Oldham Flog It!

If you're looking for something spicy, you'll get it on today's show.

Where am I? Manchester's Curry Mile, of course.

But before I get stuck into some of the local fare,

let's see what the people of Greater Manchester will bring along to our valuation day in Oldham.

Where I'm walking right now, this very street,

was part of the original road from Manchester to Huddersfield.

It's the oldest part of Oldham. It was originally known as Cuckstool Pit.

Somewhere along it, it contained a very large pool of stagnant water.

Where, apparently, they used to dunk the heads of women into,

when their chattering was considered to be a menace to the town.

Believe me.

But there won't be any of that sort of behaviour going on here today...

Because today, it's going to be a particularly organised

and delightful show, because it's all about the girls.

Yes!

Our fragrant experts, bringing their own special feminine touch

to the show, are the lovely Kate Bliss and Anita Manning.

-Joyce and Peter, welcome along to Flog It!.

-Thank you.

Do you know what this is?

-Yes, a Moorcroft.

-A Moorcroft.

A Moorcroft vase, yup.

Very popular on Flog It!.

And no wonder because it's a wonderful item,

wonderful quality, wonderful colour.

Tell me, who does it belong to?

-It belongs to me.

-Where did you get it, Joyce?

An aunt left it to me.

I admired it, because of the colours, from me being very young.

And I was quite surprised...

when she died, she left it me.

I didn't give it much thought, really.

-Do you like it, Joyce?

-I do like it, I do like it.

But it doesn't match anything that, that I've got, because I, I have a lot of cut glass.

OK, let's look at this piece of Moorcroft.

It's a very nice shape, baluster shape.

It's a very popular pattern, it's pansies.

William Moorcroft started his own factory in 1913.

Before that he had worked for James McIntyre and Company.

And when he set up on his own,

he developed this wonderful style of pottery.

And the Moorcroft factory is still going today,

and it is still selling well. It is a quality item

and people will always love it.

If we look underneath, at the back stamp,

we have the embossed mark of Moorcroft.

We can see the Moorcroft signature, we have Made in England.

Now, we know from this information here,

that this little vase was made between 1928 and 1940.

So, it's not a very early vase.

Price?

The bigger pieces, the earlier pieces, achieve a much higher price.

This vase, I would say...

I would like to put it in at £100-150.

If there are Moorcroft collectors in the rooms, on that day,

-it may go higher than the top estimate.

-Right.

We could perhaps put a reserve of £80

but that's really just to protect it, just in case.

Now, is that enough to give you a romantic night out?

Oh, yeah, oh, yeah.

-Bit left over...

-You're easy pleased.

Wow, what a stunning necklace!

That's the nicest piece of jewellery I've seen all day,

but for quite a while, as well.

-So, this is yours, presumably?

-It is, yes.

So, where did it come from?

It was left to me by my godmother.

I've had it for about ten years now. I've never worn it.

You've never worn it?

-Not even once?

-No.

-Why not? Jewellery's for wearing, you know.

Oh, it is. I have offered it to people to wear on wedding days and special occasions.

But, no, it's always been declined.

So, it hasn't actually been worn since you had it?

Since your godmother passed it to you?

No, and I don't think my godmother would have worn it for a long time.

Gosh! Well, it's actually... It's quite a heavy piece to wear, I should imagine, isn't it?

You've got a lot of stone in there.

The stones, of course, are amethyst and citrine,

placed alternately here and graduated,

working up to this large amethyst at the bottom.

And the stone's quality depends, really, on the saturation of the colour.

And the very pure lemony form of citrine

is perhaps the rarest example, and the most expensive.

And the amethyst, that has a very deep saturated colour also,

is one of the most desirable stones.

And here they're a beautiful colour, aren't they?

Especially arranged like this.

They're cut in the oval cut and set in an open setting,

to let as much light pass through them as possible.

And I think what we have here is a silver-gilt mount.

I can tell that by the colour. I think that's what it is.

A little replacement catch here, but I think the necklace itself

is Victorian in date,

somewhere between 1860, 1880, something like that.

-So, quite a bit of age to it.

-It is. Older than what I thought.

So, what about value, Helen? Have you any idea at all?

No, because I thought it was, sort of, earlier, you know, 1900s.

-It's older than I thought.

-Right.

Well, I think, at auction, today, a lovely set such as this

is probably going to be,

realistically, somewhere between £400-£600.

But it's worth it, it's worth it. It's beautiful.

-It is beautiful, isn't it? So, you're quite happy you want to sell it?

-Yes.

-Yes, she says, final answer.

-Yes.

OK, well, we'll whisk it away from you then.

I'm sure we'll get a good jewellery buyer, if not a private person, who falls in love with this.

-Because I think it is stunning, isn't it?

-Yes, it is.

-Thank you very much for bringing it along.

-Thank you.

Is it drinks all round? Is this a drinks display cabinet?

Well, Paul and I know what it is. In fact,

it's a cabinet gramophone player.

So, tell me about its history. How did you come by this?

It belonged to relatives of mine, which I always admired it, when I used to visit.

-As a young nipper.

-As a young nipper.

-And when they passed on, they left it to me.

-How long have you had this?

I've had it about 30 years now.

30-odd years? Wow.

Where's it been, in the house?

Well, partly in the house

but it's been... spent last nine years in the garage.

-Right, OK. OK, well, at least you've got a dry garage.

-Yes.

Because there's no sign of any damp.

It's so typical of the late Edwardian period.

It's almost got a serpentine front.

It's like a waterfall cascading down.

It's got a nice bit of stringing, which has been done by the maker.

That's professionally done. That's not professionally done,

that's done by one loving previous owner,

that was quite handy with a chisel and a gouge.

And it's got its original handles, which is nice, so...

All fixtures and fittings are here and it's in good condition.

And its virtue is the fact that it's still working.

Because many have survived, but they're not working. Value?

It is such a hard thing to value.

It's not the carpentry and the cabinet making which has got a great deal of value or interest here,

but the mechanics of the thing, and the history of the gramophone record.

From the wax cylinder right through to the iPod of today.

There's good social history.

And I think young kids should be able to look at something

like this and say, well, that was going on, you know, in the 1930s.

And that's what everybody had in their house, and they would have had one of these.

These were quite affordable. What do you think it's worth?

Well, I would think, £60.

I think we can, hopefully, double that.

That's what I'd like. I'd like to put it into auction,

give it the classic 80-120, put a reserve of £60.

Because you don't want to give it away.

-No.

-You don't want to give this away. OK, Paul, take it away.

Obviously that's the brake.

-That's the brake.

-Let's see what we're playing.

It's called Little Darling, and on the other side

it's Yes, Tonight Josephine.

I think we'll go for Little Darling.

And I'll open the doors, so we can have full volume.

Because this is your volume control.

For maximum volume, there's your speaker.

And to put the volume down slightly, just close the doors fractionally.

-So, here we go, full volume, here goes, ready?

-Yes.

Needle on and it should... RECORD CRACKLES

It sounds like we're in an air raid.

RECORD PLAYS

Terry, let's play at wee motors.

I've seen a lot of toys,

and I have not seen anything in as good condition as this is.

Did you not play with this when you were a wee boy?

Not a lot. It seemed old-fashioned at the time,

so I was playing with more modern cars.

How did you come by it? Where did you get it from?

It was a pass-me-down.

It came down through the family or friends.

As I say, it seemed old-fashioned, and just got put aside.

-And left there?

-Yeah.

What we have here really is a little car, which was made by Schuco.

Now, Schuco were a German toy company

and they were known for the quality of their toys.

And this is a very nice little set.

We see on the back of the box,

how to play the game.

And these little pegs in the box

would form the boundaries of the course, the racecourse.

This steering wheel here...

-Would this go on top?

-Yes, it's...

it connects up with the green one, so you can, you can steer it round the course. I've never done it.

Right, you've never done it.

It's certainly a smashing idea.

And I like the way that we have a change of gears through the windscreen here.

You've kept them for a long time, Terry.

Why do you want to sell them, now?

I'm being told to clear out some of the things.

We have too much.

She who must be obeyed has told you to get rid of all your own toys!

Well, estimate on them, I would say for both of them,

if we put say 60-80, 70-90. In that region.

-Yeah, that's fine.

-I'm sure they'll fly away.

-Do you want to put a fixed reserve on?

-No, no.

-No, no?

Well, we'll put it in at 60-80.

And we'll want the auctioneer to sell it with some discretion.

But I'm sure there will be collectors.

-I know it's a boy's toy, but do you think I could...?

-Please do, please do.

Shall we wind it up and see what happens?

Yes, that's lovely.

I could say specially for lady drivers, but I better not.

-Meg, hello.

-Hello.

-Hi. And you've brought your friend, Ann, along.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Have you come for moral support?

-I have, yes.

Some very colourful pottery here. Where did this come from?

They belonged to a great aunt of mine who was also my godmother

and they've just been passed through the family since the 1930s.

Do you know what factory they are?

-Clarice Cliff.

-They are Clarice Cliff.

But, it's not perhaps immediately obvious that they're Clarice Cliff.

One of the things I like about them is the pattern.

It's quite an unusual pattern for Clarice Cliff.

If we turn the bowl over, we can see her signature, just as it should be, on the bottom.

Clarice Cliff. And the word "Bizarre."

Do you know what that relates to?

I just know a lot of Clarice Cliff pieces have the Bizarre on but I don't know the significance, really.

Well, it's actually the name given to a range of her work.

One of the earliest ranges in fact - it was launched in 1928 - which usually used very bright colours.

Some colours really quite outrageous, which is what makes this quite unusual.

And the thing that really strikes me about it is this beautiful powder blue colour.

It's called blue cafe au lait, the ground here that we see, which really makes it striking,

combined particularly, I think, with the pink.

So, Meg, what about value?

-Any ideas?

-Not really.

No, because it is an unusual pattern and I haven't seen it before.

OK. What about you, Ann?

Have you done any secret research?

Well, I thought they were worth a bit more.

As Meg said, they're unusual, so I was looking at 250 for that and about 100 for the two plates.

-OK. Right. You're optimistic, aren't you?

-I am, aren't I?

She needs a new bathroom, you know.

Well, I'm going to be a little bit conservative.

It's a great pattern and I mean, the shape is nice as well

but it's the pattern that's really going to pull collectors.

-But plates, we've only got two.

-Yeah.

They probably would have been a set of six or larger.

-So it would have been part of a much larger dinner service and we've only got a small section here.

-Right.

So that does affect the value quite a bit.

So I'm going to say, conservatively, £100-200 at auction.

-I certainly would hope you'll get the upper end of that but that will get buyers interested.

-Yeah.

-But I really hope we reach the 200 or even more.

-Right.

-I think it's super. I love that powder blue.

Yes. It is nice. Yes. Yeah.

We're heading off to the auction with our first batch of items.

Moorcroft always attracts healthy interest, but how accurate is Anita's valuation of the pansy vase?

I'm hoping to rock the house with the gramophone belonging to Paul.

It's a nice piece of history.

And Clarice Cliff is a Flog It favourite.

I hope this piece does as well as the others have in the past.

And I love the retro Schuco cars valued by Anita,

which should put the bidders in a spin.

And finally, Kate couldn't resist the glamour of the necklace.

This one should definitely shine.

And our sale venue today is the Calder Valley Auction Rooms

in West Yorkshire, where Ian is on the rostrum.

Well, it's here to sell. There's absolutely no reserve and it's my favourite lot of the day.

It's the boxed Schuco cars belonging to Terry here.

Why, why, why are you selling these?

These are wonderful and they're in mint condition.

I've not played with them for a long, long time.

We can see that. Yeah, we can see that.

When you say there's no reserve, I'm sorry,

but I did come and see the auctioneer and put a reserve on.

-Oh, you did? And what's the fixed reserve now?

-60.

-I don't blame you.

I mean, it was always going to sell.

I think that's fair enough.

But I think that it might be just for your own piece of mind, because these will find the market value.

They're in good condition. They're highly collectable and lovely little objects.

770. The boxed Schuco...

green car, and one other.

And, of course, in lovely condition.

And I'd like to open the bidding at 50.

50? 40, then?

40, sir, well done.

40, at 40, and 5.

50, and 5,

60 and 5,

70 and 5, 80.

80 bid here. Anybody else, now?

At 80, it's absolute mint condition.

80, 5 anywhere? Then at 80, we're going at 80, and 5.

-Good, good, good.

-Yes!

-85, 90.

-Another bidder, fresh legs.

90 and 5? 95, have we all settled at £95?

First and last time at £95 then.

Yes. Nearly did the 100, but we did it, thank goodness for that.

-That's very good.

-Yes.

-Are you happy?

-Yes, very happy.

What are you going to do with the money?

-Go on a cruise.

-Go on a cruise!

The family's going out tomorrow...

Are you? A day out.

-Well, an evening out.

-Ah, lovely.

Meg's Clarice Cliff is just about to go under the hammer

and I've been joined by Ann and Kate, our lovely expert here.

So, you two, best friends...

guess for how long?

-I know it's quite a long time. How long is it?

-Near on 40 years.

40 odd years. Did you meet at school then?

No. Meg's from Northern Ireland.

I'm from County Wexford.

We're involved with the Irish community in Manchester, so we met really through that.

-Friends.

-And you've been best friends ever since, for 40 years. That's a cracking long time.

Well, you like Clarice Cliff but you don't mind flogging this.

-They're just taking up room at the moment.

-Ann, do you like this?

Not really but I can see, you know, the value in it because the design is different.

There's not a lot of that design around. So fingers crossed.

Let's see what this lot think right now, shall we? It's going under the hammer. Here we go.

Right. The Clarice Cliff salad bowl and two matching octagonal plates.

What am I bid for this lot, ladies and gentlemen? 100, shall we say 180?

Open me at £50. £50.

50 I'm bid. I have 50. At 60.

At 70. At 80. £80. At £80. 90 bid.

£90.

I've £90. 100. 100.

At 100 on my right. Anybody else?

110 there. 110. 120. 130. 140.

-This is more like it.

-I was a bit worried there for a moment.

-Yeah. Mid estimate now.

-150.

160.

170. 180.

Clarice Cliff never lets us down, does it?

-210? Yeah.

-210. 220.

-Keep going, Meg.

-230. 240.

-250. Yeah.

-250. 260.

That phone bidder's pretty determined.

