Woollen Cash in the Attic

Welcome to Cash In The Attic. This is the show that searches out the hidden treasures

around your home and then helps you sell them at auction.

Well, today, I am in Surrey, where I've stopped off to take a look at this magnificent castle.

Farnham Castle was built in 1138 by the grandson of William the Conqueror.

It would see little in the way of conflict, but played an important role as the residence

of the powerful bishops of Winchester, who occupied the castle for more than 900 years.

Many kings and queens of England were entertained here over the centuries.

Its constant occupation confirms the castle's status

as the oldest continually inhabited building in southern England.

What a beautiful location.

But, we've no time for sightseeing, because we're on a mission to unearth plenty of antiques,

that will hopefully attract interest from miles around when they go under the hammer at auction.

Well, I've come a couple of miles down the road from the castle

to meet a lady who has called in the Cash In The Attic team

to help her fulfil a New Year's Resolution.

Coming up on today's Cash In The Attic.

Paul knows which item he's putting his money on.

-Right, I think it could be a sure winner.

-Could be a winner!

-10/1. Odds-on favourite.

-OK.

And he's being as diplomatic as ever.

What about the cigar box? Is that valuable?

-No, that's an optional extra.

-OK.

But, will he convert some non-believers at auction?

Oh, ye of little faith!

Why do you think we bring him along?

Let's hope their faith is restored when the final hammer falls.

This lovely three-bedroom house in Farnham is home to freelance magazine editor Penny Woollen.

Although she grew up in Canada, Penny has been living in England for over 30 years,

and has accumulated a wealth of collectables, many of which were inherited from relatives.

But, on New Year's Day, she made a resolution to declutter her home,

and has roped in her long-standing friend Gloria to help.

Good morning, Paul.

-Good morning. How are you?

-I'm fine.

Listen, we've got a lovely lady today.

She's called us in because she wants us to help her out to fulfil her New Year's Resolution. Bit late, I know.

Yeah. Do you know I haven't done mine yet, either.

I promised not to drink as much tea and to do more rummaging. And here I am - look at that.

-Yes. We haven't seen much evidence of that yet.

-No.

-Do you want to prove the case?

-Come on.

Oh! That's lovely.

Good morning, ladies.

-Hello!

-You must be Penny.

-I am.

-You must be Gloria.

-I am, yes.

-Right, OK, Penny,

I understand you called us in. What do you want us to do?

Well, we would really like to get rid of some of the accumulated...

-Clutter.

-Yes, I was trying to think of a nicer word!

Things that have come down to me through my family and really,

I don't have them out on show and they're just wasted.

Why not get a little bit of money for them?

So, what's made you decide to do that now at this point in time?

Well, my daughter and I were away for a week at New Year's Eve.

New Year's.

I thought, this is it. I am making a resolution.

I've got to do something. We've been at the house a couple of years now

and the garage is absolutely full to bursting

and I would like to start clearing the decks, you know.

So, it was your daughter's idea as well, then. Where's she today?

Well, she was going to be here and would have loved to be here, but she's sitting an exam today,

-her final exams at Reading University.

-Fair enough.

So, Gloria, I understand you have stepped in to fill the bridge.

I've stepped in to fill the gap, yes!

But it's now time to declutter.

I'm not so good at the throwing away.

-No.

-I am good at the collecting.

-A hoarder, aren't you?

-Yes.

In terms of the sort of money you might want to raise, how much do you think that might be?

Well, a few hundred pounds would be nice.

-What would you want to spend that on?

-It would be a great surprise, maybe for my daughter,

since she's been working so hard this year, to go to Paris.

Well, let's say £400, then, towards the trip to Paris

-and we'll go and have a look and see what we can find, shall we?

-Sounds good.

-Come on, then.

Turning dusty treasures into shiny new tickets to Paris

sounds like a fantastic surprise for daughter Anna.

But will hoarder Penny really be able to part with her family heirlooms?

Luckily, we've got an expert on hand to help.

Paul Hayes has over 20 years' experience in the antiques trade.

And it looks like he's already hard at work.

-How are you?

-It looks like you've found something already!

-Hello! Yes. I made an early start.

-What have you got?

I've found a beautiful christening set. That's absolutely fantastic, isn't it?

Do you know what I love so much about these christening sets, it's not so much the contents,

but the fact that all the boxes were individually designed for them.

So this has got a complete unique shape that will only fit those items.

That's right. The Victorians were all for presentation. They did make these wonderful boxes.

The lid fits exactly over the cup there.

It's just real quality. It would be given as a very prestigious gift.

That was the idea. So, you would buy this for somebody else

so you could present it when somebody was christened.

This really is a Rolls-Royce example.

You've got the christening beaker here -

the christening mug. You have the spoon, knife and fork.

It is a complete christening set.

So, it dates sort of 1890s-1900s.

It's not in the best condition, can you see that?

I know. The blade is separate from handle, isn't it?

Yeah, but anybody that's into silver would get that fixed and you've got a fantastic item there.

What sort of value are we talking about, though?

Well, allowing for a little bit of restoration - they're all solid silver, all hallmarked -

I would say at least £40 to £80. Does that sound all right?

-Sounds nice, doesn't it?

-Are you happy with that?

-I wouldn't have a clue what it really is.

-But it sounds good to me. Let's hope somebody's there who really...

-I'm sure they will.

They always sell well at auction, don't they? Yes, yes, yes. You never see anyone pass them by.

So I'm sure you'll be fine. So shall we go and see what sprinklings we can find elsewhere?

-Yes.

-OK, I'll look after this.

£40 to £80 is a sparkling start.

But, we've still got a long way to go

to make the £400 Penny needs to take Anna on that surprise trip to Paris.

As our search gets underway, though, she spots something straightaway.

Paul, would you mind giving me your opinion on this little painting?

-Of course, yes.

-I've always loved it.

There's a little story behind it but I know nothing about it.

Let's have a closer look at it. It's definitely a painting. Where did it come from?

Well, it belonged to my aunt

and, um, after she died, I was clearing out her cottage.

I found it in between two pieces of brown paper,

down the back of an old piece of furniture in her bathroom.

That's really interesting, where it came from. You rescued it, really.

You've framed it beautifully. You've done a good job, actually.

This looks like the work of a guy called Augustus Lamplugh.

He really set the precedent for all...

-What a name!

-Fantastic name, but he set the benchmark really for all these artists.

What he would do, he would work on skies and atmosphere, a bit like Turner.

Turner would do all these wonderful skies.

But what he would do is do fantastic sandstorms.

These Arabs would have the scarves round their faces and they were just really realistic paintings.

Of course, he had his imitators. This one is Jacope.

I'm not sure who that artist is. He had lots

of amateur artists out there just enjoying painting

and travelling, and discovering places.

I think that's very collectable.

I haven't come across his work before,

but I don't think he's a long-lost master. He's just a good...

There's a horrible word in the antique business called a potboiler.

-Yes.

-It is what they call most Victorian artists - potboilers.

Lots of people used to do it as a hobby and just enjoyed it.

I think that is worth at least £100, maybe £150.

-That's nice.

-Does that sound all right?

Yeah, it does. Given where I found it and that it could have easily...

I could almost have mistaken it for the lining paper that she had in this cupboard.

Well, you've rescued it and brought it to a whole new audience.

-Hopefully someone will appreciate it.

-Yes. Sounds great. Absolutely.

Let's hope it's not a storm in a teacup! Talking of which...

I thought our New Year's Resolution was more rummage and less tea, Mr Hayes!

£100 to £250 is a great price for Penny's rescued painting, though.

So I'll let you off this once.

Whilst Paul heads off in search of the kettle,

Gloria is still hard at work and spots this lovely sewing table,

which is packed off to auction with a price tag of £30 to £50.

As the search continues in the house, I take a few minutes to catch up with our hoarder outside.

Oh, this is very civilised, isn't it?

-Yes. Yes.

-So, how are you finding the rummage so far?

Well, it's very interesting.

-Not too traumatic, I hope.

-No!

Far from it. It's fascinating.

I had no idea how some of these things that I just shoved

in a drawer could turn out to be valuable. It's just incredible.

Now, Penny, you've also got an accent, so tell me a little bit

about the family background. Where are you from?

My mum is from the north of Scotland. My father was born in London.

Actually, my mother evacuated two children as a nanny out to Canada during the war.

And my father went up from Bermuda, where he was working, to Canada and joined up.

And that's where they met.

So they ended up staying in Canada and I came back here for six months and I ended up staying here.

So tell me a little bit about the planned trip to Paris. Why that particular city?

We decided that it would be a good idea if Mum got her act together

and started clearing out some stuff.

And I just thought, recently, "Well, I can't imagine that I'm going to get

"so much money that I can go halfway across the world to Canada.

"But I could go to Paris."

And her really good friend lives there - a French girl -

who is a week younger than Anna and also going through university.

Jessica hasn't been over here for a couple of years, so they haven't seen each other for a couple of years.

I thought that would be great.

They've been very good to my daughter - the family.

It would be lovely just to go over and see them and maybe take them out for dinner.

That would be nice.

If we're going to do that, we'd better make sure

-Mr Hayes has found something else for auction.

-I hope he has!

Daughter Anna may be busy with exams but it sounds like she's in for

a treat - as long as we can find enough antiques to sell of course.

Back inside, Gloria spots something in the living room

that she hopes Paul will send racing off to auction.

-What do you think of this, Paul?

-Now then, let's have a look.

It's a nice horse, isn't it?

Is Penny a horse fancier?

Yes, when she was a child, she used to love horses, apparently.

Right. It's a firm called Beswick.

They were really the market leaders in scale models.

What would happen, you'd have a best of breed -

or maybe a horse winner -

something like Nijinsky or Red Rum - a famous animal.

What they would do, they would go along and take exact measurements.

They'd measure the muscle structures, you know,

the position and the nature of the animal,

and then they would recreate it.

From that, they would make these cast mouldings.

What you end up with is a very accurate model of an animal.

-A lot of work goes into it.

-Very popular indeed.

What I'm doing as I'm talking to you

is having a good look. What you do find is that ears get nibbled. They fall over.

They're a bit delicate.

The secret is, when you look at these items, do look for restoration.

It can make a big difference when you come to value them.

-But it's all right. It's in good condition.

-It's a nice one.

Well, it's a nice horse.

It's by a good factory.

Do you think Penny would be interested in selling it?

I think she'd consider that.

All right. I think £30 to £40. Does that sound OK?

That sounds pretty reasonable.

-All right. I think it could be a show winner.

-It could be a winner.

10/1, odds-on favourite.

OK. Well, I was very surprised.

It was a beautiful horse.

I thought the price was fantastic - it was really good.

So one more to the collection.

Well, Gloria certainly thinks £30 to £40 is a prize-winning valuation.

And it is a great addition to our total.

There's another great addition as Penny digs out

this lovely pair of ornate candlesticks. They were given to

her grandparents as a wedding present.

Paul thinks they could make £40 to £60 at auction.

As our trawl through Penny's treasures continues, in the living room

I've come across something I think could be a real winner.

I think I've found a nice collection of medals here.

There seems to be photographs of the gentleman - letters, all sorts.

I don't really know what the medals are.

I do know that those are the three brothers of my grandmother.

Everyone that was involved in the First World War

were rewarded with these medals.

-They call them jokingly Pip, Squeak and Wilfred.

-Really?

They were the cartoon characters of the day.

This means that he was involved in the first offensive during the First World War - 1914, 1915.

This is the Great War for Civilisation.

That was awarded after the war when we finally won.

And this one's a solid silver medal,

which again was awarded after the war.

What people tended to do would be to weigh those in for silver.

It was a currency, you see. Those often disappeared and you end up with just two.

-You've actually got a trio which is nice.

-What sort of value in those?

I think you're looking... at least 100, possibly £150.

Well, fingers crossed, that would be great. Terrific.

-OK.

-They can go to auction?

-Oh, yes.

-That will help our target figure, that's for sure.

-That's great.

-OK, you get a medal if you find anything else.

Well, that's lovely.

-I'll look after those. All right?

-Great.

Thanks to the trio of medals, we're moving steadily towards today's £400 target.

There's no time to rest if we're to make enough money to buy those tickets to Paris.

Another family heirloom does us proud,

as Penny finds a lovely 1920s pewter jug,

which she inherited from her auntie.

Paul hopes it will make £20 to £30 at auction.

Penny's grandfather comes up trumps as well,

as this lovely cigarette box - which was given to him as a gift -

is lighting Paul's fire, with its £25 to £45 price tag.

Paul and Penny seem to be on a roll.

I take five minutes out to enjoy the sunshine with Gloria.

So, Gloria, how long have you and Penny been friends?

For nearly 40 years.

Really? How did you meet then?

Well, through a mutual friend of mine and my husband's.

She came over.

She was working with the airline and she was new in the area.

He said, "Take her under your wing," and that's where she's been ever since.

-We've been very good friends.

-What would you say is so special about your friendship?

We've always been there for one another. When she had Anna,

my children used to play with Anna.

I suppose it's a family sort of thing, you know. Very nice.

Penny's got a lot of stuff in that house. Are you the same?

Do you collect or hoard things?

No, not quite as much as Penny does.

But, of course, Penny's had such a lot handed down through the generations.

That's how she's acquired most of it, I think.

She never throws anything away.

I haven't got as much as Penny, no.

Do you think this clear-out is a good idea for Penny?

Yes, very good.

She needs some help to do it. There's a lot there to sort through.

-It is nice to have a fresh start, I think.

-There's plenty of stuff in the house.

I'd like to stay out here - it's beautiful. We'd better go in and give a hand. Come on!

We certainly need all hands on deck to make today's target. So it's back to work.

Inside the house, Paul's magpie eye for antiques

has spotted this lovely brooch which belonged to Penny's grandmother.

It was specially designed with her initials -

Gloria Eva Kitchen.

Paul estimates its value at a sparkling £20 to £30.

The ladies are hard at work as well.

In the bedroom, Penny's come across an interesting box of tricks.

Paul, come and take a look at this.

-I knew I'd hidden something away here.

-Let's have a look.

-What have you found?

-Oh, right. Let's have a look.

Oh, that looks interesting.

Small matchboxes. They're interesting, aren't they? They're not just matchboxes.

-Look at that, little pictures!

-They're little scenes of London,

-it looks like.

-Piccadilly Circus, this one. These are collectable.

On the corner, it says,

"in plastic". Plastic was a new material.

Oh, of course, in those days.

What date do you think it was?

These - 1950s, I would say. Bryant & May have been making matches since the turn of the century.

With it being plastic and sort of the black taxis there

and the double-decker buses, I would say '50s. There's lots of them.

There are some other bits and pieces here. What's this? It's for calling cards or dance cards to be kept in.

That's the golden age of etiquette.

If you went to visit somebody, you would have your own card

and you would leave your card with the butler of the house.

-On a silver tray.

-Of course, that's right.

-You've been there.

-In a former life.

Some of us still use it.

That's a beautiful item, isn't it? Really top quality.

-That's solid silver. It's been inlaid into the top.

-It's so dainty, isn't it?

You've got an interesting lot there.

When you go to auctions, people do love to buy job lots.

Those matchboxes are really interesting.

You've got a vesta case there. That tortoiseshell case is lovely.

-I think what we should do is put those in as one lot.

-Right.

If I said, sort of £80 to £120, how does that sound?

-Incredible.

-Yes. I'd be completely flabbergasted.

-Really?

-Yes.

-Right.

That's a beautiful tortoiseshell case. That's worth quite a bit.

-How does that sound?

-What about the cigar box?

-That's an optional extra.

-OK.

-We'd put that in for free.

-We'll put that in with it.

That's a nice lot and that's a good-selling item.

-That's an amazing price.

-All right.

It was a very interesting lot.

I was just flabbergasted by that estimate. I thought it was amazing.

You'd never think all those tiny bits and pieces would amount to so much.

But they were beautiful, especially the little tortoiseshell calling card with the silver. Amazing!

That valuation certainly took the ladies by surprise.

But Paul isn't resting on his laurels.

He's spotted one last item that he thinks could seal the deal for today's target.

Is it something Penny's prepared to part with?

-Penny?

-Yeah.

I found an interesting little item here.

Is this a real family heirloom?

That's where I keep Granny's cutlery.

Oh, right, I can see that in there.

-This has always been in here?

-Yes.

Right, it's obviously not a canteen. It's not a fitted case for the cutlery.

Probably not. It's kind of fun to be in there, anyway.

-It's called an apprentice chest. I don't know if you've heard of that before?

-Not really, no.

Right. What would happen, if you went to get a job with a carpenter,

before you'd be let loose making large bits of furniture - obviously materials are very expensive -

what you would do, you would prove you could make scale items and once you'd passed your test, if you like,

once you'd made an item like this, then you'd be let loose on bigger products.

You've got to remember lots of this wood was very expensive.

We imported a lot of mahogany from the Empire and so on and from the Americas. This is walnut.

The whole case is made from walnut.

These fronts here are actually veneered burr walnut.

You can actually see in here, you've got all these little tiny branches starting to appear.

These are veneered onto the front, so it's very difficult to do.

So there's just as much work gone into this as there is for a large-scale chest of drawers.

-There is a lot of work in it.

-Yeah.

So value-wise, you're looking... £100 to £120. Does that sound OK?

Yes, well, I don't know whether I'm surprised.

-Yes, maybe I am surprised that it would get that much.

-How are we getting on?

-Ah, did I hear £100 to £120?

-Yes, but we are thinking about it.

-Oh, are you unsure about whether to sell this then?

-Well...

yeah, dithering.

-OK!

-OK. Look, we've run out of time for rummaging,

but I'm quite happy that Paul's certainly picked out the best of what's here.

So the items going to auction actually tot up to £485.

-Wow! That's not bad, is it?

-Without this?

-Without that.

-Without it?

If you put that in, it comes to £585.

-That's a big difference. It's something to think about.

-Get thee behind me!

THEY CHUCKLE

So either way, you can let us know on the day of the auction about the chest.

-Are you pleased with that figure?

-Very good, very good.

-Yes.

It gives me a bit of encouragement to carry on and do a bit more.

Absolutely. You'll be able to have a trip to the cancan at this rate.

-Before you can can, we've got to get get to the auction.

-OK.

So the next time we'll see you guys is at the auction. All right?

-I'm looking forward to that.

-Yes, we are.

We've had a really successful day here with Penny and Gloria

and have a great haul of items to take to auction.

We've got the unusual collection of matchboxes

with the lovely tortoiseshell calling-card case.

Valued at £80 to £120.

The set of three First World War medals

with an estimated £100 to £150.

The pretty silver christening set in its original box,

valued at £40 to £80.

But we'll have to wait and see whether Penny is happy to part with

her miniature wooden chest, with its sizable estimate of £100 to £120.

Still to come on Cash In The Attic, the ladies are speechless.

-Wow!

-£150.

Well, that's pretty impressive too, isn't it, hey?

And the bidders are fighting over some of Penny's lots.

She was determined to have it.

She really was. Well, I thought, "Just keep going. Just keep going."

So, how will we have done when the final hammer falls?

Now, it's been a couple of weeks since we had a good look around

Penny Woollen's lovely house in Surrey.

We found plenty of antiques and collectables we bought here

to Chiswick Auction Rooms in West London.

Remember, Penny's looking to raise around £400

so she can take her daughter, Anna, on a lovely trip to Paris.

Let's just hope when our items go under the hammer today, they prove to be a real triumph.

There's a fantastic selection of items on show in Chiswick today.

One man who's hoping we'll be riding high to victory is our expert, Paul Hayes.

-Morning, Paul.

-Good morning. How are you?

-I'm fine. So, Beswick, always a good seller.

Beswick's always a good seller. This one is quite a nice example and it's in great condition.

-Condition's all-important.

-So, we've got lots of lovely pieces. We've got the christening set.

That christening set is superb - the quality on that is fantastic. I think that could do very well today.

There's one or two bits and pieces I think could do well.

The one thing we don't know whether it's here or not is the apprentice chest.

-Of course.

-That was amazing, she was keeping spoons in there.

-I know.

That's the beauty of them - you can use them for anything you want.

It doesn't have to be the initial purpose.

That's a great useable chest of drawers. I hope she's brought it.

-Shall we go and find out?

-Yeah.

-Come on them.

I'm really optimistic about the items we've brought to auction today.

The first few bidders are beginning to arrive.

Let's hope they take a shine to Penny's collectables, especially after she and Gloria

did such a good job keeping to that New Year's decluttering resolution.

Good morning, ladies. There you are.

I was going to ask, "Have you brought it?" I assume you have.

In the end, I thought, I didn't know who made it.

I didn't know even really who it belonged to, although it came down to me from my grandparents.

And, you know, the silver that I was keeping in there,

silver spoons and things, I thought, "No, I can keep that anywhere.

"So, I'll sell it if it's worth something."

So, no second thoughts about today then?

-No, no, not at all. It's exciting.

-Have you been to auction before?

-Yes, I've been to a small one at Sidmouth.

-I know that one.

It was very good but this is a much bigger place and I'm looking forward to starting. It will be great fun.

It's nearly going to start so shall we get into position? Follow me.

It's great news that the miniature chest has come along to auction today.

I only hope the bidders are prepared to pay more than a miniature price when it comes under the hammer.

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

and possibly other charges will be added to your bill,

so always check with your local auction house for details.

We take our places in time for our first lot of the day.

A 1920s pewter jug. We've got here by Taunton and Johnson. I'm guessing it's stamped and marked.

It must be. I didn't realise.

It's always good to have a name.

It's an antique pewter jug by Taunton and Johnson.

£10 for it? £10 for it? £5?

Thank you. I'm bid at £5. At £5. Give me 6?

And 6 there. Thank you. 7.

8?

9. At £8.

I'm bid £8. I'll take 9. The bid's at £8. Take 9. At £8.

At £8. Last chance. It goes at £8.

£8. I'll tell you what,

that's about the price of a cup of coffee in Paris.

-At least you've got that bit covered.

-Absolutely.

£8 is a disappointing result for the pretty little jug

and Penny's going to need

the rest of her lots to have more success if she's going to afford those Eurostar tickets.

Hopefully our next lot will get the bidders' pulses racing.

OK, now, our next lot is the Beswick horse.

This Beswick range of animals seems to do so well, Paul.

Yeah, they can do. I was explaining, it depends on colour variations, even pose.

It says here in the catalogue, it says, "facing right." That's right, isn't it?

-That's right.

-Yeah. Maybe if you've got one facing left,

it's a lot rarer. Who knows?

You need to really know your Beswick and your animals, really.

158. The Beswick porcelain figure of a horse standing. £30?

£30? £20. I'm bid at £20. At 20.

22, the Beswick. 22.

Thank you. 22. 25? 25.

28. 30.

30. 32? Slow bidding at £30. At £30. That's the bid at £30.

Sold at £30. Last chance and gone.

£30 then. £30 buyer...

-Oh, phew!

-If it was facing left, who knows?

Now you tell us!

£30 is a good sale. Bang on estimate

and the ladies look relieved.

Now, will there be any art collectors in the room today?

It's the pretty desert scene painting up next.

Remember, Paul valued this at £100 to £150.

I'm hoping it's quite easy to sell this today. There are a few camel pictures here.

Ironic, isn't it?

It's like waiting for a bus.

All of a sudden two come along.

I think there are three here today but yours is lovely.

I think it's the daintiest. The most delicate.

-But don't get the hump, will you?

-Oh, God!

£50 for it.

£40 for it?

No bids at £40. I'm going to pass the lot on. £40 for it?

No bids at £40. Over there.

42 over there? 45? 48. 50.

5. 60. 5. 60 bid.

At £60, say no? £60. Are we done?

At £60. Last chance. £60 and gone.

At £60, 303. Thank you.

£60 - a bit less than you wanted.

-That's a shame.

-£60 is under estimate and Penny seems disappointed.

Maybe the pretty sewing table will get a bit more interest.

138 - the oak circular sewing table.

1920s, 1930s. Start me £20.

£20 for it? £10 for it?

Please. No bid at £10 for it?

No-one? £10.

12?

11. 11.

12.

12. 13. At £12 then.

The bid's at £12.

£12 and gone for 12.

Ooh, £12. That's really not a lot of money, is it?

How do you feel about that?

It isn't a lot of money, especially when it's real oak and it's craftsmanship,

not like the furniture you can buy today, which is thrown together.

Oh, well, I mean, that's it. Some you win, some you lose.

Penny is putting a brave face on it

but £12 is less than half of Paul's original estimate.

The bidders are certainly driving a hard bargain today.

Will the furniture bidders be any more generous on our next lot?

It took a time for you to decide to make your mind up and bring the chest.

Now it's about to go under the hammer, how do you feel?

Fine. Absolutely fine. Once I make up my mind, I'm OK.

Best way to be. Have you made up your mind on the estimate?

Well, yes, you know me.

£100 seems about right.

It's amazing once an item has left the house how you... You never think about them again.

A figured walnut chest of two short and three long drawers.

120A, figured walnut miniature chest.

Start me at £100 for it? £80. It's worth more. A bid at £80.

85? At £80. Back at £80.

85? 85. 90. Five. 100.

-Come on.

-120. £110. £110.

Take 120. Done at 110.

£110, so just over what we wanted.

So close. So close to what he estimated.

Well, it sometimes happens!

A good result at last.

I think you're in the ladies' good books now, Paul.

Let's hope it stays that way as our next lot comes under the hammer.

Our next lot is a pair of silver-plated candlesticks,

which doesn't sound too exciting till I say the words Mappin & Webb.

Very posh. Have you used these?

I have. Covered in wax, they are. I should get extra for that.

110A now. Pair of Mappin & Webb silver-plated candlesticks.

Lot 110A. Of rococo form.

What are these worth? £50?

£30? A bid of £30. £30. 32. 35.

38. 40. 42.

45. 48. 50. Five. 60. Five?

60 bid and I'll take five. At £60. Five. 65, new bidder. 70?

Says no. In the doorway at £65.

I'm selling at £65. All done at 65?

You've got them.

-Obviously the candle wax made a big difference.

-It did make a difference.

Added another £15 to the top end of the estimate. Very impressive.

The candlesticks certainly did us proud and it's smiles all round.

After a somewhat slow start, I tot up the amount we've reached so far.

Half-time, and so far I'm pleased to tell you, you've made £285.

-I haven't been adding it up. I hadn't realised.

-It's good though.

-Very good.

-We've got some more lots to sell.

I'm hoping we'll make that £400 target. But time for a break.

-I know you've spotted something.

-I have, yes.

-Show us what it is.

The ladies may well be having a well-earned cuppa, but, for once,

Paul is resisting the call of the kettle and shows me those other Eastern-themed paintings.

Do you remember our painting of the desert?

-Oh, yes.

-There are another two here.

This subject in the late 19th century was very popular.

You'll find these Arabic pictures all over the place.

But they can vary in quality. This one is in at £200-£300.

It's a well-known artist. Something a bit different about that one.

This one's as little as £50. I think there's something for everybody here.

It just goes to show they did lots of these types of pictures.

If you want camel pictures, Arabic scenes,

this is the place to come to.

Was it because exploration and travel was just opening up that these were so popular?

Exactly. People were doing the Grand Tour.

They would go through North Africa on their way to the Pyramids

and see all the Bedouin tribes and these wonderful areas.

People would capture different views. They would do sketches.

There were lots of these paintings around.

I'd rather look at a camel than I would ride one. Have you ever tried that?

Yes. It's all a rumour.

The second half of the sale is about to start and Penny's next lot comes under the hammer.

It's a silver cigarette box which Paul valued at £25-£45.

350A. Start me at £50?

Start me at £30? A bid at £30.

32? 32. 35. 38. 40. 42. 45.

45. 48. 50. 55. 60.

Five. 70? A bid of £65.

Selling at £65. All done at 65? 65.

He says yes at 65. Gone at 65 then.

-£65.

-There you go. How's that?

That's very good, isn't it?

The ladies seem over the moon with that and it's a fantastic start to the second half of the sale.

Hopefully the brooch will also put a sparkle in the bidders' eyes.

Our next lot is the antique paste brooch.

This is a very impressive piece of Victorian bling if ever I saw it.

It's not diamonds, but it looks like it.

It's big and bold. The thing that's probably gonna distract from it is the fact that it's the initials GEK.

Unless your initials are GEK... Who is that?

-GEK is actually my grandmother, Gladys Eva Kitchen.

-There you go.

338, the paste brooch.

What's it worth? £20 for it?

£10?

No-one likes it. No-one's named GEK today then?

No geeks in? No?

A bid of £10. I'll take 12. £10.

At £10. A bid of £10.

We're gonna sell for £10.

All done at £10? £10.

-Sell it for a tenner.

-£10.

-Oh, well.

-Oh, £10, what a shame, Penny.

That's fine.

£10 is under estimate, but Penny doesn't seem too disappointed.

Let's hope the next lot gets us back on track for those Eurostar tickets.

Our next lot is a collection of items.

It's the tortoiseshell card case, inset with a silver stork,

which apparently is a fertility sign, but we won't go there...

A crocodile-skin silver vesta and various matchboxes,

which are amazing, because they've all got those little things inside.

£80-£120. I think that's quite a good little lot for that.

I'm staggered that that's the price you've put on them.

The tortoiseshell case, the workmanship on that is fantastic.

It's silver, isn't it? And those little souvenirs.

They're amazing. Would you want to make those?

-No.

-Exactly.

Let's see what we get.

Lot 370A, matchboxes, crocodile-skin silver vesta.

You've got the vesta, the tortoiseshell card case.

-Starting at £50, please? £50 for the lot?

-50, we're in straight away.

-50, excellent.

-70. Five. 80.

Five. 90. Five.

100. 110. 120. 130?

120 is bid.

Take 130. It's in the corner right over there at 120. 130 for it?

120. Are we done? Are you bidding? 130.

140.

150. 160.

150's bid. At 150, last chance. It sells. 150.

-Wow!

-£150!

That's pretty impressive too, isn't it?

Amazing.

The workmanship on that little tortoiseshell case, the silver inlay...

-They could chuck the rest out and sell...

-Well, no, the little views of London were particularly nice.

When you said that on the day, we thought, "No."

Oh, ye of little faith!

Why do you think we bring him along?

It's not just for pretty decoration.

I think Paul's got two fans after that successful sale.

Let's hope his eye for antiques does us proud on the next lot too.

Our next lot is that fantastic christening set.

I think it's absolutely divine, but it's also quite unusual, because it's got that really

intense engraving on it, which you don't tend to see on these sets.

-Yeah, there was something very exotic about the engraving. That's a plus side.

-And the case was nice.

But there is a little bit of damage on the knife, on the knife handle.

That looks like it could be quite hard to repair.

Not if you go to a top expert, but that's gonna cost money.

-Yes, but the end result will be fantastic.

-What do we want for this?

Looking for about £40 upwards.

Number 368. Our cased, hallmarked, silver christening set.

A lot for the money here. Start me at £40?

A bid of £40. 42?

45. 48. 50 there.

55. 60?

That's £55. Bid there at £55.

60 there. 65. 70. Five.

80? £75. 80 there. 85. 90. Five.

100. £100, thank you. 110.

It's against you at 110. 120.

120. 130. 140?

130 is bid.

140. 150?

160? 150 is bid.

160. 170?

160's bid now.

-£160. All done at 160? Selling then to the bidder at 160. Going.

-Wow!

Don't know quite what to say about that.

Although, I have to say, I've bought these christening sets

in the past and to get a set with the four items is quite unusual.

You see the knife, fork and spoon or you see the mugs.

You very rarely see the whole thing in its original presentation case

that's obviously been made just for those items.

Easy to build it up after the event, but £160.

-Fantastic.

-That is really good.

-Amazing, isn't it? Lovely!

-Yeah.

Selling for over four times its lowest estimate,

the silver christening set wins a gold medal in today's sale so far.

Penny spotted the winning bidder.

I could see an elderly lady was really interested in it.

She just kept bidding and bidding and bidding.

She was determined to have it.

She really was. Well, I thought, "Just keep going, just keep going."

So, yeah, that was great.

The ladies are really getting into the auction spirit now. The trip to Paris is seeming more of a reality.

Will our final lot secure a victory today?

It's the collection of medals which Paul estimated at £100-£150.

Five campaign medals and ribbons from the First and Second World War.

Start me at £100? £100 for the lot?

£100, the medals. Bid of £100. 110.

110. 120 there. 130. I see your bid. I'll come back to you. 130 there.

140. 150. 160. 170.

180? 170 over there. You want to come back in?

180 over there. 190. 200. 210.

220. 230.

240. 250. 260.

270. 280. 290. 300.

And ten? £300. I'll take ten. Who else wants to bid at £300?

You've got them so far, sir. £300, are we done? £300. Gone.

£300! That is excellent.

Three times what we were looking for.

There were three bidders fighting it out there.

That's good news, isn't it?

Three seems to be our lucky number in that lot.

We can hardly believe our luck.

It's time to tot up our final total.

You wanted £400 so that you could take your daughter to Paris.

You must realise we've done a little bit better than that.

My mental arithmetic is not very good, but even I can see that.

How about £970?

No!

-You're joking?

-I'm not joking.

That's what it all tots up to.

-Penny!

-Honesty, I did not think...

-I thought maybe 600.

-Isn't that amazing?

Incredible. Just incredible. I can go to Paris several times now!

That is amazing.

It's been a few weeks since Penny raised a whopping £970 at auction.

The time has come to treat 22-year-old daughter Anna

to a celebratory weekend in Paris now that she's finished her exams.

Having made up our minds that this was what we would do with the money,

it's just great.

We can even afford to do some shopping now.

Not just to get there, but to do some shopping as well. It'll be wonderful.

Penny has been especially looking forward to the Eurostar, which whisks them

across the Channel to their long-awaited reunion

with Anna's exchange student friend Jessica and her mum.

First, they take a boat down the Seine, a chance to catch up and see the Eiffel Tower.

Then, in the afternoon, they visit Montmartre in the north of the city and take in the amazing views.

-OK.

-Is the Parc Citroen there?

And after a few diversions into the shops,

it's time for them to put their feet up

and enjoy a bit of that renowned French cuisine.

As long as they can decipher the menu of course.

THEY CHUCKLE

No!

I had a great, great, great weekend in Paris. Great fun.

It's all because I did Cash In The Attic. It's wonderful.

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