Marns Cash in the Attic

Welcome to Cash In The Attic, the show that searches homes for hidden treasures and sells them at auction.

I'm in Dedham, Essex, known as Constable country,

but also renowned for painters like Sir Alfred Munnings, and this is his house.

The largest collection of his work is here,

Castle House art museum, his former home.

Famous for paintings of race horses,

Munnings was an influential painter of his generation,

with a career spanning more than 70 years until his death in 1959.

His wish was to leave his pictures and estate to the nation

and Lady Munnings set up Castle House as a memorial.

It's open to the public from Easter to October

and one of the highlights is Munnings' garden studio,

left much as it was when he painted here.

There can be no questioning the quality of Munnings' work.

We'll be looking for quality items in the hunt

for antiques and collectables that we can sell at auction.

'Coming up,

'our expert's getting some insider knowledge...'

What do you say? ..I think you're worth that.

'..and some items bring out the magpie in him.'

Jingle, jingle, jingle! We definitely like that!

'But not all our lots find new homes at auction.'

-I do wear it occasionally.

-You'll wear it more than occasionally now!

'So, will we have made our target when the final hammer falls?'

I'm in Thorrington, Essex, to meet a couple who've called in the team

to help them raise funds for the smallest member of the family.

'This cosy bungalow in a quiet corner of Essex

'is home to retired electrician Frank and his wife, Lynn.

'They have been married for a fantastic 45 years

'and have a close-knit family with two children and four grandchildren.

'Since moving from their previous family home,

'the couple have more collectables than they have space for.'

-Morning, James.

-Morning, Lorne. Cold old day today.

At least the sun's out. Great family today.

Inherited stuff from 14 aunts and uncles! Loads to go through.

-I've got some idea of what's in store.

-Are you up for it?

-Of course I am.

-Good morning.

-Hello.

-Nice to see you're ready for us(!)

Obviously, you've called Cash In The Attic in. Who did that?

-I did.

-Oh, did you?

-Yes. On a whim!

-Did you think it would happen?

-No.

Shows how wrong you can be! What did you want us here for?

We've down-sized and we've got a lot of stuff in the loft.

Thought we'd see if we can make something on it.

So you brought things you thought would fit in and now they can't?

-Yes.

-The items we're going to sell, where are they from?

-Inherited.

From aunts and uncles.

My mum was a widow so I had a lot to do with my aunts and uncles.

That's where a lot of bits have come from.

Frank, what do you want to raise money for?

We'd like to raise £500

for our youngest granddaughter's princess bed she's keen on.

She's two years old and that's her dream.

So we'd like the money for that and to decorate her bedroom also.

Let's see if we can make the £500 for Hannah. Let's find the expert!

'Lynn and Frank sound like doting grandparents.

'What a fantastic target today.

'With so many collectables, I'm glad our expert James Rylands is here.

'No saleable treasure will fail to catch his eye.

'He's made a start already.'

-Hello, James. There you are.

-Hi.

Lynn, I've seen loads of Royal Doulton figures.

-Where are they from?

-I collected some but a lot are from my aunts.

-They had them in their houses?

-When I was young.

Both of these ones, the balloon seller and old balloon woman,

were both modelled in 1940

by a well-known modeller called Leslie Harradine.

She revolutionised the figures at Doulton with bright primary colours

and very decorative figures.

Each one is marked with a HN number.

For instance...

For a collector of these, it means you can identify which model it is.

That, in the past, is what's made them so popular at auction

on internet sites as well.

Value on the three, at the moment, is in the region of £60 to £100.

-They have been worth more in the past.

-Yes.

-They really have.

The popularity has dropped back a little bit in the last few years.

-They're still very saleable but not quite as much.

-An acquired taste.

'It may be our first money in the kitty,

'but £60 doesn't seem like a huge amount.

'I think Lynn was hoping for more.'

I'm not certain I want to let them go for his valuation.

I might put a higher reserve on them.

They have been in the family a while and I'm sorry to see them go.

'Lynn's quite attached to the balloon sellers

'so we'd better get on with the hunt for more items.

'Frank's in the kitchen and has come up trumps with a gold necklace

'which James hopes could bag us a handsome...

'Lynn's got another lot to add - three more Royal Doulton figurines.

'They top up our fund by...

'Back in the kitchen, Frank's got another lot our expert might be interested in.'

Frank, I hope you're not having a cigarette, are you?

That's what it is, isn't it?

I'm not quite sure what this is.

It's a Vesta case. They were popular towards the end of the 19th century.

On the original ones, you'd have had lots of non-safety matches.

There would have been a ridged surface where you could strike them.

This one, because it dates to the 1920s, they've taken it further.

See these lugs?

That's where you'd have slotted in a book of matches.

You flipped open the book, strike your match

and off you go.

Cigarette cases have always been collectable.

Faberge made cigarette cases.

Gold, silver, diamonds. Some very richly ornamented.

What I like about these is they're nice and plain, almost timeless.

I can see "Boodle & Dunthorne, Lord St, Liverpool".

Very up-market jewellers. They're still going.

Their headquarters are in Regent Street, London.

And they're still in Lord Street, Liverpool.

-Let's look at the hallmark.

-They must be 60 years old.

-They are.

Here we've got an anchor,

which means it's hallmarked in Birmingham.

A lion passant, which means it's silver.

And an X, that's the date letter. 1922.

I don't know what it would cost to fill these with cigarettes now.

What do you think the two are worth empty?

I wouldn't like to say.

-Is the value in the silver?

-There is value in the silver.

Silver is trading quite high.

I think they're worth more than melt price.

Bear in mind they're well made examples.

-Probably £30 to £50. How does that sound?

-Very reasonable.

It was interesting what James said about the cigarette and match cases.

Valuation I thought was quite good as well.

Also, the information that he came out with about the retailer.

He traced it back to its origins, which was interesting.

'Our couple's bungalow has treasures tucked away all over the place.

'I leave Mr Rylands for now and catch up with our grandparents.'

So, how did you two meet?

In a pub at Manor Park.

-He followed me home.

-Really?

-And I dawdled!

LORNE LAUGHS

How long have you been married?

45 years next February.

And we knew each other three years before that. It's a long time.

-Where are you from, originally?

-I'm from Manor Park.

-Plaistow.

What made you come up this way?

We had a touring caravan, which we bought in 2000.

Unfortunately, it got stolen.

We decided to get a static caravan cos we thought they can't take that.

We bought one at Bentley Country Park, which is this area.

We just liked the area.

When Frank retired, we moved out here.

-What made your grandchildren move?

-Because they came to our caravan.

And they liked the area.

They were going to buy a house together so they picked this area because it was cheaper at the time.

You're from a large family?

There was a lot of aunts and uncles. My mother came from a family of 11.

She was a widow. Our dad was killed during the war.

The aunts and uncles, I spent a lot of time with, they looked after us,

me and my two sisters, during our growing-up years.

They were always there for us.

One of the aunts, when she died,

left her house in Gidea Park to her four nieces.

So some of it was there. The rest sort of came...

My mum and my older sister went to live in the house at Gidea Park.

Then they moved to Somerset so bits went with them.

Eventually, unfortunately, they've gone, and I've got it.

How important is this bedroom to Hannah?

She's looking forward to her princess bed.

She was in special care when she was born

for a few days, which was worrying, because her lungs weren't formed.

But she's fine now and is going to be a princess!

How often does Hannah come round?

I look after her two or three times a week,

depending what my daughter-in-law's doing and if Tommy's at school.

She's here quite often.

'I feel Hannah will be over the moon with her bedroom.

'We need a few more finds before our princess can sleep in style.

'Our prince of the antiques world has valiantly carried on the search.

'He's found a silver bracelet...

'And it seems we've got a jewellery theme.

'I've spotted another sparkling lot.'

James, Lynn. Are you there?

I take it this isn't yours.

-No. Bit too big for that!

-This is Hannah's.

-I bet this isn't Hannah's.

-No. That is mine.

-Where did that come from?

-That was given to me by my father-in-law.

What a nice father-in-law, handing out gold left, right and centre!

Gold it is. It's a nice gold sovereign.

They're called sovereigns

because you've got the sovereign, Queen Victoria,

looking magnificent towards the end of her life.

-Looks like her later years.

-Can you read that date?

No.

I think it's probably the 1890s,

looking at her portrait on the back.

When these were in circulation in Victorian times -

they revived making them in 1817 -

the average shelf life for a sovereign was 15 years.

After that, a bit of gold had been rubbed off.

They enacted a law in 1895 saying

if your sovereign wasn't the correct weight, you could trade it in.

In other words, they were re-circulating them all the time.

They reckon there are only a million sovereigns in circulation

which are in mint condition,

the same condition as when they left the mint.

From a collector's point of view, that's quite important.

This one, for instance,

has been put in a gold mount and worn as a necklace.

What that's done, of course,

it's probably damaged the edges of the sovereign.

So from a collector's point of view it doesn't have as much value.

This was £1 in the 1890s, so what's that worth today?

-What do you think?

-100?

Not bad. Probably about £150 would buy you the same thing now.

In terms of value of THIS coin, it's probably between £100 to £150.

-What do you think?

-Yes. That's very good.

A lot of that is dependant on the value of gold at the time.

It's been going up and down.

Anybody interested in this, they'll weigh it

and work out what the gold cost is on the day of auction.

-Are you happy with that valuation?

-Very happy.

-Good. Let's crack on.

The sovereign that James valued, I thought that was excellent.

Courtesy of my father-in-law cos he gave that to me. That was great.

That's a fifth of our target in one go.

'We're moving towards £500 for Hannah's bed.

'Grandmother Lynn adds another few pounds to the kitty

'when she decides to send this Spode vase to auction, too.

'And I made a timely find when I spot these three gold watches

'in one of the bedrooms.

'They top up our fund by...

'And James spotted an unusual lot next door.'

What's this? Ooh, look!

You suffocated him in a plastic bag!

Poor little chap! Where did he come from?

That came from Lynn's sister for my eldest son, and he's 42.

So it's 42 years old.

-How did she get hold of it?

-She worked for Merrythought.

She worked for Merrythought. There's the sign.

-Now ceased trading.

-Brilliant.

-It's done the rounds of the family.

-Each of your kids had it?

-Yeah. And my oldest two grandchildren.

-You can see it's been a bit...

-I think he survived remarkably well.

He had a refurb. The eyes are new.

And the tail has a more contemporary look!

-That was done by Merrythought.

-She took it back?

-Yeah.

One of the perks of working there was to get things done on the sly!

Do you know who this is?

That's Jerry, Jerry mouse.

Absolutely. Tom and Jerry.

He's a bit bigger than you expect on the TV.

And I can see, as you say,

after going through all those kids, he has been through the wars.

He's got a lot of staining.

I'm glad you had some work on him.

It's a plush material, which a lot of bears...

Merrythought were more well known for making teddy bears.

They did have licences with Disney and some of the film companies

for making their characters for a short period of time.

They are quite collectable.

Even though he's in not very good condition,

I think collectors would be interested.

-What do you think he might be worth?

-I don't know. Difficult to say.

Even though he's in this condition...

What? ..Yeah. I think you're worth that.

-Jerry says he's worth £30 to £50.

-I'm sure he did!

-And a bit of cheese. How does that sound?

-Yes.

I'm not going to put him back in the bag to suffocate.

-Let's find something else.

-Yes.

'Frank seems pleased.

'With £30 towards the new bed,

'I've taken a fancy to Jerry mouse myself!

'Our rummaging is nearly over but Lynn's got one more item for the auction haul.'

Look, Lorne. I probably want to part with these. What do you think?

Oh, very nice. A couple of charm bracelets.

Shall we see if Prince Charming is interested? James, are you there?

-What have you got?

-A couple of charm bracelets.

Ooh. Jingle, jingle, jingle. We like that! What have we got?

What looks like a gold one and a silver one.

-Where are these from?

-My aunt who was married to the jeweller.

They came via him, really.

-Insider trading?

-It might have been. Yes.

Each link is hallmarked 9 carat gold.

Each charm is 9 carat gold as well, and each means something different.

Charms have been with us for thousands of years.

The Egyptians had them.

A medieval knight going into battle would have a charm.

Queen Victoria really put them on the map. She was very keen.

Then it was something the nobility would collect from wherever they were going.

Soldiers in the First and Second World Wars would bring back charms from France.

Each of these little charms has a meaning. You've got a padlock.

-Do you know what that signifies?

-No.

-Your dreams will be unlocked.

-That would be nice.

-Here's my favourite.

-That one with a 10 in it.

-10 shilling note!

-That's it!

I'll tell you what I love, it's written on the side here,

"In emergency, break glass." When ten bob was worth ten bob!

You ran out of petrol, you had your own cash supply!

On your way to the party, you smashed the glass and had ten bob.

Probably fill up the car!

There are people who like wearing charm bracelets.

How many have we got? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

And that's got loads on it.

They're quite weighty so there's quite a lot of metal.

The two together... Do you have any idea of value?

-No idea.

-I would think the two together certainly £120 to £180.

-That's not bad.

-That's very good.

Will you ever wear them again?

I'll never wear them again. They're in the jewellery box.

They need to go to a good home at a good price.

That sounds like a good price to me.

I'll call Frank in and we'll do a tot-up of the total.

Frank, are you there? Come in, my dear.

A couple of charm bracelets have charmed our total a little higher.

-Has today been good fun?

-Great fun.

-You wanted £500 so you can create Hannah's princess bedroom.

-Yes.

Do you think we've got near that total?

Um... I don't know, to be honest.

-Frank?

-Yeah. Must be, surely.

The value of everything going to auction comes to £550.

-Brilliant. Well done.

-Lovely!

-Very good, yeah.

-The next time you'll see your things will be on display at the auction house.

-Look forward to it.

'Lynn and Frank's bungalow really came up trumps for us.

'We've got a fantastic selection of items to put towards Hannah's bed.

'The trio of Doulton balloon sellers

'which we hope will make the top end of James' valuation.

'The adorable Jerry mouse

'will hopefully win the bidders' hearts and their wallets.

'And jewellery of all shapes and sizes,

'with the highlight being the silver and gold charm bracelets.

'They're our most highly valued lot.'

It's a few weeks since we looked around Lynn and Frank's bungalow.

We found plenty to bring here to Sworders auction house in Stansted Mountfitchet.

They're looking to raise £500 so they can turn one of their bedrooms

into a princess bedroom for their granddaughter.

Let's hope that the bidders are feeling generous when our items go under the hammer.

'There are plenty of bidders here already.

'Dealers or amateur collectors, I hope they like our items.

'We've got a great collection of lots to sell, but I know James Rylands has taken a shine to them.'

-All that glitters IS gold! Or silver.

-It is! Charm bracelets.

They're actually coming back into fashion.

Being gold, quite desirable.

-Also, while talking about gold, we've got the sovereign.

-Oh, yes.

-I'm hoping that'll also do well.

-We've also got the balloon sellers.

-Three of those.

-Yes. I get the feeling they're close to her heart.

I think she's putting on a reserve.

If you've got a really good example it'll do well.

-It's about the best and the rest.

-We've got the best to help us today!

Let's find our family.

'James is sounding hopeful, so fingers crossed the bidders agree.

'We catch up with Lynn and Frank saying goodbye

'to those much-loved figurines.'

Good morning.

-So you have brought all three balloon figures?

-All three. Yes.

-How do you feel about selling them?

-Um, OK, but...

-I've had them a long while.

-Have you put a reserve on them?

-Yes.

-What's the reserve?

-£100.

-You're very wise.

I think they do mean a lot to you.

We've got some nice gold but also one of my favourites, the Jerry.

-Oh, yes!

-It's a long time since I've seen one.

I don't think Merrythought made many of them.

It's one of the rarer models.

Let's hope somebody picks up on that. There's a lot of people here.

So hope they put their hands in their pockets.

-Shall we get in position?

-Yes.

-Pop them down there safely.

We don't want the balloon to burst.

-No, we don't.

-Not till we've sold them! Come this way.

'With half our lots being jewellery related,

'I hope there are plenty of magpie-like collectors

'as we'd like to see them fighting over Lynn and Frank's lots.

'It's time to let battle commence as our first lot takes centre stage.

'Will it strike the right chord?'

A silver Vesta case and a cigarette case.

-What do we want for these, James?

-We've got £30 to £50.

Good quality, so let's hope someone's going to strike a light!

AUCTIONEER: Start us off. £20 for the silverware.

£20 for it. £20 is bid. The lady's bid.

The vesta and cigarette case. 22. 25. 28.

30. 32. 35. 38.

40. Lady's bid at £40. 42 anywhere else?

£40 is bid. Two anywhere else?

All done and finished at £40...?

-£40. That's midway point. Are you happy with that?

-Yes.

Good. Excellent.

'We're off to a solid start.

'If we're going to get Hannah the bed of her dreams,

'we've a way to go.

'Hopefully, our next item appeals to the bidders' nostalgic side.'

Next is one of my favourites, described as "a Merrythought mouse".

But we all know it's Jerry from Tom and Jerry.

-Where's this from?

-Merrythought.

My sister bought it for my children so it's old and well used.

Well loved! We like to say in the teddy bear trade. Not well used!

-What do we want for this, James?

-I like well loved not well used.

£30 to £50 which, bearing in mind it's quite a rare model,

I think that's modest. Let's see how we get on.

I've got my fingers crossed.

Where do we start that one? £30 for it? £20 for it?

£20 for the mouse. Who wants that at £20? A Merrythought mouse there.

Ten?

£10 is bid. 12. 15.

£15 is bid. 18 anyone else now? The Merrythought mouse, there?

At £15 is bid. I'm going to sell at £15.

All done and finished, then, at £15.

-I'm really disappointed with that. £15. That's a steal!

-I think so.

Goes to show it is swings and roundabouts.

That is a pretty miniature mouse price.

'At just half the estimate, it's a disappointing result.

'Hopefully, our third lot will get us back on track to our £500 target.

'The description is certainly impressive!'

"The Copeland Spode globular vase!"

-It sounds posh.

-Certainly does!

The Japanese type decoration. Great maker.

Let's see how the punters react.

Start us at £20. The Copeland Spode vase in the prunus pattern for £20.

-£10 for it...?

-No-one seems interested in this.

We'll pass if there's no interest.

No bid.

Oh, dear. That's unsold. He couldn't get £10 for it, so I think that's fair enough.

-Would you have wanted it selling for a tenner?

-Not really.

Back to the mansion to reside in splendour!

In the wardrobe!

'The bidders weren't prepared to dig deep for the pretty Spode vase.

'Lynn's not letting it get her down.'

I was a bit disappointed but I'll take it home.

It'll go back in the cupboard.

'Onwards and upwards as we've plenty more items to sell.

'The first of our Doulton lots is about to try its luck.'

"Three Royal Doulton ladies.

"Figure of the Year, Lynnette and the young Miss Nightingale."

We start here at £40. £40 is bid.

I'll take five in the room. 45...

Got bidding going on here.

..60.

Five. 70...

£70!

..80. Five.

90. £90 is bid.

95 anyone else?

Commission bid is here with me at £90. 95 anywhere else?

95. 100...

-Oh, my goodness!

-..£100 still on commission.

We're selling at £100. All done...?

-James your estimate was appalling!

-Fantastic!

It'll be interesting to see how we get on with the others, the ones that you really like.

I must admit, I'm quite surprised.

One of them had the head stuck on! That makes so much difference!

-£100, that's great, isn't it?

-Brilliant.

'We're all impressed with that,

'selling for over double James' conservative estimate.

'The bidders didn't mind about the damage for an overdue addition to the princess bed fund.

'Let's hope the Doulton collectors haven't spent all their cash!

'We've an even more important set of figurines up for sale next.'

It's our big lot.

We've got high expectations on our three balloon figures.

"Biddy Penny Farthing, the Old Balloon Seller and the Balloon Man."

Lynn, you've got a reserve of £100. We know you like them.

Let's hope they make your reserve. If not, you won't be disappointed.

-No.

-I've got a feeling they'll do OK.

We're starting here at £50.

£50 is bid. Five. 60. Five.

70. Five. 80. Five. 90.

Five. 100. Stay at five. 105. 110.

15. 120.

Keep going. You don't have to stop.

120 bid here. 125. 130.

35 takes it from the commission.

135. 140. 140, the gentleman's bid.

Stay at five if it helps, madam.

£140 is bid. We're selling at £140...

-£140, are you pleased with that?

-Yes. Yes.

-Well, at that price, you're happy to let them go, aren't you?

-Yes.

-Are you surprised by the prices?

-Yes. I really am.

It's good news.

'After all our worries

'the figurines smash through their £100 reserve.

'Although they did have a special place in Lynn's heart.'

I will miss them because I've had them a long while, but very pleased.

'That's the attitude! It's all money towards the new bedroom.

'The first half of our sale has flown by and it's time to see how healthy the princess fund is.'

We've got a bit of a break until your other lots come up.

I've done a quick tot-up and, so far, you've made £295!

Excellent. That will get the bed.

-That'll pay for the bed?

-The princess bed.

All we've got to do now is worry about the rest of the room.

At this rate, we can buy a bunk bed.

We've got a break. James, you've got something you want to show me?

I've got a bit of social history to show you.

I'll show you the coffee bar and he can show me whatever he's on about!

'While Lynn and Frank put their feet up, James won't let ME!'

'With all these antiques on display, he simply can't stop working.'

-What have you got there?

-It's a Georgian sampler.

The reason they're called that is often they were done by young girls

in the Georgian and Victorian era

and it was for them to do samples of their embroidery

and also to learn their letters, their alphabet.

It was a social skill to be good at embroidery.

-Can we see the age?

-Absolutely, you can.

It says "Sarah Crofts.

"Her work in the 8th year of her age."

She did this when she was eight! Then it's dated 1782.

-It's well over 200 years old.

-That's extraordinary.

If you look at the quality of this

it's very fine needlework.

They're usually done in silk or woollen stitches on a linen ground.

The detail on this is terrific. The stitches are really small.

As you expect from a young child.

Over the years, when they're hung in sunlight,

the dyes they used in the wools and silks was vegetable based,

and susceptible to fading

in direct sunlight.

If you own a sampler, never have it in direct sunlight.

You can see the lion here.

He'd have once had bright colours. Now you can barely see him.

I love them. I think they're romantic pieces.

Maybe this was a little girl who lived in a very grand house.

-Your imagination runs riot.

-What's the estimate on this?

In terms of value, the problem is the moths get at these, they fade.

There are four of these in the lot One is probably worth £20.

That's really a reflection of the condition.

It's such a shame, isn't it? This is a true antique.

It should be worth more but it goes to show condition is everything.

For me, it's a real social comment on what it was like in those days.

'That eight-year-old girl in 1782 would have had no idea

'we'd be looking at her sampler over 200 years later. Well spotted!

'If James has inspired you to buy or sell at auction,

'the sale room will add commission onto your bill.

'Your local auction house will be able to give you the details.

'It's time to put down the hot drinks and get back into position.

'Our remaining lots are jewellery related.

'I hope there are some collectors in the room.

'First is the gold sovereign dated 1893.

'James hoped this would be literally worth its weight in gold.'

Going to start the bidding here at £75.

80. Five. 90. Five. 100. Gentleman has it in the room at £100.

Ten is next. At 110. 120.

130. Good year 1893. £130 is bid.

At £130. 140 anyone else? Selling at 130...

-£130. I think that's quite good.

-That is.

-Good.

'£30 over James' low-end estimate.

'A cracking start to the second half of our sale.

'I don't think Lynn will miss it, either.'

The gold sovereign, I thought that was an excellent price.

That was a present but, once again, I haven't worn it for a long while so that was good.

'It's certainly a top-dollar price for the sovereign.

'I hope it bodes well for the rest of our jewellery lots as we've another four.

'Next is the trio of gold watches.'

A Condor ladies' cocktail watch.

Two others by Avier and Regency. £20 for these.

All the watches there for £20. £20 is bid. At £20.

I'll take two where, now? 22.

25. Sells, then, in the cap.

Are we all done and finished at £25? We're going to sell...

Oh, dear.

'That's half James' lower estimate.

'But after the sovereign's success,

'we can afford not to worry much.

'Hopefully, the next piece will see more pounds rolling in.'

Next is a gilt metal necklace. Where's that from?

-I bought it in Jersey. It's Jersey gold.

-Very nice.

Let's see how we get on.

The gilt metal costume necklace. Where will we start that? £20?

-The costume necklace for £20...

-Surely we can get that for it?

Costume necklace for £10. Any interest at all at ten?

None whatsoever? We'll pass on that, I'm afraid.

-Unsold!

-I do wear it occasionally.

You'll be wearing it more than occasionally now!

'Lynn's looking on the bright side but it's our second unsold lot.

'With another two jewellery items to sell, I'm a bit concerned.

'We haven't reached our £500 target.

'Although our couple has made enough for the new bed,

'we need to make the rest of the makeover fit for a princess.

'Perhaps silver will be more to the bidders' taste.'

Our next lot is a silver bracelet.

-Birmingham 1961, before my time!

-JAMES LAUGHS

-I don't know why you're laughing.

-It's within my time!

Start it off. Silver bracelet. £20 for it.

£20 for the silver bracelet. Who'll start me at £20? Ten?

-Ten for a silver bracelet...?

-Oh, dear.

£10 for it? Ten for the bracelet? We'll pass on that, then. No bid.

Hm. That's not sold, either. It seems that we don't have jewellery dealers here on the lower end.

We were fine with the sovereign.

But on the purely decorative level, it doesn't seem to be here.

'Two unsold lots in a row. It's not good news for our target.

'Our couple can take them home but we'd all have liked a few more pounds instead.

'If the bidders won't splash the cash, there's nothing we can do.

'We've just one item left to sell so we are all hoping James was right

'about there only being collectors of top quality jewellery here.'

Two charm bracelets. One with 21 charms and one with nine.

Where will you start that? £100 is bid.

£100 is bid. I'll take ten where, now?

£100 is bid. 110 where for the charm bracelets?

110. 120. 130. 140.

150 in the corner has it. 160 anywhere else?

160. 170.

180. 190.

Gentleman's bid in the corner and selling at £190.

Are we all done at £190?

-Brilliant!

-£190!

That's lovely. Yes.

-Frank, are you happy with Lynn not wearing that?

-Yeah.

-But you've got to buy her lots more jewellery?

-No.

Careful!

'Frank may seem like a tough cookie, but I've a feeling he's a softie.

'The bracelets charmed the bidders and it's a fantastic final sale.

'Time to see whether the charm bracelets have taken our total to a royal level.'

That's your last lot sold.

You wanted £500 and the total, bearing in mind we've had a couple of no sales, comes to £640!

That's brilliant! That will do the room as well.

-Well done. Excellent.

-Pleased with that?

-Very good.

There we go, then. I hope she enjoys her bedroom. How wonderful.

-She can afford to be a real princess!

-Yes!

'A couple of weeks after raising £640 at auction,

'Lynn and Frank have been doing a spot of bed shopping.

'And their guest of honour is due to arrive soon.'

We've just got back from the shop. Hannah is on her way round.

Frank had better get that bed made. I'm going to put the kettle on.

'While Lynn relaxes with a cuppa, Frank starts putting it together.

'It's not an easy job, but Granddad soon gets the knack.

'Before long, the bed is ready for the seal of approval

'from its special owner.'

That's the bed made up. I think it looks really good.

I hope Hannah feels the same.

There's nothing in there!

You'll have to put something in at home.

Hannah is very pleased with the bed, absolutely over the moon.

I can't wait to see it in her newly decorated room - probably by granddad.