remember the name.

-Is it military?

-It's military, yes.

-Irish military?

That's good, isn't it?

You're quite right, Mark. It is Irish military.

And it stands for Forsa Cosanta Aitiuil

which means Local Defence Force.

The original ticket price for this shiny pair is 118 euros.

Aren't they fun?

If we put those on the desk, have a little think about those.

Let's say I've got about 110 euros to spend.

What can I buy there for 110 euros?

Perhaps those would be good and these lovely brass button shiners.

Is that a good buy at 55 euros? Can I get a profit at auction if I buy those for 55 euros?

I think 55's OK for those because they're Irish silver.

-The rat-tail appeals to people.

-Can I get a profit on those?

-That just seems a lot to me, 55. 35?

-What about 45?

I definitely wouldn't want to have a go at 45. Maybe I'd have a go at 40.

-At 40 it's 20 each.

-Do you think I should have a go at £40?

Just because they're military? All right. OK, Fiona. Thank you very much indeed.

And just when you think he's finished for the day...

You know the two pretty ones, they're Dublin as well?

-They are Dublin, 1832.

-How about all four?

£25 a spoon, isn't it?

-You're quite happy with these? Same deal with those?

-OK, I'll do that.

-We have a deal.

-Thank you very much. That's really sweet.

-I'm in a spoon-buying mood, you might have noticed.

-Good, I'm delighted you like the spoons.

-Thank you.

He loves a nice Irish spoon.

And he's also one for kissing the ladies.

Maybe that's why he's always smiling.

It's time for the boys to show one another their antique goodies.

My first item, Thomas.

Wonderful. A little micro camera?

-A spy camera, Thomas. And...

-Vesta case. That's very nice.

The camera cost 40 euros. The matchbox holder, the RAF matchbox holder, 10 euros.

-Good luck.

-Thank you very much, Thomas. That's it, is it? That's all you can say about them?

-That's all I'm going to say.

-Lovely(!)

Thomas isn't too impressed, it seems.

Quite heavy. Oh, my goodness me. What have we here, Thomas?

-Well, this, according to the antiques shop, is a measure for grain.

-A grain measure!

-It is bronze.

-That, I like.

-It is a thing of majesty.

-That is absolutely beautiful.

-90 euro.

-I like that a lot.

I think you did extraordinarily well, actually. Very well.

Mark is very impressed.

-Right.

-Oh! Look at that.

So, these are to polish your buttons on your military uniform

without getting the polish on your tunic.

Top marks, Thomas. A little bit of a chance on these. I just thought, well, have a go.

Best of luck. They will probably do you all right in the end.

-It's for your Stilton cheese.

-For your Stilton cheese.

It's in raw condition. It needs a bit of work.

But it's all there, really. That was 50.

I think that's safe enough, certainly.

There you are, Thomas. Look at that.

-A mother-of-pearl penknife?

-Yes.

-Birmingham.

-I bought it for 10 euros.

-Bargain. You will make a profit.

-I thought it would make 20.

-Perfect.

Thomas has a surprise up his sleeve.

He managed to return to Michael Connell Antiques and bag himself another bargain.

Goodness me. That's most unusual and very, very nice.

You wouldn't have spent more than let's say 35 euros on them?

-Less than that.

-A snip!

-20 euro.

Goodness me, that was a steal, Thomas.

Looks like a good buy, Thomas.

-Another little bricy-bracy thingy.

-Don't break it!

-I have to handle this one.

-It's a lovely little scent bottle, isn't it?

-Very, very pretty.

-Isn't that nice?

-Remove your finger.

-Oh, lovely.

-Lift the perfume, let the drops out.

I thought that was very pretty and very decorative.

There are always ladies at auctions. Surely it will be saleable.

You can see it's a big item. If I can wrestle it out of the bag.

-My goodness me.

-There we are.

I would like you to put into words,

words that people can understand, why you bought this drum.

It's in good condition.

What happens to these now

is they get made into very nice wine tables,

coffee tables, occasional tables.

