Kay Cash in the Attic

Welcome to the show that finds the treasures around your home

and helps sell them at auction.

Today I'm in Hertfordshire to meet a lovely lady who's inherited a lot of items over the last 50 years.

Find out what they're worth on today's Cash In The Attic.

'Coming up on Cash In the Attic: a Victorian silver punch bowl has served more than one purpose.'

My grandmother used it probably for chicken soup!

'And chicken soup is not the only dish of the day.'

-This is one of my favourites.

-Why?

-That one takes the biscuit.

'But when we get to auction, will there be a feast or famine?'

-There was a bidding frenzy there.

-I'm so pleased for you!

'Find out later in the show.

'Josephine Kaye spent most of her working life as a full-time mother,

'looking after her two now very grown up children - Adam aged 43 and Robin, 39.

'When they left home, she retrained and returned to work in advertising, but Josephine has arthritis

'which over the years has steadily got worse and it forced her to retire very recently.

'Good friend Cynthia is her rummaging partner today.

'Josephine's son is married to Cynthia's daughter, so they're mothers-in-law.

'I have a feeling that the two of them have some fantastic items waiting to be discovered.'

-Good morning! How are you?

-Goodness! Are you running a soup kitchen?

-This is a solid silver ladle.

-It's beautiful.

A small example of what we'll find today. There's some great stuff

-and two lovely ladies you'll be dying to meet.

-Yeah.

They've got a special trip in mind. Find me more silver and I'll find out what the trip's about.

-Hello, ladies!

-Hello, Lorne!

-Oh, pretty baby photographs. Are any of those you?

Well, it's quite funny. This is Josie.

-No, that's Robin!

-It's a few years ago, let's be honest.

-One or two.

This is obviously a family album. Tell me about the connection between you two. You're mother-in-laws?

-Yes.

-You seem to get on very well. I understand mother-in-laws don't.

Well, so we've been told! We seem to.

-So what's the connection, then?

-My daughter married Jo's son.

-So we are mother-in-laws.

-How long ago was this?

They've been married 10 years and engaged for a couple. 12 years.

-Did you hit it off straight away?

-Virtually straight away.

-That must make life very easy

-for daughter and daughter-in-law and son and son-in-law.

-It was for planning the wedding!

-We actually spoke to each other!

-I think that's fantastic.

Obviously that's all been and gone and here we are today. So what is the plan? What have you in mind?

Well, I suffer from arthritis

and my consultant at the hospital as suggested I spend about a week in the Dead Sea in Israel.

The chemicals, minerals and the mud will all help to alleviate my pain.

-Have you been to the Dead Sea before?

-Many years ago.

Not since my arthritis has been as bad as it is.

-What money are we talking about?

-About £1,000 per person.

-What do you mean?

-Well, we're hoping Cynthia comes with.

She suffers from psoriasis.

So the more we raise in Cash In The Attic, the less we actually have to spend ourselves.

Hopefully we'll go together.

So we need to raise at least £1,000 so you can go,

-but you're looking really to raise £2,000 so you can go, too.

-That would be fantastic.

'We'd better get to work, then. Josephine and her husband Geoffrey have lived here for eight years.

'We'll hear more about their family later once we've met our expert.

'Paul's been into antiques for more than 20 years

'and he's lost no time tracking down the family silver. For once his mind isn't on the nearest tea pot.'

-Ah, there you are. Hello.

-Hello.

-Come and stand next to me.

-I've seen that already. It's beautiful.

Yes, I picked this out because it's a fantastic silver ladle. Made in Edinburgh.

-In Scotland.

-Really?

-Some time 1780, 1800.

The golden age of British silver.

But it's sat in your cabinet in this dish. Where's that from? What a fantastic example that is.

I don't remember it being in either of my grandparents' houses,

so I presume it was a silver wedding present to my parents. Who gave it to them I couldn't tell you.

-This again is Scottish. Made in Glasgow.

-Isn't that strange?

