Yaxley Cash in the Attic

Welcome to Cash In The Attic.

We find hidden treasures around your home to sell at auction.

I wish I could say that this was my home.

I'm in Berkshire. And to get a taste of the area,

I stopped off at one of its most celebrated landmarks,

the magnificent Basildon Park.

Set in over 400 acres of park land overlooking the River Thames,

this 18th-century Palladian mansion has had a turbulent past.

Built for a wealthy director of the East India Trading Company in 1776,

it was later used as a military convalescent home in the Great War.

It then fell into disrepair.

In 1952, it was saved from total dilapidation

by Lord and Lady Iliffe. Their descendants own it today.

This idyllic mansion has provided the backdrop

for romantic blockbusters like Pride And Prejudice.

Sadly, though, I can't see Darcy anywhere coming to sweep me off my feet

and I've got a busy day ahead tracking down all those treasures so I'll be on my way.

Coming up on today's Cash In The Attic:

our expert feels as if he's struck gold.

This is like unearthing buried treasure!

For me, this is a real wow factor.

But I'm not sure he's taking all the antiques so seriously.

I am a robot. I am up for the auction sale. Sell me, please!

And despite difficult moments on auction day...

We really needed that for your total.

..some lots proved to be real high fliers.

Will we be successful when the final hammer falls?

I've come down to earth now and down the road to Reading

to meet a couple for whom romance really is in the air.

But they need a bit of help from the Cash In The Attic team.

This 1980s house is home to Keith Yaksley.

He's one of life's compulsive collectors, but his wife, Ayesha, isn't so keen.

She'd like to clear the decks!

Ayesha is French and came to England from Paris eight years ago.

She only planned to stay a year,

but she met Keith, and the rest, as they say, is history!

-Hi, Jennie, how are you?

-We are on a romantic mission today!

Romantic mission? I'm not much of a Cupid, but I know my collectibles!

Good, because these guys have passion not just for each other, but for collecting things!

Here we go!

This is what I like to see, my family hard at work.

-Hi. Keith, Ayesha.

-Nice to meet you!

You're a passionate collector, I hear.

I could be into golf or hang-gliding, but collecting is my thing.

Have you got lots of things for us to find?

I hope so. It's down to your expert and a good rummage!

-Who was it that called us in?

-I did, actually.

-Did you?

-Yes, I did.

Basically, we've been collecting lots over the last few years

and the house is getting smaller and smaller by the day

so we have to de-clutter.

-What do you want the money for?

-We got married in Paris in June

and I think we need a honeymoon!

-A honeymoon?

-Indeed!

-I heard it was going to be romantic! I love it, I do!

Where do you think you'd like to go?

It's down to what you can find, Jennie.

It's Bournemouth or Barbados, depending on how much we raise!

Which would you prefer?

I'd prefer, as much as Bournemouth's a lovely place,

I'd prefer the sun and the sand.

How much money to find your way to that honeymoon?

£1,000.

We'll go for £1,000 to get you on your way.

-It'll take us to the airport, to say the least!

-It should do!

-Let's have a look around.

-After you.

It doesn't take long to see that Ayesha's right.

The whole house is crammed inside and out with all sorts,

both old and new.

Woo-hoo! Jonty!

Wow!

-That is beautiful!

-But it's in rather ropey condition.

-Where did you get it?

-It came out of a skip.

-That's probably why.

-Here's the maker's name at the front here.

The American Music Instrument Company, based in Michigan, USA.

This is the Lyric, the model.

This particular model is pre-1962

because after that date, they brought out a very successful model

called the Continental One.

So it has that more 1950s feel,

rather than the '60s. The jukebox

is a classic, 20th-century iconic machine

and that is the reason people want to possess one.

The word "juke" is an Afro-American slang word for dance,

spelt J-O-O-K.

They called it the golden age, the 1940s,

because they used gold and plastic, predominantly gold and plastic.

The silver age is the 1950s because of the chrome they used.

So this machine is more influenced from the '50s

rather than the '60s. Is it for sale?

-It's time to find a new home for it.

-How much did you pay for it?