Do you know, Thomas, I've got to be totally frank here.

-I really dislike your drum quite intensely.

-Really?

-It's quite fun.

-It's just all mucky and yellow and horrible and smelly.

-That's nice.

-I'm not very keen.

-It's nice! I'm taking it away, then.

I think we can safely say Mark doesn't like the drum.

Have a look at these.

We've got some Irish spoons here, Irish spoons.

-They're all Dublin.

-They're all Dublin, they're all Georgian.

They cost 100. What do you think?

You've got a profit there for sure, a profit.

So, Mark, this was my last shot.

There's the front, nicely painted.

I like that a lot.

That is so me, early 19th-century, soft paste, English porcelain.

You probably snatched it away for 30 euros.

-20 euros spent.

-Wonderful.

That's something I'd buy myself at home.

Because it was 20, it would go on the mantelpiece.

-To the auction.

-To the auction, Thomas.

To the auction indeed. Both boys are pretty pleased with their buys.

But what do they really think?

I've bought real antiques, real antiques and quality.

So...

Who knows? That risk is so big.

Mark seems to have spent all his money on not great hopes

apart from the spoons.

Out came the drum, there was my opportunity, I didn't like it.

It was smelly, horrible, the condition was appalling.

He's right, it was a Victorian drum,

but I can't see it fetching more than he paid for it.

It's been an exciting second leg from Dublin, Sandycove

and the village of Newcastle, County Dublin

to the final destination of Ballybrittas, Portlaoise.

Ballybrittas is a small village

located in the North East of County Laois, Ireland.

It's auction day as our dynamic duo arrive

at their second auction of the week.

Ashgrove Auction Rooms has been established since 2005

and holds two auctions per month.

Our auctioneer for today, and owner, is Sean Eacrett.

He has a few thoughts to share on our chaps' purchases.

The silver spoons will do extremely well. They should make their money.

The one I think is going to do the least well, I could be totally wrong, will be the scent bottle.

We haven't had a huge amount of interest in it,

but we have quite a lot of ladies here tonight and it's a more feminine piece.

Mark Hales started today's show with 241 euros and 80 cents.

He spent 212 euros on five lots.

Thomas Plant began with 226.53

and nearly blew the lot by spending 225 on five lovely lots.

It's the moment we've all been waiting for. Quiet please!

The auction is about to begin.

First up, it's Thomas' unusual cheese coaster.

We have bids taking us in here at 120.

You were right, Thomas, you're smiling now.

-130, 140. Any advance on 140?

-That's very good.

Are we all out and done?

Fair warning to you all at 140.

-We're happy now, aren't we?

-Yeah, absolutely.

That's a good... That's a good result.

It's a tidy profit for Thomas.

Next up we have Mark's military brass button polishers.

Can we see 30 for them, please? 20 is bid. 22 and I am out.

It's in the room at 22. Any advance on 22?

25, 28. Any advance on 28?

All out and done at 28.

You won't be buying them again, will you?

No, I think I'll give button shiners a miss for the rest of my life.

I would.

Button shiners clearly aren't so popular with this audience it seems.

And now for Thomas's pigskin drum, the one Mark hates.

-And we have commissions on the book.

-Oh, no!

-22 is bid. Any advance?

25, 28, 30, 32, 35 in the room on the left.

38, 40, 42, 42 there. Any advance on 42?

45, 48, 50, 60,

65, 70.

70 on the right. Selling at 70. A round of applause at 70.

Hey! Smelly, old drum.

It seems Thomas is rather chuffed with that result.

It's Mark's scent bottle next.

Maybe it'll lift him from loss into profit.

20 for this, please. A tenner?

Ten are bid. Any advance on 10? 12, 15,

-18, 20...

-We're there.

22, 25,

28, 30, 30 in front.

All out and done at 30.

Not so bad. That's OK.

You've got to be so pleased!

It's a small profit, but it's better than nothing.

It's Thomas's lovely English porcelain vase next.

