Owen Cash in the Attic

Welcome to Cash In The Attic,

the programme that helps people raise money for a special project

or a good old treat. We do that by rummaging around their house,

finding those collectibles and antiques

and then taking them to auction to raise money.

Now family history is important to all of us,

but keeping that family circle together and encouraging relationships

is what our couple today are all about.

Coming up on Cash In The Attic,

an unloved vase from overseas

turns up a very surprising estimate.

-No.

-Yeah.

-You mean "no" in shock?

-In shock, I wouldn't have thought so.

John reveals where the money is in our second hand watches.

If I were to tell you that the value lay in the cases,

would that horrify you?

And at auction, one of our items has a rush of bids.

Three, four, five, six, seven bids.

The lowest bid is £72.

Find out more when the hammer falls.

Today I'm in Leicestershire,

I'm on my way to meet Barbara and David,

who are planning a big family reunion.

And they certainly need our help.

When it comes to retirement,

David and Barbara Owen are definitely living it up.

Fans of the great outdoors, they've been on several big adventures.

In 2009, for example, they spent some 19 weeks on the road.

David and Barbara grew up in Lincolnshire and got married in 1964.

He worked the beat as a police officer, while she raised the children.

Their daughters Alison and Carrie have since flown the nest.

David and Barbara are now free to enjoy that happy retirement.

They hope that by selling off some unwanted belongings,

they can raise enough money to pay for that big family reunion.

Today I'm joined by our expert, John Cameron.

It's his job to find the items that will have the best chance of selling.

-Did I hear skivvy? Were you looking for me?

-No, we weren't!

-Barbara and David, how are you?

-Nice to meet you.

You're on my drink. This is what I like.

So whose idea was it to call in Cash In The Attic?

-I'm afraid it was mine.

-A devotee, are you?

Yes, I am. I saw all this furniture lying around and thought,

perhaps I could put it to some good use.

When you say "good use", how would you spend the money?

We'd like to get our grandchildren together again,

they haven't been together for a while

and I'd like a new photo to hang on the wall.

You have to work hard

to get all the children and grandchildren together.

They've all got commitments and things to do.

Especially the two older ones.

How much is it going to take for this big reunion?

-We think about £1,000.

-That's a bit of a blow-out!

It is, but we hope for the best.

John Cameron, our expert, is already hard at work, rummaging through your house.

-Shall we go and join him and get on the trail of the money?

-Lovely idea!

Taking a look around this very tidy house,

it seems many of the belongings must be hidden away.

Still, John's always up for a challenge.

True to form, he's already found something.

What a raid, John.

You've discovered David's secret, he was a pickpocket after the police.

And a very good one!

Where did all of these come from?

They're from my grandfather. Bit of a wheeler-dealer.

He ran a garage, he was a butcher, did various jobs.

-He used to like collecting things.

-All of them?

Some of them are ladies' watches.

He just liked watches.

-He was into horology?

-Yes.

John, is there any value within these watches?

In these particular watches, not a huge amount,

but they are worth something.

Like most things, it comes down

to maker, age and condition.

Sadly we don't have any 17th-century Thomas Tompions

or George Grahams here,

these are honest, working-class, silver and gold pocket watches

from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

If we look at them, we've got two different types.

We've got the complete open-face pocket watch.

Then we have what's known as a half hunter.

Why has this one got a cover over it?

You get a full hunter and a half hunter. This is a half hunter.

-It has a little receptacle you can see through.

-Like a porthole.

That enabled somebody on horseback, the hunter,

to be able to have a look at the watch and see the time without opening it.

This protects the glass from being broken.

That would smash quite easily.

You have the Roman numerals around the metal case, but you can just see the hands.

You can still open this up and have a look inside.

-That enables you to have a look.

-It's like protection.

-Exactly.

But they're all in pretty poor condition.

They'd be "breakers", as we know it.

I would put them as one lot. I would be hoping for £100-£150.

For the whole shebang.

Would it be worth polishing it?

Wouldn't hurt, it's an attractive watch. I do like half hunters.

-That's my favourite.

-Why not? Give that a polish.

-If you don't clean it, I will.

-Thank you very much!

Before I put on my rubber gloves and find a duster

- if you believe that, you'll believe anything -

we'd better find out what else is around the house.

Barbara's been busy rummaging in another cabinet,

but the cabinet itself has become the worthy contender.

This 19th-century piece belonged to David's grandmother,

now Barbara thinks it would be better off with a new family.

John thinks someone will take it off their hands for £30-£50.

There are quite a few items that have been passed down through the generations.

Barbara wants to show off another heirloom she's happy to part with.

Look at this, John.

Interesting clock, let's have a look inside.

What I want to do is take the top off, like that.

If I have a look inside here,

that will tell us a lot about the clock.

When it was going, who wound it

and how did they wind it?

I think Dave used to wind it,

but he pulled the string inside the cabinet.

-We never had a key for those little holes.

-They're winding arbours.

That's what they are. By looking at the back,

if you have another look,

you can see that those arbours,

they don't actually go anywhere.

-Can you see that?

-Yes, I can.

What's happened is the case and the movement are not

-original together.

-Oh.

-I'll put this back on.

Back up there.

Now we're looking at the face,

that face fits this case snugly, all the way around there.

That suggests to me that the face and the case are contemporary.

I suspect what's happened is

at some point, somebody's taken the movement out of this clock,

which would have been an eight-day movement,

with a calendar aperture, and they've put that into another clock,

with perhaps a more desirable maker on the front, to enhance the value.

Because movements and faces and clocks were often made to standard sizes,

it's easy to do that, to chop and change things around.

Because of those alterations, it will affect market value.

If I were putting it into auction today,

I would expect £400-£600 for the clock.

That's not bad.

-Would that be OK?

-That would be fine.

-Good.

-Will you be sorry to see it go?

-Not really.

-No?

-It's been around me long enough.

-That's a good item.

-Shall we see what else we can find?

-We will.

That valuation has just landed a good chunk of money towards their family reunion.

But there's plenty of rummaging to go

before we make that £1,000 target.

I'm happy to see that David has been successful with his hunt.

Right next to the feather dusters,

he's found a collection of four wooden boxes.

All date to the 19th century,

and belonged to Barbara's aunt.

Three of them hold jewellery, and one serves as a portable writing slope.

John thinks this collection could go for £40-£60.

So, Barbara, these are your delightful grandchildren.

Which ones live in Greece?

The two in the middle live in Greece.

The little girl, Mycenae and the little boy, Emilios.

Flanking them are Joel and Bethany, who live 10 miles away.

-Tell me about your daughters. You have two?

-Alison and Carolyn.

She's always been known as Carrie.

They're in their 40s now.

Which one lives in Greece?

The younger one. She went out when she'd finished her studies.

She went out to work in the Pasteur Institute in Athens

and she never came back.

She met a man.

She'd already met this gentleman!

Tell me about Alison, she doesn't live that far away.

The other one lives 10 miles away.

She's a practice manager for a doctors' surgery.

Do you see the children a lot?

Quite regularly, but they get older and tend to go their own way.

You become a diary entry, as a grandparent.

You have to learn to grow with them as they get older.

You have to tap into their life, rather than the other way around.

But they're very useful if I can't work the computer or a mobile phone!

For any of us, it is difficult

to get all your children and your grandchildren in the one spot.

What do you have in your mind about this big reunion?

Just a family get-together,

going to things like the safari park.

Things they don't have in Crete.

There's no zoos on Crete.

They have museums, but the Natural History Museum in London,

that's a place I'd really like to take them. Possibly London Zoo, too.

As a grandparent myself, my passion is getting all my family together, I love that.

Hope it all works out. They are beautiful.

That little one on the top of the settee looks full of mischief.

We've got to keep at the work to get the money.

With lovely faces like those, how could we disappoint them?

So far we've come up with a great variety of items.

And there's still plenty of places that might be home to hidden gems.

John has uncovered some of David's old toys.

One is an early 20th-century die-cast crane, made by the Dinky toy company.

It's highly collectible.

John thinks if we throw in the metal fort as well, we could ask £60-£80.

Take a look at this, John.

Looks like you've got something interesting there, David.

-There we are.

-Fantastic. Hornby Dublo train set.

What's in the box there? More of it?

A station, a tram station,

-with more...

-More bits and pieces?

More bits and pieces of Hornby underneath.

So, we've got Hornby Dublo. Let's have a look at it.

Look at that, fantastic.

You've got the box, although a bit tatty. Was this yours?

This was mine. It was bought for me and my brother.

We had this and a Meccano set. When we left home,

I had the train set, he had the Meccano set.

-I think you got the better end of the deal.

-You think so?

They both started out from Frank Hornby,

who started Meccano and Dinky.

Also, you mentioned you had

the Triang pieces in there.

That's interesting. That was a rival company to Hornby.

So successful was Triang, they eroded Hornby's market,

until eventually, in 1964, they took over Hornby.

They became Triang Hornby for a while,

until the 1970s, when they closed.

It's a great set. I bet you had hours of fun.

We certainly did. As you see, we looked after it, we kept it.

Oiled it every time, put it away in its box.

-Really treasured, it was.

-I think they're a wonderful set.

You've got the Triang bits as well.

You said you have another locomotive?

Nice thing to put into auction. Great demand for this sort of thing.

I'd be looking about £150 at the low end,

perhaps as much as £250,

-somewhere between those figures.

-Very good.

It's never been played with for years, so fine.

Fantastic. Let's hope there are no leaves on the line,

or the wrong type of snow come auction day.

-I think this will be very popular.

-That's wonderful.

Let's see what else we can find.

It's a fantastic set, but we need some trainspotters.

125, 130.

They're bound to just snap it up.

We've already managed to collect £780 worth of items.

And as the rummage continues, I come across this chaise longue,

made of wicker, this 20th century piece belonged to Barbara's aunt.

John thinks it can entice the bidders with a price of £30-£50.

We are on a roll now because I've just found another great item.

John and Barbara? Are you around?

-Yes, we are. In we go.

-Look at this fine specimen.

Where did this come from, Barbara?

It came from my husband's cousin,

about 25 years ago.

-I've never liked it.

-Ever?

-No.

-You're not a great collector, are you?

-No, I'm not.

So, is it worth anything, John?

It can be. Do you know anything about it?

-Not a thing.

-Know where it's from?

I haven't a clue.

-You've never even had a look on the bottom?

-No, I haven't.

We can see where it's from. It's from Holland. It's Dutch.

It's a piece of art pottery

dating from the first quarter of the 20th century.

By a factory called Plateelbakkerij.

Rather you than me saying that!

-They were based in Gouda in Holland.

-Where the cheese comes from?

Where the cheese comes from. You can see the word Holland,

has a Z, that's zuid, south Holland. So that's the area.

I have noticed there is a bit

of a crack around the bottom.

A crack is worse than a chip, because it can spread.

-Is it hand painted?

-It would be hand painted.

Hand-potted, or thrown on a potter's wheel, traditionally,

and then hand painted, in this very stylised pattern,

which we can see on the bottom is the Rhodian pattern.

Why do you not like it?

I'm not fond of orange, actually.

Without the orange it could be quite nice.

So, we've established now that

Barbara doesn't like it. Never liked it.

Hates orange.

-Is it worth anything?

-Exactly.

I think we'd be looking

-at £30-£50, given the damage.

-No.

-Yeah.

You mean "no" in shock?

In shock, I wouldn't have thought so.

-You wouldn't give 30 quid for it.

-No, I wouldn't.

I think we'd better get the bubble wrap quickly.

It just goes to show, when it comes to bits and bobs lying around your house for years,

their value can come as a nice surprise.

David's been having a look around the garden, home to

a cast-iron railway marker. Bit of a train buff!

He found this lying by the roadside while he was out for a walk with Barbara.

They thought it might make an interesting decoration for the house,

but being so big, it never made it past the front door.

John thinks someone else might put it to good use,

if it's priced at £20-£40.

Judging by the amount of travel books around the house,

I can see David and Barbara have huge enthusiasm for foreign lands.

If you've been in this house 40 years,

-how long have you two been together?

-46 years.

46 years. That really is man and boy, isn't it?

Man and girl, in this case.

Where did you meet?

I'd just left school and we were introduced by a mutual friend.

-Was that in Leicestershire?

-Yes, the Vale of Belvoir.

And it went from there.

-They said it would never last.

-A lot of people said that.

So you've known each other since school days.

-We went to the same school.

-But we didn't know each other at school.

I was two or three years older, so I'd left, I was working.

I met her in between leaving school and going to college.

What were you working at then?

I was a policeman when I met Bar.

-30 years I was...

-On the beat.

-On the beat, yes, walking round.

I was when I finished my service as well.

-You were on the beat.

-I certainly was.

-Did you retire early?

-You're allowed to retire after 30 years.

I did my 30 years, retired.

-How old were you then?

-I was 49.

-49? That's young.

-It certainly is.

Have you literally not worked, in that sense, since?

-No need to.

-How do you keep yourself busy?

I do a lot of DIY and we do a lot of holiday-making.

I'm getting the picture here.

-You two really planned the retirement.

-Yes.

-Was your plan literally to travel?

-It was, yes.

How many weeks in a year do you travel?

Well, last year it was 19 weeks.

19 weeks' holiday!

-That's some plan.

-We'll try and beat it this year, if we can.

What was your longest trip in the past?

We did three months in Australia and New Zealand with my sister and brother-in-law,

back in '98.

And that's quite a long time to be away from home.

-Was it too long?

-We were glad to be home.

It was a wonderful trip.

Since then, we've done about six weeks at a time.

We find that's a nice time.

You can do a really good trip, but you don't get bored.

It's nice when it finishes, you can come home.

We've always found it nice to come home.

If you're going to make £1,000 to have this family reunion,

and then look forward to your holiday,

we'd better go and do a bit of work. Let's find John!

While I've been chatting with David and Barbara, John's been busy.

He's found another collection of watches.

Dave, just in time. These watches, you've got them tucked away,

doing nothing. Do they mean anything to you?

-Nothing really at all.

-Where have they come from?

Come down from our family. Either my wife's or my own.

They've just been there for as long as I can remember.

It tends to be how we end up with things like this in jewellery boxes.

They get handed down. Most of them date to certainly before the 1950s.

This is my favourite here.

JW Benson. Very good maker.

That one there, probably date that to about the 1920s.

It's in a 9-carat gold case.

It has a nice expanding 9-carat gold strap as well.

It is damaged and we won't know if that's in working order

because it's lost its winding pin.

It's a very typical, silver dial and Arabic numerals there.

A tiny subsidiary seconds dial, can you see that?

The problem with these watches is they're very hard to see.

Most people would have to strain their eyes.

They're not terribly practical. You do see people wearing these, but few and far between.

Now, three or four of them have gold cases.

If I were to tell you that the value lies in the cases,

would that horrify you?

Not at all. No.

Wouldn't bother you if somebody were to take those movements out,

scrap the gold cases,

-and give the movements to a watch repairer?

-Not at all.

Good. So, I think collectively we'd get £80-£120 for them.

-Would you be OK with that?

-Fine.

I think we've probably found all the watches

-we're going to find.

-I hope so.

-You haven't got any more tucked away?

-I don't think so.

We'll leave those there and let's see what else we can find.

Fair enough.

I find it heartbreaking that those watches are worth more melted down.

Considering their love of travel,

it's no surprise the Owens have a caravan.

Inside, I find a collection of albums.

At first glance they look as if they're meant for cigarette cards

but it's a tea-card set,

issued by the Brooke Bond tea company.

Barbara had them as a girl,

and John thinks they could go for £10-£20.

Now this house is obviously big enough for two coffers.

In addition to the one that Barbara found earlier,

John has found something similar.

So, do you like this piece?

I do, actually, because it's crude. It's..

Crude? I think it's quite nice.

Well, the woodwork's a bit crude.

Listen, David, who are you talking about being crude?

Surely not talking about yourself?

No, he wasn't. He wasn't talking about me, either.

We were talking about this interesting chest.

Now, what have you always referred to it as?

It's an old chest. An old family chest.

It's been used by us

to store material that the kids did their sewing with.

Before that it was in my parents' cottage.

Before that, who knows where it came from.

I think it's a wonderfully honest piece of English furniture.

A great piece to talk about in terms of the chronological history

of English furniture.

Often referred to as coffers, or chests.

Used for storing anything that was valuable,

from blankets to pewter.

You often see them with a candle box or a till, and a lock on the front.

Things you could keep away from servants or marauding invaders.

If you're going to do a runner, all your valuables would be in there

and you could go "hoik - off"?

They used to have to move sometimes, in difficult times.

It's somewhere to lock things away safe.

What's interesting, apart from this rather unusual carving,

is the row of drawers in the base.

This is a natural progression because, imagine this

filled up, and you wanted to get to something at the bottom,

it's quite difficult trying to delve down.

Some time during the 17th century,

somebody had the idea of putting in a single row of drawers

to make it easier to get to the contents

at the bottom of this box.

That then became

two rows of drawers. You see more of them with this one drawer.

These are referred to as mule chests.

You see more with a single row than you do with the two.

Eventually, it became a chest of drawers

and they got rid of the hinged top.

That is how it emerged, from a humble blanket box to a chest of drawers.

Look at this, 300 years old, something like that.

It's still a nice tight piece of joinery.

Is it hand carved, the panels?

It will be hand carved to the front.

It's quite an unusual style of carving.

I don't think I've ever seen that before.

There is a society called the Regional Furniture Society,

who have meetings about little characteristics of English oak furniture,

and how they pin certain pieces down to certain areas of Britain.

I'd be interested to know what they make of that carving.

Have you noticed how Barbara has been stone quiet through this conversation?

Do I take it this is another item you're not partial to?

It wouldn't matter really if it wasn't here any more.

That brings us to the attractive aspect of it

and whether it's still very desirable these days.

Well, the humble coffers and chests are, I feel, modestly priced.

It's not that they've dropped off recently.

I often see these at auction and think they'll make £200-£400.

They stutter around the £200.

So many of them were made and they were so well made

that there's no shortage of them.

You see them in most general sales.

At a very low end today, I'd be looking at £150.

I'd like to think you'd be up towards £250,

-so somewhere between the two.

-As it's from your side of the family,

-David, what do you think of that?

-I'm happy with 150, yes.

-You think the girls will be sad to see it go?

-I'm sure they would not.

This crude box, then, as David puts it,

brings us to the end of our rummage

and to the total, so come and join your wife.

You can sit on it if you like.

You wanted this £1,000.

You've got your £1,000.

-Not only that, you've got £1,100.

-Lovely!

You can hoop and holler now.

Whoo!

Oh, go on, Barbara!

Hoop and a-holler, go on!

Whoo!

Great.

With Barbara all fired up, we just have to see how things fare at auction.

Amongst our finds is a collection of pocket watches

in need of polishing.

Someone might take them off our hands for £100-£150.

Also the grandfather clock should fetch £400-£600,

which would be very nice indeed.

And finally the Dutch vase.

Not one of Barbara's favourites,

but worthy of admiration at £30-£50.

Still to come on Cash In The Attic -

will David's train set keep our estimates on track?

Oh!

Will our collection of watches bring in a pleasant sum?

-At £80. Five now?

-Yes!

Find out what happens when the hammer falls.

It's been a few weeks since we met Barbara and David at their home

and looked for items to bring here to Bamfords Auctions in Derby.

They want to raise £1,000 for a really big family reunion,

which I think is a great idea.

Let's hope there's lots of eager bidders in the room

as their items go under the hammer.

Sadly John can't be with us,

but the auctioneer has cast his eyes over our lots.

He thinks the train set might be a bit too specialist for the sale,

although he'll do his best.

Still, you never know who will be in the room.

It might be our lucky day.

-Nice grain, isn't it?

-Doing a bit of polishing, are you?

-Just saying it was a nice grain.

-Yeah, I know.

-You've got some cracking toys.

-We do, yes.

Then there's a wonderful grandfather clock which I really liked.

-I won't be sorry to see it go.

-That's what I love about you two.

-Every time I was with you, you'd go, "I won't be sorry to see it go."

-That's right!

But I remember you had four boxes and you've only got three today.

Our daughter took a shine to one of them and it went.

-It had to go.

-Yes.

-It's never lost when a daughter gets it.

-No.

She was right to take it.

-The auctioneer's in place, so follow me.

-Thank you.

If you'd like to raise money by selling at auction,

note that sale rooms may charge fees such as commission,

and these vary from one sale room to another.

The first item here is one that I remember you hated.

-I liked the orange and you loathed it.

-I didn't like it at all.

It's classified as a Gouda Art Deco jardiniere.

-Remind me why you hate it.

-It was mainly the colour.

-Being Gouda, I think John said it was from Holland.

-Yes.

All I can think of is cheese.

THEY LAUGH

The price may be a bit cheesy.

He's put on it somewhere like £30 to £50.

I take it you'd be happy with that?

-More than happy.

-Anything to get rid of it.

It's about to go under the hammer. Let's see what you get for it.

At £20 and two.

24, 26, 28, and 30 and two.

-See?

-Yes.

32 new place. 35.

38 at the back. I can't see you.

38? Yes, waving at 38. 40 now.

£38 by the cabinet and 40 do I see?

At £38 right at the back of the room. 40 did you want?

One more?

At £38, right at the back, any advance?

-What do you think about that?

-Amazing.

-That is wonderful.

David, why are you so amazed?

I can't really say, but it was rather awful!

Those two couldn't wait to offload that item, could they?

Making £38 is a big bonus,

but now something closer to Barbara's heart -

her collection of tea cards.

My drink is tea, I drink gallons of it.

Two walkers walked the world once over two years.

When they got back, all they wanted was a cup of tea. They're my people!

You collected these tea cards

that are about to be auctioned.

Over how many years?

I collected them from the age

of about six to ten, I suppose.

My grandmother lived in London and she posted them to me.

We'd get the albums and stick them in. It was exciting to get a whole set, you know.

It was just something I did then.

Please tell me you've got a pang of regret for a collection you did when you were so young.

I suppose a lot of work went into it, but no, not really.

-Time moves on.

-They've had their day.

-Yes.

-If they sell well, I'll get you an extra cup of tea.

-Thank you.

Where shall we start, then? £20? 20, 15?

Ten pounds, then?

Ten pounds for them.

Anybody want those? Ten pounds?

Gosh. I'm going to sell them for five.

-No!

-Five pounds, anyone?

Anybody want them?

No? Sorry, guys. That's a not sold.

-Oh, dear.

-Oh, Barbara.

Nobody wanted your tea cards. How do you react to that?

They weren't worth the paper they were printed on, were they?

At least we got a joke out of that

even if we didn't get any dosh.

But the sale of the railway marker David found while walking

put us back on track as it sells within our estimate.

Now I remember this next lot -

it's a collection of watches.

Where did they come from?

From my grandfather.

-They were all your grandfather's?

-The whole lot. He was

a wheeler-dealer, a collector.

He just liked to collect things.

-Have you ever used any of them?

-No, I'm not a watch person.

Not at all. Our grandson had one of them. He took that.

The other week, he decided he needed a fob watch.

At 16 going on 17, it's a must-have.

Must have a fob watch, yes.

The boy's got style.

If there were no collectors for cigarette cards,

-I hope there are for watches. We'll find out.

-Yes.

I have three bids on it and £80 starts it.

-At £80. Five now?

-Yes!

At £80 and five do I see?

How good is that?

85, 90, and five?

All the bids close together, at £90, 95 do I see?

At 90.

-Hey!

-£90!

-How about that?

I am more than thrilled. £90!

-For something that's been lying in a drawer.

-Forgotten about.

I always think every girl should have a chaise longue

to drape herself along. Where did this one come from?

It belonged to my little Great Aunt Annie.

You can tell she was small because she could sleep on it.

My daughter took a shine to it and my father gave it to her.

And she never took it to her own house,

she never took possession of it.

I've been landed with it for about 30 years.

About time Cash In The Attic came in.

The wicker chaise longue, great fun, this one.

Better than it sounds, it's quite a stylish lot.

I've got one bid, so I'll start it just below at £25.

30 do I see?

At 25 and 30, sir, 30 and five?

35, 40, 40 and five?

45, 50. One more?

48, if it helps?

At 45 with me, absentee bid, 48 I'm taking at the front.

And 50. You're coming back?

One more? £48 is here. 50 where?

At 48. 50 do I see?

At £48. All sure?

What an auctioneer!

You were only £2 off John's highest estimate.

I think that's wonderful, I really do.

Trouble is, your daughter will want the 50 quid now, £48.

She's going to have it!

Honestly, I'd say this chaise longue is an acquired taste.

But it's obviously taken one buyer's fancy.

No doubt someone will be draping themselves over it soon.

The next item is a carved-oak sideboard. Is it very grand?

-No.

-Where did it come from?

From my grandparents, the ones with the fob watches.

I find it very depressing.

How many years has it depressed you?

Ever since I was a small boy.

-What are you like?

-I've managed to rise above it.

Where shall we start it? £50? 50.

50 anywhere? 30, then.

£30 bid here, 30 and five? 40.

40 and five? £40 here and five at the back.

45 bid. 50? 50 and five?

55 and 60. 60 and five?

At £60. Any more?

At £60. Do I see five anywhere?

At... One more?

At £60, selling to the left.

At 60. Are you sure?

At £60... It's yours.

Hey, what a result!

No longer am I depressed.

No longer, depression lifted for 50 quid.

Give me a big smile, David.

Hooray, what a result!

We've cured David's depression and made £60 in the process.

If we keep meeting these estimates,

we'll be on target to raise the £1,000 for the family reunion.

Now, David, earlier on you did very well with some fob watches.

Here you have some more.

How many fob watches do you have in your house?

We have no more now after they've all been sold.

Five pocket watches and I have one, two, three, four, five, six, seven bids.

-Seven bids!

-The lowest bid is £72.

The under bidder is £95. £100 starts it.

And ten in the doorway.

120 here. 130 for you?

130 in the doorway. 135 I have. 140 beats it.

All the bidding very close.

140 for you?

At 135, absentee bid.

Are you sure? At £135.

Anywhere else at 135?

-135!

-That's good.

£135, isn't that brilliant?

-I'm really pleased with that.

-That's nearly John's top estimate.

He was very close, wasn't he?

You're liking John more by the second, aren't you?

Up next we have a 19th-century rosewood writing slip.

Sounds very nice, and two other boxes.

I've got three bids on it and I can start it at £26.

-28 now?

-Not much for a first bid.

At £28? 26 has it.

28, 30, 32?

32. 34.

36? £34 with me.

£34, 36 now?

At 34.

You happy? At £34?

And selling for 34.

John's lower estimate was £40 and you got 34, so not too bad.

-Nearly there.

-Happy with that?

-Yes.

Not as much as we'd hoped for,

but it hasn't dampened their spirits in the slightest.

I bet they're wondering what to do with all that free space at home.

I have very high hopes for the train set.

Every time I come to an auction,

things like cars, train sets, they always sell well.

John's estimate for this Hornby train set

is £150 to £250.

Great if you get that.

-Was this yours?

-This was mine, yes.

When I was about ten, my brother and I had it for Christmas.

-You remember Christmas presents like that because they're special.

-That one certainly was, yes.

£100 please? 100.

£100 for it.

100. 100 I'll start it at, 110 do I see?

At £100, and ten now?

At £100. 110 do I see?

At 100... 110, sir.

120 with me, 130.

125, 130, 135 for you?

No? At 130 it remains with me unsold at 130.

It will go into the collectors' sale if I don't see a better bid.

At 130, are we all sure?

No? Into the toy sale next month.

Oh!

-Didn't like that.

-We were expecting that, actually.

The auctioneer did think they might not sell today.

Still, perhaps the Dinky toys and metal fort

will be more to the bidders' taste.

Did this belong to you as a boy?

This was mine. I can even remember where we bought the mobile crane.

It was bought on holiday in Great Yarmouth.

I can start it at £45. 50 do I see?

At 45 and 50 now?

50, five, 60, five, against you.

At £65, 70 now.

At £65, any advance?

HE BANGS GAVEL

-That's wonderful.

-She's really happy.

The toys have gone, oak panelling is gone, everything is gone.

It just goes to show

that you never can tell what will sell on the day.

Up next is the oak coffer, which David thought was crude.

I don't think it's crude... Well, maybe just a bit bawdy.

I do remember the carved-oak coffer.

I watched a man sit on it throughout the auction.

I thought, "I hope it doesn't collapse before it gets to sale."

-So, who did this belong to?

-This was my parents'.

I imagine it came down through the family.

It's quite nice, actually.

-You like it?

-Yeah.

-For a change, he's happy with something.

-Amazing, isn't it?

-Bit of a novelty for you.

-It is.

And £100 is bid. At 110?

110, 120, 130, 140,

150 in the red.

150, 160, 170.

170 bid.

180 behind you. 180, 190, 200.

200, 220, 240.

240 either of you? 240 bid now. 260 in the red?

260, yes? 250 if you like.

At 240 at the back.

250 here.

New place, at 250 behind the rostrum.

At 250, 260, sir?

260, he shakes his head.

At 250 it's here. 260 anywhere else?

260 do I see?

At 2... 260.

270. 280?

-Oh, don't!

-280, 290. 300?

-At 290 still at the back.

-Fantastic!

-300, one more?

One more? Go on. 300. 310. 320.

Might get it for another. Shake of the head.

At 310 it's here. 320 now?

At 310. 320 anywhere?

At 310 and selling...

-How about that?

-That is wonderful.

-What an auctioneer!

What an auctioneer!

He teased it out of them.

-What a piece, though.

-Yes.

-£310, well over the estimate.

-Top estimate.

-I'm sure he's very embarrassed about sitting on it now.

-Maybe he brought you good luck.

-Yes.

He can sit on the next one.

What a result! I don't think any of us saw that coming.

It's a very welcome addition to the £1,000 target.

Hopefully they'll soon be seeing their children for that reunion.

Now, our final item of the day is perhaps the grandest.

One of my favourite items at home

that and I love to see at auction are long-cased grandfather clocks.

You have put a reserve of £400 on this,

and John has put £400-£600 on it overall.

And a good clock, circa 1780.

Where shall we be for that? £400, please.

400? 300 if you l... 300 is bid.

At 300, 320 now.

At 300, 320 do I see?

320. 350?

350, 380?

380, 400.

Hiding at 400. 420, now?

With you hiding at £400, 420 do I see?

At 420 now.

With you at £400.

Any advance? 400.

Sure? Coming back?

At £400? Anybody else? Seems reasonable.

With you. Four. All done.

400, spot on your reserve.

Yes. He's very good, John, isn't he?

So, the sale of our final item gave the total a good old boost.

Have we made our £1,000 target?

You've had a real mix of items to bring to auction.

I've been bemused by them, because mostly, David, you've hated all of it,

so whatever you got for it was going to be a bonus!

Now, you wanted £1,000.

Ideally, you wanted this £1,000 to bring your daughter and grandchildren over from Crete,

get all the family together so they all get to know each other.

-Yes.

-Lovely.

I'm very happy to tell you that you've got your £1,000.

Not only that, you got £1,208.

So £1,208.

Truly amazing!

But listen, you've been terrific. You've amused me enormously.

The hate you have for some of the stuff you've had for 30-40 years!

And to think you almost brought the trailer

to take home any unsold stuff,

and all you're taking home are tea cards!

-You didn't need the trailer after all.

-Done well, haven't we?

Well done, and have a wonderful time with your family.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you, Gloria.

Since raising the money at auction,

David and Barbara have decided to head out to Greece to catch up with their family.

What better way to get in the mood than go Greek for the day?

'We went on Cash In The Attic to raise some money

'to get our daughter and her family

'over from Crete for a visit.'

But my daughter has just got a new job in Crete,

so it's best that she doesn't leave at the moment.

So we decided we'll have to go out there to see her.

So now we've just had a lovely picnic

where we can get into the mood for our trip next week,

off to see the grandchildren.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd