Jailler Cash in the Attic

Welcome to Cash In The Attic, the show that searches out

your collectables and antiques and sells them for you at auction.

We're on the south coast of England in the beautiful seaside town of Deal.

But being a history buff, I couldn't resist the opportunity to pop down the road

and take another look at the magnificent Walmer Castle.

Walmer Castle was built during the reign of Henry VIII

as part of England's coastal defences against attack from Europe.

Over the years it evolved into an elegant residence and was once even home to the Duke of Wellington.

The Queen Mother used to visit the castle regularly

and the building and gardens are now open to the public throughout the year.

Well, as you can see, there's certainly no shortage of fascinating history here

and all of that we hope is a theme that will continue

as we go in search of some wonderful antiques and collectables to take to auction.

Coming up on today's Cash In The Attic, a serious case of undervaluing.

-Have you any idea what they're worth?

-What I think they are worth?

-Yeah.

-A fiver.

HE LAUGHS

Some truly incredible discoveries.

-How do you feel about that?

-I can't believe it.

But there are no guarantees at auction.

We'll try again another day.

So, will there be a happy ending? Find out when the hammer falls.

Well, here in Deal itself,

I'm on my way to meet a mother and son

who've called in Cash In The Attic for a very worthwhile cause.

This detached, four bedroom house on the Kent coast is home to retired council worker, June Jailler.

June and her late husband Mike were married for 30 years and Mike's passion for antiques

means that the house is full of his much-loved treasures.

But since Mike died four years ago, June wants to raise money

for a charity which is very close to the family's hearts.

So, son David has called us in to help.

-Morning, Curtis.

-Good morning, sir.

-How are you?

-Very well.

-What a beautiful day.

-Fabulous. Where were you this morning?

-I've been on the coast at Walmer Castle.

It's an old haunt of mine, beautiful place to look around.

But it's not about sightseeing, we've got an awful lot of money to raise today.

Is there are a lot of stuff in here?

There's a lot of bits and pieces.

I think you're going to find one or two gems. Fingers crossed.

Let's get inside.

Well, good morning, you two.

-Good morning.

-Hello, you must be David.

-Hello, how are you?

-Playing with the dogs.

-Who are these two?

-Max and Tish.

-Two very noisy, very happy dogs.

-Yes.

-Aren't they just?

-Now, whose fault is it that Cash In The Attic have turned up to ransack your home?

-David.

That's mine, I'm afraid.

What were you thinking?!

Mum's always moaning about my stuff in my old bedroom and that I've got too much rubbish there,

and she wants to clear it out, so I got in touch.

What are you hoping to raise money for?

We want to raise it for the hospice, for a chair for the hospice.

My husband went there when he was seriously ill, one day a week

and they looked after him so well and they were so kind,

and then I went one day a week to give me a break.

So, rather nobly, you're thinking of selling a few things off

and putting money back into the hospice?

Well, we'd like to, yes. I hope so.

I'd like to get the chair for them so that the people that go...

Most of them are in pain, you know?

Bad backs and things like that.

And how much money are we looking for?

-1,200, 1,500.

-£1,200 to £1,500. That's quite a target, isn't it?

-It is a lot, yes.

-It's a nice chair.

I should think it is a very nice chair!

The good news is that we've got our very own tame valuer with us, Curtis,

who is rifling through your treasured possessions,

so if you're ready and willing,

-we should leave the dogs in the garden and go and start rummaging.

-Yeah.

-Come on, then.

-That would be lovely.

Well, it's an incredibly worthwhile target for us and with a house

full of June's late husband's antiques I'm hoping for great things today.

Here to head up the search is our expert Curtis Dowling.

He has years of experience in the antiques trade and already one item has gained his full attention.

Here he is, June, look, rootling about through your bits and pieces.

-How are you?

-This is going to be an exciting day.

Let's look at this picture, first thing I saw when I walked in,

and I think June knows what this is. I'm pretty certain it's a Charles Leslie painting.

-Well, tell me about Charles Leslie.

-Charles Leslie was a really prolific 19th century artist.

He died in 1947, so he's coming in towards

the end of the Victorian era, that romantic part of the Victorian era.

And this is a fantastic representation

of the Highlands of Scotland, one of the things he painted an awful lot of.

It needs a clean, so the colours will be coming back quite a lot when that happens.

Where did you get it from?

Well, my husband exchanged it when someone couldn't pay for his television.

This is a great story, you know. June's husband, TV repair man, and if people didn't have the ready

cash he'd kind of do a deal on bits and pieces, but he clearly was a man with a good eye.

Well, he was in this case, that's for sure. Do you like this?

I love it. It's a beautiful picture.

-Have you got any idea what a painting like this is worth?

-No idea whatsoever.

-Go on, then.

A painting like this is going to go for something like £500 to £800.

-Goodness!

-Are you really sure you want to sell it now?

Well, I think I'll have to put a reserve on it, but for the hospice, it's worth it.

This does deserve a handsome reserve.

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. This is some good start to the day, isn't it?

What a fantastic start. Are you still sure you want it to go?

Well, yes. It would be worth it.

That's a very, very generous offer.

-What a great start.

-Absolutely. What else are we going to find?

-Who knows?

There's plenty more to look at and if that's how it's begun, how's it going to end?

Keep your fingers crossed.

Well, that's nearly half of our £1,200 target and it's only our first find.

If we carry on at this pace, we'll be able to put our feet up in no time.

David starts his search in the living room and finds this pair of Chinese crackleware vases.

Crackleware describes a ceramic or glass surface that's covered in a network of fine cracks.

June's late husband, Mike, inherited these from a great aunt,

but they're not to her taste so they're off to auction.

Curtis gives them a £70 to £100 estimate.

June decides to have a rummage in the kitchen and it certainly proves fruitful

when she digs out this pretty sapphire and diamond ring set in an 18-carat gold band.

It used to belong to her mother-in-law

and Curtis gives it a sparkling £80 to £100 estimate.

Meanwhile, our expert himself has made another timely discovery.

Dave, come and talk to me about these clocks.

I feel like I've walked into a clock shop. Clocks through the ages here because we've got quite a selection.

We've got a 1920s mantle clock,

we've got a 1930s mantle clock,

we've got a 1950s kitsch mantle clock

and we've got a lovely Art Deco mantle clock,

and to finish off this lovely French marble mantle clock.

They're a really nice collection.

And these sort of things, as long as they work, do sell very, very well.

-Yeah.

-We've got a couple of really nice ones.

Isn't that lovely? It's marble.

-Cleaned up, that would be great.

-Yeah.

And also what's going to go well is this Art Deco clock.

-People can't get enough of Art Deco.

-I don't like these two very much.

Well, the interesting thing is if we'd have done Cash In The Attic 1978 you'd have probably said

-you don't like that one.

-Probably.

Because as fashions change we're starting to get very used to Art Deco being popular

and all of a sudden we'll probably like it ourselves.

And this sort of '50s look, this sort of '50s kitsch look,

-is going to really come back in in the next 20 years, too.

-Yeah.

-So, any idea what sort of value you'd put on these?

-Um...

-20, 30 quid each?

-Well, I think you should be doing this programme.

You're not far off, I'm going to say.

As long as we can get them all to go, I'm going to say

we're going to get about £100 for these, so happy to put them all into auction?

-Certainly, yeah.

-Well, fingers crossed there's another £100 there.

-But we've got lots more to look at.

-Yeah.

-So we'd better get on.

-OK.

That's a great addition to our growing auction haul

and a healthy contribution towards the reclining chair for the hospice.

With the chaps on top rummaging form, I find June with yet more of late husband, Mike's collectables.

-Well, it's been a busy old day, June, hasn't it?

-It certainly has.

-It's all going.

The dogs outside barking, people mowing their lawns, but are you having a good time?

-I'm having a marvellous time.

-Brilliant.

-Thoroughly enjoyed it.

-We are finding fantastic stuff.

-We do, of course, have Mike to thank for that.

-Yes, yes.

Now, tell me a little bit more about his illness.

It was cancer of the marrow bone and it started, we think in '97, he was diagnosed January '98.

Well, they didn't tell us until June

and then they said that it was malignant cancer.

-And how long was he actually ill for?

-Over seven years.

-Really?

-And he fought it all the way.

-Yeah.

He did everything he could to stay alive.

I presume that the hospice played an important role towards the end of his illness.

I didn't think he'd go there when they offered. I thought he'd...

You know, not a hospice. But when we went, it was just so brilliant. They were so kind, so helpful

and, you know, it was a day out for him every week,

-someone picked him up and someone brought him home.

-Yeah.

And he thoroughly enjoyed it.

-He made this picture here.

-So all of this, in many ways, helped take his mind off it.

Yes, it did. That's what they did it for.

They went once a week and I over went over there once a week, as well.

-And we're not selling that.

-No, definitely not!

-Definitely not.

I'm curious how you'll cope when the house is empty of all this stuff.

That's what I'm worried about. That's why I called in Cash In The Attic.

Well, you've certainly given us plenty to do and plenty to think about.

We are having a wonderful day and this total that we're chasing,

£1,200, I mean, the chair that you're keen to buy for the hospice,

you can't say it enough, the work of these hospices is extraordinary.

It is. And people don't realise just how much they do. You just think you go there.

If you die you're going there and that's it, but it's not like that.

It is a proper support network.

Yes, it is very much a support network. And they don't...

They only get money, very small amount of money from the government,

so it's all donations that keep them going.

It's all heading in the right direction, but it's not over yet.

-No.

-Let's keep on looking.

It's clear that the hospice provided much needed support to June

and the family during what must have been a very difficult time,

so we're keen to make as much money as possible for them today.

Fortunately, David's been hard at work and has found something that might be of interest to Curtis.

What have you got there, David?

I think it's some old silver tray.

HE LAUGHS

I should ask you to value these things, shouldn't I? Another fiver.

£10 this one, I think. It's more pretty, isn't it?

Well, it's definitely silver and from the hallmark what we can tell is it's Scottish, from Edinburgh.

And we can see that by the castle and by the thistle telling us it's Scottish.

-OK.

-And there's the maker's mark.

-Yeah.

-Often you see maker's marks

-and most of them won't be recorded in history, but what we do know from this mark it was made in 1883.

-Yeah.

We've got a little armorial in the middle here.

-Yeah.

-It's nicely turned.

-Yeah.

You know, it's small and there's not a huge amount of weight in this,

but all silver and all gold seems to go at auction, and this certainly will.

Do you want to give me an idea of what you think it's worth?

-Knowing my judgement today... 40 quid that one.

-I tell you what, you're learning.

I'm going to put something like £40 to £60 on this because it's small, it's fairly light,

but it's in relatively nice order and we've got a lovely, clear hallmark.

Right, we've got plenty of more to look at, let's take this with us.

-Let's go.

-OK.

This house really does have treasures hidden in every nook

and cranny and that's another step towards our £1,200 target.

And I found a set of 19th century majolica plates shaped like leaves.

They're another item Mike inherited from his family and when Curtis values them at between £80 and £120,

June's more than happy to part with them.

Meanwhile, upstairs June has another lot to take to auction.

What are we looking at, June?

-Oh, just some old jewellery.

-Anything interesting?

Well, I think this might be interesting.

-Oh, a nice diamond cluster ring.

-Yeah. It was my husband's mother's.

-Oh, so it's got a bit of age to it, as well.

-Yes, yes, I would think so.

There's four things we look at in a diamond.

First of all the carat, and quite interestingly the weight of a diamond

size-to-size is exactly the same weight as a carob seed and that's where the word actually comes from.

The other thing is actually the cut.

These are a bit dirty so we can't really see too much.

And that's the same with the clarity, as well.

Once this is cleaned up, I think these will glow like there's lights behind them.

And the last thing is colour. I think quite often diamonds can be fashionable because of colours

and blue, for example, was very fashionable recently and that can affect the value.

And you're happy to part with it, I assume?

Yes, it's in a good cause, so let it go.

-Ever worn it?

-No, I've never worn it.

-Right, so it's...

-It's not...

-You're not going to miss it.

-I'm not going to miss it.

-OK.

-Cleaned up, we're looking at £250 for this.

-That's amazing.

-Yeah.

-That would be brilliant.

-You're happy to put it in?

-Yes, that would be lovely.

-So, shall I pop this back in the box?

-Yes, please.

And make the assumption that it will come to auction with us?

-Definitely.

-I'll take this away.

June's home is certainly proving to be quite a treasure trove today

and the addition of the ring takes our total past the £1,000 mark.

What a great find!

But, with plenty more to search through, we're not resting easy just yet

and Curtis finds another piece of jewellery in, of all places, a wine glass!

This diamond pin is another item from June's mother-in-law

and he hopes it will make between £100 and £120.

You two! What a place!

-Even more stuff!

-Yes.

Let's just paint a picture here. You're at home with your children bringing them up,

you're hoping your husband is going to come back from his work

as a TV engineer to put food on the table

with money in his pocket, and actually he turns up with a painting!

Well, he was a very good businessman as well...

As well as a collector.

But you used to work together, didn't you, Dave?

In business?

I probably started to work for him when I was 18, 19.

I worked for him for 10, 12 years.

But about three years ago

TVs were sort of dying a death because you could buy one for same price

you could get one fixed, so I thought it was time for a career change

and I'm a tennis coach round the corner, so what more can you ask for?

-And now you're a tennis pro.

-I love it.

Now, how do you feel about seeing all of this stuff going towards the hospice?

Yeah, I think it's great because when dad was ill,

I mean, his back, I think it shrunk by about six inches so he was in a lot of pain

and these chairs were great for comfort and if that can help somebody else out

and make their life a bit easier, then great.

-I'm sure he'd be very happy, as well.

-Yes, he would, yes.

And it gives you a bit more space for more stuff!

Yes, I can collect something else!

Exactly.

I think June might be more of an antique addict than she's letting on.

We need to get back to work though as we need a final few items

if we're to secure making the £1,200 target at auction.

Curtis spots this oil painting of Highland cattle in the living room.

It's impossible to make out any signature, but he still thinks it deserves a £70 to £100 price tag.

And I've spotted a couple of items that might also be of interest in the dining room.

Curtis?

Hey, Dave.

There's a mark on here.

I'm not knowing what this is at all, but you're going to tell me it's worth a few quid, I hope.

-Well, the treasures continue.

-There is another one.

There's another one there. It looks like a similar thing.

We've got a pair of Meissen figures.

Now, we've got a mark on the bottom and that tells us it's about 1820-ish, OK?

And the colour, which is a cobalt blue, in the early days only two colours could withstand

the level of firing that this needed, and that was red and this blue.

The other thing is that they do appear to be

in fantastic condition, both of them in really good nick.

That's essential for these sort of things

because if there's a lot of damage it could knock the value flat.

Not in this case. It looks like they're almost in perfect condition.

-Have you got any idea what they're worth?

-What I think they are worth?

-Yeah.

-About a fiver.

I'll give you a fiver.

-I bet you would.

-Because he's excited, I'll say...

-What, for the pair?

-Yeah, for the pair.

-60 quid.

-60 quid!

Well, come on, put us out of our misery.

-£400 to £700.

-No.

-400 to 700 quid!

-I was going to chuck them out!

Listen, before you chuck anything else out of this house,

make sure he has a look at it first because £400 to £700, I mean...

-That's ridiculous.

-This £1,200 for this chair is looking way off...

They're going to get a whole suite, aren't they?

Yeah, exactly. It's far behind us.

We're way ahead of that already it seems and, of course, we haven't finished yet. Come on.

Well, that's a fantastic find, especially as it's something that David nearly threw in the bin.

Our target may be well and truly safe, but we're not stopping just yet.

June decides to send the stylish pearl and diamond ring to auction, too.

Valued at between £100 and £200, it's our fourth piece of jewellery today,

so I hope there'll be some collectors in the sale room.

But before we finish for the day, Curtis has his eye on another picture.

Jules, you must come and see this picture.

There are plenty to choose from. What have you got here?

I just spotted the name, George Houston.

I thought we had something special and I'm pretty certain we have.

George Houston was painting in the late 19th century

and his paintings are still very well respected and sell very, very well.

And certainly one thing he's very well known for,

is big skies and creating very atmospheric paintings.

-This is a special picture.

-I do wonder where it came from.

Probably from the same source as all the others. Hey, June!

You've found another one of my pictures.

We're just wondering where you got this one from. My guess is the same source as everything else.

I think it might have been. He just brought it home and it was no...

There was no frame to it and I thought, well,

it's a bit of a scruffy old painting, but he put the frame on and he told me

that that was the Abbey that is no longer there,

that was the last painting of it before it became a ruin.

-And where is it exactly?

-It's on Iona, the island of Iona, Holy Island in Scotland.

What makes a Houston worth collecting?

Even when Houston was alive he was a very collectable artist.

He was a famous guy of his day.

Artists painting things like this, as we've seen in the other painting, were creating

a moment in time and certainly the type of thing he was painting,

as well, was very, very fashionable.

Also, if you look at the type of style he's using it's slightly

different to a lot of artists of his day, so he was cutting edge.

So, come on then, my guess is this is going to be worth some money.

This picture's worth £1,000 to £2,000.

Could be as much as £3,000 at auction.

-How do you feel about that?

-I can't believe it.

-I just can't believe it.

-Are you sure you want to sell it?

Definitely. There's no...

no sentimental value for me and it would be to a really good cause.

You're a very, very generous and lovely lady.

Let's find Dave and get him in on this because, Dave, come in, mate.

I don't know if you heard any of that, but this picture behind us,

-tell him how much it is.

-We've said conservatively

at auction £1,000, but we could be looking at £3,000 behind your head.

My God. That's more than the £5 I'd give you for it.

Yes, I was going to say! Another one you want to sell me?

Yeah, there you go. I'll give you a fiver for it.

Now, with my very rudimentary arithmetic, if I add that

to our running total,

we are hoping to raise in excess of £2,790.

That's marvellous!

I can't believe it. I truly can't.

Aw! 2,790. I mean, that is...

-That is...

-A lot.

-It's a lot, yes.

It is. Oh, that is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

I never... I just thought it was a load of rubbish!

June's house was a real Aladdin's cave

and her late husband, Mike's antiques have given us some top quality items for auction.

We've got jewellery of all shapes and sizes,

with the star item being that stunning diamond ring

which Curtis hopes will make between £200 and £300.

I spotted that pair of Meissen figurines

which head to the sale room with a massive £400 to £700 price tag.

Thank goodness David didn't put them in the bin!

And, of course, we've got those two paintings.

The Charles Leslie valued at between £500 and £800,

and the George Houston,

valued at a massive £1,000 to £2,000.

With such highflying valuations

we should be set for an exciting day in the sale room.

Still to come on Cash In The Attic, I give our expert some styling advice.

You could do with a tie pin. You could do with a tie, actually!

But when it comes to antiques, not all goes our way.

Slightly disappointed, I have to say.

So, will we reach our hospice fund target after all?

Find out when the final hammer falls.

It's a few weeks since we spent the day with June Jailler and her son, David

at their lovely home at Deal in Kent,

but now the moment of truth has arrived here at Chiswick Auctions.

Now, you'll recall that we're chasing £1,200 so that June can buy a much needed recliner chair

for her local hospice,

a place that did much to care for her late husband Mike, so it's all in a good cause.

Let's hope we can find that £1,200, or maybe a bit more, as her items go under the hammer.

The auction house is filling up with eager bidders

and I'm hoping June's quality items will attract plenty of attention today.

Our expert, Curtis Dowling, has arrived early in anticipation

of the big day ahead and he's already tracked down one of our star lots.

Morning, Curtis. How are you?

Good morning. Very, very excited.

-Always a man with an eye for a figure.

-And a beautiful one as well.

-Genuine antiques.

-This to me is what it's all about.

I think this sale is going to be very exciting. We've got the George Houston, £1,000, at least.

It would be a travesty if it went for less.

And we've got great jewellery and these lovely figures.

And that Charles Leslie, too.

Yeah, another great Victorian picture.

All these items are top quality for what they are.

Well, we are chasing £1,200.

I suspect we may get to that fairly easily, but can we double it?

-Can we buy two chairs for the hospice?

-How exciting would that be?

Well, the gear's here. Let's see if David and June are here.

There's no doubt we've got some fantastic items here today, but our fate depends on

bidders in the room prepared to pay the right price for the fabulous paintings and quality jewellery.

We find June and David taking what could be their last look at the George Houston.

-Morning, guys.

-Morning.

-Hi, Jules. How you, all right?

Well, I see you've found the lovely Houston.

Are you sure you want to part with it?

-Definitely.

-Yeah?

-Yes.

-How do you think your dad would feel seeing these things

hanging on the walls and littering the auction room?

He'd love it. It would be like his second home.

Now, Curtis and I are very excited to see your lots go under the hammer.

It really is a wonderful collection and no surprise

that you've put some quite serious reserves on a lot of the pieces.

Give me an idea of the money we're talking about.

I think the reserve on this is 1,000.

there anything else you've put reserves on?

Yes, I've put a reserve on the Charles Leslie painting.

-What's the reason for that?

-I like it.

-Is the reserve more than what it's worth?

-No, it's not worth...

No, no, because the charity's more important than what I like.

It's a wonderful gesture that you're both making.

Hugely generous. A wonderful collection, as we've said, of items.

Let's go and see them go to auction.

We're all excited about today's auction, but with some reserves

in place we're really going to need the sale room to be on our side.

Remember that if you're heading to your local auction house, commission and possible

other charges will be added to your bill, so always check the details with the sale room first.

Thankfully, the room is packed and as the auctioneer gets into position

we take our places ready for our first lot,

the Georgian-style silver tray.

We're looking for between £40 and £60.

Happy to see that go?

Yes. Yes, I didn't even think it was silver.

Well, a nice little thing to take home for somebody.

Yeah, I think so. Silver always does well, certainly when things are relatively weak,

and at the moment silver is going to go pretty good, so fingers crossed.

-Let's see how it goes.

-A bit of interest in the lot.

Straight off I'm bid £40 for the lot. At £40. 45. 50. 55 in the room.

Against commission at £55. 60 everywhere. 65. 70. 75.

Blimey.

80. £80.

Standing at £80. You're £85?

85.

-Come on.

-£90 further back. At £90.

95 there now.

It's gone double.

At 95. It's going then, £95.

All done at 95. Thank you.

-We didn't do bad there, did we?

-That was the worst one.

Well, there's a start.

-How about that?

-There's a 12th of the chair.

-£95.

Yes, it's a leg.

Oh, let's hope it's a good day.

Well done.

A fantastic start

as the tray sells for more than double its lowest estimate.

The Meissen figurines are up next

and Curtis has high hopes for these little beauties.

How confident are we about making £400 for those?

They're worth it. The nice thing is they're very, very attractive.

Start me at a couple of hundred pounds. 200. 210.

-220. 230.

-These are those figures.

-It is.

For the Meissen at £230. I need more.

More than that. At £230. Anybody want to come in?

He said it needs more because he knows you've got your reserve on it.

Not sold, I'm afraid.

-Not sold.

-Oh!

-Just because someone's not buying them today, they are worth that money.

-Exactly.

We don't have people in the room who want Meissen figures.

-We've got a lot more to come yet, so don't be disheartened.

-Absolutely.

It's hard not to be disappointed

as the bidding failed to reach anywhere near its estimate

and there was no way the auctioneer could let them go.

But it's early days and we've got plenty of items yet to come,

including these Victorian majolica plates

and we're hoping the bidders will be willing to part with at least £80 for them.

Thank you. Are they worth £30?

35. 40.

Five. £45 there. At £45.

Anybody else want to come in for £45? They're still cheap at 45.

At 45 I can sell them. 50, there.

You're 55. £55, just in time. 55.

Still in the middle at 55.

They're going, then. £55.

-There you go.

-That's not too bad, is it?

I'm just pleased they've sold, actually.

Well, the plates sell under estimate, but that's still a useful 55 quid for our fund.

But can our first painting of the day, the oil of Highland cattle,

perform better and make us the £70 to £100 we're hoping for?

It's quite a naive picture and I think it's not been painted commercially.

It's been painted for someone to hang on their own wall or give to somebody.

So, I've put a fairly low figure on it

purely because I think it's attractive enough to adorn a wall,

I don't think it's attractive enough to be something that someone would want to buy in to sell on.

I'm already bid £95 for it.

-Ooh!

-Well, someone wants it.

-That's a good start, isn't it?

-At £95 with me.

-At 95 for the Highland cattle. At 95. 100.

-There we go.

110. Still with me at £110.

At 110 for that picture.

A good Victorian picture for £110.

It goes for 110, then.

-110.

-There you go.

-That's brilliant.

-£110.

-That's made up of the other, hasn't it?

That's ticked the box, hasn't it? We're on the way.

Well, the cattle certainly proved popular with the bidders, selling for just over our top estimate.

Great news for our hospice chair fund.

Next up it's the pair of crackleware Chinese vases,

also valued at between £70 and £100.

You're saying crackleware vases. What a great name.

Yeah, crackleware vases.

There are so many names you can put on so many items and I think if you went

to 10 auction houses they'll be catalogued differently.

Even June and I have called them something different.

70 to 100 quid. A pound a crack!

There you go. Well, let's see how we get on.

Are they worth £30, for the vases? £30?

30. 35. 40. £40 for those vases.

At 40. Anybody else? At £40.

For £40, not quite enough.

45 there.

50 with me. 50? Thank you.

-£50.

-There you go.

-How do you feel?

-There was no reserve, was there?

-No, not on these.

-It's towards the charity.

-They kind of also ran.

-I think so. They're pleasant decorative items.

-Yes.

-Someone's got a good deal.

You can't get that sort of thing for £50 in the High Street.

They may not quite have made the £70 we were after,

but that's still a healthy £50 in the pot.

Our final lot in this half of the auction

is the diamond tie pin.

I'm desperately hoping it will be a hit with the bidders

and bring us to the halfway stage on a high.

Well, we're saying £100 to £120.

You could do with a tie pin. You could do with a tie, actually!

Let's see how we do.

Start me for £70 to go. For 70.

75. 80. £80 for this diamond pin.

85 everywhere. I thought so. 85 there. 90 upstairs.

95. 100. 110. 120.

Oh, there's somebody wants this.

-She does, yeah.

-150. 160. 170. 180.

She wants it, look.

£200 upstairs. Upstairs at 200.

Anybody else want to come in? At £200 for the tie pin.

It's going then. £200 it goes.

-200.

-That was a lovely moment in an auction room when a real rally starts up between two people

-who desperately want it and the figures are bouncing around.

-I love that!

We've landed on £200, brilliant.

A fantastic note to finish our first half of the auction

as the pin sells for double its lowest estimate.

Despite disappointments so far, I think June and David will be pleasantly surprised

with how our fund is looking.

Right, guys, we're halfway through the auction.

Hard on the heels of our £1,200.

-How do you think we're doing?

-Reasonable.

I think reasonable is probably fair enough.

The best though is probably yet to come in the second half of the auction.

The George Houston picture, Charles Leslie, of course.

-But, come on, David, have a stab at a figure.

-£400.

400? £510.

-Oh, that's better than I expected.

-Not bad. Almost exactly halfway.

But the best is yet to come, so I think time for a quick cup of tea, Curtis has got something

he wants to show me in the auction room and we'll reconvene here for the second half. Come on.

While June and David grab their well earned cuppa, I find Curtis in the corner of the sale room.

Now, what have you got here, you magpie?

-It's the things I like finding, or not as the case may be sometimes.

-Winston Churchill!

Yeah. A note from Winston Churchill to what looks like a friend.

If I pick items up like this, I'm either full of fear or I'm delighted,

-and on this occasion I'm delighted.

-But you think this is genuine?

I think it's right and I think there's a lot of reasons why I do.

First of all, it's come in with its real and original envelope.

Now, yes, all these things are simple to fake these days

because of technology, but what fakers generally do is over-egg the pudding,

so what they will do is they'll add too many tea stains, too many tears, too many rips.

But this is very, very simple.

I think that's why I'm certain it's the real thing.

Well, what do you think this is worth?

-It says £50 to £80 and I think it is worth £50 all day long.

-Yeah.

It's genuine, it's in nice order.

-It's a great bit of history.

-I'd certainly pay £50 for it.

I'm a huge fan of Churchill and memorabilia like that

I suspect is an easy buy for any old collector, isn't it?

It would be interesting to see how it does, but let's get back to our sale, shall we?

Being such a history buff I'm really excited to have seen this letter first-hand

and I can't wait to see what the saleroom makes of it.

But it's back to our items now though and we retake our positions for the second half of the auction.

Next up, is another piece of jewellery,

the pearl and diamond ring.

Jewellery always seems to do well and we've been conservative.

We've said £100 to £200 on this, so, well, let's see how it goes.

Is it worth £50? I know it is. £50 to start me upstairs.

I thought so. And five. 55. 60.

65. 70. 75 now.

80. 85. 90. Still upstairs at £90.

It's going for 90. Nobody else wants to come in? £90 it sells, then.

-Thank you.

-£90.

-What was the...?

-We said 100 to 200.

-It's slightly under where we wanted to be.

-Still, it's good.

It's not a fashionable piece, but it's a nice quality piece.

Someone's got a bargain there.

But, 90 quid, not to be sniffed at.

-No, that's right.

-It's a good start to our second half, that's for sure.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-It sure is, Curtis and with the uncertain day

we seem to be having, we're all pleased that the ring sold so close to its estimate.

But can the collection of clocks raise us the £100 so we're looking for?

They're a mixture of styles and from Victorian to Art Deco and Curtis is feeling hopeful.

-You like some of these, don't you?

-I think the Art Deco one and the marble one.

We've got a funny selection. I call this a dealer lot.

-Yeah.

-Because I think if you bought this, and we've said £100 to £150, individually if you've got your shop

or your stand I think you're going to make reasonable money on each one.

Start me for 40. 30. 30 I'm bid there. At 30. And five I'll take from somebody else. At £30.

35. 40.

45. 50.

£50 there. 55.

55. 60. 65. 70. £70 there.

-At £70.

-70, a bit more like it.

Yeah. We're getting close.

Anybody else want to come in? £70.

157.

I'm stunned that the clocks only made £70.

I really thought they'd be snapped up,

but it shows you can never tell how the bidders will react at auction.

However, before our next item comes up, it's the turn

of the Winston Churchill letter that Curtis showed me earlier.

140 down below in the doorway. At £140. Anybody else want to come in?

140. 140 it is.

And selling for almost three times its lower estimate,

someone has bought themselves a unique piece of history

from one of the greatest Prime Ministers of the 20th century.

But now it's back to our items

and next up is the George Houston oil painting.

This is a big moment for us. With a value of between £1,000 and £2,000,

the sale of the painting could make all the difference to our target.

Now, perhaps the most exciting lot in our collection today, the George Houston.

Very handsome reserve of £1,000 on it. We've seen art struggle today.

Are we going to see £1,000 for this, I wonder?

-We've just got to wait and see what happens, haven't we?

-Yes.

Start me for the picture for £600.

£600 to start me. 600. And 50. 700.

£700 is all I'm bid for that picture. At £700.

And 50 somebody else. For £700.

It needs to be a little bit more than 700. And 50 anywhere?

£700 then. At 700.

Not sold, I'm afraid.

Well, unsold. £700.

Didn't make our £1,000 reserve.

Very, very disappointing, but I suppose the up side is you've got it for another day, for a rainy day.

Well, what can you say? Clearly there weren't the right bidders here

today and £700 was far too cheap a price to let the painting go.

What a blow.

With the George Houston having failed to excite the sale room,

I'm now really concerned for our next painting, the Charles Leslie Highland landscape.

-It's a lovely quality item. I know why there's a reserve on this, June.

-You want to take it home!

-Yes!

-Because you want to take it home, yeah.

Let's start this at £300 for that picture. At 300.

And 20 I'll take. At £300. 320. 340. 360.

£360 for the picture. At 360.

360. No, it's not enough.

£380 I need. 360, then. 360.

-Not sold.

-It went home.

-It went home. So, you're happy!

-Yes.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Well, there you go.

The Charles Leslie painting didn't make the reserve on it,

but I was quite pleased about that because I've missed it.

It looks very bare above the mantelpiece, so I'm quite pleased to have that back.

I'm really happy for June that fate's conspired to let her keep the painting she's so fond of.

Today just isn't the day for paintings and I have to say,

I'm relieved we don't have any more amongst our lots.

We've just got two more items left to sell and we're still

a long way off our £1,200 target that we were so confident of achieving at the start of the day.

First up, it's the stunning blue sapphire and diamond ring

with an estimate of between £80 and £100.

-I'm bid already £70.

-It starts at 70.

-We're off.

For the ring. 75. 80. 85. 90. 95 upstairs.

Against commissions at £95. And 100 down below now.

-110 do you want upstairs? 110.

-Oh, we're doing well.

110. 110 still upstairs. At £110.

Anybody else want to come in? At £110 it goes one... Was that a bid?

Yeah, it was a bid. 120. 130.

130 upstairs. At £130, then. At 130.

It goes 130, then. Thank you, 130.

Bizarre, isn't it? We're having a jewellery-based day.

A brilliant result and a vital boost to our target as the ring sells for £30 above its top estimate.

Jewellery really is flying out of the sale room today

and suddenly things are looking more positive.

I've got a good feeling about our final item, the shows topping diamond cluster ring.

Curtis thinks it's worth around £250, so it's been catalogued with an estimate of between 200 and 300.

I think this is a lovely engagement ring for a young couple

because I think this is sort of a quarter of the price you'd be buying

if it was brand new and it's a fantastic antique.

Let's hope our jewellery buyer has got their eye on this because somebody is here with some money.

So, 150 with me. 150. 160. 170.

£170.

Bouncing along, 170, 180.

190. 200. 210.

220. Upstairs at £220 for the ring.

At 220.

Anybody else want to come in? For £220 it's selling. 220, then.

220 is the bid.

I think 220 is as close...

-It's close enough.

-Well, it's a very handsome figure and bounces us very nicely towards 1,200 quid.

Yeah, absolutely.

Well, what a wonderful ending and the sale of the ring helps make up

for some earlier disappointments, but now it's the moment of truth for June and David.

Well, that's it. All of our lots have gone under the hammer.

Some highs, some lows, some frankly very disappointing unsolds,

not least of course the George Houston.

Yeah, the paintings didn't do well today. The jewellery did.

-Yeah.

-We were chasing 1,200 quid. I stuck my neck out and said we'd do it easily.

No, I don't think so.

I hate to say it, but you are absolutely right.

We haven't made £1,200, but we have made a substantial...

A substantial dent in our £1,200 total.

The figure I'm looking at here is £1,020.

-Not bad.

-It's not too bad, then.

So we have got a one, a two and two noughts, but just not in the right order.

We've got another £50 to add on to that.

Well, don't forget the pictures are unsold. They're going home with you.

They can only accrue value and another day, another sale,

you have potentially got the best part of £1,500 sitting there.

-Absolutely.

-I shall give it to the hospice and make it out

-for the chair.

-So, they'll get the chair.

-Yes, they will.

-How about that?

That's great. Really good job, that.

The day after the auction June and David visit the Pilgrim's Hospice

in Canterbury where June will be handing over a cheque for the cost of the reclining chair.

Claire Butler, the hospice medical director, is there to meet them and show them around.

Hello.

-How do you do?

-I'm Claire Butler.

-I'm June.

-Hello.

It's important for mum to do this because it was important to my dad

and she's spent a lot of time here as well, not only with Dad, but on her own and it was a release

for her as well when he was poorly, so it's very important.

-The single rooms are down that side.

-Yes, he was in one of these.

-They've got bays there.

-This one. Yeah.

They helped my husband a lot when he was ill and they also helped me

and this is what I would like people to know, that it is...

It is for the carers as well as the patients.

Claire takes June and David to the day room so June can see just what her donation will provide.

So, this is one of the sorts of chairs that we'll be able to buy with the money that you've raised.

Well, we rely very heavily on charitable donations from people like June,

so June's donation and those of many other people like her make all the difference.

Then all that remains is for June to hand over the cheque from the proceeds of the auction.

Well, you can see how we're going to spend it. We'll make good use of it. Thank you.

I definitely think it's been very important to Mum.

I can see in her emotions it's meant a lot, you know?

And to put something back that they gave her when she was here and Dad was here,

it must mean the world to her. I'm sure it does.

To help someone after seeing him in so much pain, it's really nice to think that it'll help someone else

to relieve the pain because you can put it any position that will help.

That was the best thing that we could have got for them, so I'm glad about that.