Carter Cash in the Attic

Welcome to the show that finds hidden treasures in your home

and then helps you sell them at auction.

Today, I'm in south London, where I've stopped at Morden Hall Park.

It'll be a busy day, so I'll be making the most of these beautiful grounds before we get cracking.

Morden Hall was built in 1770 and over the years

has been used as a family home, boarding school and a military hospital.

The historic parkland, with its maze of waterways, is also home to no less than two water mills,

which were much used in the 1800s for the tobacco trade, but were eventually closed in 1922.

The mills are open to the public and they are used

to educate local school children in the art of bygone manufacturing.

So we're hoping we find plenty of antiques from a bygone era

that will get the bidders excited when they go under the hammer.

Coming up on today's Cash In The Attic -

I fear for our safety...

It looks like something out of the Hammer House of Horror!

..our expert shows a fondness for the unusual...

I love the nose pinchers(!) Yes!

I didn't at the time!

..and when we go to auction, it's torture.

Are you crying? Almost. Oh!

But will it be pleasure or pain when the final hammer falls?

I'm in the suburb of Mitcham, and I've come here to meet a family

who have called in the Cash In The Attic team to help give the family home a new lease of life.

This large semidetached house has belonged to the Carter family for over 80 years,

and it's currently home to head of the brood Julie and her twin sons Lee and Danny,

who, following complications at birth, were both born with learning difficulties,

making them totally dependent on Mum. Without their help today,

Julie's other two children Maria and Alan have returned to the nest

to lend a hand and sift out enough collectables for some long-overdue maintenance work.

Good morning, Jonty.

This house is full of stuff. Several generations of the same family

have lived here so there should be some original furnishings. Let's get inside.

If you have a look at everything that is available to sell, I'll meet the family.

Ah, good morning. Oh, good morning!

Nice to see you. Nice to see you. You've called us in, you've got people to help.

This is Alan, my son, and my daughter, Maria.

And what's the plan?

Yes, I want to go back to the parquet flooring, particularly in the back room to start with anyway,

and get it sanded down and redone,

and also the fireplace lightened up, as it's a bit dark and heavy in there.

Who'll be doing that? My son is going to do that, I hope.

Yep, I've been roped into it! All right, OK.

Helps make the money go a bit further. That's right, yes.

In terms of what we are going to be seeing to sell,

where has all that stuff come from?

A lot, my husband collected.

He died last year. If anybody had something and, you know, was throwing it out,

he would find them in skips, he'd go to jumbles, second-hand shops, the charity shops, antique fairs.

If he died a year ago, how do you feel about...? He used to say, "You can...", you know?

He didn't have life insurance, he said... He said that all this stuff is...

THEY ALL SPEAK AT ONCE

And also, I always wanted to size-down.

In terms of the renovations, what sort of money are you looking to raise?

About ?600, apparently, should do the back...what we want done in the back room,

which would make a start for doing other things to the house. It needs a bit of upgrading.

Well, we better get started, so, shall we go?

Yes. Fine. Right.

Steeped in family history, Julie's home is littered with magnificent treasures,

and our expert Jonty Hearnden holds all the knowledge when it comes to fine antiques.

Ah, Jonty, reading up already, are you, on the day(?) No, I'm looking at the bookcase.

OK. Very impressive. Now, I know your grandparents bought this house new, but what date was that?

About 1926. So this bookcase would have been an older piece of furniture,

so they would have brought this to the house? Yes, that's right.

The date, really, for this bookcase here is late 19th century,

so we are looking at 1890 to possibly 1905,

and there's a few indicators that will tell us the reason for that.

If you, first, always start at the top, and you have a look at the style of this pediment here,

and you have this acanthus leaf decoration, now, that is a 19th-century concept.

The construction is very, very classic, British design.

You have your two glazed doors above a lower section,

where there are usually two doors and two drawers as well.

If we have a closer look down here, the brass drop-handles.

This style of handle is very popular on furniture dated around the late-19th century periods.

What are we talking about, in terms of going to auction? I mean, the piece has got to go.

Because of the heavy line,

we have to be sensible on price.

Where auction value is concerned, at the moment, the price for this will be between ?150 and ?250.

It would be nice to have more, but we all say that, don't we? I think it's got to go.

They're not fashionable any more, are they?

Making up to ?250 will never go out of fashion,

and takes us well on the way to our ?600 target, and the revamping of Julie's dining room.

If the rest of the treats we unearth are as good as that, we'll have the new floor laid in no time.

Maria hopes this brass-case Schatz marine clock, which was bought by Alan

for his dad will steer us in the right direction

with its estimate of ?40 to ?60.

While Jonty can't believe his luck with the classic British timepiece he's got his hands on.

Julie, are you up there?

Yes. Look what I found.

Oh, yes. Yes, that watch. Yes.

Who did this belong to? That belonged to my husband's brother. OK.

I don't know if you have noticed, can you see there, it says, Tudor?

Oh, yes. Yes. Can you see that? Yes, I can. OK.

This - nobody is listening - is made by Rolex, the company.

Right. Oh, I see. Yes.

So, very exciting news. Yeah.

Now, they marketed this, really, as another tier to their range,

so this came out in 1946, the name, Tudor.

So, it is obviously post-Second World War, this, but it is probably an earlier version.

It looks late-'40s, early-'50s, and they use the name Tudor because

it had all the resonance of quality.

You're talking British Tudor solidity.

The gold body IS gold... Yes. ..but because it's not hallmarked, it's quite difficult to say exactly what.

But, still worth selling. Yes.

Value in the market today, I think we're looking at between ?100 and ?200.

Very good. Yeah? Exceedingly good.

So we can... Time to sell?

Yes. Time to put it back in the box. It will only sit there... Very good.

..for another, I don't know how long. I'll leave that there. But, one for the auction room.

OK. Lovely, thank you very much.

Thank you.

Another family heirloom to boost our fund.

Julia's valuables are tucked away all over this house,

but nothing is escaping our Jonty, including these two Royal Doulton Lambeth vases,

being kept out of harm's way. They belonged to Julie's grandparents,

and are worth at least ?80 to ?150 to us.

But it's Julie's late husband Dave who is mainly responsible for filling up their home with delights.

When he wasn't working as a carpenter, he was housing his hoards.

Tell me a bit about your husband.

When you met him, how old were you?

I was still 16, almost 17 then.

And how old were you when you got married? 18.

Was he always a collector?

Not really. It was a gradual thing I think, you know, and, got more interested.

He was always interested in a lot of things,

he never wanted to let go of anything any way, you know.

If someone offered him something and he fancied it...

"Yes, yes, I'll have that", whether we had room to put it any way.

What sort of things did he bring back to the house?

Bits of silver and things he found in skips. He found a load of notes once.

I assume your husband had a good eye, one way or another. Yes.

He picked them up for interest. He never thought they'd be of value.

Did you ever take up the same habit? No.

How did you remain immune?

I would like things, but I would often say, "I like that" and he would want to buy it.

There are a lot of things I like but I don't want to keep,

I like castles and stately homes, but I don't want one.

You want to do renovations, is that hard,

because you have inherited the house as is?

I know I have to, you know, get rid of quite a few things anyway

and my husband expected me, anyway, to sell things,

and the big things, anyway, you know, I've looked after them for,

the bookcase particularly for, what, 44 years, haven't I?

The family took out what they wanted, and I, you know, had what was left.

OK, well, if it's time for some of it to go, shall we get back in and get going?

Yes.

If we're going to raise enough money to get that back room up to scratch

we'll need to find plenty more treats.

Julie gets back to the hunt and comes up trumps

with this mixed selection of hallmarked silver pieces.

Past car boot finds of husband Dave's

which could spice up the sale room by a very reasonable ?30-?40.

And in the garage, Alan has tracked down some tools that might not be

useful when laying floors but could easily chip into our kitty.

Hello, Jonty. Look what I've found.

Is that your lunch? No, it's a box of chisels.

Wow! I remember it being given to my dad by a pal of his from down the pub

who said he would give them to him when he retired. And that's what happened.

Can we take a closer look at one?

There should be a name on one of the blades.

There's names on all the blades. What have we got here?

There is a complete set. JB Addis Sons.

That's James Bacon Addis

and he started making carving tools like this in the 1870s in Sheffield.

The reason people collect them is because they're made of such high-quality steel.

They are beautiful objects, so there's a big collecting market for tools just like this.

We're not talking very old here though, these are certainly 1920s, 1930s.

If you look at the stylised handle, that's the reason why one is dating it.

If they were 19th century they would be worth a bit more.

They are housed in their original box.

I'm amazed they're all still there. Under lock and key, which is a very good sign

and the great thing is the whole tool collection is intact.

There's not one missing.

Very conservatively you're talking between ?60 and ?80.

Is that good news? Yes. Very good.

Fantastic. I'll put that back.

Right. And we'll go onwards and upwards.

Very good. Good. Thanks.

Let's go back through there.

The box of chisels, never came out of the cupboard.

They just stayed in the box.

I think my husband looked at them, enjoyed looking at them

and would put them away again.

He isn't here to look at them so they may as well go to someone who will enjoy them.

It's a great addition to our ?600 target but still not enough

so we need to uncover some more rich pickings.

On my travels I find these early boxed Pelham puppets, among them a striking Mr Turnip

as seen in the 1950s television show Whirligig,

one of the first children's programmes to be broadcast live.

They might give the bidders food for thought at a collective ?30-?50.

As could Maria's next discovery. What have you got there?

Asparagus tongs. I remember when dad brought them home I must have been about seven

and I asked him what they were,

and he said they were nose pinchers and pinched my nose.

I can see where he was coming from!

So, where they ever used in the house?

No, not at all. Most things were put away

because Mum was fed up with everything that he kept bringing in.

So she would put them away in the cupboard.

A bit of a hoarder? He was, yes.

Yes.

A bit of a magpie. Definitely.

These are fantastic quality. Solid silver.

A nice retailer's mark here from Windsor and they are

around the turn of the century, Edwardian set of asparagus forks.

What else have we got?

This. Look at that.

That is charming. That's a scallop shell.

Again, can you see these lovely big hallmarks down there

that shows us it's solid silver

and again that is turn of the century. Yes.

So an Edwardian lovely scallop shell butter dish and knife.

All in the original presentation box.

Anything else?

This one. That's lovely. And look, cracking hallmarks as well.

Wow! Original presentation box,

looks like that serving spoon and fork have never been out.

Yes. It's not worn at all.

That's really good quality. You want to sell the lot together? Yes.

Value? We are looking round the ?100 mark.

So ?80-?100 mark. Lovely.

I love the nose pinchers(!) Yes.

I didn't at the time!

Let's see if we can find any more. OK.

Dad may have cluttered up the home but he could certainly spot top-quality goods

and all these bits and pieces are inching us closer to that ?600 and Julie's luxury new floor.

'But I wonder whether my slightly unusual find will spark enough interest

'in the sale room and get us even more cash.'

Julie?

Yes. Jonty, look, I found something intriguing.

Is there anyone in the family who has been a doctor or anything?

No. It was... We assumed it was my grandfather's.

Right. OK. It was here when we came,

in the floor of the bottom of a wardrobe.

This is described as an electrotherapeutic machine

and the name here is fascinating.

Can you see the maker's name, Ediswan?

It was the Ediswan name that first produced the commercial light bulb.

It looks like the light bulb was a wee bit more successful than this,

because it looks like it's not been used.

It looks like a dangerous item to even get out.

It looks like something out of the Hammer House of Horror films, actually.

This is the vibrating handle part of the machine,

with the electrical cable,

but look at these heads, they look quite sinister.

I really don't think I want to get anywhere near it.

So if we take this glass head for instance.

I mean, is that for the head?

It looks really scary to me.

I imagine it must have been.

It's like a rake isn't it? And that would be...I don't know.

Do you want to use it? I don't think I would want to touch it. I'll put it straight back.

What do you think it is worth?

?40 to ?60. A back massage costs ?40, so I don't know.

I wouldn't have thought anything more than a fiver. There you are.

Fiver. ?40 to ?60. Somewhere between a fiver and ?60.

There'll be someone that collects these things.

A little tease. Could I take this to the auction

and tell you the value before the sale?

Yes, you can, but only on condition that if that's what we do you test it on the day.

That would be too shocking.

Shall we do that? Yes. Right. OK. So we will have to wait for the auction for that.

Interesting though it is, we better find something

that we definitely know the value of. Come on. Right, lovely.

Let's hope that the buyers on the day aren't put off

and we rake in a decent amount.

But if we want to reach that ?600 target

we need to search the house some more.

Maybe this 19th-century card table with its folded twist top,

used by Julie and her relatives

for regular card games for over 40 years, will deal up a further ?80 to ?120.

And trawling through a home that has housed three generations

is bound to have stirred up past family memories.

Here you are. Right. Having a bit of a break are you? Yes.

Children of the '60s, I see, from that fashion trend.

Have you got any in here of the house as it was? The front.

The front door has changed. What about inside? And there's here.

The bookcase.

This is this room.

That's the four of us.

Me, Alan. Danny and Lee.

And there's the bookcase.

Still in the corner and never moved from there.

So who is this in these?

That is my great grandparents.

My father's grandparents.

And have you got any of the stuff in the photographs?

Yes, you have this little table.

I'm keeping that.

My daughter has this table and I'm selling these vases here.

That is a lot of stuff to still have from that. Keeping some.

What was their life like?

It looks like they were quite well-to-do. Yes, they were.

If they were going out to the theatre or something in the evening

they would send a telegram to the stables

and the carriage would come for them in that evening.

So, OK, so we're not going to have servants and butlers

and things today then. No.

There were bells here.

Yes, there were bells in this house when we first came.

Each room had a bell on the wall.

I remember the bell at the side of that.

There was one in the bathroom, you could press the bell.

That's the sort of life I could become accustomed to.

Let's see what else we can find to sell.

We've been spoiled for choice today,

with so many relatives having a hand in supporting the floor fund we must be nearing our ?600 goal,

but not before Maria has off-loaded this massive collection of brass items

which her mum is keen to get rid of,

if only to reduce the amount of polishing she has to do.

Jonty prices the lot at ?80 to ?120

although has Julie already been pushed over the edge?

I think I will leave Jonty to deal with that.

What have you got there?

An offensive weapon!

Wow, lovely. What do we have here?

We have a label here says "1796 patent officer's light cavalry."

So where was this from?

It was bought at an antiques fair.

Can we take a closer look at it?

So first what we need to do is take the sword out of the scabbard,

and you have to be very careful with these, OK,

so if you are taking a blade out of a scabbard

like this, never hold it like so. Oh, no. Right.

Because the blade itself, sometimes if it is a leather scabbard,

can pierce, so let's take it out.

Have a look.

There we are. Can you hold that scabbard there for me? Look at that.

That blade is in very, very good order. Can you see?

And we have got this piped rim to the top of the blade.

And you see this very large hilt here,

this pierced basket decoration?

That is an indicator of date.

We are looking at a blade that is a little later than 1796.

This belonged to an officer that was more of the Heavy Brigade rather than the Light Brigade,

and when I mean heavy I mean fully-blown armour in the thick of things.

We are talking the period of the Battle of Waterloo,

so this label is warm but not exactly correct.

I think that happens.

Would you have any idea what your husband would have paid for it?

I doubt if he would have paid more than ?20, ?25.

Julie, it's very good news indeed

because this is going to be worth between ?100 and ?150. Very good.

Do you think you ought to put it away rather quickly?

I think we should before we have any accidents.

I assume this is an instrument of torture you wish to sell.

Yes. oh, yes, definitely.

Sell what? Have a look at this. We have this English officer's cavalry sword.

Dated around 1880, that sort of date,

but it's in such good order it will be worth ?100 to ?150.

That is good news because I'm rounding up the troops to say

we've run out of time for rummaging so we've got to make that our last item.

You might be pleasantly surprised by this

because you wanted ?600 for the renovations. Yes.

The total of everything going to auction -

of course we don't know about that very strange electrical machine -

the value of everything else comes to ?830.

Oh, that's brilliant.

So there you go. You can do a bit of extra elbow grease with that.

That is fine. That is lovely.

All we have to do is make sure everything gets safely to auction.

The next time we see you all will be at the auction house. Thank you.

With such a wide range of goodies to choose from in Julie's home

I've had great fun finding the best items to take to auction.

These include the Edwardian two-piece bookcase,

with the family for over 40 years

and now being cashed in at ?150 to ?250.

That magnificent stash of solid silverware

collected by Julie's late husband Dave and worth at least ?80 to ?100.

For ?100 to ?200 the golden-cased Tudor timepiece by Rolex.

And finally, the Ediswan electrotherapeutic machine,

or massager as well - the mind boggles, really -

whose price will be revealed when we get to the sale room.

Still to come on Cash In The Attic -

one of us has been doing their auction homework...

What did you know that we didn't know?

..our expert can't get enough...

I wanted a bit more. You always want a bit more, Jonty.

..and I think ignorance is bliss.

Usually I am interested to know what people will use something for

but in this case I think I'll pass.

But will we reach our target? Find out when the final hammer falls.

It's been a couple of weeks since we had a good look round Julie Carter's home,

and together with her daughter Maria and her son Alan

we found plenty of items to bring here to Blyth Co in Ely, Cambridgeshire.

Remember Julie is looking to raise ?600

so she can restore the original parquet flooring in her home.

Let's hope when the items go under the hammer today, the bidders are feeling very generous.

The auction room is full with potential buyers waiting to get our goods,

but they will need to wait in line because our expert wants to check out all our equipment first.

Jonty, I'm not into tools but that is a lovely set. Very good quality.

We have loads of lovely pieces, we have bits of silver,

the Pelham puppets and that lovely bookcase.

And we have the vibrating machine!

Yes, well, I don't know whether to get excited about that.

You won't tell us what its potential value is. My lips are sealed.

Are you looking forward to today? I am. Very much so. I need to meet them. Come on then.

With not long to go before the sale starts we spot Julie

and her children and we're all drawn together.

I hope that's not due to any underlying current!

Good morning. How are you?

Fine. Good. I see you have found it already.

Yes, that's right. I'm sure no-one will want it.

I am dying to find out about this set. So Jonty, time to reveal all.

You said ?40 to ?60. Did I?

And I said about a fiver.

Well, I think, Julie, you're nearest.

Because really it's anybody's guess.

I put ?20 to ?40 on it, but today we're just going to sell to the highest bidder.

It's one of those fun, novelty items.

Is there anything you are in two minds about selling? No, not really.

No, you look at it and look at it, then you don't look at it for ages. It may as well go somewhere else.

So you're ready to go? Yes.

Come this way.

Remember, if, like the Carters, you're planning on buying or selling at auction

you will be required to pay commission and possibly other charges,

so check with your local auction house for details.

With bidders and auctioneer at the ready

we get into our position for our first lot

of mixed valuables which takes to the stand.

Lot 80, various silver items,

the salt, pepper, the sugar tongs or nips.

What do we want for this particular lot?

I put ?30 to ?40 on this lot but it's a dealers' lot so we will see where it goes.

Ten, I'm bid.

10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 22, 25,

back in front at 25, I sell standing at 25.

In the middle of the room then at 25, you are out on my right.

Finished at 25.

?25. Are you happy with that?

Yes. That's not bad. Not bad.

I wanted a bit more.

You always want a bit more, Jonty.

Only slightly under-estimate but it's a good start.

I hope all the rest of our sales go down as well with the room.

Up next is the 19th-century twist-top card table

but we are not playing around today.

We would like ?80 to ?120 for it.

20, 20. 20 only. It's got to be worth more that ?20.

22. 22 here. Done at 22.

25. 28. 30. 35. 38. 40.

40. 45. 50.

At 50. You still in?

55. 60. 65. 70. 75. 80.

85, 90.

95.

At 95, are you in on the phone?

At 95. I sell down here at ?95.

Just needs a little glue.

It needs a bit more than that!

That's fine. I don't know about you, I was having a heart attack when he said 22.

I think we only paid ?2 for it.

You're joking! Did you really?

40 years ago. Gosh.

Selling at ?95. What an incredible investment,

but the bidders had me worried for a moment.

With the ?600 total to make, it's the big bucks we need

so hopefully our old classic - no, not Jonty - will be snapped up too.

This lot is the Tudor gold wristwatch.

I put a bottom estimate around ?100.

I know, a couple of hundred, straight in. 200, sir?

20 quid then. 20. 25, 30, 35, 40, 45,

50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95.

At 95. 100. At 100 now.

110. At 110.

You out on the phone?

110. Goes then. Standing bid at 115.

I hope we're not paying for the call.

115. 120. At 120 now.

They're out on the phone.

At 120. You're out.

I sell at ?120 in the room.

Anyone else? Goes there at ?120.

Good estimate. The bidders are loving Julie's collectables,

paying another fantastic sum towards her new floor renovations.

But can our luck continue

and will our next cased set of 1920s tools

carve us out a tidy ?60?

Let us start low. Ten to start.

10, 12, 15, 18, 20, at 20 now.

22. 25, 25 here. 28.

30. 32.

At 32 now. Goes at 32.

New money at 35. 38.

40. 42. At 42. 45. 48.

At 48.

Against the lady at 48.

I sell there at 48. You are both out up front here. Is that 50? 50.

At 50 now. Sell at 50. Take your two, sir. 52.

52.

55.

At 55. In the blue.

At 55, I sell at 55.

60.

Back with the gentleman at 60.

I sell then at 60. This side at 60.

Good.

Very good. Well spotted, sir.

Another lucky find.

Bang-on estimate at ?60 and hopefully the quality

of our next nautical item will speak for itself too

and get the bidders delving deep into their pockets.

Lot 103 is a brass-cased Schatz marine clock.

10, 12, 15, 18, 20. 22. 25.

At 25 now. I sell then at 25.

Is that it? Goes though at ?25. All done at 25.

Are you in again, sir? You sure?

Sold at the back at ?25.

At ?25 that's rather unfortunate.

Not quite making Jonty's valuation.

But there is no time to dwell on it as we have a mammoth sale coming up

and we need to be fully-focused for this one.

I have to say you did have a lot of brassware at your house.

I'm a bit confused now, because in the catalogue

everything has been listed individually. What has happened?

Because you have such a large collection,

and you are the single reason why there is a world shortage of brass,

because it was in your house, so we are now flooding the market with it

and all these next 11 lots are your lots.

Collection of brass, I put ?80 to ?120 on the whole lot. Let us see if we can double it.

Let's have a bit of fun.

Let's watch them go through and add up the total at the end.

So, what do you think they will go for?

I really hate brass so I think it's worth about a fiver.

Alan? Well, in scrap value it's probably worth about ?100.

I hope we can get something around that.

I hope to get about ?120.

?120. Let's see what we can do.

Brass owl. Two, three, four, done at three.

?5 for those. Five.

Couple of pound then? All done at two.

20 behind me.

In the middle at four.

Take five now.

?120. Bang on the nose. What did you know that we didn't know?

You got that exactly right.

That's hard to do, isn't it?

I think there is a new saying. Where there's brass there's more brass.

There couldn't be more brass than this,

but thankfully it's no longer cluttering up Julie's home

and she's ?120 better off.

But just how close are we to our floor fund target?

We have a bit of a break coming up before we sell the rest of your lots,

but you want at least ?600 for the parquet flooring, don't you?

How do you think you've done? Hard to keep track. No idea.

Couple of hundred.

We've actually made ?445. Brilliant.

Excellent. Well over halfway.

Really good. Thank you.

I don't know about you but I feel like a well-deserved rest now. So follow me.

A break is out of the question though for Jonty, whose mind is always on the job.

There you are, David. Good morning. I want to have a quick chat with you

because I know you are the man at the coal face of antiques and collectables

and whereby you go to people's houses on a regular basis valuing.

What in your mind is really hot at the moment and what's not?

The hot items at the moment is anything military, particularly medals.

And if the recipient of that medal achieved any note of distinction

in their career then those items are sought after.

When you go into somebody's house what makes your heart sink? Jewellery is taking a big dip.

Unless it's the best-quality jewellery, it's dipping out.

And is it your experience like it is my experience, I am always amazed, stunned by what you see?

There's always something very exciting round the corner.

I can give you an interesting story.

I worked for an auction house that sells from Northampton

and the auctioneer flew out to Israel and collected

a number of Tottenham Hotspur catalogues that were in year runs.

He flew out and came back, feeling very much like a spy, he said.

They were put in the sale, the first lot made ?20,000

and the rest made varying amounts going down

and I totted it up at the end of the day

and it was something like ?160,000, ?170,000 they made.

And that, to me, is a substantial amount of money.

I'm glad you have the same buzz as I do.

That is the beauty of the business.

Isn't it? Absolutely. I must let you get back to your work. Bye.

I think our Jonty has found himself a soul mate!

So far the bidders have paid some generous prices for our goods.

And as we resume our places I hope they won't get a fright

when they are shown our next item.

OK, guys, it's our fun item,

if you can call it a fun item.

It's our shocking item. The electro-massager.

Which you have been trying because your hair is rather spiky!

Yes, it's usually flat.

Was it good for you? Amazing!

A fun little item this. ?10 for it.

Ten anywhere? Come on.

Ten, I am bid here. At ten now.

Thankfully that stops us having a demonstration from you. At 10, 12,

15, 12 over here.

It goes at 12. 15.

Funny it's all blokes bidding on this. At 15 I sell there.

At 15 now. Ladies, have a go.

Come on, ladies. I sell at ?15. 18.

At 18. Fill it up to 20.

At ?18.

Over here at 18. Make it 20 now.

At ?18, it goes then on my left at ?18.

Were you shocked? ?18.

Usually I'm quite interested to know what people

are going to use something for but in this case I think I'll pass!

Making much more than Julie's expected fiver

the medical device is packed off to who knows where.

As long as it's not my doctor's surgery.

Earlier, the auctioneer told Jonty

military items were hot,

so let's hope it's one of our secret weapons today.

I hope we have the buyers here for our lovely officer's sword

because this is a general sale.

I've put around the ?100 mark on it. ?150.

I'm hoping the buyers will be here. Cross our fingers.

30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55,

60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90,

95, at 95 now.

Against you at 95.

It sells here in the room at 95. Is the phone bidding?

Done at 95.

?95. That is a good result, isn't it?

Only ?5 off Jonty's lowest estimate.

But if we want to reach that ?600 target

we need our remaining items to be a hit.

And while it may not be quite military

the uniformed Pelham puppets will hopefully reach at least 30.

?20 to start. 20 I am bid.

20, I sell on the maiden bid 20.

22. 25. 28. 30.

32. 35. 38.

40. 42. 42 at the back.

45. 48. 48.

Fill it up to 50. 50. At 50.

55. Behind you at 55.

I sell against you in the blue.

Goes with the lady at ?55.

Finished at 55. All done at 55.

?55. That is a good result, isn't it?

The auctioneer was really stringing them along!

Exceeding their top estimate and banking us ?55 towards

Julie's floor refurbishment, we are on a roll.

And I hope that momentum continues as

our next fabulous lot takes to the stage.

Next up the pair of Doulton vases.

How do you feel about these going?

I have enjoyed them but I am quite happy for them to go

because I worry about them. Why do you worry about them?

Getting broken. I would rather they went and somebody else enjoyed them.

Erm, ?20 for them. 20.

Tenner. Ten I am bid.

15, 18, 20, 22, at 22, 25,

28, 30, in the doorway at 30.

I sell them in the doorway at 32.

32 now, new money at 32.

35. At 35. 40.

Back down here at ?40.

I sell to the lady at 40. Make no mistake. They're going at ?40.

I will take two if you like, sir. Bidding?

At ?40, I sell down here at 40.

?40. That's half your estimate.

What a shock to the system.

We were doing so well.

With only two lots left to go

we must achieve those valuations

if we're going to make that ?600 target.

Surely the craftsmanship of our Edwardian masterpiece will be

worth its weight in gold, to the sum of ?150 to ?250.

Even I feel slightly sad to see this go

because I have been through the family photograph album.

I've seen it sitting there for so many years,

you remember it for ever in the house.

And now it has been it's being sold, the bookcase.

?100 for it.

OK. 20 quid.

20 I am bid. At 20.

I sell at 20. 25, 28. 30. 35. 40.

45. At 45 now. At ?45.

Is that it? You all finished at 45.

Fill it up to the 50, sir.

At ?45.

Finished with it at 45.

I don't think that's enough. We'll try that one somewhere else.

If you won't go 50. At 45.

You're out in front. Done at 45.

Not sold.

What's happened there?

What's happened he has made it unsold

and he will try it in another auction sale.

Rather than sell it for ?45, which does seem ridiculous.

A disappointing no sale and although it would be awful to see such

a fabulous family heirloom go for less than what it's worth,

if we want Julie to get her floor restoration project

off the ground we can't afford any more like that.

We need our luck to take a dramatic change as Julie's

quality stash of hallmarked silverware

still in their in presentation boxes goes under the hammer.

What do you want for the whole lot? I put ?80 to ?120 on the collection.

But what makes it so lovely is the fact they are all still in cases.

Great presents for people.

It's asparagus season.

This is what you need.

First bidding on this, 40, 45, 50, with me at ?60.

65.

70. 75. 80. 85. 90.

95. 100. 110. 120.

130. 140. 150. 160.

170. 180. 190. 200.

210. 210 down here.

Sold to the lady at ?210.

Julie, ?210, are you pleased with that? Really pleased.

Are you crying? Almost.

As long as it's tears of joy.

That's such a good result.

Yes, that was brilliant. Very good.

What an outstanding end to the day, but has it been enough

to cover our previous poor sales?

Right, that's the end of the auction as far as we are concerned. It has been an interesting day.

Yes, great fun.

Great results, that silver was fantastic.

We wanted to raise ?600 so we can get the parquet flooring sorted out. Do you think you made that amount?

It's hard to tell, you can't tot up as you go along.

The good news is I think you will be all right.

You have made ?863.

Well done. That is brilliant. Really good.

And that is pretty good considering the bookcase didn't sell.

That is very good.

What are you going to do with the extra money?

Well, we will probably need more money in our pockets.

I am taking the boys away while Alan gets on with the work.

Where you off to?

The Isle of Wight on a group holiday.

We go every year with family and friends.

Have a wonderful time.

It's been a few weeks since Julie made ?863 at auction

and today she is off to the Isle of Wight

with sons Danny and Lee for a break,

while leaving Alan behind to complete her floor transformation.

Alan soon got his team stripping up the carpet

to reveal the parquet flooring which Julie loves so much.

Although she is enjoying herself miles away

she can't help wondering what is happening in her absence.

While we are having a great time over here, with a bit of luck, Alan is working hard

at home sanding the floors down and getting them just right, I hope,

and we will be really pleased when we get home.

Fingers crossed!

It's a long, arduous job

but Alan is relentless and wants to get the best results for his mum.

With the two-day holiday coming to an end it's time to reveal

the brand-new floor and find out what Julie's verdict is.

All finished. That's lovely.

Very nice. Yes.

Very smart aren't we, Lee? Lovely. Thanks very much.

Just a bit of decorating to do now.

It was lovely to come back and see the floors done,

something I have wanted doing for a while and so,

the whole thing has been really good.

I feel really pleased.

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