Episode 29 Antiques Road Trip

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

a classic car,

and a goal to scour Britain for antiques.

That hurts.

I'm going to go for it.

The aim? To make the biggest profit at auction, but it's no mean feat.

There'll be worthy winners and valiant losers.

Goodness, gracious me.

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

Not nice to gloat. There we are.

This is the Antiques Road Trip!

Yeah!

We're back on the road in the sunny south of England

with two cheerful experts, Charlie Ross and Catherine Southon.

I don't want to win the competition, Miss Southon,

I just want to make you happy.

Hah! Catherine is an expert in scientific instruments

and the dark art of hypnosis

when it comes to getting the price she wants to pay, that is.

140. Look at this.

130.

130. I'm going to go for it, Joe.

Charlie is an auctioneering supremo,

especially when it comes to vintage Cars. And the odd bottle of ale.

The last one I bought was 5p, I don't know if this is 4p or 6p?

Our enthusiastic experts begin the trip with £200 each,

but three auctions later,

they still both have less than they started with.

Charlie's meagre total has slipped further.

He starts this leg with a measly £101.98

Catherine's faring slightly better.

Despite having dropped a few of her £105 bricks,

she only has £172.20 left to spend this time.

But they have each other and the sunshine, which is a bonus,

considering their cute little 1966 Austin beady frog-eyed Sprite

is entirely roofless.

This week, the Road Trip sprits us eastwards

along the south coast of England,

starting in Corsham, Wiltshire, and finishing in Rye, East Sussex.

Today, we're starting our journey in Lewes, East Sussex,

and then heading north via Kent,

culminating in an auction in Chiswick, West London. How lovely.

Both experts have struggled to make a reasonable profit so far.

But wouldn't it be lovely today if we both bought some items

and then just they really did us proud at auction?

In my case, it would be a miracle.

Have faith, Charlie. You never know.

Now, artist and designer William Morris wrote,

"You can see Lewes lying like a box of toys

"under a great amphitheatre of chalk hill."

And indeed, this town is stuffed full of antique goodies

just aching for a buyer.

Antiques centre!

It's a shame our experts don't have much cash left.

Could you tell me what to buy?

Still, it's shopping time and we're on Catherine's home turf here.

-This is your sort of place, isn't it?

-It is. This is my comfort zone.

First stop, Emporium Antiques. Four floors of furniture,

all manner of lovely collectables

and dealers whom Catherine knows well, this being her patch.

-Hello, Michelle.

-How are you?

-I'm good, thank you.

-Are you going to introduce us?

-Yes.

-Charlie, Michelle. Michelle, Charlie.

-Hello, nice to see you.

-Have a look around and we'll see what we can see.

-I will.

-Is that all right?

-I think you need to go down the back.

-Why?

Because it's the more, sort of, cheaper area.

Ooh! But knowing your way around is one thing,

finding something you can afford is another.

Oh, everything I like is too much money.

I think sort of small, decorative...

Oh, the pressure, the pressure!

What have I found?

Close your eyes. Open them.

It's the Whitbread Silver Jubilee ale.

How many bottles of this must they make? I buy this on every trip.

Now, the first one cost 5p

and made £12.

The second one cost £2

and sold for £2.

This one is £4.

It will probably sell for £2. Perhaps it's time to give up.

On the other hand, it might make £12.

Oh, Charlie, when will you ever learn?

Michelle, I have a track record on tour

of always buying a bottle of Jubilee commemorative beer.

-Ah, OK.

-Now, it's over there,

and it's got £4 on it. But I don't know.

That can be £3, as it's you.

Deal. I'm definitely having the beer,

because that will keep my trend going.

One purchase down for Charlie. Now, what's this Catherine's found?

It's just a paperweight. Kosta Boda.

It's quite nice though. Michelle, what's Kosta Boda?

Scandinavian, I think it's Danish.

Danish. If we say Scandinavian.

Ah, let me enlighten you. Kosta Boda is actually a Swedish glassworks.

It was formed back in 1742, but it was in the 20th century

that it really came into its own

with its stylish, artistic and functional designs.

This swimming hippo has £65 on the ticket.

-How much could that be?

-65 would be 55.

-Oh, Michelle.

Can it be 30?

I don't think so.

-Shall I ask Steve?

-Yeah, ask Steve.

I'm going to schmooze.

-There's no way you could do 35 on it?

-I could speak to him.

Steve phones the dealer.

If I get it for £35, I stand a bit of a chance with it.

What did he say, Steve?

-40 quid.

-Huh?

-40.

-Oh.

I'm going to hold that as a sort of possibility.