290. 300.

310? Yeah.

-And ten. 320.

-Yeah.

-330.

-Oh, don't they love Clarice Cliff?

-Don't they.

360. At £360, are we all done at £360 then, on the phone?

-Brilliant.

-That is a good result.

That's a great result.

-You two girls are going to have a jolly afternoon, aren't you?

-Yes.

-You're set up for one now.

-We are.

What's £360 going towards, less a bit of commission?

Well, I've recently had a new granddaughter, so hopefully, a lot will go on her.

Treat yourself to lunch out as well.

-We might.

-You might. I'm sure you two will.

-Trouble.

-No doubt.

Remember that Edwardian gramophone? Let's hope it makes sweet music right now, Paul.

-Yeah, let's hope so.

-I'm scared. This is the first item of furniture today.

It's a cracking piece. I mean, it is something from the bygone era, and it's well worth 80-120.

So, it's here to sell.

Well, I hope there's some enthusiasm here today.

Yeah, so do I.

-You're not looking forward to taking it home.

-No, no, I'm not.

You don't want to put it back in that garage.

Edwardian inlaid mahogany cabinet gramophone.

50? 40?

30, anywhere?

30 bid, 30.

30, 30 and 5. At 35, at 40?

40 and 5? At 45, 50

and 5. At 55, 55.

Any further bids at 55?

At 55 we're not quite there,

ladies and gentlemen. At 55. Do I see 60?

Then at 55, 60, £60.

Here on my right at 60.

We're in the market at 60.

Are there any further bids?

At 60. Buyer 74.

It's just goes to show, no-one's buying this sort of thing.

And that is a classic investment,

you should be buying it now, because it's at a give-away price.

Keep it for 20 years and, you never know, it'd probably be worth £300-£400.

There's a big romantic night out waiting for Peter and Joyce...

-if, if we can get top money for the Moorcroft vase.

-That's right.

What would we like to see?

-How much is a big romantic night out?

-Oh, I don't know.

-£150? Theatre, restaurant.

-Yeah, something like that.

-Cab home.

-Yes.

-Maybe a hotel for one night.

Might be, might be.

-Oh, dear.

-The pressure's on then.

Moorcroft, great name, quality.

There's lots of Moorcroft in this sale, so it will bring the buyers in.

-Yes.

-This is a nice piece.

588. Moorcroft baluster vase, with pansy decoration.

588 is the lot number.

What am I going to bid on this, 100, 80?

Open me at 50?

Thank you, 50, 60.

£60, is 70 there?

70, 80 if you like?

At 80, at 80.

-Here we go.

-100, and 10, 120.

130, 140?

At 140 I'm bid.

At 140, 150 a fresh bid, thank you.

150? 150 now. Are we all done?

At £150, then, the back of the room?

-Yes.

-Yes.

-Hammer's gone down, top end of the estimate.

-Thank you very much.

-That is a romantic night out.

-You can do something with that, can't you, yeah?

-Yes, yes.

A lot of money riding on this. It's good to see you again, Helen.

Who are you with?

-Paul, my husband.

-Paul, your husband.

Oh, bodyguard on the way home.

£400-£600, Kate. Lovely necklace, had a chat

to the auctioneer about this. He thinks it could do well.

It's a really good solid piece.

The stones are beautiful. They're beautifully set.

It looks quite contemporary, it doesn't look Victorian.

I still think it's very wearable today.

Well, we're going to find out. It's going under the hammer.

801. The fine 9-carat gold necklace,

set with 13 oval cut amethysts and 12 citrine stones.

Lovely piece of jewellery there,

for both young and old.

Lot 801.

Who'd like to open me at 300?

200 then, 200? Thank you.

200, at 200.

At 220, 220?

220, 240.

-240, 260.

-It's going up.

-260, at 260.

At 280, at 300.

320, 340,

360, 380,

400 and 20, 440.

At 440 bid, at 440.

Are there any further bids?

At 440 on my right, first and last time.

440 then, your bid, sir.

Yes, we're going to settle for that.

£440, it's gone.

I know. I'm a little bit sad, but I never wore it

and I have amethyst, so...

And I wear these.

It's said the Curry Mile here in Manchester

has the greatest concentration of South Asian restaurants anywhere outside the Indian subcontinent.

And whether that's true, it's got more than anywhere else in the UK.

Tens of thousands of diners, every week, come here to enjoy a massive

range of dishes, from India to Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The word "curry" isn't even used in India.

In Britain today, it describes any dish with a hot, spicy sauce.

And the British have certainly had a love affair with Indian food for centuries...

adopting Indian spices into their cuisine,

from as early as the 1700s.

The restaurants here opened up in response to demand, from the influx

of Asian residents who arrived in Britain during the 1950s.

They brought their own style, colour and culture.

And Manchester's own celebrity chef, Azam Ahmad.

who grew up around here, is keen for me to sample some local flavours.

