Barrow-in-Furness Flog It!

They say Barrow-in-Furness is the place where the lakes meet the sea.

And it's that natural beauty which has inspired artists and writers.

Today, Flog It! comes from that stunning Cumbrian town.

Standing here on Barrow's doorstep, in the beautiful Lake District,

it's not hard to see why this magnificent landscape

has fired up the imagination of writers

such as William Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter.

Later on in the programme, I'll be coming back here to find out

more about another children's author whose most famous books were inspired by this stunning scenery.

But first, it's back to school.

And this time we're at St Bernard's Catholic High School in Barrow.

What a massive turnout we've got here today, and they're all here to flog it!

Helping our two experts out are behind-the-scenes valuers Anthony and Alison.

They're always with us, rifling through the boxes on the outside.

But I think it's time we got everybody inside and got the show on the road.

Today's form captains Anita Manning and David Barby

are hoping to turn these... into lots of this.

And to help her on her way, Anita's found some divine inspiration.

Kath, what a charming little figure group.

Madonna and Child.

But tell me, where did you get it?

I bought it from a friend, about 20 years ago.

She had a little junk antique shop and I bought it for £1, I think.

-A pound?

-A pound! One pound.

Tell me what drew you to it.

Just the sweet face and the baby.

I like babies. And the texture is lovely, isn't it?

The pottery.

Do you like pottery?

Are you a collector?

I am a potoholic, I think.

-Weak-willed when there's pots.

-You're weak-willed?

Let's have a look, first of all, at the back stamp.

If we look here, we see Lenci mark here.

This factory was started in Turin in 1919

by Elena Konig,

who became known as Madame Lenci.

In the mid-1920s, they started making ceramic figures.

Yes...

What you have are two ends of the spectrum.

You have Lenci, wonderful Art Deco nudes.

And you have sweet little, almost religious, pieces, little Madonnas and Child.

-Now, the Art Deco pieces are probably the pieces which will make the most money.

-Yes.

But people like the factory and this is a lovely little piece.

Let's put an estimate of 80-120 with that.

-That's great.

-Are you happy with that?

-Yes, lovely.

80-120, with a reserve of, say, £80 with a wee bit of discretion.

Yeah. That's lovely, Anita. Thank you.

-Let's go for it.

-Thank you.

I love this piece of pottery.

-Good.

-And Stephanie, I want to know two things from you.

First of all, why on earth are you selling it?

And where did it come from?

Well, first of all, if you came to my house,

you would see in my kitchen on the wall, a New Zealand-ometer.

What's that?

My New Zealand-ometer is charting bits of money that I put into it,

because I am desperate to go to New Zealand in July this year.

Why July this year?

I've got a new little grandson being born in a fortnight

and I haven't seen my little granddaughter out there

for almost two and a half years.

She was six weeks when I last saw her.

-So she's never seen you?

-Well, she calls me her virtual grandma.

So this is going to be sold for that reason.

I think that's very commendable. Where did it come from?

It came from my parents, from my mother.

My mother loved, in about the 1950s, 1960s,

going round the old farm sales.

This is nice and early.

And when I look at it, it's in Creamware body.

It's pottery.

Produced in Staffordshire,

-probably towards the end of the 18th century.

-Right.

-The 18th century?

-18th century.

-Gosh.

-Probably round about 1770-1780.

-Goodness me.

What I like about it are these sponged and run glazes.

This is at the beginning of potting where they used coloured glazing.

Now these were made as a novelty.

Initially based on silver examples

that dated much earlier in the 18th century.

And silver examples were milk jugs.

So you took the lid off,

you put the milk in there, and as a novelty,

you poured the milk out of the mouth at teatime.

And just to make certain that the milk was there,

you have a little calf down below nuzzling the udders.

The whole thing falls into that sort of category of early porcelain,

early pottery development.

Now, let's think in terms of money.

I know how much I like it,

and if I was at auction, I would put a bid in for it.

I think, if it goes out to auction, allowing for the damage,

that's all this section here and also the horn,

I think it's going to realise round about £150 - £200.

That would be wonderful.

I think we should fix the reserve, if you don't mind, at £130.

That sounds fine.

Absolutely fine. Thank you.

-Don't go marking up on that chart, £130.

-Not yet!

-But I can almost guarantee we're going to sell it at that sort of level.

-Excellent.

Thank you very much.

-Stephanie, thank you very much for bringing it along and making my day.

-Thank you.

Jean, welcome to Flog It!.

It's lovely to have you along.

-Thank you.

-I love the Art Nouveau period and I love jewellery.

And this is just my type of thing.

Tell me, where did you get them?

It was in my grandmother's jewellery box.

And, on her death, it was left in her will to me.

-Have you ever worn them?

-No.

Do you like them, Jean?

Yes. It is nice. But it's not the sort of thing I would wear.

-It's not your style?

-No.

Let's have a closer look because I think they're absolutely lovely

and I would wear them.

Now, these are dated from the early 1900s to maybe about 1920.

We have the wonderful, sinuous shapes of the Art Nouveau period.

We have an enamel drop there,

a column of enamel here and another little enamel droplet in the chain.

These are lovely.

We have these wonderful blues and greens. And I love blues and greens.

Let's turn it round because the back is very interesting.

On the back, we will see the initials CH.

And these are the initials for Charles Horner.

Now, Horner was one of the most prestigious

silver and jewellery makers at the turn of the century.

I would put an estimate of £100 to £150.

Perhaps a reserve of around about £90. Do you feel happy about that?

-Yes, I do.

-So we'll go for it?

-Yes.

I think they're absolutely lovely and I think they'll sail away.

Thank you so much for bringing them along.

While Anita is having a rummage, David has found a glint of gold.

Hilary, why do you want to sell this lump of gold?

-Well...

-Are times hard?

Very. I'm a pensioner!

No, I never wear it now.

-I used to wear it for ladies' evenings.

-Is it too bold?

No, because I am bold and dramatic,

but I haven't now the cause to wear it.

It is basically a gentleman's piece of jewellery.

I think so. I think so, yes.

Because, in effect, although you've got it as a necklace here,

it is a double albert, is it not?

Yes, it is.

So we'd have a watch at one end,

and the other end maybe attached to a fob or something like that

to keep it in the other pocket.

And then this wonderful fob here, with the £2 gold coin on it.

Unfortunately, the coin value as a coin has gone,

because it has been used as a piece of jewellery.

In other words, it's had this section soldered on to it,

so we can only look at that as a solid lump of metal.

-Ah.

-But it's gold.

What are you gonna do with the money?

I'm going to put it towards a ring that I can wear,

-instead of putting that in the drawer.

-OK.

-So what is your birth stone?

-Garnet.

I'm a Capricorn. I'm an old goat.

Oh, right, right.

Well, I'm an old bull!

Taurus.

I think this will go for something in the region of about £400 - £500.

-Really?

-Yes, that sort of price range.

But we need to put a sensible reserve

to take account of the fact that the market fluctuates in gold,

so I think we'll be looking at round about 360.

Reserve. Would you be happy at that sort of level?

Oh, yes I would. Although I love it, I would.

-OK. Will that buy you a garnet and diamond ring?

-Yes, it would.

-Is that what you're looking for?

-Yes.

It would give me a lot of pleasure.

What a fabulous start to the day. We found some wonderful items

and right now it's time to up the tempo and put those valuations to the test.

While we make our way over to the Kendal salerooms, here's a reminder

of the items that are going to go under the hammer and hopefully earn our owners a small fortune.

Bought for just a pound, Kathleen's hoping to turn

her passion for pottery into a profit with the sale

of her Madonna and Child.

I'm a potoholic, I think. Weak-willed when there's pots about.

Hilary wants to swap her masculine fob chain and coin for something more feminine.

A ring bejewelled with her birthstone.

-So, what is your birth stone?

-Garnet.

-I'm a Capricorn, I'm an old goat.

-Well, I'm an old bull!

And they may not be to Jean's taste, but Anita simply loved her two beautiful Art Nouveau pendants.

With one Charles Horner,

they should have no trouble making the £100 to £150 estimate.

David's extremely confident that Stephanie's mother's creamer

will boost her New Zealand-ometer by around £130.

Let's see if he's right.

-Don't go marking up on that chart, £130.

-Not yet.

-I can almost guarantee we are going to sell it at that level.

-Excellent.

And there's plenty more fun to come later when David and I get our very own special rewards.

You're my Father Christmas!

I can't believe it!

Before all that excitement, I've taken a trip to the Lake District

to fully enjoy its magnificent natural beauty,

which has been a muse to poets and authors alike

and a magnet to many landscape artists over the years.

And you can certainly see why, can't you? Just look at that!

It also proved to be the inspiration for one particular children's author.

It was the memories of childhood holidays spent here and also a pair of Turkish slippers

that led him to write a series of books that transformed children's adventure stories.

Arthur Ransome started writing Swallows And Amazons in 1929.

It was published the following year.

It told the story of the Walker children - John,

Susan, Titty and Roger - and their holiday by the lake.

In the book, the Walkers meet local youngsters on an island in the lake

and they have a series of sailing and camping adventures,

which weave imaginative tales of pirates and exploring

into everyday life of the lake.

Ransome went on to write another 11 similar adventure stories,

confirming him as one of the foremost children's authors of his day.

The story of how he wrote that first book is as compelling as any of the Walker children's adventures.

Arthur Ransome was born in Leeds in 1884 and spent three months every summer holiday in the Lakes.

He was a boarder at Old College in Windermere,

where his short-sightedness marked him out as a failure.

For him, the holidays were a refuge.

Ransome always wanted to be an author,

but he began his writing career as an essayist and biographer.

He later made a living as a war reporter and foreign correspondent.

But the draw of the Lakes called him back, and in 1924

he returned with his wife, Evgenia.

They met and fell in love while he covered the Russian Revolution

for the Manchester Guardian.

Exhausted from the upheaval of the Revolution,

they settled into a quiet life here at Low Ludderburn.

Arthur began writing a fishing column.

I have come to his former home to meet up with author and member

of the Arthur Ransome Society Diane James to learn more.

He certainly had an interesting life, but what sort of man

was Ransome when he arrived here in the early 1920s?

He was 40 and would have been a very happy man to actually be getting back here

after essentially living almost in exile for 10 years.

Did he ever dream that he would be a successful author at the age of 40?

Well, his hope, ever since childhood, had been to write books.

He didn't begin Swallows And Amazons

until he had been here five years, so he was 45 by then.

So, in a sense it was a make-or-break moment.

He desperately wanted to get away from journalism and write children's books.

And his inspiration came in 1928 in an unexpected form,

when his old friend, artist and author WG Collingwood,

introduced Ransome to his grandchildren who were spending the summer with him.

The ensuing friendship with these children

had a profound effect on Ransome's life.

He took them fishing and helped teach them to sail

just as their grandfather had taught him, all those years before.

He even bought them two sailing boats, Swallow and Mavis.

Months later, when the children's visit ended, they came here to Uncle Arthur's workroom

where they presented him with a goodbye gift, a pair of Turkish slippers.

In return, Ransome decided to write a story for them,

to remind them of their holiday, and he wrote that story in this very room.

And it was Swallows and Amazons.

And when it was finished he decided to dedicate it to, and it says here,

"The six for whom it was written, in exchange for a pair of slippers."

Let's talk about Swallows and Amazons. Tell me about the story.

Essentially it's a fairly simple story.

Four children who are here on holiday borrow a boat from a local farmer

and go and set up camp on one of the islands in the lake.

They meet two girls, Nancy and Peggy Blackett, who are the Amazon pirates,

and they have a contest, or war, if you like, as to which can capture the other's boat.

The Swallows win, so Captain John becomes the Commodore of the fleet.

It was the first of a series of 12, all of them very successful and very well loved.

Can you sum up what you think the most enduring appeal of the books is?

One of the reasons it has been such a success is that Ransome was an inclusive writer.

Children feel that they are right there in the stories.

You feel you are by the camp fire or in the boat.

Do you know, I want to be in a book now. I want to go on an adventure.

-Thank you so much for talking to us today.

-Thank you.

Ransome's inspiration came from the beauty and the magic of this stunning scenery.

And his skill in weaving that into the exciting adventure stories

has ensured the Swallows and Amazons books have never been out of print.

Taking turns on the rostrum today are auctioneers Kevin Kendal and David Brookes

We've got something for the ladies. We've got two items of silver jewellery

and one is stamped Charles Horner.

Real quality. They belong to Jean.

They were your grandmother's, weren't they?

-Yes.

-So, she gave them to you?

-They were left in the will to me.

-OK.

We'll get £100 to £150?

-Should do that.

-It's got to do that, hasn't it?

The Charles Horner, I think, is the bulk of that.

-Yeah?

-Yes.

Fingers crossed, we could be in the money.

It's all down to the bidders now. Here we go.

It's up to this lot in Kendal. It's going now.

Lot 441.

Two Art Nouveau pendants here.

Silver ones, including the Charles Horner.

What can I ask then, for a start?

Two very stylish pieces.

150 somewhere, surely? 150?

Start me £100.

70, yes? £70 bid. 80.

£90 now. 90 bid. 90 bid, £90.

100 bid at the back. 110, 120?

120 now? 120, 130?

A determined lady at the back.

140, 150. 160. 170. 180. 190.

200. 220. 220.

My bid is 220, seated.

220. 220.

You're out at the very back? I sell seated then, at 220.

-Yeah!

-See, the ladies loved it.

It was the ladies bidding, doing all the bidding as well.

Well done, Jean. Well done, Anita.

That's marvellous.

-What did you do for a living?

-I was a carer.

But you're giving it all up, having a rest.

Yes, and I'm shortly due to retire.

Well, enjoy it, won't you?

You've certainly worked hard all your life, because that is hard work, 24/7, being a carer, isn't it?

-Yes.

-But it is rewarding.

I have to show you this. Look at that.

It is none other than Arthur Ransome's fishing rod.

You know he was a keen fisherman.

He probably had a dozen rods or so in his collection.

This has got provenance and I believe it was made by him.

It's of painted copper and as you can see,

it is very home-made.

It's up for sale with a valuation of £100-£150,

so we will keep an eye on this later on in the show.

Could it be heads or tails? We are going to find out.

There's a £2 coin going under the hammer.

It's heavy and has a wonderful chain that belongs to Hilary.

Who does look fabulous, absolutely fabulous.

You look like you belong on the stage.

Oh! That was from my grandmother's side. She was on the stage.

You've got it, girl!

-Let's talk about the value. Top end £500?

-Yes.

It depends on the gold value at the time of auction.

It's quite high at the moment,

so I have every expectation of being able to meet that figure.

Particularly at the reserve.

-Fingers crossed.

-Fingers crossed.

-Here we go. We are going to find out. This is it.

-Ooh, thank you.

Lot number 470 now is the 1902 £2 gold coin.

I have interest. I'll have to start the bidding.

With me at £400.

420, 440, 460, 480, 500. 520.

540, 560, 580, 590, with me now.

600 bid in the room.

600 bid in the room. 600 bid.

600 bid, 600 bid, 620.

620 with the lady now. 620, 620.

620, the lady's bid and I sell away, all done at 620.

-Great!

-620, Hilary, that's fantastic!

-That's more than we thought, isn't it?

-Yes.

-Isn't that lovely?

-Gosh, what are you gonna do with all that money?

-Well, I've spent it.

-Have you? Have you really?

-Mm. Yes, on my ring.

I part exchanged my other ring for this one

and then what I got from there, I will put to it as well.

You were quite confident in selling, weren't you?

I'm thrilled.

It's just like Father Christmas has come, isn't it?

You're my Father Christmas!

He is!

You're my Father Christmas!

Remember the fishing rod we were talking about earlier?

It's coming up now. Arthur Ransome's rod. Listen.

Interesting local lot here, lot 284.

£100 for this, please? 100?

Start me somewhere near, please, £80.

I know it's not much of a rod, but the provenance, unbelievable!

A gentleman's bid of £80 now. A gentleman's bid of £80.

Are you bidding? 85. 90, now, 95.

-Lovely thing to have.

-£90. Selling....

£90. Lower end of the estimate,

but I think someone's bought a piece of history there.

It's great.

Kath, I really like the figurine Madonna and Child.

Sometimes it's difficult to sell something with a religious connection.

I know why you've gone £80-£120.

That's why I have estimated low, but Lenci is highly desirable.

Why are you selling?

I'm downsizing.

It's not that big!

How much did you pay for this?

-£1.

-Where did you get it?

-Just off a friend who had a junk shop.

She's got a good eye.

She has got a good eye.

Let's see what we can turn that £1 into, shall we?

Let's find out. Good luck both of you.

The Lenci figurine, Madonna and Child.

With me at 130. 140.

150. Commissions are out.

150 in the room now. In the room at 150.

-160 on the phone.

-They like it.

170 on the internet.

180 on the internet.

190 on the internet.

200 on the internet. 220 on the internet.

Anyone want to bid 230? 230 on the phone.

-240, please.

-240 on the internet.

260 now on the internet.

-Wow!

-260 on the internet. Any advance?

-280.

-280 on the internet.

-300.

300 on the internet.

-320.

-320 on the internet.

I didn't know if I should part with her either.

360 on the internet.

-Two people seriously want this.

-380 on the internet.

-£380. Any advance?

-400.

400 now on the internet.

450.

£450 now on the internet.

£450 on the internet now. Selling, if no further bid, at £450...

-Yes!

-£450, Kath!

-Great!

-You got it for a pound!

You can't imagine that, can you?

The name pulled through and the style and the quality.

Lenci is always good quality.

It has wonderful style. The nudes get four-figure sums, high sums.

I felt that with the Madonna we should keep it low.

Religious figures don't tend to sell well. What are you going to put that towards?

I think I'll go on holiday.

Well, save it for a rainy day and have a good old think.

Thank you so much for coming.

Right, now for my favourite lot of the day.

I am absolutely in love with this little cow creamer.

It belongs to Stephanie. It was valued by David.

It's been in your family a long time.

We've got a value of £150 - £200 on this.

We had a chat to the auctioneer earlier. I was bigging this up.

He said yes, he agreed with the valuation plus a little bit more.

I was saying I want to see £300 - £400.

Let's find out, shall we, what the bidders here in Kendal think.

I'm sure this is gonna fly away.

We come now to lot 700,

which is the rather sweet 18th century cow creamer.

Come on, we've built this up big time, let's see it sell big time.

Commissioned bids all over the place. I'm going to start the bidding

with me, at a fairly lowly figure but quite a nice figure, of £130.

Modest.

140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 190.

Commission's out, 200 in the room now.

220 on the phone, I'll come back to you, 240.

260. 280.

300.

320.

340.

360.

380.

-400.

-I can't believe this.

450, we jump to. 500.

-Oh, my goodness!

-550 now on the phone.

600.

650 on the phone.

650. I'll take 680.

700 if you like.

-680, in the room.

-£680 - they love it!

700, new phone.

Different phone at 700.

-That's got the air fare sorted.

-720, is that? 720.

750.

I can't wait to go now. I'm going. I'm on my way.

Yes, 780, 800.

Let's go to the 50s again.

800 on the other phone. 850? 850.

-Mum would be loving this, if she could see it.

-She's listening.

She's listening.

1000, is it?

950.

-I can't believe it.

-£1,000 on this phone.

1,100?

Yes, 1,100.

1,200, on this phone.

This is my mother's gift to me.

You're making me cry now!

1,400.

1,400.

1,500.

1,600.

It was a come-and-buy-me, David(!)

1,700.

1,800.

1,800 on the second phone.

At 1,800. Any interest?

At 1,800 on the second phone, make no mistake, at £1,800, and selling...

-£1,800!

-I can't believe it.

£1,800.

Oh, that was really good!

-I can't believe it. Well done, you!

-Unbelievable!

-£1,800.

-Thank you.

That's got you there, hasn't it?

It's got me there. It's just made it just so simple for me.

What's your grandson's name?

-George.

-George.

-Lovely George.

-He'll have some of that as well.

-That was wonderful.

-Enjoy it, won't you?

-I will just go and have the most wonderful time.

-Thank you all.

-I feel quite emotional.

This has been the most wonderful day here in Kendal.

We've thoroughly enjoyed it. We thoroughly enjoyed being here.

I hope you've enjoyed watching today's show.

There's plenty more surprises to come, but for now, it's cheerio.

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