Exeter 57 Flog It!

Devon - a county famous for its breathtaking countryside

and tranquil rivers

pushing their way towards beautiful unspoilt beaches.

It's no wonder, then, that Devon is a hub for watersports,

such as kayaking, sailing and surfing,

and later on in the programme, I'll be returning to the River Dart

where I'll be meeting a local photographer who's helping me

to capture this beautiful landscape with the click of a button.

It certainly is as pretty as a picture

and a great location to host today's show.

Waterways and river systems make up the veins of this county

and, for centuries, Devon has relied on water as a source

of transport, wealth, trade and tourism.

The county's beauty doesn't end at the shoreline.

Just ten miles inland is the historic city of Exeter,

where we'll be holding our valuation day.

And it all starts here - Exeter Cathedral.

Right in the heart of this ancient city

lies one of the oldest and most beautiful cathedrals in the country.

There's been a cathedral on this site for nearly 1,000 years

and, before this, a monastery and, before that, a Saxon Roman church.

But here today, we have hundreds of Flog It! fans who have turned up

with their antiques and collectables,

all hoping to see our experts and, of course, they're going to

ask that all-important question, which is...

CROWD: What's it worth?

Stay tuned and you'll find out.

And helping us find the answer to that question are our experts,

who are both on their best behaviour in these auspicious surroundings.

The marvellous Mark Stacey.

Oh, gosh! He's rather scary. He is, isn't he? Isn't he?

My husband will look like that when he gets old. Oh, really? Yes.

And causing confusion in the queue - Caroline Hawley.

Have you already been stickered?

Yeah. She's been... But not... Ah. That was with something else.

Can I stick her again? Yeah, go on.

The queue is straining at the leash, so let's throw open the gothic doors

and take a seat under the mediaeval arches.

And today's show is just as packed as this cathedral.

Flog It! gets fashion conscious

with a special collection of vintage footwear.

They're absolutely beautiful.

I go back to the future to view some three-dimensional art.

Mark finds a pristine William IV tea set

but how much do you think it's worth?

First, though, the tables are turned

as Mark gets a lesson in ancient calligraphy.

We're in this fantastic location - Exeter Cathedral -

and you've brought in a page from an antique Bible, is that right?

You've done some research on this, haven't you? Yes, I have.

Can you tell me all about it because I'm mesmerised in the detail of it?

It's incredible, isn't it?

It is amazing and it is very small, isn't it? Very.

It's a pocket Bible from the 13th century

and so it was contemporary with the time the cathedral here was built.

It was handwritten, in Latin,

on animal skin - on vellum, this is not paper. Oh, wow!

This is vellum.

But it is absolutely tiny and it's exquisitely written, isn't it?

Yes, it is. I don't know how they could read it.

I need my glasses and I need a magnifying glass to read it.

I just think it's beautifully done and it's got

so much history attached to it, hasn't it? Yes.

I mean, I've seen examples, of course,

in churches where you have those wonderful pictorial illuminations,

you know, with the figures and the gold.

I mean, this is much more delicately done. Where did you find it?

Well, I found it on an online auction house about eight years ago,

and I fell in love with it and paid and went and got it.

And you paid a lot of money for it, did you?

Um, well, I paid just under ?200 for it.

That doesn't sound an awful lot to me. When you think how old it is.

I know. I mean, it is incredibly fascinating and I think, to me,

I would love to have that frame just on my wall.

With all the technology we have today

and all the things we can do... Yes, yes.

700 years ago, somebody was sitting there,

just scribing away, tiny little writing. Yes.

And why have you brought it along,

because you're not from the United Kingdom, are you?

No, we are actually from Belgium

and we love your programme and we watch it every day.

Record it when we're not there. Really?

Yes, we do, and so we thought we would come along to

an actual Flog It! valuation

and be on the programme, and here we are.

Wow! And try and sell it.

You've made my day, bringing this. I've learnt an awful lot as well,

which is what antiques are all about, really. Yes, it is.

Every day is different. You never know quite what's going to show up,

particularly on a Flog It! valuation day.

Absolutely. How on earth do we value it?

Because you paid just under ?200 for it, and I look at it

and think that I probably, if I sold it without knowing that,

would have put ?200-300 on it. Mm-hm.

I mean, would you be happy to put a ?200 reserve on it?

Er, yes, we would but it would be a fixed reserve.

A fixed reserve, yes. We wouldn't sell it under ?200.

No, that's right. Well, I'm really excited about the auction.

Will you be able to make it back for it?

Yes, we will make a special trip from Brussels to come to the auction.

All the way from Brussels? Absolutely. Yes.

Well, I'm really excited. I hope you have a wonderful day.

Thank you so much. We'll have a grand time!

A page from a Bible, written and used at the time of

this cathedral's creation - that's quite extraordinary.

Next up, Caroline's outside with the painting Mark spotted.

She's got a theory on its origins.

So, Lorraine, thank you for bringing this lovely picture along.

Tell me, how did it come into your possession?

I don't know who he is and my husband was left him by an elderly lady,

and because he liked her and she said he could have it.

And it was somebody your husband worked for?

Well, he done odd jobs for her and I did her cleaning for her.

And do you know how she came by it?

She bought it years ago when she used to travel.

Yeah. Now, he looks like he's travelled a bit, doesn't he?

He does, a seafarer. Yeah, he looks a seafarer, he does.

And, to me, he does look as if he has some maritime connection. Yeah.

And he's got a twinkle in his eye, hasn't he? Yes, yes.

So we have a signature down here - J M Beek.

It's an oil on canvas with the original frame.

We have had a look at the back of it and it says Volendam,

which is a northern area of Holland.

And later, in the early part of the 20th century,

it became a little artists' enclave

and people such as Renoir and Picasso worked there.

Yeah. Yes, so I've looked and looked

and I can't make that say either Renoir or Picasso. No, no.

I'm sorry, Lorraine, but it all

sort of ties in that this could be from an artist around there

and this gentleman could well be a sailor from that area of Holland.

We have to do some more research

but there is a possibility it could be by Jurrien Marinus Beek,

in which case, some of his pictures have sold in auction for quite a considerable amount,

so we do need to do some extra research on this

but, as it is, he's a lovely picture.

Now, why are you selling him?

Well, we asked the family and... Nobody in the family wants it?

No, nobody at all. Right. Well, in that case,

it's probably a very good time to sell him. Yes.

Now I will put at this stage

an estimate - a conservative estimate - of ?200-?300. Right, yes.

And we'll put a fixed reserve of ?200... Right.

..but pending further research,

because he could well do a lot better than that. Right, yeah.

Are you happy with that, Lorraine? Yes! Yes!

I can see you're very happy with that. Yes, yeah.

He looks happy, too, doesn't he? He does, yeah.

By the time I've had a few more glasses of wine tonight,

I'll look like him, I expect, and me husband!

THEY LAUGH

We find out later if this is by the famous J M Beek

and how that affects the price.

Not everyone who comes to a valuation day

wants to sell their belongings.

You can come along and get a valuation

or bring us a piece of local history that will get us excited,

and I met a local hotelier who's done just that.

Well, it is Devon, isn't it?

We couldn't come here without having a cream tea, and the sun is shining,

and while our experts are working hard inside and outside,

I thought I'd come outside and have a chat to Ben.

Now, this has a lot of local connections, doesn't it?

It does, indeed, yeah.

This is a photograph of the Tamar Bridge around 1960

and this gentleman here is my grandfather. Incredible.

What I find really interesting about it is the lack of health and safety.

Oh, yes, yeah! The catwalks and everything.

When you think about it, the mid '60s isn't that long ago, is it?

That's right. But there is no health and safety.

Yeah. My nan took my mum down to see the construction of it

and you can just make out some little baskets here. Yes.

They were for men to be suspended in to clean the concrete. You're joking!

They spotted somebody doing that and went, "Look at that poor man!"

Turns out that was my grandad. Oh, dear!

I bet she used to make his packed lunch for him as well

and he used to sit up there and eat it. Yeah.

Photography is a wonderful way of capturing our social history and

our heritage and I expect every time you go over that, you think of him.

I certainly do, yeah.

Later in the show, I'll be meeting an award-winning photographer

to find out how to take the perfect picture.

Cath, how are you? I'm fine, thank you.

Now, have you brought your supporters with you here?

I have, yes. Who are these?

This is Lorraine, my manageress from Cancer Research UK. Oh, right.

And this is Pat. Pat. Also a volunteer.

Oh, so this is from the Cancer Research shop, is it?

Yes, that's a donation. Oh, wow!

We've had it on our stockroom shelf for six months or so. Gosh!

We knew it was interesting but...

Well, we wanted to get it valued as we didn't want to undersell it.

No, quite right. Well, I'm so glad you've brought it into us today

cos I just absolutely love this type of ware.

It comes from the sort of art nouveau arts and crafts period.

It's harking back to that period where everything was handmade,

the use of this hand-beaten copper with these almost Celtic designs,

and these lovely little cabochons, which are pottery,

you know, little pottery cabochons.

There's one that's been quite badly broken. Yes, it's a shame, isn't it?

But it's still there, that's the main thing. Yes.

You know, somebody hasn't thrown it away.

And it's just a delightful little piece. Not signed, unfortunately.

There's no signature.

But there are two main schools in the country that we associate

this type of ware with. One is Newlyn, down in Cornwall... Yes.

..which we're not far away from, actually... No, no.

..and the other one is Keswick in Cumbria. Yes.

So it's difficult to say which one but I'm glad you didn't put it out

because you might have sold it for ?15 or something.

Well, that was the thing. That would be horrible, wouldn't it? Yes.

We'd certainly not seen anything like that in the shop before.

No. Well, it's amazing what people do bring into charity shops.

And we've had it a long time as well, haven't we? Yes.

I think we've got to be sensible with the estimate,

and I'd like to see an estimate of maybe ?60-?100 on it. Yes.

And we'll put a reserve on it at ?50. Yes.

Cos if it doesn't sell for ?50,

I think it's worth protecting for later. Oh, yes.

I think you'd like to buy it yourself!

I would love to but, of course, I'm not allowed to, unfortunately, no.

So you'd like to flog it? We would. We'll put it into auction, shall we?

Yes. We might raise you some much needed funds for your charity shop.

Oh, yes, that would be good. Fantastic. That would be good, yes.

Thank you so much, all three of you. ALL: Thank you.

There you go, look.

It's musical chairs here but this is how the queue works, you see.

We all get a ticket number and move along,

and get a seat so you can wait and enjoy and watch what's going on.

Ah. It's good fun, isn't it? Very.

And it's your turn soon, fingers crossed,

but now it's over to auction for the first time today

as our experts have found their first items.

I've got my favourites, you've probably got yours.

Let's find out what the auctioneer thinks.

This page of a pocket Bible is as old as the cathedral walls.

Let's hope there's divine intervention at the auction room.

Arts and crafts material has an enduring appeal,

so this dish should make the charity a bit of cash.

And will anyone want to take this craggy fellow home?

The Tamar Bridge we saw in Ben's photo

was the first road bridge to connect Devon and Cornwall,

and it sits next to Brunel's famous railway bridge.

When it opened in 1961, it was the longest suspension bridge in the UK.

Take a drive seven miles east

and you'll reach our auction house for today.

The man providing the bridge between the buyers

and the sellers is auctioneer Anthony Eldridge.

On the day before the auction, I caught up with him

to chat about that painting.

We're surrounded by fine art and antiques

and this one is one of ours. I've just taken it off the wall.

Anthony, is it JM Beek? This belongs to Lorraine.

Caroline wasn't sure if it was by the Dutch artist.

Have you done any further work? Yes, we have.

We've had a good look and,

whilst it's not typical of the sort of work that he did,

the signature's right and the style's right

so, yes, we think it's right.

It looks OK to me. It does look OK.

Subject matter-wise, typical of a Dutchman.

I'm not keen on sort of...

Let's put it this way, sort of being polite to this gentleman,

wrinkly, sort of liney gentleman with lots of character.

Yes, well, I agree.

It's not a classically attractive view, is it?

Has this put the value up, now we know it's definitely by Beek?

I don't think the attribution will make it a more attractive picture.

Let's face it, ?200 nowadays for an oil like this, of this age,

signed by a named artist, framed up,

is not a lot of money for an original work of art.

But look, fingers crossed, it gets the top end. Indeed.

Well, the sale room's filling up. This is where it gets exciting.

I absolutely love auctions, it's the best part of the show,

because you can never tell what's going to happen.

What will be the fate of the weathered sailor?

Well, Lorraine wants rid of him so she's lowered the reserve to ?100.

Well, every picture tells a story.

Let's hope this one has a great ending.

Lorraine, it's great to see you. I like your little oil painting.

Not the kind of thing I would have on my wall.

I prefer to go for pretty women or officers in uniforms

but I understand the character.

It's a nice thing, had a chat to Anthony,

he agreed the value was dead on, spot on, at ?100-?200, so...

It could fly.

Some of his work of landscapes have got quite considerably more money

but this portrait - possibly not. We'll hope.

Nevertheless, a good Dutch artist in its contemporary frame -

it's got a bit going for it. Right. Good luck. Thank you.

Let's find out what the bidders think. It's going under the hammer.

Little portrait of a fisherman or a seaman, there it is.

And I'm bid ?80 for it.

Against you all, at 80.

At ?80, 90, 100.

At ?100, 10 if you want it, and 10, 120.

At 120 now. 130.

At 130 here. Take five.

At ?130.

At ?130, then, I'll sell at 130.

BANGS GAVEL ?130, well done.

Are you happy? Yes, I am.

Well, you didn't like looking at it, so you don't have to any more.

No. That's lovely, thank you. Thank you for bringing it in.

That's all right, thank you.

Well, the painting might not be to my taste,

but it charmed this man and we found out why.

I came here to buy another painting, which I got,

and I saw that one and I thought, "That's rather nice,"

and it comes from Holland, I think from Volendam,

which I visited a number of times on cycling holidays.

Well, our next owners, Hans and Norma,

have come all the way from Brussels today to join the show,

so thank you so much for that.

We're selling what is possibly one of the oldest things

I've seen on the show for a long, long time.

It's a page from a French pocket Bible dating back to the 13th century,

all handwritten on vellum, and it is a wonderful little gem.

I know we have a value of ?200-?300 on this by you, Mark.

That's right.

I think this is really nice. It's a work of art within itself.

All these are handwritten by a scribe. And it's tiny as well.

Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. The calligraphy is absolutely wonderful.

Hopefully, we can send you home with a bit of money. That would be nice.

Fingers crossed. It's going under the hammer now.

Let's find out what the bidders in Plymouth think of this.

Lot 36 is the next lot,

which is this page from a 13th-century pocket Bible.

?160 for that. At 160.

At 160, 170, 180. At 180 now.

At ?180. Are you all done, then, at 180?

Come on, come on, come on.

Quite short, 180.

He didn't sell it. That can't quite be sold. Not quite, one bid away.

NORMA: It can't be auctioned. Yes, one bid away.

He was calling for 180, we had a ?200 reserve. Yes, we did.

It's a difficult thing because maybe in a specialist sale

with other works, it might have done a bit better. Yeah.

Well, I don't mind taking it back home with me at all.

At least it's not very heavy.

No, exactly! But it was exciting to be here. Oh, thank you so much.

And bless you as well, and keep watching the show in Belgium.

We will, we will.

It may not have sold but it was a delight to see

such an ancient piece of calligraphy.

Let's hope the auction gods are kinder to our ladies from Exeter.

Cathy, Lorraine and Pat, it's great to see you again.

Who's manning the charity shop today? Some other volunteers.

I was going to say!

Well, thank you for coming along. It's quite exciting for you.

We're talking about that lovely little copper arts and crafts dish

in the style of Archibald Knox.

I think there's a lot going for this,

I really do, and at ?50, it's sensibly pitched. It should do.

I love the little cabochons on it. They're beautiful.

So do I. A good spot as well. Who was the one who spotted it first?

Well, it came into me. Did it? Yes.

And you thought, "Ooh, let's take this along to Flog It!"

We did, yes. Well, let's put it to the test right now.

It's going under the hammer. The auctioneer's talking about it.

447 - it's an arts and crafts beaten rectangular beaten copper dish.

There it is, several bids, they're all on the book and I'm bid ?75.

Against you all at 75, 80, five, 90, five.

At 95, then. At ?95.

Any more in the room at 95?

Sell it, then, at 95.

That was it, short and sweet. That was tremendous.

The hammer's gone down, ?95.

Well, it wasn't signed or anything, Paul,

but I still think there might have been a bit of room in that.

Well, we're happy, aren't we? We are, yes.

And it's all going to a good cause and that's the main thing.

And do keep bringing more things in, won't you, if you find them?

Put them into auction.

Well, that concludes our first visit to the auction today.

Now, while we were filming in the area,

I got a lesson in how to capture its natural beauty with the click of a button.

Of all the crafts and artistic pursuits that we see on the show,

photography is perhaps the one we are all most familiar with and,

let's face it, we all love looking at glossy images in magazines.

For nearly 200 years,

the professionals have been earning a living from their craft

but, today, it's the turn of the amateur,

with subscriptions to magazines and photography websites increasing all the time,

and we all own a mobile phone with the facility to take pictures on it,

and all of us are constantly going snap, snap, snap, snap,

documenting our own social history.

The first permanent photo was taken in 1825 by Joseph Niepce

and, by partnering with Louis Daguerre,

the earliest practical camera was invented.

It was called the Daguerreotype and, over the next 100 years,

experiments with process and materials

brought photography into sharp focus.

By the mid-20th century, people were saying 'cheese' in full colour

and using their cameras to expose the reality of war and famine.

And in 1988, a pivotal moment arrived

in the form of a compact case, the first high street digital camera.

The landscape of photography was about to change forever.

One local man who's been riding the digital wave is Jeremy Rata.

He's exhibited at the National Gallery

and he's even photographed the royals.

He travels to far-flung destinations

and stays at home in Devon to record the landscape in all its glory,

and that landscape is available to all of us.

Jeremy, just about to ruin your shot! Hi there. Hi, Paul.

Thanks for meeting up with me today, and what a perfect day as well.

The weather's kind to us. We'll have a good lesson later on.

What makes a good photograph?

I mean, we all take holiday snaps and, sometimes, they're incredible,

but it's fluke.

It has to have some kind of message or meaning, in my book.

It's got to be perfectly composed, it's got to be at the moment.

The timing has to be fantastic, lights, all this kind of thing,

light being possibly the most important of all. Mm.

Let's take today for instance. Let's just say I had a camera on me now

and I wanted to take a shot out there as I think that's stunning.

Would that work or is the sun in the wrong place?

No, the sun is absolutely in the wrong place.

Whilst that's a lovely shot, it's not a shot I would happily take.

That river you can see there is leading nowhere and so,

as a result, there's no story being told there.

It's just trees, a bit of water and some sky.

I can see where you're coming from. It's the story behind it.

Where can we capture that?

Yeah, just round the corner here.

We'll go and have a look at the river leading into Totnes

and see if we can get a picture of that. OK.

Our Devon backdrop is the Sharpham Estate

on the banks of the River Dart.

Oh, gosh, I see what you mean. That's Totnes and we've got the...

That's the River Dart, isn't it, just sort of weaving...

Yeah, just going straight into it, and it's kind of telling a story,

harking back to... When you look at great oil paintings,

that has the wonderful composition that you would see in

a Canaletto or something, doesn't it? Absolutely.

You can imagine in the old days, when they went down there by boat -

which is surely how they would have done -

they'd turn that corner and see this beautiful town in front of them,

and suddenly the uplift in spirit - the journey's nearly done, you're nearly there.

So what do you do? Do you get the right height, what do you do now?

It's about composition now.

It's a balancing act because what you don't want is too much foreground.

OK, because it's boring.

Exactly. So you've got to get a balance between foreground and sky.

But also, as you can see here, we're looking slightly down on the river.

The lower down you go, the less of the river you see.

So you're on the...? Yeah, so it's kind of...

I would probably go down to here, maybe even on my knees. Yeah.

What about the trees there -

will you use that as a border to frame the picture?

We'll use those to frame it. It's purely composition.

That can be done just as easily with a compact

as it can with an expensive camera.

OK. Snap away, then. All right.

I've got to remember all this!

OK, portraiture.

Yes. Taking pictures of people's faces,

which is quite important, really, cos that's what we all love to do.

Most people don't want to have their photograph taken. Secretly, they do.

But there's something about it that they feel uncomfortable or awkward,

so the best thing you can do, when taking a portrait,

is set yourself up,

make sure you know what you want to achieve before you do it,

and then bring them slowly and gently into it.

Talk to them, explain it to them, and the more you can do that,

the more they'll become subconsciously relaxed,

and that's when you'll get the right photograph.

OK, we have a farmer, Dave, who's agreed to have his...

He's looking thrilled about it, too(!) He is, yeah!

Dave, do you mind coming and helping us with Bracken? And Bracken.

OK, these are your cows, Dave. How do you do? How are you?

If you come with me,

what I'm going to do is try and get you, to start off with,

stood up here and get the cows to come round if we can, with Bracken.

Bracken! And, at some stage, just to get the sun balanced with you,

I might just pop a light over your head. OK. Got it? Right.

You get going. Come on!

Come on, come on, come on. Come on!

Poor old Dave! He's got some legwork now to do. Yeah.

What they say is, "Never work with animals"!

Bracken's managed to turn the cows around. Brilliant. Mind you, if...

That's quite an impressive sight, isn't it? That really is.

Bracken! Gosh, you can see how quickly you have to work, don't you?

Look straight at me.

Jeremy's got an assistant who's just bouncing the light on Dave's face,

which you could do with a built-in flash, if you want, on a camera.

Brilliant. Really love that.

Right, taking all that on board - there's a lot to remember -

Jeremy has lent me one of his cameras.

It's got a standard zoom lens. I've set it on automatic,

so the camera's going to do all the work for me.

I can now focus on my composition, subject matter and the right light.

I'm going to start with portraiture and then get onto

the more difficult subject of landscape photography after this.

Let's go and find some members of the general public and snap away.

Right, Jake, here we go.

So far, so good.

Look at me.

Yes, thank you very much.

Thank you!

I'm happy with that. Let's go and see what Jeremy thinks of these.

Right, Jeremy, thanks for the use of the camera.

I know you've downloaded my photographs onto your laptop.

So now is the moment we can reveal how bad they are.

This first one we're looking at, the lady with the hydrangea -

it's absolutely a spot-on photograph. It captures everything you need.

It's got humour in it, she's clearly relaxed,

she's got a slight smile on her face. She's got an interesting face.

You've picked the right subject,

haven't cluttered it up in the background by something too distracting.

That is as good a photograph as you'll take in that situation.

It's a really, really good photograph. Oh, thank you.

Then you did this. Oh, yes, the chap with the raspberries.

Now, you've turned that into black and white. I have.

Why did you do that?

If I'd left that in colour, your eyes would have been

immediately drawn to the colour of the raspberries.

Cos they're bright red at the bottom, you just look at them.

Now you're looking at him, and that is a timeless photograph.

Can we have a look at your landscapes and not mine because...

We can. Mine were awful, mine were awful!

OK. Well, your landscape wasn't your best. No.

And the reason I say it's not your best...

There's nothing wrong with it at all, technically it's fine,

but you've got a white sky, which is a bit dull.

It's a bit flat as an image. There's some good points you've got.

You've got the slopes going down, so you can tell that it is sloped.

There's good points to it but it certainly isn't your best. No, OK.

Well, thank you very much for spending a bit of time with me

and sharing some of your skills as well. I WILL remember it.

I'll focus on my weak points and do some more landscapes,

so thank you very much.

It's the hardest one. Thank you very much.

Well, there you are, look - all printed and framed up.

I'm really happy with these. I like the portrait as well.

I think I've captured a slice of Devon life with this one,

and that's what it's all about.

A camera isn't just for Christmas or for holiday snaps,

it's a craft that you can enjoy and develop,

so go on, give it a go!

Welcome back to our valuation day at Exeter Cathedral.

Not only have we taken over the inside of the cathedral,

but it looks like hundreds of people have turned up outside

to enjoy the sunshine and the fun.

ALL: We love Flog It!

Liz, it's nearly time for afternoon tea, isn't it? It certainly is.

And wouldn't we look elegant having tea out of a tea set like this? Yes.

It's wonderful, isn't it? It certainly is, yes.

Now, how long have you had it? Oh, probably about 50 years. Wow!

Was it inherited? Yes. Grandmother. Grandmother. Mm-hmm.

I'm really excited about this

because it's everything you want to see in a William IV tea set. Right.

Because the style just shouts out William IV.

You've got this lovely sort of low, melon-shaped body.

With its wonderful casting, and its cast feet,

with the applied sort of stylised leaves,

this lovely finial here, which is cast separately,

which is in the form of a sort of melon nesting on its leaves.

The handles are nice and high and scrolled,

you've got detailing on the spouts,

and a lovely scalloped form on the sugar bowl and the cream jug.

Gilded inside, of course,

to help protect the silver from the acids in the sugar and milk.

It's a jolly big sugar bowl, that, isn't it? I think so. It really is.

You need jolly big tongs to go with it. You do.

Well, of course, in those days,

sugar wasn't quite as refined as we know it today,

so they often had big lumps in there that they chiselled away,

which is why it's rather on the large side.

The other exciting thing about it,

when you look at something like this,

you just know it's going to be made by a good maker. Yes.

And if I turn it upside down, we've got a full set of hallmarks,

which dates to 1834. Yes.

And you've got the makers here, which are Messrs Bahner Brothers.

They are a very well-known maker of very good quality silverware.

Mm-hmm. And it's just a lovely thing.

I wish we had some scones and cucumber sandwiches to go with it.

It would be very nice indeed, yes.

I'd like to put an estimate of ?800-?1,200 on it... Yes.

..with an 800 fixed reserve. Yes, that sounds fair.

To protect it, which I think sounds fair. Yes.

And I just hope, at the sale room, people see the quality I see in it.

Yes. Because it is beautiful. Yes, it certainly is.

And it might pour us a jolly good price on the day.

That would be very nice. I'll look forward to seeing it at the auction.

Thank you very much indeed. You're welcome, Liz.

It's been a real privilege to spend the day amongst

the stone and glass of Exeter Cathedral,

a building that permeates the stories of years gone by,

and I met a man who's well versed in its past and its future.

Jonathan, you're the Dean here at the cathedral.

Thank you very much for letting us... It's a great pleasure.

..fill the house today.

I know everybody's enjoying the atmosphere and soaking it up.

You have two wonderful items related to the church.

One is John Bishop's ring, which dates to the mid 1300s.

Mm-hm. Can you tell me a little bit about this ring?

Well, Bishop John Grandisson

was one of the great figures in the history of Exeter Cathedral,

and this ring was found in the mortuary chapel in the 1950s

when they did some restoration work in there,

but it's in fabulous condition for something

that was made, probably, in about 1350.

And very precious to the cathedral. Indeed.

And something else you brought along -

it's a roll of parchment which is a bill of quantities.

This is from 1299/1300. Which is incredible, isn't it?

But it does give you...

You know, we've got so many bits of stone from the Beer Quarry

and we've got so many people on the building working and we need,

you know, X number of whatevers.

And this lists everything that they did.

I mean, it's a fantastic piece. It's a great document, it really is.

And not all of them are yet translated.

Well, good luck with that. Thank you.

And thank you once again. It's a great pleasure.

There's a couple of modern additions, isn't there?

There are. Which I've just noticed, looking over your shoulder.

Yes, they look a bit fuzzy from here cos we need 3-D glasses.

Oh, is that what they are? It's a 3D installation.

These are all bits of carving from within the cathedral

or on some of the monuments,

and it's part of celebrating 900 years of this building.

It's quite astonishing to think that we're here,

walking around a cathedral built in the 12th century,

walking around with 3-D glasses. It's fantastic.

Back at the tables, Mark's found something to make his eyes light up.

Hello, Lorraine. Hello, Mark.

Now, are you an Exeter girl? Sort of. Sort of.

So you've been to the cathedral many times? Oh, yes. Yes.

Beautiful spot, isn't it?

I went to a convent school in Exeter

so we often used to come to the cathedral.

Oh, I'm sure you did, yes.

Now, you've brought a bit of gold in to show us today. I have, yes.

Is it family pieces? It's pieces that came from my godmother.

But I don't know anything of the history, other than that,

except that one wedding ring was hers - the small one -

and the larger one was her mother's.

Well, Lorraine, I must admit, you're not short of a ring or two, are you?

No, no. I mean, let's have a look.

I mean, you're like a Christmas tree, dear!

Oh, I don't know about that!

THEY LAUGH

The interesting thing with wedding rings, I think, up until a certain point,

people used to buy second-hand wedding rings, particularly back,

you know, before the Second World War where money was a lot tighter.

That's it. Yes, yes.

And people would often buy a second-hand wedding ring.

It's sad, really, isn't it, to think...

I mean, these pieces have been around for quite a long time. Yes.

But they will probably end up being melted down... I expect so, yes.

..to be made into something new. Yes.

So, really, these are quite simple things to value.

We've got two 22 carat gold wedding bands

and a nine carat gold hollow link bracelet with a padlock.

Yes. Is it because of the nine carat

and the 22 that they're different colours?

Yes, it is. It is a slightly rose gold as well

because there's been a little bit of copper put into it... Oh!

..to make it a rose gold. Yes.

And nine carat, obviously, has less gold content. Yes, yes.

22 carat is almost pure gold. Yes, I understand that.

So you've got a much nicer, mellower yellow colour to that. Yes, yes.

But I think we'd probably suggest putting it in as a little group lot.

Yes. And we'd be looking at an estimate of something like ?300-?400.

Oh, that sounds... Is that all right with you? Yes, that sounds good.

We want to fix a reserve and I would probably suggest the reserve at 280.

Yes. Fixed. Yes. So we won't sell it below that.

Below 200, no.

A lot of it will vary, of course, on the price of gold on the day.

That's it, yes.

Will you be sad to see them go?

They've been in your possession for a while.

They've been in a drawer and I don't look at them much,

so I'll try to get the money.

It's not like you can put them on a wall!

Not really, no. You can't display them.

You can put the money into something you want,

a picture or a piece of porcelain or something.

Thank you very much for coming to see us.

Thank you very much. And we'll meet again. Yes.

Step outside and just look what Caroline's found,

but surely they won't fit their owner.

Adrian, tell me, how does a man like you

end up with five pairs of fabulous ladies' shoes?

Well, my girlfriend Heather's at work today,

so she told me to bring them in and see if they were worth anything.

Well, I'm so glad you have.

They're absolutely beautiful

and they've caused such a stir with all the ladies around today.

They actually come from New York,

from a fabulous department store, Bergdorf Goodman,

and they're all from the same store.

They're beautifully made with leather, satin,

little rhinestone buckles.

They really are fabulous quality.

And this - excuse the pun -

but it would have to be a very well-heeled lady that bought these.

They're not for your average lady at all.

They're really beautiful, and they date from the 1920s, 1930s,

and as the hemlines got shorter, from the Edwardian times,

the length of ladies' skirts rose.

Therefore, their ankles and feet were on show,

so they needed to buy these beautiful shoes, and they're tiny.

You can't help but notice how petite they are.

They're very narrow, they're about a size 3 or 4, I would think,

a modern size 3 or 4, but very slim.

Price-wise, I would think, to sell them...

Again, it's better to keep them as a collection

and I would put an estimate of between

150 and 250 for the collection,

and if we put a fixed reserve of ?150, would you be happy with that?

Yes, I think that'd be OK, yes.

So, fingers crossed, and I'm so delighted you've brought them.

I love them! And do thank Heather very much. I will do.

Well, that was our last valuation.

Our experts have now made their final choices, so it's time

to say farewell to Exeter Cathedral, our marvellous backdrop for today.

Everybody has thoroughly enjoyed themselves

and we've had such a diverse mix of items,

and I can't wait to put this next lot under the hammer.

Here's a quick recap of what we're taking with us.

You get a lot of sugar bowl for your money with this tea set

and it's of the finest quality.

Will it reach the top end of the estimate?

Vintage fashion is a hot topic at auction

but will anybody be interested in shoes so small?

It's all about the price of gold for this lot

but will bullion be high or low on the day?

Find out in a few moments' time.

Back in the auction room,

antiques and collectables are flying out of the door

but will the bidders be interested in the Flog It! lot?

Lorraine, are you here testing out the gold market? Well, sort of.

Sort of, yeah! It's quite buoyant right now. Very.

Gold is holding its own, silver has dropped dramatically. Has it?

Over the last year, yeah.

It's dropped from ?30 an ounce right down to ?18 an ounce. Mm.

But you've got two lots of 22 carat gold and one lot of nine carat gold.

Yes. That's right, so it just depends on the gold price today, doesn't it?

Yes. Right, OK, let's get on with this, shall we?

Let's see what this makes. Here we go.

On next to lot 232 - two 22 carat gold wedding bands

and some other gold bits and pieces there.

And several bids, I'm bid ?390.

Wow! Ooh!

Wow! 400, and 10, 420,

430, 440.

At ?440 in the room.

At 440? Finished, then, at ?440.

That's a fantastic result, isn't it?

It is, isn't it? BOTH: 440! Pow!

That's a lot to go towards the gardening.

It is, yes. You can spend that down the garden centre.

I like flower arranging, so I shall grow some cut flowers as well.

Good for you.

The precious metal continues to climb above our estimates

and it looks pretty good on shoes, too.

Going under the hammer right now - five pairs of 1930s ladies' shoes,

belonging to Heather, I should say, not Adrian,

although we saw you at the valuation day. Yes.

But they are your shoes. They're mine, yeah.

And you bought these all at once. I did, yeah.

Even though they weren't your size. Yes.

Because you just fell in love with them. So pretty!

Did you put them on display at home, just to admire them?

I did, yeah. I had them in a cabinet. They look smashing.

Bergdorf Goodman of New York, purveyors of quality.

Let's put them to the test and, hopefully,

there's some textile collectors here. You never know.

We're in good company -

there's a lot of vintage clothing here, so fingers crossed.

This is it, here we go. Let's hope they run.

Lot 352 - it's a pair of evening shoes, there's five pairs in total.

There they are, and ?100 for those. At 110, 120.

At ?120, 30 if you want them.

At 120. 130, 140.

At 140.

150 now.

At ?150. Against the room at 150.

At ?150, then. Quite sure, everybody?

At ?150.

Sold to somebody on the phone. They're gone! Bang on the reserve.

Bang on the reserve. You feel a bit sad, don't you, actually?

I do, I do! I can see that.

It's the story of us, really, those shoes, as well.

That's how you met, is it?

Well, we started collecting together over the years

and then Heather fell in love with the shoes.

I collected Bakelite radios but the pact was if the shoes go,

then my Bakelite radios will go in the future. Ah.

Maybe we'll see Adrian and his radios at our next valuation day.

Going under the hammer right now, we have a whole lot of silver,

46 ounces of it - William IV's tea set - and it belongs to Liz,

who is selling the family silver, aren't you? I certainly am.

Been in the family a long time, 50-odd years. Yes, 50 years.

Good luck. Thank you very much.

It's going under the hammer right now,

let's find out what the bidders in Plymouth think of this.

Next lot is lot 97.

It's a William IV three-piece tea service by Barnards.

Several bids for it.

Several bids - that's good. I'm bid 850.

Oh, straight to 850. 850?

At ?850, 900, and 50, 1,000.

Oh, wonderful!

Come on, a bit more, though.

At ?1,000. Any more in the room at 1,000?

At 1,000, then. Bidding or no?

At ?1,000.

Well, that's it. All done, then, at ?1,000.

And 50. Oh, wow! Ooh! Great!

At ?1,100. Phone line, straight in.

At ?1,100, I'll sell it.

?1,100.

BANGS GAVEL

That was a whopping great sold sound, wasn't it? That was cracking!

That was wonderful.

Happy with that? Very happy. Good.

Is this is your first auction? It is. What do you think?

It won't be my last. It won't be your last, no!

You've got the auction bug. And hopefully, you'll get that, too.

What a way to end the show! Thank you so much.

Liz is happy, Mark's happy, I'm happy.

I hope you've enjoyed today's show as well.

If you've got anything like that, we would love to sell it for you,

but until then, from Plymouth, it's goodbye from all of us.