-They're 200 years apart.

-This is much more recent?

-Yes, sort of 1920. 20th century.

A French Rococo design, Scottish silver. I love the way it's been done with these cartouches.

-Absolutely beautiful.

-Lots of people find these and think they're silver-plated

because of this yellow interior, but that is gold plating, a gold flash.

Do you know why they put that on? Simple reason.

In punch you have lots of fruits and spices and sugars and salts and they can pit the silver.

So they put this protective coating on so you can have all these in here without damaging the item.

-You've got a fantastic example here.

-What value can you put on this?

-Well...

If this was retailed in a shop, it would be very expensive.

If I could put at least £300 up to maybe £500.

-So the two together at £300-£500.

-£300-£500.

-Crikey.

-How's that?

That's quite shocking, actually. My grandmother used it probably for chicken soup!

'Chicken soup! I think grandmother would be stunned to hear how much this silver ladle and punch bowl

'are worth. And it's a fantastic opener to the day.

'We all agreed to split and take on various rooms. Paul makes another discovery,

'finding these six pretty little white metal eggcups together with matching spoons.

'Given to Josephine by her uncle, they're a touch Arabian in style.

'They're worth a cracking £20-£30.

'Cynthia might be keen to take a trip to the Dead Sea, too,

'but her priority today is, of course, Josephine.'

-Hi.

-Now, then.

-Is this any good to help Jo?

Where have you found this? Where was this hiding?

This was actually in my parents' house many years ago and I've had it

-and if she can use it, why not?

-Well, that's nice.

-You brought it along to help?

-To help Jo go where she wishes to go.

-Is it a long-lost Van Gogh?

-Hopefully!

-Do you know the artist at all?

-I have no idea about it.

-I can tell straight away it is an amateur painter.

-Right.

In Victorian times, people would go out, look at the surroundings and take in the environment,

then come back and paint the items. This would have been a sketch, then filled in.

-It's quite nice. Do you know where it is?

-I have no idea about anything about it.

-It's not really got the detail to be a long-lost fantastic painting.

-Unfortunately.

It's the sort me and you could do.

But put the painting to one side and what you've got here is a fantastic frame.

People often overlook the frames. They can be very important.

If you've got a nice portrait, painting or photograph to frame up it's a perfect thing to have.

What you look for is to make sure there's no damage, no chips, no bits of relief missing.

That's in nice condition.

What's amazing me more and more often with this size of frame is we have a new use for them.

-Can you guess?

-No, tell me.

-Put televisions in them.

-Television?!

-A flat-screen television.

Isn't that fantastic? That's a perfect size for that.

It makes it a double sellable item. So we've got a nice painting worth 10 or 20 quid.

The frame, you could add value to that. I would say this is worth £30-£60, that sort of price.

-Fine! If it helps Jo, why not?

-That's a great item. Very saleable. What a nice friend you are.

'Hm, attaching antique picture frames to plasma TVs?

'That's a different idea. Let's see if that one catches on.

'It's a generous offering from Cynthia and more cash in the pot.

'Talking of pots, I spot these 18th-century small hallmarked silver salt pots

'that once belonged to Josephine's grandmother. They're worth £20-£30.

'Paul's busy finding more of Josephine's family items, but not everything fits the bill.

'Josephine grew up in a six-storey Victorian house in Hackney.

'Her mum and dad had met through family friends when they worked together in the East End of London.'

They're busy still hunting, but I wanted to ask you a little bit about your family background.

-You've had an interesting past, very well-supported by the family, by the sounds of it.

-It was.

I don't know whether it was my family...

My grandparents were friends.

And when my mother left school, she went to work for the other grandfather.

-Basically, she married the boss's son.

-Right, OK.

-It really kept it in the family.

-Absolutely. Whenever there was a wedding or anything,

-both families went to the same wedding.

-Did you miss that when you moved?

-I missed the closeness

of the family. Unfortunately, the aunts and uncles are now dead.

I am still in touch with most of my cousins,

-including one I found after 54 years in South Africa.

-Goodness!

He'd emigrated. My aunt and uncle had broken up.

My aunt had emigrated to South Africa and we all lost touch with her.

But I have family. My brother-in-law married a South African girl. My husband's brother.

And on one of our visits I suddenly realised, "I think I know how to trace them." And I did.

-She had put him into an orphanage when they arrived.

-Goodness.

I found him through the orphanage after 54 years.

Yes, we are still in touch. He's only just - and I do mean just - gone on to using a computer.

-So now we email each other.

-That's fantastic.

-It really is lovely.

-I'm up to date on all his family history.

-Is he up to date on this?

-No, not yet.

-He will be!

-I don't know if they get it out there,

but he'll certainly hear about it when I've finished filming with you!

'Josephine left the family home when she married her husband Geoffrey,

'but they moved back in when her mother sadly died.

'Josephine and her husband raised their two children in the London family home

'and it holds many fond memories of family parties and fun times.

'So there's no surprise when another family heirloom is unearthed.

'This pair of antique polished bronze pestle and mortars belonged to both of Josephine's grandmothers.

'She remembers them being used for cooking when she was a young girl.

'Paul values them at £60-£80.

'And the flow of family treasures seems never-ending.'

-Now then, Jo, found anything good?

-A little bit more silver for you.

-More silver?

-A little bit more.

-I take it you collected silver.

No, these also belonged to a grandparent.

Let me have a look. Are they Scottish silver again?

No, these are English. That's the English hallmark.

-Do you know what the anchor means?

-No.

-Right. In order for silversmith to actually sell this as silver,

he would have to send it to an assay office. They're all over Britain.

Here, he sent it to Birmingham. Their symbol is the anchor.

They tested the purity, OK'd it and put their stamp on it.

So this was done some time around the turn of the century.

You're looking at 1910, something like that. People love small bits of silver, make collections of them.

Salt cellars are always popular.

If I said for those £40-£60,

does that sound all right?

-Yes. Perhaps...

-Are you disappointed a little bit?

Not disappointed. Disappointed at losing them,

although I do have other salt cellars, fun ones.

-Nobody uses salt to the extent that they used to.

-And a good job, too. It's not healthy.

-No.

-So perhaps it's time that they joined all the other bits.

-Great. £40 is quite a lot of money.

Take it with a pinch of salt.

It's always hard to say goodbye to family pieces, but Josephine is keen to raise the £1,000

to make that important trip to the Dead Sea. So far, we've raised £470.

That's almost halfway, but we've got a lot of hard work ahead of us. Cynthia's sweet tooth might pay off!

Oh, wow! Look at this. A special delivery.

-Absolutely. Biscuit barrels.

-Is it all full of biscuit barrels?

-Yes.

-Whose is this collection?

-Well, it's a combination.

-What was the fascination?

-I just love biscuit barrels.

I did love them until they collected dust and then I didn't love them any more!

Can you remember one being in your parents' house as a child?

I think in my grandmother's house. But I just love them.

They're so useful for putting things in. Sugar, tea, bits and pieces.

I don't know.

This is a pottery example. Are they all in this condition? No cracks or chips or damage?

Not as far as I know, but there's one that I brought back from France.

It's unusual because it's glass. That's quite nice, isn't it? People go for unusual items.

I have seen them by Wedgwood, beautiful blue and white barrels.

Sometimes they have solid silver mounts, more expensive ones. This one's quite Art Nouveau.

-There's something here for everybody. Sure you want to part with them?

-Oh, yes.

-I do not like collecting dust!

-You don't collect biscuits?

-Definitely not!

-We eat them.

They never reach the barrel. I think if we said a tenner a piece or £5 or £10 each,

there could be £100 here. Sort of £60-£100.

-Very nice.

-That sound all right to you?

-Fantastic.

This one's my favourite. Know why? It takes the biscuit.

