Williams Cash in the Attic

Welcome to Cash In The Attic.

We're on the trail of treasures hidden around your home

that we can help you sell at auction.

And today, we brought you to Warwickshire. Warwick Castle was a great place to visit.

It's a magnificent building, dating right back to William the Conqueror and 1068.

And it was William the Conqueror who realised

the strategic importance of the site,

establishing a moat and a fort.

It became a symbol of great power in medieval England.

The castle was the Earl of Warwick's seat

and it has many royal connections.

Queen Elizabeth I visited here and in the 15th century,

was used to imprison King Edward IV.

Today, it's a showcase of living history with a packed armoury

and grand living quarters.

As I head to meet the ladies taking part in today's programme,

let's hope we can uncover some fascinating historical pieces to take to auction.

Coming up on Cash In The Attic, could John find himself at the centre of a bidding frenzy?

Do we get you valued? Are you worth anything?

What a good idea. Are there really felines everywhere?

There's no cats on it, that's why.

I would sort of argue with that, John, because if you look closely...

Au contraire, there are.

But when we get to auction, who'll be the cat that's got the cream?

-£100!

-That's brilliant, isn't it?

Find out when the hammer falls.

I've come a few miles down the road now to the village of Wellsbourne

to meet a lady who's called in the Cash In The Attic team,

rather nobly, to help raise money for her friend's new bathroom.

Pat Williams is a flamboyant 73-year-old,

with a passion for cats.

She lives alone and over the years, she's become close friends

with her neighbour, Debs.

And it's because of Debs that we're here, today.

Pat wants to help her out. They've been through a lot together

and it's made their friendship very strong.

-John.

-Good morning, Jennie.

I've been at Warwick Castle. It's gorgeous.

Oh, what a beautiful place to be on a lovely day. Historic Warwick.

Absolutely. Shakespeare country, but the downside to all this beauty

is that this little area is right by a river and quite regularly,

this little place gets flooded,

so we're here to add to a flood-fund.

It sounds like a very worthwhile cause.

Hopefully, we'll find something worthwhile to sell.

I hope so, too, but why don't you have a look round and I'll meet the ladies.

Hello, ladies.

-Hi.

-Hello, Jennie.

-You must be Pat.

-I am.

-And Debs.

-I am.

This room, it's a vision of colour, I must say, and so are you.

-So are you.

-It's true.

Touche.

-I'm on message, obviously.

-This is drab Deb.

Yes. Drab Deb. Yes.

So tell me, you've called us in, Pat. Now, why am I here?

I know it's something to do with floods.

Deb and I suffer badly from flooding and we really want to get some money

towards protecting ourselves should it happen again.

-You've suffered some quite bad damage?

-We suffered very badly.

We had about three foot of water, actually, in the property.

Our bathroom is downstairs and obviously, when we're flooded,

the bathroom and the toilet cannot be used. So by having a bathroom

put upstairs, we should be able to stay in our home.

How much do you think we might be able to raise?

-Up to 700... do you think?

-I guess.

£700.

-Yes.

-That would help?

-Yes.

-What specifically, is the money going to go towards?

-Deb's bathroom.

All right. £700 is our target. We're going to add to that

-flood-fund the best we can.

-Yes.

So, in your glorious leggings, will you show me round the house?

-Of course I will.

-OK. We'll see what we can get. After you, Debs.

-Thank you.

Pat's cosy bungalow is a shrine to her feline friends.

And she's decorated it brightly with her own unique style and taste.

It's reassuring to know that we

have antiques and collectables expert, John Cameron, on hand.

And that some ceramic pieces have already caught his eye.

I must say, your house is so colourful, it really is.

-And look... John.

-Hi, ladies.

-Good heavens. Hello.

-This is Pat.

-What have you found?

-The last thing I thought I'd find

hiding amongst all these cats are three birds.

My goodness. Well, can I ask a question first?

-Of course.

-Do we get you valued? Are you worth anything?

Oh, what a good idea. What shall we value him at?

Where shall we sell him? I don't know.

There's no comparison.

These are certainly something we could sell,

if you're happy to sell them. Where do they come from, Pat?

Well, my uncle, he had a gift shop in Lynmouth High Street

and so, of course, he sold all those sort of things and I would guess

-they were just a relic of stuff that didn't sell when he gave up.

-They're made by Beswick...

very famous factory pottery from Longton in Staffordshire,

which started in about 1894 and continued right up until 2002...

but they're probably most famous for their pottery models of birds,

animals, farm animals, dogs and that sort of thing,

which were very, very popular and are still collected today.

These are my favourite kingfishers because they're lovely and colourful.

This set were modelled by probably the most famous modeller,

Arthur Grennington, who joined Beswick in around 1938, '39.

They were issued then and they continued in production

up until about 1971, so a good 32 years there.

So, difficult to date them in between that,

-but they're all hand finished and I think they're absolutely charming.

-Is it something you'd part with?

Yes. I mean, you can't collect everything.

And a house this size, I really don't

want anything other than cat paintings. Thank you.

Good. Well, we're off to a good start, then.

Value-wise, today, I think we'd be looking at about £80-£120 for these.

-Lovely.

-All right. Good start.

-OK.

-Where shall we go now?

-Where would you like us to go?

-You lead and we shall follow. Come on.

-Right.

-OK.

These kingfishers are generally used as wall ornaments

and £80 is a reflection of how collectable they are.

Pat's certainly got flair for amassing all sorts of knick-knacks.

Debs has had a rummage through everything in her house, as well.

And she's found some pieces

that she's hoping can be taken to auction.

Do you know, there's definitely an animal theme emerging here.

John, I've brought this from home.

Thank the maker. Something other than a cat.

What a charming fellow. What can you tell me about him, Debs?

We inherited him about two years ago from my husband's late uncle.

And we have many things.

He just doesn't fit into our home and I'm frightened of him being

damaged, so I thought the best thing was to put him up for auction.

Look at him. He's glaring up at these

cat pictures all around, isn't he, thinking "Let me at 'em, let me at 'em."

No. He's too good a dog for that. He wouldn't dare.

I've seen him before. He's known as a fireside model.

And he's by Beswick. We can see that on the bottom.

There's the mark. And these were literally to sit at the fireside.

They were bigger than their standard models and they'd sit there staring

at you with their adoring eyes.

Isn't he fantastic? Actually been cast in a mould.

-You can see down the back there, there's a seam.

-Oh, yes. Yes.

It takes a lot of skill to be able to produce those

moulds and when you consider some of Beswick's other more complex models,

certainly the horses, it really does require a great deal of skill to

produce those moulds from the artist or the modeller's original model.

He was made by Arthur Halem.

Now, Halem's fame at Beswick rests upon his skill as a mould maker.

He started at Beswick

in the 1920s as a 14 year old apprentice mould-maker...

went on to become head of that department and also became a modeller. I think he's wonderful.

I really like him. Lovely condition. At auction, I think I'd be looking

at about £60-£80 for him.

I'd be very happy with that.

-Excellent. So we'll leave him here and shall we go and see what the others have turned up?

-Right.

Ceramics are proving popular today and £60 is a solid valuation

that will help us meet our target of £700.

Pat's finding all sorts of eccentric pieces in every corner of her house.

And tucked away in a bottom drawer, John finds three ceramic

flying ducks. They're Falcon Ware from the Falcon Pottery in Stoke.

And Debs inherited them from her uncle.

John values them at £20-£30.

There you are. What are you doing? Taking a sneaky little break?

Well, not really, Jennie. We were reliving the horrors

-of the '98 flood.

-Oh, wow.

-Join in and have a look.

-Good gracious.

Whose car is this, then?

This was my husband's car and the water is still rising.

The water actually came just to the top of the door.

Wow. It must have been a write-off, then.

-Yes. It was. Yes.

-Gosh. Is that as high as it got?

No. No. It got higher than that.

It got to... can you see... the damp mark?

Gracious me. So this is the flood in '98.

What was it like? How bad was it?

It threw it down every second of the day.

I was praying, please, stop it, please stop, please stop.

-So, did the water come in really suddenly?

-Yeah. I mean,

it came so quickly my husband came out of the house, went to the car

to move it to put it on safe ground and no sooner had he got in the car,

-the water was there and he couldn't move.

-So this whole experience, presumably,

has brought you closer. I think you've known each other quite some time.

We have known each other a number of years

but we'd never really got close until the flooding.

And Pat really looked after us.

She's been a great friend, she really has.

She invited us for meals and she fed us to give our family a break,

so they didn't have to keep putting up with us.

If we're going to actually raise the money for your bathroom,

-then we can't sit here all day. Better go and do some more rummaging. Come on, girls.

-OK.

-Where haven't we been? That's the question.

-Oh, lots of places.

There can't be many worse experiences than watching your home be ruined by the force of nature.

Pat and Debs didn't want to move away.

They were determined to stay in their houses,

but repairs and renovations have cost them a small fortune.

Pat has spent thousands on flood prevention measures for her cottage.

While she heads to the garage, Debs spots this Morris Wilson

cat picture.

It's valued at £170-£200, which is a big boost to the bathroom fund.

I just hope Pat's happy to let it go.

John, Jennie, come and have a look at this.

My God, it's not a cat. I have been looking at so many cats, everywhere.

-There's one underneath, Jennie.

-Can I have a look?

-It's a bit wobbly.

-Oh, right. Where's this been hiding?

-It was in the same place as the kingfishers.

I found it in my uncle's house, but I do remember it.

For quite a long time, it sat in the hall by the telephone.

I don't know whether he... I shouldn't think he would, he was rather a large gentleman

-and I don't think he'd have sat on it to answer his telephone.

-Was he really big and broad?

-A bit, yes.

-Quite a large gentleman.

-Doesn't look like it'll take a lot of weight.

No. It's got a bit of damage to it. So, you're not a wool spinner are you, Pat?

I was thinking I might do that after my media career, when that flops...

-maybe I'll go to wool spinning.

-Well, they're referred to often as Welsh spinning stools.

Although they do appear in other areas,

they are often associated with Welsh because of the extensive sheep farming.

Now, they go back as far as the 17th century and probably earlier, but this dates to a bit later.

This is 19th century and we can tell that for a couple of reasons. One,

the carving is still quite crisp and what I would call laboured.

-You can see the stiffness to the leaves.

-Yes.

Almost looks like the bottom part has a bit more age to it

and slightly different colour, so possibly, possibly, this has been replaced.

And one other clue here underneath,

if you turn it over again... are those screwheads.

If you have a look, the slots are very perfectly in the centre.

Now, that means they're machine-cut.

So we know, again, we are post-Industrial Revolution.

Had they been hand-cut Georgian or earlier screws, then there's no way

the cutter would get those slots dead centre and that's a clue to a piece of furniture's age.

But normally they make around £50 plus but because of the damage,

I'm going to say £30-£50, but it's a nice decorative piece

and I'm happy to sell it if you're happy to part with it.

Well, it's a shame it's here in a house it doesn't suit.

It would be lovely for somebody to give it a loving home. So, OK.

-It will go to the auction and we will go in there and see what else we can find.

-OK.

OK. While Debs is in the garage still going through the pieces

she's brought today, John is digging deep to find some gems.

I come across these two rings.

They belong to Deb's mother-in-law and John gives them a value of £70-£90.

Debs has a couple more pieces she wants an expert opinion on.

John. John.

-John's not here.

-He is! I've just found these, John. I've brought them across from home.

-Right.

So, where did they come from?

Again, they were inherited to us from my husband's late uncle.

-What do you know about them?

-I know they are Wedgwood but that's all I do know.

Well, they are Wedgwood but they're not the Josiah Wedgwood that's known to be a real household name.

This is Enoch Wedgwood,

still from the Staffordshire area, but Enoch Wedgwood was in Tunstall.

Question, do they suit your decor? Do you have them up at home?

No. I don't. They don't suit my decor, at all.

They're not my sort of thing. I think they're not pretty.

They're bulky. They're too fussy.

Well, that's pretty consistent with current demand.

They have been around character jugs, or squire jugs as they were

called in the 18th century, for well over 200 years.

Now, Dalton are really credited with repopularising the character jugs and the Toby jugs

at the end of the 19th century, with most successful things.

Other factories are quick to follow.

So these would have dated after that.

If we look at the mark, it may give us a bit of a clue to age, there.

We can see Wedgwood and Co Ltd.

I know they added Limited after 1900

so they've got to be after that date. And in the '60s, they added

Tunstall to the mark, so we're between those dates. Looking at that

England, under the mark, I'm going to suggest these are probably 1920s.

This one, the shepherd, has a bit of a chip to his hat, there.

The Lord Mayor seems to have fared better...

probably done less, I guess. But they are quite nice and there

are people that collect them, but as we said, we've got to consider

their condition and the current demand for them.

So I think I'd be putting about £25-£50 on them, something like that. Would you be OK with that?

That would be fine with me.

Well, it's nice to see them, especially amongst all these cats.

-And not that I don't love cats, I do, but...

-I'm sure you do.

You don't think you've got anything else un-cat related that you could bring over?

-Shall we go and see?

-Come on, then.

-OK.

John discovers more Royal Doulton Toby jugs to add to the auction lot which he values at £30-£50.

We're looking for £700 to put towards Debs' new bathroom.

Pat's so keen to reach the target that she decides to part with

another of her precious paintings.

It's by the London-born artist, Alfred Daniels, and it's entitled

quite simply, Cat At Dover.

It's valued at a lively £350-£600.

This really is a house of cats.

I have never met anyone so infatuated as Pat.

So this is your bedroom.

Look at it. Cats. Cats.

-Even big cats on the duvet.

-Yes. My leopard duvet!

Honestly, Pat, you are a lady obsessed.

-I am a cat nut, Jennie.

-You said it.

-I did.

But where did it all start, this love of cats?

I think my parents forbade me an animal because they'd gone through

the loss of, in their lifetime.

And it wasn't until I was about 14 that school friends, in their wisdom, gave me a pussycat.

Daddy said, "It's got to go back!"

But it didn't. It ended up being his mate more than mine.

And I just love them for ever and ever and ever.

And they are just wonderful.

So how many cats have you had in your life?

I think... I was working out the other day, only about seven...

because I think they know I love them so much,

they live a long time cos we're so happy together!

So tell me a bit more about how one of your cats ended up in the Royal Academy. That's incredible.

Yes. Ruskin Spear used a photograph I sent him and he painted a portrait of her and he called it

Cat Ladder And Reproduction

because she was up this ladder and such an intense gaze,

he put the Van Gogh self-portrait into the picture.

So you obviously know a thing or two about art because that was your career.

You were PA to the owner of an art gallery.

Yes. It was called Coughton Galleries Ltd

and it originated at Coughton Court, in Warwickshire,

where they awaited the results of gunpowder plot. So, terribly historical, you know, 1500s.

And I worked for the director,

Lady Isabelle, who sadly died last December.

And I worked for more than half my life. I was with her 37 years.

So you know a lot about art, obviously. But what about auctions?

A lot about auctions...

cos in the very early days before Lady Isabelle's husband got ill,

she used to go and view sales

and maybe there'd be two or three on the same day.

So she would give me a list of the lot numbers and some pennies

and off I would go and bid up to whatever I'd been told to.

Our auction will bring all the memories flooding back.

-It jolly well will. I can't wait.

-Well, before we go there, we've got to find one or two more pieces so...

OK. Off we go.

Out of your lovely bedroom. Make your duvet straight.

Thank you.

The hip replacement hasn't held her back.

She's full of energy. I can hardly keep up.

And there seems plenty more to find.

Debs is on a roll as she comes across this richly-decorated jug.

It depicts a marriage scene at Gretna Green.

I wonder how many runaway couples have headed to that Scottish village

to tie the knot, just like this.

Even today, there are thousands of weddings there, every year.

John reckons the jug could fetch between £20 and £30.

So, what are you dragging me out here for, exactly, Pat?

Because, John, please, I want you to look at these.

I know this one has got a little crack.

Well, you keep hold of that one. I don't want to hold the damaged one.

-OK. So where did these come from?

-They came from my late uncle's house.

-Not your sort of thing?

-No. I mean, you've seen the rest of my house,

intimately, and they don't suit the decor, do they?

-No cats on them, that's why.

-I would sort of argue with that, John...

because if you look closely...

Au contraire, there are.

Under the skirt of that lady, there's a cat.

I'll take your word for it.

Well, having a look at them, they're earthenware vases, pottery vases.

The scene has been transfer-printed,

which was a popular method of decorating from mass production.

Prior to the invention of transfer-printing in the

18th century, everything had to be hand-painted,

that took a lot of time and so increased the cost of the pottery.

Once they'd invented transfer-printed,

it aided it en masse and made it a lot cheaper to produce.

The body, themselves... they look like they have

-been hand-painted or thrown on a potter's wheel.

-Yes.

Standard ovoid shape with a flared rim, there.

Very popular, these typographical scenes.

And that looks like somewhere in Europe. I'd like to know

whether that's a romantic view or actually a real castle, there.

Looking at the base, let's have a look. We've got a mark under there.

Yeah. A J Wilkinson Ltd. Staffordshire potter.

Took over Anthony Shaw and Co at the end of the 19th century, about 1900.

-But also in the middle of that mark there, C M and S.

-Yes.

Now I think that's Charles Meyer and Sons, another Staffordshire factory,

but date-wise I would put them at the turn of the last century,

about 1900, there or thereabouts.

As old as that.

-Transfer-printed, and you say that one's damaged.

-Yes.

It has a crack running right around there which is quite bad.

Considering the condition, I think we'd be looking at

about £40 to £60, is all, as far as I'm concerned

OK. Yes. That's fine.

Come on. Back inside. See what else we can find cos I'm getting tired.

-I think I need a catnap.

-OK. Let's do that.

We're nearing the end of today's rummage, but once you get going,

you know, it's very hard to stop.

And you never know what you're going to find.

We've just time for one last push.

John...excuse me. What do you think about that?

Don't tell me it's a cat. Yes. It's a cat.

It is a cat.

And a bird. And a bird.

Oh...well!

Well, it's quite a nice picture

and it is signed, and I know the artist, Martin Leman.

-I know that name.

-You do?

I do. Why do I know that name?

He's famous for books on cats. What do you know about the artist?

Very little other than he's a very successful cat illustrator.

He is. In fact, he started typography

and then went on to become a part-time lecturer

in graphic design, at the Hornsey College.

And it wasn't until around the '60s that he started focusing

his attention on painting and having one-man shows and he soon developed

his style for painting, and loving to paint cats

and then began illustrating and writing books.

I think his first book was in about 1979,

called Curious And Comical Cats.

Oh, that's it. We had it. Yes. We had that book.

And he's done about 20 books since then and all very similar.

I mean, very charming and just look at the picture, there.

It speaks volumes. The cat's hanging around

for the bird, who's oblivious to him under the tree. Isn't it fun?

It's a partridge in a pear tree.

So what attracted you to it?

It's just...as you know, I love cats and just the look on that one's face

without knowing what's going on up there.

Charming. I can see why you like it.

So what's it worth?

Well, I've seen his work sell pretty recently at auction, in fact,

out in Salisbury where I used to work, only a couple of months ago.

Using that as a measuring stick,

I would suggest an estimate of about £300-£400 for it.

I wouldn't want to consign it to auction without a reserve, please.

-What sort of figure?

-450.

Well, if you did want to reserve 450, it would mean we'd have to move

our estimate up because you cannot have your reserve above your lower estimate,

so we'd then have to move it to say 450 to 550 as an estimate.

Yes. OK. Let's go for that.

Well, that is the end of our rummage, actually.

That's the last item, isn't it, John?

-Should be there, I think.

-You were looking for £700

when we started the day, so you can have a lovely new bathroom.

Well, if everything goes to plan, we hope that at the auction,

if we can sell that painting and that is a big ask, obviously,

-we're going to make way over your 700.

-Are we?!

You should make...

£1,345.

-Wow.

-Brilliant!

We haven't got it yet!

No. No. That's true. That's brilliant, isn't it?

Yes. That's good. Yes.

You are wise though, to say we haven't got it yet

because Pat knows all about auctions and you never know,

do you, John, what's going to happen at auction?

It's been a fun day here with Pat and Debs

and we've turned up an interesting mix of items to take to auction.

Some of the collectables going under the hammer are...

this spinning chair that Pat inherited from her uncle.

With a £30-£50 price tag, she hopes it finds a loving home.

Then there's the Falcon Ware ducks that remind us of the legendary

Hilda Ogden, and her back room in Coronation Street.

John values them at £20-£30.

Then there's the wonderful Mark Leman picture that Pat loves.

It's valued at an impressive £300-£400 but Pat wants to put

a hefty £450 reserve on it

so we'll have to wait to see if any cat lovers are at the sale.

Still to come on Cash In The Attic...

Debs doesn't hide her feelings.

I'm not disappointed.

You're delighted.

Well...does it show?!

Pat takes it all in her stride.

-So what do you think about that?

-Bit disappointing, but things can only get better, can't they?

But whose side is our auctioneer on?

There must be more than a couple of people here with bad taste.

Done at 18?

Do you know, one of the best things about this show

is the characters that you meet, and Pat is certainly one.

Talk about being crazy about cats! Today, we brought all the pieces

that we found in her home, here to the North London Auction Rooms.

Now, remember, Pat wants to raise £700 for her friend Debs' new bathroom,

after the floods that caused such havoc.

All we need now is plenty of bidders

with money at the ready when our items go under the hammer.

It's early, but bidders are steadily filling the room.

There are all sorts of antiques and collectables here,

so hopefully, our items will be in good company and sell well.

I can see that our expert John is already eager

and ready for the day ahead.

-Got yer.

-Aah, Jennie.

Our star item.

Our Leman painting. Yes. Just having another look at it.

It's a fabulous piece of artwork, no doubtedly from one of his books.

But, I think it's the sort of work that will have to have a buyer specific.

I don't think somebody will take a chance on it today,

no matter how charming it is.

We'll need all nine lives if that's to sell today.

OK. Well, fingers crossed, cos we need it to sell, don't we?

-OK. Well, let's go and see if you're right.

-Come on.

£450 is a high reserve on something so specific, so we really do need

a few cat lovers here today if we're going to sell that painting.

In fact, Pat has quite a number of animal items up for sale,

so we could be living dangerously.

Hello, Pat. Hello, Debs.

So you're saying farewell to your Beswick bird?

Do you think it'll go well today?

They're very nice because there's the three of them.

There's Mummy, Daddy and baby.

Somebody with a family will think that'll be nice on the wall, so yes.

You're quite experienced at auctions, aren't you,

so what vibes are you getting?

I get good vibes. I like the auction room and I like Mr Rosman,

so that's a good thing.

Good start.

-And you, Debs? Hoping the Toby jug's going to go?

-I hope so.

I certainly don't want to take them back.

You want your new bathroom.

Most definitely.

There are two bath taps. Did you see them, lotted up? Yes.

-Really?

-We could ask the auctioneer to do a contra on that.

We were wondering...!

Who knows!

-Let's go get a good place because the auction's about to start.

-OK.

Follow us.

As today's auctioneer prepares to start the auction...

we take our place ready for our first lot.

It's the Toby jugs that belong to Debs

and she's keen to see them sell.

Put them on, 20 quid? 20? Fiver then. Let's start low. Five.

At five only, now. Nice and low at five.

Take six. Seven. Eight. Nine.

Ten.

12. 15. 18. 20.

At 20 now. Still on my right at £20.

Take two again. Is that it? At £20.

At £20, I sell on the far side.

At £20. Your last chance at 20.

That's supper sorted.

You're not taking them home, Debs. You can breathe a sigh of relief.

-Didn't hit our estimate, but they're not going home.

-Thank goodness.

That's a good result.

And although they sold for £5 under John's lowest estimate,

Debs is glad that they're not going home with her.

I'm hoping that our next item,

the two vases, belonging to Pat,

will also get the bidders interested.

John's spotted a crack in one of them which knocked the value back a bit,

but with any luck, they'll still sell.

OK. Next up are the pair of blue and white

pottery vases that you and I found.

Now, we're hoping they make £40-£60 for us here, today.

What do you reckon with your expert eye?

I'm no expert in those, just paintings are my sphere...

-and one of them's cracked, too. So...

-Shh!

-Yes. OK.

Here they go.

£20 I'm bid. At 20 now. Take two.

Is that it? The main bid, up 20...

is he bidding? All done at £20. 22. 25.

28. 30.

At £30 now. It's against you, sir.

At 30. All done at £30. They go, then, at 30.

Well, we're under our estimate...

-but one of them was cracked, wasn't it?

-Yes.

-And you didn't want to take those home.

-No, thank you.

So what do you think about that?

Bit disappointing, but things can only get better, can't they?

She's a born optimist, isn't she?

Now, our next item evokes those memories of

Hilda Ogden and how she adorned her Coronation Street home.

OK. Next up are our three Falcon Ware pottery flying ducks,

made famous by nonetheless than Hilda Ogden.

Made by Beswick, originally, and copied by many manufacturers.

-These are the copy and one has a broken beak, hasn't it?

-Sadly. Yes.

So, we're only looking for £20 or £30. Here we go.

£5 for three ducks.

Five. Six. Seven. Keep going. Eight.

Eight over there. Eight. Nine. Ten.

12. 15. 15 then, now.

Still on the far side at £15.

Is that it? At 15. Have another go.

18. 18 down here. You bidding?

20. 22. 25. Fresh money.

28. 28. 30 now, sir.

At £28, on the right. At £28.

You're out in the leather jacket.

-£28...with the broken bill.

-Yes!

£28 is a good price for the ducks.

And hot on their tails are these colourful Beswick birds.

John valued them at £80-£120.

£20. Straight in at 20. 20 I've got.

At 20. Take two now.

Is that it? At 20. Two. 25.

28. 30. At £30. All done.

At £30. Take the two again.

At £30 only.

At £30. 32. At 32. Is that it?

Are you done in the room at £32?

We're not going to let them go at this, are we?

At 32. Have another go. No.

They don't like birds in the room.

Done at 32.

Not sold.

No. Not sold.

And surprisingly, they only just made more than those Falcon Ware

birds which were damaged, as well.

-But these aren't.

-These are perfect condition.

They are Beswick. They're the best you can get.

-It was Beswick, nearly all of them sell.

-Very strange.

-That's a shame.

That is a real disappointment,

as Beswick items normally do sell well at auction.

Let's hope our next Beswick piece, our dachshund, will find a new home.

We want £60 for him today. What do you think?

Do you think he'll charm the bidders?

I hope so, but if he doesn't, then I'd still be glad to take him home.

-This one's tugging a little bit at the heartstrings, isn't it?

-Just a little bit.

Ten. 12. 15. 18. You all want it at this price.

20. Two.

25. 28. 30. 32. 35. 38, now.

At 38. Over there at 38. 40.

At 40. 45. 50. At £50. Is that it?

Done, then. At £50. All done at £50.

Are you finished at 50? I'm sorry. That's not quite enough.

Done with it then at £50? Finished at 50.

-Oh!

-Take it home?

Yes. I'm not disappointed.

You're delighted.

Well...does it show?

Although it's another no sale, Pat and Debs are remaining upbeat,

but raising £700 for that new bathroom is looking like a big challenge.

Still, it's only the first half of the sale

and we have another item before we take a breather.

It's the Gretna Green jug.

Straight in...tenner. Got to be worth £10.

At ten only, now. Take two. Ten.

12. 15. 18. At £15.

Is that it? It goes then at 15...

18. Far side at 18. Are you happy with 18?

I sell then at £18.

20 I'll take off anyone else, though.

It goes at £18 on the far side.

All done at 18? There must be more than a couple of

people here with bad taste. Done at 18.

I feel quite insulted!

Well, it didn't exactly take off, but thankfully, someone liked it.

At only £2 under John's lowest estimate,

it's an OK end to the first part of the sale.

-OK. We're halfway through. It's quite fast and furious, isn't it?

-It is. Yes.

-How you feeling?

-I'm not sure. I don't think the pictures will sell here, actually.

-They're yet to come.

-Yes. We'll wait and see, won't we?

We've had a couple of blows, actually,

-because the dog didn't sell. I know you're delighted.

-I don't mind.

And the birds didn't sell, did they?

No. I'm surprised they didn't. The kingfishers didn't sell.

All that stuff, John.

But we have got the pictures and the catalogue is on the internet

so we are hoping some buyers have come in for those artists' works.

Well, they're going to have to, I tell you, because...

Well, you're looking for £700.

-At this halfway point, we have got £96.

-Ohh!

We've got a long way to go.

We've got an awful long way to go.

Yes. Oh, well. Let's go and take a bit of a breather, actually,

-and we'll come back and hope for better luck.

-OK.

We've still got some original and interesting items to come, so here's

hoping our luck will change. If you're interested in heading to auction,

it can be a good way to make money,

but please remember that commission and other charges may apply.

So check the details with the auction house.

After a quick break to take the weight off our legs, we're back in position

and that spinning chair is about to go under the hammer.

Pat got it from her uncle who ran a gift shop.

Interesting this. I go straight in.

20 quid, I'm bid. At 20. Take two now.

22 here in the room. At 22. I'm selling in the room at 22.

Take the five. Do you want to go more? 22.

The bid's in the room at 22.

And five. You bidding five?

Is that a yes, or a no?

25. New money at 25. Your problem solved.

25. 28. 28. 30, sir.

30. 30. 32. Keep going. 35. 35.

It goes then at 35. Is that it? All done at 35. Anybody else?

£35. In our estimates.

In our estimates. Yeah.

Now that's a very pleasing result.

The chair clearly appealed to our bidders and went for £5 over

its estimate. So maybe there's hope for our furniture, yet.

Next up is our star item, and with a £450 reserve on it,

we really do need to keep everything crossed.

Now, I have to say, ladies, that we need a good result on this next one

because we're not doing too well.

So it's your Martin Leman picture which is a beautiful example

and it is worth a lot of money but I don't know if we'll get...

Well, the £450 that you put a reserve on, haven't you?

Certainly. Yes.

-That's the minimum you're going to take?

-Yes.

-Oh, dear.

-She's not going to be moved.

She's not concerned. I'm very concerned.

You are. You are. I know. Well...

I don't know, do you think we're going to make it, John?

His works do fetch that sort of money,

but have we got a Leman fan here today? That's the thing.

So, at £450, I'm not terribly optimistic at this point,

now we've got the room filled up. Here it comes. Let's see.

The Martin Leman picture. A very well-known artist.

Good, collectable picture.

And it's a study of Daisy the cat. There we are...showing over there.

Go straight in. 200 quid.

Two anywhere. £200, straight in.

At £200. Anybody at two?

At £200.

No interest, then, in the cat picture. All done, then, at 200?

It's not selling, Pat. The auction house

are very fond of cats with their very own resident cat here.

But no buyers of cat pictures here.

-So, you're taking it home.

-Yes.

-You don't seem too upset about it.

-No.

All right. That's good.

Although the auctioneer tried his best to start the bidding at £200

for that original painting, there just weren't any takers

and that's a big hole in our target.

Five. Six, anywhere? Is that it? Finished?

And it gets worse when our next two cat paintings,

the Alfred Daniels' Cat At Dover, valued at £350-£600,

and the Morris Wilson cat painting, valued at £170-£200...

Not sold.

..also failed to sell.

What a disappointment. We'd been banking on

the best part of £1,000 for those three paintings.

We've just got two lots left to go,

so there's a huge amount riding on them.

Hopefully, the £30-£50 estimation on these Toby jugs

will whet the bidders' appetite.

Straight in at 15. 18. 20. Two. 25.

At 25 now. Done then, at 25. 28.

At 28 on the far side. Still on the far side at £28.

Anybody else? Is that it, at 28? I sell at 28. 30.

32. 32. Try 35.

I sell at £32.

-What do you think of that?

-Well, it's very cheap.

It's not these days. Not these days, Pat.

They used to make a lot more than this but now, sometimes,

you don't get a bid on it. £30 is about right for it.

It's been a really tough day for Pat and Debs but they've stayed positive

and at least Pat can keep her precious cat items.

So now it's time for our final item - the two gold and diamond rings

that once belonged to Debs' mother in law.

Will they prove to be our saviours?

They're quite valuable.

Well, I've got them at £70-£90. One is 18-carat and one's nine-carat.

-Yes.

-And you don't wear them, do you, Debs?

-No.

-Let's hope we get a buyer for them today.

-Let's hope so.

Let's start at a tenner. A tenner bid. Ten. 12. 15. 18. 20.

22. 25. 28. 30.

35. 40. 45. 50.

55. 60. 65. 70. 75. 80.

At 80 now. Rests here at 80.

Take the five again. 85. 90.

And again. 95. 100.

At 100. Take ten, sir.

At 100. I'll take five, then. 105.

At £100. At £100. All done at £100.

Finished at 100?

Great.

Is that five?

That'll be a bit off the bathroom money.

-£100!

-That's brilliant, isn't it?

Finally, some good news.

But it's a shame that so many of our items failed to sell here today.

The paintings accounted for such a large chunk of our target

that none of us is under any illusion about the effect

on the amount we've raised.

Well, ladies, that's the end of the auction.

It's gone quickly.

It has gone quickly and you are actually taking

quite a lot of it home again.

It's still been very enjoyable. Really enjoyed it.

You're not too disappointed?

No. I'm not disappointed with what I'm taking home

-and I'm sure Pat isn't with what she's taking.

-She's delighted!

So...happy days!

You were looking for £700 at the beginning of the show.

Little ambitious, I think, perhaps, because we haven't made £700.

You've made £263.

-Well, it all helps, doesn't it?

-There you go.

-Thank you.

But the great thing about every auction

is you haven't lost anything,

cos you've still got your possessions and you've got some money on top.

-That's right.

-OK.

-We've made some new friends.

-Yes.

Well, done, ladies. It's been a pleasure doing business with you.

-You too, Jennie.

-Thank you.

It's been two weeks since the auction and the money Pat raised is helping towards

a new bathroom for Debs after those floods that almost ruined her home.

Today, they're spending the money on getting the right lighting.

It's been nice to show Pat how the bathroom's come along.

And she hasn't seen it for a while now. She saw it at the beginning

and it was nice to show Pat just how it's looking towards the end.

And it's been absolutely great just to get it all together.

For Debs, the floods have meant years of upheaval and renovations.

She's always wanted to build a bathroom upstairs, and now she's got it.

I do worry when a mirror first goes on the wall.

And it's great to see all those luxurious finishing touches being put into place.

Oh, it's super to buy the bathroom, especially to see it looking like a bathroom,

to buy the candles, to make it look sort of nice and relaxing.

The house is coming together

and we're finally getting a home back and it's looking super.