Wells 11 Flog It!

Today we're in Wells, Somerset, England's smallest city.

They say beautiful things come in small packages and that's true of this stunning Somerset gem.

Let's hope we dig out some small items with big values. Welcome to Flog It!

We've chosen Wells Cathedral for our valuation day venue.

It's a true architectural gem,

the first cathedral in the country to be built and designed in the new Gothic style.

LAUGHTER

'Serving up the expertise today are Anita Manning and Will Axon.

'As the owner of one of Scotland's most successful salerooms,

'Anita is guaranteed to dig out some real interesting finds.'

I'm going to put a red sticker on these folks.

'He may be a few years her junior, but Will Axon is no young pretender.

'He knows all the tricks of the antiques trade, so expect some healthy rivalry from this pair

'as they battle to snag the very best items from our crowd.

'Coming up on the show, I hear an amazing story about one of the world's greatest artists.'

Here we were in our ankle socks and frilly knickers.

'Will is pushed to put a big price on three small paintings.'

-It depends on how many noughts you put on the end.

-'And we're in for a few surprises at the auction.'

Incredible. Wow, that's a good result again!

-Yes!

-Oh, yeah!

'So let's head straight over to the valuation tables

'as Anita casts her eye over David's stunning napkin rings.'

-Tell me. Where did you get them?

-They belong to my son. I'm bringing them in on his behalf.

-You're the message boy?

-I certainly am.

-Where did he get them?

-I believe he got them at a boot sale.

A car boot sale story - I love them! How much did he pay for them?

Not a lot, knowing my son. Probably under a tenner, I would think.

Let's have a closer look at them.

I particularly like this period and I do like this type of thing.

It's Arts and Crafts from the beginning of the 1900s.

They are made of pewter

and the pewter is hand-hammered.

They have these asymmetric squares on them

and we have the little enamelled medallions in the middle,

so they're aesthetically pleasing.

If we look on the back,

we can see that these are called Tudric.

Tudric was the name for the Arts and Crafts pewter

that was made for Liberty and Company.

They sold the very best of goods.

Not only were they good items in themselves, they were the best of design.

-I like these a lot. What do you think of them?

-They're pretty.

I didn't think they were that valuable, being just pewter.

I would put an auction estimate on these

of perhaps £60 to £80.

They may do more than that.

We do have a pair and they do have the Tudric name on them.

But I think if we put them in at 60 to 80, it will invite the bidding.

Would your son and yourself be happy to put them to auction at that price?

-It's not bad for a car boot sale.

-Not bad at all.

Here's hoping those napkin rings make David's son a nice profit

when they come up for sale at auction.

On the other side of the room, Margaret hopes Will puts a big price tag on her three small paintings.

Margaret, I love these miniatures you've brought in.

Have you just plucked these off the wall? Where do they live?

They've come from our charity shop.

Anything of value we try to keep to one side.

Unfortunately, we've been so busy in the shop, they've been left in the shed.

We got round to clearing it and these three popped out.

You saw that Flog It were in Wells today and you thought it was a good opportunity to show them to someone

-who might tell you what they're worth?

-Get more money into the pot.

You've got a bit of a mix here. You've got this chap at the front

-who, obviously, is Nelson.

-Right.

I've had a look at him under my eyeglass and what we've got there is a print

that has then been highlighted over the top just to give it a bit of depth

and the impression of being a hand-painted miniature,

so he's not going to be as valuable as something painted from scratch.

This fella is in this very typical frame for the early 19th century,

but again I've had a look under my eyeglass at him and he is painted from scratch

and I think the naive quality about him will appeal.

-Do you think he's a good-looking chap?

-They're growing on me.

You might be tempted to put your hand up at the sale if you could?

It depends on how many noughts you put on the end.

We're talking about noughts already! You weren't thinking double figures?

-I'm hoping as much as possible.

-Well, me too.

This chap here again looks rather splendid there in his blue blazer and his cravat,

but I've had a look at him under my glass and he is again painted from scratch.

Again he's got that naive quality that will appeal, as well as being presented in this nice gilt frame.

He's lost the glass and he's loose in that frame.

-Let me prise him out because he hasn't got a back on him.

-No.

Let's have a look at him now. I'll flip him over. We've got this rather nice little inscription.

-"Drawing by..." It's difficult to read. I can just make out "Cox" at the end there.

-Yes.

We've got a date there, 1837, which is exactly where you'd expect it to be.

-You've given an idea that you think they might be worth figures with noughts on the end.

-You never know.

You don't know until the day.

You're quite right. The proof is in the selling.

-Yes.

-I like the way you're approaching it.

They're not terribly fashionable, but people like them. They hang nicely at the side of the fireplace.

We've already spoken about the overpainted one, the Nelson one.

I see here not a lot of money, to be fair, sort of £5, £10 maybe.

This one also has a similar inscription and date to this chap,

-so I think we've got father and son here. There is a similarity between them.

-Yes.

Bearing in mind the condition, would you be happy if we offered them in one lot, estimated at £50 to £100?

-Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.

-Is that good?

-Absolutely.

-That's a bit more than you'd get for them in the shop.

-Definitely. Oh, yes, please.

So let's say £50 to £100 for the three, but let's put no reserve.

-No.

-Are you happy for them...

-We'll have whatever is on offer.

-Then we know something is coming back to the charity.

-Thanks very much.

'We'll be back to see just how many noughts Margaret's miniatures make in a moment.

'From miniature art to major artists now as Peggy tells me about a run-in she once had

'with one of the world's most renowned painters - Salvador Dali.'

I was living in Barcelona teaching English and one of my students said to me,

"So you've been to see the Dali exhibition. Have you ever been up to Cadaques to see his house?"

I said, "Never." "Would you like to go?" He said, "Bring a friend."

I said to my flatmate, "Do you want to go to Cadaques?" "Yes."

And we got there after this terrible journey and there he was with his wife Gala.

I went over and said, "I'd ask you for your autograph, but I've nothing to write on."

He drew this letter out of his pocket

and he said, "This is a fan letter I've just received from Madrid which I will give to you."

He said, "I'll sign it." And he did.

He signed it there right in front of me and said, "There you are."

I went out in an absolute daze.

At auction, Salvador Dali's signature is only worth £100. You shouldn't sell that.

I think your story is priceless. If you'd had a few doodles on there, it would be worth £300 to £400.

How does it go? If wishes were horses and beggars were kings...

-I've never heard that before.

-Haven't you?

-No.

Where's your grandmother been all your life?

Don't tell me I've got to this age and I've got to adopt a grandson. It's too much, Paul. It really is!

'Her letter may not be worth much, but I thought Peggy was absolutely priceless.

'Back over at the tables, Terry is hoping that Anita can help him to re-home his unwanted heirloom.'

Thank you so much for bringing in this very impressive-looking desk set.

Can you tell me where did you get it?

I inherited it from my mother

who I think inherited it from a general she used to do domestics for.

Did you have it on display?

No, sadly, up in the roof, in a box.

And now we're downsizing,

so everything must go.

So we looked at this and thought, "It's nice. Let's see if it's got any reasonable value to it."

Let's have a look at this set.

The first thing here is this very impressive domed or casket-shaped box.

This would have been a stationery box at one point

and we can see where we would have had compartments.

These have long gone and this makes a wee bit of a difference in the price.

But the exterior of the box is wonderful.

It's made of burr walnut.

It's highly decorated and bound with these brass decorations

and these tiger's-eye, agate insets.

So we have the stationery box.

We have the book slide. These come up like this and the slides will slide along.

And I think my favourite piece here is this notebook or blotter.

Again it's decorated in the same way and all in good condition.

-Do you have any idea of value?

-None whatsoever.

-So you haven't really thought of that before?

-No.

If it was going into auction,

I would put an estimate of £100 to £200 on it.

We have three items here, so that makes it more interesting,

but we do have the inside of the box missing.

I'm sure that 100 to 200 is conservative.

But would you be happy to put it to sale at that price?

Yeah. Yeah, I think so, definitely.

Well, we'll put it in and we'll perhaps put a reserve of, say, £80,

just to safeguard it if that's needed.

Thank you very much for bringing them along to Flog It.

It's my turn now and I have to say,

I reckon I've landed the top prize

with this gorgeous painting of Martin's.

-Martin, what can you tell me about the watercolour?

-Not a lot, really.

I bought it about 12 years ago at auction.

Did you have to bid heavily for this?

Yeah, there was quite a few after it, actually.

I liked it and I just carried on till I got it at a sensible price.

OK, can I ask you what you paid for it?

I can't remember the exact amount but it was between £200 and £300.

Did you know who it was by?

I didn't know him before I bought the picture, I just liked it.

-OK, you've done some research then?

-Yes.

John Frederick Tayler, the Victorian artist.

Renowned for his hunting scenes

and dressing characters up in period costume.

Even though this was a sort of Victorian artist,

he would put people in sort of 18th century clothes

and they'd either be hunting with dogs or hunting with hawks.

He was born in 1802

and he was one of Queen Victoria's favourite artists.

If you look really closely under these lights, you can just see,

I think it says Tayler on that rock.

You don't normally see such good portrait work

by John Frederick Taylor and look at the skin tones!

It's absolutely beautiful. You can see why

he was president of the Royal Watercolour Society, can't you?

-It's just so good.

-The detail's really good.

Why are you selling this, Martin?

Well, we moved from a large country house to a suburban house.

-It doesn't quite fit in.

-It doesn't work with low ceilings.

If you put this into auction,

I think you'd put it into auction with a value of £350 to £450.

That's good.

-And a 10% discretion, if that's OK with you at 350.

-Yeah, that's fine.

You've made a bit of money, haven't you?

And you've enjoyed it along the way.

-Exactly.

-Looks a bit like Charlie Ross, one of our experts.

Charlie's just about to go under the hammer here.

I'm not sure how much cash Charlie Ross would make,

but I really hope Martin's painting smashes my estimate.

When it comes to the region's vibrant urban centres,

there's no disputing you cannot beat the variety

and the vivacity that characterises this place.

I'm in Bristol.

Like many British cities, Bristol was brutalised in the Blitz,

and then tinkered with at the hands of well-meaning town planners

during the 1960s.

But one man who had a major influence on how the city

has developed since is the enterprising

and distinctively unconventional George Ferguson.

George is a highly regarded architect,

the former president of the RIBA -

the Royal Institute of British Architects.

He's also the recent recipient of a CBE.

But it's his conversion of this building here,

the Tobacco Factory in Southville,

where he's made his most dynamic impact.

And I've come to meet him here to find out more.

I tell you what, George, you've got a fantastic view from up here.

Point me some of your things out, then,

some of your great achievements.

Well, little, little achievements, really.

My first regeneration was buying one of those

little coloured houses on the hillside

for a few hundred quid in the '60s. A few hundred quid!

They were going to demolish the whole lot and build blocks of flats

like these ones across the hillside.

I painted mine pink and another friend of mine painted his blue

and then over the next 10, 20 years,

it's become that coloured hillside, including some new ones.

The magic thing for me is, I always looked from those houses

over here and you could see WD and HO Wills in the sky

on the top of the million square feet

of these wonderful red brick buildings.

This place was originally built and owned

by one of Britain's biggest tobacco businesses, WD and HO Wills.

They established a number of factories around this area

and provided work to thousands.

What's more, they showed an unusual level of care for their staff,

providing them not just with steady income

but with a real sense of community, too.

# We are the Willses girls

# We know our manners, we pay our tanners

# We are respected wherever we may go

# And when we're walking down Lombard Street

# Doors and windows opened wide

# You can hear them shout... #

When they became empty,

people approached me about ideas for doing something with it.

Unfortunately, they went into the hands of the receiver

and he'd decided, or been advised,

to demolish them all and sell it off

for sites for a supermarket and various things like that.

It seemed a waste of good fabric, good energy

and that it was a wonderful opportunity to make

a proper, sustainable, mixed-use development.

I lost a lot of the battle, but at least I kept this building

and this building enabled me to experiment

with the things I really believe in.

Today, the Tobacco Factory is a 24-hour multi-use building,

which houses a cafe-bar, an oriental bistro,

creative industry workspaces, live-work loft apartments,

animation and performing arts schools

and one of the most exciting small theatre venues in the country.

It's where George chose to make his home.

What are the dos and don'ts when it comes to regeneration?

I think my first rule is, go with what you've got.

Try and make the most of what you've got. I think too much regeneration

is big bang stuff - let's knock it all down

and put in a great big supermarket and a major hotel.

-That's not regeneration.

-No, and it's losing our heritage as well.

It's losing our heritage, but I think it doesn't attract

the real activity that cities are made of.

I start everything I do

thinking about what will people do here?

What will enable people to have more fulfilled lives in this place?

-So it's work and living and entertainment.

-Absolutely.

I think regeneration encourages independent organisations.

I love to encourage a high street with small shops.

That's what makes a proper place that buzzes.

The regeneration of the Tobacco Factory has been

something of a catalyst to this area,

prompting a spate of other activities

including a regular Sunday market and an annual urban festival.

It has also armed George with a blueprint for his latest projects

including an old chocolate factory in East Bristol.

This is a tiny little section of the chocolate factory

but it's a series of buildings, five of them, and then

they've got these glazed covered streets running through them.

To link them together.

If you demolish that,

you would end up probably building a housing estate.

It would be like anywhere else. By keeping these buildings,

one builds something really special,

that has a brilliant address -

The Chocolate Factory is pretty hard to beat.

That's a cool address. What fabulous buildings as well.

This would be workspace with residential up here.

This is residential with workspace down here.

As it goes across the site, it will become

more and more residential and then

houses along a cycle track that are designed for cycling families,

so they don't have garages, they have cycle stores.

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant, George,

and it's been a real pleasure to meet you at last.

Great to meet you, Paul, and the pink trousers.

So, how do you think our experts' valuations went?

There's only one way to find out.

We're off to auction and here's a quick reminder of what we've chosen.

Let's hope the bidders will want to snap them up.

Right, it's auction time. This is where it gets exciting because anything can happen in a saleroom.

We're putting our valuations to the test at Tamlyn & Son in the heart of Bridgwater.

'But don't forget. Whenever you sell at auction, you have to pay commission.

'At this saleroom, they charge 16.5% plus VAT.'

80. 5. 90. 5...

'On the rostrum is auctioneer Claire Rawle and the room is bursting with buyers, so let's get cracking

'with the first in our line-up.'

Going under the hammer right now, two napkin rings made for Liberty's.

It's Tudric pewter and this is a case of classic recycling.

-David, I think your son has got a great eye for antiques.

-He seems to, yeah.

-How much did he pay for these?

-£4.

-That's incredible. It is out there. You've got to get up early and know what to look for.

-Do your homework.

Hopefully, we'll get £50 or £60. It is a good name. Let's find out what the bidders think. Good luck, David.

On to Lot 160, the Tudric pewter, nice pair of napkin rings.

And this one I have to start away...

at £100.

-At 100.

-Wow!

-Do I see 110 in the room?

At £100.

110. 120. 130.

The bid's in the room now at £130.

At £130, are you all done? Selling then at 130...

Incredible. The hammer's gone down.

I wish it was as easy to turn £4 into £130

just like that every day of the week.

'Those napkin rings made David's son some easy money,

'but will we also be quids in with our next lot?'

-I've just been joined by Margaret. Hello.

-Hello.

-And this is Amanda?

-Yeah, this is the boss.

-Pleased to meet you, Amanda. Shake hands with the boss!

-You run the charity shop?

-I do.

-We're selling three miniatures.

Two gentlemen and a print of Lord Nelson. This is quite early 19th century.

Very, very desirable. Fingers crossed, here we go, this is it.

Lot 265, 19th century English School...

Portrait miniature of a gentleman and a couple of others. Three in the lot.

And this one I have to start away

at £130.

At 130. Do I see 140 anywhere? At 130, the bid's here with me.

140. 150.

160. In the room now at £160.

At 160. Do I see 170 anywhere?

At £160.

Are you all done at 160?

-Yes!

-Oh, yeah!

-A round of applause for that.

Do you think they're pleased?

-We thought, "They're not going to sell."

-You were a bit pessimistic, weren't you?

-That's wonderful. I'm all hot.

-A bit more than you would have got in the shop maybe?

-Yes.

-Definitely.

-I'm ever so pleased.

-Fantastic.

-Brilliant.

'Another great result. Those good-looking men made a good-looking profit.

'It's touch wood as the next of our lots goes under Claire Rawle's gavel.'

It's quality all the way, burr walnut. It's a little desk set, it's beautiful.

Quality always sells. If you've got the right desk to put this on, job done.

-We have three parts here - the little box, the blotter and the book slide.

-Yeah.

Let's find out what the bidders think. It's going under the hammer. Good luck, both of you.

Lot 460, the Victorian, brass-bound, walnut desk set.

And a nice, decorative item. We have to start this one away at £100.

-At 100.

-Good.

-Do I see 110? 110. 120. 130.

140. 150. 160. 170. Commission bid at 170.

At 170. Do I see 180?

180 on the telephone. 190.

200.

210.

220. 230.

-I love the dome lid on the box.

-Yes.

-240. 250.

-It's just quality.

No. At 250 it is then. At 250. Do I see 260?

At £250, all done...?

-Excellent.

-Wonderful. You've got to be happy with that.

-Very happy.

-I know you were a bit worried earlier on.

-Yeah.

Martin's up next and to alleviate the tension of seeing

his prized portrait go under the hammer,

he's brought along some moral support.

Good to see you again. Who've you brought along?

-This is my wife, Jackie.

-Pleased to meet you.

Did you approve of Martin bringing this along and selling it?

-Yes, I did.

-You did?

-Because it doesn't fit the house.

-That's right.

-It deserves to be in a sort of nice country house.

-Yeah.

Well, let's hope all the bidders are here.

There's a lot of country properties around here, the trade's here -

-there's certainly a buzz in the place.

-There is, yes.

Not a lot of space, is there?

There's no space. We're hemmed in here!

It's going under the hammer right now, good luck.

John Frederick Tayler, portrait of a gentleman.

Here we are, seated holding a shotgun with his setter

and to start me away, I've got £280.

At 280.

-It's not enough.

-300 anywhere?

At 280 here, at £280, do I see 300?

At 280 then, if you're all sure. No.

-Gosh, I'm ever so sorry.

-Never mind, it doesn't matter.

It's a nice picture.

But it won't suit your house so it's not going on the wall, is it?

It will go somewhere.

What a shame that none of the bidders wanted

to give that gentleman a new home.

I'm in Bristol and this is Bristol Zoo, the fifth oldest in the world.

For the last 175 years, this place has been wowing and delighting a constant stream of visitors,

bringing worldwide fame to this magical city.

Keeping wild animals in captivity has changed dramatically since this place was opened,

so I'm here to find out exactly how they've kept up with the times.

This place not only constitutes a wonderful family day out.

It also has become an important centre for conservation and research.

And over its long history, the zoo has undergone a number of very different incarnations.

# Something tells me it's all happening at the zoo... #

Its story starts in the 19th century

when the boom in international trade transformed exotic animals into worldwide commodities

and a variety of public institutions sprang up around the world to house and showcase them.

London Zoo was the first zoo to be launched in this country in 1827.

Bristol followed closely on its heels in 1836.

At first, these places were known as zoological gardens with an emphasis on education and science,

rather than entertainment, and they were very much the privilege of the well-heeled.

But as transport links improved and the working class got more leisure time,

the zoo became a family day out foreveryone.

But ideas of animal husbandry were very different back then.

This Victorian building behind me here came with the original land purchase.

It was a lime kiln, but it was quickly converted into a bear pit

and along this path here is one of the original poles

that the bears would climb up to take food from the visitors.

But it was in the 1960s that this zoo reached its heyday.

The opening of the Severn Bridge helped this zoo breach the one million visitor mark

for the very first time, but the zoo had also gained a lot of popularity

with the very remarkable BBC children's television programme, Animal Magic.

"Do you mind if I come and sit on your lap?"

With Johnny Morris playing the role of the bumbling Bristol zookeeper who could talk to the animals,

the show captured the imagination of a wide viewing audience.

You don't know it, but you're coming back to Bristol with me.

"Bristol? Where is Bristol? Is it in France?" No, it's in Angleterre.

To get a handle on how much this place has evolved over the years,

I've come here to have a chat with one of the zoo's longest-serving employees.

-He's Senior Curator of Animals, John Partridge.

-Hello.

-Pleased to meet you.

-Nice to meet you too.

-What a lovely day!

-It's beautiful.

-Tell me about the important firsts that have taken place here.

There have been quite a lot. The first chimpanzee in Europe born here in 1934,

the first gorilla in 1971,

black rhinoceros, the first UK birth in 1958,

first male polar bear born in the UK in the same kind of year, '58, '59.

We've pioneered different ways of looking after animals as well -

the first nocturnal house, reversing day and night, so people can see animals that are active at night.

That was in 1953. It's important to continue to develop, so we try and bring people into the habitats too,

so they can walk through a lemur exhibit with our lemurs and be in the enclosure with them.

There's been a number of memorable animal characters over the years. Can you name a few of them?

Alfred the gorilla came to the zoo in March 1930

and lived here for 18 and a half years.

At the time, keeping gorillas in captivity was extremely difficult.

He was the only gorilla seen in Europe for some of that time.

Alfred became a huge character and the zoo's most popular resident.

When he was young, he was famous for being taken for walks on a lead around the zoo's gardens.

And some animals even got to make it outside the zoo.

In 1961, Wendy the elephant and her companion Christina arrived at the zoo

and they were taken for regular walks around the local streets.

The people would often pop out to feed them little treats.

But there were occasions when the animals from the zoo went absent without leave.

There's a cutting here in March 1934 that says that 11 monkeys, I think they were rhesus monkeys,

escaped from our monkey temple and they managed to get out and go out on to the down

which is just across the way here, so there was a bit of a palaver getting them back.

But with a little bit of food and a lot of patience, you can get these animals in.

But "in" for a lot of the animals, especially the larger ones, was not a pleasant place.

The cages were often bare and small.

However, thanks to an improved understanding of animal husbandry,

Bristol Zoo is a very different place from what it was.

Can you give me a brief outline on how different today the zoo is, compared to 175 years ago?

We've developed an awful lot.

Historically, we've kept large animals - giraffes and elephants and so on.

It's a bit more difficult to do that now in the way we want to keep our animals and show them to the people.

We have more natural enclosures now. Our gorilla enclosure is a really big, natural environment

with natural vegetation for them to live in.

We concentrate on conservation breeding, not just here in the 12 acres in Bristol,

but we have all sorts of in situ breeding programmes and efforts going on in places like Madagascar,

Cameroon in West Africa, so we can explain to people what we're doing by showing them the animals here

and then doing very good conservation work out in the natural habitat.

You do a lot of work internationally protecting endangered species, but you do a lot here on site as well.

We have many critically endangered species and one or two that are extinct in the wild.

In some cases, they can only be found in a zoo -

several species of Partula snail or Polynesian snail.

One species is not found anywhere else but here in Bristol Zoo.

It's extinct in the wild and if we don't do well with it, we lose it.

And our latest conservation success story is with our Asiatic lions.

Two animals, Kamal and Shiva, were brought together last year

and Shiva, a first-time mother, actually produced two cubs,

so we have a male and a female cub called Jay and Kaly.

They are a very important birth for us.

There's less than 400 Asiatic lions in the wild and they're in only one part of India,

so we're part of an internationally managed breeding programme for this endangered species.

# Mama's taking us to the zoo tomorrow... #

Over the past 175 years, the zoo has brought six generations of Bristolians closer to wildlife.

It's helped save over 175 different species from extinction

and taught half a million schoolchildren the wonder and value of nature

and given more than 50 million visitors a wonderful day out.

Looking forward to the future, its hopes are to become the best city zoo in the world.

If you want my opinion, it already is.

At the human zoo of our valuation day, Bernard seems to have risen above the roar of the crowds

and beaten a path to Will's table.

Has this been on your wrist from new? How did you come by it?

A friend of mine gave it to me, like, you know.

He took... He was a landlord of a pub and I used to do bar work.

It was a farewell present sort of thing.

Rolex, obviously, is a brand that everyone is familiar with.

This one here is fairly plain.

-To be fair, it's towards the sort of more run-of-the-mill model of Rolex.

-That's right.

This is a manual wind, so the movement isn't as sophisticated

as an Oyster Perpetual, i.e, self-winding or automatic.

If I'm being super-picky, there is a bit of discoloration on the dial, but you can get that repaired.

You can have the dial cleaned or reprinted.

Your friend gave it to you as a gift. Have you had it insured? Any idea what it could be worth?

-Well, the insurance is about 1,200, like.

-Right, OK.

The trouble we'll run into here is the fact that insurance valuations

are always a lot higher than auction estimates,

certainly for what we would call jewellery, silver, watches.

I think this, bearing in mind it is only stainless steel...

-That's right.

-It's a manual wind.

-The bracelet is associated. That's not a proper Rolex bracelet.

-No, it's not Rolex.

My honest valuation on this piece would be in the region of £200.

It's a big difference from the insurance valuation you have.

But how do you feel about that - £200 to £300?

-I'm fine with that, yes.

-So we'll reserve it at that bottom figure at the £200.

-Can I give the auctioneer a bit of discretion?

-Yeah, a bit of discretion.

-I'm pretty sure we'll find a new home for it.

-Yes.

Watch out to see how well Bernard's Rolex does when it comes up for sale in a while.

Right now, it looks like Anita's struck gold with a cache of jewels

that Pamela has brought with her.

I'm always delighted to see beautiful jewellery on the show and we have some lovely things here.

I've collected them over a period of time and I think they're lovely too.

-I really do.

-Can you tell me where did you get these items? Let's start with the cross.

The cross was on a happy weekend in Rhodes with my husband.

The mourning locket followed on when he died, of course.

This one was a gift given to me by a friend

and this one again just a gift from a friend.

-Why are you looking to sell them now?

-My granddaughters like silver,

so I thought I'd probably sell them and split the money or give it to my sons, whatever.

-They don't see beauty in the same things that you and I do.

-Let's have a wee look here.

This cross, the setting is absolutely beautiful and it's beautifully done.

When I looked at this at the beginning, I thought it was an amethyst,

but it's not, it's a synthetic stone.

We also have the item on a nine-carat chain

and I would like to put an estimate of, say, between 250 and 350,

-and I would suggest a reserve of around £200.

-That's fair.

If we go on to the next little lot,

we have two Victorian pieces.

Your first one here, with this very pretty cameo,

is a little earlier than this one.

I would say maybe 1860, 1870, 1880.

We see this swivel mechanism here.

This would have been used to keep a piece of a loved one's hair.

-I see you have a photograph in here.

-I have.

But it is a mourning locket.

That's not the mourning locket. That is.

But this would have been a mourning locket at some point as well.

I didn't know that.

-This is made of a pinchbeck. It's not a gold.

-That's right.

It's made to look like gold and there is some quality.

-This is a finer piece, Pamela.

-Yes.

This is probably 1880 to about 1910.

It's jet with these seed pearls bedded in this gold laurel

-and this little anchor.

-Yes.

An anchor often denotes hope,

so we have some symbolism there.

Both of them very, very nice items.

I would tend to sell these together,

so to put them together,

£300 to £500.

-As the pair?

-For the two of them.

With a firm reserve of 300.

Well, you know your business.

It may do more than that, Pamela.

-An estimate is only an estimate.

-It's only an estimate.

Sometimes I can be a wee bit conservative.

Sometimes. Let's hope so in this case.

Yes. Tell me, where have you got this one, Pamela?

That was just a gift in the '60s or '70s and it's just a pretty piece.

-That's right.

-It sits nicely on the neck because it's shaped.

-Yeah.

It's made of tri-colour gold, nine-carat,

a popular design in the '60s, '70s and even '80s.

But it has a good gold weight.

There are 29 grams,

nearly one ounce of nine-carat gold in it.

The estimate on that, I would say probably 200 to 250

with a reserve of perhaps 180 on that.

-Well, that would be good.

-That would be good.

-That would be good.

This is the best time to sell jewellery, particularly if it has a high gold content.

I know you've enjoyed wearing these, but are you a wee bit sad to see them go?

Maybe in some ways, but I've had my times with them.

Basically, nothing lasts forever, does it?

'I hope Pamela's jewels light up the saleroom when they go under the hammer.'

And it looks like Will's in for a giant surprise,

with the next item Liz and Conran have walked in with.

Now, I'm not going to lie to you, I would not like to meet the guy

who's wearing these in a dark alley at night.

Have you got the BFG at home or something?

Where have these come from?

They're an heirloom. Always been in our home. We've always loved them.

It's amazing. I've never seen anything like it.

I mean, what size are these?

I'm a size seven or eight when I'm lucky, and I'm feeling bigger than I am.

-What size are these?

-42.

-Size 42!

You said they've been in the family, for how long?

When I was about five, my father was given them by the manufacturer.

My father was a shoe retailer.

Ah! There's the connection.

And they've not been on display, but his father, my grandfather,

saw them in a parade in the town, about 1906.

I was looking at them and trying to work out a date,

because of the style, and so on, and you got these nice little hooks.

That would date them from the turn of the century, about 1900.

If I tip this one up - ooh!

It's not that heavy, but they are heavy!

If I tip that one up, we can see under here, we've got "Ivy."

Now, is that the firm that was making these?

The firm was Rhodes Rawling of Halifax, and it was the Ivy brand shoe.

And look at all these hob nails here! And, each one, stamped.

They're solid leather.

I was going to say, all of this is leather, including the soles.

-So, they're leather uppers.

-Yep.

I noticed you had to use a bit of ribbon.

It's difficult to get such long laces.

-And you packed them with newspaper?

-To stop them collapsing and cracking.

I was going to ask you, does he make you polish them?

Yes, I do polish them.

Because if you don't polish them, they're just going to dry out,

crack and be ruined.

I suppose that's where all the other things like this have gone.

Again, that's probably a couple of pots of polish in one go

and plenty of elbow grease.

There's a bit of damage here, but they're over 100 years old.

They're in great condition.

-Have you ever been tempted to put them on?

-I did wear them.

I won a fancy dress competition! I went as a clown.

I was asked to stop walking about and scratching the floors!

Because of the old hob nails. Exactly.

I mean, value-wise, this puts me in a tricky position,

because I haven't got anything I can compare these to.

I can't tell you, well, last week, I sold a pair, and they made X.

For these to sell at auction, it's going to be a question

of what someone's prepared to pay for them,

and that's the only way you're going to be able to value them.

They've got to be worth £100-£200, just for the novelty value.

So, let's put them in at £100-£200.

Let's reserve them at £100.

They've got to be worth that, all day long, surely.

'Now it's my turn to flex my valuation muscles as I head outdoors with Michelle.'

-This wonderful walking cane which you don't know a lot about.

-No.

-How long have you had it?

I've only had it 15 months since my mother passed away.

She probably inherited it from her parents. It could have come from the Far East, Malaysia.

-Your mother has used this.

-She has.

-She's put this worn rubber stopper on the bottom, bless her!

-And this little bit of antler is a later addition.

-It is.

I would say that's sort of circa 1910, 1920,

but I'd put the actual shaft of the cane, which is made of bone,

at about 1800, 1810.

-Really?

-1820 at the latest.

Now, my gut feeling is this could be Napoleonic.

It could be something that a prisoner of war made here or something that was made out at sea.

I'm not sure what the bone's from. I don't know if it would've been a narwhal tusk because that tapers.

It's a lovely piece of ropework. You see a lot of this on the legs of furniture.

It's affectionately known as the barley twist.

But English furniture will have a double twist. That ropework will go one way, then the other way.

It's more generous and it's harder to achieve.

If you look at Flemish and French furniture,

that has a single rope twist like this,

so it leads me to believe it's possibly continental and probably French,

-done by a Napoleonic prisoner of war.

-Oh!

And that is absolutely beautiful, isn't it?

It's so symmetric, considering it's all carved by hand.

-What do you think it's worth?

-Somewhere in the region of 90-plus?

-You're about right. I was going to say £100 to £150 tops. OK?

-Super.

Let's put it into the saleroom with a value of £80 to £120.

I know it's a cliche and we all keep talking about it, but it covers the lower end

and it also covers the higher end.

That is very reasonable.

-With a reserve at £80.

-That's a lot more than I valued it.

-OK.

-We'll let the auctioneer have a bit of discretion at the 80.

-OK.

-But I think that's quality.

-It's beautiful.

-Thank you for bringing it in.

-You're welcome.

-Sadly, I have to take this from you.

Let's get that and our other items wrapped up and sent off to auction.

'Here's a quick reminder of what we've chosen.

'Let's hope the bidders will want to snap them up.'

'We're back at Bridgwater for the auction

'and the saleroom is bursting with budding buyers,

'all on the lookout for a bargain.

'The auctioneer is Claire Rawle and first up is Bernard's Rolex watch.'

Did you ever wear it?

Oh, yeah. I wore it plenty of times, like, yeah.

-But then I thought, well, I might lose it.

-It's a valuable thing.

We've got £200 to £300 on this. Hopefully, it'll do that and a bit more.

-Let's find out what this lot think. Here we go.

-OK.

-Over there.

Lot 115 is the gentleman's Rolex Oyster Royal watch.

A 1950s one. This is Lot 115.

And I have to start it straight in at £240.

-Yes!

-240. Do I see 250 anywhere?

At 240, the bid's with me.

At 240. 250 on the telephone?

250.

260 with me.

-They like it.

-At 260 the bid's here with me.

Do I see 270 in the room?

At £260 then, if you're all done. Selling here at 260...

-Mid-estimate, well done, Will. And that's £260 for you.

-That's right.

What will you do with that? Treat yourself to something?

-Yeah, a holiday or something like that.

-It'll help towards that.

-Yeah.

-He got given that watch for collecting glasses in a pub.

-You were a loyal customer.

-I must have been.

-You probably spent more than that in booze.

I'm getting my own back now!

'A solid mid-estimate outcome for Bernard.

'Now it's Pamela up next.'

Have you been sunbathing? Have you been in the garden?

No. Now I'm retired, I travel about a bit.

-Where have you been?

-I went to Dubai for the cold weather.

I came back from there and I went to Spain, just to see a friend.

Gosh, you jet-setter, you! We've got some jewellery about to go under the hammer, split into three lots -

one necklace, a mourning locket and another necklace.

It could be quite a lot of money. You could be jetting off again.

-The first lot going under the hammer is the necklace.

-It's a beautiful cross pendant.

The auctioneer has tested the gold mount and it's tested for 18-carat,

so I'm happy about that and it's on a 9-carat chain.

-Let's find out what the bidders think. Here we go.

-And that was a weekend in Rhodes.

-Oh!

-This is it.

Lot 55 is a decorative cross pendant with the amethyst-coloured stones.

Nice, decorative item.

I have to start straight in. I've got £250 here.

At 250. Do I see 280 anywhere?

The bid's with me at 250.

At 250. Now 280? 280. 300.

-320. 350. 380...

-They love this, don't they?

-420. In the room now at 420.

-Wow!

-At 420.

Do I see 450 anywhere?

At £420 then. Are you all done at 420...?

That's the first lot, £420. Now for the second -

the mourning pendant and the mourning brooch.

They have lowered the estimate on this one from £300 to £500

right down to 150 to 170.

Here it is.

We've got the Victorian mourning pendant and the cameo, lot 61.

I have to start these straight in

at £220.

At 220. At 220.

Do I see 240?

240. Clears me at 240.

Now 260 anywhere?

At £240 in the room now.

At 240. Do I see 260?

If you're all done at 240...

-Excellent.

-We'll take that. That was very good.

-Not bad.

The quality of the locket and the quality of the carving on the cameo pulled that through.

-It did well.

-Here we go, the last item, the necklace.

Lot 67 is a nine-carat gold, snake-link type necklace.

And this one I have to start away at £200.

-Yes.

-Very good.

-At 200. Do I see 220?

250. 280.

In the room now at 280.

At 280. Do I see 300 anywhere?

At £280.

At 280 then. Are you all done at 280?

Wow, that's a good result again!

-That's a grand total of £940.

-We're in the money!

-You are in the money, aren't you?

-Yeah.

-That's wonderful. I'm so happy for you.

-Thank you.

-I'm ever so pleased. Thank you for coming in.

'Anita's estimate may have been conservative, but it paid off handsomely for Pamela.

'Now my head's on the block. It's that carved bone walking stick.'

This could be quite speculative. We're talking about the bone walking stick, 80 to 120.

It's going to sell at that every day of the week, but some of these things could fly away at 400 to 500.

I don't want to start bigging this up, but these things can happen.

-All the money's going to charity, for your dogs?

-Yes, towards the Flat-Coated Retriever Cancer Tumour.

-And you've got quite a few retrievers.

-I have. I've got four in total.

Right, OK, here we go. And they all need help.

Lot 370 is this rather unusual bone walking stick with the antler handle.

I've had quite a bit of interest in it, so I'll start straight in.

I've got £150.

At 150. At 150. Looking for... 180.

200. 220. 250.

280. In the room now at £280.

At 280. Looking for 300. 300 with Fiona. 320.

350.

-380.

-Amazing.

400. 400 on the telephone here. At £400.

420?

420.

450.

-480?

-Wow!

-Wow!

-480.

-Wow!

500.

-Gosh, it is your lucky day.

-520.

550.

580.

No? At 580 on Martin's telephone.

At £580.

At 580. Are you all done at 580...?

-What a fabulous result! £580, that was our lucky day.

-Brilliant.

Two people fought that out together.

-All the proceeds are going towards the charity that's looking after the cancer for dogs.

-It is.

-Thank you so much for coming in.

-Thank you.

-Bless you and bless the dogs as well! I hope they recover.

-They will.

Finally, it's the one I've been waiting for.

Liz and Conran's super-sized boots.

Liz and Conran, thank you for putting a smile

on all our faces at the valuation day in Wells Cathedral.

-The boots turned up. Will said, "I've got to have those!"

-They're great.

-He zoomed in.

I think they're my favourite thing I've done so far on Flog It!

Do you know, when you take time to look at them, the quality is superb.

Where have you had them over the last few years?

-They were on show. We always had them on the piano, or the side of the stairs.

-Right.

-An entertaining thing to have in the house.

-Yeah.

I can't wait for Claire to introduce these. Let's see what she says.

Here we go. A pair of size 42 black leather Balmoral boots.

Wonderful items. And I start away at £75. At 75.

Do I see 80 anywhere? 80.

5, 90, 5.

100. 110. 120.

130.

140, 150, 160, 170.

180, 190.

200, 220? 220.

240. 260. 280.

300.

320. 340. 360.

380. 400. 420.

440. 460.

480. 500. 520.

520. Now, 550 anywhere?

550, fresh bidder. 600. 650.

700. 750. 800. 850.

900 on the telephone.

950? 950.

1,000?

1,000.

And 50.

1,050. 1,100.

1,100. 1,150.

1,200.

1,250.

1,300. 1,350.

1,400.

1,450.

1,500.

1,550.

1,600.

1,650.

1,700.

1,750. 1,800.

-Wow.

-(It's gone quiet.)

Your valuation was a load of cobblers, wasn't it?!

-1,900.

-Thank you for that.

1,950.

Not going to fill it up to 2,000?! 1,950. Ooh.

2,000 on the other telephone.

2,100. 2,200?

2-2?

2-3.

2,400?

2,500.

2,600. 2,700.

2,800.

What?!

2,900.

Now, even this beggars belief.

-3,000.

-I actually pitched this at £400 to £600.

-3,100.

I'm glad you don't say I pitched these at £4-6,000.

-£4-600.

-3,200.

3,300.

3,400.

Come on, you can't leave 'em now!

3,400 on the telephone.

At 3,400. Are you sure?

3,000... 3,500?

-3,500.

-Hey, gone one more!

3,600, then.

Are you sure?

-SHE LAUGHS

-3,600.

At 3,600, on the telephone.

At 3,600, are you sure?

You're sure. You're not bidding!

3,600 it is, then. Are you sure? 3,600.

-£3,600.

-APPLAUSE

Well done.

-£3,600.

-Thank you.

-I don't know what for!

-I got it wrong!

-Thank you for bringing such a quirky item in.

It just goes to show, it is extremely hard to put a price on something.

When two people want it, the sky's the limit.

I'm tingling, are you tingling?

What a wonderful way to end today's programme.

What a brilliant day we've had. I hope you've enjoyed it.

Join us again for much more fun and some more surprises next time.

Enjoy the rest of the afternoon. Until then, goodbye.