'Paul's jokes are tickling the ladies, but we must keep searching.

'Cynthia wastes no time in finding this cased Royal Doulton tea set

'decorated with gilt highlights. It was given to Josephine and Geoffrey as an engagement present.

'It's only been out of the box twice in 47 years, so Paul reckons

'it should make £80-£120.

'Josephine has been to the Dead Sea before and found it made all the difference to her health.'

So where did you get the idea of actually going on this trip? How did that come about?

I suffer from arthritis. I have for some years, but it was accelerated about two years ago.

I had a car accident on my way to work and it just made everything a million times worse

-and very quickly.

-And how long have you had arthritis for?

Overall, I suppose, it's probably something I've had all my life,

but it's only come to the fore six years ago. After we moved here.

Thank goodness we had actually packed up and moved because I don't think I would have the strength

or the energy to do it. I know I wouldn't have the energy again!

-It's quite horrendous, moving.

-So what is the theory behind the trip? What have you been told?

-How do you hope it will help you?

-That was the consultant I see at the Royal National Orthopaedic.

He suggested a week in the Dead Sea because of the chemicals, mud and everything else.

He said a week immersed in and out of that, and possibly one or two of the spas,

-would certainly help alleviate the pain of the arthritis.

-It's interesting, isn't it?

The Romans had spas, the Edwardians, Victorians loved their spas, taking the waters,

-and we seem to have gone back to that a bit.

-I suppose it would be cheaper if I went to Bath!

But it wouldn't be as much fun and the chemicals aren't the same.

'The Dead Sea is renowned for its healing properties and has been since ancient times.

'It's said that Cleopatra used the salts and mud to enhance her beauty and retain her youth.

'I'm hoping for all sorts of miracles now to help us reach that hefty £1,000 target.

'Paul's not far off when he finds these pictures.

'A sketch of Charles Slade, a picture of two women by Augustus John and two other prints.

'They were picked up by Josephine and Cynthia at a car boot sale.'

-Hey, guys, can you take a look at this for me?

-Oh, wow! Look.

Are we having tea?

-That's really grand.

-Beautiful.

I can see all the hallmarks on it. Who polished it like this?

-Well, I haven't polished it for quite a number of years, but I polished it the last time.

-Is this Grandma?

-No.

I bought it for my parents for their silver wedding.

You bought this for your parents. How old were you?

-I was 16, but I started saving up for it when I was 9.

-So can you remember how much it cost?

All in all, I think it was about £125.

-That was a lot of money!

-A fortune in its day!

As I said, it took me seven years to save it up.

-An aunt came with me to buy it.

-Awww.

This is a great example, but it wasn't brand-new then. This is an antique set.

It's made by Mappin and Webb who actually make things now for the Royal Family.

They've been going since the 18th century up in Sheffield.

-This wasn't a new set when you bought it. It was an older set. You said 1950s.

-1956.

Right. Well, this dates 1900, 1910, that sort of time.

I can tell because it's very Arts and Crafts. That was the style.

This wonderful hammered effect, scalloped edge or pie-crust edge as they call it in the trade,

ebony handle. It all fits in to 1900, 1920, that sort of time.

-What sort of value has it got today?

-Three times that now. Probably £350-£500.

If we said at least £350

-then we can go from there. Beautiful example.

-£350.

-Good investment, wasn't it?

-I wouldn't have got that as interest.

-Probably not.

'A fantastic investment, but will Josephine's hard work pay off when it goes under the hammer?'

I have got five commission bids.

Hope I won't have to work too hard!

-How do you feel about that?

-Very sad.

'Our rummage continues as Paul digs out this collection of Shorter and Son fish plates with gravy boat.

'They belonged to Josephine's grandmother who hoped that they would be worth something one day.

'And she was right to do so as they're off to auction with a value of £50-£80.

'Time is ticking away now, but it seems to be standing still for our next find.'

-What's it made of?

-Belgian slate. Beautiful example. Here we are.

-Ah, ladies! Hello.

-Now then...

-The time's not quite right.

-Who's responsible for winding this up?

-Well, I was.

-Oh, it's your clock, is it?

-That's right.

-Where did it come from in your family?

-Not a boot sale find, surely!

-No, no. In the '50s, my father used to take my mother off to France

and they had very limited money because you weren't allowed to take much money out of the country.

And one time he came back with this.

It couldn't have cost a lot, but we lived in an old house and it looked beautiful.

-And it worked.

-I really like this style. It's neoclassical.

Harking back to Ancient Rome and Greece. An ancient figure here.

She's playing a lute. Sometimes you get them reading a book.

This is Belgian slate, a sort of imitation marble.

And this is based on the antique, so you'd have these in big chateaus in France, made from ormolu.

Ormolu is a gilded bronze. This would be made from solid bronze and gold plate

and they look wonderful. And they made cheaper versions and recast them.

This very grey metal is spelter. A real one would have a brass-looking effect on it.

-It's beautifully done. I really like it.

-What sort of value, then?

-This is where you decide if you like him or not.

-For somebody who has a hotel or wants that antique look,

I'd say around the hundred mark.

-£80-£150.

-That's fantastic.

-Like that, Jo?

That's a very nice present!

Right. I have to say we have run out of time for rummaging.

You wanted £1,000 to go to the Dead Sea, didn't you, Jo?

Hopefully, £2,000 so that you can go as well, Cynthia.

-The value of everything we've seen that is going to auction comes to £1,190.

-Oh, wow.

-So you should definitely be going.

-Fantastic.

And with a bit of luck, if we have some very good bidding, you might be going, too.

-Absolutely!

-I have a feeling they'll both be going anyway.

Oh, yeah.

'It's been a fun day with the girls and, fingers crossed, they'll raise well over £1,000

'so they can both go to the Dead Sea. And we have a collection of fantastic items

'from Josephine and Cynthia that I'm sure will interest bidders.

'There's the wonderful silver tea service that Josephine saved so hard for when she was young.

'I hope it shines in the saleroom, making its £350-£500 estimate.

'This Augustus John portrait of Charles Slade and a print with two others

'are valued at £100-£120.

'And, of course, the punch bowl that Josephine's grandmother used to serve chicken soup from.

'We hope it will be a surprise dish with its £300-£500 price tag.

'Still to come: there's a narrow escape midway through the sale.'

I take it you're pleased, are you?

'But Josephine manages to keep her calm when one antique takes off.'

Oh, I say!

My goodness.

'So will Josephine raise enough cash to visit the Dead Sea? Find out when the hammer falls.'

It's been a few weeks since we met Jo and Cynthia at Jo's house.

We uncovered a whole collection of antique silver given to Jo by her mother and her grandmother.

She's looking to raise around £1,000 for a trip to the Dead Sea to help with her arthritis.

So let's just hope today the bidders are in a spending mood.

'The saleroom fills steadily in anticipation of a lively sale day.

'Serious dealers and antique traders will be on the lookout for a special bargain,

'as well as happy-go-lucky buyers who just want something different.

'Let's hope today's bidders are prepared to part with their cash so Josephine gets to the Dead Sea

'and its fantastic healing powers.'

-Good morning, Paul. I love that.

-Isn't it absolutely fantastic?

The quality in it. Beautiful. It looks even better now it's here.

-And the price of silver has gone up since our rummage.

-It certainly has.

-Potentially a bargain for someone?

Definitely. It'll be interesting to see how this goes. They're 100 years apart.

This one is late Victorian, this one is Georgian. But how interesting is that?

For silver collectors or anyone interested in Scottish history, fantastic.

And we've got that wonderful tea set that she saved up for.

-What an investment!

-Lovely to see. But the showstoppers are these two.

Yeah? Let's tell her the good news.

'Paul's really excited about the silver punch bowl and ladle.

'With the price of silver rising, who knows what might happen?

'Josephine had saved incredibly hard for the Mappin and Webb tea service when she was just a young girl.

'I hope she feels positive about letting go of her precious pieces.

One last look, eh?

-Plenty of people have been looking at them.

-It goes on forever. There's some collection there.

-That's exciting.

-Did you see all your silver on display?

-Yes, I did.

A lot of the dealers we know have all said what lovely silver items they are.

That's quite exciting. In that case, I'm pleased I kept it polished.

I just think you should become some kind of British icon for saving up for presents for parents.

-It's a wonderful story.

-Make sure all the kids watch the programme!

-They'll know what to do. Although we don't have saving stamps any more.

-We'll work out a system.

-Shall we go see how they do?

-Love to.

-Come on.

'Time to take our positions as the first item is shown.

'It's the pair of hallmarked silver salt cellars.'

-We've got quite a good estimate. £40-£60.

-It's about £20 each.

You have to watch they aren't squashed. People get heavy-handed.

The feet you said had been squashed.

(Keep your voice down!) We're looking for £40.

Let's see how they do.

What shall we say? Start me at £40?

£30, then? Let's see where they go.

No bids at £30. £30 I'm bid.

I'll take 2 now. At £30. 2. 35.

38. At 40? £38 in the doorway.

£40 now if you like. At £38 and selling. All done at £38?

£38!

That was really good. Just under the top end. Are you pleased?

Yes. Relieved.

-Why relieved?

-I didn't think anyone would bid.

It was quite scary at the beginning. It went right the way down.

Great. To be taken with a pinch of salt.

'A promising start to the day. Josephine had been reluctant

'to let them go, but seems happy.

'Next up

'are the antique pestle and mortars that belonged to her grandmothers.

'She has fond memories of them being put to good use in the kitchen as a child.'

I'm already bid at £30. Somebody start me at £50, please.

£50 to start me. No bids? I'll move on.

No interest at £50? Can't sell it at any less. That's disappointing.

The auctioneer had a bid of £30, but didn't feel that was enough, so they are unsold.

-How do you feel?

-I really don't mind taking them back home.

-Quite happy?

-Yes.

Then I don't mind.

'It's early days, but we shouldn't be too complacent as we have an ambitious target of £1,000 to reach

'for that visit to the Dead Sea. Any extra cash goes to a trip for Cynthia, too.

'Hopefully the next lot will do even better. It's 19th century oil painting of a rural scene,

'showing a water mill and angler. It belonged to Cynthia, who added it to the auction haul.'

Well worth the money. £20? £20. 22. 25. 28.

30. 32. 35. 38. And 40. 42?

£40 I'm bid. Take 42 now. At £40.

Are we all done? At £40 and selling.

-Well done.

-There you go.

I take it you're pleased.

'In all the excitement, they nearly knocked over a vase behind them.

'They just netted £40 to add to the healing fund.

'So will the sale of our next item create as much of a stir?

'It's the set of six Arabian style white metal egg cups.

'They were given to Josephine by her uncle who liked to travel.'

-Why white metal?

-Because continentals don't have the same hallmarking system that we have.

There's a lower grade silver than in the UK. But they're beautiful, all that fancy work.

For the 12 pieces, I have a bid here with me for £18. £20. I'll take 2 in the room.

22 there. 25 is my last. 28, your bid?

-At £28. Take 30.

-Come on...!

At £30. 32.

35. 38. At 40.

42?

At £40 in the doorway. Take 2 now. Still cheap at £40.

In the doorway at 40...and gone.

-£40!

-That's all right.

'The egg cups smashed through Paul's highest estimate of £30.

'So far, so good.

'The bidders are generous today and certainly have a soft spot for our antiques and collectables.'

Our next lot is the small hallmarked salt with that twisty spoon.

These are very nice, being attached together.

It's from a different time. We're looking for about £20.

£20 I'm bid. Take 2.

-Good, good.

-22. 25.

28? At £25 in front of me. 28 if you like now. Cheap at £25 and selling, then.

All done and selling at 25.

-£25.

-That's all right.

'Josephine looked rather shocked. It may be £5 under Paul's top estimate, but it's all money for the trip.

'And we've got so many great pieces still to come.

'Our next lot is another donation from Cynthia. It's the collection of biscuit barrels,

'with Victorian and Edwardian examples made from glass, earthenware and porcelain.'

£50 to start me? £40 and we'll see where it goes? No bids at 40?

£40 I'm bid. Take 5. 45. 50. 55. 60.

And 5? £60 I'm bid. I'll take 5 now.

Are we all done? I can sell at £60.

-£60. You were absolutely bang on there.

-Very well done.

-Very affordable, really.

-Yeah.

-Very nice. Nice collection.

-Good.

'I can safely say that sale doesn't take the biscuit

'as £60-£100 is what Paul predicted.

'Cynthia is pleased that they sold.

'It's been a steady first part of the sale, but what have we made?'

-Can you remember how much you want?

-About £1,000.

OK. Well...

So far we've raised £203.

-It doesn't sound a lot.

-But we've had none of the big silver pieces up yet.

-Let's keep our fingers crossed.

-Your silver service is coming up. Some really choice pieces.

I'd see that £203 as a bit of a bonus.

-We've got a little bit of a break. Are you pleased so far?

-I am.

It's amazing how things add up. Two or three small items there and we've got £200.

-Let's hope your big items go through the roof.

-We've got a little bit of time, so come on.

'Those big hitters include the Victorian silver punchbowl

'plus the attractive Arts and Crafts silver tea service that was 40 years older than Josephine thought.

'And they aren't the only fine-looking pieces today.'

I wanted to show you this clock. Remember our clock in the house with the figurine on top?

This one hasn't got a figure, but it has that look. It just shows they're not as rare as you think.

-This one's at £80-£120. Similar to our price.

-Is it as heavy?

-Very! I h=don't want to take it home!

-It was presented in 1904 at a wedding.

-So it's a wedding present. That is nice.

-That makes it a bit different. They rarely have a plaque.

-That adds a bit of character.

-Let's see which one fetches most. They're both at £80-£120.

-OK.

'And when it goes under the hammer, it sells for £75 - just under the lower end of the estimate.

'We'll see how our clock measures up later, but now the collection of Shorter and Son fish plates

'and gravy boat are about to be shown to the room. They were handed down to Josephine

'by her grandmother. At £50-£80, let's see what the bidders make of them.'

Very Art Deco. Quite collectable. Not everyone's cup of tea. I'm looking for about £50.

Who'll start me at £50? Nice thing. £50 start me? £40, then?

No bids at £40? I'll move on. No interest at 40. Unsold, then, at £40.

-Oh, that's a disappointment.

-It's...

-Unsold.

-Unsold.

He couldn't get £40, so didn't sell it.

'The bidders didn't think much of the fish plates. As Paul said,

'they're not to everyone's taste. But the cased Royal Doulton tea set with spoons goes under the hammer.'

-Commission bid at 120. All done at 120? And gone.

-Wow.

'It sells for Paul's top estimate of £120.

'Next up is our black slate and marble clock with porcelain dial and Arabic numbers.

'Will it do as well as the similar clock Paul showed me earlier?

'Selling for £70, it keeps things ticking along nicely.

'Now it's time for one of our star items to go under the hammer.

'The beautiful Mappin and Webb silver tea service that Josephine saved hard for as a little girl.

'There's a lot of excitement so fingers crossed that it does well.'

I have got one, two, three, four, five commission bids. Starting with me at £420.

I'll take 430 in the room. 420. Take 430.

At £420 on commission bids.

At £420. 430 there. I'll take 440.

At £430. 440 now, if you like. At £430, then?

All done? At 430 and gone.

-£430.

-Goodness.

-How do you feel about that?

-Very sad.

-Yeah?

-All those stamps that I licked and it's gone!

But you are £430 better off.

-It's a lot of money.

-Almost halfway.

-Yes, absolutely.

On one item.

Oh.

You've got to come with me now!

'I'm not surprised that Josephine feels emotional. The silver service

'has been in her family for 50 years. I'm sure it will be treasured by its new owner.

'We've still got the silver punchbowl and ladle to come

'and who knows what might happen?

'But first up is the framed Augustus John portrait of Charles Slade

'and a print of women with a parasol and a drawing of Bell Rock lighthouse

'and a study of a goat and boy. Paul valued them at £100-£120.'

Four bids on this lot here. Start me at £100, please.

£80, then?

Well, I'll go to 70. No bids?

I'll pass the lot. No interest at £70, then?

-That's disappointing.

-It didn't sell either.

-That's a shame.

If he couldn't even get £70 for it, what's the point?

-You're better off taking them home.

-But it's a shame.

'It's unfortunate, but next up is

'our final piece of silver. Paul gave the bowl and ladle a value of £300-£500

'and we're really banking on this to do well. Will it be a celebration or commiseration?'

Now our next lot, our last lot of the day, our most important lot,

hopefully our most successful lot - those two wonderful pieces of silver. The lovely bowl

and the Georgian ladle. Remind me, where did these two come from?

The silver ladle belonged to my grandmother, who used it on high days and holy days to serve the soup.

The bowl came as a silver wedding gift to my parents.

I've got massive bids here. One, two, three, four, five.

Starting with me at £450.

450!

At 450. 460 there. 470. 480.

490.

- Gosh! - 500.

-510. We'll keep it in the tens. 520. 530. 540.

-Oh, my goodness.

560. 570? £560 in the doorway. Take 570 now.

At £560. Is that the money? Last chance. At 560 and selling. 560 and gone, then.

Oh, I say...!

My goodness. And you thought they might not sell.

-It's made up for the tea service.

-That's absolutely incredible.

-There was a bidding frenzy there.

-I'm so pleased for you that it made that much money.

'Incredible. £60 over Paul's top estimate.

'Our silver pieces have done us proud and, without a doubt,

'made a huge contribution towards the Dead Sea fund.'

-Now remember you wanted £1,000.

-Yes.

-Yes.

-So you can have this trip.

-Yes, go on.

-And you were hoping for a bit extra for you as well.

-Well, we're hoping.

-Do you think you made a thousand?

-Very close to it.

Just about.

You've actually banked £1,383

Well done!

So that's £383 more than you wanted.

-Fantastic.

-There you are. You're going to go.

If we'd another few pieces, we could all go!

'There are all sorts of alternative treatments to ease pain.

'Josephine prepares for her trip by experiencing the wonders of a flotation tank.'

I'm going to be using a flotation tank,

which hopefully is going to alleviate some of the pain I get from the arthritis,

which can be quite horrendous, especially at this time of year.

The salts that they put in the flotation tank are very similar to what is in the Dead Sea,

which is the cure all for everything, so here's hoping she doesn't feel stiff any more.

'The flotation tank is a taster of what's to come. It's filled with Epsom salts and magnesium sulphate,

'which is apparently very good for any aches and pains.

'It also allows you to float and totally relax.'

Ooh, that feels nice!

She can't wait to go to the Dead Sea

for the sun, the sea and all of the therapeutic attributes given to it.

She'll come back looking like a 21-year-old, from what I understand!

I'm now really looking forward to going to Israel and, well...sinking.

You can't sink, can you, in the Dead Sea? But floating

and have all those chemicals come in to me. Wonderful!

Every cloud has a silver lining. We had no clouds at our auction, but plenty of silver.

As a result, Jo and Cynthia are going to have a fantastic time at the Dead Sea.

If you've got a project in mind you'd like to raise money for

and you have plenty of antiques and collectables, apply to come on to Cash In The Attic.

More details are on our website.

I'll see you again next time!

Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd - 2010

Email [email protected]