Burgess Cash in the Attic

Welcome to Cash In The Attic, the programme that joins you in the hunt for valuables around your home

and then takes them off with you to auction

so that we can hopefully raise money to spend on a special project.

It's not every day that we get invited into the home of a local mayor,

so it's going to be interesting to see whether this one runs her home like she runs the council.

Order!

Coming up on Cash In The Attic, a delightful silver brooch made by a celebrated war hero.

What an amazing figure. After surviving that, flying bombing missions across Europe,

he then retrained as a silversmith.

A model train set triggers an insight into our expert's childhood.

-I never had trains as a child.

-Aww!

-I'm guessing... No, I was an Action Man!

And there are more flashbacks in store come auction day

with some toys that wobble but don't fall down.

It took me back to a rather sad time in my life.

Though, I'm also sorry to say, I'm starting to look a bit like a Weeble!

Will there be tears before bedtime? Find out with the final fall of the hammer.

Today I'm in West Sussex, where I'm about to meet Brenda and Bob,

who are prepared to give up some of their possessions

so that they can raise money for a very good cause.

Brenda and Bob Burgess have been married for over 40 years.

Bob was always a teacher, but Brenda has had several jobs over the years,

including dress designer and manageress of a wool shop.

Then in 2004, she decided to get involved with her local council and became the Mayor of Crawley.

Recently, Bob has also decided to get involved with the council,

partly because he's as interested in local issues,

but also to spend more time with his wife.

Brenda's been involved with several charities over the years,

but there's one in particular that's close to her heart,

and she's hoping that we can help raise money for this very good cause.

Today, I'm joined by antiques expert John Cameron,

who'll be helping us find those hidden treasures that we'll take to auction.

While John starts his rummage round the house, I head off to meet our hosts.

-Hi, Brenda! Bob!

-Hello.

-I was hoping to see the full regalia!

Sadly, no. I can put it on if you like!

It is rather grand, though, isn't it?

Yes, it's a chain, and it has a pendant at the front with the badge of Crawley on,

and it gives you Crawley's motto, which is "I grow and I rejoice".

And do you have something to wear as the consort, Bob?

Yes, I get a little tiny, tiny one!

He's very jealous!

-Both of you are in local politics, aren't you? You're both councillors.

-Yes.

Does that mean, Bob, that when you're at home, because she's the mayor, she gets to rule the roost?

She always rules the roost, in the council chamber and in the home.

But it's obviously a partnership that works.

We've been together for 40 years, so something must be working.

Why have you called in Cash In The Attic?

I want to raise some money for my charity.

Every mayor has a charity

and mine this year is Open House, for the homeless, and it'd be nice to raise some money for them.

What sort of figure are you looking for?

I'd like to raise about £400 if possible.

£400 is your target. John Cameron's your man.

He's already having a look at what we might be able to take to auction.

Bob, why don't you have a rummage and see what you can add to the pot

and we'll go and meet John.

So that's £400 of items we need to find today,

for a very worthy cause, too.

John is already hard at work. It looks like he's found something that might make a good sale.

-Hi, John.

-Hiya.

-What a pretty figurine.

-It's a Doulton.

I don't enter many houses these days

and not find either a piece of Doulton or a piece of Beswick,

such is the enduring popularity of both factories.

-Is this something that you've collected?

-It belonged to my aunt.

She would collect these ladies and have them on her window ledge, and they were "her girls".

Unfortunately, she died.

They were distributed round to members of the family and we got that one.

Interesting you say they were referred to as her "ladies",

because this type of figurine are often referred to as the Crinoline Ladies.

The figures themselves are individually designed by different artists.

They then take moulds from the original, which they can reuse.

They slipcast these, fire them at a very high temperature,

They have that hole so the hot air can escape, otherwise they'd explode in the kiln.

They then paint them individually, by hand,

and you often get slight variations in the colour

and deliberate variations in the colour waves.

Some variations of a figure are more valuable than another.

Looking at the number, it tells me that this model, which is known here as Maytime,

was actually designed by Leslie Harradine,

who's a very important modeller at Doulton

and very influential in establishing their figure range.

Doulton figurines - you can pick up for £20 or £30.

I would put 50 to 70 on her and hope that she might even do a bit better than that.

£50 is a great start, isn't it, for the money that we're going to try and raise?

-Let's go and see what we're going to add to it.

-Yes.

As we split up and carry on looking for things that Brenda and Bob may have,

it's clear that they've collected allsorts of ornaments over the years.

In the living room, it's not the ornaments that have caught John's eye

but this bureau that they're kept in.

-Bob.

-Yes?

The oak bureau bookcase,

is this a family piece or something you might consider for auction?

We've had it just over 40 years now, when we got married.

My wife was living in Leicester in a flat,

and she was coming down here, having got married, and we had no furniture,

and the lady who owned the flat said we could have this piece for a small amount.

-Do you remember what you paid for it?

-I think it was about a fiver.

-That's probably a week's money at the time!

-Yes, but it seemed reasonable at the time.

We had no furniture and we needed somewhere to put bits and pieces,

and it's been full ever since!

The bureau bookcase in this form hasn't changed much since it really developed, around about 1700.

The interesting thing about pieces like this is, there's always a story.

And the bureau itself emerged out of the chest of drawers.

Somebody instructed a cabinet maker at some point to put a writing slope on the top of the chest of drawers.

That was a separate item that could lift off.

If you were writing, chances are you would have books,

and bookcases were starting to grow in popularity,

and somebody had the idea of placing a bookcase on top.

It's not bad quality. It's made of oak.

Even the drawers are oak-lined, they're all dovetailed.

Nearly 100 years, 90 years-plus old, and it's still functioning properly.

They don't make huge sums of money.

They were popular in the States for a while, people were shipping them in large quantities.

I still think we're looking at around

10 times your initial purchase price with a bottom estimate.

Something like £50 to £100?

-That sounds fine.

-OK.

-Yes.

-Jolly good.

-We've got you on side. I think it's going to auction.

-OK.

-Let's see what else we find.

-Thank you.

As long as Brenda doesn't use that bureau when conducting council affairs,

Bob should be able to persuade her to part with it.

Meanwhile, I've discovered a set of rather fascinating children's toys.

John informs me that they're called Weebles

and were a huge craze back in the 1970s. News to me!

Brenda and Bob bought these for their daughter when she was three,

so they've been in the family for over 30 years.

John thinks they've got plenty more years play in them

and is hopeful that bidders will pay upwards of £20 to £30.

John? John? Look what I've found.

It's an interesting little brooch. What's the story behind it?

I had forgotten I'd got it.

It was given to me by my mother-in-law, before she became my mother-in-law.

I was looking for a brooch to wear, I wanted a very simple one,

and she said, "Would you like this?" I said, "Thank you."

She was a very generous lady and she let me have that brooch.

-Do you ever wear it?

-I did at first and then I got out of the habit

and put it away, and I'd forgotten all about it.

Interesting design. Two antelopes leaping through those bulrushes in that little ring.

But for me, the interesting part is on the back.

It's silver. There's a Birmingham hallmark on there - 1964.

But just underneath, on that lower antelope,

-there's a signature of Geoffrey Guy Bellamy.

-Really?

He was an interesting figure.

After the war, he trained at Birmingham as a silversmith,

graduated with a first

and set up a company with a chap called Ivan Tarratt.

They were producing silverware, brooches,

elegant pieces for some of the high street jewellers.

The interesting part about Bellamy is what he was doing during the war.

He was actually a pilot. He flew Lancaster Bombers

and actually got a Distinguished Flying Cross with a bar.

The bar means he was awarded one a second time.

What an amazing figure. After surviving that, flying bombing missions across Europe,

he then retrained as a silversmith

and was making beautifully elegant and quite original pieces of jewellery

in the '50s and '60s styles.

It's a nice piece and certainly something we can send to auction.

Without that designer cache, I wouldn't value that more than £5,

because there's not a lot of weight in it,

but because of that designer name, I think we'd be looking at £30, £40.

-It's been sitting in my drawer doing nothing!

-Fantastic!

But will the bidders recognise the Bellamy brooch on auction day?

At £20? 22. 25. At £25.

Find out if the little silver brooch soars past its estimate.

As we continue our search, Bob digs out some jewellery that his grandfather left him.

The collection includes a nine-carat gold necklace, a gold ring, two pearls and an opal.

John thinks they should sell for somewhere between £80 and £100.

How did you get into politics?

I was on the board of governors at the local school and I met someone who was from the council.

We got chatting and I said that when I was in Leicester,

I was a young person of this particular party,

and we got talking politics.

And a few months later he said, "Have you ever thought of coming back into politics?"

I said, "Well, why?" He said, "We're recruiting. Would you like to join again?"

And then he said, "While you're about it, we do have a seat going.

"Would you like to consider standing for a particular seat?"

I thought about it and I thought, "That sounds interesting!"

So I said yes.

In politics now, and you are the mayor here.

What sort of year have you had?

It's frantic!

I can't begin to tell you what sort of year it's been. It's been manic at times.

Fascinating, interesting, great, wonderful.

You meet some really great people.

And it's a great honour to be asked to be mayor

and represent your town, because that's what you do -

you represent the town to other towns and you serve the people in the town.

Once the year is over,

how would you like people to remember you and your year?

That's a difficult one. I think...to be approachable.

Because the office of mayor, people see the mayor

as the sort of person you can't talk to.

Because the mayoral position is number one in a town

and the only person that would outrank me would be royalty or the Queen's representative.

So with that in mind, people are very hesitant. They don't know how to meet you.

So I've spent the time trying to get people to treat me as Mrs Average On The Street.

I'll be Mrs Average next year when I'm no longer mayor.

While we've been chatting about Brenda's year as mayor, John has been rummaging

and digs up this elegant silver-cased gents pocket watch.

It used to belong to Bob's grandfather,

who bought it in the 1920s and wore it with great pride.

Sadly, pocket watches like this aren't particularly rare, but this one is in good working order,

and John is hopeful that it'll fetch at least £30 to £40.

John! Bob!

I've found the boys' playroom!

That is interesting.

-This is your train set?

-I think it was an 11th birthday present, or Christmas,

which puts it in the late '50s.

-All boys wanted a train set when they were little and I was disappointed.

-Why?

Well, I'm an English lad, or I was,

and I wanted an English railway set and this is Canadian.

It's interesting you say that you didn't like it because it wasn't English,

but it is by an English maker. Tri-ang, very English firm,

who have their origins way back in the Victorian period

when G&J Lines were making wooden toys.

The firm was formed after the war by their four sons.

After the war, in the '50s,

they commissioned a chap called Alexander Venetzian,

who had a firm making plastic toys,

they commissioned him to make a railway system to compete with Hornby.

So successful were they, so efficient was their manufacturing

and slick their modelling and marketing,

that by 1964, they took over Hornby, forced them out of business.

-There is a collector's interest in trains of this period, isn't there?

-There are.

-And forgive me, but I never had trains as a child. I'm guessing that...

-Aww!

No, I was an Action Man.

These were probably run on the same tracks.

But you do see them turning up at auction.

They tend to be merged in with Hornby stuff.

But the big thing is the box. We don't have it. We've got rolling stock, track,

and we've got the main electrical box there...

-No box, though, Bob.

-No.

-No.

Fortunately, there are still lots of little boys who do love playing with trains,

so presumably we'd be able to sell this at auction, John, but for how much?

Like it is, I would expect it to make no more than about £20 or £30.

-How would that be for you?

-It's £20 or £30 going to the charity

rather than continuing to collect dust on the top shelf.

Whilst we carry on looking for what else is collecting dust,

John spots this 1970s onyx ormolu coffee table.

Well, you could hardly miss it. It's quite a beast!

Just look at those ornate legs.

It was passed down from Bob's aunt, but as it doesn't really fit with their decor,

they're happy for it to try its luck in the sale room. It heads off with a modest price tag.

I have a feeling we have a chance of finding more treasures for this very good cause.

Open House is something close to my heart.

They look after those less fortunate than ourselves who are homeless and haven't anywhere to go.

I thought that would be good, so I adopted them for my charity.

Although they're local, they serve Crawley and the surrounding area.

What exactly do they do?

If they haven't anywhere to go, they can stay the night.

Exchange of clothing, bedding, whatever you need, they've got it.

And the local schools support the charity when it's Harvest Festival, with food, etc.

I thought it would be good to do something for a local charity.

There but for the grace of God go all of us.

In fact, both of you got involved in doing this, didn't you?

You took it to extremes, really, didn't you? Tell me what you did!

Well, it was Brenda's idea, not mine.

She decided it would be good to sleep out for a night,

which we did in the town centre in Queens Square.

And, er, we eventually had 17 people sleeping out,

and all had sponsor to do it.

Very interesting experience.

The pavements of Crawley are very hard.

But this was to give you an idea of what it was like to be homeless.

-And people sponsored us to do that.

-How much did you make?

Over £3,000.

What sort of thing will the money that we're hoping to raise actually pay for?

They're very short of space, so they're hoping to expand it somehow

and build an extension onto the property to help more people

or to enlarge the areas they have, because it's very cramped.

he offices are full of bits and pieces because they... It's very, very small.

So they're desperate for space, so they're hoping to raise money.

Chatting to Brenda and Bob has been fascinating,

but if we're to make that target of £400, we'd better get moving.

Nestling in the bookshelf I find this gold ring, which belonged to Bob's aunt.

It's a 19th century nine-carat gold ruby dress ring

and John thinks it could add another £30 to £50 to our ever-growing kitty.

-Brenda.

-Yes?

-This little watch here, can you take that for me?

-Yes.

This little gold wristwatch, is there any sentimental attachment to it?

Yes, there is. It was my mother's. It was her 21st birthday present.

So that's, what, 75 years old?

However, as you can see, it needs some TLC,

so I'd rather someone had it who would look after it

than it stay in my cupboard and just disintegrate.

When you say it needs some TLC, the glass face has gone.

-What's the story?

-I have no idea.

It's one of those things in moving around, the glass cover just disappeared.

The watch itself would probably date to about the 1920s,

certainly in style, with those Arabic murals

and that little engine-turned gold dial.

This is at a time when the wristwatch has only just developed

as a transition from the pocket watch.

When you think back, there was two major events

that facilitated the need for a wristwatch.

One, the First World War, the second, the car.

Soldiers in the trenches trying to synchronise when they're going to move,

it's easy to look at a wristwatch than fumble with a pocket watch.

The same for a driver. If you think it's illegal to drive cars whilst on a mobile phone,

-I imagine there'd be a law if people were fumbling for a pocket watch.

-True.

So a wristwatch was much easier to hold the wheel and have a glance at the time.

I think restoration costs would outweigh its actual value,

so I think sale is probably a good route for it.

At auction today, I'd still hope it would make £30 to £40.

I think that would be quite a nice price to have for it

and it would be... it would honour my mum in a way,

because the money would go to a good cause. I think she'd like that.

-I think so, too. Rather than it sitting in a cupboard.

-Yes.

We're almost done, but there's time for one last search of the house.

Brenda takes another look at some of her old costume jewellery

and decides to put it all into the sale.

The collection includes a rather pretty necklace and a number of gold-plated brooches.

Brenda's had them for over 30 years, but she's happy to sell them now.

John thinks they could bring in another £20 to £30.

Bob, where did this rather lovely gold chain come from?

I believe it was my grandfather's.

I seem to recall a photo, I was five, Christmas time,

and he seems to be wearing it on his jacket.

-When you say wearing it, he would've had a watch at one end of it.

-Yes.

-Football was quite important to him, wasn't it?

-It was.

He was a professional footballer, but unfortunately, he broke his leg

before his career got under way and he never played again.

We're going to show this to John, not only because he'll be interested in it because it's gold,

but he also is a football fan.

He supports Portsmouth, but we'll forgive him that.

Brenda, John!

Come and look at this.

-John. Have you never thought to have that made into a bracelet?

-Never.

-No?

People do that with them, don't they?

The practice of wearing them as bracelets and necklaces

is believed to have started around WW1.

Men went away to the trenches and their wives kept them safe.

These were still prized items and so they wore them as necklaces,

often so that they felt close to the person that was away.

Often referred to as Albert Chains after Prince Albert,

and the finer ones are sometimes referred to as "Albertina Chains"!

Isn't it true that each of those links would be hallmarked? What does that one tell us?

This one, you're absolutely right, Angela, they are each hallmarked.

We've got a number nine. Next to it, 375.

375 being 375 parts of a thousand pure gold, and the nine tells us it's nine-carat gold.

I think we'll be looking at probably about £250-plus for that.

-Wow!

-Excellent!

-Very good.

£250, if you could get that, just on its gold value alone,

what a fantastic amount to add to your £400!

-Yes!

-Absolutely! Absolutely.

Taking that as the lowest estimate,

plus the lowest estimate on everything else John's looked at,

we just might be able to raise as much as...

..£630!

No! Fantastic!

-How fantastic.

-That's wonderful!

-Which would be terrific for the charity!

-It would.

We just have to wait now for the hammer to come down on everything and see what we actually make.

We've had a hugely productive day in West Sussex

with the Mayor of Crawley and her charming husband, Bob.

And we've unearthed a rich list of collectables to take with us to auction.

There's the delightful brooch, hand-crafted by a celebrated British bomber pilot.

We're hoping that his efforts will be rewarded again and it'll fly past its estimate.

We have Bob's train set.

He was given it as a boy but never really liked it.

We hope the bidders will love it

and pay upwards of its £20 to £30 price tag.

And the stunning nine-carat gold Albert Chain.

It was Bob's football-playing grandfather's,

so let's hope it scores highly with the bidders

and shoots over its £250 to £280 estimate.

Still to come on Cash In The Attic, there are some unexpected results in the sale room.

-Were you pleased?

-Very pleased.

-Rather more than you thought it might make.

Our expert wonders if he's been a little overoptimistic.

I'm not sure why I came up with that estimate.

I'm thinking, "You'll get your fiver back, but Not sure about the 50!"

You haven't let me down so far.

Will his valuations come good?

All will be revealed before the final fall of the gavel.

I really did enjoy talking to Brenda and Bob

about their involvement with local politics and local charities.

Isn't it really generous of them to be giving everything that they raise today

to the charity Open House?

We've brought all of their items here to Watsons Auctioneers in East Sussex.

Hopefully, we're going to make more than that £400 target.

This popular auction house first opened their doors back in 1874

and they've been holding regular sales ever since.

Their general auction takes place every Tuesday.

We're hoping for a healthy turnout today

so that we can raise lots of money for a hugely worthwhile cause.

John's arrived and it looks like he's got his eye on a lady.

-You're rather taken with that, aren't you?

-Yes.

They don't make them like they used to. They make about £15, these figures.

But this one enjoyed a short production run

and was designed by Leslie Harradine,

so I'm hoping it'll do our 50 to 70 estimate.

Are you confident that, with the other items they've brought today, we'll make that £400?

They've got one or two interesting pieces of jewellery,

and that lovely silver brooch, designed by the WW2 pilot.

And they have, for me, an excellent item,

-it's a '70s throwback, that collection of Weebles.

-I know!

-You didn't have them as a boy, did you?

-I wish I had! Now might be my chance!

They'll certainly make some child happy.

Shall we go and see them both and see how they feel about the auction?

I'm pleased to hear John sounding so confident about our chances.

Brenda and Bob's items have been beautifully displayed in the sale room.

But isn't there an item missing?

-Hello!

-Brenda and Bob.

-Nice to see you.

-John and I have been looking at some of the items you brought.

-Yes.

-We can't find the watch.

When I told my daughter we were going to put Granny's watch in the auction,

she said, "No, you can't possibly get rid of it! I want it."

So she's taken it and she's having it renovated

and it's still being repaired, with a new strap.

-I think that's rather lovely.

-It's just as well.

It was never going to make a lot, so keeping it in the family is nice.

-How are you feeling about the auction, Bob?

-Excited. Er...

I don't know what'll happen. It's a whole new ballgame.

I've never been to an auction. I'm looking forward to it.

Let's hope we can make it a very pleasant and memorable experience.

-Shall we go and take our place?

-Let's do.

With the auctioneer in position and the sale already under way,

we don't have to wait long for our first lot of the day.

It's Bob's childhood railway set, which he never really liked.

He wanted a British engine. This one's Canadian.

Normally, these railway sets go for quite a lot of money,

but presumably, because this is a foreign set,

it may not go with train collectors in this country.

It's not what they want. They prefer Hornby.

We have got a mixed lot. Some of them are in boxes, but not the main box.

I hate to use the expression, it's a kind of "suck it and see". We'll just have to see what happens.

That lot at £40. 40? 30?

-20 I'm bid. £20.

-We've started at 20.

-£20 bid.

22? 25? 28?

At £28. 30 now.

£28 in the room? Going to be sold at £28.

-That's good.

-Not a Canadian flag in sight!

-No!

That'll do very nicely indeed! Just £20 shy of John's estimate.

And we've got our first contribution into the charity pot.

We've deduced that there are some toy collectors in the room.

What we need for our next lot are the fashion aficionados.

We've got a collection of costume jewellery now, which you used to wear, Brenda.

When I was younger, but not any more. I prefer more simple jewellery.

I felt it was time I tidied out my jewellery box.

If you get £20 to £30 for a clearout, that's not bad, is it?

There's lots of collectors and dealers here,

-so hopefully they'll want to take it away.

-I hope so.

-That's a nice mixed lot there at £30.

-He likes it!

-"Nice mixed lot".

-20?

£20 bid. 20. £20?

25? 28 in the room. At 28 in the room.

30 on the net, is it?

-30. Thank you. At £30.

-Goodness!

From the net, selling, then at £30.

-Excellent.

-Good result.

-Very good.

Yes! Well done. Spot on so far!

I don't mind being wrong if it's in your favour.

If it's over the estimate, that's fine!

I think someone viewed that and decided to bid on the internet.

And bid they did, all the way up to John's top estimate.

We've had a terrific start to our day,

and I think Bob's rather enjoying his first taste of a real-life auction.

Next up, a lot that I found. It's the collection of children's toys from the 1970s.

Confession time. I had no idea what the Weebles were.

I'm afraid it was after my childhood.

But, John, you felt deprived of not having these, didn't you?

I did! I really coveted these as a small boy,

but I wasn't fortunate enough to have any to play with.

So when I saw them, it took me back to a rather sad time.

Though, I'm also sorry to say, I'm starting to look a bit like a Weeble!

-But your children played with them.

-Yes, they did. They loved them.

I thought I'd see more in auction houses over the years, but I haven't,

so I'm hoping they go down a scream.

£30? 30.

£20?

-10 bid only. 10. 10.

-You've got 10 bid!

-12.

15. 18. 20. At £20. Take two?

Last time, then. Selling in the room at £20.

-Brilliant. Excellent.

-There you go!

-That's all right.

-At first, my estimate wobbled a bit, but didn't fall down.

-Like the Weebles!

I may not have heard of Weebles before,

but there were clearly bidders in the room who remembered them fondly.

More of Brenda's jewellery next. This time, it's the antelope brooch,

made by the heroic bomber pilot turned silversmith, Geoffrey Bellamy.

-Where did you get it from?

-My mother-in-law gave it to me just after we got married.

I needed a brooch for my outfit and she said I could keep it.

I have seen a couple of ladies looking at it.

Hopefully, they realise what they've got there.

It's a very classic brooch, so yes.

What do we say for that one? £50? 50.

£30?

20 bid only. £20. £20 bid. At £20.

22? 25?

At £25. At 28. At £28. 30 now.

At £28?

Can he make it 30?

At £28.

-THEY GROAN

-Just £2 under.

-Never mind.

-We've got £28.

I had rather hoped that the antelope brooch would trounce its estimate.

It does have such a fascinating pedigree.

Still, we can't be too disappointed as it was just £2 shy of John's lower estimate,

and it is more money towards a terrific cause.

I wonder what the room will make of Brenda and Bob's rather lavish 1970s table.

It didn't suit the decor of their house,

and they've been trying to get rid of it for years! Will it be to the bidders' taste?

You were very dismissive of the onyx table,

but the catalogue and the auctioneers have done it proud.

"It's a 1970s onyx and ormolu coffee table, having a circular top with pierced ormolu frieze,

"supported on four dolphin legs with onyx undertier, standing on bun feet."

-My goodness!

-Do you recognise it?

-No!

40 for that one. £40?

Anybody start me at 30? 20 I'm bid £20.

-You've got £20!

-£20!

£20 bid. 20. Take it two now.

At £20. Take it two?

At £20. Anywhere in the room at 20? Are they bidding on the net?

-At £22.

-On the net!

-This time, at £22.

-There you go!

-22!

And you were going to give it away.

Brenda's clearly delighted with that sale.

The table is out of the house and we have another £22 in the kitty.

I don't think our next lot will be quite so easy to part with.

-Next is the silver pocket watch, which belonged to your grandfather.

-That's right.

-Do you remember him with this watch?

-I can remember him wearing it,

it was my fifth birthday or Christmas.

I've got my new football boots on and he's wearing his watch.

Grand items, but nobody seems to want them these days.

Hence, 30 to 40 doesn't sound like a lot for a nice pocket watch.

-That one there at £100.

-Ooh!

100? 80?

50 I'm bid. £50.

-£50!

-At £50 bid.

-That's good.

-That's great!

55? 60?

£60? At £60. Five now? At £60?

-At £60. Done, then, at £60.

-Excellent.

-Well done. £20 over your top estimate.

-Very happy with that.

-Are you pleased?

-Very pleased.

-Rather more than you thought it might make.

A great result for an item that I can see meant an awful lot to Bob.

But the charity also means a lot to both of them,

which is why they're parting with treasured items.

So, how much have they raised so far?

You've got a very modest figure in mind, haven't you? £400 for your charity.

-But that £400 is going to go a long way, isn't it?

-Yes.

We're at the halfway point.

We've not quite made our halfway sum of £200,

but bear in mind you do have some gold to come

and a couple of very nice things in the second half.

-But you have so far... You said, "I think I've barely made £100," didn't you?

-Mm.

-You've made £188.

-That's better! Good!

-Big sigh of relief?

-BOTH: Big sigh of relief.

I thought that news would bring a smile to their faces.

If, like Brenda and Bob, you're thinking of heading to auction to raise money for something special,

remember that fees like commission, VAT and other possible charges may be added to your bill.

So do check the details with your local auction first to avoid any unexpected surprises.

Today's auction is cracking along at quite a pace

and we only just have time to catch our breaths from the first half

before our next lot of the day is offered to the room.

It's the rather pretty gold ring that I found on the bookshelf.

How did you come by this "19th century, nine-carat gold claw ruby dress ring"?

It came to us via my husband's aunt.

Because it's too small for me, I can't wear it anyway,

so I may as well sell it to someone who can wear it and can enjoy it.

-Jewellery like this always does well at auction, doesn't it?

-It does these days.

Even though a lot of the Victorian styles aren't fashionable with the young,

there's still older people that buy things like this. It should do at least our estimate.

Which is £30 to £50.

What do we say for that one? £40.

40. 30 I'm bid. Thank you. £30.

On its estimate. Good.

32? 35? 38? 40?

-Yes!

-At £40?

-That's great.

Going to be sold, then, at £40.

-Yes!

-Right in the middle, John.

-I'm happy with that.

-Very happy.

Once again, John's estimate is right on the money.

How much longer can he keep this up? I'm not sure.

He was hesitant when it came to our Doulton lady.

When we arrived, one of the first things John went to look at

was the pretty Royal Doulton figurine.

-But you're not a collector of this?

-No, not the Doulton, no.

But this one is a very limited run, isn't it?

It was only in production for about 13 years, in the late '50s into the '60s.

And a good designer, Leslie Harradine.

I've put my neck on the line. I've said 50 to 70, and Doulton can be picked up for £10 to £15.

Somebody start me at £20 for her. £20.

20? 20 bid only. £20.

At £20. 22 on the left. 25 in the room.

At 25 in the room. 28 now.

-At £25. 28, is it? At 25. Eight on the net?

-Yes!

No. At £25. This time, is it, at £25?

28 on the net if they want it. At 25.

-25.

-Half of our lowest estimate,

but more than you would expect, John.

More than you do expect for standard Doulton.

But as I say, short production run, good designer. I did expect a bit more.

I think we were all hoping for a better result for the figurine.

But when the Doulton collectors aren't in the room, or online,

there's not much more we can do.

Fortunately, we can hardly fail to make a profit on our next lot.

It's the oak bureau that John has valued, possibly optimistically,

at £50 to £100.

-How much did you pay for it?

-Five?

-Five pounds.

Whatever we make on it, it's a profit! We've got £50 to £100 on it.

I'm not sure why I came up with that estimate.

I'm thinking, "You'll get your fiver back, but I'm not sure about the 50."

You haven't let me down so far. 50 would do fine.

Let's see what it does!

That one there at £50. 30?

30, is it? 30 I'm bid. £30.

There we go! £25 profit.

Two? Five? Eight? 40? Two? Five?

At £45 this time. At £45.

Done, then, at 45.

-Not bad!

-That's not too bad.

There you go, John, you weren't that far out!

And I never doubted that you would be, John.

£5 shy of the lower estimate

and another solid contribution towards the charity fund.

Our next lot is the jewellery that Bob was left by his grandfather.

It includes a nine-carat gold necklace and a gold ring,

and it seems that this is the right time to sell.

Gold has gone up in price, hasn't it, John?

It's gone up about a pound a gram since I did this.

That's in our favour today, so that's good.

-We should get our estimate on the next lot.

-I hope so.

Which is £80 to £100.

Unless my scales weren't working properly!

£100. £80?

-Top of the estimate.

-£50 I've got. £50.

-At £50 bid.

-It's worth more than that.

60? 65?

70? £70?

-At 70. Five.

-Come on.

80? Five?

-90? Five? And five?

-Oh, good!

105? At £105 this time.

-Come on.

-Selling at £105.

-Oh, well.

-We made a little bit over.

-Don't look like that, Bob!

-£100 was our top estimate!

-Well...!

I wanted a bit more.

Well, there was clearly nothing wrong with John's scales,

but the bidders weren't going to pay any more than its weight in gold.

It's good to see such strong interest in the room.

We have just one lot left to sell, fortunately for us, it is more gold.

John got very excited when he found that very heavy gold Albert Chain.

-This had been your grandfather's again, had it?

-Indeed.

John, what would people use these for now?

People do have them made into necklaces or bracelets.

But watch collectors would buy them to attach to a nice example in their collection.

So these are still popular things.

What do we say for that one? £300?

300?

A couple of hundred? Thank you. £200.

-At £200. 220.

-That's good!

220? 240? 260? 265?

At 260? 280?

At 280? At £280? Looking for 300.

At £280.

Going to sell it at £280.

Yes!

Well done.

Now, you see, at the beginning of the day,

you'd never been to an auction, Bob,

it was going to be exciting, different,

-how do you feel now that you've had your very first auction?

-I was very excited.

Especially that last item. It put the icing on the cake. It was really, really good.

What a way to finish off a sale.

I don't think Bob is going to forget his first auction in a hurry.

Our aim was to raise £400 to donate towards the couple's favourite charity,

which has plans for expanding their hostel. So, how have they done?

Well, if £400 will go towards enlarging the premises, what will £683 do?

A lot, lot more! That's really good.

-That's brilliant!

-Really excellent.

-I can't believe it!

The money that Bob and Brenda raised at auction is to be donated to Crawley Open House,

a charity that helps people who are homeless and on the streets.

Peter Mansfield-Clark is the charity's director.

Brenda, the Mayor of Crawley, has been a fantastic friend to us.

We did know her before she chose us to become her charity

because she's the local councillor,

but we never dreamed that we would become the mayor's charity.

We've had a lot of people visit since she's been mayor,

and we're able to break down their perception of homelessness

and the stigma surrounding them, and people with drug and alcohol problems,

to let people know that they're human, the same as anybody else.

It's a lovely feeling to be able to do something for them.

It does give you a nice warm glow!

Makes you feel useful! I enjoy doing it, yes.

What a terrific result for two really lovely people.

And a great result for the charity, too!

If there's something you'd like money for,

if you have things lying around that you'd be happy to send to auction,

why not get in touch with us?

You'll find our details on our website:

We look forward to seeing you on Cash In The Attic.

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