Rochester Flog It!

Today we're in a city which boasts England's second oldest cathedral, which is over there,

and it also has one of England's most impressive 12th century castles which is over there. Where are we?

I'm going to tell you in just a moment.

Today we're in the historic city of Rochester

and some 2,000 years ago it was a Roman stronghold

and it's seen its fair share of invasions, skirmishes and battles

but today, of course, it's much quieter.

Charles Dickens spent many of his childhood days here and it left quite an impression on him.

Both Great Expectations and Pickwick Papers used Rochester as a setting.

The setting for Flog It! today is the Corn Exchange on the High Street

so let's go inside and see who the pick of the experts are.

Philip Serrel is on hand today and together with Elizabeth Talbot

they'll be investigating the people of Rochester's possessions.

Have you lived with these vases a long time, Geoff?

Yes, they've come into the family about 30 years ago.

My mother's aunt,

she gave them to us when I cleared her house out while she was going into a home

and she told me the story where she got them from.

Her husband brought them back from the Boer War when it had finished

and this was a present he brought back for her.

Okey-dokey.

My mum always had them on show in the living room

until one day one of my other aunts, she came in one day and said, "That looks rude!"

And on the particular vase here, she said it looks like a bare bottom.

After that day my mother always turned them around to show the back picture.

Suddenly realised she was being a bit risque. I see.

I can see where she gets that misinterpretation from

but I think actually they are a nice example of 19th century porcelain

copying very much the Sevres factory of the day

and the quality's there of a high quality factory but it's not quite in the league of Sevres.

And they're all hand-painted and the paintings of these lovers' trysts and assignations

was very much a form of decoration which they loved in the 19th century and 18th century for that matter,

but it was very much of the vogue and of the time.

And I think what you've got here are some very dramatic vases, they're unusually large.

-So you struggle to find a home for them now, do you?

-Yeah, they're too risky to leave on the side.

-Risky or risque?

-Risky!

They're not very stable and my boys charge around, they could get knocked off.

I've had them stored away, they've been put in the loft.

They have survived in lovely condition.

As you say, there's nice activity on the front

and on the back as is often the case with these vases you have a more simple floral decoration.

I think they felt they had to do something with the back of a vase and there was a lot of space to fill

so they practised their floral skills.

I've always used to like the turquoise colour, it's nice, isn't it?

It works very, very well and sets off the other enamel colours very well too.

-Do you know what you might like to achieve at auction?

-£200 or £300.

You'd be happy with that sort of level. I think they should.

A sensible estimate would be in the region of about £250 to maybe £400 for them,

with a reserve, if you're happy at about £200, would be good.

-Do you fancy having a go?

-Yeah.

-Think your mother's aunt would approve?

-Yeah.

-We'll see what we can do then.

-So Phil, how are you?

-Not so bad.

-Little black box.

-Yes, a dressing-table set.

-How old's that?

I would say 1960s, definitely.

-A 1960s dressing-table set.

-Yeah.

-1960s dressing-table set.

-1960s dressing-table set.

-Right. Ready?

-I'm ready, yeah.

-That's brilliant! The Beatles.

-Yes.

-I think these are great. Can I ask you a very rude question?

-Yes.

-How old are you?

-I'm 55.

-Clearly I'm a lot younger!

Not much. I'm 52 and these things are like childhood memories, aren't they?

Oh, yeah.

That's absolutely... So we've got a hand mirror.

You've got a little comb that's got nothing on it at all,

we've got a brush here

all with the same pose.

Paul, George, John and Ringo and then we've got the little compact.

I think these are great, absolutely great.

Were these something you brought as a child or were given to you?

-No, I bought them six months ago at a car-boot sale.

-You bought them in the last six months at a car boot.

Go on, how much did you pay for these?

-I paid for the whole lot...

-You've got more?

-I've got more.

-Beatles and all sorts?

-All Beatles, all Beatles memorabilia.

-So what did you pay?

-£90.

-For all of it?

-For all that, yes.

I'm going to start following you around car boot sales.

I think that this at auction...

We'll put an estimate on it of £100 to £200

and we'll put a reserve of £100 with about, you know,

give the auctioneer 10 to 15% discretion,, but I think that will sell.