-Hang on to it, have a think.

-That's one to think about.

I want to buy silver.

That's the only thing that's doing well for me at the moment.

Silver, silver, silver.

Ah, a Cabinet stuffed with... silver.

-Steve?

-Yeah.

-Can I just have a look in this cabinet?

-It's almost like a miniature claret jug.

-A claret jug, isn't it?

-I'm not sure what you'd use it for now though.

-Err, claret?

"1894, Gibson and Langman."

Cut glass and then silver mounted. Pretty handle there.

What would he take then? Off that?

What's it got? 65, yeah.

60 quid at a push, maybe.

Catherine's not getting the discounts she was hoping for,

but maybe Steve can come to the rescue.

I'll tell you what, have a look at this, it's not dear.

But it might not be enough money for you that you want to spend.

Rubens angels. No holes, no cheese grater. It's in good nick.

It's moulded, isn't it? Hobnail moulded.

Just a glass dressing table jar.

-The angels are good.

-The angels are good.

-34.

-That'll be 25.

These little dressing table jars are really ten a penny.

This is slightly different. It's got angels on the top.

Rubens angels, after the artist.

Hallmarked there for Birmingham.

I'm still tempted by this,

because I think it's such an elegant, beautiful shape.

Time to phone the dealer.

Barry, it's Steve at the Emporium.

You've got a little sort of posh bottle.

-What's the very best you'll do on this, Barry?

-Don't say posh.

If he says posh, he's not going to give it to me at a reduced price!

-Cheers, mate, bye now.

-What did he say?

-55.

-Did he?

-No, he didn't, but let's say 55.

-Oh, right, really?

You know what they say, it's not what you know...

I mean, I think the two together, 80 quid, is...

for two fairly decent things, I think both saleable.

And the hippo was 35.

Well, actually it was £40 the last time I heard.

-Yeah, it can be 35.

-Yeah?

OK.

25.

-55, makes 80.

-Hungry hippo, 115.

110 and we're done. We don't deal with fives, do we?

Go on, 110, 110. OK, that's good, yeah.

That's good, I've got a little mixture. There we are, my dear, 20...

Smooth operator, Miss Southon.

Charlie's notionally spent three whole pounds on a bottle of ale so far.

But now, something else has caught his eye -

an Art Deco lady's travelling clock.

-I looked at that. I like that.

-That's not bad.

Oh, please don't buy it, cos I found that.

If you buy that and if that makes some money,

I'm going to be very upset.

You are really making me want to buy this, aren't you?

Right, I don't know whether that can be within my budget.

It doesn't look like it will come down a huge amount, but I love that.

-It has got...

-Pretty.

A little nick there, which is a shame,

-but it's a really pretty enamelled clock.

-Pretty.

It's a very pretty clock. It's got 115. I've got, I think,

101 quid or something, so I haven't got to beg it.

-I would say the normal trade could be about 100 quid.

-Yeah, quite.

-I'd expect that.

-We could probably do a bit better than that.

If whoever owns that could take 80 quid,

I would buy it straight away.

-I'll give him a ring.

-Yeah, thank you very much indeed.

-No problem.

Best price on the clock? Yeah, sure, OK.

-Ah, what's the verdict?

-£80, sir.

-Really?

-He'd like more.

That is a great chunk out of your budget, Charlie,

you brave or foolish fellow.

Proper antique.

Unusual for Ross.

But if we can't make something on that,

then, for the fourth time on this tour, I give up.

-Steven, thank you very much indeed. I owe you 80 quid.

-80 quid.

And you probably don't also know that I owe you three quid as well.

-Three quid?

-Yes, I bought a bottle of beer.

-A bottle of beer.

-20, 40...

So, just to recap, Charlie spent £83 on yet another bottle of ale

and an Art Deco travelling clock,

while Catherine's parted with £110 for her hippo, a glass jug,

and a silver-topped jar.

Which means Charlie's late.

-Come on!

-How long have you been sitting there?

About five hours. How long do you take...?

Nag, nag, nag.

All this pitiful, "I've got no money."

-Nag, nag, nag.

-Put it on the accelerator.

Charlie and Catherine are leaving Lewes behind,

heading ten miles south, to Seaford.

This seaside town sits at the base of Seaford Head,

at east end of the South Downs. In the Middle Ages,

Seaford was one of southern England's main ports,

persistently raided by French pirates. Ooh la la!

Now all the residents need to worry about

are a couple of new invaders - well, Catherine anyway.

Charlie's dropping her off so she can do a spot of shopping.

Bye-bye. See you later, have fun at your visit.

-Have a lovely shop.

-Arrivederci.

With just over £62 left in her pocket,

it's time to explore Seaford's wares.

And it's not long before Catherine spots something

she really likes the look of in Mark's Antiques.

Questions is, can she afford it?

Best to ask the shop's owner. Yep, it's Mark.

-Hi. I'm Mark.

-Hello, Mark, hi.

Something caught my eye in your window. I was just walking past,

-cos I think you're mainly jewellery, are you, here?

-No.

-No, you do a bit of everything.

-Everything, many things.

-Ah.

Well, what I saw in the window

-was a beautiful Cloisonne enamel little pot.

-Certainly.

Is it expensive, before you go to the trouble of opening it?

-It is expensive.

-How expensive is it?

The very best on it would be £650.

-Have I got that sort of money?

-Er, no.

Do you have things under £100?

There are quite a few other nice silver items in the cabinet.

-Shall I go and have a look in the cabinet?

-Do.

-Are you flexible, Mark?

-I'm always flexible.

Are you? That's my man. That's my guy.

OK, I'm going to open this up.

My eye is instantly drawn to the cocktail sticks.

The enamel is not crisp. Can you see that here?

The colours sort of slightly run into one another.

Sterling silver cocktail sticks,

terminating in a little cock, figure of a cock.

But I'm not sure that they're really crisp enough.

-Mark. From a distance, I love these.

-Yeah.

-But when you get up close...

the enamel's not great on them, is it?

I do like them, but there's also a borderline

between naively painted and not-so-skilfully painted.

-True.

-How much are they? I haven't even asked you. How much are they?

-Or how much could you have them for?

-How much could I have them for?

I like the way there's a real differentiation between those two.

OK.

Those you could have for £45.

-45. How much did you have on them then?

-£60.

-Right.

Would you do 40 on those, Mark?

-I couldn't, no.

-Could you not?

-No.

Here we go, Catherine's technique

of repeating the price she wants to pay.

-Oh. Are you sure you don't want to do 40.

-I cannot do 40, no.

I think I'd have them for 40, but not 45.

I know that's not a big difference, but it is when you're trying to win

against Charlie Ross and try and make a profit.

-OK, £40.

-Can I?

It's a deal. And you're a lovely man.

Flattery will get you everywhere.

Well, with her shopping done today, Catherine can put her feet up.

Charlie, meanwhile, is on his way to somewhere quite otherworldly.

He's skimming 17 miles eastwards to Hailsham, East Sussex.

Deep in the Sussex countryside

lies the astonishing sight of the Observatory Science Centre.

Showing Charlie around is Science Director Dr Sandra Voss.

Wonderful. It looked stunning coming up the drive,

-across the fields.

-Yeah. It is.

Now, starting at the very beginning,

it is the Royal Observatory

commissioned by...

King Charles II, 1675.

There was an awful lot of ships being lost at sea,

so they wanted to get a really good star catalogue.

-So he said we do need to make a good star catalogue.

-Yeah.

But we need an observatory for that.

Initially, the observatory was built in Greenwich,

but was later moved here in 1947

because the London smog was hampering visibility.

So they had to reconstruct all of the...

They did have to reconstruct them, without plans or anything.

Hadn't they got any plans?

No, they had pictures and postcards

and a chap who knew what he was doing.

Now, are we allowed to go into one of these domes?

-I think so. Would you like to go into this one?

-Please. I'd love to.

So come on into our smallest dome.

And this one is a 13-inch astrographic refracting telescope.

My first reaction is

it looks like a gun off a battleship. It's extraordinary!

-Battleship grey.

-Battleship grey,

and of course all this was owned by the Royal Navy.

Owned by the Admiralty, so everything was battleship grey.

And this was built when?

It was built in 1890.

And it was commissioned for a project called the Carte du Ciel,

-which was involved with about 17 other observatories.

-Yeah.

Making a map of the sky. Exactly.

Back in 1890, this telescope was cutting-edge technology,

made by British manufacturers.

-You look through there?

-Yeah, you do.

I can switch this one on if you like.

We take the brakes off.

And then we can come and move it.

Would you like to come and just have a try?

How phenomenal! Oh, I see, you just peep through there.

-Yes, there's two telescopes.

-Yeah, but I can't see anything, can I?

Can't you do something with the roof?

We could do something with the roof, yes.

Oh, my goodness. This is James Bond!

This is extraordinary!

This telescope tracks perfectly

opposite the Earth's rotation.

So it perfectly tracks what you're looking at.

What a feat of engineering and science that is.

-And still working perfectly well.

-Oh, it's beautiful.

-Am I allowed to spin it round or will something awful happen?

-You can spin it round.

Just press this button there and see what happens.

Oh, my God.

We're moving. Oh, no we're not.

I need to look at the floor, otherwise I'm going to fall over.

You're full of tricks, aren't you?

This amazing dome can rotate 360 degrees

so the telescope can look at any area of the sky.

-Press the button.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Stop!

-Let's see.

-Perfect, I'm good at this.

-Perfect.

Now, that really was quite an experience.

-I'm going to come back here when it's dark.

-Yes.

-And we move onto another dome?

-Yeah, I think.

-Come on.

The domes were built from copper

because, when it weathers, it turns green,

so blending into this beautiful countryside.

And each one houses telescopes capable of different magnifications.

-It's like a space rocket.

-It's absolutely beautiful.

The other telescope is a bit of machinery.

It sort of talks to you.

Something to do with that kind of balanced weight being round,

-as opposed to the other one being square.

-Yes.

This is the Thompson 26-inch refracting telescope.

But, again, there's the two telescopes on this one,

with the guidoscope on top. Can you see that one?

The guide one just to get the clues to roughly where you are in the sky.

The guidoscope itself was built in 1860

and that was really significant in Greenwich.

It was called the Great Equatorial Telescope.

-And it was the biggest telescope they had at the time.

-It must be a very tall man

-to have a look there.

-We have to do something a bit different in this one

to make it safe and comfortable

to actually look through the telescope.

We just press this button,

and we're away.

Oh, my goodness, what's happening?

-We're on a rising floor.

-Are we going up

-or is the machine going down?

-We're going up.

Telescope technology has left these astonishing machines behind

and found more suitable locations.

Nowadays, the world's most powerful telescopes

sit on the top of mountains and extinct volcanoes,

where astronomers have much longer and clearer viewing times.

It's just a really uncanny thought

to think that you can move tons and tons.

-How many tons?

-12 tons. 12 tons like that. Yes.

It's beautifully balanced. It's just absolutely beautifully balanced.

The observatory is open to the public,

but for Charlie, his visit has now sadly come to an end.

He has another hard day's shopping ahead.

So, sleep tight, dear experts.

Day two and getting into focus,

our duelling duo are raring for another day's spend, spend, spend.

There's an antiques shop.

Good morning! How are you?

-I'm fine, and you?

-Lovely to see you.

-Thank you.

Oh, I'm going there. Yes.

-Charlie!

-Ross, go, you are on fire!

You are so shallow, Charlie Ross!

Charlie and Catherine have left East Sussex in the dust

and are heading for Sevenoaks in Kent.

So far, Charlie has spent exactly £83

on an Art Deco travelling clock and a bottle of Silver Jubilee ale.

That leaves him with a trifling £18.98 to knock about with.

Catherine, on the other hand, has spent £150 on four items.

A Victorian carafe, a silver-topped jar,

a set of cocktail sticks and a crystal hippo, as you do.

And now has a mud-wallowing £22.20 left in her coffers.

But a lack of money isn't going to stop our experts

in their antiques quest.

I don't think I'll be in the fine furniture room.

I'm not sure you'll be in the antiques section either.

Is there a bric-a-brac section, do you think?

-Just for me.

-Wonderful, perfect.

-It's going to be out of my price range.

Have a lovely day.

-Enjoy your shopping. How much is it you've got? £17?

-Get on with it.

Actually, he's got £18.98.

This shop is bursting with gorgeous antiques

and a large restoration workshop.

It's run by former butcher Eddie.

Nice to see you, Eddie. Now, I'm in a pathetic position

and I'll come clean with you.

I'd love to buy all your lovely furniture.

I started my week with a couple of hundred quid

and it's been going steadily down ever since.

But I bought something for 80 quid yesterday,

so I've got a pathetic amount of money to spend.

-May I look round?

-Please do.

-I'll give you a call if I can find something.

-Yeah.

-Thank you.

Yes, Charlie, you could do with putting some meat

onto your bony budget.

So is there anything here you can actually afford?

That's very Chiswick, very rustic.

A salting trough. Rough hewn.

Look at these cut chisel marks, just literally made out of a chunk of wood.

Before the days of refrigeration,

salt was commonly used to preserve meat.

Sides of meat would have been rubbed with salt

and then laid in troughs like this one,

drying them out and thereby providing food for the winter months.

It would look wonderful

on a big dining table

with bananas and oranges and any manner of fruit.

Won't be in my price range, of course.

But it's £46. And what have I got?

I've written it down on the back of my hand so I don't forget.

