Gibson-Clark Cash in the Attic

Welcome to the programme that searches for treasures in your home then sells them at auction.

Now, today, I am right on the south coast in Brighton.

You might expect me to be, I don't know, on the beach having a paddle, or walking along that famous pier.

But wrong. Because I have come further into the town to have a look

at this absolutely magnificent building, the Brighton Pavilion.

Amazingly, in the 1750s, this was simply a humble farmhouse.

But over the next 35 years, the building was extended massively.

First into a neo-classical, and then later an extravagant

Indian-style pavilion with a lavish Chinese-inspired interior.

Over the years, it fell into disrepair.

But restoration began in 1982 and still continues today.

Let's hope we uncover some equally lavish antiques and collectibles

when we search for all those treasures to take them to auction.

Coming up on Cash In The Attic, Paul gives a surprise valuation on one item.

£300, how does that sound?

Wow, I wasn't expecting that. I just wasn't expecting that at all.

And when it comes to searching for those valuables, I get really stuck in.

LAUGHTER

She's got stuck!

'There is some real excitement at the auction.'

-Yes!

-'But not all the lots take the bidders' fancy.'

Nobody in this room has taste.

'Will we make our important final target?

'Find out when the hammer falls.'

Now, today's Cash In The Attic is a really special one,

because I've now come to Hove, which is right beside Brighton,

and I'm about to meet a truly inspirational lady.

She has been through a lot in the last couple of years, because her son went missing in Cambodia,

and she wants to raise the money today to continue that vital search.

This traditional semi-detached house in Hove is home to Jo Gibson-Clark and her family.

Jo has spent the last four years desperately trying to find out

what happened to her son Eddie, who was last seen in October 2005.

Now, in order to finance the ongoing search in the Far East,

Jo fundraises however she can, and today she and her stepson Matt

are going to dig out some of their collectibles

and see if they can boost funds for another crucial trip.

-Hi, Paul.

-Hello. How are you?

I do take you to the most wonderful locations.

Brighton does rock, doesn't it? What a fantastic place. I love it.

I have had the most wonderful start to the day, because I went down to the Brighton Pavilion.

What fabulous things inside, never mind the building. Lavish things.

Yeah, they certainly are. If we could find anything like that, we'd be on a winner, wouldn't we?

Aha! You are on the tea already, are you?

-Jo, how nice to see you.

-Hello.

-And this presumably is Tara, your very good friend.

-This is Tara, yes.

How long have you two known each other?

-Ooh, well, since we were 18.

-Not that long, really!

-No!

Tara, I understand that you actually are Eddie's godparent.

Yes. I have been there right from the start, really, haven't I?

Because we were, actually, I was staying with you

-at the time Eddie was born.

-Yes.

-So I have been there all his life.

-So that we understand, what happened?

-Eddie had been travelling for nine months on a gap year

with eight of his school friends in Australia and the Far East.

And then he came back to England and went to Leeds University.

I think it was about three or four weeks after he entered into Leeds, he decided it wasn't for him,

and took himself back to the Far East.

And how much contact did you have with him when he went back

to Cambodia, when he left university and went on the spur of the moment?

I just had two e-mails from him, and, um...

the first one telling me why he had gone to the Far East,

and why he had left university, and telling me that he...

he had booked his return ticket on the 1st of November and he would be coming home.

But then he didn't come home?

Well, we waited for the fight to come in, which it did,

and, unfortunately, Eddie wasn't on the flight.

And that's when I just knew something wasn't right then.

Why would Eddie say to me twice, I am coming home, and then he didn't come home?

How many years ago are we talking about?

We are talking about, well, it will be four years in October.

Obviously, I would love to talk to you about that in detail, because...

-I can understand to a point where you're coming from, in terms of having a child missing.

-Yes.

But I really want to talk about raising money for you to go back to continue your search.

How much do you reckon you need to raise?

I think £500, actually, would be a good amount. We need more posters.

We need more publication in the newspapers, etc.

So that would be a good amount.

So, just to recap, you're looking for at least £500.

But if you raise more, that is going to be terrific.

We've got to do that for you today, but you cannot sit there drinking tea any longer.

-I am going to put you both to work.

-OK.

-So we will go and find Paul.

Jo's home is an absolute treasure trove of beautiful things.

And I suspect we will have no trouble collecting interesting items to take to auction.

Antiques expert Paul Hayes is on hand to help, and Matt is digging deep in the dining room dresser.

-How about this one?

-Let's have a look. What have you found, mate?

-Ah, now we're talking.

-Oh!

-This is Jo's uncle, who actually left this to her.

-Wow!

It looks like an ordinary camera, but this was made by one of the best manufacturers, a firm called Leica.

-And is that good?

-Really good. If you were a real camera buff in the 1920s and '30s,

to have a Leica or a Rolleiflex or a Contax were the three main makers.

What was so special about this particular model?

This model, it is the fact that the range finder is on the lens.

What that meant was, with an ordinary 35 mm camera,

it would only keep within a 10ft radius that would be in focus.

Anything outside that would be out of focus.

This enabled you to focus on something that was maybe moving, or further in the distance.

So that is where you get these wonderful, crisp photographs.

-What's it going to be worth?

-This is quite a standard camera, it's 1930s, a good maker.

If I said...

About the 200 mark? 2-300, how does that sound?

-Wow!

-Wow!

-What's your reaction?

-I just wasn't expecting that at all.

-What did you think it might fetch?

-I didn't know. Sort of, £50? But that is amazing.

You might be able to unearth something else, so why don't you take us to a different room?

'Matt's face was a picture at that valuation.

'£2-300 is a really snappy start towards our £500 target.

'Jo has discovered this Victorian leather-bound Bible in the bedroom cupboard.'

And if the gods are smiling on us, Paul thinks

it could fetch between £30 and £50.

We are running rings around this house, and it looks like Tara

has found every girl's best friend - diamonds.

Ah, hello, Tara. How are you?

Fine, Paul. Can I just get your opinion on these rings I have just found upstairs in Jo's drawer?

I have asked her about them, and apparently she inherited them. What do you think?

This one is an old-style engagement ring.

What we call a half eternity, a five-stone ring.

That'll date probably 1920, that sort of time.

The ruby - those are very popular for 40th wedding anniversaries,

-but the combination of rubies and diamonds is always popular.

-Any idea what they might fetch?

Quite a bit. If I said at least £150 upwards, how does that sound?

-Sounds excellent to me.

-Show me where you got them, see if there's anything else.

Well, £150 or more certainly puts a shine on things.

We're leaping towards our £500 target, but there's still a long way to go.

The boys have decided to head outdoors, and a rummage in the garage turns up a really good find.

This painting of a horse is in the frame

to make between £50 and £100.

We're making real headway in our search here, but I want to find out

more about Jo's heart-rending search in Cambodia for her son.

I'd love to know a bit about Ed. What kind of boy was he?

Just a fantastic character, um... Very, very confident,

and loved people, loved adventure, loved excitement.

Hugely affectionate.

Just let's recap a bit on his passion for Asia.

Why do you think he was so interested in Asia?

I think, Eddie being there, meeting the Cambodians, he just...

They touched his heart, really.

He felt that we have everything here and they have nothing,

and yet they were the happiest people that he knew.

Did he have money when he went to Cambodia?

Yes, Ed saved quite a lot of money during the summer-time he'd been working.

He had about £3,000 when he went travelling.

That would have been a fortune in Cambodia.

Well, gosh, when I told the British Embassy he had £3,000, they said,

"Oh, that's enough to live in this country for at least three years."

How much have you been able to plot his course during your visits to Cambodia?

Well, we've managed to more or less track

the whole of his time in Cambodia, with the exception of 1 or 2 days.

And what do you know happened in the last few days?

Eddie spent a lot of time in Phnom Penh with a young Cambodian girl,

and, um...her family,

and, um...whilst he was with this young lady,

her father died and Eddie spent time with her,

and, um, looking after her and also helping towards the father's funeral,

because they're a very, very poor family.

-Do you mean he paid for the funeral?

-He paid for a lot of the funeral.

And how much did he spend on the funeral?

Um, I think it was up to about £1,000, yeah.

And is she the last point of contact that you have?

Yeah, she was the last person that saw Eddie on 24th October,

and she said that Eddie was going back into Thailand to get some more money

and to meet some English people that he knew had arrived from England.

And that's the last anybody ever heard?

That's the last, yeah.

Tell me a little about the campaign in Cambodia itself in order to try and find Ed.

What did you do with your posters and your campaign there?

That's how we managed to track Eddie's steps,

so we knew exactly his whereabouts in Cambodia through the posters.

People came, emailed the website, and gave us some information

which we managed to chase up and check and everything,

right up to 24th October.

We're all praying for you that the news will be good

at one point and then Ed will walk through this door one day.

I think you're amazingly strong.

Keep that strength up.

I think we have to keep up our strength also in looking for

lots of items around your house, so shall we go and find the rest?

I really, really feel for Jo, but the most useful thing we can do

to help her today is find items to raise that much-needed cash.

So these two silver-plated tureen serving dishes worth £40-£80

will be sent to the sale room.

As will this eye-catching glass vase held aloft by a cherub.

We hope it'll fetch £80-£150.

I think Paul had the right idea when he headed to the garage.

He's found one item that could send us galloping towards our target.

It's taken us some time to find you in the garage.

You don't expect to find one of these.

-Most people have a car in the garage, not a horse.

-This is so brilliant, isn't it?

We see lots of these now that are made in the Far East and they're mass-produced.

This one has been hand-done.

Apparently the colouring, was a great favourite of Queen Victoria.

She started the fashion for these rocking horses to be made in this colour.

-Bet you didn't know that?

-I didn't!

The whole mechanism of it is lovely.

It rocks nicely. Do you want to get on?

It wouldn't take me. Would it?

-It would.

-Oh, really? OK!

That is actually...

LAUGHTER

Come on, get on with it!

-She's got stuck!

-Listen...

-I'm not going anywhere near that.

No, no, no!

Listen, don't you make any more suggestions!

Joking apart, this is a safety mechanism.

It's called a trestle mechanism. The half-moon mechanism was very dangerous. Kids used to topple off.

But this one allows you to go at a certain speed and at a certain angle, so it's quite safe.

I want to see you getting on it, Jo.

-OK.

-You get on. You're used to it.

Good girl.

So how much, Paul? That's the thing.

At least £200 upwards just to give it a chance.

It'll be one of our "mane" items.

-Oh, right, yes.

-Oh, he's been waiting to get that one in.

Mane item. Mane attraction...

We're racing towards our finishing line,

and to top up the totals, we've also found this silver cutlery set,

worth £40-£80,

and a silver tray which could serve us very well

if it reaches its £20-£30 estimate.

Jo and I are having one last look for collectibles back in the house,

and something has caught my eye.

Jo... Look what I've found.

I would never dream of looking at your lovely rings, but look at this chain.

Is that something that possibly could go into the auction?

That's what I was looking for. I've had that a long time and I never wear it.

Well, it looks good to me, so I think I'm going to call Paul in.

-Paul, anywhere around?

-Hello. Ah.

I think I've found a really good thing to take to auction, which Jo says we can do.

Very nice. Right. I suspect it's been a guard chain at some point.

Those were huge, huge chains.

They'd go two or three times round a lady's neck, and it would hold your pocket watch

or your chatelaine.

Do you know what carat it is?

Um, I've got a feeling it's 18.

-He likes his eye glass.

-I know, yes, I need that.

-If it's 18, it'll be great.

-Maybe...

-Well, you can tell me.

-Let's have a look.

This is nine carat.

It says there 375, which is the modern stamp for 9 carat.

-So how much do you reckon, Paul?

-I think maybe £200 mark. Maybe £300.

-Good grief!

-You're doing well on your items.

-That's not bad.

I should get Tara back in because I've been mentally totting up

roughly how much you might make at auction.

-Did you have Tara with you there?

-Yes, Tara!

Come in and join us, yeah.

-How's it going?

-There she is.

-Good, well I am so thrilled to tell you

that, if all goes well, you have raised £1,010.

-There you go.

-£1,010.

-That is a surprise.

-That is amazing.

-What do you think?

-Fantastic!

-Isn't that good?

-Yeah.

Tara, you won't be coming to auction because Matthew's coming that day.

-I just want to thank you very much. Have you enjoyed it?

-Oh, I've had a lovely time, thank you.

And lovely Matthew will be joining us at auction.

-I'll bet you'll look forward to that day.

-Yes.

-And we do too.

-Course.

Well we wanted £500 worth of items and we've exceeded expectations by more than doubling that.

These are some of the items that will help us raise the vital cash.

This childhood favourite,

a dapple grey horse, could rock the sale room at between £200 and £300.

The very grand glass vase

with a silver cherub stand should wing us £80 to £150.

And with an estimate of £200 to £300

we're hoping for a gold rush on the 9 carat gold chain.

Still to come on Cash In The Attic...

One item hits an heavenly price.

I don't believe it, it just kept going up.

While others bring us right back down to Earth.

That's fine. It's not the best but I'm happy with it.

But will we raise enough for our Cambodian campaign?

Find out when the hammer falls.

So it's been a couple of weeks now since we spent the day with Jo Gibson-Clark and her friend, Tara,

at Jo's beautiful home in Brighton searching for antiques

and collectibles to bring here to the Chiswick Auction Rooms in West London.

Now to remind you Jo needs to raise at least £500 towards her ongoing search for her son, Eddie,

who very tragically disappeared in Cambodia four years ago.

They haven't heard a word from him since.

We've been thinking about the family and we're really hoping that the bidders turn out in force

when her items go under the hammer.

It's a popular auction house and it's certainly filling up fast and furiously today

but among the faces, I recognise one hotshot antiques expert

who can put me in the picture on what to expect in today's auction.

Paul, good morning. I should be photographing you, looking terribly smart.

-Are you pleased the camera made it?

-Very pleased, indeed.

This is exactly the thing that you want to sell. It's a nice postable, small item.

It's one of the best makers. I have high hopes for this, at least £200.

I have been thinking so much about this family

because we had that great day with Jo and her friend, Tara, and her stepson, Matt.

Yeah, I think if there ever was an auction that I'd like to succeed

-for a particular family this is the one.

-A real purpose.

-Yeah.

-I think the family are probably here so shall we go and find them?

-Yes.

There's a plethora of lovely antiques here and a good crowd of enthusiasts and dealers as well.

Let's hope they're feeling generous today and prepared to pay top dollar towards our special target.

Matt and Jo are already here, but they're looking a little too attached to one old friend.

-Jo and Matt, good morning.

-Hello.

-How are you? Good to see you.

-Have you been to an auction before?

-This is my first one.

-I see the beautiful horse is here.

-The lovely rocking horse.

I thought you might have had second thoughts about this.

I'm a bit like that, but come on it's got to go.

So you've brought everything else with you, have you?

Oh yes, everything's all here.

So we're hoping that it's all gonna go because I do not want to take anything home at all.

It's too far back to Brighton.

It's too far, that's right.

Matt, it's your first time at an auction and it's about to start.

-Shall we get into our position?

-OK.

-Don't scratch your nose!

Well there's standing room only now and the auction's getting well under way.

If you're interested in selling or buying at auction then always bear in mind

that you will have commission, VAT and other charges to pay.

Our first lot is about to go under the hammer and it's the silver-plated tray.

It has an estimate of £20 to £30 but can it serve up any more?

We have a real trade item here now,

the big gallery tray, the silver-plated tray.

It's a nice example. It's not the most decorative piece but it's almost mint condition.

A bid at £20, £20... Give me 22, that's a bid at 22 there.

Thank you, 25? 28 over there. 28 over there. 30? 32, 35, 38, 40.

At £38, you got 40 there? 40, 42...

-Gosh.

-45, 48...

-It's good.

-50, 52, 55?

-It's a lovely tray.

-55, back in. At £55,

at 55... £55, done?

At 55 your chance has gone. 55, you've got it.

-£55.

-Above estimate.

Yes, above estimate.

Well that's certainly got us off to a promising start.

I wonder if the next item will bring in a price of epic proportions?

£30 bid, 32? All done at £30?

All out at £30. Gone at £30.

Goody, bang on Paul's estimate. That'll do very nicely.

Up now is Jo's silver-plated canteen of cutlery.

Paul's valued it at £40 to £80.

Let's hope the bidders fork out for it.

60, 65?

That's a bid of £60, I'll take five. All done at £60 and gone.

£60, your bid.

£60 is right in the middle

and a very healthy boost for Jo's campaign to find her missing son

but we're still a long way off the £500 target.

I feel sure there's a golden opportunity

to make more money just around the corner.

What's your expectation for it?

It's quite nice, actually.

What the auctioneer's done is worked out the weight value

so he says 42 grammes.

Gold at the moment is having quite a high with £4 or £5 a gramme.

So we're looking at £200 worth of gold in this.

Let's see whether people wake up to that effect.

Say £100 start me.

Thank you, a bid of £100, 110... a bid at 110, thank you.

120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 190...

-Are you still thinking about it?

-Come on.

-One more bid, 190?

£180 bid. Say 190 and we're done. 180, 190 new bidder.

200, 210, 220? At £210.

210, are we all done at 210?

You've got it, 210... 262.

£210, that'll do very nicely, thank you.

The Gibson-Clark family need £500 towards their campaign

to find their son, Eddie, who's gone missing in Cambodia.

We're galloping towards their target

but it's not time to slacken the reins yet.

45, 48, 50, 5...

At £50, 55... are we done at £50. Your chance has gone at 50.

Thank you 282... £50.

So the painting sells bang on estimate.

I wonder if our next item will add a sparkle to the proceedings?

130 I'll take. Are we done at 120? All done?

Selling at 120 and going...

That is so disappointing.

£30 below estimate is not the dazzling result we were expecting

but Jo is keeping things in perspective.

To me, Eddie means a lot more than any of these items

and that's what the money's for so, quite honestly,

I'd be happy for them all to go and for me to get my money

so that I can do something in Cambodia that I need to do.

I couldn't have said it better myself so let's stay positive

and hope our next much cherished item rocks the sale room.

I'm bid £100. £100, do you want 110?

That's no money for £100, I'll take 110. 110, thank you. 120, 130?

140, 150?

160? Say 160, we're done at 150, last chance for a bargain.

All done at 150 and gone then.

-150.

-That's brilliant. That's fine.

It's not the best, but I'm happy.

Well it didn't come galloping home with the prize money

but we're getting a bit closer to our finishing line.

However, when the silver tureens fail to shine...

-No offers, sorry...

-Nobody in this room has taste.

We start to wonder if anyone can appreciate real quality.

Well we'll find out soon, the camera is up next,

estimated at £200 to £300 but will it be snapped up by the bidders?

£150, I'll take 160 now.

I'm bid 150, 160 I'll take. 150?

Short and sweet, but gone.

Short and sweet but £50 below estimate.

We're pinning our hopes on our last lot of the day.

The detachable glass trumpet on the cherub vase is not an original.

However, the base is very impressive and highly collectible.

A lot for the money here. Have we got a telephone bid as well?

Telephone bidder.

Start me £80, the bottom of the estimate, see how it goes. £80, 85, 90, 5?

100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160,

170, 180, 190, 200 and 10, 220, 230.

Keep going.

-240, 250 a new bidder on the phone. 260.

-Wow, that's amazing.

-At £260, do you want 270 now?

-Isn't it wonderful?

280, 290, 300...

Give me another 10, 310. 320, 330, 340, 350, 360, 370, 360's the bid.

Thanks for the bid at £360.

370 over there. 380, 390, 400?

410, 420, 430?

Thanks for the bid again, is that £420? Are you done at 420, your last chance and gone. All done?

I just can't believe it. I just can't believe it.

It just kept going up.

It just kept on going up.

Our last item must have been the big surprise of the day.

That cheeky cherub was obviously bringing us some good luck.

I know you wanted £500 towards a trip back to Cambodia to look for Eddie.

I am thrilled out of my mind to tell you

that the final amount is £1,245.

Oh, my God.

That's fantastic.

The thing is, I want to cry now.

It's fantastic. Thank you, Paul.

Good luck. Best of luck with it.

Thank you very much.

Well, it was an emotional day all round at the auction.

But I'm delighted to say that the money raised is already being put to good use.

Look. Take that one because it's got a yellow ribbon.

Jo has had special T-shirts printed up, and already has plans in place for her next appeal in Cambodia.

I have to keep the story of Eddie going,

and I know the answer to Eddie's disappearance lies in Cambodia.

Somebody there knows what's happened to my son, so I will never give up.

We will never, ever rest until we find out what has happened to Ed.

We will continue to find ways of trying to fund our trips

and to put as much energy as we possibly can into finding Eddie.

We'll get an answer somewhere, I'm sure.

Well, it is fantastic to see that Jo is going to

be able to go back to Cambodia to continue that all-important search for her gorgeous son Eddie.

And, of course, the best possible outcome must be that one day

Eddie is found safe and sound and returned to his family.

In the meantime, all of us on Cash In The Attic are really thinking of the family in general.

Now, if you would like to join us here on the programme,

and you think you've got some antiques and collectibles hidden around your home,

it is all very easy, because what you have to do is go to the BBC website.

I hope that I'll meet you and introduce you on Cash In The Attic one day.

In the meantime, thanks for your company.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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