Episode 1 Auction Hero

Right now all of us are feeling the pinch,

and our nation's charities are no exception.

It's difficult to give as much as we used to

and, sadly, it's the small charities that are suffering the most.

It is a struggle to find extra money.

I'm up to my limit, I can't work any harder than what I'm doing.

These charities are run by volunteers who

dedicate their lives to helping others.

-One adult, one child?

-That's correct, yeah.

'My life is a world away from Britain's struggling charities,

'but now I want to give something back.

'My name is Andrew Lamberty,

'I'm an international antiques dealer based in London's Belgravia.

'I find beautiful esoteric, unusual, amazing things.'

I've found a collection of glass eyes.

'I buy them, and I sell them.

'But now I think I can use my talent for buying art and antiques...'

-550, is it?

-Look, well, 500, is it?

'..to sell to my wealthy clients...'

That has actually seen Cuban missile crisis.

'..and give the profits to these heroic small charities.'

-Always go round the front of the horse.

-Hi.

'But it's not going to be easy.

'The recession has hit the antiques trade too.'

-Well, they're not right for this room.

-1,600 quid.

In isolation, I probably wouldn't buy either of these.

'And making money is harder than ever before.'

When the market was really buoyant, people would to have your

arm off for those, otherwise someone else would just buy them.

'I've given myself just three

'months to make the money the charities need.

'So I'm going to bid at auction, travel overseas to trade fairs

'and even organise a special auction evening.'

I am going to sell, thank you.

'And rather than keeping the money, I'll give all the profits to

'these small charities who make Britain a better place.'

This represents changed lives Andrew, it does.

'The art and antiques business has been my passion

'for the past 20 years.

'But I haven't always been based in Belgravia.'

When I started out on my own, it was in a 500 quid van,

driving 60,000 miles a year, covering a lot of auctions,

really working hard and learning the business from the ground up.

I know what it's like to have run out of money.

I know what it's like to be down to your last few hundred quid,

and having to trade out of that position.

But it's something you don't forget, and it gives you your sense of

value and your sense of proportion, even if you're successful,

you always draw on the foundations you built in the old days.

And so I'm here now in Belgravia, and I love what I do.

It's not lost on me

that I'm bringing together

two very different worlds, of wealthy collectors,

and charities who are struggling for money.

'Usually I sell expensive goods to high rollers with big bank accounts.

'But now I'm going to work for a very different type of client.'

Today, I am heading down to Surrey to Runnymede.

And I'm going to meet a charity run by a lady called Frances,

and the charity is concerned with dementia.

'Dementia is a devastating illness that affects

'over 800,000 people in Britain and with an ageing population,

'this number is set to grow dramatically.'

They're finding it hard to raise funds

and I'm going to see how I can help.

'I'll put up my own cash to buy and sell

'and donate the mark up on each trade.

'I'll do the work, the charities will get all the profits.

'The Runnymede Dementia Carer Support Group is held once a week,

'it was started three years ago by Frances Dyble-Goode.'

-Hi, Frances, I'm Andrew.

-Oh, hello.

-I'll give you a hand with those.

-Thank you.

-Pleased to meet you.

That will be fine, thank you, thank you, we need help.

So what inspired you to start this up?

My husband was 54 years old and he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

He was a businessman, he owned his own company, he worked hard,

he was a very clever guy.

You actually don't realise because when they start saying,

"Do you want a cup of tea?" and you say, "Well, yes, OK, fine,"

and then he'd come ask you again, "Do you want a cup of tea?"

"Yes, well you asked me that five minutes ago."

If I took him shopping, I had to watch him, that he didn't take

somebody else's trolley, so it gets worse and worse, and the later

stages are horrendous, and they're horrendous for the carer.

My husband had to go into a nursing home

and he was a total vegetable when he died.

He was blind, deaf, it was absolutely dreadful,

at the age of 66.

It just tears you apart, which is why I decided to start this.

I feel that this little club brings all these people together,

and it gives them just something to look forward to,

which is what I never had.

'I knew that dementia was a debilitating illness

'but I hadn't realised the impact it has on the carers.'

Oh, Speedy Gonzales.

I braved that step.

'Frances welcomes up to 50 dementia sufferers

'and their carers each week.'

-Hello, Gordon.

-Hello.

-Hello, gorgeous.

-Hello.

-How are you? Are you all right?

'Dementia hasn't affected anyone close to me yet,

'it will be interesting to learn first-hand more about what

'it's like to live with it.

'For many people with dementia,

'their spouses become their main carer.

'Shirley has been caring for her husband, Gordon, since he was

'diagnosed eight years ago, and they come to the group every week.'

I mean, I find now when you get into the situation that we've got,

it's our social life, really.

I mean, it's the only time that we can sort of go somewhere because...

-This is all big.

-Yes, I know.

-Look, it's right on your head.

-Yes, I know, darling, yes, I know.

Because you don't get invited out as much as you used to.

-Yes.

-Do we smile?

-Yes.

-Do we smile?

-Yes.

-Yes, of course you do.

-I'm smiling all right?

-Yeah.

'At present, Frances's budget only allows her to open once a week,

'and doesn't give her any extra funds to put on special activities.

'I found a snooker partner in David,

'who has been living with dementia for the past eight years.'

Nearly went in, didn't it? Didn't it nearly go in?

'His wife, Pam, brings him to the club each week.

'She gets as much out of the visits as he does.'

This is a lifeline, I would say it really is a lifeline.

We are more like family because, you know, the carers

hold each other up, because times can get very hard, they really can.

I mean, you know, we come here, we have a laugh and we have a moan.

-Yes.

-Seeing him here is like seeing him as he was 20 years ago.

-Good shot.

-CHEERING

I think it's super important that this place exists,

it's the only time they get to communicate,

to interact every week. It keeps them anchored,

it also gives their carers an opportunity to either go out

and do something different, or to come here and meet some other

people who are experiencing the same kind of problems.

'Like all of the small charities I want to help,

'Frances runs hers on a shoestring.

'She provides this vital support on just £9,300 a year.'

Frances, I've been giving some thought

to this lovely place that you run,

I was thinking, you know, how you're going to improve yourselves,

well, you can't improve yourselves because it's already great.

So talk to me about some ideas you might have.

I think an additional day would be absolutely brilliant,

we could maybe get in an artist or some things that they could

actually do to stimulate them.

I wrote down on my notes, artists, musicians, dance class,

so we're on the same page.

Oh, that's really good, thank you very much.

'Frances is thinking about an additional day a month.

'I've now done the maths and with £2,000 she could

'put on an extra two sessions a month for the next year.

'That's a small price to pay for a huge result.'

It would really make a difference, because being a small, little

charity, it is a struggle to find extra money.

Personally, I...

I suppose it's always been a tribute to my late husband.

He's left a legacy...

SOBBING

..that I can continue and help people that

were in my position, and help them get through this awful illness.

So that what it means to me, it's a legacy to John.

'The sooner Frances has the extra money,

'the sooner she can put on the extra days at the centre.

'I've only got three months to raise this cash,

'and the economic downturn really has slowed my business too.

'So I'd better form a pretty clear strategy

'on how I'm going to meet this target.'

I'm going to buy a number of items that I think I can trade quickly.

I'm going to use everything at my disposal to buy really

well on behalf of these charities.

I'm going to go to little auctions, I'm going

to go to trade fairs, I'm going to get my address book out to

make the most sales I can possibly can, get into my private

clients and I'm going to have a big charity auction coming up to

Christmas, because that's the way to make the big money.

'Every year, I make buying trips to an antiques

'market in Avignon, in the south of France.

'In the dealer's calendar it's one of my favourite fairs.

'I've been here so many times I know my way around, and this time

'I'll be on the lookout for my first buy for the dementia support group.'

Early doors as usual,

all the gear's just been got out of the trucks, I'm just here in time.

We're going to have to operate pretty quickly

because if we want to get something really good for Runnymede,

it's going to happen in the first hour.

All the best things get bought then.

'Thousands of vendors come here from all over France,

'so any of these vans could contain a hidden gem.'

The competition is heavy here,

there's a few people who know a good thing when they see it.

We're all up against each other here, it's a fox-eat-rabbit world.

'Antique fair rule number one -

'if you look rich, you'll pay over the odds.'

Qu'est-ce que c'est, un tableau?

Un tableau, oui.

'Rule number two - speak the local language...'

HE MUMBLES IN FRENCH

'..as best you can.

'Rule number three - if you want to sell something on quickly,

'picking up something by a known designer or artist is a good bet.'

This is kind of cool, if you want a bit of a boy's toy in a desk.

It's a section of a plane wing made into a desk

so it's polished aluminium, it's kind of fun.

But I've seen it all before.

This is quite an interesting little table, this is by Capron.

The signs, just a distinctly... He's a bit of a fave of mine.

'He influenced Picasso's pottery.'

I want a pair of them, or a bigger one.

'Rule number four, for a pair the price is doubled,

'then doubled again.

'But this Capron table is damaged goods, so I'm moving on.'

Need to put a bit of nitrous in my tank today,

because it's going to be some work, cover some ground.

Prouve table.

'Now this table is in the spirit of Jean Prouve,

'one of my favourite French designers

'from the mid-20th century.'

Bonjour.

'This is what I've been looking for.

'Prouve-style pieces are very saleable in today's market.

'He was a self-taught architect and designer and a modernist

'pioneer of the industrial style, particularly in metal furniture.

'Despite the wear to the paintwork, this is an exciting find.'

'Large pieces of furniture take longer to sell,

'I've got just three months to find a buyer before the antiques

'trade goes quiet in January.

'Whilst time is tight, it's too good an opportunity to miss.'

Merci, OK, tres bien.

Did you see me move quite quickly then?

'I can't go wrong at 1,400 euros, that's around £1,100.'

-Et voila.

-Merci, Isabel.

-Merci beaucoup.

The last one I had, I sold for around 5,000.

In the interests of getting this sold quickly,

I might take a smaller price on this one.

Anyway, I am absolutely over the moon about that table,

that's a belting piece of mid-20th century design,

the table dates from around 1955.

Super refined, nice proportion, good original paint finish on it,

everything you want from a piece of furniture, very nice, very nice.

Probably looks like any old bit of tat there,

you wait till I get that in my gallery and lit properly.

I love that table, look at it.

That's a super piece of design, it stands well, as we say in the trade.

The hook's in the water and it's in the best pool.

So, hopefully, we'll have a fish on fairly soon.

'I've travelled from London to rural Cornwall to meet the second

'small charity I'd like to help.

'It's an animal shelter just outside Truro, which provides

'a home for 70 unwanted animals.

'This charity is run by Maria Mulkeen.

'She has a full-time job working at night caring for the terminally ill.

'She volunteers the rest of her waking hours to

'caring for these abandoned animals.

'And what really struck me is how she funds the place.'

At the moment, I'm putting, I'd say 90% of my wages

goes into the shelter, and it's becoming a struggle for me.

If I don't go to work, I don't get paid,

if I don't get paid, I can't buy any food for the animals,

so I have to start

thinking of other ways, apart from myself, where I can get money from.

Hello. All right, Andrew? Nice to meet you.

I'm Andrew, hello.

So tell me a little bit about what you do here.

We rescue and take in small animals and farm animals,

mainly the small, rabbits, guinea pigs, gerbils.

We're quite unique, a lot of people take in cats and dogs,

but not the rest of the animals.

Right, I really want to know why you do this.

What fires your belief in this?

All of my life, since a little girl, I've always taken in strays

and I got told off by my mum,

"Don't you bring no more stray animals home here."

So I've grew up like that,

99% of my life now is trying to help these animals.

So if I couldn't get any extra money, it would have to close.

I want to help Maria, so I've asked her to show me

what she most needs for her shelter.

This one's falling down, yeah, this is the sheep's house,

and it hasn't even got a concrete floor,

it's mud and that's another project, there's so many projects.

And then we've got fencing over I can see,

you've got pallets leant up against those, what's that about?

Unfortunately, when we first started here,

we didn't realise that goats could actually break cattle fencing.

The field next door, it actually goes out onto a very busy

fast road, and the goats have tried to get out on numerous

occasions, and have nearly made it through.

They know where there's a weakness and they'll push it

until they destroy it and get out.

And have you had some quotes to get the work done?

We have, yeah, and it's about £5,000 to have it all...

-Five grand?

-5,000.

-To do this amount of fencing?

-Yeah, yeah,

and that's 150 metres.

'So cash for essential fencing is scarce,

'but volunteers to help Maria aren't.'

-This is Keeley and Jade.

-Hello, Keeley.

-Hiya.

-Jade? You're Jade? Who's Jade?

-Me.

Jade, hello. Got it the other way round. Hello, Keeley. Hello, Jade.

Try and explain to me what you get out of working with the animals.

I've studied animals, so I want to work with them anyway

so I'm gaining more experience while I'm unemployed.

'A number of the volunteers are out of work,

'and they give their time to keep the shelter running.'

-This is John.

-Hello, John.

-This is Andrew.

-Pleased to meet you.

Pleased to meet you too. How did you hear about the place?

-Why did you...? how did you start here?

-Jobcentre.

I was a bit reluctant to come down volunteering but, oh, no,

as soon as I got here, that's it.

You know, I haven't looked back, it's brilliant.

The place is just about held together with a few screws

and some nails.

Is that what you essentially busy yourself with,

sort of keeping it all just hanging together?

I mean, yeah, if need be, we have corrugated sheets to replace,

but again, it's all recycled, it's...

I mean, you're replacing the old with, basically, the old.

What's really struck me here is, you know

talking to a couple of volunteers,

they've not got employment but, you know, they're not sitting at home

doing nothing, they're not workshy.

John is... You know, he's flat out here, fixing stuff all the time

with hardly any tools and not much in the way of materials.

He's got one jam jar of screws. And there's a great sense of pride,

you can tell here in the work that they do and they really love it.

It's very nice to see, and this is the place that is contributing

to the community as well as looking after all these animals.

'With a target of £5,000 for the new fencing

'and just three months before the antiques market

'shuts down for Christmas, time is of the essence.

'But the prospects for keeping those goats in are looking good.

'I'm on one of my buying trips in Italy,

'at the Rolls-Royce of European trade fairs.'

So here in Parma in Italy, not Palma, Mallorca,

and one of the biggest and best fairs in the calendar.

I want to get my bearings here,

because they've also changed the entrance. Let's go down here.

Lots of pretty Italian girls, as well, which is quite nice.

'There are well over a thousand vendors here with pieces

'dating from the 1800s, right up to the 1980s.'

I love doing this, this is what we live for.

'When I'm looking to buy, the more in vogue a piece is,

'the faster it will sell.'

Things go in and out of fashion stylistically.

Can't try and sell people flares when they want drainpipes.

You know, and a case and point are these,

obviously you spike your candle onto the top there.

These are about 1820, right? I wouldn't buy these

because they're not really that current, stylistically.

'Twenty years ago, the near classical look was the big seller,

'in today's market, it's good designs from the 20th century

'that get snapped up.'

Scusi, se quanta? Venduto.

-Sold.

-BLEEP!

Those are valuable.

They're called an artichoke lamp, they're iconic, those.

'These artichoke lamps were designed in 1958 by

'Danish architect, Poul Henningsen.

'They're handsome and they're practical.

'The layered shades create a lovely ambient light.'

They're still expensive new, but those are original ones,

and they are big.

If I'd have bought something like that, I'd have known, you know...

I'd have probably made £15,000 and I could relax a little bit.

'In my business, I have to have an eye on future trends.'

Here, you have the table from the... very 1980s, it's too far ahead of

the kerb at the moment, the market's not really caught on to this.

It will do, it'll embrace this,

and this is a superb designed piece of furniture, very much of its era.

That's only going to go up in value, that.

But the market's not ready for it yet.

You have a sort of sense of style,

a sort of feel for what's cool, and what's now,

and what people want.

Or you create what people want, and I've just seen something over there,

I've got to go and actually look at. Over here.

Nicoletta.

How are you? Ciao.

OK, now what have you got...?

'I've been coming to this fair for years

'and I know which dealers have the good kit.

'Nicoletta is a friend,

'but I'll still never pay her the asking price.

'I'll worry about her feelings later. This is business.'

Now, how much are you going to ask me for this?

This is good news.

'I've spotted a piece that I really want for the animal shelter.'

Give me a gift today.

Down.

'Called a Z lamp because of its shape,

'it was made in New York by the Majestic Lamp Company in the '50s.

'I've got to buy this for under 1,000 euros

'to be sure of a half-decent profit.'

Because I'm buying this one and trading it for this charity,

I've got to get the price as absolutely as low I can...

to make the most. Did you?

And you're selling it to me for 900?

-Yes.

-Yeah, OK.

You can't, I agree.

Go on, then, done, sold.

'I've bought the lamp for 900 euros, that's around £750.

'At that price, I'm not asking myself

'if I'm going to make a profit,

'I'm asking myself - how much?'

I know these are very saleable,

they're the kind of coolest lamps out there.

'The lamp I bought for Maria's animal shelter won't even hit

'the gallery floor. My clients trust my taste,

'and I have just the man in mind for this treasure.'

Jonny, I've set him up, I've given him a phone call,

I've piqued his interest, I said, "I've got a really amazing lamp,

"very rare, unusual shape, really super cool."

I said, "Are you sure your house is not too, like, country?

You know, "Can you cope with something really cool in there?"

He was like, "Yes, course I can, mate, course I can."

He's nosing the bait at the moment.

'In the current economic climate,

'the antiques trade has become a buyers' market.

'Even though I'm selling for charity,

'Jonny will still drive a hard bargain.'

Rosemary... Oh, it's open. Oh, there you are.

What do you think of that?

That's fantastic, where was that from?

I bought that in Parma, but it's American.

You know me, I'm not really one for this sort of thing

but I do strangely like that.

Now what's this made of?

Well, it's stitched leather at the top here,

but I think this might be parchment, it's all handmade.

The one I had two years ago, I sold that, hand on heart, £2,500.

-No chin music?

-No chin music, £2,500 sold. This could be 1,600 quid.

Yeah, are you able to sharpen your pencil a little bit lower?

I'm open to offers,

I'm under some time pressure to get this thing sold.

-It's a good cause, I'm not trousering the money myself.

-No.

Erm...how does £1,200... Does that hurt?

That's too close to what I paid for it.

Erm...I thought 1,600 was a natural counter offer of 1,500.

Sure. I'm not sure if £1,500 is a bit rich.

-I like it, though. I do like it, Andrew, I just...

-Yeah.

Why don't we say £1,350 and you shout the lunch?

Go on, press the flesh.

'The animal shelter needs £5,000 for the new fence,

'I bought this lamp for £750, I'm almost doubling up, I'm going

'to take a quick profit and move on.'

I suppose... It's an offer in a recession.

-£1,350 with a cheeseboard, port and a cigar.

-You are a gentleman.

-And a scholar.

-Yeah, and scholar.

'I knew Jonny would take the bait.

'But with clients like him, trading sometimes goes both ways

'so I always check out what else he's been buying.'

-Now, what about this chap?

-Yeah, he's great.

I like it, it's sort of like, sort of...

it's just about to sort of give someone a bit of a grrr...

It's got a very good look, hasn't it?

It's got that sort of small dog sort of attitude.

It's a great thing to have, though, and look, it's cheap to run.

And, yeah, you don't have to waste too much time exercising it.

No, no.

'Another client of mine collects taxidermy,

'I could flip this in a day,

'though I'm not sure Maria at the animal shelter would approve.'

Is it for sale?

-I'm not in a rush to sell it but I'm happy...

-Course not.

But I'm happy to sell it to you.

'Antiques are as varied as people's tastes.

'My job is matching dog to owner.

'Literally, in this case.'

-I hope this is not...

-It's not going to upset me, is it?

Not going to upset you Jonny, I don't want to upset you.

I know that glazed look you get.

-£500.

-Press the flesh.

-Done.

-Well done you.

Thank you, thank you, super. Yeah, I'm pleased with that.

-Thanks, chap.

-No worries, see you soon.

Yeah, now go steady with it.

Well, I will, with my low maintenance pet.

-I'll see you soon.

-Yes.

-Bye, matey.

One of the most important things when you buy something, actually,

is to just get out the house

and in the back of your vehicle and then it's yours.

'Back in Belgravia, it's time for me to call a man about a dog,

'and make a second sale to benefit some living animals.'

Hi, James, you're busy at the moment, OK, I'll be really quick.

You know the dog I told you about?

The stuffed one and I know you want to put

a collection of all the stuffed dogs together.

Well, I found the Pomeranian, I popped him in the shop this morning

and someone's has enquired about it, and I said, "No, it's reserved."

Are you still interested in that?

OK, great, what are we going to agree on a price and then...

and then we'll get it done?

No, no, I assure you it is in good nick.

£850 is fine, shall we say yes?

So that is a sale. In fact, that's the second sale.

Two profits. Maria, I hope, happy.

'That's almost a grand towards the five Maria needs for her fence.

'But I'm not faring so well for the dementia support group.

'The table I bought in Avignon has been

'showing in my gallery for over a month, and still no sale.'

I'm not worried at all about being able to sell this table,

I mean, what slightly concerns me is I won't be able to sell

it for the profit I could sell it for if I had more time.

'In just two months, the antiques market winds down for the year,

'so I've changed my strategy for my next buy.

'It's an artwork I bought from another dealer,

'and this time I have a client lined up.'

Right, Christmas has come early. There we go.

Oh, yes. This is a weaving of a painting by William Scott,

called Nearing Circles.

The original painting sold for, drum roll, I think

£220,000 a few years ago.

This is worth nothing like that, because it's a weaving

but it's a really nice thing, it's a lovely image.

I've got a client in mind for it and I was very pleased to buy it.

'William Scott was a leading light of the British abstract

'movement in the '50s.

'For me, he's right up there with Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth.

'A major retrospective of his work is coming up at the Tate gallery

'and so his market value is set to rise.'

What am I going to spin this for?

I bought this after a pretty hard negotiation actually for £2,000.

I think, you know, around the £2,500 mark is about right.

'I'm confident my client will buy,

'and I'll be off the mark towards the £2,000

'Frances needs for the extra sessions

'at the dementia support group.'

We are really hoping that Andrew comes up trumps,

because there's so much more that we can do.

With Alzheimer's, you never get better, it just gets worse.

They're fine for maybe a year, and then all of a sudden it drops

down and they will never, never go back to what they were before.

Never. Two, three, go.

'Running extra sessions would be a lifeline for the couples I met.

'Frances has asked for a relatively small amount of money.

'But with it, she can make a huge difference to people like Gordon

'and Shirley, as the club is their only social support.'

Gordon. Come in.

I want to be at home in London.

He hasn't lived there for over 50 years.

That's what I want.

-Well...

-I want to go home.

-We'll go home, we can't do it now because...

-Eh?

We can't do it now because we're busy,

but we'll do it afterwards, I promise I'll drive you up there.

-You promise me?

-I promise you, I will drive you up there,

but don't keep on about it now. All right?

Yeah, I mean, this is what we have.

-OK.

-And there's nothing to do. You know, that's, this is...

For better or for worse, isn't it, really?

-What is?

-Marriage. And we've been married 56 years on Saturday.

-Haven't we?

-Eh?

-We've been married 56 years on Saturday.

-Is it as long as that?

-Yeah.

Yeah, and I'm not, I'm not throwing you away or anything.

I should hope not. I should hope not.

Just don't like it being here.

Mmm. OK. Just not the person you married.

We don't meet people here or anything like that,

we're just alone.

You don't meet people, you don't get invited like you used to.

Isn't it sad?

We used to have dinner parties all the time.

-We've lost you haven't we, darling?

-Eh?

-I said, "We've lost you."

-I want to go home.

'With less than two months to go, I'm still no

'closer to the £2,000 target for the dementia support group.

'I've had some interest in the table I bought on their behalf,

'but so far no sale.'

A customer came in yesterday and came zooming over,

homed in on this, this fellow here and said, "Oh, what a wonderful

"table, I'm looking for an eight-seater dining table, just

"that kind of style," and I was kind of like,

"Oh, here we go, here we go."

I went on to a point and, erm... came and had a good chat with him,

and then he said, "Yeah, but we've got a couple of red

"things in the room and I don't want too much red,"

and I was like, "Oh, no."

As you can possibly see, it's got a red top.

And maybe he will go and think about it and come back to me,

but I haven't got the time for him to go and think about it.

That's the issue.

Yeah, 12 o'clock is grand, well, OK, I'll see you tomorrow anyway.

'But for the William Scott tapestry, it's all good news.'

A little red dot on there, we like to see those.

Red dot in the trade means vendu, sold, gone, deal, done.

And dealers always like sticking those on, it gives me

a sort of rather childish frisson. And I enjoy doing it.

Bought for £2,000. Sold promptly for £2,600, £600 profit.

In this recession, it is proving quite hard to get things sold,

and trying to get things sold in a hurry is even harder.

I have made a pretty stiff rod for my back with this enterprise.

But I'm kind of enjoying it, you know, I'm in, yeah, come

and bring it on.

'Finally, a sale for the dementia support group.

'It's a slow but solid start with the first £600 in the bank

'for the extra sessions.

'And with a Z lamp and a taxidermy dog sold for Maria's animal

'shelter, that's £850 towards to the five grand needed for the new fence.

'But I've got a long way to go to reach my targets,

'and not a lot of time left to do it.

'In less than a month, I'll be hosting a charity auction to a room

'full of potential heavy hitters.

'I'll have just one night and one chance of raising

'the rest of the money from my network of regular clients.'

-I think it'll be about 200.

-OK. Great.

That's my address book rinsed out.

Mary, have you got a lectern that could go here?

We have so do we need to...

'To work the room and drive the prices on the night,

'I'm going to be the auctioneer.'

No problem at all because obviously I'll be taking bids

and writing things down, hopefully writing down some big numbers.

-It'll take me a while just to put the noughts on.

-Let's hope so.

This has got to work, this is it.

It's one throw of the die and I want a six.

Success.

'With my auction planned the week before Christmas,

'I'll be targeting small luxury items to appeal to a festive crowd.

'The big table won't do well there, so it's got to go.'

That's one of my favourite pieces of furniture in this gallery, at

the moment, and it's going to break my heart to have to knock this out.

That's what the trade term is for selling something

cheaply to another dealer.

That's going to have to be knocked out.

I could cry how much money I'd make on this for the charity,

with enough time.

'I only made a £500 profit on the deal,

'but added to the William Scott weaving,

'I'm up to £1,100 for the dementia support group, just £900 to raise.

'And I know exactly how I'm going to do it.

'It's part of my job to routinely scan upcoming auctions,

'and one in particular has caught my eye, in Paris.

'I've seen two pieces of extremely fine jewellery,

'some high-end bling that I know

'will go down a storm back in London.'

So I've come here to look particularly at a Chanel ring today.

Lot 80, here we are, that's a ring with quartz and diamonds.

It's got this sort of reticulated quartz that's very hard to see,

but they've got these little like black needles running through

and then diamonds set here, obviously being by Chanel,

it's got a certain cachet.

The estimate today, 5,000-7,000 euros so it's right on the cusp,

I'm going to be buying it at 5,000-5,500 euros.

I talked to the auctioneer earlier,

there is a bid on it which means it may be away, which is a real shame.

'There's no way of knowing how high that bid with the auctioneer is.

'I might have to push my bid up to around 8,000 euros.

'Much above that, and I won't make a profit at the charity auction.

'So tactics at an auction, well, the bad boys sit at the back of the bus.

'All the dealers of the trade will be loitering at the back

'of the room, and private buyers

'will be sat down and behaving nicely.

'I like to have a good overview, I like to see what's

'going on in front of me, I like to see who I'm bidding against,

'whether I'm bidding against a telephone, someone in the room, or

'the auctioneer may have some bids on their book,

'which people have left.

'So from the back of the room, you get the whole view

'and you can take in what's going on.'

AUCTIONEER STARTS AUCTION

Well, the auctioneer obviously had a very big bid on her book,

she kept returning to herself, she had a bit right in front of her,

and it was pretty obvious that she had some way to go.

When I dropped at nine, it wouldn't have surprised me

if I'd gone on till 11, I'd have still been out of the running.

I think whoever had left a bid on that ring really, really

wanted it, and I'm not surprised because it's a really cool thing.

I'm feeling a little bit cornered at the minute

with quite a lot of work to do.

'The second lot that caught my eye is up next in the sale.

'I can't go home empty-handed.'

But, you know, there's a... there's a pair of cultured pearl

and diamond earrings in there which are very,

very elegant and, you know,

any woman would desire those so, you know, that's my back-up.

I think there are two lots here that I want to try and buy, I've

not got the first one and I'm going to see if I can get the second one.

'The earrings have a timeless design

'and they're keenly priced in the catalogue.

'They date from the 1970s and feature cultured pearls

'and diamonds set in platinum.

'If I can buy them for under 5,000 euros, I'm sure of a profit.

'4,200 euros. That's about £3,500. Those are well bought.'

I'm delighted, I'm so pleased. That's a really good buy.

Shall we go?

'Back in London, I've put the word out to my friendly fellow dealers

'that I'm on the lookout for some great pieces,

'for some great causes.'

Welcome.

You got this lovely mirror?

-I have a fantastic mirror, downstairs.

-Great.

'One of them has come up trumps with just the thing,

'something for the sporting gent.'

What do you think? How original is that?

That is nice, where do you get him from?

I got it from... off the wall of a gunsmith.

Oh, great provenance.

Yeah, and anything sort of good to do with shooting

-is getting quite valuable.

-It is.

Well, often it's because it's done by wealthy people, of course.

Exactly.

'It's an original Edwardian advertising mirror made

'in 1910 for Kynoch,

'once the largest cartridge manufacturers in Britain.'

So what is the best price?

I'm not trying to...you know, I'm not trying to get rich off it

and I certainly don't want to be accused of being uncharitable.

Let's make it really simple and say, I'll give it to you for £1,500.

-Go on, then.

-OK.

-Done.

'With all items bought for the dementia support group,

'I thought I'd make another visit to see how they're getting on.

'I caught up with David, my snooker partner from last time.'

-You're not done yet. Right.

-22.

Now, you're going to see a full house here.

-Hi, Shirley.

-Oh, hello, Andrew. Nice to see you again.

How are you? Nice to see you again.

-Hello, Gordon.

-Hello.

-All well?

-Yes, yes, thanks.

He's gone down a little bit.

Now unfortunately Gordon's gone into a care home.

But you were at home last time?

I know, I know, but I'm afraid it got a bit worse.

And how did you make a decision to move him to a home,

-was that you, or was that an outside decision?

-Bit of both, really.

-Right.

-So it's very, very difficult to live with this.

-Right.

-Sad that it has to happen because he'll never come home.

-How many years have you been married and together?

-56.

-That's a long time, that's a big change.

-Absolutely.

'Frances is constantly reminded of what

'she went through with her own husband, John.'

It's... just brings it all back, you know.

-Yes.

-Somebody who was such a brilliant person as John,

and as Gordon was, the process of watching them

deteriorate before your eyes

and having to put them in a home.

It's such a struggle.

Do you...? I suppose, there are... when you put someone in a home,

you feel like your own home is breaking up?

-Well, it's the guilt.

-Yes.

Dreadful guilt, and all these years later, I still...I still think,

"Did I have to do it?" because you forget...

-How hard it was.

-..forget how hard it was.

But the thing was now, I encourage the carers too.

I encouraged Shirley because I know she's got to have a life as well.

Yeah, you've made an awful lot of difference to an awful

lot of people and you know what it's like, as I can see.

OK, thank you.

Keep it up, because everybody loves you here.

-Thank you very much indeed.

-Including me.

-OK, thank you, Andrew.

-Bye now.

-Bye.

-See you again.

'Visiting Frances and the support group has brought home to me

'just how important the extra sessions will be.'

-Very nice to have met you, sir.

-Very nice to meet you again.

'Looking at someone like David,

'you know, he comes alive in a place like this.'

He's thinking and he's enjoying himself and he's laughing,

and he's engaging with people

and he's got a community and he's got a society

and it's very, very important, and I like spending time with them,

-seeing them enjoying themselves so much.

-Scottish.

-Saint.

-Andrew.

-Yes!

'Now it's time to turn my attention to doing more

'trades for Maria's animal shelter.

'She needs £5,000 for a new fence,

'and so far I haven't even raised a fifth of that.

'Sometimes I like to do a little online bidding,

'you've got just as much chance of bagging a bargain.

'This piece is a Victorian walnut decanter box complete with

'four hand-cut crystal decanters.'

About to sell, they're about to sell,

they're about to sell, sold. OK. That's ours at £850.

'Pieces like this came into fashion in the late-Regency period.

'Today, they're popular with single malt whisky enthusiasts,

'making them a perfect item for my auction.

'My next buy for the animal shelter comes from my man in Paris,

'Jean-Marc. It's pure French chic.

'As the profits are going to charity, he's doing me

'a cut-price deal on a stunning bronze necklace,

'made in the '70s by Argentine sculptor, Alicia Penalba.

'Penalba spent the majority of her life in France, and is best known

'for her abstract vertical sculptures

'made of bronze and ceramics.

'Sculptural jewellery is having a fashion moment,

'and I know this will be a sure-fire seller at my auction.'

'Allo.

'Hello, Jean-Marc, it's Andrew.'

I've been thinking about that really lovely necklace.

'What is the very best price?'

Listen, my dear Andrew, I can do a very good discount for you.

The normal price I was charging was 4,000,

but I'm going to do a 2,000 euros for you.

2,000 euros.

'Well, I think there's'

a profit in it at that, I think it's a very nice thing.

'OK, well, we have a deal.'

Thank you, I will buy that for 2,000.

OK, it's yours.

'I'm making one more purchase for the animal shelter.

'It's another accessory, but this time for big boys.'

Instantly James Bond.

They were making these, what, from the '60s, weren't they?

-They started from late '50s.

-Late '50s.

Yeah, and they stopped making this Rolex without dates,

Submariner, I think, just the last three or four years.

Four years ago, OK.

'The Rolex Submariner is a highly sought-after model.

'Known as the "James Bond Watch", it has appeared in 11 Bond movies.'

-We have here the papers...

-Great.

..OK, on it, and, you know, the box.

Look at that, beautiful Rolex box, original, that's really important.

'There are loads of copies on the market,

'so having the original box and certificates are key.'

-Do you want to keep this in here?

-Yes, yes, thank you.

-For the 3,3...

-3,300, as agreed.

-OK, bank transfer.

-Super, Mike, thank you so much.

-No problem and...

-And thank you for giving me such a good deal.

-No, no.

'A steal for an investment piece.'

Look at that, they're not making these any more,

it's only going to go one way in value and that's up.

That watch in about five years' time

will be worth anything north of £5,500.

They'd be very silly boys in the auction if they didn't buy that.

'With all the items bought for the auction, all

'I have to do now is sell them for enough profit to reach my target.'

I feel really happy with the things that I've purchased,

and I can go into this auction feeling confident that I've

bought some fabulous things, and I bought them well.

'The day of the charity auction has arrived,

'and the pressure is on for me to perform to a packed ballroom.'

I've heard that it's fully booked,

and they're actually turning people away.

Incredible, 320 people, 32 tables.

'It's not just my clients coming tonight.

'Frances, from the dementia group, and Maria, from the animal shelter,

'are also going to be in the audience.'

Never ever come to London.

So this is a complete new experience, yeah.

And even when I'm down in Cornwall, I still don't travel around,

it's mainly work, sleep, and at the shelter, and that's about it.

Oh, you got a bit of greenery.

-Well, you could put a few sheep on there, Maria.

-Yeah.

'I'm just £900 off my target for Frances to put on more

'sessions for the dementia group,

'but I need to make over £4,000 for the animal shelter fence,

'and it's down to me to pull it out of the bag.'

It's exciting and nerve-racking all at the same time to be here now.

I've got two charities depending on me,

I've got to go in there and I have got to light that place up,

and I've got to encourage everyone to dig deep and spend.

APPLAUSE

Thank you very much, Tony.

Right, first up, I am going to be auctioneering a rather interesting

mirror, so who will start me at £1,000 for this mirror?

Thank you very much, I have a thousand on my left.

£1,100 in front of me,

let's pick this up a bit, 1,500 thank you, sir, 1,500.

1,600 to my left, 1,600, 1,700, thank you, sir.

1,700 in front of me.

1,700, I'm going to sell at 1,700, any further bids?

1,700, going once, going twice, sold.

Thank you very much, sir.

This is a super lot, it's a pair of diamond and pearl earrings,

they are big sparklers.

Is no-one generous enough to give these to their wife for Christmas?

4,800, sir, 4,900. 4,900 over to my left. 5,000.

5,100, sir?

Just go the extra mile, it's for a very good cause.

5,100, thank you so much.

You're going to the proud owner of some sparklers.

'Now for the animals.'

OK, the James Bond Rolex Submariner.

This is the one that all the James Bonds wore,

and I'm going to start it at £3,000.

3,000, thank you, sir. 3,200.

4,400 on my left, I'm going to sell.

HE BANGS THE GAVEL

This is one of my favourite pieces of jewellery in the whole

auction evening, it's by a sculptress called Alicia Penalba.

1,800, thank you very much, madam? One more? 1,900.

2,000, do I have 2,100? I have 2,100, 2,200?

Yes, 2,300, I have £2,300, God, it's a bargain.

2,400, oh, you're hurting me now, 2,400 to my left.

Do you want 2,500?

Are you serious that this thing is going to be sold for £2,400?

-2,500, sir.

-2,600.

Do you want one more, sir? It's going to be sold.

Sold, thank you.

This is a super quality English decanter box,

made it 1860 and I'm going to offer it to you now for 1,000.

So who's going to start me at 1,000?

I have 1,000, thank you.

2,200, 2,300, 2,400? He's back in.

Oh, I love it, pawing the dust, he's got the horns down, he's determined.

2,400 over to the right, can I get 2,500?

No, he's out, 2,400 to my right.

2,500, over to my left, fresh bidder, thank you very much.

Sold.

'Tonight, I've worked the room to squeeze every pound

'out of the buyers.

'But there's only one way to find out if I've hit the jackpot.

'Do the maths.'

Would you believe it? It's just short.

Frances, £56 short.

She wanted £2,000.

I've got to get it to her.

Maria, she wanted £5,000 for that fence,

I mean, she wanted plenty of dough, and I did pretty well, I think,

considering, under the circumstances,

but she is £602 short of target.

What's the answer? Do another trade.

Why not?

'I bought this metal side table on a buying trip in the south of France.

'It's a handmade sculptural piece from the early 1980s.

'I'm going to knock it out to a dealer friend of mine.

'It's the fastest way of raising the cash I'm missing.

'I paid just under £350, so if I can sell it for 1,000,

'I'll make up the shortfall.'

-I've made her look good, I hope you like her.

-Yeah.

I think she's a bit of sculpture, really.

-Oh, stunning, really stunning.

-Is that what...?

That's exactly, yeah, I mean, it's what I envisioned but I mean,

it's even better, to be honest.

You're a fellow dealer, so you get dealer's rates.

I'd normally ask £1,850, just shy of 2,000 for that.

I think it's worth it, it's a great looking thing,

but today, all I need to get for it is £1,000

and I think it's worth a £1,000 all day long.

If I get a £1,000,

I get those two charities the numbers that they need.

Well, I'm not going to haggle on that, that seems fair to me

so let's do the deal at a £1,000.

-Yeah, thank you.

-Thank you, Andrew.

-£1,000 delivered.

-Done.

Right. See you soon.

I'm so pleased I've got Maria her £5,000 to complete that fence,

and I got Frances her £2,000

so she can put on these extra events for her dementia classes.

I... It just... They are such nice people.

'I've got a real spring in my step heading back to Cornwall

'to bring Maria her cheque. With enough to build the new fence,

'the goats will be tucked up tight fairly soon.'

GOAT BLEATS

Hello, Andrew, so nice to see you again.

-You too. How are you?

-I'm fine, thank you.

When did I see you last? Was it at the charity auction?

-It was at the auction, yeah.

-Did you have a nice evening?

It was an amazing evening.

Do you think I'm good for the money, then?

-Yeah, fingers crossed.

-No, yes

I am, I do, I have a...actually I have a fence in my pocket here.

Oh, it'd be lovely, are you going to put it up for me as well?

No, I'm not very practical, I'm better at making money,

I think probably. So that's for you and that is a fence.

I was just short of what you wanted so I did one more deal for you,

and got you over the line so I hope that...

That's amazing, thank you so much, it means so much to us here.

And are the goats all right? Have we got a full complement still?

-Yes.

-Right, OK.

'But as much as I care about the animals,

'it was the hard work of the volunteers here that inspired me.'

'To see them giving so much time, so much effort, so much commitment

'to things that matter to them and really, these people are

'the backbones of their local communities'

and it's been a wonderful experience

for me to engage with them and be part of the good work that they do.

Andrew's given us more than just a fence, he's given me peace

of mind now, we can get on with the charity and help more animals out.

'I've come back to Surrey to see Frances.

'I've been humbled by what she already achieves with

'the dementia support group, and I'm so pleased to have made

'the money she needed to put on the extra sessions.'

So, Frances, there's a piece of paper in there

which represents £2,000.

That's absolutely brilliant, it will mean a lot to us here.

It really will mean a lot to us.

We can't wait, I've got the first Friday of next month booked.

-Oh, super.

-Oh, yes, it's all...

-You got on with it, then.

-Oh, it's all running.

-It's lucky I delivered, then.

-Exactly, thank God you did.

'My business makes money because of my passion for art

'and antiques, but I genuinely feel richer for having spent time

'with these charities, and the people they help.'

Right, I've got some really good news. You know Andrew?

He's given us a lovely cheque, so that we can start, for £2,000.

-Can I interrupt you ladies a minute?

-Yeah, you can.

-Yeah, right, Andrew's just given us a cheque.

-How much?

-How much for?

-Oh, I haven't a clue.

-£2,000.

-Oh, how wonderful.

Yeah.

-I've got the cheque from Andrew.

-Let's have a look, then.

Brilliant. It's really good, I'm so...

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