Wilding Cash in the Attic

Welcome to Cash In The Attic,

the show that finds hidden treasures around your home and then helps you sell them at auction.

Today I'm at Willsborough in Kent and this is a fantastic working windmill.

It's what's known as a white smock mill. It dates back to 1869.

The mill once produced enough power to turn four sets of millstones.

But, in the late 1930s, as electric power became cheaper,

it could no longer compete.

So, in the 1950s, it was closed and became a home.

The outside deteriorated, but the mill was eventually bought by Ashford Council and restored.

So, this old girl's a bit of an antique - the windmill, not me!

Let's see if we can find some more antiques as we go in search of treasures to go under the hammer.

Coming up on today's Cash In The Attic - there's music in the air.

Well, sort of!

I can get absolutely nothing!

And John dons his dancing shoes.

-Shall we?

-Come on then.

When we get to auction, will it be cheers all round?

Find out when the final hammer falls.

I'm about to meet a family who are putting their faith

in the Cash In The Attic team

to help them raise money for a special

and very active family day out.

This cosy semi in Ashford is home to Rosemary Wilding

who is an active fund-raiser for charity and a church group leader.

Rosemary brought up her four children in this family home,

and although the kids have long since flown the nest,

the bedrooms are still overflowing with their old possessions.

So she's decided it's time for a clearout

and has roped in daughter Selina and son David to help out.

If they can be torn away from the board game that is!

-Did I keep you waiting? Sorry.

-Where have you been?

I've been at a most beautiful windmill and it's in working order.

Absolutely fabulous. I couldn't tear myself away.

-You get the best jobs!

-What have you been up to?

I know that our family have a great collection of toys today that we can send to auction.

-Toys? Boys' toys. You'll like that.

-I'm in my element.

I couldn't help notice as I came in, it says, "There is hope!"

Well, if they're in mint condition and they're all boxed, there's every hope.

-Let's go find out.

-Hello?

Well, good morning!

I heard you guys were keen on toys and games

but this is ridiculous at this time of the morning!

-Now, you're Rosemary.

-I am indeed, yes.

-And you are?

-Dave.

-And...?

-I'm Selina.

-Now you're all fans of the programme, obviously,

but who made the call? Who put the e-mail in?

-I did.

-Did you?

-Yes. I knew mum's got lots of knick-knacks everywhere.

We're going to declutter your house and obviously you've got some kind of project in mind.

Have you been talking about it as a family?

Water skiing with all the children. That should be great fun.

So, it's wetsuit for you, is it?

-No!

-No?

-I've tried it before and I couldn't even stand up.

So, some of your children, lots of grandchildren, big family outing.

-How much money?

-Probably about 300 quid will probably be about right.

OK, well, we've got a big day ahead of us rummaging.

Before we get started, I will tell you who did it and where!

The Wildings are obviously very close

and what a great idea to spend a day on the water.

One man who's never afraid to dive right in is our expert, John Cameron.

He's a big kid at heart, you know!

-Ah, hello girls.

-You've been looking at their toys.

I told you, he loves toys.

I am absolutely in my element here.

-I bet you are.

-I feel like I've come to a virtual time warp.

I'm back in time to when I was about ten years old.

-Great.

-Absolutely fabulous.

-What have you got there?

We've got a boxed set, a Corgi set,

the emergency set that would have come out in about the early 1980s.

Now, Corgi first launched their range in about 1956.

Based in Swansea, they were in direct competition to Meccano's Dinky Toys.

We've got the little signs there, the stretcher, with the casualty on there.

It's mint condition, boxed, ready to go to auction.

So how much do you think this might be worth?

-I would be tempted to put an estimate of about £40 to £60 on this.

-Really?

Good start. Much more to do, though. Let's find some more things.

Time to put the toys away, John!

Our £300 target certainly isn't child's play,

and with £40 in the pot, we've a long way to go yet.

Upstairs, David, our one-time toy collector, spots this boxed clarinet

which is music to John's ears valued at £30 to £50.

And there's definitely a theme developing here,

as I make a top brass find in the bedroom.

Aha! I found something rather nice here, I think.

Not that I know much about...

-is it a trombone?

-It's a trumpet.

That's how much I know!

Did I just do that right?

No, I don't think I did! I thought I was quite musical.

Are you musical?

-No.

-Is it yours?

-Yes, it is mine.

Do you play? Neither do I.

Never tried before, but no time like the present.

I'm going to get lipstick everywhere.

SILENCE

Oh, my God! I can't!

John! John! I've got a trumpet!

-Sounds like somebody's having a lot of fun.

-You can blow that.

There you go. What do you think of that?

-Do you want me to give it a go?

-I want you to give us a tune.

Let's see what I can do.

SQUEAK

-There you are.

-Oh, well done.

-An old wind bag, what do you know.

-How did you do that?

Well, it's these lungs I've got. It's an interesting item.

The first thing that strikes me is the condition. A bit battered.

It's been well used, shall we say.

-You can see that these valve keys are sticking here. They need to spring up.

-It says...

Majestic. Majestic up on the bell. There's the maker there.

I noticed here we've got a Rudi Muck mouthpiece, the rim mouthpiece.

Very famous. They don't turn up terribly often.

think we ought to be looking at about £40 to £60 as a starting point, don't you?

Better than just sitting in the loft.

-All right, let's box it up and take it to that auction.

-Excellent.

£40 is another great addition to the kitty.

We're searching every nook and cranny.

Rosemary is tackling the garage where she finds this Matchbox racing car set

which will zoom off to auction with a price tag of £30 to £40.

Upstairs, John's on to another winner with these Smurf figurines.

Smurfs first appeared in a Belgian comic strip in 1958

and they could bring us anything between £50 and £100.

We're making good headway towards that £300 target

for the family day out water skiing.

So, while the others carrying on rummaging,

I take a stroll with our green-fingered lady.

-She's been living here for 35 years, but she's not the only one. Who is this?

-This is Suzy.

-Can I pick her up?

-Yes.

Hello, Suzy. Hello, Suzy.

Oh, my goodness. Aren't you lovely?

It's funny how you want to stroke tortoises.

It's ridiculous because they can't feel, I don't think!

Isn't she lovely. I had one when I was a little girl.

You've lived here all those years

and for quite a lot of it, actually, you were on your own because had you a divorce.

Yes, unfortunately,

but God took care of us and we got this lovely house.

I just wanted to get away from town.

I wanted to be in the country because as a young child I used to go to my gran's,

and she lived in the country, so it was my haven.

You mentioned God there

and I know that your faith is very important to you.

Tell me how strong is it and how has it helped you?

The Lord revealed himself to me.

I saw him standing with his arms wide open.

You know, very big, and I just ran into his arms and from then,

I was completely healed because when our marriage broke up, I had a breakdown.

But, God healed me and from that moment I never took any more medication.

Have your children and your grandchildren got the same sort of faith?

Yes, they do. Yes.

-Because you obviously have a big, happy family and all coming and going.

-Oh, yes, we're very close.

I'm not quite sure I'd make my family go water skiing.

Are you sure about this?

I think they're going to enjoy it!

-I think you should stay in the speedboat myself. I

-will.

I think I'll stay in the speedboat.

Well, I do hope you all have a wonderful day out,

but it's not going to happen unless we make that money.

Come on, lead me back in, and we'll get on with some more rummaging.

While we've been having a chin wag,

Rosemary's son David has dug out a collection I know John will love.

-John?

-David, wow.

-Found this.

It is a virtual Aladdin's Cave of Action Man stuff.

What are your memories of this?

I sort of vaguely remember playing with it, setting all the towers up

and having my little war in my bedroom, of course.

If we have a look at this one here who is in his original box,

we can just see how well you've looked after things.

On the top of the box we can see there

the National Toy Association's Award,

the golden award, proved just how popular Action Man was.

We've got the field commander and field radio set here.

That doesn't surprise me knowing you, David,

that here we have the instructions, everything's there, all the stickers are still on.

I'm absolutely amazed and there he is.

Look, he was the last version they launched that has the gripping hands

and if we have a look there, the eagle eyes and they still work.

Fantastic. Any idea what these might be worth?

Haven't got a clue. No idea at all.

I would see this lot quite easily making £150 to £200.

Would that be tempting enough?

-Oh, yes.

-Sure?

-Oh, yes.

-You're not going to have second thoughts and suddenly you want to start getting it out again?

-No, no.

David's toys are proving a gold mine today,

with the Action Men adding £150 to our kitty.

And I'm hoping I could be on to a good thing with this Praktica camera.

It's about 20 years old but still has its original box

and John values it at £20 to £30.

Our expert seems to have snuck outside into the sunshine,

but Selina hotfoots it after him with another find.

-Hi, Selina.

-Hi, I brought this along today to see what it might be worth.

Oh, right, is this one of your things?

Yes, it was one of my dad's, what he left behind when he passed away.

-He's like a novelty.

-He's quite nice, yes.

In the 18th and 19th century, and even earlier, they became part of a man's wardrobe,

almost a fashion statement.

But they were also very useful.

Not least for getting down out of carriages.

But what's great is that novelty top on it.

So, I'm going to put my neck on the line.

-I'm going to put what I think is a punchy estimate on him.

-Right.

-I reckon we could put an estimate of about £80 to £120.

-Oh, wow.

-That's amazing. After sitting in the corner doing nothing.

-That's great.

You seem really determined to get Mum up on those water skis, don't you?

So, shall we go and find Mum?

-Certainly will.

-It'll just leave me to... Shall we.

-Come on, then.

-A true gent at heart.

Well, Selina certainly seems impressed and with another £80 in our coffers, so am I.

Rosemary unearths one last toy to add to our haul today, a boxed electric train.

John reckons it could bring us £40 to £80 at the auction.

We're nearly at the end of our day's rummaging,

but the dining room has one last surprise for us.

Well, I can't find anything down there, guys. What have you got?

I've got a rather interesting piece of art pottery here

and I think, Rosemary, you've got the other one there. Let's have a look.

So, Rosemary, where did they come from?

They came from an employer that I used to work for who was a retired antique dealer.

They're loosely styled Palissyware, which was a name given to them after Bernard Palissy,

a 15th century French potter, who was noted for his models of naturalistic birds,

insects, butterflies, lizards, and that sort of thing. They turn up at auction quite popular.

So these are mostly definitely 19th century and on the bottom

we can see an impressed mark which is a bit obscured by the glaze,

but I know that's Caldas Terrano, it's a Portuguese factory

and that factory started about 1858 which ties in perfectly with the emergence of majolica in Europe.

-Wow.

-This one has damage around this little crenulated rim here

which is beautifully naturalistically modelled with these leaves up here.

I think taking condition and market conditions into consideration,

I think we ought to be looking at about 80 to 120 for the pair,

though I wouldn't be surprised if they did make more than that.

I never realised they would be as much as that. So, I'll think about it!

Well, take a bit of time. You've got a couple of weeks until the auction

and she can tell us on auction day whether or not you're going to bring them along.

Meantime, I'm going to ask the rest of our helpers, come on, Selina.

David! We've been having a look at these lovely pieces.

-Do you remember using them at all?

-No. I just remember seeing them in the cupboard.

-In the cupboard.

-Do you like them?

-They're all right!

Your mum's will think about whether they should come to the auction

as she's quite attached to them.

That actually brings to us the end of our day's rummaging. Have you enjoyed yourself?

Yes, I have, thoroughly.

Good. Well, I'm going to tell you that we hope, based on John's estimates,

that you're looking for your £300 for this wild day of water skiing, yes?

So, without these, we hope that you'll make not just the 300

-but in fact £480!

-That's good.

What do you think about that?

-It's excellent.

-That means you're in your wetsuit and you're up there!

We've had a really fun day with Rosemary, Selina, and David

and our ruthless rummaging has resulted in a fantastic haul of items for auction.

We've got the unusual walking stick

which John valued at a very handy £80 to £120.

And the pristine collection of Action Man figures

with a whopping estimate of £150 to £200.

But we'll have to wait until auction

to see whether Rosemary can part with her majolica candlesticks

which John hopes could make us £80 to £120.

Still to come on Cash In The Attic - there's good news...

Somebody's answering your prayers!

...and bad news.

That wasn't terribly good at all, was it? Half my bottom estimate. £20.

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

Well, it's two weeks now since we were with Rosemary

and, today, we brought all those well-preserved toys and her other antiques

and collectibles here to Chiswick Auction Rooms in West London.

Now she's not asking for much, just £300

so she can treat her grandchildren to an energetic day water skiing.

So, let's hope we can have some energetic bidders here today when our items go under the hammer.

The auction house is already awash with curious bidders all eyeing up the lots.

And the child at heart in John has sought out David's toy collection.

I knew you'd find the toys again!

I was just about stage a commando raid there, Jenny.

You interrupted me, I was prepping the emergency services!

People must have cupboards full of toys like this

and they must wonder, is it worth selling them? Is it?

They do have lots of them hanging around, but seldom do you see a good collection like this

in very good condition, all the accessories and most importantly,

the original packaging. That's very important.

So what about those flamingos?

I loved those, but Rosemary wasn't too sure, if she'd bring them?

Rosemary was a bit attached to those. They had a bit of history to her past

and her employment in an antique shop.

That's right, let's see if she's decided to bring them along.

Come on. As the bidders start to take their seats,

we spot our family saying goodbye to one of their collectibles.

And it looks as if the flamingo candlesticks have flown the nest after all.

Rosemary! You brought them!

-Yes!

-I thought, they would, didn't you, John.

I thought you were going to have second thoughts because you did seem rather attached to them.

-Well, I was, but these two let them go.

-How about you, David?

Did you have any second thoughts about your toy collection?

-No, no, no.

-Are you sure?

-Yes. Get rid of it.

Did you have one last staged battle or commando raid?

No, no, no I went back to Lewis and that was it. Left them there.

I think you're sure of one buyer cos he's been ogling them again this morning!

He really has! How are you feeling about the sale?

Fine. Lovely, yes. We're looking forward to it.

-You are?

-Yes.

-This is fantastic.

Confidence! All right, I think it's about to get started, actually.

Let's go and find a good position.

If you're planning on heading to your local auction

be aware that commission and other possible charges will apply,

so be sure to check the details with the saleroom first.

As the room fills up, we take our places for the first lot of the day - the old trumpet.

We're hoping it will reach its price tag of £40.

I had such fun with your trumpet.

I loved it, I really did.

-I couldn't get a note out of it, as you'll remember.

-John did.

-I know, I know.

-Full of hot air!

Hot air that says it's going to be worth £40?

£40 to £60. It does have that Muck mouthpiece in there, do you remember, which is quite nice.

I'm hoping somebody spotted it.

-Yes, £40 to £60.

-OK, see how we go.

Is it worth £20? £20 for a trumpet.

Anybody want the lot for 20. Maiden bid of £20. £20 it s maiden bid.

It's going to be sold for £20.

Maiden bid then. £20 it's going for.

-Oh, that's not good!

-That wasn't terribly good at all.

Half my bottom estimate. £20.

How do you feel about that, Rosemary?

Now, don't tell me, you couldn't blow it, could you!

Well, it's enough to whet our appetite,

but we have a long way to go to reach that target of £300.

Let's hope our next lot, the Matchbox racing car,

brings in its estimate of £30 to £40.

Is it worth £20? £10 to go.

10, 12, 14. £14 for that lot at £14.

£14...

£14, need a bit more than that.

£14. Not sold.

-Ah.

-Not sold at £14.

I thought that was a rather cheap lot if it would have been sold.

Well, that's a disappointment.

The Matchbox car is a non-starter and goes home with David.

Next under the hammer is the boxed clarinet valued at £30 to £50.

Hopefully, someone in this crowd is a musician.

30 for the lot? 20 for the lot. 20, 22, 24...

-Come on, he's not pushing it up very much, is he?

-£26 for the lot.

Anybody want this lot at 26? 28, 30.

£30. At £30, with me at 30, then?

-Not sold.

-He's left it unsold.

So you still have your clarinet.

-Yeah.

-So, despite John's valuation,

the auctioneer thinks the clarinet is worth more,

and refuses to sell it for just £30.

That's not helping our water skiing fund.

Maybe our next item will get pulses racing?

It's the good-as-new Corgi Emergency Set

which John's priced at £40 to £60.

I think that's a cheap price for a good set.

Is it worth £20? 22, 24, 26?

£26 for that bit of Corgi for £26.

At £26. 26 at £26. 28 anywhere?

26... Not sold I'm afraid.

You didn't put reserves on any of these items, did you?

No. The toys are going home.

£26. It looks like they're going back to the room, David!

Oh, no, another unsold

and with just £20 towards the family day out so far,

things are looking decidedly dodgy.

Will the bidders be any more generous with our next lot?

It's the Praktica camera valued at £20 to £30.

£10 for the camera? 10, 12, 14.

£14, surely for the camera. At £14.

£14 anybody? 16 anywhere?

16, 18, 20, 22? £22.

Someone's answering your prayers!

22...

Very good. £22.

Finally, some good news.

The camera goes for £2 over its estimate and it's smiles all round.

Next up is the novelty walking stick.

We're looking for at least £80.

Has our luck changed at last?

I did stick my neck on the line on this and put £80 to £100 on it.

A bit overambitious, do you think?

I don't know, I might be getting the cane after from Rosemary after I think, possibly!

Hopefully not. Hopefully, I'll be giving you a big hug.

That I'd I much prefer.

Worth £50, 50, 5...

60? £60 for the man in a hat.

That's £60, and 5 anybody? £60.

And 5 anywhere. £60. £60?

Not sold, I'm afraid.

Oh, no!

Now, that's a real surprise.

We had such high hopes for the walking stick.

We're over halfway through the auction

and a far cry from our target of £300.

The family's hopes of a day out water skiing look in serious danger of being dashed

and when our next lot, the electric train fails to raise any interest in the room...

-Not sold.

-..it's more disappointment all round.

This auction business is proving a bit trickier than they had expected.

There's obviously a lack of toy collectors in the room

which doesn't bode well for David's huge collection of Action Man figures.

Unsold, I'm afraid.

Sadly, they join the growing list of items heading back home.

We're all beginning to feel a bit deflated

and don't hold out too much hope for our next lot -

the collection of Smurfs.

Is it worth £20 for this toy at £20?

20 I'm bid. At £20 a maiden bid of 20.

At £20 it's a maiden bid. 22, 24, 26,

28, 30, 32, 34,

36, 38, 40...

At £40 then to my left at £40.

-45, 50... £50.

-That's a lot.

For the Smurf at £50. At £50 it's going then for £50.

At £50, here we go.

We've sold something.

You sold the Smurfs!

Now, don't you start telling me you want one now! You can't have them!

That's good news.

-Yes, it's something.

-She doesn't know what to do with herself, she's sold something.

Well, who would have thought it?

The men in blue come in on estimate bringing in a much-needed £50.

At last, smiles all round,

but with only one item left to go under the hammer,

will we reach our £300 target?

We're hoping our last item will come to our aid.

Start me for £50 for the candlesticks. 50 I'm bid.

55, 60, 65, 70,

75, 80, You're 85?

90. 95, 100, 110,

120, 130, 140, 150...

150 nearer to me at £150.

160 there. 160, 170, 180, 190,

200, 210, 220, 230,

230 with my original bidder at £230. At £230.

230, they're going for 230. Any more? 240.

You've got them for £240, it looks like. £240 it is, then.

CHEERING

What a relief.

At last! £240 is three times John's lower estimate.

What a rollercoaster ride.

So, was it all worth it?

Well, that's it. I'm very glad to see you've retained your sense of humour!

Which was quite important through a large part of this auction!

I know, just nobody wanted the toys, did they?

But you only wanted £300 for your day out water skiing with the grandchildren.

It's all you want, not a lot to ask and I have to tell you, you are going to have...

-..£332!

-Oh, excellent!

You will be able to have a good day out, won't you?

You now don't have to get in the wetsuit

and start water skiing because you haven't got enough money!

There's always a bright side! Well done, thanks everyone.

John can't come, either, because he likes water skiing.

I don't want to see John in a wetsuit!

It ain't pretty!

Two weeks later, and Rosemary's set to splash the £332 she raised at auction

on a wet and wild family day out.

-These are all your grandchildren?

-Yes, they are.

-You've been really busy, haven't you!

-Some of us have!

Right, OK, let's go and get some wetsuits

and go out on the water and have some fun.

-Slowly roll forward.

-Time to learn the basics before hitting the lake

and putting theory into practice.

I want you to have your chest up, arms straight, bend the knees.

OK, and push that bum in.

Squeeze those bum cheeks together.

This is the life! Bye, guys.

Rosemary's got the right idea, but there's no stopping the grandchildren. Whoops!

It's not long until they're up on their skis

and the whole family are enjoying every minute of their day out on the water.

For me to get the whole family together for a day out

and to do something that everyone's thoroughly enjoyed,

has been absolutely brilliant,

and I thank the Lord that he's made it possible.

Well, that looked like fun.

If you'd like to raise money for something special or just a bit of fun,

and you think you might have some antiques or collectibles hidden around your home,

then why not apply to come on the show?

All you've got to do is fill out the form on our website - bbc.co.uk.

Good luck, and maybe see you next time on Cash In The Attic.

For more information about Cash In The Attic, including how the programme was made,

visit the website at bbc.co.uk/lifestyle.

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