And the reason why it will sell is because people will buy memories of their childhood.

I think it's great.

Jane, what's the story?

It used to belong to a grandmother and she passed away and it was left to my mum.

And my mum's had it ever since about 20 years ago.

OK, has it been on the wall all the time?

-No, just been sitting in the wardrobe or in a couple of sacks!

-It is Dutch school,

it's done by a very competent amateur.

It's not signed or dated which is a shame because if we could find who painted this

it would give it more credibility, provenance in the trade, we call it, that will add to the value.

There's nothing there. I'm pretty sure it's done by someone who is an amateur

that just loved doing this and he's captured it quite beautifully.

It's got some lovely rolling waves, a couple of Dutch sailing barges

coming into harbour and a few figures on the harbour side.

I like the frame.

The frame's contemporary to the picture

and I would date this at about 1850.

But looking at the back you can see the canvas is beautifully stretched.

It has been taken out of its frame and I think it's been to the restorers at some stage

-because look, one, two, there's a couple of canvas patches at the back so it's been punctured.

-Yeah.

It's either been torn or punctured.

And if we look at those areas, when I turn it back over,

they're glued onto the back, it's canvas on canvas

-and it's then literally the hole is just filled from the front.

-Right.

Built-up, polished off, repainted.

And they do use Polyfilla, believe it or not.

You can't see it, you can't see the repairs.

One's there

and the other one's just there.

-It's a pretty good repair.

-Yes.

Value. What would you put on this? What do you think it's worth?

I honestly wouldn't have a clue.

Anything's better than putting it back in the wardrobe, isn't it?

-Your mum doesn't mind you flogging this?

-No.

I would like to put this into auction with a valuation

-of £120 to £180.

-OK.

And let the auctioneer use the discretion on the £120.

I think it's a good furnishing picture, it deserves be on somebody's wall.

-Shall we sell it?

-Yeah.

Saves taking it home, doesn't it?

That's right.

-I'm intrigued by this. Can we erect it and see what comes out at the other end?

-Certainly.

Now I can see!

-What's the story behind it?

-It belonged to my ex-husband's grandmother

and was brought over from Hong Kong with the rest of their furnishings

because they were in the services out there.

Right. So you've acquired it.

I've acquired it, yes.

-Do you like it?

-It's a very nice piece but it lives in the loft.

-That is a shame.

-So somebody ought to use it and enjoy it rather than be stuck in a loft.

It's the Chinese equivalent of a lot of occasional tables which were very popular

late 19th and early 20th century that you see

I suppose well-to-do people and folks who could afford to have tea on the lawn

or move from room to room and take perhaps their writing accessories or their tea accessories around.

It's made of a fine quality rosewood which was one of the native woods that they used

and it's quite an expensive wood.

We see that it's been used over its life.

It's faded and it's got a bit of marking but if you look down to the under tier,

you see that the colour of that is more reminiscent

of what the whole of it would have looked like in its early years.

The vibrancy of polished rosewood is just so wonderful.

If you imagine Oriental artefacts, carved ivory and their fine ceramics

with a background of polished rosewood, it's a really stunning kind of combination of materials.

But typically reflective of the Oriental perspective on shape

and design, these wonderful legs which snake all the way down

and the stretchers which are combined with very angular lines,

these wonderful entwined circles, almost like Mon symbols on the bottom.

And then of course both top and bottom has this wonderful frieze,

pierced frieze of almost sinewy bamboo design and the whole thing works very, very well.

It's very architectural, very aesthetic, it's a beautiful thing.

Have you any idea what it might fetch?

-No idea at all.

-No, hazard a guess?

Not really. £150, possibly?

I actually think you're probably quite close to the mark.

I would be upset if it made less than £100 and I think realistically

an estimate of £120 to £180 is where I was thinking it would be pitched.

-A reserve in the region of about maybe £120 with discretion.

-Yes.

-Would that...

-Yes.

-..suit you?

-And then will you reinvest into something you can enjoy?

-Something small I can use in my house, yes.

Do you collect anything?

Dust!

Well, we're halfway through our day and the room is absolutely buzzing but it doesn't stop here.

Right now it's time for our first visit to the auction room.

Finger's crossed for our owners, let's hope we get the top end of their valuations.

From one cathedral city to another,

today's auction comes from Canterbury and we're the guests of the Canterbury Auction Galleries.

Tony Pratt is the man in charge and here's what's coming up.

Geoffrey's aunt may have thought them rude but this pair of 19th century hand-painted vases

may just tickle the fancy of a buyer.

Philip came over all nostalgic for this dressing-table set immortalising the Fab Four.

Pam's lovely maritime scene caught my eye, I think it should be a real winner with the Kentish buyers.

Elizabeth loved this pretty rosewood occasional table with its mixture of curves and straight lines.

Tony's been casting an eye over some of our items.

Tony, you look bemused, what do you think of this?

I think it stands a good chance, it's a new market, an emerging market.

I mean Sotheby's started auctions in 1981,

ever since then pop memorabilia has become flavour of the month.

Pop memorabilia is big business, the Beatles were huge business as well.

This is a dressing-table set and we've got £100 to £200 on this.

I personally think this might struggle.

It will do the lower end but I can't see it doing much more.

The condition's good, everything's going for it, but it's not the most exciting of items.

-It's not.

-It hasn't got any quality about it really.

-It doesn't say rock'n'roll and that's what pop memorabilia's about.

-Yeah.

It's Beatles, they're still number one, and the Beatles will command a premium compared to any other band,

but yes, it's going to struggle, I think.

Geoffrey's vases are just about to go under the hammer. These should do well, because they're a pair.

Nineteenth-century vases and pairs always do well.

They're a nice decorative pair they make a statement, don't they, a nice colour?

There's lots of people out there that just collect pairs and you're probably one of them watching now,

pairs of chairs, pairs of vases, pairs of sofas,

pairs of anything create good symmetry in a room, especially if the room is uneven.

A pair of vases will just even it up and it's a really nice focal point

so hopefully we've got the bidders in here today.

This is it, going under the hammer now.

44, the Continental porcelain turquoise glazed urn patterned vases,

16 inches high, being shown on the screen, lot 44.

They do look good.

£100 I have and 10 where? Who's £110?

£110 I have. £120, £130,

£130, £140, £150,

£160, £170, £180, £190,

£200, and 20, £220?

It's against you, £220, £220 I have, fresh bid. £240? £240 where?

Selling at £220, bid's in the doorway, all done at £220 then.

Hammer's gone down, that is a sold sound, not bad, £220.

-What are you going to put that towards? Less a little bit of commission.

-Gardening improvement.

A little birdie told me a drive, concrete the drive.

Yeah, yeah, I've been intending to do it now for the last 10 years now,

Now I've got some money I'll be able to afford the concrete!

Thanks. ..That's a good result.

Yeah, I'm pleased with that, yes, one pretty thing to another!

Well, we know rock and pop memorabilia is big business,

let's find out if it's going to be big business here today.

Right here, right now, with Philip and the Beatles pop memorabilia of the dressing table set

that you bought recently in a car-boot sale.

We've got a valuation of £100 to £200 put on by Philip.

We had a chat to the auctioneer earlier and he said it is big business

but he thinks this one will just get through at the lower end because with rock'n'roll memorabilia

you want something more dangerous, more punchy.

-Yeah, absolutely, but do you get that for £100?

-No!

So let's hope it just sells.

Let's hope we do get it away and hopefully get the top end

because the money is going towards relocating to Poland so good luck with that.

-Thanks.

-"Dobrze" they say in Poland.

No, they say "bardzo dobrze".

-Yeah.

-This is it, it's going under the hammer.

Original box set, lot 215,

excellent condition there. Who will start me at £100?

-Come on.

-£75 I have. £80 where?

£80, someone?

£80 I have, £85, £90, £95,

£100, selling at £110 on my right, all done at £110.

It's gone down, £110.

That was a hit, that was a hit.

That's good, isn't it? £110, it wasn't the top end but we did it.

That's it, that's it. It will help.

Have you met somebody Polish?

No, I met my wife, we've been married 20 years this month

and I've always promised her that she could go back to Poland.

-Is she Polish?

-She's Polish, yeah, so we're going back to Poland.

You obviously speak a little bit of Polish?

-A little bit.

-Been married 20 years.

-Unfortunately I haven't had time to learn it properly.

I will get the time when we get there later this year.

I hope you have a great new life there.

-Definitely will do.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

-That was close.

Who would have thought 40 years ago, that little Beatles dressing-table set

which cost shillings would make £100 and odd.

Good going.

Somebody's going to enjoy it.

It's now time to put that Dutch oil painting, the unsigned one, under the hammer.

I've been joined by its owner Jane. Hopefully for not much longer.

We are going to flog this here today in this heat.

The bidders aren't sitting on the fence so fingers crossed, we should get the top end.

-And I guess you just want to flog it because it doesn't suit your house?

-No.

-No?

What sort of look do you have?

-Just more modern.

-Just more contemporary.

-Yeah.

-So what kind of art would you put on the wall?

-Prints.

-I don't blame you.

Fingers crossed, let's hope the purist art lovers are here and they love that sort of maritime scene.

-Fingers crossed.

-The pressures on me.

I valued this. I'm feeling nervous now, I'm sure it's going to do well, I really am.

I'm going to stick to my guns here, this is it.

89 is the marine scene, two sailing ships and choppy seas.

It looks very good up there.

We have two bids on the book, we start at £190. £200 where?

Straight in at the top end.

£200 where?

£190 I have. £200 anywhere?

Selling at £190, are we all done then? The bid's on my right.

Jane, that was short and sweet.

-It was.

-That was very short and sweet, wasn't it?

What are you going to do with £190?

-Big question!

-I don't know, I've got to split it with my brother.

-Right. OK. What will you do with your share? Have a good night out.

-Yeah.

-Don't blame you!

We have Frances and we have Elizabeth and we've also got a touch of the Orient

which comes to the Canterbury Auction Galleries

in the form of the lovely little Chinese occasional table

with a valuation of £120 to £180 by our expert.

-Were you happy with that?

-Yes.

You're having a clear-out because you're going to collect what?

-I collect West German pottery.

-Yeah.

Why did you get hooked on that?

-I'm hoping that one day...

-Just one day!

-..when I retire it will be worth something.

OK, OK. Is the collection big?

-I've got about 30 or 40 pieces.

-That's big enough, isn't it?

-Starting to take over a room at least.

-Yes.

Hopefully you can add to it if we get the top end which is what Elizabeth is expecting.

-I'm expecting the bottom end and I'm hoping for the top end.

-Oh, OK. Playing safe.

-We're going to sell it. Let's hope we do get the top end.

-I do. It's the ultimate in flat-pack furniture.

It's a lovely quality table.

It's a good colour as well.

It's nicely done and very cleverly crafted so I think hopefully it'll appeal to somebody.

Well, the waiting's over with, the talking's over with.

Right now we want some hammer action on it.

It's going under the hammer right now, this is it. Good luck.

465, the Chinese rosewood tray-top two-tier occasional table.

Lot 465, shown on the screen there.

-£100, £100 I have, and ten where?

-A nice easy start.

-Straight in. We like those!

-£130, £130, £140, £150, £160, £170,

£170 in the middle there? £170, £180, £190,

£190, £200, and ten, £210 in the middle?

£210 where? £210, £220, £230.

All done at £230?

£230 where? Selling at £220, bid's on my right then.

Yes, how about that, the hammer's gone down, £220.

They absolutely adored it.

They can tell quality in Canterbury.

-So can you.

-I thank you!

-Shopping shopping shopping, get that collection growing.

-Yes.

-Happy hunting.

-Thanks.

-Thanks so much for coming in.

-It's been lovely.

It's been work this wait because that was really good.

For museum curators, artefacts that are displayed in a glass display case,

that's relatively easy to deal with, isn't it?

And old buildings, now they can be utilised and converted,

we can handle that, but what about old ships?

Massive great big ones, how do we save them from becoming scrap iron

yet retaining every element of their naval history?

Well, that is a challenge.

This is the Historic Dockyard, Chatham, where they've tackled that problem admirably.

At its height during World War Two, the shipyard employed 17,000 people.

It closed in 1984, having dominated the area for nearly 400 years.

