Episode 19 Antiques Road Trip

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-Our favourite antiques experts, £200 each and one big challenge.

-Do I buy you?

Who can make the most money buying and selling antiques across the UK?

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

-Oh!

-But it's not as easy as it looks and dreams can end in tatters.

-60.

-Get out of here!

-So will it be the fast lane to success or the slow road to bankruptcy?

-I want to go cry!

This is the Antiques Road Trip!

Yeah!

We're on the road again in a cool 1965 Triumph TR4

with a fine pair of auctioneers - Philip Serrell and Jonathan Pratt.

Philip Serrell is an old hand at this antiques road tripping. He won't mind me saying that.

A man who's never afraid to say it like it is.

-I'd like to give you 10 quid for that. 70 for the two.

-How much?!

Ha ha! But Philip doesn't like to travel alone, so he's brought his best man with him,

bright young spark Jonathan Pratt.

You're mad! Absolutely mad.

Oh, dear. But sadly Jonathan has not shined on the auction field.

-In fact, he's lost lots and lots of money.

-20.

Not going well, JP, is it?

Oh, Philip.

I want to go and cry!

I don't quite know what to say, JP.

And from his original £200,

Jonathan has a mere £126.72 to stage a fightback with.

Philip, meanwhile, has fared rather better.

Selling at £60.

At £150...

# I'm walking on sunshine... #

So, in finer fettle, Philip has home-grown his £200

to a blossoming £366.62 to take out on the road once more.

Well, JP, how do you reckon it's gone so far?

-Do you really want me to answer that question honestly?

-No. Some things in life don't need asking.

This week our chaps are journeying all the way from Cockermouth to Wilmslow.

On this leg, they're sadly leaving gorgeous Donny, heading to a crunch auction in Lincoln.

Pretty, painterly Gainsborough is the first pin in our map.

-Is there a plan?

-Oh...

-There's got to be a masterplan.

Gainsborough's been here for a bit, with a market held every Tuesday for about 800 years or so,

give or take a century.

-Is this it?

-Squeeze in.

-That looks fabulous.

We could have some fun in here.

Not sure you've got time for any fun, Jonathan. Remember all that money you don't currently have?

-Almost got very excited then.

-I did.

-But that's been the story of my life for a long while.

Cheer up. You lucky chaps have safely landed in Gainsborough's wonderful Pilgrim Antiques

with Michael and...Michael here to help.

-If there's no price, does it mean it's free?

-It does.

So these would have been produced round about what?

-18...80? 1890?

-I would think so, yes.

They're Chinese and on rice paper.

-That is such a good subject. I know it's macabre.

-Macabre they are, but fascinating for it.

Possibly from the Chinese Boxer Rebellion at the turn of the 20th century.

-£75 the lot.

-Are your prices negotiable at all?

-Within reason.

-OK.

-Michael, you're about to live to regret those words, old fruit.

I think that's fantastic. I'm going to take a closer look.

Oh, lord. I've kicked the stand out of the way now.

-How much is that? The ticket price?

-50 quid.

-50 quid?

-Yeah.

-It's a bargain!

-It's got a name on it.

It's a French one, isn't it? My geography's never been that special, but it says Toulouse.

I think we'll find that's in France.

Oui. C'est vrai, Philip.

This handsome instrument dates from the late 19th or early 20th century, but is it a euphonium,

a tuba or a vase?

I'm interested in that and the macabre Chinese things.

-Is it one deal for the two?

-No, no. Two separate deals.

-How's that going to work?

-Well, try us.

-Really? Right, you ready for this, then?

-OK, that's the barter table, that is.

-Yes.

Would that buy each of them?

-No.

-He's not said no yet.

-I certainly will.

-Oh, he's just said no.

-Well, there we are, then. How's that? 30 quid apiece.

-Nearly there. Better keep going.

-Forty quid apiece. That's the best I can do.

-That's OK for that.

-Because it's a special event and we don't see you very often...

-You don't want to, either!

A double-headed triumph for Philip.

£40 for the torture pictures and another £40 for the big brass... instrument.

Jonathan must be wondering what he's missed. Time, though, for him to make his own sweet music.

It's a little engraving from the early part of the 20th century.