£17.98.

Charlie, your maths really is appalling.

You have £18.98, I'm pleased to tell you.

What would you salt in there, a bit of pork?

-Yeah, a bit of pork.

-Yeah. That's not elm, is it?

Beech? Would it be beech? It's beech wood, yes, yes.

I mean, it's got all the elements that I like to see,

a few wormholes. I love to see a few wormholes.

That's right, yeah, gives it a bit of flavour.

I'm not sure it's the flavour you want!

-Do you want to know what I've got left in my kitty?

-If you must.

I've got about 15 quid left,

-and it's got £46 on it.

-£46.

Is it yours? I presume it's yours.

It belongs to one of the ladies that's got the pine shop in here.

She does the pines, one of the dealers.

-Is she lovely?

-She's lovely, yeah. I could ring her and ask her.

-Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Off you go.

-OK.

I'm going to sit here and pray.

-Do your best, Eddie.

-OK.

Eddie tries the dealer but gets her answer phone instead.

Would you like me to go ahead with it?

And I'll speak to you later. OK, thank you, bye-bye.

I'm not sure whether you're looking happy or sad, really.

What's the verdict?

I haven't spoken to her, I couldn't get through to her, actually,

but I think I could do the deal with you anyway.

-Are you sure?

-Yeah, sure.

-You haven't made a mis-take?

-Mis-take!

-Oh, no!

-Are you sure with that?

-Yeah, that's fine, that's fine.

My lifelong savings.

Well, while Charlie makes his way to his next shop with £3.98,

Catherine's travelling nine miles north to the village of Downe.

She's coming to visit the former house

of one of the most famous naturalists

the world has ever known.

This is Charles Darwin's family home.

And showing Catherine round is Julie Paternaude of English Heritage.

-Wow.

-This is Darwin's study,

where he spent most of his 40 years, essentially,

working on his book.

-This is where he wrote Origin Of Species?

-It is.

In 1859, Charles Darwin published a book that was to rock the world.

The Origin Of Species set out his theory

that populations evolved over a number of generations

through a process of natural selection,

going against the dominant, and his wife's, Christian beliefs.

He used to sit on that chair.

He used the board and the papers to write.

I like especially the way that he's organised his books.

He spent five years on the Beagle on his trip.

And because space was so condensed,

he had to kind of develop a way to organise and file his things.

Six years after he returned

from his round-the-world voyage on the Beagle,

Charles Darwin settled here, in Down House.

He moved here in 1842 with his wife, Emma.

They had two kids and she was pregnant with their third.

-How many children did he have?

-In all, they had ten children.

-Really?!

-But three of them passed away.

-Oh, good grief.

Tell me a bit about Emma, his wife.

Emma was basically running the house.

She taught the children when they were younger.

Darwin didn't think that girls needed to learn maths or science.

Really? That's interesting.

Well, I mean, it's, you know, it's the times.

He was a very loving father, not a very typical Victorian parent.

And he didn't mind them coming in and playing games.

I think that's wonderful.

I feel very privileged to be standing in here,

in the room where he wrote Origin Of Species.

With seven children knocking about,

the Darwins needed a large living room.

Yeah, it's the family room, it's the drawing room.

It's where everything basically happened

that isn't Darwin's work.

Emma would sit at her piano, she loved to play.

-Was she a musician?

-She was. Apparently,

-she took lessons from Chopin.

-Oh!

She would play to amuse herself essentially,

but also to please and let Darwin relax a bit.

She also loved to read to him as well.

Emma was a big fan of Dickens and Sir Walter Scott as well.

Obviously, you can see the family library here.

I'm getting a wonderful picture of a real family atmosphere in here.

The paintings behind are of the young couple

when they were first married, or a few years later.

It's actually quite nice to see that picture of him in early life

because, when we think of Darwin,

we always associate the picture that we know from later life,

when he's a lot bigger and he's got a hat.

Or the picture that's on the back of the £10 note with the beard.

Darwin is known most famously for writing the Origin Of Species,

but the bulk of his work was as a botanist,

and he spent every day in the garden and greenhouses, observing plants.

Head gardener Rowan Blake continues his work today.

This is really quite something.

Is this an original greenhouse that was built?

-It is, yeah.

-For Darwin?

-Yes, yeah.

We're in the oldest section of the greenhouse.

And then he gradually added more and more sections on.

Darwin used his greenhouse to carry out various experiments

in his quest to understand the natural world.

This plant, the Venus flytrap,

he wanted to find how little force was needed

to touch the hairs and make the traps shut.

Emma Darwin, his wife, had very, very fine hair.

