Tenby Flog It!

We've got sun, sand and sea here in Tenby and hopefully plenty

of surprises, so welcome to Flog It!

This pretty little town is in South West Wales and not only is it

a magnet for the tourists, it also has its own small fishing industry.

The tourists began to flock here in the early Victorian period,

when its stunning beaches and invigorating sea air

were considered the ideal cure for many ailments and diseases.

Well, I wish I was here to relax, but today's experts,

Charlie Ross and Philip Serral are probably already dipping the cue

looking for the best antiques to take off to auction

and not letting me have a look in.

I bet, so I think I'd better get over there and join them and start

looking for some seaside souvenirs of my own before they run out.

# We want the new traditions

# Whoa, oh, whoa, oh, oh

# It's like a revelation

# Whoa, oh, whoa, oh, oh

# We live on... #

And first to the table in the De Valance Pavilion is

Charlie Ross and it looks as though he's found something rather special.

Deanne, I think we can undoubtedly give you the prize

for the oldest thing on Flog It today,

-if not ever.

-Me or this?

THEY LAUGH

Well, not unless you were born in 1648,

1648 this is, how did you get it?

I had an elderly neighbour who I used to do her garden for her,

and she'd owned an antique shop in London.

-Really?

-In the 1920s.

-Do you know where abouts?

-In St Christopher Place.

-Right.

And one day she said to me, would you like this?

So I've had it since then and it's been in a trunk in

my house for the last 30 years and when I saw you were here today, I thought, I'll take that.

-A chance to get rid of it. Have you ever read it all?

-I have.

-Yeah, what's it about?

It's about bronzing a coat of arms for this,

I think it's Coiland Sinclair.

I think it's Coland, I've been looking at that. I think it's Coland Sinclair.

-I think that is a C, although very fancy.

-It is.

It looks like a curtain doesn't it, coming around here. Coland Sinclair.

-And it's the granting of a coat of arms to him, that family.

-Yes.

What I think is really interesting is the date, which is 1648.

One year,

in fact it was January 1649, that Charles I lost his head

because it says in the form of 20th year the reign

of our Sovereign Lord, King Charles of England.

I'm absolutely sure it's authentic.

It's definitely on vellum,

which is a calf skin, you can feel the texture of it.

Secondly, the decoration is real.

I mean, it isn't printed on, any other shape or form.

It's actually painted on.

And this, presumably, if we had time to look it up, would be the Sinclair coat of arms.

-I would have thought so.

-Which would still be going today, no doubt.

When you dug it out of the box it was in,

did you have an idea of what it might be worth?

No, no. Because I've moved house, it's actually in the garage,

-in the trunk.

-So it's not doing any good in the trunk is it?

-No it isn't.

-My view is that it is worth 50 to £100,

but it's a bit of a guess.

Certainly not worth hundreds of pounds, but it must have a value because of its age

and its relative quality,

so 50 to £100 and we'll sell it without reserve?

I know Paul gets very cross when I sell things without reserve.

No, I don't want to upset Paul.

Bother it, we'll upset Paul. Let's sell it without reserve.

SHE LAUGHS

-So it's Angharad and Barth, where does that come from, then?

-From Kosovo.

Kosovo, right. So you've brought Mum along today, have you? Has she behaved herself?

We think so!

-So, you brought this along to sell?

-Yes.

I'm going to need a bit of help here,

because I'm not sure I can manage this on my own, what is this made of?

-Leather.

-Leather, and what would you have kept in there?

-A gun.

Excellent, what a man, what a man.

We'll go into a bit more detail but leave that to me.

This is called a leg-o-mutton and it's a leather gun case

and you would keep a 12-bore shotgun in here and if you

can imagine a 12-bore shotgun, the bit of wood in front of the

trigger, called the fore-end, you take that off, then open the gun and take the barrels off.

The stop part of the trigger would go in this bit

and the barrels would go in that bit and you would shut it up

and off you'd go, carrying your gun around and in your leather, leg-o-mutton gun case.

-Have you had it long?

-No, a few months.

A few months? Why only a few months?

Just bought it at a local sale, thought it was nice,

I liked the leather and condition of it.

-What did you pay for this?

-Erm, would have worked out at £17, two for 34.

-Well, I had a word with my colleague earlier, didn't I, and what do we think this is worth?

-50.

£50, yeah, I think that's probably what we thought.

-We think this probably worth £50, but we're going to put an estimate on it of 30 to £50.

-Yeah.

And we'll put a reserve of about £25,

but I think we'll it'll sell quite well, are you happy with that?

-Yeah, that'll be great.

-Who gets the money?

I think Barth can have the money.

And what will he spend the money on?

Chocolate probably.

Fingers crossed, can you do that?

Well done, matey. Funny man, this television man, isn't he?

Francis, there's one thing missing.

-What's that?

-A nice bottle of wine.

Oh, my goodness!

THEY LAUGH

You were thinking, what's dropped off?

-I feel like a nice peppery Bordeaux right now.

-Do you?

So, I gather you're a bit of a corkscrew collector?

I like corkscrews, they've given us a lot of fun, my wife and I have

been to many, many corkscrew collectors meetings.

-How many have you got?

-About 100.

I bow to your knowledge, if you've got over 100 you must have done lots of research?

Yes, I have and I've enjoyed the whole research on corkscrews, it's been great.

This is surplus to my requirements, really.

So you're flogging off something from the lower end of the collection? Always trading upwards.

-Always trading upwards, that's it.

-You know the score, don't you? Always buy the best you can afford.

I'm looking for a maker's name, it's not signed.

-Sadly not, no.

-That's where the value is in a corkscrew.

It would've been made, probably in Birmingham,

there were lots of factories in Birmingham in the 1830s, '40s, '50s, making this type of thing.

As you know, it's a Thomason type, with this mechanical working.

Yes, invented by Sir Edward Thomason.

Typical nice steelwork and that does all the work.

You can see it's survived the years.

Great quality, Victorian quality at it's best.

-It looks 1820s or 30s with that handle, which is a detail you will find.

-That's nice, isn't it?

-It's a nice turned-bone handle.

-Very nice.

Dusting-off brush which adds a bit of value.

You can have a drink and a shave at the same time. Why not!

THEY LAUGH

It's of brass construction, I like the armorial that's the coat

of arms of Queen Victoria, so this dates this around about 1840.

That sort of era, yes.

It's beautiful, it's a nice thing to hold, it is a gentleman's toy.

Yeah, it's a very nice thing, this is what first attracted me

to corkscrews, very nice, tactile things and associated with wine...

-Which is what you love!

-Exactly!

-THEY LAUGH

I must admit, I'm with you on that one.

-Are you?

-Yeah, if we could attribute this to a maker, that's where

the value is, it'd be worth in the region of two to £300. But we can't.

I still think it's worth in the region of 130 to £150, somewhere around there.

But put a reserve on at 100.

-100, OK, fine.

-Fixed reserve at 100.

-Happy with that?

-Yes, I'm happy.

-Brenda, how are you doing?

-Very well, thank you.

Now, I think this is really, really interesting.

I've got one of these at home that was my grandfather's.

They're always known as Queen Mary's gift box, aren't they?

-Yes.

-But they're not really Queen Mary's cos they are...?

-Princess Mary.

-Right. And I'm going to let you tell me all about it now,

so you're going to become the Flog It expert

-and I'll sit here and listen.

-The ambition of my life!

-Come on, then.

-Well, this box was given to me by an elderly gentleman

about 25 years ago, cos he knew I collected tins

and I've got dozens of them and then I opened it up

and inside was the original contents with the card from Princess Mary

to the troops, which said, "With all best wishes

"for a happy Christmas and a victorious new year."

And this was in 1914.

And then there was the original tobacco...

and the cigarettes...

..and the badge with "Victory" written on it. Yeah.

So, let me just take one of these...

Lord above!

Look at that, eh?

There's no health warning on those, is there?

No, and it's got Princess Mary's stamp on it.

It's got Princess Mary's monogram just there, hasn't it?

And let's just see what else it's got in there.

Have you seen that?

-Yeah.

-Isn't that just lovely?

-That's Princess Mary.

-Her photographed seated.

-Yeah.

Let me just shut the box up so we can just still see this cover.

What we see in the sale room today is normally just that, isn't it?

-Yes.

-Cos these contents have long since gone.

-Yes.

And the thing that I always think is really really sad

-is they make little or no money.

-No, I know.

Mind you, there were thousands of them distributed, weren't there?

-Yeah, but I mean how many Beswick horses were there made?

-Yeah.

-You know?

-That's true.

And that, without the contents

in an auction's probably, what, £5 or £10?

-Yes. Something like that.

-And no more than that. And for people

who've lost family in the First World War,

I think they ought to be worth a whole load more than it is.

Why are you selling it?

Well, I've got so many hundreds of tins

and the house we're in now,

you can't display them like we used to be able to

and I saw Flog It was coming and thought I'd find something quirky.

You'd take it to Flog It and Flog It.

Yeah. I don't know how many people have seen one with the contents.

No. And that's the key thing, cos the fact that you've got all of this.

I just think that's absolutely lovely

and I think at auction this is going to make between 20 and £40.

-And I think that you need a reserve on it at £15.

-Yeah.

I think if someone's got 20 quid at the auction,

-they've got a real bit of history there, haven't they?

-Yeah.

And so, well done you, for bringing it in.

-Some museum might buy it.

-Let's live in hope.

Richard, I know what should be in there and I'm certain it is,

because I've lifted it up. I know the weight of it. Where did it come from?

Well, it was found in my father's house, he died about 10 years ago.

My wife and I were sorting around his stuff and she found it at the bottom of a cupboard

under a lot of linen and I had never see it before and we really know nothing about its history.

Right, well we can tell you all about it. Have you used it all?

Oh, yes, it works reasonably well.

I had it on my desk for a couple of years and then it started to lose

time and I got a bit fed up of it so I put it in its box and hid it away.

I'm expecting to find a carriage clock in here, I'm sure I will.

There is a little button that releases the top.

What you can do is leave it in its case and still have the benefit of the clock itself, carriage clock as

it is, by just pulling that panel up there

and a slot in the back to put it in. Isn't that neat?

-Very nice.

-Let me just pull it out.

Ah, now this is a very special carriage clock.

It's got three wonderful panels.

We'll come to those in a minute.

Now, the case itself is brass.

I expect the case is made in England.

I expect the movement to be French

and the panels, that I mentioned briefly, are pietra dura,

hard stone, literally translated from the Italian.

They are panels from Italy.

And it's a miniature carriage clock and I think it's absolutely sweet.

I can see that there is a little bit of damage on the back panel here.

That is an expensive job to do.

Somebody doing this will need to repair that, otherwise, bit by bit,

the pieces of stone will fall out and you'll be left with nothing.

But, the side panel is absolutely perfect.

-Did you think about the value of it while you had it tucked away?

-Well, it's a nice looking thing.

I would say that it has value because it's pretty,

but I know that it is not in terribly good condition.

It's just that last panel, that back panel of petra dura.

I think it's worth, well it would be worth

three to 500 all day long in perfect condition.

I really think two to 300 is the right estimate,

reserve at 200 and the auctioneer should work hard

on this because I think it will certainly be, even if there's

six carriage clocks in his sale, it'll be the best carriage clock at his auction.

When I think of romanticised Wales, I'm imagining rolling green hills

and wonderful stone built workshops isolated in the countryside,

with possibly beams of sunlight sort of glittering in

on a lone artisan working inside there...

using hand tools, working with his hands, creating something

and hopefully listening to the sound of a gentle strumming harp.

However, here in the village of Llandysul, near Carmarthen,

a mini Industrial Revolution has taken place.

The old handicrafts have been replaced

by computers and technology, transforming the art of harpmaking.

And it's all down to a small community of workers.

The project is called Telynau Teifi and it's spearheading

the mechanisation of harpmaking, creating employment

and harnessing the skills and enthusiasm of young local people.

The scheme is the brain child of Allan Shiers, who began making harps

as an artisan, 30 years ago.

Tell me a little bit about harps. It's such an unusual instrument

to be involved with. How did that happen?

I worked for a chap called John Weston Thomas,

who resurrected the craft of harpmaking in Wales, cos prior to that, it had died out.

I worked for five years and stayed in contact with him

when I went to teach at the Welsh Instrument School.

So, his harps were the ones to have for anybody that was into Celtic music?

-Yeah.

-What was it like to make your very first complete harp?

-Can you remember that day?

-Yeah, I can.

John Thomas and I worked together.

We said we'd make two halves in parallel,

so he could keep an eye on me and then at the end,

the people came to play them and they were just

equal to each other and that was quite a moment.

He always said that eventually, the pupil should exceed the master

or the master has failed, which is daunting cos he was a great chap.

And then, he's died now, but we've gone on to make concert harps

which he never did, so we're taking that on to the next generation

and expanding what we do.

What's the difference between a concert harp

and one of the standard harps?

If you thought of, say, a mode of transport as being a bicycle and a motor car, they're both very...

-as different as that.

-Appropriate for different needs, but the complexity of parts

is about 2,000 moving parts in a concert harp,

but far less in a folk harp or a Celtic harp.

How long would it take you to normally build a Celtic harp?

By hand, it would be about six or eight weeks.

And then a concert harp, about a year.

I remember thinking "Crumbs, I've spent...

"however many weeks making that harp and somebody's actually paid for it."

-And that must be a nice feeling.

-Well, when they play it,

when the harp sings for the first time,

it's quite a special moment, really.

At my age, you start thinking, "Hang on, how can we pass this on

"to the next generation before I lose my skills."

The best way to do it, I felt, was to actually make it into

a community business, if we could, involving the local authority.

Bought an old school,

so we built it into a team of people, rather than an individual.

The question was how you did it,

how you actually changed from a craft into a community business,

a one-man band to seven or eight people

and then the way that you communicated those skills

using appropriate technology to take away the drudgery,

and free you up to do the creative stuff. That's the bottom line,

does it frees you up to be creative? I think that's the best way.

These youngsters coming in have been brought up with computers

and they'll be using skills I don't have

and that's great cos it's a cross-fertilization.

I need them and they need me and that makes the team more balanced.

Do you think there might be a danger that

-all the old ways might be replaced?

-I don't think so.

I think the quality of the wood and the soundboard

and the acoustics, are still very human

and even though we've done something on a machine,

it still has to be hand finished and toleranced and fitted,

so all the machines do is break the donkey work down.

We have people who are a bit like I was when I was 16,

bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Anxious to learn

and get the thrill of actually turning stuff into things.

-And then when it's played, what a reward!

-Yes.

I think that's human nature. That doesn't change with age.

I still get the same buzz, but for me, it's nice to see

one of the lads who's done something, sit back and I know exactly

what's going through his mind and that's very creative.

If a 16 or 20-year-old can do that, there's a chance this will survive.

Do you think the definitive harp has been made yet?

No. I wouldn't keep struggling, I think,

and the harp, to some extent, is still in its infancy.

Stradivari, Guarneri, Amati violins, that's the absolute,

I don't think we've got there with the harp and that's exciting.

The work of Allan Shiers' Telynau Teifi community

is certainly ongoing.

Not only are they embracing new technology to improve the instrument,

but they're also closely working with Cardiff University

to improve the instrument's sound.

You can definitely say the future of this stunning instrument

is in safe hands.

And before we head off to auction, it's time for a little reminder

of what we are taking with us.

Starting with Phillip's find,

Princess Mary's gift box with all its original contents.

It's a real little time capsule.

The document is certainly old,

but will its age be reflected in the price?

I hope the gun case makes the £50 Barth has predicted.

He could be an auctioneer of the future.

The corkscrew is a lovely item, so let's hope

someone in the saleroom agrees and wants to add it to their collection.

I've got high hopes for Richard's carriage clock,

at 200 to £300, this could be the time to buy it.

We've left sunny Tenby behind and we've come here,

to Carmarthen to Peter Francis Auctioneers,

where I hope the sun is still shining on our experts' valuations

and our owners' items, as they go under the hammer.

We have two auctioneers taking the rostrum for us today, Nigel Hodgson and Jeff Thomas.

Something for the purists. This is the oldest thing in the show.

Possibly one of the oldest things we've ever had.

Dated 1648, the King Charles I parchment

and it belongs to Deanne here, and hopefully for not much longer.

-Well, it's going to sell, there is no reserve on this.

-That's true.

And guess who got that in?

-I can't possibly imagine.

-THEY LAUGH

Who likes sneaking those in?

Lot 659 is the 17th Century parchment

or perhaps vellum document, dated 4th July 1648.

-Some interest here.

-Oh, good.

I have two bidders which start me at 160.

Wow! That's good.

£200 I'm bid, £200 I'm bid with me,

at 200, can I say 220 anywhere else?

Selling it then, all happy?

-Selling at £200!

-Yay!

-Wow!

-Extraordinary!

I didn't think it would sell.

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

-I know, but even so...

No reserve you see, so it kind of puts you in a down mood to start with.

-He said you'd be annoyed if he put no reserve on it.

-Yeah.

-I said I don't want to annoy you!

-Oh, oh!

It's now time to introduce you to Angharad and Barth. Hi, there.

He is our youngest valuer on the show.

You know what, I think he's going to be good when he grows up.

-How much is this going for?

-£50.

£50!

Well, it's leather gun case, the leg-o-mutton, isn't really, by virtue of its shape?

We did a valuation of around 30-£50.

That's what Barth told me and I think he's probably right. I think it'll do very well.

-Do you?

-He's promised me a high five at the end.

Has he? Well, let's hope we get a big high five £50 for this.

It's now all down to the auctioneer and he's over there on the rostrum.

43 is a mid 20th century, leather, leg-o-mutton gun case.

£50 start me, 50?

50, 30, £30,

20 to go, no-one wants it, surely. £20, 20 I have.

At £20, I bid 30, at 30, £30, 40,

at 30 then, goes then at £30.

-Yes! Well done, spot on, Philip.

-It's five, but not a high five.

-Yeah. A high 30.

OK, now it's my turn to be the expert.

Remember that lovely little corkscrew? The Victorian one.

Well, it's going under the hammer. I've been joined by Francis, its owner.

-Thank you, Paul.

-Hopefully we'll get the top end of the estimate.

-I hope so.

-There are a couple of other corkscrews here.

-I know.

-Competition.

-But that's good because it brings in the dealers. There is a few for them to choose from.

-Good, good.

-And obviously if we get that top end, then you are going home with a bottle of wine.

I would hope so. I'm going to trade wine for wine on this occasion. THEY LAUGH

458, an early 19th century, Thomason patented,

telescopic brass and steel corkscrew.

-9 inch, fully extended.

-It's a nice thing, it's a gentleman's toy, this.

-Indeed.

-And very practical as well.

And it could tell a few stories I suspect.

100 to start me, 100? 80?

-£80, £50, £50. As low as that?

-Come on.

At 50, £50, 60 surely now, at 50, £50 I bid, 60, £60.

-Struggling, isn't it?

-Yeah.

£70 bid, at 70, 80, do I hear now?

-At 70, £70, are you all done then?

-Oh, dear, never mind.

At 70, bit disappointing. At 70, you all done?

At £70, well I'm very sorry, we have to pass it.

-Oh, well.

-There we are.

-We got all excited for nothing.

-Yes.

-Oh, dear.

That's unusual because I had a chat to the auctioneer and he said

no problem because they normally mention things if there's a problem.

If he thinks they're not going to sell, he knows the market,

he'll say, "Paul, I think it's going to struggle."

-Right.

-But he didn't say anything.

He agreed with the valuation, I guess.

-Fair enough.

-There were no wine lovers here, like us!

-No.

Next up, I've been joined by Brenda

and Phillip, our expert, and we've got the Princess Mary 1914

commemoration gift to the soldiers in the First World War,

with a cheeky little valuation by Phillip. 30, 40, hopefully £50?

It had, though, to be fair, it had some damage to the tin, didn't it?

-It was cracked.

-You look too close, your eye's too good!

I didn't spot that. Nigel spotted that.

Don't go telling all these other people here about it now.

-Dear me!

-But we think it could do the top end of the estimate.

-Good.

-40, 50, £60. That's what we want.

-We do.

-Up there. 60 odd.

-It's going under the hammer now. Good luck, Brenda.

-Thank you.

This is one of the First World War period gilded brass tobacco boxes

that you come across quite regularly in sales, but unusually

with this one, it contains the block of tobacco and the cigarettes,

which originally came with it.

This is one, he obviously wasn't a smoker, so very politically correct.

Nice for the collector to have all the bits and pieces inside. Lot 425.

Some interest from collectors with me and I can start the bidding...

two bids very close together, in fact,

I can start the bidding at 50.

-Fantastic.

-That's a real good price, isn't it?

60 in the room now. At £55 I'm bid. With me at £55.

Against you all, then. At £55. Is there 60 in the room?

Are you done then? To sell? Against you all, then. At £55.

Yes. That hammer's gone down. That's good.

Do you know, I mean, buying into a piece of social history for £55

and you get something like that, I think that's really special.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you so much, as well.

This lot has got a strong continental flavour. It belongs to Richard.

A small carriage clock that packs a big price.

We've got £200-300 put on this by our expert, Charles, here.

-Spot on.

-Yes, and we're all hoping for that top end, £300.

-I could see it creeping over the top, actually.

-Yes, so can I.

-He said, hopefully.

Well, this is what it's all about. This is where the excitement is! Pressure building right now.

We're bigging this up but you never know what's gonna happen,

so watch this, because it's going under the hammer now.

And lot 291, which is the pretty little late 19th century

gilt brass carriage clock.

-Absolutely stunning.

-Very pretty little clock and significant interest with me here.

-Well, good.

-Great.

The lowest commission bid is £500.

-What?

-500, 600, 700.

£750 is what I have with me.

May I say £800?

Is there 800 in the room? Any more?

With me and to be sold, then, happy at £750.

Straight in and straight out. Blink and you'll miss it.

-£750, Richard.

-I can't believe it!

Well, do you know, it just goes to show how individual that little clock was.

-There's tears in your eyes, nearly.

-I know. I want it back!

-THEY LAUGH

One of my great passions in life is wood.

I love it in the sort of living, organic form.

But also in its cut and felled form.

It's incredibly versatile.

It's beautiful to look at and also wonderfully tactile.

Not only is it useful for making practical items like tables and chairs,

you can also make wonderful sentimental items

like this love spoon which was made right here, just outside Tenby.

The tradition of making love spoons is believed to have originated in Wales

and dates as far back as the 17th century.

Spoons were given as a token of engagement or betrothal.

And the tradition has lived on.

And the man who's keeping the tradition very much alive is Kerry Thomas.

Kerry, thank you very much for meeting up with us today

and obviously letting me have a go.

How did you get into this?

I first heard about the tradition back in 1969 when I was courting.

I'd heard about the tradition of the love spoon, that it was a token of an engagement.

And I thought it would be a good idea to make a love spoon to save myself having to buy an engagement ring.

-Simple as that.

-As simple as that.

So in fact, the first spoon I ever made was this simple one here,

and once I carved the spoon, offered it to my girlfriend,

she accepted it, and that became our first engagement spoon. 1969.

Your workshop here, it's just wonderful.

It's good being surrounded by items of folk art.

I think it's good for your soul.

It's a lovely material.

Wood is such a lovely material to work with and I'm privileged, really,

to be able to make my living from such a lovely material.

-You've made hundreds of thousands, which I want to talk to you about a little later on.

-OK.

But can I have a go?

Can you talk me through it, because I want to make one for my wife,

so I think this would be a good opportunity to try my skills out.

-Yes, yes. Let's start.

-With your expert advice.

I really like that kind of love spoon, which...

It almost reads like a love letter for the intended.

-Oh, yes, there's a message.

-There's a message in there.

We want to try to get a little bit of a message in your spoon, if we can.

Every spoon is unique.

The symbols carved on them have specific meanings.

Often the interpretation and the message

are relevant only to the recipient.

Well, it looks a bit rough.

I've drawn it straight out on a blank of oak here.

-I hope you approve of this, Kerry.

-Oh, it's excellent.

I've got nice raised back panel,

which for me, looks like a piece of furniture.

There's my hole, I want to hang this on the wall, because I'm very proud of this.

Well, hopefully I'll be proud of it!

That's my initial, "P" for Paul, "C" for Charlotte.

I've used this motif, I'm going to obviously put a hole in there

and cut this out with a fretsaw.

Now that's a soul motif that the ancient Egyptians used.

I've got keys, that's the key to my heart and also the key to my house.

I've put an escutcheon so hopefully we can live together

and hopefully she'll fall in love with that and cherish it.

I'm sure she will, I'm sure she will.

-It did the trick for you, didn't it?

-Yeah.

There, now this hopefully should look something like it. Ah!

-I'm happy with that. Are you happy?

-Yeah, definitely.

-Is that OK?

-So far so good, almost there.

-Humble origins. It's getting there.

It just needs a bit more love and a couple more stages.

Obviously a smoothing plane on that and lots of sanding.

You make a spoon every year which is very personal to you.

It not only records events that are going on in your life

but also world events.

-That's correct.

-Can you show me some examples?

Yes. I obviously started with out engagement spoon

and from there, we went on to our wedding spoon,

-and from there we go to 1977.

-Children.

Various ways to record the birth of a child on a love spoon.

-With the little balls.

-You can have a link, the name, the seed.

This is very clever because this is made out of one piece of wood.

How long did that take you to do?

Guessing about 60 hours, maybe, at the time.

-That's a lot of work.

-Yes, at that time.

1984, this one here records a little bit of what was happening in '84.

Now that's different.

You have a picture of a sun, a picture of the rain, on a balance.

Because in 1984, Bob Geldof started BandAid and LiveAid the following year.

What we were saying is how fortunate we are, in our country to have a balance of sun and rain.

Does this open up?

The word "Grace" interprets God's riches.

How do you receive God's riches?

You simply open your heart.

Isn't that lovely?

It plays Amazing Grace. You have the dove of peace set inside.

Well, that's so sweet.

Shall we have a look at some more you've made over there?

Yes, fine.

These caught my eye. The keys.

That's one of my favourites, actually.

My wife actually designed this one.

-Did she?

-And it goes back to 1986.

The space shuttle Challenger, unfortunately, exploded,

so the design is, "What is the key to life?"

Does the answer lie in space? Is that where the key to life is?

Is it your hobby?

Is it money? Is it stardom?

Being famous. Being on TV.

Or is it music, being a pop idol, maybe? Is that...

Is it your family? Children?

Before we get to the last one, Is it self?

Is that the key to life, self? Or is it the cross?

We're fortunate we have the freedom in our country

to choose the key to life.

That's what that spoon is all about.

That's really incredible. A work of art. Do you know what?

Talking about works of art, I can't wait to finish my little love spoon.

Have you noticed, I haven't put it down? It's...

This is really dear to me.

Can we go and finish it off, sand it off,

put a smoothing plane there and finish the bowl.

Yeah, yeah. That's the next job.

I've thoroughly enjoyed my visit here with Kerry.

It's been so inspirational.

He is a craftsman, keeping a tradition and a spirit well alive here in Wales.

And if you get a chance to pay him a visit, please do.

You'll get a one-off spoon made for you.

And I was lucky enough to make my own with his expert guidance.

It's my design... it only took three hours.

It's slightly naive, but there's a lot of heart and soul and integrity

and that's what it's all about with folk art.

I absolutely love this and I hope my wife does too.

Back at the valuation day, Philip's found a couple of fellow dog lovers.

Steve and Kathy. The Deerhound Club.

-That's correct.

-You're dog mad.

Absolutely.

-I've got a lurcher.

-Have you?

Mad as a March hare.

-They're lovely.

-How long have you been in deerhounds?

Been in deerhounds 18 years.

-18 years.

-And we show them, breed them and I judge.

-Really?

-Yes.

-So do you do Crufts, and...

We do. We got a first at Crufts this year.

Really? My dog's more scruffs rather than Crufts.

-They're all wonderful.

-Yeah, how many have you got?

-Four.

Four. There is a nice link here, isn't there?

Because we've been talking about dogs and we've got Rover. You like that?

-It's lovely.

-Just seamlessly, you moved to it, seamlessly.

This is a car mascot that I think came off a Rover motor car,

but if you look there we can just see, this is the radiator cap.

And so that would have just screwed on

to the front of our radiator... a bit like a car that Siegfried Farnon has

on All Creatures Great and Small. Did he have a Rover?

-Yes, I believe so.

-I think so.

-And it's all elegance of an age gone by, isn't it?

-Yes.

It's a load different from the plastic badges we get now, isn't it?

-Is this something you picked up at a car boot, or...?

-No, through the family.

It was my grandfather's,

and I believe it had been his father's before that.

As I understand it, between the two wars and we had the car as well,

-when the Rover was a prestigious car.

-You're absolutely right, yes.

And they kept the radiator cap when the car went.

This has come down the family since 1920-something.

-Yes, I believe so.

-Now you want to sell it.

-We do.

-Why?

We're not collectors of car memorabilia.

We don't really display it and I believe someone that does have an interest in automobiles

would have a great deal of joy out of it.

-That's a real good reason for selling something.

-I think they would.

A real good reason. You're passing this on so someone else can enjoy it.

-Can appreciate it, yes.

-You haven't asked what it's worth yet.

-Not yet.

It's not worth a fortune. It's probably going to make, at auction,

in the order of £30 to £50.

I think you need to put a £20 reserve on it that's fixed.

And people... there are avid collectors of car mascots,

indeed some of them can make thousands,

or tens of thousands of pounds.

Good luck with the dogs. What's the... Do you have a kennel name?

-Gazeawhile.

-Gazeawhile.

-Yes.

Your dogs are Gazeawhile something.

That's correct. Gazeawhile Lyric is the name of one of our dogs

and Gazeawhile Song is another name.

-Where does that come from?

-"Gaze awhile" is from the Fields of Gold song by Sting.

-Oh, right.

-And gaze also because they're gazehounds.

They're sight hounds, so all linked together.

I'm going to put in a special request now.

-Yes.

-A real special request. You're going to sell this for £20 or £30.

-Yes.

-Hopefully.

Let's put this towards a collar or something for your new puppy,

and let's call it Gazeawhile Flog It.

So everybody at home, when they watch Crufts in, what, three years' time?

-Indeed.

-They can see Gazeawhile Flog It as supreme champion.

That would be good, wouldn't it?

Agreed. It's a done deal.

Thank you.

Before we talk about the plates, I have to tell you that my director

thinks that you remind her of Robert De Niro.

-Jolly good.

-That's a good start, isn't it?

It's a good start if I had his bank balance.

Perhaps that's why your wife married you.

Not for the bank balance, so she tells me.

Right. What can you tell me about these plates?

I only know that I bought them about 40, say 40 some odd years ago.

-Did you?

-In an auction.

-And what took your eye?

-I thought they were marvellous.

-Yeah.

-My wife is not that keen.

-She's not that keen?

-No.

But she'll have the money.

Most of it.

-Twas ever thus, Gerald, twas ever thus.

-Yes.

What struck me, and before we turn them over,

I sure you know who they're by.

Yes, yes, they're Worcester.

Yes, they're Royal Worcester.

They're a bit of an anathema.

They are hand decorated, very well hand decorated.

-Very clever.

-Yes.

-Whoever had a brush there, did a marvellous job.

-The brush strokes are tremendous.

-Lovely.

They are. Aesthetic movement, typically Worcester,

bold brush strokes onto a bit Japanesey background,

sort of peony background.

I personally don't think that they particularly go well together

and I think that's going to affect them commercially.

-Yes.

-We'll turn one over.

-You can't get better marks.

-No.

-They are as crisp as you like.

-It's very clear, isn't it? Yes.

Absolutely crisp Worcester mark and the kite mark which will date them.

They're certainly pre-1882, so they're 120, 130 years old.

Yes.

-And what about value?

-I don't know. I'm going to leave that to you.

I'll tell you what I think they should be worth,

which will be be rather different to their commercial value.

You'd think any hand-painted Worcester plate must be worth

-£20 or £30, wouldn't you?

-Yes.

Which would put the six of them at £120-£180.

I don't think they're worth anything like that. Sadly, they're just not very commercial.

I'd like to put £100-150 on them.

Perhaps the old Flog It! adage of £80-120 would be better.

If you start reserving them with much more than £60 or £70, we could have a struggle on our hands.

I would have like to sort of thought about something like £70.

Tell you what, we'll settle at £70.

-£70.

-Sold to the man in the corner.

-Sold, right.

-Right.

You might well find two people really like them.

I think the different styles possibly will put people off.

I can't wait to be proved wrong. Thank you for bringing them in.

So we have got Lisa and Selina. How are you?

-OK.

-Good. Come far?

Yeah, about an hour and a half.

Do you often take you mother out with you, or not very often?

-Yeah.

-When she's well behaved.

-Yeah.

-What time do you have to get home? Early?

-Any time.

Yes, we have to look after her.

-Difficult thing with elderly parents, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-I know.

I know just how you feel. Who's is this?

-Is this yours or mother's?

-Mother's.

-Mother's.

-It is. Yeah.

-Lisa, this is just absolutely lovely.

-I've always liked it.

-Do you know what it is?

No, I'm afraid there's not much history on it at all.

-Where does it come from?

-From my grandfather.

It was left to him in a will from a lady that he used to board with before and during the war.

He looked after her a bit as well and always admired the picture.

This is what my mother told me. When she died, she left it to him in her will.

This is a painting.

-I think so, yes.

-It is and it isn't.

-Right.

-Right, because it's a porcelain plaque.

-Right.

-The best porcelain plaque manufacturer is KPM,

which is something like Konigliche Porzellan, whatever.

-Yes, right.

-But it's the king's porcelain manufacturer in Berlin.

OK? So let's move it over then.

So now,

we have here this really wonderful 19th century painting on a porcelain panel,

and it's of a sort of young girl looking quite wistful

with this landscape beyond and it's...

The detail is glorious. You can just see a little ring on her finger here.

-Her eyes are stunning.

-Yes. That's always drawn me to it.

-Almost like she's looking at you.

-Yes.

This sort of veil here is wonderful.

The mark that we're looking for,

and I know is there, because I looked earlier, is KPM.

-That's the sceptre mark, you can see in the porcelain.

-Right.

And that is the best.

We're going to turn to you now, Selina. Do you like it?

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

-If she was yours, would you sell her?

-Yes.

-You would?

-All about money, yes? If she made lots of money, you'd sell her.

-Yes.

Good stuff. Good on you, girl.

What's your view, Mum. Is yours the same?

Well, I'm torn really. You know, because it is a family heirloom.

I remember this at my grandfather's house when I was a child, so...

And I know he always liked it and cherished it, but...

-Have you had it valued?

-No, not at all before.

I've always thought about it, and never done anything until...

If this were to make £100 to £200 at auction, that would be good.

I wouldn't sell it for that. I'd rather keep it,

because it's more sentimental value.

-What about sort of £300-£500. Is that sort of...?

-No, no.

So £600-£900, is that getting closer to it?

-No, I'd still keep it for that.

-You're absolutely right.

You're absolutely right. I think at auction that you could estimate it

at probably £1,200-£1,800.

Yes, I think it's worth that because she's so nice.

I have to tell you that if she went and made 2,500 or £3,000,

it wouldn't overly surprise me.

So what I want to know is, if this makes £2,000,

Selina, what are you going to spend the money on?

A horse.

A horse. Is that a definite horse?

Or a maid or a day out shopping in New York.

A day out shopping in New York?

-Yeah, so you don't want much, really, do you(?)

-No.

If it goes really well, you could have a maid and a horse and a day out shopping.

Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Carol, I spotted this across the room.

You were sitting there holding this and I almost ran over to see you

because I got so excited about it. I think it's a splendid object,

-rather wacky and wonderful.

-Strange looking.

-How did you come by it?

-Well, my mum bought it.

-It must have been a jumble sale, or some kind of sale.

-Yeah.

And then, when she passed away, my son had it...

but he's a bit of a coward, so...

-he sent mother today.

-Did he come with you?

-He's outside, I think.

-But he wants to sell it?

-Yes.

-Do you know anything about it other than what you see?

No, nothing at all. We didn't even know what it was used for,

-or anything.

-No.

It's a French word. It's an epergne.

French word for a central table display. Normally, they're glass.

You see trumpet shaped vases,

in a holder and they're quite often cranberry glass, Vaseline glass.

This - I have never seen a combination of

death and flowers!

This is, after all, a fighter plane,

from obviously the First World War and it's even got some working parts.

-That goes round. And the rudder works, as well.

-Yeah.

And it's dated 1919, so we know when it was made.

-Yeah.

-Right at the end of the war.

The vases come out

and you see it's got that sort of yellowy look, brass look...

-I think, originally, it was silver plated.

-It's been well brassoed.

It's been well cleaned to such an extent

that there is no silver plate left on that, whatsoever.

But I think it's beautifully modelled

and I think it would be hugely collectable for the right person.

-Why does he want to sell it?

-It's just stuck in the cupboard.

It's no good in the cupboard. He doesn't like it, presumably.

My mum had it out when she had it.

-You've no idea what it might be worth.

-Nothing at all.

But, on the other hand, if I told you it was worth £3,

-you probably wouldn't want to sell it.

-No.

Did he say, "Mum, I'll sell this provided it makes so much?"

-Yes. Yes.

-Did he?

-Yeah.

-And what did he say?

-Well, will it be worth us going to the auction?

-Which is what?

-30, we'd say it would cost.

-30?

-Yeah.

I think it's worth £200 or £300.

Oh, I think he'd sell it for that. Definitely.

-I think we ought to put a reserve on it.

-Right.

If we say £200 to 300 and put a fixed reserve of £100 on it,

so the auctioneer mustn't sell it, under any circumstances, below that.

-Right.

-And hopefully I'm proved right and it is worth £200 to 300.

-Right. That's fine.

-Do you think that's fair enough?

-Yeah.

I think a collector's going to have to have this.

-I have never seen anything like it before.

-I haven't.

It's now time to head off to the auction,

so let's hope the beautiful plaque sells at the top end of its estimate

so Selina can get her horse, a maid and a shopping trip to New York.

The silver biplane epergne is yet another reminder of a bygone era.

Hopefully, the overzealous cleaning

won't have rubbed off too much of its value.

Kathy and Steve unfortunately don't have the car, just the mascot.

I wonder if the two will ever meet again once it goes under the hammer.

Finally, Gerald's plates aren't the typical Worcester we usually see,

so I hope there's a market out there for these.

Back to the auction, but before we get selling again,

I'll have a quick chat with auctioneer, Nigel Hodson, about Lisa's porcelain plaque.

Now this is real quality, I think.

-That's what you expect from a Berlin plaque.

-Yeah.

-Stunning.

It's got everything about it and I think the price is spot on, £1,200-1,800.

It is a very beautiful thing, and these are always exquisitely painted

and the expression on this young woman's face is just something to behold.

-Angelic.

-Stunning. Angelic is a great word.

Could it break through the £2,000 barrier?

It's got to be thereabouts. £1,200 to 1,800.

It's certainly worth more than £1,000, let's see what happens.

Is it the sort of thing you'd love to have on your wall?

I think it is, but I don't think I can afford it, to be honest!

Carol, we've got this gorgeous little epergne of yours and

I totally agree with Charlie on the valuation of £200 to £300, you know.

I think it's a hugely collectable item, in the right hands.

Whether the right people will be here today... fingers crossed.

That's what auctions are about.

-They are a bit scary, aren't they?

-Yeah.

It's time to batten down the hatches and weather the storm here.

We're going to put this under the hammer now.

I think this is great and if it doesn't sell,

it's the wrong auction, the wrong day. There's another auction, OK?

-This is it.

-A very unusual epergne which is a first for me.

I've never seen an epergne modelled as a biplane.

This is such fun.

First World War biplane with trumpets coming out the fuselage.

-How mad is that?

-What do I say for it?

In your hands, it's an unusual thing.

Never seen the like. What's it worth? £200 away to put me in.

-200 to put me in.

-He's got no bids on the book.

100 to start me. For the epergne.

-100 to start me.

-Oh, come on.

50 for it. 50, the lady in the corner. At 50.

Can't believe this.

At 60 here. 60. 70. 80.

At 80. 90. At 90. The lady in the corner at £90.

Oh, have we got a discretion on this?

Do I see 100 now? In your hands at £90.

A lady's bid in the room. All done.

In the corner then, at £90 only.

-He has.

-We sold it at £90.

100 reserve on it.

He used a bit of discretion.

I think that's not enough.

-It wasn't exactly chocks away, was it?

-No. It wasn't exactly.

-It didn't fly, did it?

-No.

No. Do you know, for me, it just put a smile on your face

and they're the kind of things you should invest in.

It reminds me of The Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machine,

that wonderful wacky movie. It's gone. OK. It's gone. We've got £90.

Well, you know what they say, if you want to travel in style, get yourself a car mascot.

We've got one right here, right now, up for sale, belonging to Kathy and Steve. I love it. I love it.

It's a Viking, it belongs at the head of the car, as a radiator cap.

There you go, you know, so individual,

and this had been on the family car for a long time, hasn't it?

It was my great grandfather's.

Why are you selling this?

We don't collect, it's something we don't display.

We're hoping someone who appreciates motoring memorabilia would enjoy it.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure they will enjoy it, because they are quite rare.

Let's hope we get the top end anyway. This is it, going under the hammer!

Lot 452 is the Rover car radiator mascot,

the form of a bearded Viking warrior, as you'd expect.

There we are, what do you say for that? In your hands entirely.

Little bit of interest. What can I start at?

£50 away on that? For the car radiator mascot.

50, 30...

30, 40 at the back.

40, 50, at 50, 60, at 60.

-Very good.

-65 is with me, in fact. At 65, 70 at the back of the room.

At 70 now, at 70 at the back of the room. In the room at £70. All done?

-£70.

-Good.

-70 quid. Fabulous!

-Wonderful.

Fantastic. Thank you very much.

Six Worcester plates up for grabs.

They belong to Gerald, with a valuation of £80-120

according to our expert, Charlie here.

The classic cliche. Well, good luck, both of you.

They're going under the hammer right now. This is it.

Lot 593 is a set of six Royal Worcester porcelain tea plates.

Hand painted with autumn leaves.

What do you say there? About £100 away.

I would have thought so.

50's all I'm bid.

At 50, 60 do you want now? At 50 only. At 50 only.

60 may I say? At 50 on the Worcester tea plates there at 50 only.

-We're not getting any action.

-At 50.

At 50 only. No interest further?

Not to be sold, I'm afraid.

So sorry. We gave it our best shot.

It just wasn't really your day.

-Never mind.

-In another sale room on another day, I'm sure they'll reach their price.

The buyers weren't here today, it's as simple as that.

You win some, you lose some.

Well, it's got the impressed marks of KPM, which means quality.

We've all seen this at the valuation day, that Berlin plaque belonging to Lisa and Selina here.

I must say you both look fantastic.

Lovely pinks going on here.

It's all colour-coordinated.

That little plaque was so beautiful.

We've seen them on the show before.

Philip's seen them as well,

but not with such an angelic face as this woman's, captured so perfectly.

-They are normally older ladies and older men.

-Yes.

Older men and older ladies ain't quite so commercial.

Not so good to look at, are they?

Full of character, but not so good.

Yeah. You liked this so much you actually put the reserve up.

We had a fixed reserve at 1,200.

It's now been put up to £1,400. Yes. I don't blame you.

Had a chat to the auctioneer just before the sale started.

-We all think it's going to sell for around £1,800-£2,000.

-Hopefully.

I mean, a lovely fairy tale ending would be sort of plus 2,000.

We'd all like that, wouldn't we?

Yes, what would the money go towards, eh?

-A horse.

-A horse!

And you wanted to do something as well, didn't you?

Go shopping to New York.

Oh, wow. Oh gosh, what a thing to do at your age,

it would be absolutely wonderful if you could do that.

I seem to remember there was a maid involved somewhere.

Yeah, what's the maid?

A maid round the house.

A maid for around the house. Get the horse. Get the horse.

The horse will love you and you'll love the horse and you'll grow with it,

especially if it's a little pony to start with.

-Yeah.

-You could love the maid.

No, no, no! Don't go that way!

Lot 566 is the very beautiful 19th century KPM porcelain plaque.

What may I say for that to start me?

What do we say, about £1,500 to start me?

£1,500 to put me in? £1,000 somewhere then.

To get on, £500 at the back, at £500, the lady's bid.

At 500, may I say 600 now? At £500, £600, £700,

£800, £900, £1,000.

1,100 the lady, 1,200 all in the room. 1,300, 1,400.

1,400 the gentleman's bid.

-It's sold, isn't it?

-1,400, 1,500.

1,500 may I say? 1,500 with Mervyn.

1,600 at the back.

1,700 you want now. 1,700 with Mervyn.

1,800 in the room. £1,800, 1,900.

Oh, Selina, oh yes!

2,100 now? 2,100 with Mervyn.

I think we'll have the maid and the horse!

2,300, 2,400, 2,500?

2,500, 2,600 in the room.

2,700 on the phone? 2,700.

2,800. Still there in the room.

-This is great. This is great. They absolutely love it.

-2,900.

3,000 bid. 3,100?

At £3,000 in the room.

Against you, Mervyn, at £3,000.

You can buy a thoroughbred now.

Last call against you. Selling at £3,000 then.

Bang! That hammer has gone down!

£3,000!

Philip, that was real quality.

What a wonderful moment. We've got tears.

Because it was my grandfather's.

Oh, dear, I thought I was going to take it home.

We're selling your inheritance.

Putting your money towards a horse, a shopping trip in New York

and possibly, well, a maid, maybe, for the odd weekend.

-Sorry, sorry.

-What a wonderful moment.

Congratulations to both of you.

We've all enjoyed watching that being sold under the hammer.

We've loved talking about it, it's real quality.

Selina gets a horse, we've all had a great day.

Wonderful surprises on Flog It!.

Join us for many more to come.

So until the next time, cheerio.

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