It wasn't a snip from a skip, sadly, cos they did know it was an interest.

So I paid about £150 for it.

-We can get your money back. We're looking £150, £250.

-Fine.

-That's a real bargain.

It's a very good start. At least £150 for our kitty.

Let's go look for something else. Come on!

So, it's down to business, and boy, is there a lot to do!

Keith has found another mid-century modern delight.

Some of us remember the '70s, but to others, this lamp is a marvellous retro masterpiece

which might fetch 30 to £50.

And while we're in the decade that brought us bell-bottoms and platforms,

Ayesha has found another chrome and glass statement piece.

Ayesha, what do you think about this coffee table?

-I want to sell. I don't want it any more.

-Do you like it?

No. I like the feet,

because of the circles. It looks like circles on planets.

But the glass, no,

because glass gathers dust and it's a pain to clean.

I notice we've got a smoked-glass top here.

This was very fashionable in the '60s and '70s, particularly.

Smoked glass was very cool.

Along with chrome, it was a revival from the 1930s when chrome was first used.

The interesting part about a table like this

is that when this was bought, it was the height of fashion.

But it then would have gone out of fashion

and in relatively recent times, this table has now come back into fashion.

This look, this chrome, sleek, simple look is very much in.

-Yes.

-Have I persuaded you to keep this or not?

No, still not.

You definitely... You definitely want to sell it.

-Definitely.

-OK, fine. What sort of price would you put on this?

-Approximately £30.

-I think we should do more than that.

-We're looking at more like 50 to £80.

-That would be fine.

Will you tell Keith, or just let it disappear?

Surprise him by the auction.

-On the auction.

-All right!

-We'll just let it go!

-Yes!

Fantastic. One for the auction. It's all adding up. Carry on searching.

OK!

I think we're beginning to see a bit of a pattern here.

This Studio pottery that Keith's mum bought him some years back

has a rather fish-like face that might make a splash at 50 to £100.

And as Jonty keeps the cogs turning,

I'm eager to find out more about Keith and his collections.

Keith, before I came here,

I was told that you had quite a lot of stuff.

I must say, every nook and cranny is crammed with it. It's extraordinary!

When did it all start?

The passion started originally with collecting Clarice Cliff.

-How old were you then?

-Before university. Probably 16, something like that.

Most 16-year-olds, when I was that age,

had other things to do apart from collecting antiques!

I could multi-task! I wasn't a sad person who sat in a room. I had other interests.

-Tell me what things you collect now.

-Watches, lighters,

I'd call it kissing frogs, I suppose.

You never know when you'll meet your prince!

-Have you met your prince?

-My princess!

Rather than getting up at six on a Sunday to play golf,

I get up at six on a Sunday to go to boot fairs.

What does Ayesha think about it?

She's nearly as bad as me!

Recently we've been trying to buy things more to sell.

And I bring stuff back

and if she gets to see it,

it's "No, you can't sell that. I love it! I want to keep it!"

So, in a sense, over time, we've grown to be a bit the same.

The answer, I have the solution.

-Buy a bigger house!

-I thought you were gonna say, "Get another girlfriend"!

-That's a bit unfair!

-Wrong! Either you get another house,

or we have to get on with the rummaging.

We can't sit here all day. Where next, eh?

Looks as if Ayesha might have the answer to that question.

This autographed portrait is of American-born actress Constance Cummings

who starred in the film Blithe Spirit,

an adaptation of Noel Coward's play.

We're hoping a fan will snap this up at auction

at around 30 to £50.

In the bedroom, we're so busy staring at the walls,

we nearly miss what's right under our noses - or under our feet!

Keith, what about this rug? Is it something you'd consider selling?

It's a fairly recent acquisition. I haven't had time to fall in love with it!

We had to take a rug up to put a rug down

-so it's possibly something I'd consider selling.

-What do you know about it?

I bought it from a local chap who told me it had come out of one of the grace-and-favour homes

in Windsor Castle. So a fairly good pedigree.

I believe it's Turkish, from the little I know about rugs.

I do believe it is actually quite old

in comparison to some that I have bought and have been told are reasonably old.