Pencil signed, You can see the plate mark here. Nice and original.

It's quite a skill to do this. It looks like an east coast harbour. Kind of touristy.

And it's only £7.50. Nice and cheap.

Certainly an attractive, reasonably-priced picture.

And you need all the inexpensive help you can get today.

I was going past the engraving to get to this little chap.

It's quite fun. A sort of 1930s watercolour of a cartoon character

who's... I forget the name of the dog, but it's a character you see.

It's Bonzo! Dreamt up in the 1920s by British artist George E Studdy.

He's listening to an old valve radio, singing his little heart out.

They're only asking a tenner for that. I'm going to try to get them both, I think.

But en route to the counter, Jonathan spots something dishy.

It's majolica. Late 19th century.

But that mark there, which is that little patch,

I believe is...is, um... What's his name?

-His name is...

-George Jones?

-Oh, blimey. I've forgotten it.

Yes, yes...it's George Jones!

George Jones and Sons were famous Stoke-on-Trent potters from the 1860s to the 1950s.

And this unusual dish has a ticket price of £75, but possibly something missing.

-Out of interest, how much is this?

-It's... Well, it has problems.

-Yeah.

-Yes.

-But don't we all?

-That's true.

-So it would have had a rack or something inside it?

-Handles.

-Handles there. So they've gone. What's the best price on it?

-65?

-Not something you'd do for 40.

-No.

-Am I close?

-No.

LAUGHTER

Interesting new tactic here - pretending to browse.

-I like it.

-45?

-You're closer.

-Closer to 65, yeah!

-£55?

-Yeah, go on.

Go on, yes.

-I'll say thank you on that one.

-Right. You're welcome.

There's two other things. In the cabinet just on the left, there's an engraving.

-That little chap there. Could you take a fiver for it?

-No problem.

-Brilliant.

-No problem.

-Wow. He should have tried £3! Still, it's colourful.

-Would you take a fiver for the other one?

-How much is on it?

-Slightly cheeky.

-You are.

-You're asking a tenner.

-Seven.

-I'm going to take that as well.

JP, you are a buying machine this morning. Shame you're nearly out of money.

And now, well, the road ahead beckons.

I'm pilot, you're navigator. Have you got us lost again?

-I can't even see out the windscreen.

-That sort of spreads rather than wipes.

Our red-blooded rummagers have been stuck in the same car and shops all week. They've got cabin fever.

So a bit of "me time" is on today's agenda.

Opened in the 1980s, the Astra Antiques Centre became one of the largest in Europe.

However, its former life was RAF Bomber Command in WWII, home to the massive Lancaster Bombers,

hence the size. Today with the many, many dealers stationed here,

heroic Barry is on hand to help.

So...we've got an artist's little easel. That's fantastic.

And this would have been an oil paint box. It is old.

-Just old.

-I'm old.

-1900, 1920.

-Yeah, and this is... You have little compartments here

for all your different paints. Winsor and Newton label, which I love.

Winsor and Newton have made artists' materials since 1832,

even during the Second World War when many paint colours were requisitioned by the RAF

for map and reconnaissance work. This set is much earlier with a current asking price of just £28.

I could become Pablo Serrell, couldn't I?

-What'll you paint?

-I can do walls and ceilings.

-This is a powder compact.

-It is.

-I could do with some of that.

Well, you could blush when your eye catches the £95 price tag.

Fortunately, today tortoiseshell trading is regulated by international treaty,

but it's been used for veneering all sorts of objects for over 400 years.

-We've got the hallmarks there. Where would that be? 1920s?

-'20s.

-We've got a whomping great crack there.

-There it is.

-In my eyes, I'd like to buy the two for 30, 35 quid.

-We're not going to get that low I don't think.

-No?

Bold offer, Phil, but maybe try something else, eh?

-Let me see what happens. There's 30 quid. How does that look?

-Well, keep them coming...

-What?!

-..and we'll get somewhere near!

-Let's both have a day out.

-45 quid.

-Go on.

-You're a gentleman.

Another fine pair of items skilfully secured by Squadron Leader Serrell

as he heads heroically on to his next mission.

Private Pratt, meanwhile, is heading for a revival of his fortunes.

For once, I'm feeling... Well, I feel optimistic for a good reason.

Well, we'll soon see about that. Jonathan has left Gainsborough far behind,

taking the road trip a precise 13.7 miles north to Epworth.

And lying in wait is Epworth's old rectory,

birthplace of the Wesley brothers, John and Charles,

founders of the revolutionary revivalist Christian movement known as Methodism.

-Hello, there.

-Hello. Come on in.

Development Manager Claire Potter welcomes us into this former home of the Wesley brothers' parents,

Samuel and Susannah. She was a devout home educator,

providing John and Charles with knowledge, discipline and method.

This remarkable woman really had this very regimented system

and she expected them to learn their alphabet in 24 hours. She was upset as one took a day and a half.

Sitting here you've got maybe a two-year-old,

-but she's probably still learning her alphabet.

-Yeah.

And the mother sitting there and the eldest sitting next to her reading Greek.

Samuel would have been involved a bit, but it was mainly Susannah's school. This was the early bit.

They were learning to read and write, learning their faith.

-The father had his duties.

-Yes, and he was away a lot in London

and often left the house and the family in some difficulty.

In 1709 it completely burnt down in the middle of the night. They were all in it.

They all got out - a daughter raised the alarm - apart from John. He was five and a half.

Legend has it that John Wesley was the last child left in the burning rectory and nearly lost his life

until local people formed a human ladder up to his window.

John was pulled out by the locals just as the roof fell in and the house was destroyed,

but Susannah called John "a brand plucked from the burning", which is a biblical quotation,

to symbolise he was destined for something special.

I think he spent the rest of his life believing it.

Not surprisingly, John grew up to become a bold man with a burning sense of purpose.

We've got a portrait of Charles and John as young men. Interestingly,

John without a wig and Charles with one. John was, I suppose, the more radical of the two.

He was very concerned to save as much money as possible, so he could give as much as possible.

If you had a wig, it cost money because you had to have a licence to powder it with arsenic.

-A licence for the wig?!

-Yes. So he decided to wear his own hair. You can see the difference there.

Charles may have been more flamboyant, but he made his own harmonious contribution

to religious life in Britain.

Charles wrote over 6,000 hymns in his lifetime. The Royal Wedding was the most famous occasion

-when one of them was sung. Love Divine is one of his.

-Oh, is it? That's a nice tune.

-Yes.

Charles's other number one hit was Hark, The Herald Angels Sing.

The young Wesley brothers both studied to become ministers

and found like minds at Oxford to form their pivotal, though not always popular, Holy Club.

Really the Holy Club was a term of abuse from other students.

The word Methodist came along soon after, also as a term of abuse. They were methodical.

They set out these rules that they would live by and accounted for every hour of the day.

They would not waste time in idle chatter or frivolity.

Methodism departed the established and sometimes snobby Church of England with its idea

that Christianity was for everyone at every level of society.

He wasn't constrained by church buildings. He would go into markets, where ordinary people gathered -

farmers and peasants and people who didn't really have access to the established church.

He was prepared to go outside his comfort zone, with Charles's hymns,

which people learnt from those open-air gatherings.

I can see that as a great way of passing on a message. A catchy tune just keeps on going.

This new emerging branch of Christianity sought to unite and include everyone,

using more than just words and music to engender feelings of fellowship.

Here we have a loving cup, a double-handed cup, which they would use just to share water.

But just as a symbol of their fellowship, drinking from the same cup.

Methodist tradition became a means to self-improvement by helping others and living a good life,

something to bear in mind as Jonathan returns to the harsh, hard-haggling world of antiques.

God bless.

Thank you very much.

Another good and noble day's shopping draws to an end.

Now the kindness of North Lincolnshire is called upon to give our boys shelter for the night.

What a tremendous morning! A call to arms for our boys - roof down and straight back on the road.

So far, Phil Serrell has made good with a double, double, double, double deal,

spending £125 on four items -

the Chinese torture paintings,

the euphonium, the silver powder box and the artist's palette.

Philip has £241.62 left

to make sweet music with. Ah.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Pratt nervously opened his withered wallet to spend just £67 on three items.

The tourist engraving, the Bonzo dog portrait and the majolica strawberry dish.