When you visit it, you get a real sense of our great maritime heritage.

I'm here with Museum and Heritage Director, Richard Holdsworth.

-Thank you so much for taking time out to talk to us.

-Welcome to Chatham.

We're on HMS Gannet, she's a fine vessel, she's absolutely stunning.

Where does she rate in the Royal Navy's history and of course in Chatham's history?

Well, she was the sort of ship that if you were in Victorian times,

Palmerston and Disraeli stood up in Parliament and said send a gunboat, this what the Royal Navy sent.

-This is what you got.

-It is, yes.

She's a ship that just exemplifies the 300 or so ships built in the age of sail and immediately thereafter.

Yeah, yeah.

Less than 100 years after Gannet was built, it was all hands to the pump

as the Royal Navy played a vital role in a conflict which engulfed the world.

We're talking about warships and by that I mean machines, armed to the teeth,

designed to confront and menace our foes and behind me is HMS Cavalier,

the last of the Royal Navy's destroyers that were commissioned during World War Two.

As you can see she's absolutely bristling with armoury.

Starting at the front end of the ship, the bow in nautical terms,

we've got this huge great big monster.

Now that is a four-and-a-half-inch gun.

Richard, what sort of range will that do?

-This does just under 10 miles.

-Gosh.

Enough to get to Maidstone, if we had to!

What's the operation procedure?

It had a crew of getting on for eight people who would be around the gun here and on the deck,

feeding it with shells and cartridges.

This is the bit that has the high-explosive and it has a separate powder charge,

a cartridge, and the men that were serving the gun, the ammunition loaders,

would get these cartridges out of racks like this, bring them over,

the shell coming from the other side because the two are separated

and then getting loaded into the gun and fired.

-While the ship's rocking and rolling at sea.

-That's the trick.

Imagine what it was like if this ship was bouncing up and down maybe 30 or 40 feet in the dark,

in the gales, with waves breaking over the front of the ship.

While the big guns were used for targets further away,

something more manageable was needed to see off air attack.

Close support and close range work, she had at least two of these for most of her life.

-It can fire shells like these relatively fast and furiously at an incoming aircraft.

-Yeah.

-So the more close range things.

-Very much so.

Following the Second World War, HMS Cavalier had a Sea Cat missile system added to its weaponry.

It was designed to tackle the new breed of jet aircraft

that were proving to be too fast for the 1940s Bofors guns to intercept successfully.

This is a dash of classic seamanship, up here in an open bridge.

Now fancy being up here for hours on end on duty exposed to all the elements in this bridge.

In all sorts of conditions, especially in the Arctic where it was freezing. I wouldn't fancy it.

143 vessels just like this were lost at sea, sunk, with a tragic loss of 11,000 lives.

Now HMS Cavalier is being preserved as a tribute to all those men

who served their country on vessels like this.

Life on the ocean wave was tough, but for a particular type of sailor it was especially challenging.

Now how do you fancy living in a space very much like this one

for three months at a time with no fresh air and no daylight?

I'm in the engine room of the diesel-electric powered submarine HMS Ocelot.

This was one of six O-class built here at Chatham in the early 1960s.

Designed as a spy sub, its job was to patrol the seas of Europe keeping an eye on our Cold War enemies.

The vessel had diesel generators to power the batteries

which drove the electric motors which enabled the submarine to stay under water.

At night-time the sub would come up to periscope level

to run the generators to recharge those batteries.

The battery-powered engine meant that the sub could move silently and with stealth through enemy waters.

There isn't much room to manoeuvre down here so everything is very compact.

It's hard to believe that two chefs worked in the galley here

making three hot meals a day for 69 submariners.

Each crew member was limited to a bowlful of water per day for washing

so the bathroom's not much to write home about.

This is the control room, it's where it all happens.

Every submariner would have to learn how to use all of these valves,

to help out his colleagues in the case of an emergency if they were under attack.

Now this is the attack periscope.

You can see it rises from the well below here.

It goes down an awful long way.

Behind me is the steering position, this actually steers the vessel and up there is a depth gauge

which tells us that the vessel can go 750 feet below sea level.

In the sound room submariners learned to recognise the propeller noise characteristics

of every individual ship in the Russian navy.

I take my hat off to the men who served in these hot, cramped conditions,

about the only place where there's enough room to swing a cat is at the business end of the sub.

And finally we find ourselves in the torpedo room.

Six tubes at the ready with 18 more torpedoes ready to go to follow up the first wave.

Now in the event of an emergency, and the submarine had to be evacuated, they'd fire off a flare

and completely flood this whole area.

The submariners would then take a deep breath of oxygen and escape through this hatch up there.

Now, if they breathed out slowly enough, they might just make it to the surface

and they used to practise this as an exercise in a 100-feet-deep tank.

Well, me, I'm going out up the stairs!

-Heidi, how are you?

-Very well.

-You've got some moral support here.

-I have. This is my mum.

-How are you, Mum?

-I'm fine, thank you.

-Your name?

-That is Erica.

-Erica. Good to see you.

-Whose is this?

-It's a joint thing.

-Joint venture.

-Yeah. We've bought it along today.

And how did you come by it?

-It was my sister's and her husband, my brother-in-law.

-Yeah.

And they had a sort of a turnout, I said, "Well, I like it so I'll have it for a while."

How long have you had it?

Three years, two or three years.

So when they see this television programme go out, you're selling their barometer,

they'll want half the funds?

Oh, well, money-wise that won't matter!

I tell you what, it will be a fantastic surprise.

This is a nineteenth-century, perhaps 1870, 1880, barometer.

Right.

-Do you know what it's called, what shape it is?

-Someone said a banjo.

It's a banjo barometer, because simply that is shaped like a banjo.

This has got a nice architectural frieze just here,

that's called a broken swan neck pediment.

-That's just had a bit of damage.

-Yeah.

It's always important to keep your barometers upright

because you don't get any of the emissions of the fluids.

It's got a nice bull's-eye mirror there.

Do you think this is solid mahogany or do you think it's veneered?

-Veneered.

-Veneered, I would have thought.

-Is that a giveaway?

That is the giveaway, yes.

You can just see there, if we tilt it just forward slightly,

you can just see that thin layer of veneer and it's all bubbling up there.

That's going to affect its value.

If we look down the bottom here, we've got sometimes a maker,

sometimes a retailer, which is Tatham of Cockermouth.

I like this here, it's Rain, Much Rain, Stormy, Very Dry.

I prefer this side where we've got Fair and Set Fair.

I quite like it actually.

I think it would grace any hall.

What do you think it's worth? Any ideas?

-We had no idea, did we?

-No, no idea.

-That's why we brought it along, we thought it could be £30.

£30.

I'd like to buy them at £30. I think this is worth between £150 and £250

and I think that we put an auction reserve on it of £120.

-That's not bad.

-Is that good?

-Yes, it's good.

If it makes £150 to £250, what are you going to spend the money on?

A family meal out, a family celebration of it, yes.

-Invite your sister and your brother-in-law.

-I think we'll have to, yes! Yeah.

May, you've brought these wonderful walking sticks on behalf of a good cause.

I have done, yes. If I can sell these,

I would like the money to go to the Eleanor Foundation, it's a charity.

I'm not familiar with that.

It's hospice care at home,

the nurses attached to the Eleanor Foundation

go out to the patients' homes and look after them at home.

So these have been donated on behalf of fund-raising for the charity and you're hoping...

Hopefully, yes, hopefully, yes.

Well, I think it's a good day to bring them.

-Do you know anything about them at all?

-Nothing at all, no.

The first one, in a way the most significant, is this one.

This is an ebonised, it's got a black ebonised covering to it,

a turned wood stem and on the end is a nicely worked embossed silver, what's called a "pommel".

And it's got very clear marks here which indicate that it was assayed in London,

actually as late as 1924, so it's surprisingly late.

It's got all the characteristics of a fine gent of the time.

The pommel itself is filled with a sort of soft metal

which will take the decoration that they stamp into it and it's in good order.

A nice pretty piece.

And alongside is actually a fairly contemporary cane

but whereas this is English silver, this will have come from probably India.

-This is actually silver.

-It's silver but the content will be less than the English silver

so in terms of that it's slightly detrimental but nonetheless the workmanship on it is exquisite

and you've got wild animals marauding through a wonderful jungle landscape there

which again is very much what they know about their own homeland.

So this one isn't assayed but it's got silver content to it.

What's interesting about this cane is if you look down the stem,

you'll see there are some slits there

which indicate this actually was either a lady's umbrella or a parasol.

-Oh, yes?

-And the leaf has actually come away and what you're left with is a rather fine cane.

I'd recommend, if they're in for auction, selling them together.

Have you any idea what they're worth?

No, I've no idea at all, no.

Realistically they're not so extraordinary but nice examples of their type.

They should sell together for between £50 and £80 which is...

Oh, yes, which is fairly good, yes.

And so we know what the money is going to

so it's a good cause and if we can make more...

That would be great, lovely.

-Mark, how you doing, all right?

-Yeah, fine, thanks.

People bring me in things, normally wood,

because I like wood and say, "What's it made of?"

Well, I can tell you that's made out of willow.

-How did you come by that?

-When I was a small boy, I won it in a raffle.

-Yeah?

-Yeah. It's a long time ago.

But I'm not a cricket fan but I've kept it ever since.

I would guess it would have been between 30 and 35 years ago?

Around about that time. I was a small boy.

Shall we have a look at who's on there? On the front we've got the England side.

We've got some great English names there, Tony Gregg -

remember him saying we would make the West Indies grovel and we ended up being whitewashed 5-0?

John Edrich, his father played for England.

We've got Alan Knott, many people would argue the greatest wicket keeper ever played and a man of Kent,

Derek Underwood, another Kent man.

Geoff Arnold, Bob Woolmer, great coach around today,

Chris Old, interesting bit of trivia for you.

Chris Old and Alan Old, his brother, both played for England on the same day,

one at cricket, the other at rugby.

Then on the back,

we've got the Surrey team which includes John Edrich again,

Geoff Arnold, David Hunt and the Kent team, we've got Mike Dunness, who was a Scotsman who captained England,

Brian Luckhurst.

It's a great bit of 1970s cricket, that, isn't it?

Do you know how tell a good bat from a bad bat?

No idea.

The closer the grain is supposed to be running down here, the better the bat is.

Then you put this splice in here, which has got these rubber springings just here,

so that when you hit it, it doesn't jar your hand.

So how much was the raffle ticket?

-Oh, probably about 10 or 20 pence.

-I don't think this is going to be a bad investment.

I think we're in Kent, we've got an Alan Knott autographed bat

so he would have endorsed this for Slazenger.

Surrey's not too far away.

The England cricket team, we've won the Ashes, Freddie Flintoff's performed miracles

and I think we can put a cautious estimate of £50 to £100 on this with a £50 reserve

and it wouldn't surprised me if you get two cricket buffs on the phone bidding,

because they'll pick this up on the internet,

it wouldn't surprise me if it made £150 or £200.

-Lovely.

-So what are you going to do with that?

It's got to go, all it's doing is stuck in the wardrobe.

-Stuck in a wardrobe!

-Never got it out.

-You could have sanded the names off and used it, couldn't you?

-Could have done, yeah!

So can we knock 'em for six when we get back to the auction?

Erica rescued her barometer from being junked and she and Heidi are hoping to turn it into profit.

I really liked the embossed wild animals on the pommel of this walking stick.

May's hoping to raise some money for a good cause with the sale of these two.

And won with a 10 pence raffle ticket 35 years ago,

let's hope Philip isn't walking a long way back to the pavilion with the cricket bat.

I've been waiting for this moment.

I've been joined by mum and daughter Erica and Heidi

and we're going to sell something which obviously lets us know what the weather's like

and it really is boiling hot in here right now, no one needs a banjo barometer

but I'm sure they will when they get it home.

It is boiling, the temperature's rising

-and let's hope the heat is on for this one.

-Hope so, yes.

We've got £150 riding on this.

-Let's try to get the top end.

-That would be wonderful.

-It would be.

-Expert Philip, the pressure's on.

-Pressure's on.

-Literally.

-It's a little bit tired and they aren't quite the flavour of the month they were

but let's hope it sells well.

OK, we're going to find out right now because this is it.

This is your lot. Yeah?

-A good quality barometer, 42 inches high. Lot 411.

-Two bids.

Have two bids, we'll start at £160.

170 where?

Who is 170?

For the barometer? 170 I have. 180.

180. 190. 200. And 10. 210 where?

Selling at £200 on my right, going £200 then.

-£200!

-That's very good.

-That is excellent!

Good valuation, Philip. OK, what is the money going to go towards?

We have a few celebrations.

We're seeing the family this year, so we have a great get-together.

-Take them out.

-Take them out for have a big family gathering.

-Where are you from?

-Austria.

Austria. Oh, a lovely accent.

Thank you so much, Lucy, for coming in. Good result.

It's Mark's turn to be in the wicket right now.

We've got that gorgeous cricket bat up for grabs, at £50 - £100.

-Lot of names on there.

-Yes.

You bought this as a kid, 30-odd years ago? For next to nothing?

-Yeah, in a raffle. I won it in a raffle.

-Why are you flogging it?

It's just been sitting in the wardrobe doing nothing.

-You don't like cricket?

-Never interested.

Oh, that's why he's flogging it, then! I think that's a keeper.

If you love cricket, you've got keep that. I know who does love their cricket - Philip Serrel here.

Yeah, I do, Paul. And I hope there's a few MCC ties here today, a late-start bidding.

-But you know...

-There's Kent names on there.

-I know.

It's got local interest, national interest, great names from the '70s there, so fingers crossed.

Let's hope it hits a six in the room.

Let's find out. This is it, good luck.

Come at 345. Signed cricket bat.

-There it is.

-Signed with the England cricket team.

£50.

Cricket bat, £50? Who is coming at £50? 40 start?

40, where?

30 we have. 32, where?

32. 34?

36? 38. £40. 42, 44, 46, 48,

50, 55?

55 where? Selling at 50, bid's in the doorway, all done at £50, then.

We just did it. We'll call that one a four, and not a six.

-Gosh!

-I tell you what, I'm stumped!

So am I, stumped. Mind you, 50 quid?

I won't ask what you're spending that on,

-because by the time you've paid petrol, commission, you'll have enough for a few pints.

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

Yeah, especially in the hot weather.

-Thanks for coming in.

-No problem.

May and our expert Elizabeth here are selling two walking sticks.

We've got a valuation at £50 to £80.

The money is going to such a good cause.

-It is, yes.

-May can tell me all about it.

It is. It's the Eleanor Foundation.

-What's that all about?

-We do hospice care at home.

-In Canterbury?

-No, in Gravesend.

It's a Dartford-based charity.

And we do all over Kent.

-So that's a worthy cause.

-Very worthy.

-This is where all the money is going.

-Yes.

-So we need top dollars today.

I'm hoping for that.

I mean, they are nice items, anyway.

kindly donated, and we hope we'll reap the benefits of that in auction.

Let's find out right now. The waiting's done with.

Time for some auction action.

It's going under the hammer.

370 is the George V silver-topped ebonised walking cane

and one other Indian silver-topped cane.

-They do look great over there.

-They look lovely.

-Catching the light.

-Just perfectly held.

-40 where?

40 I have. 42, where?

42. 44, 46, 48, 50, 55, 60, 65, 65 where?

Selling at £60. 65, fresh bid.

70, 75, 80, 85, 90,

95, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140,

150, 160, 170...

Oh, it's good when two people really love something.

180? 190. 190 where? Selling at 180, bid standing.

£180, then.

Yes, that hammer has gone down!

-£180!

-That's great.

-All to charity.

-Yes it is.

-Aw.

-Everything. That's lovely. That's really good.

I'm really happy. That was fantastic.

-Worth the wait.

-It was. Thank you so much, to both of you.

Well, sadly, we are coming to the end of another Flog It!

We've had a great day. All credit to our experts for being spot-on with their valuations.

If you'd like to take part in an auction, come to one of our valuation days

and hopefully our experts will pick your item.

Details of upcoming dates and venues you can find on the BBC website.

Just log on to bbc.co.uk/lifestyle and I'll see you there.

So, until then, it's goodbye.

For more information about Flog It!, including how the programme was made,

visit the website at bbc.co.uk/lifestyle

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd.