Fielder Cash in the Attic

Welcome to Cash In The Attic -

we search for all those antiques and collectibles round your home,

and then sell them for you at auction.

Now today I'm in Cheam, right in the heart of the Surrey countryside.

Dating as far back as 1018, when Chertsey Abbey owned the area,

Cheam was once known for its fine potteries.

Now, just off the high street is this exquisite 16th century cottage.

It's known as Whitehall,

but I promise you, nothing to do with

the long corridors of power in Downing Street. But you know what?

As well as the history, they do a terrific cup of tea.

Originally built as a farmer's house,

Whitehall opened to the public in 1978 as a museum.

And it's here you can come and discover over 500 years of history -

from the original timbering with wattle and daub,

to the Tudor fireplace,

and finally, finishing your journey in the furnished, but small,

Victorian schoolmaster's study/bedroom.

Now this intriguing old house has three attics,

but those are not the ones we're going to be searching in today for all those collectibles.

Coming up on today's Cash In The Attic, there's a celebrity in town.

Paint the scene for me - Elton used to come to your house?

-He used to have fish and chips...

-GLORIA LAUGHS

..and play I-Spy!

Not all the valuations go according to plan.

-How does that sound?

-It sounds awful to me! Sorry.

It's disappointing, very disappointing.

And I've got the perfect remedy.

You know what?

There are times I feel like taking a bucket of nerve tablets!

But all will be well when the final hammer falls.

I'm on my way to meet

a fascinating lady who is totally in love with her gardening,

art and antiques.

She's called Cash In The Attic hoping that we can raise some money

to make life just that little bit easier.

This early 1950s semi is currently home to keen collector

Joan Fielder, who, over the years,

has inherited many top-notch antiques from her family.

But she's on the move,

and she's asked her son Bob to help clear out the clutter.

Well, John, for sale! Looking very smart.

I tell you what, I'd bid for you today!

Sold to the beautiful lady in the pink jacket!

Highest bidder, of course! But Joan, who we'll meet -

she's moving out of this house after 25 years. That's good news for you?

Fantastic. When people are moving, they're in the mood to get rid of things.

She loves antiques - I hear she has fabulous things.

-I think we should go in and get started.

-Come on, then.

-Yeah.

Hi, Joan. It is so nice to meet you. How are you? Really good to see you.

Thank you for allowing us to come.

This has got to be your handsome son, Bob! How are you?

-And look at you! You've clearly been working so hard.

-Yes.

Where did you get all this stuff?

Various places, really.

Mine, my mother's, my aunt's...

and gifts from friends, all kinds of things, really.

You obviously collect anything.

-Anything and everything by the look of it!

-GLORIA CHUCKLES

-You picked this up from your mum, Bob?

-I've been a hoarder.

Mainly spoons. I started collecting when I was young.

Do you play them, or just collect?

Just collect, unfortunately!

I obviously noticed the for sale sign outside, so you're on the move?

Yes, my husband died two years ago, and so, I want to move down

to be near my family.

My daughter and grandchildren.

Have you already bought another property?

Yes, I am in the process of buying a property

that needs a lot of development.

It's got an absolutely enormous garden, very, very overgrown,

lots and lots of lawn.

I'm trying to raise enough money to buy a sit-on mower.

And some patio furniture, garden furniture.

The garden is vast -

I think she will look good on that, with her flat cap,

-running round the garden!

-THEY LAUGH

The big question is,

how much do you want Cash In The Attic to raise for you?

Well, I'd like to raise around...

-£2,000.

-Wow. A lot of money.

-It is.

I'm confident, looking around, you're going to raise quite a bit.

You have some beautiful things.

And of course, our man John

is probably rummaging in all your drawers and cupboards,

and having a marvellous time!

-I think we should maybe go and find him, don't you?

-Yes.

-OK.

Joan's home is simply overflowing

with a wealth of quality collectibles wherever you look.

And there's no holding back our expert, John Cameron,

who, with over 10 years' experience in valuing fine art and antiques,

makes him perfect to track down all the treasures.

-Here comes the cavalry!

-I just knew you'd be in your element! What have you found?

I found five quite interesting pieces of silverware

that would look better, in my opinion,

on display in a nice bijouterie table,

rather than tucked away in a drawer.

We've a couple of little cosmetic pots with hinged covers,

nice, embossed, Rococo decoration.

A matching ladies' eyebrow brush.

We also have this little silver bracelet with the sovereign case.

Victorians fascinated with keeping sovereigns about their person.

But my favourite item of all,

this wonderful little miniature hand mirror.

You open it up like this, you've got an little mirror there,

you open this hinged cover - it's a ladies' compact.

For a very small nose!

LAUGHTER No good for me, then!

-Powder-puff.

-Can you tell me anything more about it, Joan?

My mother always had them on her dressing-table.

And she used to wear the compact and the bracelet, she used to wear that on a chain.

This is fantastic because, not only would this appeal to collectors of novelty silverware

and people that have bijouterie tables,

but also, there's a very active collecting market for ladies compacts.

So this will have crossover appeal.

How do you think we'll fare then, with the silver?

Well, I don't think we're going to break the back of it with this little lot, but it's a good start.

So I think, for these lot, I'd sell them together, £80 - 100.

Possibly a little bit more than that.

Well, we do have a lot of money to raise, so I would suggest you go with Glo and do some hard work!

Let's go.

Although I know they're quite light in silver,

I think they're quite old,

and I thought they might have been worth a little bit more.

'Never mind, it's still not a bad start.

'But with a staggering £2,000 target to reach, we need to hunt out plenty more goodies like that.

'Hopefully John's estimate of £150-£250 for this nine-carat gold Edwardian butterfly brooch

'will please the lady of the house.

'And with its stunning ruby eyes and turquoise stones,

'it's sure to fly out of the sale room.

'While upstairs, Bob's found something to sing and dance about.'

John? John! Here's something that might be interesting to you.

What have you got there?

It's a letter from Noel Coward.

Interesting! Who's this chap?

George Hiscott. He was a dancer and occasionally he helped dress Noel Coward and things like that.

And apparently they were very good friends.

And he went out with my Aunty Dolly for a few years and then they got married.

He used to act as his dresser and that when he was away.

And this is a letter from him.

-Addressed "Dear George".

-Yes.

And I believe it's signed on the back.

Well, let's see if we can work out what it says.

I probably won't be able to get every letter, but let's have a go.

"The show was a knockout success, I'm glad to say, but it is certainly very hard work.

"Let me hear from you from time to time, yours, Noel Coward."

-So do you know much about Noel Coward?

-No, I don't, unfortunately.

I think it's more my mother's generation rather than myself.

Well, he was a noted playwright and composer, writer, director, actor.

Known for his witty tunes and his foppish sophistication

and quintessential Englishness.

He wrote very witty tunes such as Don't Let Your Daughter On The Stage, Mrs Worthington,

Mad About The Boy, Mad Dogs And Englishmen.

Oh, excellent, yeah, I remember that one, just about.

-I think everybody does! You can kind of hear it now.

-Absolutely.

When things like this come up at auction, they tend to generate a bit of interest.

And provenance always helps.

And I think this is a great little combo here.

We've got a letter, we've got the photograph of the recipient to the letter.

So I think this would be a good lot to go to auction.

Now, I'd have no hesitation at putting about £50-£80 on this as an estimate.

D'you think you would be prepared to let it go at that?

It would be quite interesting. I wouldn't know how much it's worth

because you don't see much Noel Coward memorabilia in the shops these days!

Hopefully, this handwritten gem from the legendary playwright, director and actor, will bestow

us some good fortune to help fund Joan's garden improvement dreams.

But there's still a long way to go, and I do hope Bob realises

that his cherished childhood spoon collection is up for grabs!

Picked up by him and his grandmother from many special royal events

and whilst on holiday, they could easily top up our fund by £40-£60.

Most of Joan's goods have been inherited from her mother, Emily,

who I must say, sounds like a woman to be reckoned with.

My mother was a wonderful artist.

She always painted from when I was a child.

We used to go to Hampstead every summer,

she used to exhibit her paintings on the wall at Hampstead.

She became quite famous doing naive paintings.

She was likened as England's Grandma Moses.

-Was she?!

-Her paintings were very much like Lowry, but much brighter, very simplistic.

She put some into an art market that Twiggy bought five on the first day.

And that got publicity. And it more or less went on from there.

So who else bought her paintings?

Well, George Harrison's wife bought one for him.

And Tommy Steele's wife bought one for him. And Polly James.

And Elton John was her most famous person that had lots and lots and lots of her paintings.

And where did he buy them from? A gallery?

No, actually, from her home.

So paint the scene for me now, when Elton used to come to your house to buy paintings?

He used to have fish and chips and play I-Spy! Which was quite funny!

-So real family parties?

-Yes.

My mother had lots of lovely letters saying thank you for all the times that he spent with her there.

What is so fantastic sometimes at auction,

is the fact that you can authenticate certain items, certain stories.

And everything that you've told us, I hope, is going to add on value to get to you your £2,000.

John will be fascinated by all of that. I think maybe we should just see what he's up to.

'Well, Elton may have got his chips when he came round, but no chance of that for John and the team.

'If we want to make the £2,000 target, we're going to need to strike gold.

'Although in Joan's case, silver will do very nicely.

'As this enormous 19th century serving tray, gathering dust under the stairs,

'gets packed off to auction.

'It's got a price tag of £80-£120.

'Simply brimming with luxurious items, John is in seventh heaven.

'And while his next precious discovery might be a girl's best friend,

'he can't take his eyes off it.'

Joan, can I talk to you a second about this very elegant diamond brooch you've got here in this box?

-Yes, certainly.

-Firstly, Joan, where did this come from?

Well, it came from my aunt, who inherited it from her friend,

Florence Hardy, who was an Edwardian actress.

I think she was also a Gaiety Girl at one time.

She was obviously a woman of means, because it's quite an exquisite,

and at that time, it would have been a very expensive brooch.

She had lots of beautiful jewellery.

It dates from around the turn of the last century.

Round the Edwardian period. And it's very typically Edwardian in its elegance.

Now, the Victorians loved ornamentation,

but the Edwardians considered themselves a little bit more sophisticated than the Victorians.

And if we look closely at it, we have these inverted acanthus scrolls here.

Framing some nice floral sprays there.

And more scrolls down here, and this lovely trelliswork in the middle

which has been studded by those diamonds.

Sadly, there's a couple of losses to it.

Firstly, we have the missing suspension loop at the top here which would have been set with diamonds.

And also at the bottom, you would have had a baroque shaped pearl suspended and dangling there,

which again, when the wearer was moving around, would have been quite eye-catching and shimmered the light.

The craftsmanship in here is very, very good. I've had a look.

I've counted over 100 old round cut diamonds in there of varying sizes.

And I estimate there's probably something in the region of three carats of diamonds in the piece.

If I put it into auction I would suggest an estimate of about £1,000-£1,500. Something like that.

-Would you be happy with that?

-I would, yes.

That's a really good, nice amount.

Wonderful. Well, let's put that back in the box there.

And shall we go and see what else we can find? Come on.

'Thanks to the best friend of Joan's aunt,

'Great Auntie Flo, we are creeping closer to our £2,000 target.

'But the rummaging must continue if we want to help Joan decorate and manage her perfect garden.

'And Florence comes to the rescue yet again

'when I find this selection of Victorian postcards of our leading lady.

'Coupled with a fabulous watercolour of the sophisticated actress,

'they could command an audience at a very reasonable £30-£50.'

Joan, is it going to be very difficult to leave this house?

Because you have so many memories of your former husband here, don't you?

Yes, it certainly is, because we've been here 25 years.

We came here after our silver wedding.

And this year would have been our golden wedding.

It will be hard for you too, Bob, actually, with this house going, won't it?

Yeah, I mean, but Mum needs a fresh beginning, I think.

-How long ago did he die?

-Two years ago last month, February.

Yes, he died very suddenly, had a pulmonary embolism from a deep vein thrombosis.

And had he been a very active man up until then?

Oh, yes. He was a frogman in the Navy.

He was a fire officer.

Your father sounds just a really special man.

Tell me about him being honoured?

When he was honoured, in about '69, he was honoured for him and one of his fellow firemen

for a rescue at the St Ermine's Hotel in London.

He ended up with the British Empire medal, with an Oak Leaf,

which was the highest gallantry medal that you could have as a civilian.

It was quite an honour, especially at eight years old, going up to Buckingham Palace.

We went up as a family and it was a wonderful day.

It's been lovely talking about him and lovely to see some of the things he treasured over the years.

'I imagine it must be tough for Joan to dwell on her husband,

'so we head back to our rummage mission, and busy ourselves finding more valuables.

'This delicate ladies' fob watch could just do the trick.

'It's beautifully topped with a silver gilt and enamel bow brooch and set with seed pearls.

'It's a really elegant timepiece.

'Surely worth every penny of the asking price of £130-£180.

'Thankfully, still standing after all this time, another old classic gets John's attention.'

-Rob? You got a second?

-Sure.

Interesting Elton John picture, signed to somebody.

I can't quite make that out. Can you shed any light on it?

It would be to my grandmother, Emily.

Personally, looking at him here, this is from the best times.

I'm a big fan of Elton John, certainly from this era.

It's signed personally to someone.

It'd be really nice if we could find some letters to go with it,

which would support the provenance, if you like.

This one has suffered, sadly it's been handled and put in something and got a very nasty crease.

But the signature is still legible.

So often, we see autographs, and it's widely acknowledged that if you're a huge popular star,

like Elton John, like Elvis, the real household names,

a lot of their security staff and managers do a lot of the signings.

If we'd a letter, we could have £50-£80, something like that.

Who knows? If we have a couple of Elton John fans there,

the price might really "rocket, man!"

Let's go and see if your mum can find that letter.

'Family friend Elton may not visit any more,

'but he's certainly left a lasting impression.

'If we're going to make that £2,000 target, we need to turn this house

'upside down in our quest for first-rate antiques to stand out at auction.

'My next find is a real dazzler.'

Joan, I found this beautiful pendant on your dressing table. Where did you get this?

It was Aunt Flo's.

There was another one like that which my cousin has.

I don't like to wear it because it's such a fine chain,

with those little pearls, that I'm frightened of losing it.

John, come and have a look at this.

As girlies, we think this is exquisitely fine and beautiful,

but as a bloke, with a magnifying glass, what do you think?

I agree. It's a very fine piece of jewellery, isn't it?

It's typically Edwardian.

You've pearl emeralds, baroque shaping, pearls, lots of swags.

This is typical of the period.

When you think of some of the early films, something like Titanic,

this is the sort of thing they would have been wearing at the time,

with nice low-cut dresses, a very delicate pendant hanging.

Coming from Ireland, I'm conscious about the colour of emerald green.

These seem very pale, don't they?

Emeralds are quite... You very seldom find emeralds that are flawless,

so you often get emeralds that have been oiled with a dye that enhances their colour.

-They're colouring them in?

-Absolutely!

People pay more for a very vivid green, the beautiful emerald green.

It's also important, if you can oil them, you can lose that oil.

Detergents will strip it out.

One should never wash up with the best emerald ring on, because over a period of time, it'll start to fade.

-I never knew that, did you?

-No.

-You're saying that this belonged to the actress, Florence Hardy.

Have you got anything else of Florence, any kind of ephemera or paperwork?

I've got a few, but unfortunately,

with moving and getting rid of stuff, I've thrown loads away.

I'd say, with the provenance, £600-£800.

I'm going to put it back on the tray because, as you say, it's delicate,

and there it can remain until our auction day.

I understand that things have got to go. It was me that called you to get rid of them,

so...I just hope that they go to good homes.

In order to settle Joan in her new home, we need to take

a final look around for some more rich pickings to sell.

Bob finds a set of Victorian engraved silver-plated fish service,

another generous gift from Auntie Flo, which John thinks could be a real catch.

But will Joan be quite so willing to deliver the family's pride and joy to auction?

So who was the philatelist in the family?

Well, my husband started collecting them in the early '70s.

We had a friend that ran the Philately Society

for the fire brigade, and he advised him

-to buy Channel Island and Isle of Man stamps.

-So what have we got?

We've got five albums here,

Guernsey, we've got Jersey, Alderney, we've got...

-Isle of Man.

-And Isle of Man.

Now, looking at this collection specifically, they date

largely from the '70s, don't they,

and they go up to almost the present day?

Now, in anticipation of high demand

for stamps from Guernsey and the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man,

the stamps were produced in quite large quantities to satisfy demand,

but today that's had a bit of a negative effect.

Now, if I had to put an estimate

on these without going through them bit by bit and checking

them against catalogue prices, I'd be only looking at about £150 to £200, something like that.

How does that sound?

It sounds awful to me.

Disappointing, very disappointing.

I can totally understand that.

Very disappointing. I'm shocked, actually, because the look of the stamps,

they're so exotic-looking, the collection, five books.

I thought they'd get a lot more than that.

They would certainly cost a lot more than that to put together.

If you were to buy these bit by bit, you're going to a dealer, you're going to be paying catalogue prices,

but when you're selling it the other way, sadly, it doesn't work that way today.

Joan, you'll have to think carefully about that, won't you?

Yes, because it's cost me an awful lot, thousands of pounds,

that we've spent over the years.

Of course, my cash register in my brain is going ching ching ching!

Whether you bring the stamp albums to auction or not

at this point is almost immaterial.

We started out today looking for £2,000, which we felt was a lot of money.

You'll never guess. The good news is, you're going to love us.

It's £2,235. Whoo!

-That's wonderful.

-It's great!

-And then if you decide to bring the stamp albums that day, obviously...

I'll have to look at it again because my sums aren't very good,

-it'll be £2,385 at the lower estimate, so that's a bit of lawnmower.

-Quids in.

-It's going to be a great day, isn't it?

-We'll have some fun.

-We will.

Some beautiful items to sell and great excitement,

so just think about the total, at least £2,235.

Wonderful. Whoo!

What a marvellous result, and Bob knows someone that would be particularly pleased.

I think Dad would be really happy.

Obviously, being taken so suddenly, anything

we can do to raise money for Mum to make her life a bit easier and that, I'm sure he'll be happy with that.

It's been great to rummage with Joan and Bob today and I think

we've found some fantastic bits and pieces to wow the bidders.

Firstly, that Edwardian diamond set broach, hoping to flourish

our fund with £1,000 to £1,500.

The letter from Noel Coward, which with provenance from Joan

about her uncle's association to him, could reach £50 to £80.

John's favourite collection of miniature silver items,

kindly donated by Aunt Flo at £80 to £100.

And, finally valued at £50 to £80,

will the signed photo of family friend Elton John be a hit?

Still to come on Cash In The Attic, John dishes out the truth.

People don't use fish servers these days. We all go to the chippy.

And Joan faces reality.

I just thought it was worth more than that.

But will we get a satisfying result? Find out when the final hammer falls.

Well, it's been about three weeks now since we visited

Joan Fielder's house in Cheam.

We had a great day, we unearthed some really good memories and indeed a few forgotten treasures.

We brought them all to the John Nicholson auction house in Sussex.

Now, Joan is hoping to raise about £2,000 for a brand new sit-upon mower, which she hopes will be

much easier in her lifestyle and great excitement,

so let's see what happens when our items go under the hammer.

With such outstanding goods to sell today,

these bidders are in for a real treat, and no-one knows that better than our expert, John Cameron,

who's checking our valuables are being shown to their best advantage.

John, doesn't Joan's jewellery look fabulous in this case?

It does. The auctioneers have done her proud.

They've given her a little table top display cabinet all to herself,

and what's even better than that is that Joan took my advice and she's produced this great list

of provenance to go with each piece that belonged to the actress Florence Hardy.

That's fantastic, people love that, so I'm hoping that really pays off for her today.

When it comes to diamonds, I like this brooch.

Diamonds are a girl's best friend. Mae West said

Something along the lines of, "It's not the carrots on my plate

"that I worry about, it's the carats in my diamonds." It's a good piece, isn't it?

Well, we have high hopes for it,

so we're looking for £1,000 plus today, so fingers crossed on this.

And look at the way the spoons have been polished to death.

They've done a great job.

Somebody had to polish those, and I think they look fantastic.

-The question is, do you think they'll bring the stamp albums?

-I don't really know.

I don't think she liked what I had to say, so I'm not hopeful,

but what do you think?

In this case, I wouldn't bet on it, but anyway I think they're

-going to raise the money, so it'll be fantastic. Shall we go and see if they're here?

-Come on, then.

-OK.

I'm truly optimistic about today's sale.

We have a host of top quality treats in store for the bidders, thanks to collectibles passed down

the generations of the Fielder family,

and decluttering by mum and son.

-Joan and Bob, how very nice to see you both. Are you all right?

-Yes.

What's the excitement like, knowing you've never been to an auction before?

Oh, we've been really excited, yes.

I've always wanted to go to an auction, so it's really a dream come true.

Joan, I see that you took my advice,

and you've produced some fantastic provenance

to go with the items belonging to Florence Hardy and that letter written by Noel Coward.

I think you'd make a good auctioneer with your promotional skills!

We have all of Florence's photographs here,

but you've identified this with Elton John, haven't you?

Yes, Elton was saying in his letter to thank her for her paintings

and that he loved her so much, and they're really incredible. And thanks for the food.

The big question is, did you decide to bring the stamp albums?

No. We didn't bring them.

I decided that they were of much more value to me

and my grandchildren than they were to be sold,

so I've kept them for the future.

Well, the excitement's about to begin.

The auctioneer's ready with his hammer,

so do you think we should get in position?

I think Joan's made the right decision in keeping her husband's treasured stamp albums.

Some things are too precious to part with.

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

you have to pay commission

and possibly other charges as well, so be sure to check at your local auction house.

But I'm keen to get started, and I hustle the team into place

as our first item takes centre stage.

We're looking for at least £50 to £80 for this class act.

Coming up, a letter from a famous man, famous writer, famous performer, Noel Coward.

What's the connection with your family?

Well, he was a friend of my uncle, my aunt's husband,

who was a dancer and a friend of Noel Coward's.

Lot ten, bid 20, 30, 40, 50, £50 bid,

60, I'll take, at £50, 60, anyone? Selling at £50, your bid at £50.

Are you happy with that, Joan?

Yes, yes. It made the lower end, and at least it made what was expected.

Taking a famous bow, Noel Coward does us proud with £50, and if all our items

hit targets like that, we'll have Joan on her new mower in no time.

But with one of our smallest lots up next, I wonder whether it will reach

anywhere near the £130 to £180 valuation that we're hoping for.

361A.

This lovely ladies' silver-gilt fob watch, 100 bid.

25, 150, 75, 200 bid, at 200, 25 now, lovely watch,

225, Denise, at 225, 50 now, there's my bidder, Sally, at 225.

How terrific is that? No wonder Joan has got a big smile on her face.

The bidders certainly recognise quality when they see it, which is great news for us, and as

Aunt Flo's introduced to the room, I just hope our fortune continues.

We'll to be hearing a lot

about Florence Hardy throughout the programme today.

We've got postcards and a watercolour coming up. Remind me of the connection with your family.

Yes, she was my aunt's best friend and when she died

she left everything to my aunt.

She was always Aunt Flo to us.

So you've got lots of things from Aunt Flo.

I have, yes.

All my valuables are from Aunt Flo.

I'm 10 bid,

20, 30, 40, 50 on commission, at £50, 60 now, on commission at £50.

Are you happy enough with that?

We were looking for 30 to 50.

Maybe the person who bought these cards will shell out

for Aunt Flo's jewellery later on.

Fingers crossed, as there's still a long way to go.

If we want to reach that incredible £2,000 target, we need all our items to stand out,

which is exactly what Joan's Renaissance style pendant does.

I know I'm going to be green with envy if that sells. Very pretty.

Very feminine and fragile, almost.

Yes. That's really why I'm selling it, because I'm frightened to wear it.

In case it all falls apart?

A lovely, lovely thing.

200, 250, 300, 350, 400,

450, 500 with me on commission.

At 500, 50 I'll take.

At £500? 500.

Deep down, Joan, what were you hoping?

I was hoping it would be on that higher limit.

-700 and something?

-Something like that.

-So you're a bit disappointed at that?

-Little bit.

Under estimate at £500, and there's no hiding Joan's disappointment

but a sale is a sale, after all, and it's still a very generous amount towards her garden fund.

Hopefully, Elton can put us back on track

and make his £50 to £80 asking price.

Does it pain you at all to sell his photograph?

No, because I've got lots of others. Yes.

She's got loads, John, loads of them.

That's fantastic, Joan, but we don't want to flood the market so may I suggest

you drip, drip, drip them onto market if you're going to sell them?

10 bid. 20.

30, 40, 50.

£60 bid.

At £60. 70, anywhere?

At 70, your bid.

At 70. There's the bid then at £70.

179.

Well, the sun may have gone down on Elton for now

but his famous signature has certainly brightened up our day.

But has it been enough to keep us on target?

You know what, there are times I feel like taking a bucket of nerve tablets.

We've got to the halfway stage. You have some beautiful things.

I know you're looking for £2,000. One of which will go on a sit-on lawnmower. But at the halfway stage,

I have to tell you you've already achieved £895. At 895.

I think that's really great so that's almost half your estimation

and actually 2,000 is a lot for this programme to go for, isn't it?

Absolutely. It's a quite punchy target for us to achieve.

I've got a good idea.

How about a spoon in a cup of tea, a bit of sugar and a big lump of chocolate cake

on the side, are you ready for that? Are you gonna join us?

Something caught my eye this morning, I need to take a closer look.

Normally we go for a cup of tea but today I think we all need a lie down

and a headache tablet with our auctioneer on that booming microphone.

With plenty to see at auction, John has some advice on what you should look out for.

Whilst having a look at Joan Fielder's interesting little silver collectibles,

I came across this rather charming silver vesta case.

It's no ordinary vesta case that we see at auction frequently making £40 or £50.

This little vesta case has the addition of this beautifully embossed golfer at the top of his swing.

For me, that would give this crossover appeal.

It would appeal to the vesta collectors, but also the collectors of golfing collectibles.

That's a great area. The auctioneers have estimated this at £200-£300.

Now, I'm not a betting man but I would wager that when the auction tees off and gets into full swing,

I think this little vesta case is going to end up on the leader board.

The second half of the sale is already well underway as we return to our positions.

With over £1,000 still to make, our remaining lots must hit their top estimates.

The silver-plated Victorian salver is up first in all its glory.

John's hoping it will dish up 80 to £120 but he's having a bit of a valuation crisis.

I have to confess, when I saw it this morning I thought I missed some hallmarks.

It really looked silver, it's had a great polishing. But upon closer inspection, it wasn't silver sadly,

so £80-£120 is what I'd expect it to make.

100 bid. 10 I'll take.

At £100, 10 now?

£100, the only commission bid. 110, 120.

At £120, 30 anywhere?

Selling at £120.

What did you think you'd get for it?

Well, I just thought it was worth more than that.

You can't blame us for wanting to make as much as we

possibly can for Joan's goodies, but John's appraisals are realistic

and the money is mounting up.

But if we want to keep up the momentum, we need the bidders

to have a flutter on the gold butterfly brooch.

At 150, 2 I'll take.

At 150, 2 now?

200, anyone? A bit disappointing at 175.

200, fresh place.

200, 25 now?

I'll even take a tenner if it'll help. There's my bidder, then.

£200.

More in the kitty. You're doing well on your jewellery.

Another £200 closer to our target.

Joan's best spoils are being snapped up here today.

Can John's favourite lot

live up to its price tag?

Next up is a little collection of silver items, the compact,

the pillboxes, the brush, the little bits and pieces there.

I'm still amused that we all talked about whether the brush was for teeth

or for eyebrows. It was definitely for the eyebrows, wasn't it?

Let's take it steady, 50 bid.

60, 70, 80, 90.

100.

10, 20, 130...

We've got a telephone bidder.

-..140, 150.

-Fantastic.

..160, 170. 180, on the phone. 180.

At 180 on the phone, at £180.

-That's good.

-Happy, John?

-Are you happy?

-Yes, yes.

-Reasonably.

Are you surprised?

I certainly think it was worth every penny of that.

-You really liked the little compact.

-It was a fantastic little compact.

I don't think I'd use it, but I do respect the Victorians' love

for innovation and quirky ostentatious things.

I cant believe it - more than double our lowest estimate.

That telephone bidder certainly has pushed up the price.

I just hope our lucky streak isn't set for a sharp fall

when our next item goes under the hammer.

Lot 538, the Victorian engraved fish servers in the case.

£20 bid, 30 I'll take.

30, 5 now. At £30, 5 anybody?

At £30.

I think that's awful. It's so good.

The thing is, people don't use fish servers these days.

We all go to the chippy.

Well, people may not use fish servers much more,

but they do use spoons.

So, our penultimate lot,

close to Bob's heart, will hopefully sweeten up the bidders enough

to part with at least £40.

Bob, this is your starring lot because it's your collection of spoons.

Take me back over how you started to collect.

It started about 30 or 40 years ago when we was on holiday down in Devon

and someone bought me one spoon and then it's run from there.

Between me and my grandmother and Mum.

She'd ask people to collect them on their way from various locations.

There we are, the collection of spoons there, 10 bid, 20, 30.

40, 50, £60.

-That's good.

-At £60, 70 anywhere?

70, anybody? All those spoons, £60.

144.

60 quid. Are you a happy bunny?

Yeah, hopefully they will go to a good home. I would have liked a little bit more.

Selling well at £60 and Joan is glad to see the back of them.

We've held back our very best until last. I just hope the bidders agree.

John, this is the biggie.

This, by anybody's standards, is a superb diamond brooch, and it's just gorgeous.

Just remind me at what point you got it or at what point your aunt got it.

It was left to my aunt with all the other things she inherited from Aunt Flo.

It's a piece that she wore and Aunt Flo wore quite a lot.

It's a superb brooch, isn't it? Looks magnificent.

It is a stunning brooch, but we need it to make £1,000 or my reputation will be in tatters.

This is it. This is it.

-Lovely thing.

-He likes it.

Straight in at £900. 1,000 anywhere?

At £900, 1,000 anywhere?

-1,000 your bid, sir.

-Yes, there you go.

-At £1,000, 11 now?

At £1,000 and selling, lovely thing.

£1,000. 143.

Well done, John. Good. Saved your bacon!

-I sense relief.

-Oh, yes.

-I didn't want it to go for less.

-No.

I am so thrilled. The glorious diamond brooch made £1,000.

Any less would have been a travesty.

The sale has sparked mixed feelings for Joan.

I'm sad to see all of it go, except for Robert's spoons.

But you come to a point in your life when you've got to let some of it go.

With the auction drawing to a close, it's time to tot up the final figures.

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed the auction today.

I'm still trying to get over £1,000 for that wonderful diamond brooch.

What a lucky woman, whoever she is, is going to wear it.

Your total, you were being, I think, pretty plucky in your estimation that you might raise £2,000.

Well, I want to tell you the bad news. No, I don't.

I want to tell you the really good news, it's £2,485.

-Wow!

-Well done.

-Isn't that fabulous?

-Lovely.

That is just such a heady amount.

You have your sit-upon-mower, what else is it gonna buy, Bob?

Sun loungers and that for me to watch Mother.

-Patio furniture.

-Anyway, you've been fantastic sports and I hope you have a wonderful time

near your daughter, living in Hastings. Thank you very much. Have you enjoyed it?

-It's been wonderful.

-It's been very interesting.

-Memorable for us as well, wouldn't you say, John?

-Absolutely, fantastic.

And I can't congratulate you enough on you sterling job with the provenance for all those bits.

So, it's been a few weeks since Joan raised an amazing £2,485 at auction.

Today, she's popped down to Hastings to see what relocating has to offer.

I'm here today to visit my granddaughter and to take collection of my new lawnmower.

I'm really excited about that.

Delivery of her new mower is going to make life so much easier

and she just can't wait to get her hands on it.

Look how big it is!

-It sounds better than Dad's.

-Oh, look! Ooh.

I'm really looking forward to having a go on the lawnmower.

I'm a bit frightened because I don't drive and so everybody

is just waiting to see it because they think it will be hilarious.

And now's the moment of truth.

'I really can't wait to get back down here, to be with the family.'

It's going to be wonderful to be back living with them all again.

Look out, Hastings! Here comes a woman armed with some pretty scary blades.

I don't think Lewis Hamilton is gonna have any problems.

Well, I think you'll agree, a stunning result for Joan and her son, Bob.

But you know what, I think Joan is so keen on that lawnmower,

I'm going to invite her round to my house one day.

If you'd like to call in the Cash In The Attic team to your home, if you think you've got collectibles

hidden around the place, then it's very easy.

All you have to do is to go to our website...

For more information about Cash In The Attic,

including how the programme was made,

visit our website at bbc.co.uk.

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