We have a commission starting this one at 65 bid.

Any advance on 65? Selling on commission at 65.

70, 75, 80, 82.

I'll take 85. Are we all done and finished at 85?

Fair warning to you all at 85.

-Well done, Thomas. That's great, isn't it?

-That's a good result.

I'm very pleased with that.

It IS a good result. Yet another profit for Thomas.

Next up, it's Mark's quirky little camera and RAF matchbox holder.

And we have bids taking us in at 35, 38 bid here with me.

Need a lot more than that.

40, 42, 45, 48, 50 and I am out. In the room at 50.

55, 60, 65,

Any advance on 65? 70, 75, 80, 85,

90, sir?

90, 95,

100 on the right. Any advance on 100?

Fair warning to you all at 100.

You put your money on that.

I'm quite proud of myself because I'm not a cameraman.

Clearly.

Well, it's a nice little earner and your best result so far, Mark.

It's Thomas's rather lovely carving set next.

Here's to having another big slice of profit, Tom.

20 is bid. Any advance on 20?

22, 25,

28, 30, 32 and I'm out.

Any advance on 32? To you, madam, selling at 32.

-I think that's...

-I think that's very good.

-No, it should have made 45.

-No, no, it made a profit, it's fine.

Quite right, Thomas, at least it wasn't a loss.

It's Mark's delicate, lady's fruit knife next.

We have two bids, they're small, but 22 is bid.

Any advance on 22?

25, I'm out. On the right-hand side at 25.

28 online.

30 in the room.

32, 32 online.

Any advance on the online bidder at 32? Online at 32.

Selling at 32.

-That's a world record...

-It's very good, isn't it?

..for a bent, silver, mother-of-pearl fruit knife.

Thomas, how dare you? It was beautiful.

That was unexpected. Well done, Mark.

Thomas's turn now.

How will the unusual, bronze grain measure fare?

And we have...

one, two, three, four, five, six bids...

-Oh, really.

-..starting at 190.

What did I say?

Any advance on 190?

200, 220, 240, 250, I'll take 260. 260 online.

-that was a nice one, sir.

-Wonderful result.

It's a quite unusual piece because of the handles.

Normally you'd see them without handles. 260. Any advance on 260?

-Fair warning. 280, 300.

-It's getting better, Thomas.

220, 320, 340,

I'll take 350. 340 online.

Any advance on 340 online?

Any advance on 340? All out and done and fair warning to you all at 340.

-A wonderful result.

-You're going to have rather a lot to spend in Wales.

By jingo, that's a tremendous result.

It's our final lot of the auction.

Maybe Mark's spoons will get him back on the road to recovery.

And we have commission starting in at 85.

Go, go, go.

85, 90, 95, 100, 110, 120, I'm out.

120 on the left hand side. I'm selling at 120.

130 online. 140.

Need to be quicker online. I'm selling at 140.

Fair warning at 140.

-It could be worse for teaspoons.

-Brilliant.

-It's a profit.

-Brilliant.

Well, maybe not quite the result you were looking for

and sadly not enough to achieve a lead today, Mark.

It's only the second day in. There's still all to play for.

Does one be cautious with one's profit? Or does one spend it?

After paying auction costs, Mark has made a profit of 58.60.

He has a total of 300.40 to carry forward.

Thomas Plant is today's triumphant winner

with a spectacular array of profits.

He's made a wonderful profit of 321.94

and therefore has a staggering 548.47 going forward.

-Mark, are you driving?

-Thank you very much, Thomas, that's wonderful.

I think we know who won, don't we? I think we know who won. I'm driving.

It's just down to luck, isn't it? It's just down to sheer luck.

-What a lovely, lovely evening.

-Nice people. Good auctioneer.

That was good fun.

Next time on the Antiques Road Trip, the chaps head to Wales.

Mark is super tough when naming his price.

Do you think she'd knock £1 off?

And Thomas shows off his driving expertise.

-I'm looking for more, Thomas.

-Are you?

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd