Lembit Opik Cash in the Celebrity Attic

Welcome to the show that searches out treasures

around the homes of the well known, then sells them at auction for a good cause.

Today, I'm going to meet one of the most colourful characters in British politics.

He was born and brought up in Northern Ireland, but his name and his roots are Estonian.

He studied philosophy at Bristol University,

but then he turned to politics and became a Liberal Democrat MP in 1997.

It has to be said, he's known as a bit of a ladies' man

and he's weathered some rather cheeky relationships.

Have you worked out who it is yet?

Today I'm in mid-Wales

and I'm on my way to meet the politician Lembit Opik.

Lembit Opik is probably the most recognisable Lib-Dem politician.

He's been spokesperson on a range of topics from Northern Ireland

to housing, but is perhaps equally known for his tabloid exploits

including a much publicised relationship with Sian Lloyd

and his infamous engagement to Cheeky Girl, Gabriella.

For Lembit's family, his career in the corridors of power

is all the more special as they were forced to flee their native Estonia during Stalin's regime.

They eventually settled in Northern Ireland where Lembit and his brother and sister were born.

Their parents eventually moved to Leicester and his mother

has travelled today to join us at his constituency home in Wales.

As an MP, Lembit is used to living out of a suitcase,

so Livi's brought along some things from home to help her son reach his charitable goal.

Coming up on today's Cash In The Celebrity Attic, Lembit's bringing in some big guns to help him out.

I could go one step further and ask at Prime Minister's Questions.

I'd like to ask the Prime Minister, would he sign this bottle of whisky for me?

-A skeleton emerges from Livi's closet to join the charity campaign.

-Are we embarrassing you here?

No, not at all, how would you feel in my position?

Lembit's prepared to do everything it takes to raise funds.

We're all looking for different jobs at the moment in Parliament. I'll start with this one.

With such weighty characters backing him, will we have reached our target when the final hammer falls?

Good morning.

-How are you?

-Pretty as a picture.

-Especially for you.

-I had a fantastic journey here.

It was just beautiful, the hills are gorgeous.

Isn't this a fabulous part of the world?

He's very lucky to work here. I know Lembit, I've met him around about.

He's quite fun, do you know him?

I've never met the man, but he sounds a fascinating character.

-He is, he's very interesting, he's good fun.

-Excellent, shall we go inside?

I'll go and see if he remembers me and you start looking around.

-Aha! Hello, Lembit.

-Hello, how are you?

-Good, you remember me. I wasn't sure if you'd remember me.

-Come on.

-We've met many times.

You haven't met my mother.

Hello. You're Livi, are you?

-"Lee-vee", yes.

-Oh, "Lee-vee"

It's the Estonian coming out.

This is your constituency home.

-Not much, but it's home.

-It's lovely.

I like it.

A wonderful place to come after the crowd of London and all that happens down there.

It has the feel of somewhere very new.

Yes, I moved in five months ago and had the place redone. At my own expense.

-LAUGHTER

-I wasn't going to mention it.

I haven't got much to it.

I'm not really a collector, which could be a problem.

-Are you a collector, Livi?

-Not really. I had to get rid of a lot of things as well.

-Missed the boat.

-Yes, you have by quite a few months.

By six decades to be honest because we lost a lot of things as a family.

We lost a lot of things during the war.

So it's... That's why I don't think we've bothered starting collecting again.

Once you lose things, it's heartbreaking to go through that again.

Were you left with more or less nothing?

Yes.

Everything of sentimental value and value went.

You've not been brought up with a tradition of hoarding stuff?

I hoard stuff. It's worthless, I think.

We'll find out, but I think it's worthless.

By the end of this programme, you'll be giving me things rather than the other way round.

You're not filling me with confidence I have to tell you.

I used to collect motorcycle magazines, I'm a keen biker,

but I've never really collected anything of value.

It probably goes back to the family tradition

of not having anything of great value and that goes back to the wall.

I think we've quite a challenge on our hands.

What are we raising money for, hopefully?

We're raising money for a charity called Ponthafren here in Newtown.

It's a Welsh name and it actually means "river bridge".

It refers to a wonderful institution in the centre of town

who work with people who have depression and other mental illness.

We're hoping that if we do raise money for them, they'll be able to do woodwork classes

and other things to help people get into the mainstream after an episode of mental illness.

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

I'm not even going to try and guess.

We have to get something.

If it all goes brilliantly, £250.

I don't mean £250,000.

£250.

That's fine.

Shall we go for it? That's our target, 250.

Let's have a look around.

Sadly, Lembit's family haven't been able to hold on to too many possessions over the years,

so we'd better get stuck in and see what we can find in his smart, if rather bare bachelor pad.

It's for a very deserving cause.

If anyone's got a thirst for antiques and collectibles, it's our expert Jonty Hearnden,

who's got over 25 years experience in the business.

-You caught me.

-Don't open that one.

That looks spectacular, House of Commons.

Actually, theoretically the other bottle on its own is more valuable.

This one happens to be quite special. You've found the right bottle.

Tell me why.

I actually had been collecting... These are MP signatures.

We've got Nick Clegg, party leader there,

we've got Anne Widdecombe,

Jack Straw is somewhere on the back.

Anne Widdecombe is the largest, dare I say, signature on this.

Betty Boothroyd.

She's pretty big as well.

She's a big star.

Absolutely, Lords former Speaker.

John Bercow is there, very well known.

Have you got any of the really big names like the Prime Minister for instance?

I haven't asked the Prime Minister or David Cameron, but I could.

We could get the three party leaders on it I'd say.

Would you be interested in putting this into the sale?

I knew you were going to ask that.

How can I say no? Of course.

You can have this for the auction.

If you could get the Prime Minister Gordon Brown and David Cameron to sign as well

because you've Nick Clegg's name on there as well, that would be wonderful.

Possibly have Gordon Brown on the left and David Cameron on the right.

You do your job, I'll do mine.

You could sidle up to them when they're on the dispatch box doing their speeches.

You could interrupt them and say, "Excuse me, could you just sign my bottle of whisky for me?"

I could go one step further and ask at Prime Minister's Questions.

I'd like to ask the Prime Minister, would he sign the bottle of whisky for me?

If he does, the opposition leader has to do so as well.

-As long as you say it's for Cash In The Celebrity Attic.

-I'll try.

-It's a good start.

-I'd put in the ball park of 80 to £120.

I hope there will be people out there that will be happy to put their hands up as well.

Let's keep that back in the cupboard for safe keeping. Leave that there.

Let's go and look elsewhere.

Some really big hitters pitching in to help there.

Let's hope Lembit will get the PM to sign in time for the auction.

We can't rest on our laurels and there are plenty more rooms to search.

As MP for Montgomeryshire, Lembit divides his time

between the hustle and bustle of Westminster and the peace and quiet of his rural constituency.

And with few family heirlooms and no wife or children to fill the house with clutter,

we're going to have to make some tough choices about what we can take to auction.

Fortunately, it looks as if Jonty has found Livi

looking over some family treasure in one of the bedrooms.

-Livi, am I right in thinking that this is your contribution to today's finds?

-Yes, it is.

Can you tell me a bit about what we're looking at here.

The pearl necklace was given to me by my aunt who travelled a lot.

I think it was about...early 1960s.

What we're looking at here, we definitely have four gold rings here.

I'm not so sure about this one, this is more of a dress ring.

I'm not convinced at the moment this is solid gold.

-I'm doubtful about that.

-It's simply by the colour. You get used to seeing different colours of gold.

You get rose gold, and you get the different colours and tones.

It's due to the carats. It's due to the purity of gold within the mix of the metal.

That's what carat is all about.

When it comes to auctions, the cold reality of what we're looking at

is these rings may not ever be worn again.

There's every likelihood they'll be sold for scrap,

so jewellers can then turn rings into contemporary designs

and the cycle begins again.

It's definitely worth selling this collection.

I'm so pleased you've brought this along because it's going to add

-quite a substantial chunk to what we're aiming for.

-That's good.

I think we're looking at 60 to £80.

That would be wonderful, really. Lembit will be very pleased.

That's fabulous.

There's no peace for the wicked, we have to crack on.

That's a big help and a touching gesture from Livi.

It could be quite a wrench for her to part with the rings and necklace,

but she's determined to do her bit and get us to that target.

She's also giving up some of her costume jewellery.

This jewellery became popular in the mid-1900s

when the middle classes wanted fashionable, affordable accessories.

New techniques of mass production

made it possible to create replicas of heirloom pieces.

Jonty has put a value of £20 to £30 on Livi's collection.

And, while they get on with the search, I want to hear all about life in the fast lane.

Tell me why you became a politician.

I don't know if I ever became a politician.

-I still see myself as a business person who ended up in politics.

-Interesting.

The difference is, it's the outcomes of politics that get me going.

I'm sure my parents having to leave Estonia as kids because of politics

and growing up in a political environment like Northern Ireland made a difference to my own outlook.

Every other generation of my father's side has had a politician in it. Maybe it runs in the family.

The reason I do it is because you can touch lives.

Those things don't make headlines, but when you can make a difference, whether it's getting a hip operation,

sorting out their house or stopping them from going bankrupt, that's really satisfying.

I don't know what it is that makes be want to do that, but that's what gives me a kick.

You live life very much in the fast lane and in the public eye.

Everyone knows you've had some well publicised relationships with some feisty ladies.

How hard is it to have all that slapped over the papers and be taken as a serious politician?

I never chose the profession of the people I went out with.

They happen to be very well known.

The press sometimes wanted to make it look like it was the other way round.

Of course with that came a lot of profile.

Some of it good, some of it bad.

You just have to live with that and recognise that the public

are far more generous sometimes than the media choose to be about it.

Fundamentally, the meaning of life is a journey and part of that was a colourful element to my journey.

I'm grateful to have met those people and very excited by the unusual things that most MPs don't get to do.

You've very dangerous hobbies.

I did have. I ride motorbikes and I've fallen off once or twice.

Also, perhaps even more dangerous and in three dimensions, I used to go paragliding.

You jump-off a hillside with a parachute on your back and try to stay in the air.

-What does that feel like?

-It was mesmerisingly good.

Then it became mesmerisingly bad because the thing collapsed at 30 metres.

I fell and broke my back in 12 places and was very close to death.

I'm here and I suppose that's one reason I take the view I do about life.

I take the opportunities as they come.

I don't get as wound up as I used to before that.

-How is it now at the back?

-I'm amazed to say, absolutely fine.

I get less backache now than I did before the accident, because loads of physio and I'm really careful.

If anyone is going to lift that box, it's going to be you.

Speaking of which, let's get back to it.

There must be something in here we can take to the auction.

Lembit's stories are fascinating, but it's a three-line whip

to find more collectibles to sell and make the target of £250.

In the kitchen I spot this art-deco style decanter and glasses.

Made of electroplated zinc and silver, they're valued at 10 to £20.

Pretty good, but we're not there yet, so I joined Lembit and Jonty who are searching the living room.

-Look at this.

-Ah, yes.

-Mr Ashdown.

-The Ashdown Diaries.

That's volume two actually.

It's more interesting than volume one because a lot happened between '97 and '99.

-I think I got it signed.

-Very nice.

"To Lembit, with best wishes and many thanks for your help and support."

Were you a help and support to him then?

-I think he thought so at the time.

-Did you get on?

Yes, we did, so well that he actually persuaded me to join the party.

Way back in 1989, he was up in Newcastle where I lived at the time

and I spent an hour or two with him at a conference.

Afterwards, I thought, "He's the kind of guy I want to see in charge of the country,"

and the rest as they say is history.

Funnily enough, he doesn't recall that particular meeting in his book.

I know he must have been thinking about it.

He might have made a bit more of an impression on you than vice versa you feel?

I think somehow a 25 year-old marketing executive didn't have quite the same impact as a party leader.

Jonty, tear yourself away from your books.

Lembit said he'd part with this, The Ashdown Diaries, it's signed.

I don't know whether it'll be worth anything.

First and foremost, when you're looking at books like this, if it's the first edition, that's great.

-I'm assuming this is a first edition.

-Yes. I got him to sign it whenever it was launched.

To have it signed by the author, and by any author, that's great news, but Paddy Ashdown.

Thinking about it conservatively, I'd say 20 to 30, but maybe more liberally, a bit more.

-I see what you did there, like your thinking.

-It's in good condition.

It's very good.

-That's because I haven't read it yet. I haven't read it.

-You're happy to put this in?

I'm willing to put this in.

-Reluctant.

-It's quite special for him to have signed it,

but it's for a good cause and if you really think that will add value to our target, I'll do so.

-That's great.

-Very good, good find.

-Where shall we go now?

-This way.

I'll follow you.

Very sporting of Lembit to part with this signed first edition

by the man who inspired him to enter the political arena.

It obviously means a lot to him. Jonty has discovered a collection of four old coins and a note.

Old currency is increasingly collectible and there's a good cross-section here,

including this 1937 rouble from the former Soviet Union, so the set could fetch 10 to £20.

I found this ceramic clown made by DSN.

He appeals to me and we're hoping this will bring us 10 to £20.

Considering the journey Lembit's family have made,

we're doing pretty well with our sale list.

To help us on our way, the charity itself has donated some things to take to the auction.

Lembit, come and have a look at these two pictures with me.

-Oh, yes.

-Do you know anything about these?

I don't know where they came from. It's the charity that we're working for, Ponthafren,

they donated them for me to raise money for them.

They're definitely worth selling. They're by the same artist I think.

-Seascape by Tom Stevenson.

-Oh, right.

-Liverpool.

Died in Rock Ferry, 1914,

so beginning of the First World War.

That's the artist and it makes sense that would be the beginning of the last century.

They're great.

The artist here has sketched these scenes,

not by pencil, not by water colour, this is charcoal.

This is actually an original then?

Absolutely. This is an original charcoal drawing.

I can see why you think these will be worth putting into the auction.

They've been sympathetically framed

and the great thing about black and white's is in a modern setting, they can look quite stunning,

and I can see them selling around the £100 mark.

Estimate for the catalogue would be 80 to £120.

-Are you happy about that?

-Very happy to see these could be used

because that's exactly what they wanted me to do, to raise money.

If they can go into the auction, I'm guided by you on that.

That's what we're doing. Raising as much money as we can for your charity.

-Pleased about that, you've convinced me.

-We'll leave those there.

-More this way?

-Brilliant. Thanks for that one.

Jonty seems very pleased with those handsome original charcoal sketches by Tom Stevenson.

Let's hope they hit their valuation at 80 to £120.

He's also found this pretty watercolour of a farmhouse worth 20 to £30.

Lembit and Livi bought it as a present for Lembit's father,

but he didn't think much of it and it was banished to the attic.

It lives to fight another day at auction.

Lembit's unpacking another of his many boxes in the kitchen

and he finds a pewter tankard and jug.

These crop up quite often at auction so they've been valued at 10 to £20.

Now he's one of the most colourful characters on the political scene,

how do you feel as his mum seeing all those headlines?

I can't keep up with him.

Sometimes I'm a bit worried to what he gets up to, especially in dangerous sports.

I'm very proud of him.

-As long as he's happy, I'm happy too.

-Yeah.

To be honest, half the time, I don't know what he's doing or where he is.

Is family very important to you?

The family has obviously completely influenced my decision to be in politics.

There have been periods when I've not been good at keeping in touch with the family.

It's been in the last few years

I've spent more time with my mum and my sister.

My brother died rather tragically in 2005 of an unexpected illness

and it was really at a time when the family was coming closer together,

so that made me appreciate the importance of seeing the family and making time for that as well.

Which isn't easy when he's so busy.

I'm always very happy when he comes to see me.

He phones me up, "Can I come up?" or, "I'll be up in an hour's time."

I say, "Yes, any time."

-I do appreciate it.

-I fly aeroplanes and it takes 35 minutes to fly from around here to Leicester.

My mum is very decent and she brings sandwiches to Leicester airport, we have a picnic, then I fly back.

-An expensive picnic, but a wonderful social dimension.

-Whose plane is it?

A quarter of it is mine. I share it with three other people.

I've been up in the plane with him.

When I brought this new bungalow, he took me up to show me what it looks like from up there.

-Has he taken you to Westminster? Have you been wined and dined there?

-Yes.

-What do you make of it?

-Fascinating.

-It's pretty impressive, isn't it?

Very impressive, really is.

I was extremely well looked after.

I'll go again if I'm asked.

My door is always open to you.

If he has his way, the door will be 10 Downing Street

and you'll be going to visit the Prime Minister, your son.

I always said I must hang on until he gets to Number 10.

You can have the exclusive.

Brilliant. Come on, we'd better get to the rummage because it's quite chilly out here.

So an airborne MP. Let's hope his items take-off at auction.

So far everyone has been towing the party line.

We've been hunting high and low to pull together for Lembit's chosen cause.

He's looking in every possible nook and cranny

and he's dug out some more political memorabilia from under a bed.

Perhaps playing this election-themed board game

gave Lembit an early taste for power and politics.

With its provenance, we hope it'll fetch £20 to £30 at auction.

Back in the living room, Livi whispered that she has

one of Lembit's old friends she wants to introduce to us.

But first, Lembit's entertaining us with his musical prowess.

HE PLAYS THE HARMONICA

-APPLAUSE

-That's great.

We can't take that to the auction.

I don't think there's enough interest in me as a player to warrant it.

You tell me, maestro.

I don't think we could sell that at auction.

It doesn't really merit a lot sadly.

-I thank you for your honesty.

-I have to be honest.

-I tend to agree with you.

We've run out of rummaging, we've run out of items so I think that's just about it.

-I think I have something.

-You have something.

-I have something.

-What have you got?

What have you...?

-I say.

-A womble!

That takes me back. My first ever record was Remember You're A Womble.

-Really?

-1974, somewhere around them.

I really thought this was nice. It does actually sing.

# Remember, remember remember, remember... #

That's really fantastic.

Does that take you back?

That was the hit single.

-It's a classic.

-Did you know she was going to produce this then?

-Absolutely not.

-When did you come up with this idea?

When I saw it, I thought I'd like to give it to Lembit, but I think maybe a charity.

Are we embarrassing you here?

No, not at all, how would you feel in my position?

Would it fetch anything at auction do you think?

I think we can get 20 to £40, depending on who's there.

-I think it's fabulous.

-This brings us to the end of our days rummaging

and thanks for bringing along that final item because it's lovely.

You were so lacking in confidence when we started.

I'm so relieved you've found something.

-We've some good bits, haven't we?

-Absolutely, we've some great things and if you can do a little bit more

delving around the Houses of Parliament, get a few more signatures, even better.

-"Oi, Gordy, sign this."

-Absolutely.

-I'll do my best.

At the start, you said you'd be quite happy to make £250.

Well, I can tell you that we're smelling of roses at the moment because if things go to plan,

and of course you never know, we should make £360.

-That's great.

-That'll help the charity.

-The charity will love that.

Fantastic. Off to auction we go.

-Thanks a lot, it's been a great day.

-We'll see you there.

It's a mother's role in life to embarrass her offspring, isn't it?

But Livi has done him proud and £360 is a great total.

I'm sure she's looking forward to a day out with Lembit at auction.

Today's discoveries include that very impressive bottle of House of Commons whisky

which Lembit's asking the great and good of British politics to sign.

Livi's collection of gold rings and pearls which we hope could raise as much as 60 to £80.

The atmospheric charcoal drawings donated by the charity weighing in at 80 to £120.

Still to come on Cash In The Celebrity Attic,

Lembit's an uphill struggle on his hands with a tough crowd.

This is worse than Prime Minister's Questions.

He takes to the rostrum in a bid to win them over.

..Signed by Betty Boothroyd, Jack Straw, former Home Secretary...

Will his efforts prove successful when the final hammer falls?

We certainly learned a thing or two about Lembit Opik during our day in Wales.

Did you know he played the harmonica or was a secret Wombles fan?

I certainly didn't. Today we have all the bits and pieces we've found to Chiswick Auctions in west London.

Lembit wants to raise £250 for his charity so let's hope the bidders

are in a mood to play along when his items go under the hammer.

There's a huge variety of antiques and collectibles in the room today and plenty of interested bidders.

Before the auction gets underway, I catch up with our expert Jonty

whose admiring what we hope will be one of our star lots.

-Hello, Jonty.

-Hi, look, is that the view from your house?

It's not dissimilar, I must say.

Is this the drawing that the charity donated?

There's two. This is one of them. I'm concerned because a lot of the items I've valued were under £50,

but this pair not.

That's the reason I'm hoping they'll sell very well as a consequence.

I'm hoping that Livi's jewellery will do quite well.

She brought some great jewellery and I'm hoping they'll do particularly well.

My hopes are pinned on the whisky.

-Did he get the signatures? Those extra signatures?

-It's a busy time for politicians.

-Did he manage to get Gordon Brown? I don't know.

-Let's find out.

We hope we've a few crowd-pleasers, but there were also the pewter tankards and the ceramic clown,

which may struggle to get any bids among the tough competition today.

-Good morning.

-Hi guys, how are we all?

-Not bad at all. Yourself?

-Good.

-How are you feeling? Are you feeling nervous?

Oh, yes, no doubt about it.

Really nervous. If it gets much worse, I'll be drinking this rather than auctioning it.

After all the heady promises of getting the three party leaders,

Downing Street is unbelievably busy at the moment.

I couldn't get the Prime Minister in time.

He'll have to wait until the next show or until I'm Prime Minister, whichever comes first.

It's about to start.

We'll go and get our spot.

I'm not surprised the nerves are kicking in.

Even without the PM's signature, let's hope that bottle still rouses some interest.

Auctioneer Tom Kean is already in full flow.

We found a good spot to watch the action and Lembit's opening lot

is the first edition of The Ashdown Diaries

which Jonty valued at 20 to £30.

It was quite a wrench for Lembit to part with it,

so let's hope it does him justice.

It's signed, isn't it, dedicated to you?

It's a first edition as well.

It's authentic.

One of my mini heirlooms, but it's for a good cause. If you bid enough, you can have it.

I mustn't bid and I'm not quite sure this crowd is going to bid for Paddy Ashdown. What do you reckon?

I like the fact that it's signed

and it's a first edition. All those reasons are the reasons why we should get that.

£10, I'm bid at 10, £12.

At 12, 15, 18, 20.

At £20, all done.

All done.

-£20.

-It's all right, it's more than I paid for it.

I never paid for the autograph.

-All to a good cause.

-Absolutely.

£20 is very reasonable I think so I'm glad Lembit is pleased.

Next up, it's the Russian note and for old coins valued at 10 to £20.

The lot includes the rouble from Lenin's Russia

and a British West African penny.

Rare coins in good condition are popular items at auction

so fingers crossed they should sell.

-At £20, it goes. All done.

-That's good. That is very good.

That's a solid sale right at the top of Jonty's estimate.

Our goal is to raise £250 for charity today

and at £40 so far, we have some way to go.

We are looking for 20 to £30 for this next lot

and Jonty is keen to know whether it inspired Lembit in the early years.

This lot is a limited edition game of Westminster.

Am I right in saying that you have never played this?

I have never played it and I have never seen it anywhere else.

I bought it myself as a rarity in a similar situation to this

about 10 years ago. I think it is worth quite a lot.

Who knows what these people think?

A limited edition board game.

Westminster, along with three sets of Liberal Democrat playing cards.

Loads of comments, here we go,

for the cards and board game. £20. £10.

5, 10, 12, 15, 18,

£15. I will take 18. Are we done?

I will sell at £15. All done at 15. Gone.

At £15. 224.

I think you did well to get rid of it for £15.

These days, we are grateful for any figure. I think we'll be selling parliament.

Lembit is as philosophical as ever about that result,

but he'll have weathered harder blows in the world of politics

and from the Commons of Westminster to Wimbledon Common.

Orinoco's surprise cameo on rummage day was one such embarrassing moment.

He is valued at 20 to £30

and he will need to sell well to redeem Livi.

What did you think when your mum pulled that out?

Parents have an infinite capacity to embarrass you right to your dying day.

Especially on television, I just want to thank my mother for that.

-You are complicit.

-Absolutely. We were looking forward to that moment.

It lived up to our expectations.

I'll go red all over again in just a few minutes.

£20 for it.

£10 for it. At £10.

That is the bid so far.

12, 15, 18, 20, 22,

At £20.

Sold at £20.

There we go, how about that?

It's sold.

Lembit is clearly devastated to lose such a close ally. Let's hope he has gone to a loving home.

Livi also donated some of her costume jewellery

and that's our next lot.

It's a pretty assortment which Jonty valued at £20 to £30.

At £20. Gone.

Another good result there.

We have done well to shift these modern collectibles

as people are usually looking for older antique pieces at auction.

And it's our smiling ceramic clown figure up next.

Will it reach turned Jonty's estimate of £10 to 20?

£10 for it. £5 for it.

No one. At 5. At £5.

-£5. Thanks, at £5.

-Oh!

Hardly the result we were after.

But Lembit and Livi really didn't want to take him home, so it is best he's gone.

And perhaps he will make someone else smile.

Now we are midway through our sale, so how is Lembit coping with the pressure?

We are at the halfway point.

You have been so nervous, haven't you?

This is worse than Prime Minister's Questions.

Such a pressure on us, the charity, this stuff, will they be buying it, loving it or laughing at it?

It is difficult. You probably feel your reputation's up there.

A little bit. And I have to take the rap.

My mum gets the credit, I get the rap.

Is that going to be fair?

Well. It's been pretty OK because we've sold everything.

Look on the bright side.

It's all amounts up. At this halfway point, you would expect to be about £125.

Your target is £250 for your charity.

And you have made, so far, £100 exactly.

Three figures at least, that's something.

It is not going to be a total humiliation.

£100 isn't startling, so we've still got a long way to go to reach our charity target.

Now, if you want to buy or sell anything at auction,

do remember to check what commissions and charges will apply.

Kicking off round two is the framed watercolour

of a farmhouse that Lembit's father took such a strong dislike to.

I think it's quite pretty, but will the bidders agree?

At £25. £25.

That's it at £25. Gone at 25.

It's a solid start to the second half of our sale.

It's a decorative watercolour and would look lovely in most homes,

so I am not surprised it met its estimate.

We have a very modestly priced lot next.

We're looking for just £10 to 20 for the set of glasses and decanter.

£5. A bid at 5. 6. 7. 8.

8, would you like? 9, 10.

11. At £10. 11 there.

12, 13, 14. Getting exciting.

At £13. 13, take 14. At £13.

-Are we all done? At £13. Sold, 13.

-£13.

-A bargain.

-I think it was.

-Absolutely.

-We got there.

We are all selling, it's all selling very well.

We can't fault Jonty's valuation skills, and it's another £13 in the charity fund.

The end of our sale is getting ever closer, and Tom's racing through the lots.

Next, we've the pewter tankard and vase.

Lots of people collect tankards, so they should sell.

But they're only valued at £10 to £20 because they're so common.

At £15, it goes, all done.

-£15, and gone.

-OK.

It may not be a large amount, but it's all selling, and all selling very well.

Ticking along nicely.

That seems a fair price to us.

Next, the pair of Tom Stephenson charcoal sketches.

Maritime scenes are ever popular, and Jonty was particularly taken with these.

These two charcoal drawings were given by the charity, weren't they? Do you like them?

I love these. I think they are very evocative, ocean-going, genuine, and about a century old.

-So I've got high hopes for these.

-Two fine 19th century charcoal drawings.

Seascapes with ships there.

Or beachscapes with ships. Number 230a. These charcoal drawings.

Start me, what, £50 for the pair?

£50? £40?

I know someone's going to bid. I'm bid at £40. At £40.

Is that it? 42. 45. 48. 50.

£48. A bid at £48. 50.

55. 60. 5. 70. 5.

There's still no money at £70.

Take 75. At £70, all done? At £70.

Cheap at £70. All done, £70 and gone.

Livi was clearly hoping for more, and that does seem a modest price

for those handsome original drawings.

You certainly can pick up some bargains at auction, but at least we are £70 closer to our goal.

Now Lembit is taking matters into his own hands to see if he can

rally this crowd into parting with some of their cash.

So, your bottle of whisky now.

That's right. Yes, indeed. I hope they love some politicians.

I don't know. You're on shaky ground, myself.

I have got that feeling.

-You haven't taken a nip out of it or anything like that?

-No, not at all.

It is an unbroken seal.

Betty Boothroyd signed it, she wouldn't have signed anything if we were cheating.

-Are you prepared to go up and sell it?

-I will give it a go, yeah.

-Brave the crowd?

-I will try, in a non-partisan way,

to talk up my colleagues from across the political spectrum and all for charity.

Have you done it before? Have you done auctioneering before?

I have done a little bit, but not the real thing, not with this kind of a tough crowd.

-This is the real thing. Good luck.

-Good luck.

I'm not surprised he's looking anxious.

Let's hope that Betty Boothroyd and John Bercow's signatures are enough to raise some interest.

We're all looking for different jobs at the moment in Parliament.

So I'll start with this one.

Actually, this isn't the...what it says here isn't actually the set.

It's one signed by Betty Boothroyd, Jack Straw, former Home Secretary,

John Bercow, and a host of 12 or 15 other MPs from cross-party. But I can tell you this.

No bottle of whisky in the history of Parliament has ever been signed by this cross-party group.

So it is completely unique. The only version of this House of Commons whisky in the world.

BABY CHATTERS There's a bid already I can hear.

It's all going for charity, and it is completely unique.

No one will ever have a bottle with people from Betty Boothroyd

right through to the House of Commons and many other peers on it.

Right. What am I bid?

This is worth hundreds of pounds. Shall I start this one at, let's say, £100?

It's great whisky as well.

£100 anybody? 80? 60?

50. 50. It's worth more than 50. 60. 65.

65, anybody? 65. 70.

65 there.

70? At the moment... 70, 70? 65 there at the moment. Any advance?

It's for a great cause. And you can drink the whisky.

£65 at the moment. Going once.

£65 going twice.

Gentleman there. £65, 210.

-Thanks very much.

-Yay.

Whoo. Well done.

That's very good. Ah. Were you nervous?

Very nervous. Especially when it said something else.

That was short and sweet, wasn't it?

It was good, yeah. It's easy. How hard could that job be?

I was a bit worried. At the beginning, you were going backwards.

No, no. But that's what he was doing before.

-I thought, "I'll go forward again." 65 is reasonable. And...

-I think.

I don't think I want to do that every day of the week.

I feel a sense of serenity coming over me.

Lembit was really impressive up there.

Clearly, all that practice at Question Time has paid off.

It's not time to relax, as our final lot is about to go under the hammer.

So, it's all eyes on Livi's gold rings and pearls.

Jonty's got high hopes for these.

Gold is selling very well at the moment.

So let's see where we go. £60 to £80 is what we're looking for.

223a now. Start me...start me at £50, please.

I'm bid at £50. 55, 60.

5, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95.

90 I'm bid. 95 now.

95, 100, 110.

110, 120, 130.

120. At 120, take 130?

At 120, I'm selling, all done. All finished at 120. Thanks, 120.

Doubled. Got the result.

I am so pleased. I am so pleased.

What a fantastic result.

Livi's jewellery really flew, and I think we'll all

still be smiling when we tot up the final total for Lembit's charity.

OK, so, you are looking for £250 for your charity.

At the half way point, we'd made £100.

So we had a bit of an uphill struggle really.

However, I can tell you that, at the end of the day, you have made £408.

-Yes!

-Oh, wow.

-That is fantastic.

That is so good.

-What a relief.

-Thanks to you.

Congratulations, well done.

Oh, I'm so pleased.

We've raised £408 for Ponthafren,

a charity in Lembit's constituency which helps people with mental health problems.

It is a small and friendly community that we live in, and this is at the heart of that community, saying,

if you do have problems, don't suffer in lonely silence.

Come to us, don't feel alone, maybe we can help you get back on track.

The building has undergone some crucial structural work, and now it's crying out for refurbishment.

£400 will go a good way towards transforming this room

into a warm and welcoming place for local people to meet and socialise.

Jane Powell helps in the day-to-day running of the centre,

and she knows how much it will mean to the people who come here.

The fact that Lembit Opik's got involved with Ponthafren

and has raised the profile of Ponthafren and raised over £400 for the centre, is absolutely wonderful.

Because that £400 means a great difference to the members of Ponthafren Association.

That result was a bit of a surprise to us all, not least Lembit.

But, honestly, it was really all down to his mum.

Great news though for his charity.

If you would like to raise money for something special,

and you think you might have some treasures hidden around your home, why not apply to come on the show?

You can find it all the details online at bbc.co.uk.

Good luck, and maybe see you next time on Cash In The Attic.

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