Azam, there's an incredible atmosphere here.

-We're here during the day but at night it's...

-Buzzing.

-Electric.

-Because they're all cooking and prepping, you can smell all the flavours.

-Yes.

-Are some of the early restaurants still here since the '60s?

-There are.

There's one that specialised in doing sweets, because, you'd find that a lot of the older generation used to

think that it was wasting of money, to go out to a restaurant to eat. So, they'd eat at home.

But things that they couldn't do at home, like the sweets and things, they'd buy here.

And what's happened is, some of the traditional sweet houses started to do snacks like samosas and pakoras.

So, originally the sweet houses were here first?

They were here first. Yeah. And then you'd get, maybe they'd make one curry for that day.

And it'd sell, and different people would say, "Oh, can I have some of that?"

So, slowly it evolved from there.

Did you, did you witness this evolution?

-Were you a Manchester lad?

-I'm born and bred.

So, as a teenager, you saw all this happening?

Younger than that, because I'd come here with my mum and dad.

Is there a variation in dishes from the Bangladesh to the Sri Lankan to the Indian?

Of course. I mean, that's always... Different chefs cooking different styles.

Bangladeshi more fish and rice dishes,

Punjabi-style love their meat and they'd have lots of lamb.

And each suburb and so forth, they'll have their speciality to that region.

-Bit like European food.

-Exactly. I'm vegetarian, and we're going to cook later.

I'm going to make you something really special.

But I'll not tell you exactly.

But I'm going to do you a fusion twist of some Asian cuisine, with a bit of modern flavours.

I'm looking forward to that. Shall we take a look at some of the sweet delis?

Sure, come on. I'll take you across to one of the oldest in Manchester.

The colours and the scents in here are incredible.

But I'm keen to get on with our main course.

So we're borrowing the Shere Khan restaurant where Azam

can demonstrate his fusion style of cooking,

giving a modern twist to classic Indian dishes.

We're going to make you something really nice and exciting.

I'll use asparagus, as it's one of your favourites. And pineapple, yeah?

-Yes.

-Fresh pineapple, asparagus, going to make you a sauce/vegetable dish.

Going to start you off with a little bit of oil. Tell me when to stop.

-About there.

-Yeah, that's perfect.

-Oh, you've done this before.

-I love cooking.

-There you go.

-So, how did you get into cooking?

We're actually a family of doctors.

And I didn't really fancy much education when I was at school.

And my mum was always worried, "What's he going to do?"

And one day when I said, "I want to be a chef."

She said, "Great, at least my son won't starve."

So, since then, I've gone into this and I've enjoyed it.

Did you train obviously as an English chef, then, in Continental food?

I did. I went into English and French cuisine, and from there developed different tastes around Europe.

Even Cantonese and Italian cooking. You like hot stuff, I believe?

I do, I love cooking with chillies.

I never wash my hands afterwards.

So, when I'm sort of wiping my brow, it gets in my eyes.

-Ah, dangerous. Don't do that.

-OK.

-We're leaving the seeds in.

So, it's going to be really quite hot?

No, no, no, not quite that strong. It'll complement the taste.

We're going to soften that up. At the same time that's softening up, we're going to add you some red tomato.

Are the red chillies stronger than the green ones? Or is that just a myth?

No, they are, because they've ripened.

Colour looks fantastic. What's that?

Mango juice. We're using that as our stock because, instead of using... because you're vegetarian

we're not using any chicken stock or anything. Just keep stirring that in.

-Little bit of seasoning?

-Little bit of seasoning.

So, you're reducing the sauce down.

You're almost separating most of your stock.

You're going to add in your asparagus.

-Just a couple of minutes with the asparagus?

-Yes, and your pineapple goes in there.

That's looking nice. We're going to add some coriander to your sauce.

-Smells delicious.

-Can you see what we've done?

We've turned off the heat, and then we've added in the coriander.

-So it doesn't burn too quickly.

-I tell you, you've done this before.

I have, yeah.

We've got for you here, some pilau rice.

And we've got some browned onions,

and some cashew nuts, and we're just going...

-I love cashew nuts.

-Pass you that over,

and we're going to put your asparagus on the side there, the pineapple and your sauce.

It's the presentation, it's so hard to do.

-You're going to do perfect.

-I'm not, I'm not.

So, is this the dish you're going to make for your wife on your next anniversary?

Well, I hope so. I hope so.

Try and put the asparagus on top.

-Oh, on top? Laying on top, like little solders.

-That's fine.

-OK, OK, OK.

-Yeah, that's perfect.

-You're doing well there.

-One more?

Yeah, go on. Now, the other thing that we can do with your sauce, because it's so rich...

serving it as a garnish for some nice vegetable samosas.

That's quite nice, because sometimes they can be quite dry.

-Ainsley would be proud of you.

-He would.

-Yes, definitely.

-Look at that.

Two very quick, wonderful dishes.

While I'm standing admiring my first dish, Azam is getting on with some spicy vegetable bhajis.

We chop the asparagus stalks, some okra, aubergine and onion.

And mix the vegetables up in a batter,

before deep frying them for several minutes.

Well, here it is. Here's all our hard work, and we're going to enjoy this.

Believe me, this is so easy to do, and thank you so much, Azam, for showing us.

-Your welcome, my pleasure.

-While we tuck into this,

you are going straight back to join our experts at the valuation day.

Come on, let's go and sit down.

Florence, we have had Troika on Flog It! before.

But these are two quite different items.

Both from St Ives in Cornwall.

Tell me, where did you actually get them from?

I bought them from a shop in Cornwall.

We used to always go on our holidays there, when the children were small.

-And when the holiday was finished, on a Friday...

-Yes?

..if we had any money left,

my husband used to say, "Go and buy yourself a vase," you see.

So, that's what I used to do.

Oh, lovely. So, how long ago was that?

I can't remember the exact year, but it was somewhere in the '60s.

Well, what a great holiday souvenir.

Because of course, the Troika market has taken off in recent years.

And it's become a very collectable market in itself.

And I think, that's for a number of reasons, but partly because

the factory only produced pieces in a very limited time period.

Started in 1963 but it actually closed in 1983.

So, there were only really 20 years of production and after that, that was it.

Yeah, they don't do any more.

They don't, no, they don't.

So, you've got, really, what are known as limited pieces.

And every piece was unique, really, to a certain extent.

They used influences from the Aztec culture,

and they say that the Cornish landscape had a, had a bearing.

It's quite a bleak landscape, particularly in northern Cornwall,

where the tin mining was.

-Yes, it is.

-And so we got quite, sort of, simple and sometimes quite striking geometric shapes.

This almost looks like a face, doesn't it?

On this side, or a mask.

Perhaps you can see the Aztec influence coming in there.

This one is perhaps a little more conservative in design.

It reminds me of some of the pieces that they produced for Heal's, that were retailed by Heal's in London.

But this one, I don't know whether you noticed,

has a whacking great big crack down the inside.

You can just see that, down there.

That's going to affect the value.

So, can you remember what you paid for them all that time ago?

I should think it was somewhere around about £10.

Or even under, because that were about all we had left.

Well, this one, I'm afraid, is going to be affected by the crack.

-I would say...

-Yeah, I can understand that.

I would put it at perhaps £20, even.

Whereas this one is a really good substantial piece.

It's got everything that people like about Troika.

And I think you're going to certainly be looking at between £100 and £150.

So, what do you think about that?

I think that's really good.

I don't think it's a bad return. It's a pretty good investment.

No, it's quite all right, that.

This is a fairly straightforward, home-made, kind of item, Hilary.

Can you tell me anything about it?

I believe it was made by a German prisoner of war, in Sicily.

And it was brought back by an Irish man, who was just an ordinary soldier there.

So, he must have been working at the prisoner of war camp.

And it was given to him by the prisoner who made it.

And that's all I know.

That's all, yeah. Well, what we have really, is a little bit of history.

And the value of it lies in that interest.

It may have been that the chap who made this little aeroplane,

was a pilot. And had been shot down.

Yes, yes, that sounds like that.

And to fill his time, he's made this item.

It's made of aluminium, it's made from an aeroplane.

One of our other boy experts have identified it as a Stuka,

which I believe was a dive bomber.

And we have, on the wings here, Sicily and 1944.

So, it was towards the end of the war.

It's telling us a wee story, Hilary.

There is a market for this type of item,

that were made by prisoners of war.

They were, in the main, very simple items,

home-made, hand-crafted.

They had very little in the way of materials either,

to make the items with, or any tools were often rudimentary.

So, simple items, but they do tell a story.

And I rather like the idea that your Irishman may have been friends

with the young German pilot, at that point.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Value on it?

I would say we could put it in at, say, 20-25.

It's really just a figure plucked out.

It depends on the day, if we do have some interest from the auction.

-I don't know if you want to put a reserve on it or...?

-No.

No, no reserve on it. And let's hope that it makes two figures anyway.

Sheila, this is the only bit of silver I've seen so far today.

-Oh, really?

-I think it's great to have it here today.

Is this a family piece?

Yes, it belonged to my mother.

And she got it from an elderly lady that we used to visit.

And my mother eventually handed it on to me.

Let's open it up.

Because although it's got a beautifully engraved outside,

it is actually rather nice inside as well, isn't it?

-Yes.

-It's got a leather interior.

It is, as you can see quite clearly,

a card case with a space here for cards.

But then it's got this lovely aide-memoire as well,

and what's known as an ivory leaf inset.

And the little pencil to write on the ivory.

Yes. One thing I regret about that is, that when we first had it,

there was an address on the ivory leaf

and unfortunately I cleaned it off.

I do wish I hadn't.

Oh, that's a shame, because it's almost part of its history.

-That's right.

-Social history. Interesting.

Well, of course, this would have been owned

by somebody really quite well-to-do in the Victorian period.

She was a quite well-to-do lady, I think, and came from London,

-and she got some nice things.

-Right.

-Have you found the hallmark on it?

-No.

-On pieces like this,

which are elaborately engraved, it's quite difficult.

But it is quite clearly there, and if I just get my little glass on it.

-Oh, my goodness!

-We can see, clearly,

it's English silver and it's assayed in Birmingham,

despite your lady coming from London.

And the date letter's 1898.

So it's right at the end of that Victorian period.

But the other thing I can tell you,

is that it has the maker's initials on it, JG.

And I think I'm right in thinking it's possibly

by J Glosser, who was working at that time in Birmingham.

And those are his initials.

So, we can tell quite a bit about it.

So, what about value?

Never thought about it,

because I've never really thought about getting rid of it.

But, it's - as they say on Flog It! so often -

stuck in a drawer, and I think it's time it moved on.

I think, in today's market, that should realise £70-£100.

Mmm. Yes.

-Are you happy with that?

-I think I am.

-You think you are?

-Yes.

-Quite sure? Well, if you like, we can set a reserve.

I would suggest putting it at the lower end of the estimate.

So, a reserve of 70, and then just in case

the right person isn't there and it doesn't sell,

then you can simply take it home.

Yes.

-Maria, does this wee chap have a name?

-It doesn't, no.

Tell me, where did you get him?

It's a piece that was bought for my husband when he was born.

It was given by a family friend. He was born in 1969

and I believe that these started to be made in the '60s.

So you've had to take on the dog...

when you took on your husband.

-I did. Yeah.

-Do you like this one?

-I don't. I'm not fond of it at all.

-Well, Maria, plenty of people will be fond of it.

-Yeah.

Now, this dog was produced by Beswick,

commissioned by Dulux, the paint makers,

and if we turn our dog round,

-we can see the Beswick back stamp here.

-Yeah.

-Beswick were very good at animals.

-Yeah.

We have a very good factor there. We have a very good factory there.

-The second factor is he's an advertising figure.

-Yeah.

Dulux commissioned Beswick to design and produce this dog

and he would have sat in the shop window to advertise the paint.

Who could resist a wee face like that?

So you're appealing to the Beswick collectors and you're also appealing

-to those people who collect advertising items.

-Right. OK.

So, quite a nice item here.

I would estimate him in the region of £200-£300.

Gosh, yes...

By the way, have you consulted your husband?

He does know I'm here today!

He knows you're here.

And is he quite happy that this goes to auction?

-He's happy for him to be sold. Yeah.

-OK.

And will you share in the takings?

Yeah, in some way I will. We're hoping if we are able to sell him

that the proceeds might go towards

a piece of original art work for the house.

-You might see something at the auction.

-We might do.

-Yep.

Well, I think the dog will do well.

We'll put a reserve of £200 on him. Estimate of £200-£300.

-I'm sure he'll do very well and you'll be very pleased.

-Thank you.

Kate and Anita have found some more choice items to sell at auction.

First are the ever-popular Troika vases,

born and bred in my adopted home county of Cornwall.

Then there's the fascinating story of the home-made Stuka plane,

and it's anybody's guess whether it will take off.

Sheila's delightful card case is a quality item

and I think it might do rather well.

I hope Maria sells the Beswick dog

so she can get the art work that she really wants.

I love this little Dulux dog. He's quality. He's brilliant.

His condition is wonderful.

His coat is glossy. His nose is wet.

He should get a first.

-Best of breed. Here we go. Good luck.

-Thank you.

Lot 523. Large Beswick advertising model of an old English sheepdog.

This was issued 1964 to 1972.

£100 I have. £100. I have £100.

I have 100. 120. 140. 160.

180. At £180.

At £180. Any further advance on 180?

At 180. At £200. £200.

-There's another bid coming here.

-At £200. 210 if you like. 210.

Well done. 210. At £210. We're in the market and selling at £210.

Any further advances. At £210 then.

It's gone. £210 the hammer went down.

I was expecting 300-plus.

But you're happy, cos you're not a dog lover, are you?

And you didn't like that little Dulux dog.

-Cat lover, you see.

-Yeah.

OK. £210 less a bit for commission.

What's that going to go towards?

Hopefully, a piece of art work

for the house that we've just moved into.

Oh, brilliant.

Contemporary or sort of fancy?

More contemporary I think, yeah.

There's plenty for sale here.

Yeah. I'll keep looking.

If I said, "Proper job, my handsome," you'd certainly know what I was talking about.

In the antiques trade here, it's a little bit of Troika, belonging to Florence.

-We've got two items. And you've brought in your granddaughter?

-Yes.

-What's your name?

-Andrea.

-Andrea, this could be your inheritance...

-I hope so.

-..going under the hammer.

-Two cracking pieces of Troika caught your eye.

-Well, one has got a crack.

It has. Slightly damaged, yes.

But, nevertheless, always does well.

Good pieces as well. Why are you flogging these?

Well, they've been on a shelf in the pantry for years.

And I just... When you were coming to Oldham, I thought...

-Bring them along.

-Yeah.

Do you like Troika, Andrea?

I love the pieces, because I remember them as being...

a little girl, we had holidays to St Ives, from being a dot.

So, I remember them being at my grandma's.

-Lots and lots of happy memories.

-Really pretty.

-Aw.

Well, let's hope we put a big smile on your face now,

as these go under the hammer.

And let's hope we get that top end, £150. Fingers crossed, everyone?

Here we go, this is it.

Large Troika vase and the cylindrical vase to go with it.

Who'd like to open the bidding at £80?

60 for the two? 60, thank you, sir.

60, at 60, and 70.

I've 70, 80,

90, 100.

100, 105... 105?

110, 115, 120. 120 and 5,

130 and 5,

140 and 5, 150 and 5.

155, right at the back, 155.

160, a fresh bid.

Fresh bid wins at 160, are you all done?

-160 then. Thank you.

-£160!

Florence and Andrea, that's great news, isn't it?

That could be a trip down to Cornwall for you.

-It could.

-Couldn't it? Down to St Ives.

Because it'll be going towards my next holiday.

-Which will be hopefully in Cornwall?

-Could be.

-Could be.

Ah, Kate, that's a great result.

You could say, you could say, "Proper job."

-Proper job.

-Proper job.

Well, this next lot deserves to be on some gentleman's desk.

It's Hilary's Stuka dive bomber.

And it's wonderfully crafted out of aluminium.

I love it, I love the story behind it as well. It's got some history.

And it's got the look, hasn't it? It really has. I can see what you saw in it, Anita.

Well, the Stuka is the classic dive bomber.

And people are interested in World War memorabilia.

Now, who knows the price of it?

-It's not...

-It's speculative, this one, isn't it?

Aluminium model of a Stuka fighter plane.

What do I bid on this, 30? 20, 20?

20, I'm bid, thank you.

20, 22.50?

22.50, 25,

7.50, 30,

2.50, 35.

-Come on.

-7.50, 40,

2.50, 45, 7.50, 50.

At 50 here on my left, at £50.

Have you all done at 50?

We're selling at £50 then.

£50.

-Brilliant.

-That's good, isn't it?

Looking at that brought back lots of memories for me.

-Because I actually made one of those.

-Were you there?

-No, no, no.

I've actually made an Airfix model,

almost to the same proportion and size.

And I remember painting it up when I was a school boy.

Next up, the Victorian silver card case, belonging to Sheila,

who is an old friend of Flog It!.

How many times have you been on the show?

Ten, if you don't count the two auctions.

-Incredible!

-It's because she's got so many nice things.

You have, you have, actually.

Well, we've got a cigarette... It's not a cigarette...

It's a card case, isn't it?

Why are you flogging this one?

Well, like everybody else,

I'm tired of cleaning silver, and it was stuck in a drawer.

And Flog It! was in town, so...

Well, you came to the right expert.

-Good Birmingham maker?

-It is a good Birmingham maker.

We haven't had much under the hammer yet today. So, we don't know how many of the buyers are here.

This is the first item of silver out.

The nice thing about this is, the ivory memoir,

aide-memoire, inside. Just makes it a little bit more special.

-And the little pencil, as well, is still there.

-That's right.

640, the silver card case with a leather interior.

Birmingham, 1898. Nice condition.

What am I bid on this? 100, 80?

40 to start, 40, 40, 30?

Thank you, £30, £30

35, 35, 40, 45.

50 and 5, 60 and 5, 70?

-Yes.

-70 on my right there.

And 5, a fresh bid, 75 and 80, sir?

80, 85,

-90, 95.

-They like it.

95, second row, and 100 here.

105, 105,

110, 115,

120, one more?

125, 130.

£130 second row. 135?

135, 140,

140, 145, 150.

At 150 here on my left.

At £150... And a fresh bid, and 5.

160, and 5,

170 and 5, 180.

180, then, lady's bid of £180.

-Good result, this one.

-I think that's a fantastic price.

-Amazing.

-It exceeded my expectations...

-Well, it's quite an orderly one.

-It's got a lot of things going for it.

The condition was super, a good period piece.

-It was complete as well.

-Exactly.

-Yes.

Sheila, I'm sure there's going to be an 11th time, I can feel it.

There certainly was a great buzz in the sale room today,

and this lot, they're the lucky ones.

They're paying for the things that they've purchased.

The highlight of the day, for me, had to be Sheila's cigarette case

selling for a whopping £180,

well over its original estimate.

I hope you've enjoyed today's show.

So, until the next time, it's cheerio.