Jonathan has just £59.72 left to back a winner.

Look in there. Always worth looking at a gift horse in the mouth.

-It's amazingly flat round here.

-It is.

Yeah. A bit like your jokes, Jonathan.

Moving swiftly on, Philip and Jonathan have dearly departed from Epworth

heading a bold 52 miles to the important market town of Grantham.

-#

-Here we are again Happy as can be...

-#

Oi! Oi!

Indeed! Watch out for falling fruit and bombs overhead.

Grantham provided schooling for the young Sir Isaac Newton, the bloke with the apple and gravitas,

and later housed the Bomber Command centre for those rather famous Dambuster raids during WWII.

Thank you, Philip. Nicely driven.

But the only thing being dropped off today is Jonathan Pratt outside the fine Belvoir Antiques.

As I say, Philip,

I'm here... I'm in it to win it.

-Morning!

-Morning!

Morning! The lovely, lovely Jessica is just longing to hear JP's sad, sad story. This could be love.

I've had a little bit of bad luck

-and I'm now sitting down with nearly half of what I started, which is not very good.

-OK.

-But it does mean I have to be shrewd.

-I'm sure we'll be able to find something.

-Good.

If there's anyone who can sell something to Jonathan Pratt today, it's Jessica.

That's quite a good chest. Quite a nice bow front.

I know it's out of my budget, but it's always nice to admire!

Bow-front chest indeed! Cheeky!

-What about a tea set?

-A tea service.

Yes!

Perhaps Jonathan could turn his attention to the modernist silver-plated five-piece tea set,

made by Viners of Sheffield with a ticket price of £45. It looks more or less 1930s.

And shiny.

I know it's exactly 1930s because that little finial there, that sort of step shape,

is Art Deco. If you had a strong Art Deco tea service, it would be worth £1,000 in silver plate.

But this is just a nice little pretty border on the top.

-How much is the tea service?

-Well, as a really special deal I could do it for £25.

But that's just for you.

Well, that's an offer that's hard to resist. Right, Jonathan?

-So this is a five-piece? Is there a sugar bowl?

-Yes.

-I'm looking a gift horse in the mouth!

Thank you very much! £25.

-Is the tray with it?

-Yes.

-Yay! That's great.

Well, that's tres, tres bon! Good work, Jonathan. Keep talking and you might get her phone number.

DOG BARKS

But despite his good fortune, Jonathan looks a bit, well... lonely without Phil.

HORN BEEPS

-What time do you call this, eh?!

-It's WET time, that's what! I'm getting soaked!

This thing's got its own foot spa.

Do you know, sometimes it's just nicer to shop together, isn't it?

You take the low road, I'll take the high road.

The Notions Antiques Centre plays host to their final frantic search,

with Sharon on hand to help with antiques and soft furnishings and things.

-What would you use this for? A very posh picnic.

-A bedspread or a nice throw.

I like this, Sharon.

-So tell me about crewelwork.

-Crewelwork is a type of chunky, decorative wool embroidery,

dating back centuries.

It was extremely popular in the 17th century and revived in the late 1960s.

-It's the stitch used on the Bayeux tapestry.

-It gives you a decoration.

-My guess is there's not much age to this. 30, 40 years?

-Yeah.

-But it's trying to look 19th century.

-Yeah.

It's very decorative.

-You've got £2.40 on here.

-I have not!

-Oh, £24. Sorry, my mistake.

-Very reasonably priced.

-It is. I'm going to make you one offer and that's it, my love.

-Do you want to sit down?

-Oh, is it that bad?

-No, it's fair. I'd like to give you 15 quid.

-Go on, then.

-You're an angel. I think that's really nice.

-Yeah.

An unusual purchase for Philip. Quite girly.

He never ceases to surprise us. But whilst Phil bags a blanket,

could someone be about to throw in the towel?

Maybe I'm just going to keep it to the four objects I've got. I've got four good objects.

The shops are closing and today's window of haggling opportunity has slammed firmly shut.

However, Philip has now got the feeling that he deserves a little trip to the boozer.

Well, get in!

Veteran collector Richard is waiting to share his unusual enthusiasm -

over 1,500 dearly owned vintage beer trays

from the 1870s to the 1970s and sourced over the last 28 years. Sorry, Philip -

this isn't actually a pub.

-How many Richards are there in Britain?

-Officially, on tray collecting, there's only two people

who collect purely trays. There's a lot of breweriana collectors,

so they collect jugs and show cards and match strikers and mirrors,

but I was the first person to specifically collect trays. Lots of people collect beer bottles.

For them, it's their passion, the greatest thing on God's earth,

but for me, beer bottles, you can't actually see the colouring and the beauty. With trays,

-you can see the splendid colours.

-When did they start making beer trays?

-The earliest beer trays,

in my opinion, are probably around 1870. So these are all the oldest, the old enamel trays, brass, copper.

You think now of all the television advertising and newspaper advertising.

I suppose in the heyday of these trays, this was the only source of advertising your wares.

Indeed it was. And the same design flair went into designing beer trays as into packaging and sign making.

Breweries large and small employed design teams, taking inspiration from Art Nouveau

and propaganda posters to persuade us Brits to drink more beer, as if we needed any persuading.

They're officially called waiter trays. You'd order your beer and they'd take your tray with the beer

to you as a customer, and you'd take your beer off and there it was.

-Is that like an ashtray?

-No, actually it's the only tray that I have with a little change tray

actually on the tray. If there's any change, they put it in here.

These handsome examples of great British design heritage are, sadly, today hard to come by

so Richard's fine, rare collection has been hard won in time and money.

If that one came on the market today and it was one I hadn't got, I'd probably pay 500 quid.

-£500 for a beer tray.

-£500. But that's exceptional.

-Holy shamola!

Holy shamola, indeed!

Something like that from Blackford, near Perth in Scotland, about 1920.

-Very small brewery.

-Nearly 100 years old.

-Extremely rare.

-So how many pubs might they have had?

-I'd say a handful, at most.

-What interests me, then, is

why would they go to the trouble? These trays must cost more than the beer cost to make.

I think it was just the pride of having some advertising.

If the big boys do it, you do it.

Amazingly, there used to be thousands of independent breweries,

some supplying a mere handful of pubs. Most went out of business in the 1950s and '60s,

either closed or engulfed by the big, corporate brewers.

But these promotional trays once played an important role in keeping bespoke beers popular,

hence the one-upmanship in design and beauty. No wonder passionate collectors can't resist them.

Could you?

-What's the most recent tray you've bought?

-Well, I tell you, that's an amazing question.

I've been after a local brewery in Grantham for 20-odd years.

I've written newspaper articles, magazine articles and never come across the tray, but this week

-I've managed to purchase a tray that I've been looking for. This one here.

-This is Mowbray's.

Yeah. Mowbray's went out in 1952, so this is a pre-war tray,

about 1938, '39.

-I've had a fabulous time. Thanks very much.

-Cheers.

No time for a pint, sadly,

because our brave boys must regroup to reveal their wares.

And now Philip's been carrying more than just a tune.

A real surprise.

Assuming that it is a euphonium.

I don't know if it's a euphonium or a tuba.

-You wouldn't get a tune out of it.

-No. £40. I think at auction

that should make £50 on a bad day. On a good day, it might make 80.

What I like about it is that it's quality majolica.

You see some real rubbish. There is a downside - it's lacking handles.

-As a decorative thing, what did you pay?

-55. I think... Well, you tell me what you think!

I don't see how it can sell for less than 50 quid. I don't see how it can be less.

And if you have some luck,

I think it will be...

-£100, £150.

-Luck is just what Jonathan needs this week. Oh, boy.

-My word.

-It's silver. Tortoiseshell. Tortoiseshell.

That isn't tortoiseshell. It's plastic.

Whoops! Well, moving swiftly on...

Back on the print game again.

-Really?

-Bearing in mind I don't have a lot of cash, I thought I would steer clear of any big investments.

-I like that.

-£5.

-Yeah. And I think that's what it's worth.

-Thank you(!)

-But I do. These things are horribly undervalued in the current market.

-Whoops!

Well, moving swiftly on, again...

I bought this. What I bought this for was this, look.

-I just think that's lovely.

-That's cool, isn't it?

Why wouldn't someone buy this to use in the field anyway? It's a perfectly useful box.

-It's £20.

-I paid 15 quid for it.

He's fun.

It's a watercolour of Bonzo the dog, singing his little furry socks off.

I think that's really sweet. Great thing for a child's bedroom.

If I told you I paid £15 for it, I'd be lying. I paid £7.

-Is there a profit, Philip? Tell me.

-That will make...

-between 20 and 40 quid.

-Not bad for a sweet picture for a sweet child's bedroom.

These probably aren't ideal for a children's bedroom. Chinese torture scenes.

-This chap's been hung.

-Oh, dear.

-But I think they're quite fun.

Fun ain't the word I'd use. More sort of cruel!

-That's crewel.

-It is, isn't it?

It was priced up at 24 quid and I gave her 15 quid for it.

I just think it's a profit, really.

-I think on a bad day, it's get your money back.

-You can't lose, really.

You didn't pinch that from the hotel reception, did you?

-Here we go.

-You'd better take it back.

It looks quality. Real quality. You think, "This is hundreds of pounds of kit here!"

-Is that what you think?

-No! That's what you're implying.

Fine, but what do you really think?

I think his silver tea set is probably later than he thinks it is.

But he's so right because it's surely got to make him a profit.

If that's the case, I'm moving back to £200, where my reputation is hanging by a thin thread.

It certainly is, Jonathan. So let's get you to auction,

without hesitation, repetition or deviation.

Anyone, none of this idle chit-chat. We've got work to do.

The road trip gets moving once more, leading our chaps away

with Gainsborough, Epworth and Grantham far behind us.

Next stop is big, handsome Lincoln.

One false move and we're all dead!

That's cheered me up no end.

They call Lincoln the uphill, downhill town, built as it is in a gap in the Lincoln Cliff,

all centred on magnificent Lincoln cathedral, first built in 1092, don't you know?

Today is, you guessed it, auction day.

Our would-be winners arrive feeling fresh and frisky. Well, fresh at least.

Well, Philip...

Well, I wish us both the best, JP.

Lincoln's Unique Auctions has been selling antiques and all sorts here since 2006.

Today's gavel-basher, Terry Woodcock, has kindly offered some thoughts on our bag

of auction dreams.

The silver compact. Not a very good buy. It isn't tortoiseshell, as first thought.

The scrap value, which is really about what it's worth, is £20-£30.

The silver-plated tea service with the oval tray,

very bad news. It always cracks up, so it's not usable,

it's only good for display.

So a bright, optimistic outlook for the sale ahead.

Not.

Philip started today's show with £366.62 and spent £140 on five auction lots.

Jonathan looked at his meagre £126.72

and spent a thoroughly heroic £92 on four auction lots.

So we can safely say that Jonathan really needs his items to fly this day.

Time to sit uncomfortably.

The auction is about to begin.

First to face the bidders is Philip's artist's palette.

Wonderfully displayed here by a fine Manchurian gentleman.

Who'll start me at £20? 10, then.

Thank you. 10 I've got there.

12. 14. At 16.

And 18. Fresh bid there.

And 20. And 2.

No at 22. I can come to you now. 24.

26. 28. And 30.

No? Shakes the head. At £30. And I'm selling it at £30.

-That's a good result!

-Staggered.

Don't act so surprised. It's a very nice item.

Now Jonathan's first hopeful. His fishing port engraving awaits the bidders.

£8. Low figure. I'm looking for 10. 10. And 12. At 12.

And 14. At £14. 16, fresh bid. At 18. At £18.

-And 20. At £20.

-Go on, go on, go on.

Who's shouting at me? It's yours at 20. At 20, it's yours.

And from high five to low quality.

Philip's unfortunate powder box is up next. Let's hope nobody notices it's not tortoiseshell.

It's in the catalogue as tortoiseshell, but it's not.

-Oh, dear.

-Celluloid?

-And it's cracked. £10 there.

12. 14. 16.

18. 20.

22. No, at 22 I've got there.

22 it is. Have you all done? 22.

A rather sad loss for Philip, but let's move swiftly on.

Jonathan's striking strawberry dish is just waiting to bear fruit.

Let's hope no one spots the missing handles.

Lacking the handles. Not really noticeable, though.

Thank you. There it is.

And I've got to start it with me at a low start of £20.

-Ouch.

-At 20. I'm looking for 22. At £20.

22. 24. 26.

28. And 30. And 2.

32, he shakes his head. At 32. 34, fresh bid.

36. 38. And 40. And 2.

44. 46. 46, standing in the doorway.

-I thought it would make a little more.

-So did I!

-Me, too, actually.

-At £46. Sold at 46.

-I do think you're unlucky there.

I do.

Jonathan's just speechless after that, but how about Philip?

TRUMPET NOISE

Next is Philip's euphonium. Or is it?

Ah, we've got the tuba now! There it is.

We checked the French manufacturer and they were one of the best.

-You buy it, then.

-It's a tuba.

-Is it?

-Not a euphonium. Who'll start me at £30?

Thank you. £30. I'm looking for 35.

And 5 at the back. And 40.

And 5. No?

-At 45 I've got at the back there. I thought it'd make a lot more.

-I hoped it would!

At £45, going in the back corner. 45 it is.

-At least we know it's a tuba now!

-That's the spirit.

Now let's try Jonathan's Art Deco tea service, the one that splits in the heat. Good luck!

Start me at 20. Thank you. 20.

At 20. I'm looking for 22. 22, thank you. 24. 26.

28. And 30. And 2.

-Don't stop.

-34.

-Thank you.

36, fresh bid. At 36. 38.

And 40.

-Are you sure?

-One more. Go on, one more.

I'll take it. 41. 42.

And for your cheek, I'll take 43 now. 43, thank you.

44. I'll give you the pound if you go 45.

I've got 44 at the back. Back in at 45. I won't give YOU the pound!

-He's working the room now.

-46.

-I've never been so gripped by such tiny increments.

-Will it go above £46?

-47, thank you.

-Yes!

-48 I've got, right at the back. And selling at 48.

-Yours at 48.

-Thank you very much.

Whose was it?

Well done, Jonathan. Now let's get all cosy, eh?

Nice crewel throw. I'm starting it with me at £25.

I'm hoping it makes a lot more. At £25 I have. 25. 30.

5. 40.

5. No, it's still 45 with my commission buyer.

At 45. Have you all done? It's going at 45. All out. 45.

-Very good, Philip.

-Very good, indeed.

Now let's see what Bonzo can do for Jonathan.

22. 24. 26.

What do you mean, no?

-What do you mean, no?

-All right, settle down.

-28, fresh bid.

And 30. At 30. Have you all done at £30? And selling.

The boy is back.

He certainly is. And how nice, finally, this week to see Jonathan actually making some profits.

So as today's final lot is offered,

who will be victorious and who's for the chop...chop?

There they are. Very unusual. They could be worth quite a lot.

Who'll start me at £100? 30 to get on, surely. 30 I have.

At £30. No, I'm looking for 5. 35. 40.

At £40. That's not £10 each. At £40.

42, thank you. At £42. I think they should be a lot more money than this.

Fresh bid. 44.

6.

-48, back in.

-Oh, God.

-At 48. At 48.

Have you all finished? At the back at 48. A bargain of the day.

At £48.

A paltry profit for Philip, but how is that sitting with Jonathan?

-I've won an auction! Yes!

-And you heard it first here, folks.

-I think so.

No, really. Really, you have.

After paying auction costs, Philip's stake of £366.62

made a profit of £15.80.

And so his wallet has further inflated

to a big, bouncy, bulging total of £382.42. Keep smiling, Phil.

Jonathan began with a sow's ear of £126.72,

but he made a fine silk purse of his day -

a princely profit of £26.08.

Jonathan faces the world refreshed with £152.80.

-Yes!

-And, better still, he wins the day.

-#

-I'm in the money!

-#

-I'm on the up, Phil.

-We've done 140 miles, spent 40 hours shopping,

-and between us we've made about 40 quid. It's a pound an hour.

-You ain't seen nothing yet.

Ha ha! And that's fighting talk.

Next time on Antiques Road Trip, the chaps head for their final, decisive auction in Wilmslow.

Philip goes for broke.

WHEEZY NOTE

-Jonathan goes on a date.

-You've got beautiful eyes.

And they both get going up the road.

Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd