Lancaster Flog It!

Greetings, Sir Duke!

OK, I know she looks like Queen Victoria,

but today we're in Lancaster. Welcome to Flog It!

And for those that didn't know,

every English monarch, whether King or Queen,

holds the title of the Duke of Lancaster.

And, over at the town hall opposite Her Majesty,

your family treasures are being valued.

Now, as all you historians will probably know,

the Wars of the Roses were fought

in 1455, between the House of York and the House of Lancaster.

Guess who won?

CROWD CHEERS

Got to be, isn't it? The House of Lancaster.

We're fighting our own battle here today, but hopefully there'll be two winners.

We've got experts fighting it out - Anita Manning and Philip Serrell,

hopefully bagging the best items to take off to auction.

And, as you can see, the hall is filling up,

and time is already ticking away.

First off the mark is Philip Serrell, who's found a splendid clock.

-Brian, this is an impressive-looking beast, isn't it?

-It is, yes.

-Quite an ornament.

-Family piece?

No, bought from an old friend who needed the money at the time.

-Needed the cash.

-That's it.

-How much cash did you give him?

-30 quid.

-How long ago?

-30, 40 years ago.

But I'm a joiner by trade, so I like a nice piece of wood,

-and it is.

-A man after my own heart.

-Did it keep good time?

-It keeps good time, yeah,

but it takes a bit of attending and I don't like the chimes.

-You don't like the chimes?

-No.

You didn't have it in the centre of your house ticking away and clanging?

Big Ben knocking away in the corner - no.

-You didn't like that?

-No.

-Why did you buy it, then?

-For the furniture outlook,

-it's a nice piece.

-You bought it as an object to sit in a room,

-rather than a clock.

-Yeah.

-It's well made. It's a nice piece of furniture.

-When was it made?

Edwardian time, possibly.

-1900, 1910?

-Yeah.

-I think you're spot-on.

So, you're a joiner - what timber is it?

-Could it be...beech? Or ash?

-It's walnut.

-Walnut!

-Yeah.

It's a walnut case clock.

I'm not sure if I can say this on television...

I think it's a bit fur-coat-no-knickers!

And I'll say that for two reasons.

If you look here, this timber is actually quite good quality.

-Yeah.

-Right, but if you look at the sides, here,

it's nothing like the quality.

What the Victorians and Edwardians did...

-If you can imagine that really rich, burr walnut colour...

-Yeah.

-..that's like chewed toffee, that's an expensive bit of timber.

-Yeah.

-Why would you put expensive timber on the side...

-You wouldn't, would you?

-..that no-one sees?

What they did in a lot of instances,

they would put an ordinary bit of walnut there,

they'd get a sponge or a paintbrush, and they would paint or dab in

-the burrs that you would see on the front.

-Right.

-So they cheated a little bit.

-Yeah.

That, in a way, is the test, or guide to a really good bit of furniture.

If it's got those rich burrs on the SIDE, or even on the back,

then it's something special, you know?

-So, you gave 30 quid for this, 40 years ago?

-Mm-hm.

-What's it worth now?

-Got to be worth a few hundred, hasn't it?

-A FEW hundred.

-Mmm. Three?

-Fashions change a little bit.

-Right.

Not sure how fashionable it is now.

Also, if you put too high a reserve on this,

then your estimate has to reflect the reserve, in a way.

So if you've got a £300 reserve on this, you've got to put an estimate on it at £300-£500,

which I think will kill it stone dead.

The dealers will walk up to you and go, "Whoa, want all the money for that, don't you?"

-I'm not saying it won't make it...

-Yeah.

-My estimate for this would be £200-£300.

-Yeah.

-I'd like to see a reserve of £150 on it.

-No, that's a bit low, that.

-Bit low, that...

-Bit low, that.

I think it's worth £200... and then it's cheap at that.

If we put £200 as a reserve, and we say to the auctioneer,

if you're really struggling, we'll give you 10% discretion,

-but we only want you to use that if you're really struggling...

-Yeah.

-You happy with that?

-Yeah.

-Let's hope it does well for us, shall we?

-I hope so!

-Martin.

-Yeah.

These coins are about the size of a five pence piece.

But - they're worth a lot more. Tell me, where did you get them?

They're my dad's,

actually, so I brought them along to see how much they were worth.

Who's going to get the money, Martin?

-I'm not sure, yet.

-Maybe you'll be able to split them.

-I hope.

Now, these are sovereigns. These were brought out in the 15th century,

and at that time, they were worth one pound.

If we just look at them,

on the face of the coin, we see the head of Edward VII.

-He was the king who came after Victoria.

-Yeah.

If we look on the back, we can see the date of these coins.

1907...

-1910.

-1910...

-Um...906...

-1906.

So, the early 1900s.

We also see on the back, here,

the image of St George slaying the dragon.

So, value. This is the best time to sell these coins.

Gold has gone up considerably.

I would put them into auction at an estimate of...

-probably £80 to £90.

-Oh, OK.

So, if we're getting £80 each, about £240,

-and we would sell them together.

-OK.

These aren't items, Martin, that will fly through the roof.

There will be a set price for them,

and it's whichever bidder gets to that figure first of all.

Now. Your Dad wants you to sell them.

-You've brought them along.

-I have, yes.

-You deserve a cut of them.

-Hopefully!

What would you do with the money?

I'm trying to save up to buy a car, so I might put it towards that.

Dad, if you're out there - he needs a car!

-So we'll put them into auction at an estimate of 250 to 280...

-OK.

-..and have a reserve of £240.

-OK.

-Would you be happy with that?

-Yeah.

-Will your dad be happy with that?

-He'll be delighted.

Well, you've got to keep dad happy!

-Thank you very much for bringing them along.

-Thank you.

HE PLAYS A BLUESY COUNTRY MELODY

Big ending...

Simon, thank you very much.

-Did you like that?

-ALL: Yes!

-Yes, that was good, wasn't it?

-Now, Michael, that's your guitar, isn't it?

-Yes, it is.

Why aren't you playing that?

-Because...I'm the apprentice.

-You're the apprentice.

-I'm actually being taught to play, by Simon.

-OK.

Have you been thinking of selling it? Do you have other guitars?

I have other guitars, yeah. It is something I've been thinking of selling, yeah.

-Can I have a quick look?

-Mmm.

This looks like a typical 1960s guitar, just by the look and feel.

Especially with that tortoiseshell scratchplate.

It's got quite a naive bridge, hasn't it? Built in the heart of Bavaria!

This is nice, because a lot of guitars in the '50s and '60s

came out of Germany, like Hoffner, and Hohner,

so it's got good pedigree, hasn't it?

It's nice - got a good rosewood neck, and that's quite straight...

-I don't think it's up there with Gretch, Gibson, and Fender...

-No, no. I gathered that.

But if a student wanted to buy something with a retro sound

because he's putting a band together, and he wants a '60s sound,

he's going to achieve this, rather than buying a Yamaha 12-string,

-from the 1990s.

-There's something there you're not going to get with a modern instrument.

You're buying the sound, aren't you. And that retro look.

It's got a retro sound with a retro feel.

It's in VERY good condition. Lovely sunburst finish to it.

All the tuning pegs are there, it's got a rosewood neck,

it's all there. If you put this into auction and you want to sell it,

you've got to be realistic, and pitch it around the £50-£80 mark.

-See what happens, you might get the £100.

-Yeah.

-Wanna flog it?

-Yeah! That's fine by me.

Will it strike a good chord in the auction room? Go on, take it away, Simon.

Let's hear something. Here we go. Ready? Any requests?

HE PLAYS A BLUESY COUNTRY MELODY

-How are you doing?

-Very well, thank you.

-How did you come by it?

-An employer I used to work for threw that out,

and some other books out, so...

-Throwing it out?

-Throwing it out, yes.

-Why?

-I've no idea, whether because it was damaged or not, I don't know.

We'd better have a look and see what it is!

Let's just be very careful with it.

And it tells us here, it's Collections...of Genealogy...

and Topographical...for Bedfordshire, by Thomas Fisher, 1817.

It's got wonderful aquatint engravings

and there's over 100 of them.

Basically this is a book,

that tells us all about the history of Bedfordshire.

It's got lots and lots of wonderful plates in there.

-That's right!

-I've marked this one earlier, because I think that one,

if I just spin it round...

I think that's absolutely lovely.

We've got our bridge here,

and this wonderful, old - I guess Elizabethan - hall,

which is Radwell Hall and Bridge,

in Bedfordshire.

You've got this really moody sky over it.

I think it's a really beautiful engraving.

Condition of this is not great.

It's got damp, there's quite a bit of staining to some of the plates.

-Yeah.

-But it's absolutely lovely.

If we turn the page, here's another one -

it's Newbury in the parish of Flitton, Bedfordshire.

The sad thing is, a lot of these houses aren't there any more.

What I really want to happen, is I want someone in Bedfordshire

to get on the internet, and to come and buy this book from us.

I want them to take it home and enjoy it, to love it...

Because, to me, that's what should happen to it.

This spine, here, is splitting,

-and it's really not in the best condition.

-No.

Someone's got to look after it, and love it.

We need the auctioneers to check on it,

-make sure all the plates and engravings are there.

-Yes.

I'm sure they are, and I think it'll do quite well.

-I think an auction estimate of this is perhaps 120-180...

-OK, yeah.

..and I think a reserve ought to be £100.

-But I think you need to give the auctioneer some discretion.

-Right.

-If he gets to between £80 and £90, I think you ought to let it go.

-OK.

So, if that makes £100, what will you spend it on?

Well, we just had a carpet fitted in the living room,

and I need one for the stairs.

So, your book on Bedfordshire is going to become a carpet?

-That's right.

-Well, well.

It's a funny old world, isn't it?

-Let's hope it does really well, might do the landing as well!

-It might do!

We're certainly rocking along now,

we've got Paul McCartney, John Lennon,

Ringo Starr on drums, and the fourth Beatle, George Harrison.

It's time for us to get back on the road - it's time to go for our first visit to the auction,

and here's the pick of the pops that we're taking with us.

Someone's going to have great fun strumming the blues

on Michael's vintage guitar.

Because of changing fashions, the high reserve on Brian's clock

may just put the bidders off.

This is an intriguing piece,

but unfortunately, damage to the spine of Jilly's Bedfordshire book

might just affect the final price.

And finally, let's hope the sovereigns make their money,

so that Martin can start his car fund.

On the rostrum today are auctioneers Kevin Kendal and David Brookes.

Simon, thank you for busking at the valuation day -

I enjoyed that little bit of blues, and I'm sure you did!

And here's Michael, whose guitar we're trying to sell right now.

It's from the '60s, the swinging '60s,

it's that lovely 12-string, steel-strung guitar,

with a value of £60-£80.

The good news is, look out there - we've got a packed house.

So if this guitar doesn't sell,

Simon here can start busking, and we'll go round, cap in hand.

-You never know, we might make more than the £50 reserve!

-HE LAUGHS

-What's he like as a student, then?

-He's very good.

-Is he?

But he says he needs one now with less strings on it.

Yeah. Get a 6-string. Yeah. Fingers crossed, you guys.

Thanks for bringing something like that in.

It's different, and we love things like that. It's back to the '60s!

But will it sell? We're going to find out right now - this is it.

Lot 51, now.

The 1960s 12-string guitar,

we had a tune out of this earlier,

all strings intact as well.

What can I ask for it? £100, surely?

100? Start me at 50, then.

£50? 50, thank you.

£50 in the centre, sir. £50 bid.

£50 bid. 55?

60...5. 70.

-£70 in the room now. 70 bid.

-(Brilliant!)

£70. Any further interest?

£70...5! Thank you.

75. 80.

£80. £80 it's here to sell.

We sell away this time at 80...

Da-dah! As Pete Townshend

of The Who would do. Da-nah!

How do you feel, guys?

-Good, yeah.

-Is he going shopping for a guitar, now?

I think that's the next stop, isn't it. Nearest guitar shop.

-Nearest guitar shop.

-Saw one, just coming through the village.

And a bit of busking! Why not! Good luck, thank you so much. Brilliant.

Time's ticking away, it's Brian's turn next,

and we have the Edwardian clock. £200-£300.

Good luck with this one. It's the first of the clocks.

We don't know how they're going, right now.

-Philip.

-Will time fly?

-I think it will. You know, we'll sell this,

but whether it's the top end, I'm not sure. But it's served you well.

-It's a nice clock.

-It's a nice clock, isn't it.

-Just ticks a lot...

-Clocks have a habit of doing that, don't they.

-Funny thing, that, yeah.

Anyway, it's going under the hammer right now. Good luck, Brian, Philip.

452, now we have an Edwardian walnut mantle clock,

impressive-looking piece there,

may I say £300 for this, please?

£300? £200?

Start me at £100, then, please.

£100. Thank you, sir. 110?

120? 130?

130 with the commission there.

140 anywhere with commissions at £130. Any advance?

Didn't sell.

I just had a hunch. It's the first of the clocks, we're the first to find out. Oh, well.

-Well, try again.

-There is another saleroom on another day.

I do suggest that if you do want to put it back into auction, leave it a little while.

Yeah, well I'm glad to take it home really, it's nice.

Well, Philip did warn Brian that fashions had changed, so let's hope the book does a little better.

From Bedfordshire to Lancashire it's that gorgeous topographical book belonging to Jillian. Hi there.

-Hiya.

-We've got a value put on by Phil, of £120 to £180, fingers crossed.

It really is quality.

So, why are you selling this, just remind us again.

Because it's too big for my book shelf and it's just gathering dust.

Really, that's the real excuse, is it?

Look, fingers crossed. We've got a room packed with bidders.

It's a gorgeous book, great topographic scenes.

I see this going back to Bedford, do you know.

-I hope so.

-I hope so.

-It's going to be a real bind if it doesn't sell.

-Phil, leaf it out.

-Ohh.

Anyway the bidders are here, let's hope the hands go up for this one.

-Here it is.

-Lot 15 which is the historical volume,

with nice illustrations as well, almost 200 years old.

What can I ask here for a start? Couple of hundred. £100 to start.

£100... We'll start then at £50 only.

£50 bid, I'll take a 5... 60...

£60 now, 60 bid... 60 bid. 60 bid.

5 if you like, 65... 70...

5...80... 90... £90 at the very back, £90 are we all done?

£90 at the front. Are you all out this time? Have you all done at £90?

Phew, well done Philip, hard thing to value but we got there, we got there.

-That's not bad, is it?

-No.

-What are you going to

put the money towards? There is a bit of commission, it's 15% here.

That's how the auctioneers earn their wages.

It will go towards a carpet for my stairs.

Carpet for the stairs.

Martin brought us in three wonderful gold sovereigns, early 20th century, to the valuation day.

He's brought along his dad, who owns them. Hi there, what's your name?

-John.

-John, did you know he took them in?

-I did, yeah.

-He didn't sneak them out of the house.

-No, he didn't sneak them out of the house.

-He had permission.

-Were you happy with the valuation? Round about £80 a piece.

-Yeah.

-Hopefully £100 a piece.

-Oh, yeah. Very happy.

-The weight of gold has gone up, hasn't it, Anita?

-I don't think they'll go to £100.

-Don't you?

No, well, I mean, these things have a set price, it does depend on the weight of gold on the day.

-OK. Will they get £80 a piece?

-Well, I hope so.

-Which as a lot, the three of them put together is around £240.

A nice bit of pocket money.

Yes, it is, isn't it? For Dad.

For Dad, yeah.

Lot 215. We now come to three gold sovereigns, 1906, 1907 and 1910.

And I have commission interest.

I can start the bidding with me at £150. Lot 215, with me at 150...

160 anywhere. 160... 170...

bidding 180... 190... 200... 220...

230 if you like. 220 now. 230, fresh bid, commissions out.

30 on the rail.

Any advance, on the rail now, £230...

240 just in time. Are you bidding, sir?

240 now and with the lady, and selling at £240, make no mistake.

-Yes.

-Right on the dot, right on the dot.

-Precious metal, I tell you, right down to the last gram, isn't it? Wow.

-Yes.

-Happy?

-Yes.

-Very happy.

What comes to mind after you've paid the commission, which is 15%?

Martin will get half and his sister will get the other half.

What a lovely dad, what a great dad.

Hey. Go on, good old John.

Too generous by far.

Quicksand, swirling currents and deep tidal channels.

They're just some of the perils that await anybody without

lifelong knowledge of the beautiful, as you can see, look at that, but notorious Morecambe Sands behind me.

Now, I certainly wouldn't go for a walk out there without the expert

knowledge of an extraordinary man, and his name is Cedric Robinson MBE.

Cedric descends from generations of fishermen.

When he was a young boy, his father used to take him out on the Sands

in a horse and cart looking for early morning cockles, shrimps and small fish.

They brought home their catch and cooked it, ready to sell on their market stall later on in the day.

In 1965, Cedric was invited to take over as Queen's Guide to the Sands, an ancient

royally appointed position that dates back to the 16th century.

Then, the job entailed safely guiding local residents

who wanted to take a short cut across this dangerous shore.

Nowadays, Cedric leads groups of up to 400 people at a time,

as he has done so for the past 44 years.

Cedric, tell me all about the work of a sand pilot.

Exactly what do you do and how did you get into this?

Well, when I left school I didn't want to do anything

but be a fisherman, the same as my father, and that's where the learning came in.

Right, good local knowledge of the tides and the sand.

Yeah, dad followed the Sands all of his life so he was a great help to me.

Exactly how big is this area? How many square miles of sand have we got here?

Well, it's very deceptive but it does cover approximately 120 square miles.

That's a lot. Do you know all this like the back of your hand?

Well, I've probably been over every inch of it in my lifetime.

You need to know it and you need to live it to know it.

How do you know where the quicksands are? How do you learn that?

-Well, you don't, do you?

-They say you learn by your mistakes,

but luckily I haven't had many mistakes but I've seen incidents over the years,

I've seen horses go down in quicksand, I've seen taxis disappear in seconds.

If you follow the Sands regularly, you know day by day.

If you're only a part time fisherman, you don't learn the same.

-How do you test if the sand's moving?

-Well, I can read it. As we come out

I'm reading these sands like you would open a newspaper in the morning and read the newspaper.

In the lower areas where the tide comes in and goes out.

The tide comes in a lot faster than it goes out and that's where the main changes are.

So, that's where... and always test with a stick, never just go walking or never drive a tractor straight

through a river, you'd find you'd suddenly go down and lose the lot. So, you test with a stick.

Sometimes it's disappointing, you get ten yards off the side and that stick would disappear up to the hilt.

Then you have to retrace your steps and start again and look in a different area.

As a fisherman, it's vitally important to know these sands.

You may remember the dreadful tragedy of the 19 Chinese cockle pickers

who lost their lives during a cold, wet night in February, 2004.

It was a dreadful tragedy. Were you involved with the emergency services at all there?

I wasn't able to go out... I am a Honorary Fellow of the University

of Central Lancashire and we'd been invited away that day, we didn't get

back till evening and my son said the phone had been non stop and he told me of the terrible tragedy.

We saw lights out in the bay. It was dark and terribly cold.

I was able to assist by telling them about the area and how the tide would come in.

You've obviously seen a lot of tragedy in your days and it's made

the news headlines, especially with the cockle pickers, but what about local incidents which never make

-the press and news, it must happen day in and day out, doesn't it?

-Yeah, it is a dangerous environment.

There were four young lads and they came on the other side, Bolton le Sands, near Morecambe.

They thought they'd walk along the coastline to Morecambe and two of them were a bit more

adventurous and went out into the bay but within ten minutes of leaving the shore they'd drowned.

That's how dangerous it is, you just go out for a paddle for ten minutes.

Absolutely, yes, without knowing what you're doing, always stick to the safety of the shore.

What sort of preparations do you make before you take people out on a long walk?

Well, a walk doesn't just happen because the river moves every day. The tide comes in and goes out again.

So, I go out with a tractor and I've got some good pals to help me.

-That's your team, isn't it?

-That's my team, yeah.

We arrive at the river, trousers rolled up, barefoot, a stick apiece.

And I will say we'll go at it

so many yards apart and we'll walk slowly, not fast, and test with the stick.

So, do you plant these laurels as a marker?

Yes, I plant them out for the benefit of my driver because he has to come out this side sometimes on his own

and he wouldn't be able to find his way to the river without the markers.

So, you have to renew them for every walk in the lower areas.

And I gather you've taken some famous people out on your walks, haven't you?

Well, there seems to be so many over the years.

Yes, crossed the Sands with His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh.

And that was a wonderful experience.

He did get a bit annoyed with the helicopter flying above us, so noisy,

but they were there for protection really, I think.

In case he'd gone down in the quicksands but as long as he was with Cedric he wouldn't do that.

What are you going to do with all your knowledge?

Are you passing this on? Is anyone else going to be doing this?

No, very sadly my own family, they've all got good jobs and

I mean it would have been ideal if my son had followed the sand and he'd taken in my footsteps but I'm...

People say to me, "Who's going to come along after your time, when are you going to retire?"

Well, that time hasn't come. I know when that time will come, you know, and it hasn't come.

There's life in the old dog yet.

My father lived to 102 so I've a few years left yet.

Did he? Gosh. That's a good innings.

'While Cedric has an often dangerous and responsible job, it doesn't pay the bills.'

So, to supplement the princely sum of £15 per year that Cedric receives

from the Duchy of Lancaster, he cultivates the land behind his grace and favour home.

But his true passion is following the Sands.

'What a remarkable job in a very unusual part of our island.'

It's the crew.

'Long may Cedric be able to continue his vital work guiding people across this beautiful landscape.'

Well, it's still very busy here at the valuation day and Anita is conducting proceedings.

Barbara, this is the most beautiful thing to handle, it's such a tactile object.

It's a beautiful little silver and ivory presentation baton.

It's an unusual item.

Tell me where you got it.

Well, it actually belonged to my stepfather.

When my parents died it was just around the house and it was presented

to someone called Smith, who's got nothing to do with my family.

So, I know very little about it, I'm afraid.

-1877.

-That's quite old I suppose.

Tell me about him. Was he a musician?

Yes, my stepfather was a wonderful pianist and he played the accordion and he played this organ here.

-He played that wonderful organ in this hall?

-On many occasions, I'm very proud of that.

Wonderful. And what about you? Are you musical?

I can't admit to being musical but I did learn to play the bagpipes.

The bagpipes.

-But not very well.

-Isn't that wonderful?

Did you wear the kilt?

Oh, yes, full regalia.

Oh, well, let's get back to this.

I think it's beautiful.

It's made of ivory and it has three sections of silver,

with a little presentation inscription in this one here.

-Well, there will be collectors of this type of item out there.

-Really?

People who are interested in musical ephemera, anything to do with music and this is a lovely item.

It's not going to be worth a life changing sum of money, Barbara.

I still think it's worth £60 to £80.

Really, as much as that? I'm quite surprised but I would like someone to have it, if they would enjoy it.

It's just sitting at the back of a cupboard at the moment.

That's a very nice thought. If it gets sold.

Someone will buy it, who will enjoy it and play with it. You've stopped playing with it, haven't you?

I look at it from time to time. It's very nice but it's no use to me, really.

Let's put it to auction, £60 to £80.

-Would you like to put a reserve price on it?

-Well, what would you suggest?

-Maybe £50.

-Fine, yes. That's fine with me.

I'll see you on the day. And we'll hope that it flies.

Fine, I'll be very happy with that, lovely, thank you very much.

Thank you for bringing it along.

-Well, I know exactly where this has come from.

-Where?

-Your house.

Sorry.

This is typical of Black Forest or Bavarian carved wooden items that they produced

-back end of the 19th century and really typified by this here.

-Right.

This is wonderfully well carved.

-What is it made of?

-It might be oak, a lot of them are oak.

-We've got a key here, lifts up like that.

-Yes.

I reckon in today's society that is a particularly useless item.

-Probably is today.

-Because I think that's a cigar holder. So your cigars would sit

in these channels and after your dinner party, the brandy would come out

and then you would offer your guests a cigar.

That's what I think it's for and the only thing that makes me think that

that might possibly be in a bit of doubt...

If you were a serious cigar smoker, they would be kept in a thing called a humidor.

-Yes.

-And a humidor is almost a sealed environment

that keeps cigars at a specific humidity

-and clearly this isn't going to do that, is it?

-No.

Which means one of two things.

Either I'm wrong or you smoke your cigars at such a rate they weren't

in there long enough to get dried out. But I think that's what it is.

And it's quite a fun thing. Where did it come from?

Just down from my father.

I assume he bought it second hand or had it given or something.

-And you just want rid.

-I don't smoke so...

Do you not find it a pretty thing to keep at home, or not?

-It is really but I only live in a quite small flat now compared to what I did have before.

-We are downsizing.

-Absolutely.

-You've got a little bit of damage just here.

But I think we can put an auction estimate on this of £100 to £200 and a fixed reserve of £80.

-How does that grab you?

-Yes.

What are you going to do with £100?

Probably go for a meal, buy a bottle of wine.

-It will be a good meal, won't it?

-Yeah.

-You enjoy.

Pauline, Paula.

-That's right.

-Welcome to Flog It.

-Thank you.

-It's lovely to have you along and for you to have brought this cute little pair of clogs.

Now, there's something special about these, they are made by the magic name.

ALL: Clarice Cliff.

Tell me, Pauline, where did you get them?

They were given to me by a friend.

They were his sister's and he passed them on to me.

-Yes, that's a long time they haven't seen daylight.

-Was it a chap that fancied you?

I don't know.

-Did he know they were worth a couple of bob?

-Well, they weren't in those days.

-Oh, right.

-Going back a long time, you know.

-Do you like these?

-No, not particularly.

Not particularly.

Paula, what do you think of them?

I don't like the colours, they are too bright for my liking. I like something more subdued.

Well, I think that's fair enough.

-Yes, we find that with Clarice Cliff items, you either love them or you hate them.

-Yes.

-I love the shape, a pair of clogs, they're so sweet.

-They are nice, yes.

You know you could do a wee sort of...

-Clog dance.

-Clog dance with them.

The thing which is going to sell them, in the main,

will be the magic name of Clarice Cliff.

The work that she did is greatly sought after,

particularly the bright patterns with geometric designs

and although these are quite small objects, they do reflect the patterns that people like.

Now, if we look at the back stamp here, we can see Bizarre by Clarice Cliff.

Now, the Bizarre range was introduced in 1927

and there were various patterns within the Bizarre range.

This particular pattern is called Sunburst.

And this was introduced in the 1930s.

So, we can date it exactly.

Price, you look like a canny sort of wee woman, what do you think these will get?

I don't know about £100, £120?

-About £300.

-Ooh!

Right, you think £120, you think £300. I think we should go somewhere in the middle.

I find that if you estimate conservatively,

that will encourage the bidders, because they'll think I'm going to get it cheap.

-Yes.

-So, I would like to put them in at £200 to £300

-with a firm reserve of £200.

-Yes.

-And I think they will go higher than that.

-Yes.

But let's keep our estimates at a...

-Reasonable.

-Invitation level.

-Yes.

Do we three ladies agree?

Do we agree, Mother?

-Yes, yes.

-Let's go for it, let's flog them, let's clog it.

Well, it's goodbye to the valuation day and hello to the auction rooms

and let's remind ourselves what we're contributing towards the sale.

I think Barbara's presentation baton will conduct a symphony of interested bidders at the saleroom.

James's cigar holder is a beauty and I hope it makes enough money to pay for a banquet.

And I'm hoping Paula's unusual Clarice Cliff clogs

will spread some sunshine in the saleroom.

But first, I wonder what Kevin Kendall thinks of our Black Forest cigar box.

James's cigar holder, it's Black Forest carving. Very, very nice, I like this.

Yes, it's a nice decorative piece whether you smoke or not.

You could have it on your mantelpiece and look at it all day.

Yeah. It's rich in carving. It's good carving but also the subject up there, the grouping is very good.

Slight bit of damage. That's why I think Philip, our expert, has only

put £100 to £200 on this, but I can see this doing the top end.

You expect a bit of damage on something like this that has

travelled across the world and survived so many years.

Black Forest always does really, really well.

I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't make £300 to £400.

Brilliant. I hope Philip feels the same way and that's why he's put

more of a come and buy me on it, so this really does fly away like the two little birds.

-Let's hope we get a lot of attention on this in the saleroom later.

-Let's hope so, yeah.

Kevin seems very keen on this, so let's hope the bidders are just as enthusiastic.

Guess what's coming up now? Yes, it's that ivory and silver

conductor's baton belonging to Barbara.

What a cracking item, it put a big smile on my face and yours.

£60 to £80, it's a real curio. We've not seen one on the show before so we're quite fascinated by this one.

-It's tactile, it's beautiful, it's in good condition, I hope it will play beautiful music.

-Ohh.

I've not seen one before so pretty and if I had a friend that was in an orchestra and I wanted to buy

them a Christmas present or birthday present, I'd buy them this, they'd love it. They could conduct at home.

We're going to conduct right now because it's going under the hammer, good luck.

Lot number 197. Very interesting piece, this.

The ivory and silver conductor's baton there.

Nice inscription from 1877.

It's cracking, it's good.

What can I ask for it then? £100 if you like, 100...

£50 to start me, £50 bid, 50... 60... 70... 80...

A lot of brass bands up here.

£90 bid. You're out at the back there. £90 only... 100 anywhere?

We're going to sell this time. £90.

Well, it's gone anyway.

We got over the top end, didn't we?

-Over the top.

-Are you happy with that?

Very happy, I didn't think anybody would be interested in it at all.

-Ohh.

-It's a nice thing but not useful.

What have you done with it? Nothing really.

Next up, something that really caught my eye and Philip's.

It belongs to James here and I think for not much longer.

It's that bit of Black Forest carving.

We've got it catalogued as a cigar holder.

I had a chat to Kevin the auctioneer just before the sale started and not only did he agree with your

valuation, he said the damage didn't put him off, you know, the tip to the wing and the corner of the box.

-He could see it doing £300.

-I hope he's right.

I certainly hope so. Right, why are you selling this James? It's a nice object to look at.

It is nice but somebody may as well use it if they can use it.

OK. We're going to find out if that somebody is right here, right now because they could buy it.

It's going under the hammer, this is it.

Lot no 74. The Black Forest style cigar box.

What can I say, it's a very, very nice piece.

Can I ask a couple of hundred for it?

Start me £100 then surely for Black Forest.

100... Where are we going to start? All the way down.

£70 we'll start. £70 bid, 70 bid, 70 bid...

At 80 now? 70 bid. I will take an 80 if it will help.

-70 bid.

-We've having trouble.

80 now... £80 seated.

That's little money, £80 only. 80...

It's sold. That is really surprising for a bit of Black Forest carving.

We had a fixed reserve at £80, just below the lower end of the estimate and it sold for it.

I think that Black Forest stuff was very sought after in

the American market and perhaps the recession in America is taking more of a firmer bite than we thought.

Well, it's gone anyway.

-Gone.

-Somebody out there got rather lucky but...

What it fetches, is what it fetches. Thank you very much.

I've been waiting for this one. It's Flog It, it's Clarice Cliff time.

It's got to be the star of our show, the two little clogs.

£200 to £300 on this lovely Sunburst pattern belonging to Pauline, Paula and here's Paul, the three Ps.

We are Ps in a pod, over to our expert Patricia...

It's Anita.

It's quite funny, isn't it? Paul, Pauline and Paula.

Yes. Well, they are good names.

£200 to £300 we've got on this.

We should get you the top end of Anita's estimate.

-Very good.

-I think that's a bit of a come and buy me.

-We'll get a good result for you both.

-Very nice.

I'll hold you to your word.

OK, all right.

Lot number 310 is the pair of Clarice Cliff, the Bizarre range,

the Sunburst pattern and we have bids on the books for this one.

We are going to start the bidding with me at £320...

Straight in over the top end of the estimate.

£320 bid, 320 bid. 340... 350...

360.. 360 in the room now... 360...

-Come on.

-360... 380 for you sir, 400...

I'll take 20... 400... 420... 450...

480... 500...

550... 600...

The phones are out, the bid's in the room and we're selling at 600.

-£600, the hammer's gone down.

-That's good, isn't it?

I said to my daughter I'd have to get a plastic carton to bring them home in case we didn't sell them.

Oh, ye of little faith. You know what? That's a brilliant result, they really did love them.

Thank goodness you looked after them and tucked them away because it's all about condition.

Those Clarice Cliff collectors are really fussy.

So, there's 15% commission to pay in today's sale.

That's how the auctioneer earns their wages and pays for all of this.

What are you going to do when you get the cheque, in the post, in three weeks' time?

-Oh, my daughter will tell you that.

-Go on then.

We're going to donate it to animal charities.

-Oh, brilliant.

-Yes.

-One in particular or split the money?

Maybe the Brook Hospital for sick animals.

And where's that based?

Well, London but they help all over the...

-Country.

-All over the world.

Oh, lovely, oh, do you know what? You've definitely made my day, thank you so much for coming in.

And you have made my day, too.

Oh, bless you.

We've had a fantastic time here in Kendal.

I hope you've enjoyed watching the show today.

There's plenty more surprises to come but for now, it's cheerio from all of us.

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