Tony Hatch Cash in the Celebrity Attic

Hello and welcome to Cash In The Celebrity Attic.

The programme searches the homes of the famous

for all those antiques and collectables

and then we them to auction and sell them to make money for truly wonderful causes.

Today, we're going to meet a man who definitely has a great talent for a tune.

He also enjoys worldwide success penning theme tunes for the telly.

And here's another clue, at one time he really was Mr Nasty on television.

You might say, the Simon Cowell of the '70s.

Have you guessed who it is yet?

Today, I'm in a most beautiful part of Kent,

with all the atmosphere of the sheep in the background.

We are about to meet the highly acclaimed composer, Tony Hatch.

I certainly hope he can warm us up with a tune or two.

# I couldn't live without your love. # There you go.

Just one of many unforgettable songs written by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent.

It was made famous by Petula Clark, of course, who had top-ten hits with

Tony's other songs, like, Downtown and Don't Sleep On The Subway.

Tony is one of the world's leading composers of pop music and television themes.

His songs have been performed by the biggest names including

Shirley Bassey, Frank Sinatra and Paul McCartney.

Then his music is heard every day all over the world

because he wrote the theme music to Neighbours and Emmerdale.

Tony and his wife Maggie live in Menorca

but on visits to Britain they stay regularly with his agent at their absolutely gorgeous home in Kent.

She has kindly given us permission to go rooting through her cupboards

and it looks like Tony and Maggie have brought along plenty of goodies from their home in sunny Spain.

How about this one?

Coming up, I play Name That Tune with our musical host. Neighbours?

HE PLAYS EMMERDALE THEME GLORIA LAUGHS

That is Emmerdale.

Our expert is walking on very thin ice with his valuations.

I would suggest an estimate of about £30 to £50 which sounds terrible.

Wash your mouth out, that's terrible.

Come auction day, it's kisses, kisses, kisses all round.

Find out who wins the biggest smacker when the final hammer falls.

Now all this snow hasn't prevented our expert, John Cameron, from joining us

and what better way to warm up than with some serious rummaging.

Tony and Maggie, I can track you down anywhere even in the depths of Kent.

-How are you?

-Lovely to see you.

Lovely to see you. Did I see you making your lovely wife, Maggie a cup of coffee there?

-No, I was teaching her how to use the machine.

-Macho Tony to the end.

You're not used to weather like this, are you?

-You're used to being in the sunshine.

-That's right.

But we do travel over to the UK a lot.

Living in Menorca does spoil you a bit, but we've seen plenty of snow here in the last few days.

You're very familiar with this house because you stay

-here quite a lot throughout the year.

-Yes, this belongs to very good friends, John and Jackie.

We stay here quite often. We love it, it's so beautiful.

Why did you think this would be a very good idea for you?

Mainly, it was the appeal of doing something for the charity.

Your charity being?

-The charity is the Variety Club.

-Variety is a children's charity.

We thought it would be fun, fun, fun to do it.

How much money ideally would you like to raise?

-About £1,500.

-That'd be lovely.

You're familiar with the kitchen. You've got the hang of the coffee machine.

Now, Tony, I'm going to put you to work because our expert,

John Cameron, is lurking around this gorgeous cottage.

-Will we go and find him?

-I think we'd better.

See what he's discovered.

So we have our target.

But as Tony and Maggie are only in the UK for a short spell,

time is of the essence and we need to get to work.

John has already made a start on their boxes from Menorca and I wonder what treasures lurk within.

-Well, now, John, knowing you are a bit of a singer, this is your best chance to realise that.

-No, no, no.

Best composer, best producer...

I'd love to know what these are doing in your possession.

They are fascinating, aren't they? These two bowlers are very interesting because

one of them is most definitely autographed by Ronnie Barker.

I thought that's what it said.

THE Ronnie Barker of the Two Ronnies.

Yes, we think the other one might have been worn by the other Ronnie as well.

They were given to us by a couple of lovely ladies

who run a hotel in Menorca on the island where we live.

Do we know how they got the bowler hats?

-They were given them.

-Were they given to them by somebody in the entertainment business?

Somebody who had obviously supplied them to the BBC or where the Two Ronnies were at the time.

Do you know what I love about items of clothing,

is how they evolved and how they often acquired their names.

The bowler is a classic example of that.

They came around by Special Commission from a member of the landed gentry,

believed to have been a cousin or a nephew

of the Earl of Leicester, a chap by the name of William Cook.