That's all I know.

You're absolutely right. It is a Turkey carpet.

You can tell that by the stylised design of it.

You almost have the sense that it's geometric.

If you look at the floral designs, they're all square.

If you look at this stylised form, what is this?

Is it a stylised tree, is it a dagger? One is not quite sure,

simply because it's so stylised.

Look at what must be plant formation beside it here.

Look at this. It's all very, very square.

You are looking at a wool rug, wool on wool. Everything about this is wool.

Again, the softness of wool, you can tell whether it's come from a live sheep or a dead sheep.

If you've got wool from a dead sheep, it loses all its natural oils.

If it comes from a live sheep, you can feel the difference,

quite considerably.

The most important thing for me is its condition.

The colour. There's a uniform colour that still runs through this.

You do get natural fading happening.

But that is much more... It lasts longer with natural dyes.

If you've got synthetic dyes exposed to light, they can fade almost overnight.

If I put this into an auction sale,

-I would value a rug like this between 150 to £250.

-OK.

-In the auction sale.

-Right.

-Are you happy to magic this off to the auction?

-Absolutely. I'll fly there myself!

Great. One for the sale.

He knows the market. That's the important thing.

I don't. I know that I like Turkish rugs.

I know what I've paid for some.

But if the trend has moved on and these rugs aren't popular any more,

you do need more people to want to buy something.

So you can only sell it at a market rate

so I have to go with the expert's advice.

And said expert is having a grand old time.

I'm enjoying this rummage as well. It seems Keith is a very well-read chap.

-What have you found?

-They're so wonderful. A lot of old books.

-These are gorgeous.

-And what have we got...

A whole volume. A whole set here.

The Arthur Evans' The Palace of Minos at Knossos.

It was released in six or seven volumes some years ago

when he excavated the palace of Minos on Crete.

-Yes.

-And they released each volume as he dug and found more things.

He wasn't the one who discovered it, but he was the one who did this massive survey,

really over 30 years.

-How many have we got here?

-There should be a seventh volume.

-Were you aware that there was one missing?

-The index.

-Yes.

-Sadly, I don't have that.

-The reason why this is a rare collection,

is that people got bored of collecting them.

They were issued over such a long period of time.

So we started at the beginning of the century

but it went all the way up to the early 1930s.

Have you read any of these?

I'd love to say I've read all six volumes cover to cover

but there are pages that haven't even been turned!

The books are highly illustrated. If we look at this one, for instance.

-Gorgeous.

-Can you see?

-Yes, that is!

All those lovely, fantastic, those natural colours are wonderful.

Sounds fantastic. I assume they're first editions?

They are first editions. You can see that clearly if I turn the page on this book here.

This one here.

1930. They're wonderful.

-How long have you had this?

-Probably 20 years. Time flies,

-but at least 20 years.

-20 years. And how much did you pay?

The most I've ever paid for books - about £350.

I'm convinced they're worth an awful lot more than that. Absolutely convinced.

What I need to do is find out if sets like this have been sold on the open market.

-I'm hoping I can come back with some good news on the day of the auction.

-Sound good!

This is really exciting news. Really exciting news.

Like uncovering buried treasure!

-Happy about that?

-Yes!

-He's very happy!

He's very excited. He doesn't get this excited! It's brilliant!

He's so excited, he can't wait to find out what's lurking elsewhere.

This piece of 1970s Poole pottery could dazzle a collector

at between 80 and £140.

We're making great progress here, so I take the time to find out more about the newly-weds.

What's it like, living with a man like that, who's always collecting things?

-Exciting, actually.

-Exciting?

-First time she's said that, but it's good!

Does it get on your nerves when he comes back with stuff every day?

At first, but now I'm used to it!

You've already had part one of your wedding. What's gonna happen next?

We have to do the legal thing in the UK, so a civil ceremony in the UK.

How did you two meet?

In the pub I first came in when I started working in England.

There was a big party the owner of the pub did

for his regular customers and friends.

It was going on from lunch time till late at night.

He was a bit merry and I was in the same state

and he asked me if I would like to marry him.

I said to him, "If one of my rings fits one of your fingers, yes."

Let me get this straight. You're in a pub. You're working, he comes in.

You have a few drinks, he pops the question

and you say if your ring fits, you'll marry him!

You'd known each other a few hours!

-Oh, no, we'd seen each other across a crowded room.

-I see.

He was the shy type. Always hiding behind his newspaper!

Sometimes he answered me back, sometimes he avoided me completely.

-It's still pretty quick work, I would say.

-Yeah!

I couldn't help but notice, Keith, when I came in,

that your voice was quite husky.

I thought you had a sore throat. But you've been suffering from cancer.

-That's right, yes.

-Pretty devastating.

You'd think so, yes. Of course, it's very serious.

But it's like if somebody breaks an arm, you get it fixed.

If somebody has a cold, it goes away.

I try to treat it as if it were something else.

I went for it that way

and mercifully it seems that the treatment's pretty well there.

The treatment I had has left me with a funny throat

especially when I do too much talking as I've done today!

What was it like? It must have been tough.

It was very hard because he's very close to me.

But because in my family my sister has suffered already from cancer when she was little,

so the idea of it didn't scare me as much as I thought it was gonna scare me.

I suppose now that you seem to have beaten cancer,

-that will make the honeymoon all the more special.

-Absolutely!

And where you'd like to go is the Caribbean, really.

Somewhere nice and warm, a nice beach. We've never had a holiday for seven years, so it's time!

We're not gonna get you on that honeymoon unless we get back and help Jonty.

He'll be wondering where we've got to!

He's like a kid in a sweet shop in this rummage!

And he's found a real gobstopper!

This pair of books

featuring original artwork of The Perishers by Dennis Collins could raise £50.

But that's not the only show-stopper in this house.

Jonty, this might be interesting.

What on earth is that?

Well, I can see. Can I have a look?

Now, what on earth are you doing with a massive toy like that in your house, for goodness' sake?

Well, it was on my birthday and I bought it for myself as a present

for Ayesha to give to me!

So he obviously moves?

He's quite clever, actually,

especially if somebody's had a few!

If you'd like to try talking into it there.

SIREN SOUNDS I've got the wrong one.

ROBOTIC VOICE: I am a robot. I am off to the auction sale.

Sell me, please! Find my a buyer! Raise lots of money at the auction.

It's wonderful! It goes backwards and forwards?

This is interesting. I'm gonna turn you off for a second.

-What's he doing now?

-He doesn't like to be turned off!

-He doesn't!

Poor old robot! You see this,

it says, "GP Toys. Italy."

Giochi Preziosi, which is an Italian company,

established in 1978.

So he can't be '70s. He has to be 1980s.

We've got the name here, "Scooter 2000".

Do you know if he came in different colourways?

I have seen a more common one, which is a creamy-white colour.

Yellow-white, with different facial features as well.

But he looks the part more because he's more robot-like.

It's interesting, the name "robot" came from a play,

a Czech play in the 1920s.

In the play, they had figures that were robot-like.

Because the word "robota" basically means "labour", it means "hard work".

These characters were called robots within the play.

So it was a play on words, essentially.

So it's these human figures that did all the labour.

And the name has stuck ever since.

So the name is not American, it's not Japanese,

where a lot of robots were made in the 1950s,

but Czech, which I find quite extraordinary.

-Not a lot of people know that!

-Not a lot of people know that!

Now, the big 64-million-dollar question is, are you happy to part with your friend?

I think he wants to go on a journey!

He can go to the auction, definitely.

-Do you remember what you paid for him?

-It was a present. How could I know?

-It was £20.

-About £20.

I think on a good day, we could double that.

-Good stuff.

-Definitely one for the auction sale?

-Definitely.

-I want to play now. What do we do here?

ELECTRONIC BEEPING

It was great fun while it lasted. It should give others some fun.

We have a couple of other robots tucked away

so if I get lonely for Scooter, I'll go and talk to one of the other ones!

Time to get our noses back to the grindstone

if we're going to get £1,000 for Keith and Ayesha's honeymoon.

And we take another step towards our target when they add this mixed lot of books to the auction haul.

They include a signed edition of "Familiar London" by Rose Barton

featuring paintings of the city in the early 1900s.

Jonty hopes they'll bring us 150 to £250.

In the bedroom, Ayesha's found another of Keith's collections.

How are we getting on? Look at that!

It's a collection of hundreds of watches. That's typical Keith.

-Yes.

-He's not satisfied with one watch. He needs hundreds!

More than that, actually. Maybe 300!

-Could we sell any of these watches?

-Yes.

That one I think, probably.

This one? Let's have a look. Bulova.

That's American. It's very popular in America. They're one of the big wrist-watch-makers.

In fact, they're were one of the pioneers in selling wrist watches,

because wrist watches became popular after the First World War.

Before then, it was all pocket watches.

But the practicality of wearing a time-piece on your wrist, if you were a soldier,

it made sense to have this on your wrist.

After that, it became a fashion statement.

So really, Bulova were the pioneers in America for this.

The story all started in 1865 in New York City

where an immigrant, by the name of Joseph Bulova,

opened his first jewellery store.

And the rest is history.

By 1919, they'd started their first range of wrist watches.

Now, this looks like gold.

Stylistically, if you look at that,

that's a bit like our jukebox. It has that 1960s feel to it.

Let's have a look on the back.

This is interesting. We've got an owner's name here.

It says James Boland.

And, more interesting still,

it's got the dates here of 1939 to '64.

So it was either a present or a leaving present.

Impressed on the back is even better news.

"14K". 14-carat gold. That's what we're looking at here.

That's really fantastic, really good, to see that.

Will Keith be happy to sell this? It's definitely...

We should never have left them alone!

Look at this, Jennie. A whole box full of watches.

It's not quite full! I can still get more in there.

-We found this lovely watch.

-I'd hidden those!

Keith, can we sell this one?

The reason for the collection is to learn more about them and find out how they work.

That's a working watch, so it can definitely go.

This is worth between 80 and £120 at auction.

-Great. Good stuff. Excellent.

-That's good.

That's a very nice end to our day's rummaging.

-We've finished.

-Hoorah!

So 80 to 120 to add to our kitty.

That's great. That's what we need. We're after £1,000 to send you on that honeymoon.

At the end of our day's rummaging,

we're not going to take into account the Arthur Evans' rare collection.

Who knows what they might fetch. So without those books,

we reckon you will make at auction £860.

-That's good. Sounds great.

-Nearly there without the books.

-All's well. See you at the auction.

-Look forward to it.

I have to say I'm looking forward to seeing how Keith's items go.

There's certainly plenty of variety.

We have items like the hand-loomed Turkish rug

with its rich earthy hues.

Jonty's put an estimate of 150 to £250 on it.

And a robot to serve you drinks.

Not your usual antique! It could fetch 40 to £50.

And those first editions of The Palace of Minos at Knossos.

Jonty's got research to do, but if he's right and Keith brings them to the auction,

this honeymoon could turn out to be very plush indeed!

Still to come on Cash In The Attic: Nailbiting moments in the sale room.

They don't like it!

But we're feeling triumphant after some of the results.

That's great!

Will we have reached our target when the final hammer falls?

18. Thank you.

It's a few weeks now since we ransacked Keith and Ayesha's house

and what a treasure trove it turned out to be!

We've brought all the items we selected here

to Sworders Olivers Auction House at Sudbury in Suffolk.

Let's hope that by the end of the day we've raised that £1,000

to get the wedding bells ringing!

Many of the items in the catalogue today are Victorian or Edwardian.

But Jonty has something that he hopes will bring the buyers into the 20th century.

-Hello!

-You've found your twin!

-I like the idea of somebody arriving with champagne.

-So do I!

-Good idea?

-I'll have the champagne, you have the toy!

-It's lovely, actually.

-Great fun.

Do you think this will sell? Is there a market for it?

Robots of this date, not necessarily so.

But tin robots from Japan, for instance,

from the 1950s, some rarer versions of those, can fetch huge sums of money.

But he'll be fine. No problem with him.

-I have an issue with the books, which I'll need to talk to Keith about.

-Oh, no!

-I need to have a discussion before the auction takes place.

-I can tell it won't be a happy discussion.

We've got some other great items as well. The jukebox.

That's true. OK. Let's go find them and break the news.

ROBOTIC VOICE: Sell me, please. Find me a new buyer!

Well, let's hope we find plenty of new buyers today.

Before everything gets going, we catch up with Keith and Ayesha and their jukebox.

-Good morning!

-Hi, guys.

-How are you?

-Taking a last look?

-Absolutely, yes!

-It's a lovely piece. Do you think it'll sell?

-I hope so. It depends who's in the room.

-I've seen people looking at it.

-Good stuff!

I hope it goes well for you.

-Are you nervous?

-No.

No? Good girl! Some people get very edgy before the auction.

-I don't. It's a nice day out.

-A day out. Brilliant.

I've had a chat with the auctioneer about your lovely books.

And without the index, it's his hunch, in a general sale,

-that the estimate should be around the £1,000 mark.

-Right.

I think it's a bit too low. I was hoping more like 1,500

£2,000 for the set.

So it's my suggestion that you hold them back for a specialist sale.

I wondered what you thought about that before the auction starts.

We thought it might be a bit niche for a general sale,

so I think that's probably wise.

So we're gonna take those away, which is a big chunk out of our target.

That's a huge amount that's gone. You've got some nice pieces that'll sell.

We hope so. We just hope so.

-Time to face the music!

-Oh!

-Oh, Jonty!

Let's find a spot for the auction.

If you're planning to take the plunge and buy or sell at auction,

remember that commission and other charges may apply.

Check with the auction house.

Looking forward to the auction. Hope it goes well.

Hopefully make a lot of money for our holiday - our honeymoon!

I have put some reserves on things. We don't want things to go for nothing.

Hopefully, they'll go really well.

Morning, ladies and gentlemen.

As the auctioneer calls order, we take our place for the first lot.

It's the chrome and glass coffee table valued at 50 to £80.

This is your '70s chrome coffee table.

-That melts the lamps.

-Yes!

I'm fearful we might not get up to the £50 mark on it,

but it's worth every penny of it.

-I don't think Suffolk is up to the '70s yet!

-Oh, I don't know!

Several bids on the book here.

I'm going to start this at 45.

-See?

-'45 I'm bid. At £45.'

At 45. 50.

Five. 55 with me.

-At £55.

-That's good.

£55. At £55.

All finished and done at £55.

I'm selling at £55.

-That's better than I thought.

-You didn't like it at all, did you?

-No!

Ayesha may not like it, but someone did.

£5 over estimate is a great start

towards the honeymoon fund.

Our next item, the Poole vase,

is another '70s gem.

All finished and done at 80?

It's a good result for the vase.

However, like the Knossos books,

I'm not sure how our next lot will fare in a general sale.

I'm a bit concerned about your architectural books.

I'm not sure they're gonna find a specialist sale here.

We're in the same situation as the others.

-It's a bit too niche.

-Yeah.

I like them, so I can always take them home again.

-They might sell. Let's see.

-Let's think positively.

I'm starting these at 100.

-At £100.

-Resounding silence!

At £100. 110. 120.

30. 40.

At £140.

All finished and done with 140?

-That was interesting, that.

-There was some interest.

I'm quite pleased that there was some interest.

They're worth 140 quid, so that's good.

It's so close, but at £10 under Jonty's estimate,

the Rose Barton books go unsold.

I don't think Keith's disappointed, though.

I'm not unhappy about that. It was a bit specialist for a general auction.

The plan now is put some more books with them and go to a specialist auction.

Go round the circle again!

We're in an interesting position. Up until the books, our sales have been good.

But £140 is a lot to lose out on.

We're hoping for better things from our next lot.

Another '70s special.

Are the buyers here?

I'm starting this at 18.

£18.

-At £18.

-No-one remembers the '70s!

-At £18.

-They don't like it!

All finished and done at £18?

Anyone coming in at £18?

-I'll have to pass that over.

-No bids.

-Oh, dear!

-Will you put it up again?

-It hasn't been up at all! I'll have to find a spot now!

The lightshade needed the right sort of collectors, and they weren't here today.

We're hoping our next item will have a broader appeal.

Do you think there are any Constance Cummings fans here,

cos we need them for your photo!

I hope so. Some film buffs, maybe.

-Autograph collectors.

-£30. Part with £30.

Constance Cummings. But we need a "goings", rather than a "Cummings"!

Jonty!

I'm starting this at 18.

-At £18.

-Someone.

22.

£22. At £22.

At £22.

All finished and done with that at £22?

Selling at £22.

£8 under the estimate. But Keith seems pleased with that result.

I'm happy the Constance Cummings photo sold. I hope that bodes well for the rest of the auction.

Perhaps our next lot will lift spirits even higher.

This is a lot of fun.

Our robot. I've seen a lot of people looking at it.

I gave it a fond farewell, too!

I caught him playing with it. He wants the champagne, though!

I'm starting this at 20.

£20.

Two. 25. 28. 30.

On the books with me at 30.

At £30.

32. On my right at 32.

-It's worth more than that.

-At 32. 35 at the back.

35. 38.

40? 40 at the back.

42.

45.

-45. Right at the back at 45.

-I like it even more now!

48. 50.

At £50.

-That's top estimate.

-All finished and done at £50?

At £50. Selling at 50.

That's great. They have got a sense of humour!

£50 is a good result.

But that £1,000 target still looks a long way off.

How much have we raised so far?

How do you feel it's gone so far?

Curiously!

That's right! Never mind. We're at the half-way point now.

You want £1,000. Half-way we might hope to be at 500, but we're not.

We're at £207.

It's not too good, is it?

-But we've some good items to come.

-The jukebox.

The jukebox, yeah. People have been looking at that.

I'm pretty confident about that.

OK. Much to come.

In the meantime, it's a while till they come up,

so let's go and have a break.

It's been a turbulent first half,

especially without our star lot,

Keith's vast volumes of The Palace of Minos at Knossos.

But this sale just isn't right for these precious books.

So, Arthur Evans has to go to a specialist sale.

It all makes sense, if you think about it.

General sales are great for getting rid of almost anything,

but when it comes to slightly higher value items,

maybe items that are in excess of a couple of thousand pounds, like our books,

then it is best to sometimes hold those back

for a specialist sale.

A collection of books like this

needs to go into a specialist book sale.

Then we have much more of a chance of attaining that £2,000

which I hope this collection is worth.

What's different about a specialist sale?

With a specialist sale, and a lot of auctioneers across the country do have specialist sales,

is they hold all their higher value items for those sales.

There, the room will be concentrated full of dealers

that are much more specialist in their areas.

That, in itself, tends to bump the price up.

I'm not entirely convinced they'll go anywhere other than Keith's home. He loves them!

He's got a lot of reading if not!

We're in our places again.

Ayesha has managed to hold Keith back from collecting anything else during our break!

We're half-way through now. Things haven't rushed out of the sale room,

but I hope we'll do better in the second half.

We're starting on a high note.

Our first lot is Keith's Bulova wrist watch

with an estimate of 80 to £120.

Are you ready to say farewell to this?

Yes, quite happy to see this go. I hope somebody else wants it.

-You bought this yourself?

-I did.

And I'm starting this at 50.

Five. 60.

Five. 70.

Five.

-I'm out.

-It's stuck.

At £75.

At £75.

All finished and done with that at £75?

-Happy with that?

-Yeah.

It adds to the total.

It's a good start. It may be £5 short of its lower estimate,

but Keith's right. It all adds to the pot.

Next is the hand-made Turkish rug.

It's an absolutely beautiful piece of craft,

but Jonty did have reservations about how well it would sell.

The market is flooded with items like this, and Keith has a reserve on it.

It's our rug.

-And hey presto, we're standing on it.

-We could be flying!

We don't want to be flying. We want it to be flying out the door, or a buyer flying out.

And I'm starting this at 85.

At 85.

At £85.

At £85.

90. Five.

At £95.

At £95.

All finished and done with that at £95?

-Have to pass that, I'm afraid.

-You are flying back with it!

-Yes.

-And it wasn't that magical.

It wasn't.

Well, the rug didn't reach its reserve.

I have to say I'm not surprised.

The rug didn't sell, but hey, I liked it anyway, so it goes back on the floor!

Next up is a rather unusual item.

-There's something fishy about this next lot!

-Oh, dear!

I have to say I've no idea where this vase was made at all.

-Where did you get it?

-I bought it cos I thought it was attractive.

Attractive?! You're attractive, but this fish vase is not!

There's beauty in ugliness!

And at 25 start. At 25.

At £25.

£25.

At £25.

At £25.

You have unique taste!

All finished and done with that at 25?

We'll have to pass that over, I'm afraid.

That's disappointing, cos we really needed that for your total.

We're taking a bit of a whack on our target, I'm afraid,

Have you got a contingency plan?

-A caravan.

-A caravan!

If things don't start improving, even a caravan might be optimistic!

When The Perisher comics also fail to sell...

I have to pass that over.

..Keith and Ayesha might well be looking at a tent, if they're lucky!

We're a long way from our target and with just one item left to sell,

there's a massive amount riding on the jukebox.

Keith's keeping everything crossed.

I'm excited cos it's your jukebox coming up.

I think it's a great piece of equipment

but we're worried cos it's got a crack in it

and I'm not sure it'll do as well as you hope. What do you reckon?

I reckon I don't want to take it home on the roof!

So long as it doesn't go for two bob and a conker, I'll be happy.

A few people have been sniffing around. Let's see if they can come up with 150 quid.

At £100.

-At £100.

-Come on!

-At 100. Ten.

120.

130.

140. 150.

-160.

-That's better!

£160. With me at 160.

70. 180.

190. 200.

On the books with me at 200.

At £200.

-That's really good.

-All finished and done at £200?

I'm selling at 200.

That's better!

You didn't want to put that in the car, did you?

It would have to go on the roof!

That's brilliant.

Well done!

That's good stuff.

Phew! That's a well-needed last-minute addition.

It hasn't been the most successful day,

but Keith's being philosophical.

There's always another day

and we're pleased with some of the things we have to take back cos we'd miss them!

No.

I think Ayesha would rather be on a beach in the Caribbean than take things home!

Still, with the sale over, it's time for me to tot up the final total.

Well, that's it. It's all over, for better or worse!

You've got space in your car?

It's been quite a tricky day. We've had quite a few unsold items.

And you withdrew all those books, so it's not been easy.

-How do you feel about it?

-Quite pleased a couple of them didn't go.

-I'm pleased the biggest thing went cos that would have been a nightmare.

-The jukebox.

Yeah, the jukebox. Overall, it's been a pretty good day.

-What do you think, Ayesha?

-I think it was good.

-OK.

You were looking for £1,000 for your wedding and honeymoon fund.

Well, it has been a difficult day, so I'm warming up to tell you

that you haven't made your target, I'm sorry to say.

But you can take those items off and sell them elsewhere.

You haven't made £1,000. You've made 482.

-OK.

-That's fine.

-Better than I thought.

-Is it?

-It's good.

It's not a lot, but I hope that it helps, guys.

-It will do.

-All those other specialist items

are for another day, another time.

-You'll be fine.

-Absolutely.

Keith and Ayesha haven't got the £1,000 they were looking for.

So until those specialist items are sold,

booking a Caribbean getaway is off the cards.

But there are plenty of other things to pay for when it comes to a wedding party.

They met in a pub, so what better place to celebrate with family and friends than a cosy inn?

It looks good. Plenty of room.

We could probably set up a head table over there.

-Yeah.

-And the food's very good.

So, shall we go for it?

-Yes. Shall we celebrate with a drink?

-Why not? After you! Go on.

That's one decision made.

And it sounds as if they've got future auction plans as well.

If we can sell the other things that we didn't sell,

we can afford to go somewhere for a lovely honeymoon.

Yeah, and for once I can have some sun!

Yeah, that's true!

Here's to our successful day.

-Cheers!

-Cheers!