Elliott Cash in the Attic

Welcome to Cash In The Attic,

the show that searches out hidden treasures around your home

and sells them for you at auction.

Today I'm in Kent, where I've stopped off to look at this magnificent mansion.

Camden Place dates back to the 17th century

and is named after Elizabethan scholar William Camden

who took up residence on this site in an attempt to escape the Great Plague.

Today it's the elegant club house of the Chislehurst Golf Club

whose grounds inspired William Willett's idea of daylight saving,

proposing that clocks should be advanced in summer, making evenings lighter for longer.

So no shortage of historical interest here, then.

Let's hope that theme continues and we find plenty of antiques

to thrill the bidders when they go under the hammer at auction.

Coming up on today's Cash In The Attic, a shock for the family.

I don't believe that!

My husband will be amazed!

Revelations of a different kind for Paul.

Come to show me your etchings?

I do, indeed!

And at auction, boys will be boys!

-All right with exotic birds?

-I like exotic birds!

But will we be surprised by the result when the hammer falls?

I'm off to meet a lady who's called in the Cash In The Attic team

to help raise funds for a rather special conversion.

Behind the doors of this detached home

lives housewife and childminder Susie Elliott

with daughter Katie and husband John.

Katie's the eldest of Susie's three children

and at the age of just nine was diagnosed with Niemann-Pick Syndrome,

a serious illness affecting her metabolic and nervous system.

While Katie enjoys being with friends and family,

her speech and mobility have become restricted.

As getting around the home is now difficult,

they want to convert the garage into a wet-room and bedroom for Katie

to make her life so much easier.

But conversions like this don't come cheap

so they want to sell off the family heirlooms and collectibles

and have brought in Teresa and Sue to help them.

-Morning!

-Morning, how are you?

-Great, actually.

-We've got a fantastic house here.

The lady who owns it needs money for a special conversion, not the normal type.

That sounds intriguing.

You find the valuables. I'll find out more and meet the family.

-Morning, ladies!

-Morning! Hello!

-You must be Susie.

-I am, yes.

-You're here to help with the rummage as well?

-We are, yes!

-We're here to help!

-Good!

Susie, you've called in Cash In The Attic. Why's that?

We're having a big house conversion.

We're converting our garage into a bedroom and wet room for Katie,

whose mobility is going. She needs to be brought downstairs

to have her own independence.

It'll make looking after her much easier.

Do you have much to sell? Where's it from?

Yes, I think we've got quite a lot to look at.

I've got a few things from our parents and grandparents

and a few things my husband and I have collected over the years.

Hopefully, there's enough there for you.

Building work like that is very expensive.

What sort of contribution are you looking for from cash?

It would be lovely if we could raise about £1,500.

That would be really helpful.

So we need to make £1,500 towards the building costs.

That sounds very good, doesn't it?

Let's see if we can find plenty to sell at auction.

It's going to be a busy day, ladies!

Let's see what we can find.

'It's great to see family and friends pulling together for something so essential.

'While our expert Paul Hayes may not know much about conversions,

'he does know loads about antiques, having been in the trade for 20 years.

'He want to shed some light on his first find of the day.'

-Paul.

-Hello! Good morning!

-How are you?

-Got your hands on the family silver, already!

-It's always a good place to start.

-Are these family silver?

No, my husband and I collected it probably about 20 years ago

from a local antiques shop.

These sorts of things are not used any more

unless you want that romantic atmosphere.

-Don't know about you, but we don't use them at home!

-No.

These are silver plated.

There's a big difference between solid silver candlesticks and silver plated ones.

But the nice thing is that this is Sheffield plate.

Nowadays, most things we buy use electricity - electro-plating.

That gives a very thin layer of silver on top.

What Sheffield plate does, it's almost like a sandwich.

They have a layer of copper and a layer of silver on top.

There's a high silver content.

Susie, can you remember what you paid?

I think we paid about £80 for them.

These are actually quite recent ones. They're not ancient examples.

I can tell that because on the bottom it says,

"Silver plate on copper. Made in England."

When that wording is on an item, it tends to be for the export market,

which was early 20th century, so these are not as old as you'd expect.

-What do you think, Paul?

-If I was being conservative, I'd like to say 30 to £50.

You might get somewhere near that.

Given that the target is £1,500,

we need to find some more things!

-Shall we?

-Go on, I'll light the way!

Obviously we probably paid more than they were worth

but again, it was something we loved

and that's the way it goes.

But if they get a good price, that's fine.

Not a great beginning, but that's fired us up to look in every nook and cranny.

Down in the kitchen, Paul's dishing up another treat.

Teresa?

These are unusual. Do you know who they belong to?

Yes. Susie and her husband bought them at an antiques fair.

They're very Oriental in style. It's very popular this design at the moment.

It's always been popular for the reason that China had the secret of making true porcelain

for over 2,000 years before we got there.

What happened in the 18th century

was that you would send out a design you wanted to have on your Chinese porcelain.

What's happened here, these are very rare anyway,

to find them as singles. To find them as a pair, I think you've got 20th-century reproductions.

You've got a printed design here.

See the outline of the horses and the gentlemen's faces?

It's all done with a print.

These are on earthenware, not true porcelain.

-You can't see through them.

-OK.

So they're a copy, really, of earlier examples.

But they would have been extremely expensive as originals.

-Were they expensive when she bought them?

-She paid £300 for the pair.

I think value-wise now, I would say about half that, really. 100 to 150.

-Do you think she'll be OK to sell them?

-I think she'll be a bit disappointed.

-Shall we ask her?

-I think you need to ask her.

OK. Let's go and find her.

I hope Susie is happy to sell the Oriental bowls

as £100 is a considerable amount towards our target.

But in case she isn't, we must find plenty more pieces.

Sue spots these four silver christening cups on display.

With a possible 80 to £150 asking price,

she thinks they would be far more practical turned into cash.

Susie and her family, including children Mike and Jenny,

studying away,

have lived here for 22 years

and witnessed a lot of changes, most dramatically in Katie,

whose Niemann-Pick Syndrome has caused her problem in getting around and communicating.

Tell me a little about Katie. When did you find out there was a problem?

Katie was diagnosed at the age of nine, after a lot of tests.

A very alert child paediatrician at our local hospital

thought it was something he'd come across as a medical student at King's.

And sure enough it was diagnosed as this condition called Niemann-Pick.

It's an inherited one and my husband and I are carriers for it, apparently.

What difference have you seen in Katie from then till now?

It wasn't till she left school and went to college

that more problems began to emerge.

And probably when she was about 18

the physical side started to come in.

And she has a short-term memory.

So she's very young mentally, about six to eight years old mentally.

-Once the conversion is done, do you think that will improve Katie's standard of living?

-Yes.

I think it will be much easier for her and nice to have her own room,

her own little bit of independence.

What do you think the room will look like when it's done?

I think it's gonna be very pink, cos that's one of Katie's favourite colours.

Hopefully, it's going to be the best room in the house, at the end of it!

If you're going to get this room done and it's as pink as it probably has to be,

we need some more stuff to sell. Come on!

I'm determined to make Katie's life extra comfortable and pink,

so this complete hardback set of the works of Charles Dickens

could take a step in the right direction,

although Paul is a bit of a Scrooge, valuing them only at 40 to £60.

Not sure if he'll get that opportunity downstairs,

with Sue bragging about her latest conquest.

-Paul?

-Yes?

-Have a look at this.

-Come to show me your etchings?

-I do, indeed!

That's nice. Is this a family piece?

I'm not sure. Sue was given a lot of things by her family

-so it might be one of those.

-Right.

An engraving or an etching is one of the simplest forms of producing a print.

The first type was engraving. People like Rembrandt did it.

But this one looks very free, almost like a pencil sketch

so this is called an etching.

It looks like Holland. Has Susie any connections with Holland?

Not that I'm aware of, no, but Susie will be able to tell you.

I can tell you what's happened here.

It says "Ouderkerk, September 1910."

It's signed by James McBay, a British artist, and quite a famous one.

That makes it quite important in the etching field.

What's great about this particular era, 1910, 1915,

is they did lots of things with steamboats and submarines

trains, it can depend on the subject matter.

But that's a very pleasing scene, isn't it?

Yes, it's lovely. I really like that.

Etchings are doing well at the moment. When I first started out,

a picture like this would be ten or £15.

You could buy them everywhere.

Now they're getting very desirable

and what I'd like do with this is put a conservative estimate of 50 to £80.

That sounds good.

-Where's the rest of them? Show me!

-The rest of my etchings!

-Thought you'd never ask!

It's really nice that it's by such a well-known artist.

I just really hope it achieves what Paul estimated it would be and maybe a bit more!

One of the greatest British etchers James McBay

made several visits to Holland in the early 1900s

and became famous for his depictions of water scenes and cities.

So this work should be snapped up.

But we're still miles away from reaching our £1,500 target.

Maybe this pair of decorative Chinese pottery birds,

bought in Malaysia, will bring a taste of the exotic

and tempt the bidders to spend between 40 and £70.

And Susie thinks she's found a lady Paul might be keen to get his hands on.

-Paul, can you come here a minute?

-Let's have a look.

She's beautiful, isn't she? She's a bronze.

Where has she come from?

My husband and I bought her at a local antiques shop,

about 20 years ago.

-Was she very expensive?

-I think it was about £80.

I think you've got a good find here, actually.

It says on the bottom "Summer, Napoli", obviously Italian.

But Summer probably refers to the fact it was one of a set, the four seasons.

-You'd have summer, autumn, spring, winter - and, of course, Frankie Valli!

-Ah, yes!

Joking apart, this is very much a classical bronze.

-It's beautiful.

-It is nice.

What's wonderful, the more it's handled,

the more you find a natural patina.

It builds up this wonderful dark, blacky-green patina.

The darker the bronze, the older it tends to be.

This one does look quite dark. It's a blacky-green colour.

You can see where it's been handled you get the brassy areas,

which is typical of bronze.

It gives a nice highlight to the design.

I think it's wonderful.

Would I surprise you if I said 250, up to about £400?

-Oh, my goodness!

-Is that all right?

-I don't believe that.

My husband will be amazed!

There you are. Are you sure he wants to part with it cos she's beautiful.

She is beautiful. But I think he will. That's such a sum of money. I can't believe that.

-It's all got to go, so let's keep looking.

-OK, then.

My husband and I both really loved that and cherished it.

But I'm really surprised at the price Paul's put on it.

And delighted to be able to take that to auction.

Wonderful news and finally a decent amount towards our very high target

of £1,500 to help with the construction of the wet room.

Now let's find some more.

Sue discovers these two silver-plated coasters buried away

in a cupboard which Susie and John picked up on a trip to a local antiques market.

They could fetch as much as 60 to £100.

There's no doubt that Susie is the driving force behind the Elliott family.

No-one knows that any better than close friends Sue and Teresa.

-Hello, ladies. Have you found anything?

-We've found this bird.

A bird in the hand and all of that.

You're quite familiar with this house and all the collectibles?

-We've been here a few times.

-A few good parties.

Susie's got lots of lovely things around. Has she been collecting recently?

Not so much now. She's got other outgoings with children at uni and things like that.

I'm sure she'll get back into it.

-How long have you all known each other?

-Years, haven't we?

-I've known Susie since Katie was a baby.

-About 20 years.

They've grown up together, the children.

Now, the whole situation with Katie is what the building work is for.

How has that been for them as a family?

They seem to be so happy. It must have been quite difficult to deal with.

She sorts everything out for Katie, all the paperwork.

She's had so many hurdles with getting help for Katie.

Just everything to do with Katie's condition.

Medical help, everything. She's so positive.

But Katie comes along with us to quiz nights, wine-tasting evenings.

She joins in and it's great

-cos she's a lovely, happy, happy-go-lucky...

-She's very easy-going.

An easy-going, yes, person Katie is as well.

We're trying to raise the money for Susie and Katie

to have the garage converted into a room for her.

How much difference will that make?

She has trouble going up the stairs.

Her walking and...

And she has these muscle drops where she just collapses as well.

-So to have her downstairs will be...

-Less of a worry.

-Yes.

I get the impression the colour scheme is pink!

Will you be at home to help out with that bit?

-Definitely we'll be around, yes.

-A painting party!

-Glass of wine in one hand, paintbrush...

-A painting party!

I like the idea of a painting party! But we ought to have an auction party first!

-I think so.

-Let's see what else they've found.

No time for a party of any sort just yet, ladies. Not until we've found enough to take to auction.

Raising enough money for this garage conversion is proving to be a challenge.

Paul thinks this silver cigarette box, a present from Susie to John,

could make a reasonable 25 to £45,

although he's worried that the personalised engraving and faint hallmark -

through over-polishing - may discourage sales.

But we ideally want items that are a lot more value than that.

Hopefully my next discovery could be worth a small fortune.

-I think I might have found something of interest, although it's not an original.

-OK.

Look at that. A Russell Flint. But it is a print,

If this was an original Russell Flint, we're talking an enormous amount of money now.

You have two of these. I left one on the wall.

-Where do they come from?

-I inherited this one from my uncle

and the other one from my parents.

Russell Flint nowadays is a household name.

His prints are everywhere. One of his main passions was travel.

He'd go to Spain and the south of France.

He'd capture these wonderful moments in time, always set in the 1930s.

You've got these bathing girls here,

people sat on the beach, and the whole thing looks wonderful.

They are fantastic.

He died over 30 years ago, so there's only so many of these around.

They're sought-after, very desirable items.

His original works are worth a fortune

but his signed prints have become collectible.

So what sort of value are we talking about?

They've been fetching quite a lot recently.

It's been a while since I've had one

but I'd say 100 to £150, that sort of price band.

-OK.

-So, Susie, would you consider selling the pair that you've got

-or just one or not at all?

-I'm not sure about either, really.

They're much loved and obviously been part of the family.

-I'll have to think about it and see if I bring them on the day.

-OK.

Potentially if we sold one, maybe 150. If we sold the pair, say 300.

-Maybe let us know on the day of the auction.

-Yes, sure.

Shall I put it back on the wall, then?

If you can tell me where that is, it'd be fantastic. We'll all go!

I love both of them. I love the pictures.

I think I'll have to think long and hard about parting with them.

With the possible absence of the prints, our pursuit of rich pickings must continue.

Teresa is next to come up trumps with these Regency-style tea caddies

in mahogany and rosewood.

Given to Sue by her godmother over 30 years ago,

they could warm up our funds by 50 to £80.

Paul's found a family heirloom that's undoubtedly got some history behind it.

-Now, then, Susie, Lorne.

-We're here.

You hear of finding an old Master in your attic, and I've done that.

Where's this from? It's fantastic.

Yes. I inherited that from my aunt.

It's actually a family picture of my great-great-grandmother.

-Do you know anything about her?

-The story goes that she fell in love with her music teacher

and ran off with him.

The family found out, brought her back and made her marry the local vicar.

-So she lost her true love.

-That's really sad.

-I don't know any more after that.

It's definitely of the German school. That's a trademark, the architectural background

with these half portrait pictures.

Anybody that could afford it could have their portrait done.

The way to tell a quality one, if you could help me hold it up,

if you can see round here, the artist has signed his work on the bottom,

"H.Bernhardt".

The family of Bernhardt painters were working in Germany throughout the 19th century.

They would do the portraits of the aristocracy and people who wanted to do it.

But what he would have done, the artist would have worked on the facial features.

He would purely have worked in this area here.

He would have studied somebody for hours on end doing these designs

and it's top quality.

If I cover that up, you can see that the rest of it looks quite crude.

So he would only work just in this area here.

His students, or his school, which is why it's called the German School,

would do the rest of the picture itself.

The end result is wonderful. I love it.

And the frame? Is that original?

It seems the original. If I turn it round, you can see the build up of dust and dirt,

the patina, that can't be faked.

It's definitely an old canvas, a 19th-century canvas.

-What about this bit of frame? Some damage there.

-Yes.

-What happened?

-I'm afraid I haven't got round to putting it back.

-You've got the piece, though?

-I have got the piece.

I just haven't stuck it back together.

But you know who it is. It is a family piece.

How do you feel about parting with it?

Yes, I think obviously it's quite sentimental.

But I think my aunt would have been quite happy for us to use it.

-The money is staying in the family.

-Yes. She was very fond of Katie.

What sort of value are we talking, Paul?

It's very hard. I don't know much about this particular artist.

What I would suggest we do, if it's OK with you,

is agree a reserve price and I'll find out a little bit more

and shed some light on it.

But I suspect this is a very good picture indeed.

-Any idea?

-Up to about £400. Does that sound all right?

Sounds fine. Absolutely amazing.

Put a reserve on it and go from there.

OK. We're out of time for rummaging. What a way to end it.

I'll call the others. Teresa, Sue, are you there? Come through.

We've run out of time.

-We found this beautiful picture to finish on.

-Lovely.

-Have you enjoyed it?

-It's been great. A really good day.

You wanted £1,500 towards the building costs.

How do you feel the valuations have gone?

I've no idea!

Without those pictures, the total we've added up today to go to auction

comes to £1,125.

Wow! That's amazing.

But if you did bring the Flints, that would top us up to £1,325.

-Great.

-Ooh! Decisions!

You've got some interesting items. I want to take this home with me!

Well, you can't. The next time any of us see that,

is when it's on fine display in the auction house.

-Can't wait for that! Can you?

-No!

We may not have quite made our £1,500 target,

but with the top-notch pieces we've found,

I'm optimistic that sales will go through the roof for all our treasures.

The pair of Chinese-style earthenware bowls,

hoping to lead the way at 100 to £150.

The 19th-century bronze, semi-clad classical figure, worth 250 to £400.

Can our original James McBay etch its way into the bidders' heart

at 50 to £80?

Finally, the two Russell Flint prints

with a possible £200 price tag.

But only if Sue can bear to part with them.

Still to come on Cash In The Attic:

There's plenty of love in the air.

-Very romantic, John.

-Absolutely.

-That's me, for you!

-Exactly! That's what I meant!

But not quite enough to go round.

Throwing your toys out of the pram.

Which I may well do if we carry on like this!

So, will we adore our final total when the hammer falls?

It's been a couple of weeks since we had a look through Susie Elliott's home.

We found lots of lovely antiques and collectibles

that we've brought to Sworders auction house in Stansted.

The family is looking to raise £1,500 towards the cost

of converting the garage into a bedroom and bathroom for daughter Katie.

Let's hope as the items go under the hammer, there's plenty of bidding.

It's an early start for us all today.

With so many lots and such a large target to meet,

our expert Paul has wasted no time and is off ogling the talent.

-Good morning!

-Hello. How are you?

-Beautiful.

Thank you very much! Any time!

I wish I looked that good in the morning!

It's absolutely stunning. I really love this painting.

-Do you think there'll be much interest in this?

-I hope it'll do well.

-It's in the catalogue on the front page.

-Wonderful - the front page!

-For all the right reasons, not wrong reasons!

-Exactly, yes!

-Do you think there'll be a reserve on this?

-There's a £500 reserve on it.

I don't blame the family for that. Let's see how it gets on.

Anything else you look forward to see sell?

Quite a few things, actually.

A nice bronze. I do fancy that as well, actually.

-And some etchings.

-A McBay etching, quite a good one,

which I haven't seen here yet.

-We don't know about the Russell Flints.

-I don't know if they've brought them.

-Shall we go and meet them and find out?

-Of course.

The sale room is filling up. I hope these bidders are willing to part with some serious cash.

Susie and the gang have turned up en masse.

I notice there's no sign of friend Sue amongst them,

though it looks like a new recruit has taken her place.

Good morning! Good morning!

-Who are you?

-I'm John, the elusive husband!

I've heard a lot about you. You look like they described you.

I'm glad to see you got here all right.

-And you're looking after Katie today.

-That's right, yes.

-So no bidding for you!

-I don't know. I'll sit on my hands!

Just don't scratch your nose!

Have you seen any of the items that are up for sale?

We haven't had a look round, but I'm scared I might spend some money, and I'm meant to be saving it!

Have you seen the lovely painting in pride of place? It's beautiful.

Looking absolutely stunning. We have mixed feelings about letting her go.

You've protected it going in some ways, with a reserve on it.

We've put a reserve of 500 on it.

It's sentimental value and we don't want to let her go too cheaply.

-What about the Russell Flints?

-I'm afraid we decided not to bring them.

I like them too much hanging on my wall.

-What's left? I think that's it!

-The two big Chinese bowls. Are they here?

-Oh, dear!

-The bowls are a different story. I bought them for my wife

as a gift and I'd be sad to see them go.

I don't blame you at all. It's entirely up to you.

It's personal to you.

The auction is going to start before too long so let's get in our positions.

Without the Chinese bowls and those Russell Flint prints,

we really have got our work cut out for us today.

If you're planning on buying or selling at auction,

you'll have to pay commission and possibly other charges too so check with your sale room first.

With the auctioneer ready, and as Katie looks on,

hoping we'll make enough to fund her new pink bedroom,

we take our places apprehensively as our first lot takes to the stage.

Lot 9A, a pair of electro-plated candlesticks

with flower leaf and scroll decoration.

These are nice, but not silver. They look silver.

They're very attractive and stylish. Very romantic.

-Absolutely. That's me, for you!

-Exactly. That's what I've heard!

You want 30 to £50, a little less than you paid, I recall.

It is. I think we perhaps paid a bit too much.

-But there you go.

-Let's see what happens.

30? 20? Ten I'm bid.

At 10, 12, 15, 18, 20.

Two, five, eight. 30.

Two. Ladies' bid.

At £32. Five, anywhere?

Selling to the lady seated, at 32.

-There you go.

-£32.

-That's better than the estimate.

It's not what you paid for them, but it all goes in the pot.

-Absolutely.

-I'm really pleased.

-Gone to a good cause.

Off to a good start, the candlesticks sell well

and brighten up our day by £32.

But if we want to reach our £1,500 target,

we need much higher bids than that

to complete Susie and John's extensive garage conversion.

Hopefully artist James McBay

will draw in some attention.

Etchings are quite cheap, but this guy is well known.

Some of his fetch hundreds, but it depends on the subject matter.

50 to £80 is its fair estimate, really.

20 I start. At £20.

Two, anywhere? Maiden bid for the etching.

In the distance, 25.

Eight. Selling at 28.

30. 35.

At... Thank you. Thank you, sir.

At £35 in the distance.

I'm selling at 35.

-Oh, dear!

-Oh, dear!

That was a difficult sale and missed Paul's lowest estimate by £15.

But Susie's not disheartened.

I think that's not too bad a price. Lower than we'd have liked,

but, you know, not too bad.

With a drop in our funds, we can't afford any more sales like that.

So our pair of silver-plated coasters must drum up at least £60.

At £40.

-He's got a bargain, there.

-Yeah, he has, actually.

This is disastrous!

Those coasters were certainly worth more than £40.

You never can tell what will happen at auction. Today, they're not big spenders.

Our luck really needs to change, and fast,

if we're going to get Katie that dream pink bedroom.

Lot 1A, 16 volumes of Charles Dickens

by Chapman & Hall.

-Have you ever read them?

-Not those particular ones. I've read a few.

We're looking for £40. It's a bit like The Old Curiosity Shop here!

£40 for 16 books.

30? 20? 20 I'm bid. At £20.

Take two anywhere. At £20.

Take two anywhere. 16 volumes.

Charles Dickens at 22.

Five. At 25. Eight, anywhere?

At 25.

Unsold.

Are you pleased they've been left unsold? He thinks £25 is not enough money for those.

So he hasn't accepted that very low bid. How do you feel about it?

I think it's fair. I wouldn't want them to be sold too cheaply.

They're worth more - to us, if nobody else.

Well, someone has got to get through a lot of reading

and John has an idea of who.

I'm not too disappointed. They could be well read by grandchildren

in years to come, hopefully!

Always looking on the bright side, but I'm desperate for these bidders to dig deep in their pockets

and give generously to help make the vision of Katie's room a reality.

Can John's old silver-plated cigarette box strike up interest?

What do we want for this, Paul?

Looking for about £25.

-It's been over-polished at some point.

-Must be me!

-Really? You used to polish your silver?

-Course.

It's a hard job, isn't it? I don't know!

Ten I'm bid. At £10. 12, anywhere?

Silver cigarette box. 12. 15. 18. 20.

22.

Selling at £22. 25.

On my left. Fresh bid. At 25.

-There we go.

-That's good, then.

Reached your estimate.

That's more like it, selling bang on estimate at £25.

I'm happy with that.

I'm sure Katie will be, too.

But after our first six items, how close to our first target are we?

That's the end of the first half of our lots.

So far, we've made £132, which is a little less than you were hoping for.

-When's it going to get going?

-We hope to pull some back.

Yes. You have got some fantastic items coming up, of course.

-In the meantime, shall we have a look round?

-Yes, love to.

While the family take a break and hope for the best,

Paul and I take a bit of time to check out the competition in the room.

-So what's this, then?

-I think we've got a real sleeper, here.

-These are bronzes.

-I do like that.

-It's fantastic.

People would go out to Egypt and all the ancient sites

and you could buy items like this. They were found all over the place.

In those days, they never thought twice about bringing these home.

No. These could have been in a collection for a long time.

-This is a job lot?

-Yes, it's in the auction. There's no estimate and no reserve.

-OK.

It's a weird mix with Egyptian and then a Buddhist head.

Yes, you'd go out everywhere. Any place of interest, you'd do the Grand Tour. Rome, Greece, Egypt,

the Far East. So there's a good mixture here.

I think they're fantastic.

Lesson over. We'll find out how the collection of bronze statues fare

later in the show.

With the second part of the auction about to begin,

the family are pleased to be starting off big in the hope we'll boost our fortunes.

Lot 64A. We have the portrait, English school portrait, of the young lady.

-Oil on canvas.

-You've said you've got a £500 reserve on that.

Is that a fixed reserve? Just said 500 or at auctioneer's discretion?

-A fixed reserve.

-So it must make £500.

Let's see what happens.

100 I start.

At £100. I'll take ten anywhere.

In front of me it's being displayed on the easel.

At £100. 110. 20. 130.

40. 150.

60. 170.

80. 190. 200.

Ten, anywhere? At £200.

Gonna say ten. At £200.

-No sale.

-£200!

How do you feel about taking it home?

-Quite happy, to be honest.

-We're not disappointed at all.

So the picture of Susie's great-great-grandmother is returning home with them.

But Susie and John are happy to keep it in the family.

That loss of £400 is going to make a big dent in their target.

We need our remaining lots to impress the bidders enough

to dish out the dosh and top up our flagging fund.

We're pinning our hopes on the eye-catching pottery birds

that Teresa found.

-Is there much age to them?

-Not these ones,

but this style of birds has been done since the 18th century in real porcelain.

But these are very decorative. Very exotic.

-You all right with exotic birds, John?

-I like exotic birds!

50? 30? 20, somebody?

-20 I'm bid.

-Come on.

-At £20.

Two anywhere? Exotic birds. What we're all after, really!

At £20. 22.

Five?

Eight. 30. Two. Five.

One more. At £35. I think yes is the answer.

At 35 with me.

At 35.

-There you go. That's not so bad.

-£35.

-Pleased with that?

-Yes, pleased with that.

Just about, isn't it?

Still struggling to hit our estimates,

but Susie's not letting it get her down.

I'm quite happy with that price, actually.

I didn't think they'd get a particularly high price.

Again, it all adds to the fund.

But will the two Regency tea caddies Susie got for her 21st birthday

give us cause for celebration?

£40.

Ooh, that's a little cheap.

I said they won't do well at auction. We've found the one they don't do well at!

A sale is a sale, after all,

and £40 is not to be sniffed at,

especially after the day we've had so far!

And those mixed bronzes that Paul and I looked at earlier

are up next.

Selling on my right at £140.

If only it had been one of our lots.

Then we'd be in better shape to make our target and build Katie's wet room.

There's only two of our items left to go under the hammer.

Katie is eager to see whether her and her mum's christening cups

are favoured by the room.

Lot 43A.

Silver twin-handled cup and the other items on view.

Lot 43.

There's lots of silver here. Hopefully buyers to buy them.

Throwing toys out of the pram - which I may well do if we carry on like this!

-We want 80 to £150.

-That'd be good.

-It would, wouldn't it?

-Good and desperately needed.

-OK.

50 I'm bid. At £50.

Five, anywhere? At 55. 60.

Five. 70.

Five. 80. Commission bid.

I'm selling. With me. At £80. Selling.

Selling at £80.

-There you go!

-Wonderful. £80. That is good news.

Thank goodness something has hit its estimate

especially when a christening set has some sentimental value,

as husband John is only too aware.

It was my wife's christening mug, so it was her decision.

Slightly disappointed it didn't fetch a little higher,

but nevertheless it hit the reserve and that's fine.

As we're nearing the end of a long day, we're all on tenterhooks.

There's only one more of our lots to be shown to the room

and there's no hiding our uncertainty as the bronze figurine makes her debut.

Paul was taken with this. You think it's very good quality.

It's fantastic. It's one of a set,

but it's beautifully modelled. Yes, I do.

-Have you put a reserve on this?

-I think we've put 250 on it.

Normally, the auctioneer would use his discretion.

If he gets anywhere near that, he would take it.

Hopefully, we get above that. Let's see how we go.

100 I start. At £100.

I'll take ten anywhere.

At £100. 110. 20.

30. 140 anywhere?

At 140. 50.

160. 70.

180. The bid's in the room.

I'm going to sell at 180. I'll take 90 anywhere.

Selling, then. Your last chance.

£180.

It's 180. So what's happened there?

-The reserve was 200.

-Not 250?

No. He's allowed 20 per cent. That's the norm.

-180 was the last bid he would have taken.

-How do you feel about it?

It's fine. It's still quite a good price.

-It's a good price.

-We're happy.

If you're happy, I'm happy.

Ending on another high note, £180 goes into the pot.

It's been a difficult sale from the start.

The Elliotts have worked so hard to try and raise the money

towards converting Katie's bedroom

and we've got nowhere near the £1,500 target.

I just hope they take the news well.

That's the end of the auction as far as we're concerned.

We've had a bit of a rollercoaster ride, haven't we?

We have. Not as much as we wanted, but there you are.

You wanted £1,500 towards the garage conversion.

Today we've made £467. I'm sorry we didn't do better.

-It's a step in the right direction.

-It's a start, it's a start.

We can start kitting out Katie's bedroom

and she'll be delighted with that.

-We're very pleased.

-It's great.

Paul, what's your overview?

I think the auctioneer has done you a favour by not selling them for less than you wanted.

They'll live to see another day.

I think we're happy to keep our favourite possessions

-and enjoy them for a bit longer.

-We're happy to be selective.

It's a few weeks later and plans are underway to move Katie downstairs

to a new bedroom and bathroom.

While the builders measure up, friends and family clear out the garage.

I'll get this one, the heavy one.

'The last couple of years'

where Katie started deteriorating, her mobility and everything,

we were very aware we needed to bring her down to ground level.

And have her bedroom downstairs and everything.

Having Cash In The Attic has given us the impetus to get going

and get her room sorted.

Susie has had plans for the conversion drawn up by an architect.

That sounds great. Just the right thing.

But it's Katie who's making the design choices.

Look at all these gorgeous wallpapers.

You know we said that you said that pink is your favourite colour.

Which one do you like best?

-That one?

-I like that best.

You like that one best. That's really nice.

I agree with you on that one.

Everyone is working really hard on the project.

And there's one last surprise.

Following the disappointing results at auction,

word got out in our village

and a local bathroom centre have very kindly donated a bathroom.

We're absolutely thrilled. We can't believe what a wonderful donation it is.

She's pleased, I can tell!

Despite the disappointing auction,

the Elliotts still keep some lovely things and kick-start the fund for the conversion.

If you have antiques and collectibles to sell to raise some money

for something close to your heart,

get in touch with Cash In The Attic. Details are on our website:

See you next time!

Subtitles by Moira Diamond Red Bee Media Ltd - 2009