Episode 27 Antiques Road Trip

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

-All right, viewers?

-..with £200 each, a classic car,

and a goal to scour Britain for antiques.

I'm on fire! Yes!

Sold, going, going, gone.

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

Oh! 50p!

There'll be worthy winners and valiant losers.

It'll be a good profit.

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

-Oh! Oh! Oooh!

-Yesss!

THIS is the Antiques Road Trip!

It's the second leg of the road trip for James Braxton

and new kid on the block, Helen Hall.

Are you a saver or a spender?

-I'm a spender, yeah.

-Really?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Join the club.

It burns a hole in my pocket, always has.

Ah. Rookie Helen is a rock'n'roll memorabilia expert prepared

to go out of her comfort zone to bag a bargain.

Oh, sewn together by the mouth. I daren't put that on.

Quite right, too. Whilst seasoned auctioneer James

knows the secret to Road Trip fulfilment.

If I could secure that for a fiver, I would be a happy man.

They're zipping along the Welsh countryside in a very

-nice 1974 E-Type Jaguar.

-Oh, it's running very well, isn't it?

It's a pleasure to drive. It's gorgeous. I want one.

-Very silky smooth, isn't it?

-It is. I want one. That's it.

-Sold.

Newcomer Helen made a loss at her first auction...

-No.

-No.

-£12!

You don't need that.

..but Road Trip veteran James showed her how it's done.

Now, THAT is a goodie.

James started the trip with £200 and after the first auction

saw his war chest grow to £250.98.

Helen started her first road trip with the same amount,

but has seen her profits wilt to just £178.70,

meaning she has a bit of catching up to do.

-How did you enjoy your first auction?

-I did, I loved it!

Yeah, it was fun. Yeah.

Didn't make a profit but, you know, it's not the winning,

-it's the taking part, isn't it, James?

-Yeah.

Yes, that, and winning, of course.

Our two peas in a pod are navigating over 500 miles from Oswestry

in Shropshire through the Welsh Valleys before heading

through southern England,

ending their road trip in the county town of Lewes in east Sussex.

On this second leg of the trip,

they begin their travels in Newport in the ceremonial

county of Gwent, before crossing the English border

for auction in Wotton-under-Edge in Gloucestershire.

There may be an advantage by buying in Wales

-and selling in Glossy-possy.

-Well, that would be nice, yeah.

Glossy-possy? What's he going on about?

The Cathedral city of Newport is the third largest

city in Wales, after Cardiff and Swansea.

During the Civil War of 1648, Oliver Cromwell's troops camped

overnight on the nearby hills before attacking the next day.

With not too dissimilar determination,

our duo are ready to do battle for the best bargain. Stand by.

First shop for James is a place called

the Strawberry Water Junk Company, an interesting

name for a place with an equally interesting array of antiques.

Here we are. Sheffield, Helen's county, top of Derbyshire there.

Could be useful for the trip home.

After his victory at the last auction,

James' pockets are bulging with cash and he's eager to spend it.

I made a profit on every single item,

but they were tiny profits, there was nothing sensational,

so I don't really want to be spending £20,

-I want to be spending £50-£100 and that's where the profits lie.

-Quite.

So, it sounds like he's prepared to spend big on this leg of the trip.

Is this the sort of thing James is after?

Quite a nice dress set, isn't it?

When people wore a lot of, sort of, evening dress and things,

you would have here...

These were buttons,

and you would put it through and they were dress studs.

So, evening dress for dinner jackets and everything.

-That's rather fetching on you, James.

-You've got six here.

Sometimes they came with cufflinks, so for your cuffs,

but it's just a nice little set of dress studs there.

They're nice, aren't they? Not the most glamorous of cases.

It's cloth.

You know, the better ones would be nice leather,

but it's got a nice velvet interior with the silk.

Beautiful how they used to make these boxes.

BUT before you get too carried away,

there's the small matter of the £49 dealer John wants for them.

-Could you do it for £25?

-I'd do it for £35.

-They're rather nice.

-Price, John. It's that nutty thing, isn't it?

-I know, terrible.

-Dear, oh, dear. Wouldn't it be lovely if there was no prices?

-Oh!

-Wishful thinking, eh, James?

-Could you get near my £25?

-I'll do £30.

-£30? They're rather nice. £30.

John, thank you, that's very kind of you, thank you.

Not quite the extravagant item he was looking for,

but it's a start and they are gorgeous.

Whilst James pays the good man,

Helen has made her way eastward to the town of Chepstow.

-She's beginning her shop at St Mary's Street Collectables.

-Hello!

-Hello, good morning.

-Are you Dawn?

-Yes, I am.

-Good morning. Helen.

This place is well stocked with all manner of things,

-but can Helen find something here she likes?

-I saw that.

My eyes are drawn to that, being an entertainment memorabilia specialist.

My eyes are drawn to that but it's... Yeah, it's a reprint.

It's not an original.

Of all the antique shops in Chepstow, you walk into this one?

Helen's doing a lot of browsing.

-Nothing seems to have captured her attention.

-Oh, look, a crystal ball.

What does the future hold? Will I make a profit?

Not unless you buy something, love.

Yeah, you know, I'm thinking I might save my money.

I went all out on the first shop last time and bought, sort of, four items.

I'm thinking I might save myself.

-Well, hang on, because I had one item in yesterday that might interest you.

-Right.

-So, come and have a look.

-Go on, then.

Oh, she's a good saleswoman, that Dawn.

This could be interesting. Does Dawn have something put aside that might

bring Helen a bit of luck? Then again...

THEME FROM THE OMEN PLAYS

-What on earth is this?

-There you are.

-Aww, isn't she sweet?

-She's a little bit sad.

-She's a little bit scary!

A doll! What will James say if I come back with a doll?

-You need to catch him first, Helen.

-She's not unpleasant.

Some dolls are very scary, but...

They are very scary, but she's got quite a sweet face.

-I think she's pretty.

-THAT is a matter of opinion.

The one thing that can't be argued though is that old dolls

can be highly collectable, even in poor condition.

This one is a German Heubach model,

made some time between the First and Second World Wars and since

it still has all its parts, it could prove attractive to a restorer.

I mean the good thing about her is that she has got all

the original clothes. I mean they look like they're original to me.

And you know, this lovely little lace bonnet as well, which is

in really great condition considering the age.

So, you know, if someone restored that, it could be a really nice little thing.

-What are you going to say on it then?

-The very, very, very best is £5.

-Really?

-It's a bargain.

-Yeah.

Oh, lordy, she's not really going to buy it, is she?

Oh, do you know what? I'm going to take a punt on her.

-Yeah, £5, can't go wrong, really.

-You can't go wrong.

Yup, Helen's just spent £5 on a somewhat dishevelled doll.

I guess it has a certain charm,

and of course it's worth a good deal more than that.

James, meanwhile,

is heading to the town of Blaenavon in Torfaen to find out about

an industry that was once one of the cornerstones of the Welsh economy.

He's visiting the Big Pit National Coal Museum

-and meeting former miner, Kerry Thompson.

-Hello, James Braxton.

-Hello, Kerry Thompson, curator.

-Hello, very nice to be here.

At the end of the 19th century, Wales was one of the most

important coal-producing countries in the world.

In 1913, one in ten Welsh people were employed in the industry,

with many more dependent upon it.

The Big Pit at Blaenavon had a wider shaft than any other

pit in the area, allowing much more coal to be extracted.

And how many people would actually work at this colliery?

With all the pits and shafts you would have associated with

the Blaenavon company, there was probably about 2,000 men working.

2,000 men? Goodness! What does this coal do?

It wasn't just for people's fireplaces.

-We're talking about the age of steam, aren't we?

-Yeah.

And of course coal was found to be the best way of raising steam.

There was coaling stations right across the world,

Falklands, Egypt, you know, all sorts of places where Welsh coal

was stocked for ships to come in so they could go somewhere else.

So, the big liners for both passengers and cargo...

And the biggest and the best known of course is Titanic.

That was run on Welsh steam coal.

There's a good image of this here to show

sort of the scale of the industry.

That's just one dock in Cardiff, and that's the Roath Basin, and each

one of these of course is a wagon which holds up to about ten tonne.

Really? Ten tonnes of coal?!

There's thousands of tonnes of coal there just waiting

and that's just one moment in time.

More than three billion tonnes of coal have been

extracted from Welsh coal fields,

but as the 1877 Tynewydd disaster showed, that came at a human cost.

Kerry, what are we standing in front of?

Well, this is one of the most famous mining disasters in Wales.

It wasn't the greatest mining disaster,

because there was only actually five people killed in it.

But this became world news, in fact,

because of the way the accident happened.

The pit flooded, it trapped people in two places,

they got the first bunch of five men out quite quickly,

but the second took nine days to get out, without food,

without water, in freezing conditions.

Obviously where they were, you know?

And they were actually trapped in a bubble basically of compressed air.

So, to dig into them, they had to be very, very careful cos if they'd

gone straight in, of course,

it's like shooting a gun in an aeroplane, isn't it?

-I see, yeah.

-Compressed air shoots you out.

Thankfully, most of the miners were rescued safe and well.

Those rescuers who saved them were honoured with Albert Medals,

25 in total, usually awarded for saving life at sea, this was

the first time such a medal had been awarded for saving life on land.

The mandrel there... Actually it was owned by Isaac Pride, who won a medal,

and this was the mandrel he used to cut through the last

couple of feet of coal.

In the 1930s, around a quarter of a million men

worked in the South Wales mines,

but after decades of declining demand and a protracted

strike in the 1980s, nothing could halt the industry's slide.

And by 2012, there were just over 1,000 workers in the industry

across the whole of Wales, mainly in open-cast mines.

Whilst the Big Pit may never return to its glory days,

it's still here as a reminder of how Wales was built.

Iechyd da!

Whilst there's still an abundance of coal in Wales,

time IS running out to find a bargain.

That's why Helen's still in Chepstow

and has popped around the corner to Halfway Trading Antiques.

This place has all manner of things on sale,

-from antiques to modern jewellery.

-These are nice.

Oh, you've got some lovely things.

Oh, a bit of flattery to soften dealer Kelly up for a discount, eh?

Erm, this is a nice little chair with the caned seat.

I mean it's unusual to get that cane intact

and it does look quite original.

It's got to be sort of...

'30s or something like that from the style of it.

Yep, so it does look like the original seat on it.

-Possibly.

-Yeah, it's unusual. I like that. It's sweet.

-How much are you asking for it?

-I was looking for somewhere around £75.

-OK. We'll think about that one.

-Hmm, she seems quite interested in that.

Well, that would be fun for Gloucestershire. A cider...pourer?

A cider pourer, I guess? Kind of like this. This is quite fun.

But you know, copper, I don't want to pay too much for it.

-Essentially, I don't want to pay too much for it.

-Surprise, surprise.

-Would you take a tenner for it?

-Yeah, go on, then, yes.

-Would you?

-Did I start too high? She said that too easily.

-Too late now!

It's yours for just a tenner.

Her second item is secured, although I don't think she's done yet.

I still keep thinking about that chair though. I do think it's nice.

I've got to be careful, though.

I've got to save my pennies a little bit for tomorrow.

I don't want to spend everything today. So you said £75?

I couldn't go anywhere near that, really.

I'll do it for you for £40.

That's nearly half of what I expected for it.

Erm... yeah...

I'm in two minds about it. Would you do it for £35?

-Cor! She's driving a hard bargain. That's less than half price.

-£35?

So £35 for the chair, tenner for the cider ladle, £45 altogether.

-Go on, then.

-Yeah! All right, I'll do it then.

-Well done.

The cider pourer and the oak chair for just £45.

Right, I'd better carry this chair now. Very carefully.

Mind how you go then, Helen. As the sun sets, I bid thee nighty-night.

So, nighty-night.

-It's day two on our Welsh road trip.

-Well, Helen, this is Cardiff.

Cardiff Castle on our left, beautiful.

Yeah, it is fabulous, isn't it?

Yesterday, James spent a measly £30 on just one item,

the six gold studs, leaving him £220.98 today.

-Thank you, that's very kind of you.

-Helen's spent a tad more.

£50 total on the doll, cider pourer and the oak chair,

-leaving her £128.70.

-Thank you, deal.

It's their final day of shopping in Wales before the auction

in England, and they've made their way to the Welsh capital of Cardiff.

Well, Cardiff's really on the up, isn't it?

And more importantly for them,

they've got a very good rugby team.

The national squad play at the 74,000 capacity

Millennium Stadium, which has also played host to Cardiff's very own

distinguished diva, Shirley Bassey.

Whilst diamonds ARE forever, time to shop is definitely finite.

Our two both start the day at the pumping station

and it's not for fuel.

-Lovely.

-Brilliant. Well done, well driven.

-That was a nice drive, wasn't it?

-Glorious drive, wasn't it?

-Yeah.

-I don't want to get out of it actually.

-Oh, buck up, you two.

This place used to be an old Victorian waterworks

and it's now home to about 50 dealers. Nice.

With three floors to choose from, the question is,

which of our cohorts will bag a bargain from dealer Keith first?

-I literally could spend a fortune in here.

-It's one big maze.

-There we go.

Nice military cap. Does it suit me?

-Yet again, what I'm looking for is a bargain.

-What about these?

-Oh, look.

They're lovers. There's one hanging off the back there.

Three's a crowd and all that. Oh, sewn together by the mouths.

I daren't put that on. Ew!

-If you think they're frightening, wait until you see this.

-Wow.

Simba, the film and television lion.

Simba is the world's largest lion

in the Guinness Book Of Records and was Elizabeth Taylor's bodyguard

in Cleopatra?

And he's been stuffed for posterity. Look at him.

-I would not mess with that.

-Yeah, wise move, Hels.

Yesterday, James said he wanted to spend big to maximise his profits.

I wonder if he's found something to really sink his teeth into.

I like this table. Now, why do I like this table?

For all intents and purposes, it's just an occasional table,

not a particularly interesting shape,

but the interesting thing, the thing that catches my eye,

is it's got something extra to it, and that extra are these.

Now, there is absolutely no reason to have these, because structurally,

they're all supported by this secondary tier,

this platform tier below.

But these are just extenuating the design.

It is after a chap called Edward William Godwin.

Godwin was an architect designer in the mid-1800s who not only

designed great public buildings,

but also the furniture that would've gone in them.

And although this table isn't one of his,

the maker has been influenced by Godwin's neo-Japanese work.

And what's it priced at? £55.

It doesn't seem expensive,

£55, for something that is after such a famous designer.

So if I can get that, if I can get it for £35, I think

-there might be a good profit.

-I think he likes it.

James has spotted the dealer's phone number on the wall.

Hello, Jackie, it's James Braxton.

You've got a rectangular two-tier occasional with

the ring-turned legs. What could you do it for?

Is there some movement there?

OK, well thank you very much indeed, £35 it is.

Thank you, bye.

Very good. In fact, funnily enough, I thought I was going to offer £35.

£55 to £35 and sold.

He seems happy with it.

Helen, meanwhile, is still browsing upstairs.

This cranberry glass sugar sifter.

This type of sort of pinky-red glass is called cranberry glass

because of the colour.

These are nice because they're silver hallmarked lids.

Might go down quite nicely at auction.

Helen did well selling one of these at the last auction.

Is she thinking it's a safe bet then?

-So that one's nicer because it is hallmarked silver.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Do you know your hallmarks off by heart?

-Erm, most.

-Do you? Brilliant. You're the man.

-Looks like a Birmingham one.

-It's going to be solid silver, that would be.

-Yep.

-So it's got £38 on it.

-Yeah. I'm sure we could come to a decision.

-I'd like to make a really cheeky offer.

-Right.

And say £18 and see what they say. See what they can come back with.

-Erm... It's a bit tight.

-It is a bit tight.

-Helen's looking for £20 off.

She's not shy, is she? Keith has to run it past the dealer who owns it.

-I wonder if they'll take Helen's offer?

-£20 and it's yours.

OK, all right, OK. I'll think about that.

I'll put it on hold while I...because I haven't seen

the rest of the store, but thank you, I appreciate that.

Hmm. Clearly the extra £2 the dealer wants is crucial to Helen.

While she considers it, James is still browsing,

presumably still looking to make that big purchase he's after.

Feel the weight of this. This is a real slab of earthenware.

Known as an encaustic tile.

Encaustic tiles are ceramic tiles actually inlaid with

patterns in different coloured clays so that

when the body of the tile is worn, the design remains.

The great race of the 19th century was churches,

so it was the race between the Catholic Church

and the Anglican Church and people built these fabulous churches

and people like Pugin,

the great designer, was very much at the forefront.

He was building masses of Catholic churches and these were

used for the pavements, for the thoroughfares of churches.

But this is a lovely design. A great repeat design.

Something that Pugin would have designed.

Just really nice detail here.

You turn it over here, clearly marked

Minton and Co Patent, Stoke-upon-Trent.

Centre of the ceramics industry, a great item.

-If I could secure that for a fiver, I would be a happy man.

-A fiver?!

What happened to your strategy of spending big then, James?

But we do want to see you happy.

-Question is, can Keith make it happen?

-Keith, this is the baby.

Right, OK. It's unmarked, hasn't got a price on it.

I'm rather hoping I can get it for a fiver, but we'll see.

Terracotta tile, yeah, it is, yeah.

He's interested to know if he can buy it for £5. £5 is fine.

-Great, thank the man. Fiver for that and also I rang Jackie.

-Right, OK.

-And she agreed £35 for the table so...

-OK, thank you very much.

-£40 in all, that's really kind, thank you.

-There's that happy face.

My goodness, that man likes a bargain.

Now, can Helen find something to put a smile on her face?

Oh, that's pretty.

Love that. Is that heavy? Let's see if I can get it out.

This is a gorgeous fire screen. But look at the design of it.

It's gorgeous. It's typical Arts and Crafts style, you know, very much

hanging onto the Art Nouveau movement a little bit.

I'm a big fan of Arts and Crafts things.

It was very much sort of in the British tradition, you know.

Going back to craftsmanship and quality and working with wood

and copper and natural materials

and I really like that sort of Britishness of it as well, you know.

Decent condition, doesn't look

like it's had any bits welded back on or anything.

I like that a lot.

What are they asking for it?

£78, so, ooh, yeah, I think I'd want to try

and get it for about £50 if I can.

You can only ask, but it looks like Keith might already know the answer.

-My buyer made a phone call...

-Right, OK.

..to Mandy and apparently the price she wouldn't take lower than £60.

Really? OK, what are we going to do?

-No lower than £60. She's not budging, is she?

-No.

It's a bit high. It really is a bit high,

-but if she's not here then we can't have that conversation, can we?

-No.

-I think I'm just going to go for it because I like it.

-OK.

And I'll keep my fingers firmly crossed. £60, all right, it's a deal.

Thank you very much.

And then the sugar sifter as well, I think I'll go for that too.

-Right, OK.

-So that's £60 plus £20 so I owe you £80.

-Right.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you very much.

-Brilliant, thank you.

James is still shopping and has made his way to Avalon Antiques.

-Hello, how are you?

-Very well, I'm James.

-Nice to meet you, I'm Gitty.

Gitty, very nice to meet you too. Gitty, I need to buy two items.

-Right.

-Taking them to auction in Gloucestershire, and...

-Hoping to make some money.

-Hoping to make some money.

I think she knows the game.

I've watched this programme occasionally on the television.

-A fan, hey? Isn't that nice?

-Not very often.

-Oh, maybe not.

There's no business like show business, eh, James?

-Can I look at your Delft bits?

-You can.

I thought you might want to look at those. There are three of those.

-Three of them.

-Well, they're different.

I mean there's not a pair.

Delftware is typically blue and white decorated pottery made in

or around Delft in the Netherlands from the 16th century onwards.

These look like they're a bit later. Probably 19th century.

Actually they're quite alike, aren't they?

They are quite alike, aren't they? With this moulded detail.

You've got the sort of moulded cartouche and then the peonies.

There's bits of damage on both of them

but they are that age, I mean they are the age that they are,

-they're going to have a bit of damage, aren't they?

-They are.

-And sometimes with Delft...

-It doesn't really matter.

-It doesn't.

-It sort of slightly reassures you that it's of a...

-Genuine.

-Quite.

It's got some age, hasn't it? It's suffered the rigours of time.

Something I think we can all relate to, eh, James?

Rather nice, aren't they? The insets there. I quite like those.

-Well, that's a possible candidate.

-Right, that's a possible candidate. OK.

One to consider, but James doesn't seem quite ready to commit

and he doesn't seem too keen on anything else.

With the shop closing soon, would he find something he likes?

You can go and have a large gin and tonic shortly.

-I'll need it after the prices you're charging.

-Oh!

Aw, James, I know you didn't really mean that.

I'm sure you've got something out at the back, Gitty, go on,

-let's go and rootle.

-You can't rootle in the back.

-Of course we can.

-There's no space!

-There's always room for rootling.

-Yeah, get rootling, as you do.

I feel like a mole down here.

I like these portraits.

-Shall we have a quick look at that?

-Yes.

I do love a successful rootling,

but I suppose it all depends on the price.

Built in the 1960s.

-I quite like this sort of title plaque here.

-Yes.

-Trent Maritime Company Limited - London.

-It is rather nice, isn't it?

Isn't it?

This painting of the cargo ship Duke of Mistra is by George Wiseman.

Wiseman was a pierhead artist who painted many ships in the 1950s

and '60s, often working from shipyard plans to ensure accuracy.

A nice watercolour. It's just a really nice, clean item.

It's all framed, exactly as it would have been done.

Nicely held down, really well protected,

so that's the way to keep a watercolour.

Don't let your backing get exposed,

-and they've got a great bit of marine ply on it, haven't they?

-Yes.

You know, beautifully over-engineered as you'd

expect a shipbuilder to do.

-Now, is this £80, £100? Is that the...

-No, no, I don't think so.

-Isn't it?

-This is £230, but I'm sure we could do a bit better than that.

-You'd have to do a lot better than that.

-I thought I might.

You HAVE been watching the show.

James still has £180.98 left which is clearly burning

a hole in his pocket, but it looks like he's keen to do

a deal for the painting and the vases, which are priced at £98 each.

See, Gitty, I'm still drawn to these.

I might be making the most terrible mistake here.

-That's all right, I'll let you.

-All this damage.

I would do the two for £140. And I think you'll make on that.

-How near to £80 could you get on that?

-I can't do £80, no.

-I could do £120.

-£120.

Well, if you have that for £120, I will do those for £120. How is that?

-So that's £240 in all?

-Yes.

And I know I haven't got the budget for that,

-but I could buy something cheaper I suppose.

-£180. Go on.

-What?

-For the two items?

-Yes.

So that would be £90 for that and £90 for that.

I think you've been very fair and I'll very definitely do it.

-Thank you very much indeed, Gitty.

-Thank you very much.

-Fair?!

That's nearly £200 off and almost all his cash gone.

Not a bad way of rounding off James' shopping though.

-And I'm all spent up.

-That's good.

-Bar 98p.

Earlier, James was hearing about how coal once drove the Welsh economy.

Helen's now off to hear how the subsequent increase in trade

helped Cardiff grow from a tiny village into a major city.

She's visiting Butetown History & Arts Centre.

-Hi, Neil.

-Yes, Neil Sinclair.

-Hi, I'm Helen. Lovely to meet you.

Oh, pleased to meet you too, Helen.

At the start of the 1800s,

Welsh coal was in demand throughout the UK and the world.

However, most Welsh ports were small

and ill equipped for international trade.

Rich landowner John Crichton-Stuart saw an opportunity.

And so who was John Crichton-Stuart?

He was the second Marquess of Bute, he owned the land.

This was waterlogged marshland or tidal in some way

so hardly anybody lived here,

but it was on this land that the Marquess decided to build a large

dock to export the coal that was coming from the South Wales valleys.

Only a few thousand people lived in Cardiff at the time,

and they struggled to find local labourers to do the work so decided

-to bring over 200 men from Ireland to build the port.

-So here we are.

-Here are the docks.

-Yes, down at the seafront.

When the West dock opened in 1839, Cardiff's global trade links grew.

The arriving trade ships brought people

from all over the world, some of whom settled within the community.

The ships were going as far away as China.

And when the ships returned, there would be Chinese crews on board.

And then they would, you know,

after they did whatever it was they were doing on the dock,

they would come into the community,

but many of those seamen that came from every country you can

imagine married locally and so this was their home port.

The rich merchants

and business owners who depended on the port initially lived

right beside it, but as the dock expanded,

so did the levels of dirt and pollution.

They abandoned their dockside homes for places further away,

leaving their homes to the new emerging community.

Well, now, Helen, we're down at Windsor Esplanade.

And fortunately for us, these houses are still intact,

but this is where the sea captains

and the bosuns lived back in the sea-going days of Cardiff docks.

Tiger Bay became a melting pot of people from all over the world.

It was one of the first truly multi-ethnic cities in the UK.

Neil's grandfather, James Augustus Headley, was born in Barbados,

but came to the bay in about 1897.

The bay became his home and, two generations later,

is still home to Neil.

So what was it like to live here in the docks, because you grew up here?

It was the most wonderful experience now that I look back on my life,

I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I lived on a street which had many nationalities.

Despite our disparate ethnic backgrounds, we were all Welsh.

Since the mid-1800s,

Tiger Bay has been welcoming people from all over the world.

Today, it's been completely transformed

and is now known as Cardiff Bay, a centre for leisure and commerce.

150 years after it was first built,

it's still finding new ways to bring people to the area.

-Thank you for having me.

-It's a pleasure to meet you too.

-All right.

As the day draws to a close,

it's back to the history centre to reveal all.

Da-da-dah!

A bit of colour here, so I thought it was wholly appropriate -

we're going to a land-locked county to buy a marine scene.

-Excellent, OK, yeah. Very appropriate.

-So there we are.

So, what's the ship?

The ship is just a shipping ship, it's just a cargo shipping ship.

I think that means he has no idea.

But it's a cargo ship and commissioned by the then owners.

It's got a nice sort of title plaque here telling you all about it.

-1960 going past Dover Castle.

-Nice.

-And I'm all in! 98p left.

-Really?

-What did you pay for those?

-£90 for those two.

-£90 for the two.

They're nice though, aren't they?

-Helen seems impressed, but what will James think of her lots?

-OK, Helen.

Right, OK.

Da-da-dah!

-Look at this! She looks quite a nice doll.

-Well...

-Good eyes.

-Yeah.

-I was coerced into buying her.

-Don't you mean possessed?

But actually, she's all there, her legs

and head aren't attached to the body, but she's all there,

the hair is there, the clothes are there,

and she's a Heubach doll that if she was complete

-and in nice condition, they can make about £200 or £300.

-Really?

-The good ones. So...

-And how much did you buy it for?

-A fiver.

-Oh!

-That's a good profit. That's good.

-Yeah.

-That's very good.

And seeing as we're going to Gloucestershire,

this is a cider ladle.

-OK.

-With, you know, "cider" on the front.

-Very good. Very good, cider.

Paid a tenner for it which was probably a bit much, but never mind.

Helen, it has been hot, hot in Wales.

Let's hope the weather's not so good as last week

-so it brings the bidders out.

-I know, we need that.

-Anyway, in the meantime, ice cream?

-Yep. On you.

-With 98p.

Before you go and chill out, tell us what you really think.

Erm, difficult to know, really who's got the best kit.

I think he paid quite a lot for his boat picture, you know,

-it's not that vintage a piece. It's fairly recent.

-Uh, the doll.

I think that could make some money, that.

Only a £5 note and the eyes look great from where I was standing.

Just how close were you standing?

After shopping in Wales, it's time to head to England

for auction glory in the town of

Wotton-under-Edge in Gloucestershire.

The town sits in the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The question is, will it bring an outstanding profit to our jolly chums?

-This looks very good, good omens.

-Great building.

It's quite hard getting out of that in a skirt, you know!

-You should try it sometime.

-What, skirts or cars?

The scene for today's auction is the Wotton Auction Rooms.

The company has been in business since the mid-19th century

and at this wonderfully restored church for over 30 years.

Auctioneer and all-round good egg Philip Taubenheim

is in the podium today.

What does he think about our team's items?

The dismembered doll has actually been giving the staff

a bit of a heebie-jeebie moment, but she will string back together.

There are girls out there that will string dolls back to life

so I think we've got a chance with that

but it's in the worst condition you can possibly imagine

but the head is sound so that's the important thing.

James' shipping portrait is good.

I wish it was 1860 rather than 1960 but it's well produced

so we'll see on that one.

If I were a betting man, who would I put my money on?

I think it's going to be a very tight-run race.

I think there will be just a few pounds between it.

It's a cop-out, really, but I think it will be a very tight race.

James began this leg of the Road Trip with £250.98

and has gone on to spend £250 on five auction lots.

Yet again, what I'm looking for is a bargain.

Helen started with £178.70 and has parted with £130,

-also for five lots.

-Thanks for that, it was nice to meet you.

It's one of the hottest days of the year

and it's going to get even hotter as the auction begins.

Hold on to your hats.

First up is James' encaustic tile.

What do we say? £10 to start for it. £10 to start. £10. £5 I'm bid.

Thank you at £5 I'm bid and £5 I'm bid, £10 I'm bid, £15 I'm bid.

At £15 I'm bid. At £15, at £15, it's sold at £15.

-That's a profit.

-Got away with it.

An opening profit of a tenner straightaway for James.

It's a profit, James.

It is a profit. I'm not going to argue with that.

Can Helen do better with her cider ladle?

-The £10 lot, £10 to start.

-Oh, come on, let's start at £10, come on.

-At £5 I'm bid, at £5 I'm bid at £5. At £10 I'm bid...

-Yes! Come on.

At £10 I'm bid. At £10, at £10, £15 anywhere?

At £10 bid, cheap enough little lot going through. Are you sure?

-At £10, this time at £10.

-Ah.

-£10.

-Well...

-So, no major loss for Helen.

Can James entice the bidders with his mahogany table?

£30 I'll start, at £30 I'm bid for the table, at £30 I'm bid,

-£35 I'm bid.

-The bid for the table above £30.

£35 I'm bid, £40 I'm bid... at £45 you're out now, at £45,

£50 on the wings I'm bid.

We're all finished then at £50.

There you go, another small profit, there you go.

There's a healthy £15 profit for James.

-Someone's got a bargain, I reckon.

-Someone's got a bargain.

-Yeah.

Can Helen make her first profit of the auction with her screen?

£40? £20? £20 you bid me, thank you, at £20 I'm bid, at £20...

-Oh, my, £20, OK.

-It'll buy you a bottle of wine then.

Oh, it's going up, it's going up.

£50 I'm bid, £5 I'm bid, on commission here at £55 I'm bid.

-At £55 I'm bid. At £55, and it's sold then.

-Tantalisingly close.

-Someone's got a very nice thing there.

-A great bargain, haven't they?

Just a fiver short, but there's still time to make that back.

Can James increase his profits with the pottery vases?

£30 for the two. At £30 I'm bid

for the two, at £30, my only bid for the two of them there.

At £30, I'm bid, £35 I'm bid, thank you, madam...

Come on! Come on, up it goes.

At £45, at £50, and £5, and £60?

At £60 I'm bid, your bid, sir, at £60, I'm bid, at £60 I'm bid.

£5 anywhere now at £60? And at £60 and they've sold.

-No, oh.

-£60. Oh, I'm sorry, James.

-Don't worry.

-It was slightly expected I think, unfortunately.

-Oh, dear.

A bit of a blow for James there but he can still make it

up if he does well with the rest of the items.

Revenue is so hard to earn, but it quickly goes, doesn't it?

The heat is on for Helen's chair next.

At £10, early bid, thank you.

At £10 for the chair I'm bid at £10, at £15 I'm bid,

-£20 I'm bid, £25 I'm bid, £30 I'm bid...

-No, bit more, bit more.

At £35 I'm bid, at £35 I'm bid. Pretty little chair there.

-One more, one more.

-At £35 I'm bid, £35 then.

-Oh.

-Oh.

-Broken even, and sadly therefore no profit.

I think you're keeping your powder dry, Helen.

As people succumb to the heat, new auctioneer Joe Trinder has

taken over and he looks like he's wilting already.

Helen's cranberry glass goes up next.

-Right in at £30, do I see £30?...

-Yay! Yes!

..at £30, £35 I have thank you, sir,

and £40 and £5 for you now? £45 I have and £50, and £5 for you?

-No, selling on the book at £50...

-Come on!

-Do I see £5 anywhere now?

-Selling for £50 to be sure.

-Well done.

-Yay!

-You needed that, Helen, well done.

-I did.

-A nice £30 profit.

That more than makes up for Helen's losses so far.

-Wow, that's a great profit. £40. £20 in the bin, eh?

-Nice!

Next to set sail is James' shipping picture.

Do you want to start me at £60? Do I see for the lot, now...

Come on, £60.

-£60 for me now, sir? £60 I have.

-Telephone bidder.

Do I see £5 anywhere now? Selling for £60, £5 I have, thank you.

-£70 with you now, sir?

-£70.

-£70 I have and £5 and £80 for you now?

£80 I have and £5 for you now? £85 and £90 to come back in now, sir.

£90 and selling on the phone at £90,

£90 and selling, anyone to come back in at £5.

-Thank the Lord!

-£100 do I have? Selling at £100.

-Wow, brilliant, well done.

-Oh, a result, a result.

The good ship has found its port, giving James a welcome profit.

The auctioneer has changed again, this time Nicholas Ewing is on.

-James' last item is next, the six gold studs.

-£20's bid.

-Someone's on them.

-£35, £40? £45? £40's bid. £45 anywhere?

£40 to go, nice little set, £40,

£45 anywhere? On my left at £40.

-All done at £40.

-Well done.

-£40, so another tenner in the bin.

-£40. Well, there you go.

After costs, there's a small bit of profit there for James.

I'd say you're slightly in the lead at the moment. And everything to play for.

Everything to play for,

and it's all riding on that crazy little squished up doll.

That's right, it is, but will it enchant today's bidders?

-So, £20 for this doll.

-I think he's saying £20.

-£10 then.

-Give me £10 for the doll. Surely. £10, 10 for it?

-Seriously.

£15? £15 anywhere? £10 only. £15? £10 and going, £15 sir, £20 now?

-£15 to the gentlemen there. £15, all done, seated at £15.

-Just there.

-Oh, that was a bargain.

-That was a bargain, wasn't it?

-A bargain!

You're not kidding. A tenner profit for Helen on the broken doll.

Well, I think I'm just about even-stevens,

we'll have to do the sums.

It seems close. Time to tot it all up.

James started this leg of the road trip buoyantly with £250.98,

but after auction costs, he made a loss of £32.70,

leaving a meagre £218.28.

Helen, meanwhile, started this leg of the trip with £178.70

but after auction costs, gallantly made a profit of £5.30,

thereby winning this second leg of the road trip with £184.

-So, not too bad for me.

-Diabolical for me, I'm afraid.

I think you definitely took that leg.

-OK, are you ready?

-Better had be!

Good on, Helen, her first win of the Road Trip.

Things are looking up, and with three auctions to go,

this could be close.

Next on the Antiques Road Trip, James works up a sweat.

-And the heat is on for Helen.

-I'm feeling the pressure.

I'm feeling the pressure.