He ordered a hat from Lock & Co in London that had to be close-fitting

because gamekeepers were getting then knocked off by low hanging branches.

They also said they have to be hard in case they are attacked by poachers.

Interesting, so aerodynamics setting in.

Fantastic! This would be something that would appeal to both

autograph-hunters and to people who like film and theatre props.

It's an interesting thing.

It's a difficult thing to value. For sure, I've never seen one before.

Valuation is about comparison.

I don't have a comparison on which to draw.

We'd really have to snatch a figure from thin air.

I think we are sensibly looking at £80 to £120.

-That will get the bidding started.

-Are you happy with that?

-I'm very happy.

Yeah, it's good. Well let's hope that John is right and there

is sufficient demand on sale day for those eccentric collectables.

I was talking to Ronnie Corbett only a couple of days ago and he seems

to think that he remembers often wearing bowler hats with Ronnie Barker.

With a little bit of luck, that showbiz connection will pay dividends.

How about we start the lot at £40 to get things going?

Signed by Ronnie Barker. Worn by Ronnie Barker on the telly.

I did try. Stay tuned for that final hammer.

Our day in Kent is going very well so far.

Outside there may be a white out, but inside things are much more colourful.

Tony's music is loved all over the world, bringing him more than his fair share of fan mail.

That may explain why he was given this very unusual letter opener.

Rather like a medallion, it shows Napoleon Bonaparte

and was manufactured in France by Christofle.

They had been producing silver flatware since the mid-19th century.

It's silver plate rather than solid silver.

For novelty value, John thinks it should fetch £40 to £60.

Now I can just about hear rustling coming from upstairs.

Which means Maggie is busy unwrapping more of their collectables.

Maggie, what have you got for me?

It's a Worthington E jug. It's not a jug, it's a statue that we found in our bar at home in Menorca.

Something Tony collected many years ago.

Was Tony a fan of Worthington? Was it his drink of choice?

Not his drink of choice, but he's a fan of having a bar in his house.

-For social reasons.

-There is nothing wrong with that!

Our bar is a place of collectables.

We collect a lot of things wherever we go.

That's very nice, I've got a few pieces of brewinalia, but I haven't got a bar.

You can have that, then.

-Worthington are quite an old brewery going back right to the middle of the 18th Century.

-Really?

With William Worthington, but the Worthington E,

"the beer that satisfied," that was the marketing slogan, and like many brewers and distillers who recognised

pretty quickly that by producing things like this you could boost sales and build customer loyalty.

-And then people have collected them?

-Absolutely and they are avidly collected today. It's quite nice.

What is he, the squire and the farmer or something?

If we turn it upside down,

we can see the potter's mark and it's Beswick, very famous pottery factory.

A nice collectable.

-Like most things, it's all about supply and demand.

-Yes.

Some brewers over-produced their products and what we are looking for now, or collectors are looking for,

are unusual brands or beer types, or whisky types.

Nevertheless, it's in nice condition.

-He's quite a charming model. I can see this making £50 to £70.

-Great!

Well, it's certainly a very eccentric piece

and all being well we'll be toasting his success at the auction.

I hope the same can be said of this glass bonbon basket.

It was manufactured in Venice during the 19th Century on the island of Murano.

Tony and Maggie were given it by friends and John values it,

I think, at a giveaway price of £10 to £20.

At least, it's good value.

HE PLAYS TUNE

GLORIA SINGS

I have to tell you, Mr Hatch. Not every day a girl gets serenaded by one of the best.

I know that one - Don't Sleep In The Subway.

You're absolutely right.

-What year was that, was it mid-sixties or something?

-1966, '67, something like that.

-And another of Petula's which we'll talk about in a minute.

-They were all for Petula. They were, yes.

What I'm interested in, because I've known you

for a great number of years is where you're rooted musically.

How did you start off?

Classical music is really where I belong.

-Church music because I started out as a chorister.

-How did you get into commercial music, then?

I was playing the organ one day at the church

and I suddenly discovered a stop on the organ

which made it sound more like a Wurlitzer organ in a cinema.

The assistant choirmaster happened to be in and he said, "I don't think your career is really...

"I don't think you're really determined to be a classical composer

"or an organist or a church musician". I said, "No".

We made many references to Petula Clark right at the beginning of the programme and I mentioned it today.

Where did that relationship and how did that relationship build up?

She was already at Pye Records when I got there.

I remember going to see her and I played her lots of songs that I hadn't written.

She said, "Haven't you got anything new"?

I played her just the bones of Downtown.

Reluctantly, and she said, "I love the sound of that.

"Let's make that the number one title on the session".

Thank you, Pet, it was a marvellous thing you did. A great encouragement.

A lot of people would know your name but would not necessarily know that

you've written some of the most popular theme tunes to the soaps.

Most of my television themes have always been...for soaps.

The very first television theme I did was... I bet you can't remember that.

GLORIA HUMS ALONG

I remember the tune, but not the series.

-What was it?

-How about Crossroads?

-Oh, Crossroads, of course.

-You're probably too young to remember.

-Definitely, too young!

-How about this one?

HE PLAYS EMMERDALE THEME

Neighbours. Is it?

-That is Emmerdale.

-GLORIA LAUGHS

-Shows how often I watch Emmerdale!

-In Neighbours, it's neighbours...

-# Everybody needs good neighbours. #

-Of course it is. I was only teasing.

-Very good. A nice sense of humour.

-We've got to go and find some more items and assess those.

Just play me something else, it's such a luxury.

I think I'd better play out on the song that we all love.

Yes, OK.

MUSIC: "Downtown"

Funny he didn't ask me to sing again!

Tony has led a fascinating life and produced a great legacy of music and it must have been

wonderful for Maggie to share in the globe-trotting that it's brought them both.

John is still searching and he 's found a framed engraving.

It came originally from an 18th Century bound copy of a play, The Constant Couple, by George Farquhar.

This was given to Tony as a gift by a theatre producer

and John gives it a value of £20 to £30.

John has found yet another box, could the meticulous packing be a clue to something really special?

-Tony...

-Coming.

There you are.

I've found a rather elegant gold watch which looks like a gents watch to me.

-I'm assuming it's yours.

-It is. Yes.

It is very old, actually.

Even when I acquired it about 1965,

-it was given to me by the Searchers. I'm sure you have heard of the Searchers.

-Yes.

We had loads of hits and they went over to America because they had a hit there as well.

They came back with this wonderful piece for me as a present.

I've loved it ever since, but, of course, it is a very small watch for a gent.

I think you're right about the size because it is a gents watch.

It is a pretty valuable piece. What do you think?

There are some marks on here

which I'm thinking you are going to confirm, that it's a Van Cleef & Arpels?

It's definitely a Van Cleef.

It is a nice piece. It's marked 18-carat gold.

I do like the square dial, the champagne finish to the dial with the Arabic numerals.

It's in perfect working order.

-To a watch collector this is a connoisseur's watch.

-Oh, good.

Value-wise, it should make about £1,000.

I would be tempted to suggest an estimate of about £800 to £1,200.

-How would that sound? Are you happy with that?

-Oh, yes. I think it is a lovely piece.

Excellent! This is a fantastic find and I think you might have one or two

-other special things for me to see, come on, tell me what else you've got packed away.

-I'll show you.

I was pleasantly surprised when his valuation of the Van Cleef watch matched roughly

what we'd been told.

The only thing I've done is to have it restored and repaired because I

think it's much nicer to have it in working order. A good estimate.

Fantastic! The watch has put our rummage back on track.

The finds just keep coming.

Looking through Tony and Maggie's items, I find a set of opal doublets.

They were given to her by some friends in Australia.

Now doublets are low-price alternative to solid opals.

They consist of a thin layer of opal covering a second layer of glass.

They are no longer to Maggie's taste,

so she's happy to send them off to auction with a £30 to £50 estimate.

-So, these are your friends Jackie and John?

-Yes.

-That's a nice Valentine's plate.

-It's beautiful.

Now, look what I've found. I'm not sure

whether this is stuff you're wearing at the minute?

No, no, no.

They, um... It's a set of a...

The brooch is a brooch pendant in sapphire and opal.

-Sapphire is my birth stone, September.

-Ah.

It was bought for me by my first husband, the father of my children.

John, I'm going to give you the earrings because I'm afraid of losing them.

-So, you want me to lose them instead?

-Yes!

Thank you for the vote of confidence, Gloria.

We have got a nice suite of jewellery.

You've already told us that the earrings were slightly later.

But the brooch is in that late Victorian or Edwardian style with a quite light sprays of things.

This is a brooch pendant so it can be worn on the lapel

or suspended from a chain.

And we've got a pair of matched earrings. They are in an Edwardian or late Victorian style.

Quite light and delicate.

They're in a nine-carat gold.

We've got rather dark sapphires there which are your birth stone.

Interestingly, the opal is October.

So, if anybody knows that they have a birthday in October, that's your birth stone.

Not huge sums of money for them, but we're looking at around £100.

-Good.

-I'd suggest an estimate of £80 to £120.

OK, well, you look after it because I'm afraid of dropping the earrings.

-Thanks. Put them in my pocket.

-Let's see what else we can find.

No flies on me.

But we're still a very long way off that £1,500 target.

So, our search goes on.

John digs out this twin lens Rolleiflex camera.

It was produced by the German manufacturer Franke and Heidecke.

It's considered one of the most prestigious names in photography.

It heads off to to the auction with a very healthy £200 to £400 estimate. Good work, John.

Taking into account their previous relationships, between them, Tony and Maggie have six children

and 10 grandchildren in Britain and in New Zealand.

But I'm keen to know how they got together in the first place.

We met in Menorca in 1979.

-When Maggie was three?

-I wish.

-Yes!

And we were both with other people at the time.

But something obviously clicked.

-But it took a long time.

-You've got some children in New Zealand, don't you?

Two daughters in New Zealand and another daughter in Leicestershire and Darren in south London.

So, we are spread, yes.

Having children placed all over the world,

in that sense, because of the Variety Club, you travel quite a bit anyway?

An enormous amount.

Not forgetting of course that I lived in Australia for nearly 15 years.

What's the big appeal of the Variety Club, as far as you're concerned?

I think that the fact that the money raised in the UK stays in the UK

and also, it's such a range of effort that Variety does for the children.

The Sunshine coaches, the wheelchairs, hospital equipment,

buildings, individual appeals are granted as well. It's really across the board.

We've established that the money stays in this country.

It means we have to raise your £1,500 at least.

-Would you like to get up off your very comfortable bottom and go and do a bit of work?

-Yes. After you.

After my comfortable bottom gets up as well!

Tony and Maggie undoubtedly lead very busy lives but are clearly

never too busy to help a charity that they feel so passionate about.

We've unearthed some fabulous items for auction.

Maggie generously decides to add to the haul by donating a pair of special gold sovereigns.

They were given to her by her parents on her 21st birthday.

They're mounted and come in the form of a bracelet and a pendant.

Gold sovereigns are always popular at auctions and John and gives them a terrific value of £350 to £450.

Gloria.

Tony, what goodies do you bring now?

Put that down. I might have something even more important.

A big item, obviously?

It's not that big, but it's somewhere in the...

bottom here. This is something really special.

You remember that I wrote this song and produced it with Petula?

-I do.

-That's the original record.

-Downtown?

-1964, signed by Petula.

-Isn't that fantastic?

-And we have a couple of lovely pictures here, also signed by Petula.

Also, together with this goes a copy of the original sheet music, priced three shillings.

Beautiful. And you're not too emotional about getting rid of such an important item in your career?

No, I'm very happy for this to go to a good home.

I think John...

John, are you there?

-Have you got Maggie with you as well?

-I have.

Maggie has probably seen this in recent times. Have a look at this, it's marvellous.

It's the original Downtown single

which has been signed by Petula.

I love this photograph.

What year are we talking about here?

-60-something?

-'65, '66. Not forgetting, we've got the original music as well, to go with it.

-The sheet music.

-The sheet music.

-You're much too young, the pair of you, to remember.

-I remember this song, my mum played it all the time.

-Oh, yes.

-A nice piece of music memorabilia.

The provenance here, nobody could dispute it.

In terms of value, we're really looking at the people that have died.

Sadly. The top slot is still occupied by Elvis,

followed by John Lennon and the Beatles.

Then, people like Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and in more recent times, Kurt Kobain.

It seems you have to die to be immortalised and become in great demand.

-We don't want Petula Clark to go anywhere.

-No.

-But a future investment.

-Certainly.

And as I say, I love the provenance and what a great thing.

Picture, record and the music score.

I think it's always better to put a conservative estimate on this.

Something to get everyone in the room thinking, I'm going to buy that, that sounds cheap.

I'm going to give it to my auntie or my mum or buy it for themselves.

-How much?

-Well, I would suggest an estimate of about 30 to £50 which sounds terrible.

-Wash your mouth out.

-That's terrible.

-I agree with you.

-Well, I'm Miss Optimist, here.

-I think it'll do better than that.

And I do.

But I agree with John, we shouldn't be too over-enthusiastic about it.

All right. Well now, we've come to the real crunch time.

We've had a most wonderful day in your friends' house in Kent and we

thank them and you very much indeed for your hospitality.

But you were looking for £1,500 for this marvellous organisation, the Variety Club of Great Britain.

Well, you've got it.

You actually have £1,690.

All things being equal.

I now want to know what your assessment is of John's expertise.

After all, as Mr Hatchet-man, literally, on New Faces...

You're going back to New Faces?

I'm going back to New Faces.

Yes. You were pretty tough. What do we take first of all? Presentation?

I gave Simon Cowell all his best ideas!

Yes, there were three categories.

Presentation, very good, seven out of ten.

That's good for you, Tony.

It's very good for me. And content, eight out of ten.

Because your content was very good..

Definitely star quality, ten out of ten.

Oh, he's oily as well!

-You never gave anybody ten out of ten, did you?

-No, rarely.

Anyway, John, it's a ten out of ten and a number one for you. So, well done.

Well, let's hope we hit that target.

What a thoroughly entertaining day with the legendary Tony Hatch and his delightful wife Maggie.

They've turned out a cracking haul of goodies for the auction.

Could those bowler hats

be genuine props from the classic Two Ronnies series?

We might never know for certain but Ronnie Barker

definitely signed one of them.

The pair should fetch upwards of £80.

Then, there are the two gold sovereigns,

given to Maggie by her parents as a 21st birthday present.

Sovereigns are always popular

and we're looking for at least £350 for the pair.

And how about Tony's stunning Van Cleef gold watch?

It has the right name and the right look but at £800,

does it have the right price tag?

Only time will tell.

Still to come on Cash In The Celebrity Attic - Maggie's family heirlooms go for gold. We love it.

-Great.

-And Tony swaps bassoonist so for bidders when he conducts his own little sale.

100, 110 in the centre of the room.

Be there for the maestro when the final hammer falls.

So, it's been just about a week since we caught up with

Tony and Maggie at their friends' cottage in Kent on a very snowy day.

They had brought over some really interesting items from the island of Menorca, from their home.

They were hoping to raise around £1,500 for the Variety Club of Great Britain.

So, we've brought those collectables to the Chiswick Auction Rooms in London.

The aim is to raise even more when their items go under the hammer.

Today's general sale is just shy of 700 lots.

Fingers crossed that Tony's mixture of antiques and showbiz will fit in perfectly.

For instance, the gold watch, given to Tony by the pop group The Searchers.

Now, our expert has "needles and pins-a" just thinking about it.

Hi, John. Trying to work out if you're on time?

I'm always on time!

It is a high street luxury brand, Van Cleef & Arpels.

It's 18 carat gold as well.

Will it sell because of the story behind it?

Will it sell because of the make?

Or will it just get melted down, which I find horrific,

-for the gold value?

-I think it'll be a combination of all three.

It is 18 carat gold so we know it does have some breakdown value.

It's a luxury brand but it has great provenance.

I'd be pained if I thought this was going to be melted down.

I think somebody will buy it and cherish it.

Well, I think it's time to meet Tony and Maggie because they're here. OK.

As you know, every penny counts in these tough times but it would

be terrible for such a individual timepiece to be scrapped like that.

With luck, the room will be packed with collectors

who have their eyes on '60s pop culture and romantic provenance.

Our generous tunesmith could teach them all a thing or two.

-Maggie and Tony.

-Hi.

-You managed to dig yourselves out of Kent, did you?

-Eventually.

Tony, I didn't see this camera at the cottage. Where has this emerged from?

I acquired this in the mid-'60s, probably in 65 or 66.

And the idea was because it was a 2x2 negative roll film, I was going

-to try and make my own sleeves for vinyl albums.

-And did you?

Well, I took lots of pictures and I gave them to the sleeved apartment,

the art department and they said they were horrible!

-You were rubbish, in other words?

-Yes.

-They told me to get back to making the records.

-Yeah, just write the music, Tony!

-Let's get into position, the auction is about to start.

-Good.

I'm excited about our prospects today.

First up, the jewellery lot comprising

an opal and sapphire brooch pendant and matching earrings.

They're set in nine carat gold in a very delicate Edwardian style.

And they really are a personal lot for Maggie. Her birth stone

is sapphire and they were a present from her first husband.

-Do you like this piece, John?

-I do. They're quite decorative pieces.

They've got £80 to £120.

But the auctioneers have called them yellow metal.

They obviously haven't seen the hallmark tucked away in the trace decoration on the back.

I have let them know that they're hallmarked.

We have to wait and see.

50, £50. 40, then, to go. 40, I'm bid there. Thank you, 40.

45, 50, 55, 60, 65. £65.

£70 here. £70 in front of me.

Here at £70. Anybody else?

At £70, at £70. 75? No? £75 in the corner, then.

£75 and going.

For £75. At 75.

Just under our estimate.

A bit disappointing.

But on the other hand, you're never quite sure with jewellery like that

what it's going to get so at least you got the lower end of the estimate.

-It's gone, Maggie.

-It's gone.

It sure is, Maggie. And £75 is a reasonable start to the proceedings.

I think our next lot should raise a few eyebrows if not a little cash.

It's a 19th century bonbon basket in the style of those Venetian glass makers on the Isle of Murano.

It was a present to Tony and Maggie from their friends in Australia.

I can't imagine

how our couple can bear to part with such a pretty item(!)

I'm bid £10. At a maiden bid of £10 for the glass basket.

-It's going to sell...

-Another bid here.

£12 down here. £12.

Some might say this gaudy little piece has brought us

£12 nearer to our target.

The next lot has been in Tony's possession for years.

A Beswick porcelain statue of two men enjoying a pint of beer.

Created for the pub trade, Tony used to keep it on his bar at home.

But the time has come to put it towards a very good cause.

Start me, £20 for it.

20. For £20, I'm bid. 20, 22, 24, 26. At £26 it's going.

I'm afraid, sorry.

-That's a shame.

-It is. I've seen those make £120 at auctions. So, that is a disappointing price.

Well, I was disappointed in the way the Beswick item sold, especially

when I met somebody later in the auction who said, "I've got one of those, they're worth much more."

-That was really encouraging, wasn't it?

-Never mind, Tony.

We may not be toasting with as much enthusiasm as those Beswick gentlemen

but we are making good progress towards the charity target of £1,500.

With a bit of luck, our next lot will tip us a good deal closer.

One of these bowler hats is signed by

the legendary comic actor Ronnie Barker.

The other comes complete with its original box

from the gentlemen's outfitters Austin Reed.

So, will a little prestige name dropping

give us the result we're looking for?

I was talking Ronnie Corbett only a couple of days ago and he seems

to think that he remembers often wearing bowler hats with Ronnie Barker.

-So, John, your hopes for the hats?

-Such an iconic pair of comedians.

The hats, well, I think the provenance is good.

I think they should be worth more but who knows on such a cold day.

How about we start with £40 to get things going? £40 for the hats.

For the bowler hats, £40.

Signed bowler hat, £40.

Signed by Ronnie Barker! Worn by Ronnie Barker on the telly!

For £40, I'm afraid I need...

-In beautiful condition!

-Yes.

I'll have to pass the lot if I don't get 40.

Oh, dear. What a shame.

No? £40 is the...

Sorry.

Not a single bid from the room.

Very disappointing. Obviously no fans of classic comedy here today.

But let's look on the bright side of life.

Maybe Tony can give the hats to Ronnie Corbett as a present on his next birthday.

When we sold the opal jewellery earlier, it made a really good impression on the bidders,

so let's hope these unmounted tiger opals will also meet with their approval.

Maggie simply wants rid of them because they're not her style any more.

£10, £12 in the doorway,

14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26.

Still in the corner at £26.

For £26 and going, 470.

The room haven't warmed to our opals on such a cold day, have they?

-No.

-Oh, I do think it is a shame when people turn their noses up

at one's opals on a cold day.

But still, we're banking like mad and the charity target is drawing ever closer.

One of my favourite items is up next.

It is a hallmark silver letter opener showing Napoleon Bonaparte.

The French maker Christofle has a pedigree for this sort

of silver flatware, which dates back nearly 200 years.

This item is a few decades old. It's complete with its original box.

Tony recalls being sent it by a fan.

Clearly, people have showered him with gifts wherever he goes.

OK, next up is a rather interesting letter opener.

I've only valued it at £40 - £60, which I think would be a steal.

And I'm glad to say we've got a bit of interest in it to start things off.

I'm already bid £40 for the lot.

-Yes!

-40, 45 in front of me, 50 here, 55, 60, 65, 70,

75, 80.

Still with me at £80, at £80, 85, 90. Still with me at £90.

Come on, come on,

-come on.

-At £90 with me, then.

95, I've still got 100.

At £100 with me. But I could offer you 110 and then you might buy it.

Would you like 110? It's all in aid of charity.

Lovely, £110. Wonderful.

And against commissions, then, at £110. Thank you very much. 110. 167.

-We love it. Well done everybody.

-Thank you.

Not only that, but it seems that the buyer

has a commendable romantic streak.

Well, I bought the Napoleon letter opener

because I have a French wife and I thought it would be a nice present.

So that's why I bought it for her.

-I obviously paid far too much for it but, anyway, it's a nice piece.

-What a man!

This act of love is a very welcome gesture and it brings us nicely to the halfway point in today's sale.

I'm looking forward to giving Tony and Maggie an update on their takings so far.

It is a bit of a slow auction. You still have your bigger

items to come in the second have of the auction.

So far, bearing in mind that you want to raise £1,500 ideally, you still have a way to go.

At the moment you are at £249,

so we need to sharpen up, hopefully, in the next part.

-We're running a little slow.

-But do you know what?

Anything is valuable and anything is worth it. And it helps the children.

-It will be better, yes.

-So, with that thought, off for a cup of tea.

Does that mean the teas and buns are on me?

Yes, I'm afraid so. You've got to buy again.

You can say whatever you like about John Cameron, but he's no slouch when it comes to refreshments.

Now, if you've been inspired by Tony and Maggie to try

selling your items at auction, always bear in mind that commission and other charges will apply.

And these vary from one sale room to another.

So the advice is - be sure to check in advance.

Tony and Maggie are enjoying the chance to look at some of the other lots on offer.

Some dinnerware, perhaps? Or, who knows, a long-case clock?

However, be might have just a little trouble getting that back to Menorca.

But here's something that's much more to Tony's taste.

-I liked the banjo as well.

-Oh, did you?

-I found the banjo.

Would you have played it if we'd bought it for you?

It didn't seem to have the strings on it the right way round.

-A bit of a disadvantage, wouldn't you say?

-Yes.

-But we digress.

Our auction resumes with Tony's Rolleiflex camera, which he's kept in

absolute pristine condition since he bought it in the '60s.

The photographs he took at the time may not have made it onto any record sleeves but, with luck, this sale

might make it into the record books. Do you think we are going to get a fair bit of money for the camera?

I don't have my crystal ball, but we've got all the right ingredients - it's a good maker,

we've got good provenance and it's in super condition, so the market tells us it should be worth that.

-Let's see.

-It is a jolly good lot, a very good example of its type.

And I'm glad to say there's a bit of interest in it already to start us off. I'm bid £110, with me at 110.

£110, 120, 130, 140, 150.

£150, I'm bid.

At £150, 160 on the telephone.

At £160 on the phone.

170 in the room, 180,

190, 200. Still on the telephone at £200.

I'm happy.

£200. And gone. 200.

£200. How do you feel, Tony?

Somebody's got a bargain.

Too true. But what Tony didn't know at the time of

the hammer coming down was that his charity takings

were destined to receive an extra boost.

The most pleasant surprise to me in the end was when the guy

who bought this item, a camera dealer himself,

said, "I got that at a steal."

He said, "I'd like to make a donation of the same amount to your charity." So I have

in my pocket a cheque for the Variety Club for £200, which is the same as he paid for the item.

That is wonderful news and I'm glad to hear of a dealer with a heart.

We'll record the sale at £200 but I'll bear in mind

the extra £200 donation when I tot up the totals later on.

The next item is a hand coloured engraving in the

style of the artist, Dodd, known as The Constant Couple.

It was given to Tony by a theatre producer

as an anniversary present many years ago.

Let's hope Tony's friend has got a good eye for art.

At £10, then, I'm going to sell it. £10 and going. For £10 and gone.

£10.

This room are frozen solid today.

And I don't think they can raise their arms.

And I just wish they'd thaw out a little bit and try harder.

But we're lingering below the £500-mark with the takings so far.

So the next three lots will need to bring in over £1,000 if we're to make Tony and Maggie's target.

Switching tactics, we move from antiques to showbiz memorabilia and a collection of sheet music,

vinyl and photographs with an impeccable provenance.

-Now, all through our chat down at the cottage we were talking about Petula Clark

-Yes.

She's so central, really, to your career in many ways.

Yes, we did lots of lovely things together.

Yes, and I think you're happy to go up and auction this off.

-I am. I'll do that, yes.

-Yes.

You've just got to go on that stand and do it.

-Off you go.

-Go on, love.

APPLAUSE

I'll start the bidding at £50, then.

What am I bid?

-£50. £60.

-I'm bidding £50.

You're bidding £50. 60 over there,

70 there. 80?

And I'll also add my signature.

90 here. Are there any further bids?

100? 100 over there.

110 in the centre of the room, 120.

Brilliant. 120 over there in the corner, 130?

He's getting the hang of it now.

To the gentleman in the corner, then, for £120.

APPLAUSE

-Thank you.

-Very good, thank you.

# When you're alone and life is making you lonely

# You can always go downtown. #

Well, my mum's a Petula Clark fan and it's her birthday coming up

and I'm going back to Australia

-to see her, so I thought I'd take something back with me.

-Ah, he is a real sweetie.

Now there do seem to be some generous people around the saleroom today, thank goodness.

The penultimate lot comes from Maggie.

A pair of gold sovereigns that were given to her by her parents.

One is from the reign of King George V, set in a bracelet.

The other is mounted in a pendant and dates from

the reign of Queen Victoria.

Our John is very excited by these.

And I can't wait to see the crowd's reaction to these very personal pieces.

I'm bid straight off with me at £300.

-£300?

-320, 340, 360, 380.

380 with me. 400, 420, 440, 460.

460. With me at £460. 480, 500.

With me at £500. A left bid of £500. 500.

That's a brilliant amount of money.

Well done.

It makes it worth it. The way the auction was going I thought, "Oh, my goodness, I've given these away now.

"Mum and dad bought them for me and they're not here any more and they may go for nothing."

But, in fact, when they went for that, then that was great. I was really, really happy.

I must say, it is very generous of Maggie to choose items with such

sentimental value as a means of supporting this could cause.

And that £500 has made a real difference.

It means that, if we are to reach Tony and Maggie's target, the final lot must also make £500.

It's the Van Cleef dress watch in 18 carat gold

and Tony was given it by The Searchers in the mid-'60s.

He's very keen to protect its rarity with a reserve price of £700.

And you rather like the Swatch, John, I can tell.

It is a fine thing

but I have had a chat with the auctioneer who did take the back off.

I didn't do that at the house. And he informs me that it has had a replacement movement.

So it doesn't have an original Van Cleef & Arpels movement.

-It should still sell, it does have the provenance and is still a nice quality piece.

-That's good.

Start me at £500 for it. £500 for the watch.

500, 550, £600, 650 there,

680, 700.

At £700 there. At 700.

Anybody else? For £700 there, then.

All done at £700. Going, then, 700.

£700.

-156.

-156...

-Give me a kiss.

Fantastic. Well done! Very, very good!

Sorry, couldn't resist it.

That is so brilliant,

isn't it? It reached your estimate.

I'm sure The Searchers, who gave me the watch, will be very happy that it's found a good home.

Well said, Tony, and what an extraordinary result.

The best result of the sale was saved for last,

and I'm certain it'll have a major impact on the charity total.

Well, it's been what I would call a most interesting auction, to say the least.

Now, you wanted, ideally, £1,500.

Well, I am thrilled to say that you have got your 1,500.

In fact, £1,779!

-My goodness!

-I wasn't even counting!

That's thrilling. And I know that we've done the right

thing by putting all those items in and done it for the children.

I'm absolutely thrilled.

And will you just give me one big smile at the end?

Just show me you're happy. And I get a kiss, as well.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you so much, both of you.

-A pleasure.

Of course, the news just gets better and better, because there's still

the £200 donation from the dealer who bought Tony's camera.

And it brings the grand total for the sale to £1,979. Fantastic.

The Variety Club will put Tony's great auction result towards its general fund.

This helps schools right across the UK, offering care to pupils with

a wide variety of physical and learning difficulties.

The Bridge School in north London now has a soft-play area and state-of-the-art

multi-sensory room, as head teacher Penny Barratt explains.

They've supported us in having a minibus, and having a minibus

means that we can take the students out and engage with the public more and go to different places.

The charity's also supported us in providing us with wheelchair tracking,

which is tracking that goes under the floor and enables the child to independently move around the school.

I feel really proud of what we've achieved at the auction, because the Variety's Club's very special to me.

We do help a tremendous amount of disadvantaged children in the UK.

It really does a wonderful job.

What an absolutely fantastic result for Tony Hatch

and his wife Maggie and, indeed, the charity that's going to benefit from all that money.

But if you'd like to raise money for something special and you think you have some antiques

or collectables and would like to bring them to auction, then it's very easy to get in touch.

It's bbc.co.uk. That's our website.

And who knows, maybe I'll meet you right here on Cash In The Attic.

In the meantime, from all of us, bye-bye and thanks for your company.

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