Darwin cut the tiniest piece of Emma's hair possible

and inserted it into the Venus flytrap.

When it closed, he realised it wasn't the weight triggering the plant,

it was the nutrients in the hair itself.

He didn't just write about diversity in the Origin Of Species.

He also wrote very, very good books on plant science.

He wrote about how carnivorous plants work,

he wrote about how climbing plants work.

This plant, for example,

he saw how it was growing up a piece of rope in the greenhouse,

and he said, "Isn't that interesting, how it's rooting into the rope?"

It's from South America. He wrote to Asa Gray,

the botanist he used to speak to about South America, and he said,

"Does it grow up the mossy bark of trees?

"And it roots into it, and the leaves are round on the sunny side."

And they said, "Well, yes, it does.

"How did you know about its environment that it's growing in?"

and he said, "I've got it growing up a piece of rope

"and I've been observing how it's rooted into that piece of rope".

It's fascinating, cos when we think of Darwin,

we're sometimes quite narrow-minded

and tend to think of the Origin Of Species,

but actually, what went on here, all the research,

-was a huge part of his life.

-Yeah.

Charles Darwin changed the way we viewed the world

due to his careful observations of the natural behaviour around him.

What a fascinating visit for Catherine.

While she learns about natural selection,

the Charlie Ross species is travelling to the village of Otford.

He's struggling to survive in a competitive jungle

with only £3.98 to spend in his last shop of this leg.

-Hello, sir.

-Hello there. Charlie, how are you? All right.

-Pleased to meet you.

-Your name is?

-Joe.

-Joe. And you're in control, are you, here?

-Well, I try and be.

You've got a lot of people in here, have you, with things?

Yeah, at least 26 different dealers. 26 dealers.

-Do you mind if I go and have a look?

-Yeah, look round.

You do know that my budget is severely limited?

-Well, we'll see.

-I've got £2.98.

-Oh, dear.

-It's hopeless. Never mind.

-You'll find something at the right price.

I will find something. Thank you.

Oh, I do feel an idiot shopping with £2.98.

Actually, Charlie, you have £3.98.

But who's counting? Not me.

Oh, I say, there's something I'd buy.

Oh, surprise, surprise, not within my price range.

It's never-ending, this shop.

-Hello, I'm Charlie.

-Hello, how nice to meet you.

-Nice to see you.

-Yes, nice to see you.

-What's your name, my dear?

-My name's Elaine.

-Elaine. Is this your...?

-It is.

It's wonderful. Everywhere I go,

everybody seems to be manning their own department.

I'll tell you straight up,

I have been shopping for two days, and I have got left £2.98.

-Oh, my goodness me!

-I'm not saying anything.

Is there anything there you could recommend?

-For £2.98?!

-That I could have for £2.98.

How about this?

I can see several things there that I don't think are going to be...

-This is quite unusual, do you know what that is?

-Curling!

-Yes.

-It's a curling stone.

-Well, it's not really a curling stone.

Well, it did have whisky in it at one time,

-but I'm afraid the whisky is gone now.

-Oh, the whisky. Have you ever curled?

Yes, I have, a long time ago.

-Have you?

-Yes I did, in the Highlands of Scotland.

-I mean, these are heavy, aren't they?

-Very heavy. But great fun.

-This one's not heavy.

-No.

This one would make you feel very light-headed if you drank the contents!

Peter Thomson of Perth.

How fantastic. Does that say Gleneagles Scotch Whisky?

There we go, so that's a very good Scotch.

What a wonderful Scotch decanter.

This can't be in my price range though, can it?

If you talk to me very nicely, I might be able to do you a deal.

-I can talk so sweetly.

-Very sweetly!

-You wouldn't believe it.

-OK, what...

-£2.98 is what I have.

-Oh, £2,98!

-£2.98.

Do you know, I'm going to let you have a go with it.

Let's see if you can make a profit with it.

Charlie, you're blessed to have met the lovely Elaine.

-£2.98.

-Cos it's all I've got.

That will help the holiday fund to Acapulco.

It won't get you to Acapulco.

So, that's our expert shopping all done and dusted

and now, it's that moment when they have to reveal all to each other.

What a lovely place to be. In a leafy glade,

with a green Miss Southon.

Green and navy.

-This is lovely.

-This looks worryingly familiar, Charlie.

-I'm afraid there is something there, Catherine, that you will probably recognise.

-Oh!

It's not all bad news, not all bad news.

And there's another thing Catherine will recognise.

Very nice, I am instantly drawn to that.

-I saw that in Lewes.

-Yeah.

-I love it.

-It's lovely. It's got one little nick on it.

-Oh, has it?

I think they dated it a little earlier than it is,

I mean, they said 1900 on the ticket.

-I think it's about 1920.

-1920, isn't it?

Yes, it is. I think they were a little optimistic there.

But that, of course, we needn't talk about, because you'll hate it.

-No, I'm not even going to bother going there. I love that, by the way.

-I bought my salting trough.

I thought, in a nice big house, on a kitchen table or a dining table,

-with fruit in it, do you think?

-Beautiful.

Yeah, a really, really great idea.

-£15.

-That's very good. And what's the curling stone?

It is a whisky decanter.

-Oh, that's fabulous.

-Isn't it super?

It could make an inkwell, couldn't it?

-Do you know how much it was?

-No.

£2.98. Well, you told me to spend most of my money on one thing.

I did. So you've gambled it on that.

It's going to be really interesting to see what that makes.

If that goes over £100, I shall be standing in the saleroom

crying my eyes out.

No wallowing now, Catherine. Time to move on.

Miss Southon! Oh, it's a hippo!

I got the glass hippo, but it's by Kosta Boda.

Oh, it's really nice. What date is it?

It's only about 1970, it's not that old.

I don't think it's going to make big bucks.

-What do you think about this? I've got to show you this.

-Fabulous. Is that George III?

-It's beautiful.

-No, it's not. It is Victorian. It's 1894.

-Is it?

But isn't it just so elegant?

It's the most gorgeous, gorgeous shape.

Surely it's worth £100, is it not?

Well, I would like to think so. I paid 55 for it.

Yes, she's done it again.

This, of course, you bought simply because you did so well with the last ones.

No, but I bought it simply because it's got Rubens cherubs on,

-Rubens angels.

-Yeah.

And I thought that was a nice little touch.

It is a nice thing. How much?

-20.

-(20?)

You've bought well again. No wonder I'm losing.

But I bought that purely because of the cherubs.

-I'm not sure I want to look in there, do I?

-Go on.

-It's a set of coffee spoons.

-No.

-Are they silver?

-Sterling silver.

-Yeah.

-Although the enamel is perfect, they are quite naively...

-It's poor quality.

-No. They're quite naively painted.

-Poor quality.

-Ouch!

I really love them. Reminds me of France.

What would you pay for them? French cockerel.

What would I pay for them?

I would pay 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30,

35, 40.

-No, stop doing this. I'd pay £50 for them.

-Oh.

-What did you pay for them?

-40.

What do you mean, "Oh?" 50's more than 40.

Yeah, but it would be nice if you said a little bit more than that.

Sorry, I'd pay about 120.

Yeah, that's about right. Thanks, Charlie. Always been my friend.

You've done really well with your money.

Good luck, Charlie.

You've done really, really well again.

And you've done well, too.

Very cordial. But what do they really think?

Catherine's done it again, she's bought really, really well.

Her oil bottle is delicious and will double the money.

I have to say, when I first saw it, I thought it was late 18th century.

It's late Victorian but, nevertheless, it's wonderful.

He surprised me with that clock.

I know he's had a sneaky look at it when we were in Lewes.

And I looked at it as well, but I absolutely loved it.

I thought it was a beautiful thing, it's very vibrant.

The one concern I have about it

is the little bit of damage to the enamel.

Personally, I think that's going to put off a lot of potential buyers.

Charlie and Catherine kicked off this leg in Lewes, East Sussex,

and travelled steadily north, winding their way through Kent.

Their destination for today's auction is in Chiswick, West London.

-(SINGS) I got a good feeling...

-Have you?

-Yeah, I don't know why.

I'm not surprised. You've got such lovely things.

It all hinges on the clock though, doesn't it?

Have you seen the estimate on the clock?

Yet again, it's a mere fraction of what I paid.

It's just because of the chip.

I'm good at chips. Close the door, come on.

That's got a chip on it now.

Chiswick Auctions is our theatre of dreams today.

A buzzing saleroom full of gorgeous collectables.

So does auctioneer Tom Keane think our experts have chosen wisely?

The cocktail sticks might do all right, they're silver.

The little Art Deco clock's OK, but what is it worth?

30, 40 quid, 50 quid on a good day. So I'm not confident.

I really feel like a man walking towards the gallows

walking towards the rostrum today.

Catherine started this leg with £172.20

and spent £150 on four auction lots.

Charlie kicked off with £101.98

and managed to mess up his figures again.

He thinks he's spent every penny, also on four auction lots

but, in fact, he has £1 left over.

Good luck, you two, you need to do well today.

Look, when you haven't got much money to spend,

-you buy what you can.

-You do.

You told me to buy something expensive, I did.

And it's going to blow up in my face.

You don't know that, Charlie.

Look sharp, it's Catherine's crystal hippopotamus up first.

£20 for it. Bidding 20, 25,

28, 30, 32, 35.

£32, is that it?

£32 and going at £32.

£32 and gone.

Oh, dear, it did "Kosta lotta",

and that's an even bigger loss after the auction house

takes its well-earned commission.

Didn't lose much.

Now, Charlie has one hit and one miss with his ale purchases.

-How will this one fare?

-£5.

Oh, is that a bid? You don't even drink, Tony.

You're just feeling sorry for him. £5, anyone at 6? £5.

All the excitement's over, I'm afraid.

You did well there, Charlie, well done.

It's a profit, it's a profit.

Catherine's Victorian carafe is up next.

Right, Miss Southon,

I'm with you all the way, hon.

Not a bad lot. £100 for it.

£50 for it.

£50, 55, take 55, 55.

You're 60, 65. 70?

At £70.

-Come on, you've got £100.

-Disappointing.

But that is a profit. Cheer up, you two.

If I were you, I would be well, well upset.

It's just one of those things, isn't it?

You're taking it jolly well.

That was my only hope.

They both clearly hoped for a lot more. Oh, well, onwards and upwards.

Charlie's whisky decanter.

£20 for it. £10 for it.

12, 14, 16.

At 14, give me 16, 16 bid, we want 18.

At £16.

-Here we go, here we go.

-18, new bidder, from the Scotsman.

I'm getting excited.

£18, at £18 I'm going to go. £18.

Charlie's on a roll. That is a decent profit.

I tell you what, I'm not buying antiques any more.

I'm not buying classic antiques, I'm buying tat.

It's Catherine's cocktail sticks next.

£30. £30 for the lot, £30,

£32, 32 there, 35,

38, 40, 42, 45, 48,

50, 52, 55, 58.

£55, are we done?

Going all done. At £55, your last chance.

Stick it to me. That's a great profit.

Not enough to please Catherine, though.

I'm walking through treacle. You've made about £6.

It's Charlie's Art Deco timepiece now,

the one Catherine wanted to buy.

£50 for it. Should make more.

£30 for it. Bidder at £30,

32, 35, 38, 40, 42,

45, 48, 50, 55,

-60, 65, 70.

-Good.

-65, give me 70 for it.

-Come on.

Are we done at £65? Going back to America, isn't it, yes?

Sadly, that's a loss for Charlie.

-When it started rattling along...

-I know.

-I really thought it'd make 100.

-Positive bidding.

-I know.

It's Catherine's last item. Her silver-topped jar.

-Start me at £20. £20 for it. Thank you, bid at 20.

-Bid at 20.

22, 25 there, 28 there. It's going all over the place.

-32, 35, 38, 40.

-Fantastic.

-£38, give me 40, at £38.

-Well done.

-42. Right at the back at £40.

-£40.

-Double your money.

-Last chance at £40, it's gone.

That's an excellent profit for Catherine,

putting her firmly in the lead.

Well done. Finished with a bang.

# Double your money.

# Try and get rich. #

It all hangs on Charlie's trough now.

He needs a decent profit to catch Catherine up.

£30 for it. £20 for it.

Bid at £20, 22, 25,

28, 30, 32, 35,

35 bid, 38, 40, 42, 45, 48. That's better.

At 45. At £45, 45 and gone.

That's another good profit for Charlie,

but is it enough to overtake his competitor?

I'm very happy with that.

-Charlie, that's amazing.

-Very. What do you mean amazing?

45 quid!

Cost 15, made 45!

Come on.

So, Charlie started this leg with £101.98

and has made a profit of £8.08 after auction costs.

That leaves him with a slightly inflated £110.06

to carry forward.

But Catherine has edged ahead yet again

and began this leg with £172.20

and made a profit of £11.54, beating Charlie by just over £3.

That leaves her with a grand total of £183.74

to spend next time. Oo-ah.

The sun is shining, Charlie.

And I made a profit, about £8.

-What did you make?

-I made 11. But never mind.

One auction to go.

You won't believe it, but I can still catch you.

-Have you got your swimming costume?

-No.

Let's go to the seaside.

Next time on the Antiques Road Trip,

Catherine confuses a dealer into a bargain.

-40 for the two.

-What are you going to hit me with?

I wasn't going to hit you with anything, but as you've asked.

And Charlie comes over all Continental.

May I do it the French way?

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd