Lissanoure Castle Flog It!

We've flown across the Irish Sea to Ballymoney,

in the heart of Northern Ireland.

And just look at this!

What a magnificent, beautiful setting we have for today's Flog It!

Lissanoure Castle dates back to the 14th century.

It was largely destroyed in 1847, when unused caskets of gunpowder

were accidentally ignited!

And this Tudor archway is one of the survivors of that huge explosion.

But it's out in the barn in the grounds of the castle, today,

that scores of people have turned up,

laden with bags and boxes full of antiques and treasures

to be valued by our team of experts

and hopefully sold off to the highest bidder at auction.

Joining us today is expert Will Axon,

who likes handling the goods,

especially when it's a handful of gold.

What have we got?

They're going to be of interest to someone. They've got the weight.

Catherine Southon has had an eye for antiques since she was a child.

And when she finds something, she just can't let it go.

You can't sell that!

And, coming up, we take a trip down memory lane.

'I've got my eye on the ball...'

Oh, missed it completely!

'..Will is in touch with his animal side...'

Tigers attacking elephants!

'..and Catherine gets flirty.'

Put my number in your phone, give me a call.

Well, I'm Bally well done in after that!

Well, everybody is now safely seated inside

and somebody here in this massive crowd...

And honestly, four or five hundred people have already turned up first thing this morning.

..somebody is going to go home with an awful lot of money.

It could be you.

It could be you! It could be this chap, here.

Who knows, but keep watching and you'll find out.

And it looks like Catherine Southon is our first expert to the tables.

Let's take a closer look at what she's spotted.

It's Heather's vase that's up first.

Heather, I do love Charlotte Rhead.

I do actually collect Charlotte Rhead myself.

-Are you a collector of Charlotte Rhead?

-No,

not personally. But I think it's rather nice.

So, where did you get this particular vase from?

I bought it in Scotland last week, just.

-Last week?!

-Yes, last week, yes.

Right, OK. So, did you buy it at a fair or auction?

-I bought it in an antique centre.

-Right, OK.

And can I ask how much you paid for it?

-30.

-£30?!

-Yes.

OK!

Well, let's just have a look at it

-because it screams out Charlotte Rhead.

-Yes.

It's got all the characteristics that we know and love of Charlotte Rhead.

The yellow and oranges of the 1930s

and then obviously the tube lining, here,

-which looks...I always think it's a bit like an icing bag.

-Yes.

-Yes, I appreciate that.

-You know, when you're doing your icing.

-It's as if it's been squeezed out of the bag.

-Yes.

What I think's quite unusual

is that it's not a smooth piece, it's very bumpy, isn't it?

Yes, that's what caught my eye when I saw it, yes.

That textured look about it.

-But the rest of it is all very... quite standard Charlotte Rhead.

-Yes.

Now, let's just turn it over, here.

And we can see the signature, there, of Rhead.

-"C Rhead". And obviously she was the designer for the factory...

-Yes.

..the Crown Ducal factory.

-Now, you say you paid £30 for it.

-£30, yes.

I was sort of surprised when he said 30

and I said, "Yeah, that's fine!"

So do you actually buy to sell or...?

Well, I do for charity fairs, mainly.

And I just love the buzz of buying and selling

and it keeps the grey matter active!

Oh, I think that's wonderful.

-Now, you certainly will make a bit of a profit on this.

-Yes, I'm hoping to!

I'd like to see this vase, really, make between £60 and £80 at auction.

-Yes, that's fine.

-It should make, really, £80.

-But I think let's keep it at £60-80, with a £60 reserve.

-Yes, that's fine.

-Yes, that's fine by me.

-Does that sound good?

-Yes.

-So this particular item you bought in Scotland last week?

-Yes, yes.

It's amazing! This must be one of the quickest items you've had!

Yes, it definitely is!

So you've probably had it in your possession about four days!

I came back on Sunday night

and this is now Wednesday!

-So, three days...

-Three days.

-..and then it's off.

-Well, I hope we do you justice at the auction.

-I hope so.

-It's a wonderful story.

-Yes.

-And thank you so much

-for coming along, Heather.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

Well, things are moving along nicely, here, today.

As you can see, it really is in full flow.

It looks a little bit chaotic but believe me,

everybody knows what they're doing.

And this I have to show you,

because it's the first piece of Irish silver

that I've come across today.

It's a wonderful Georgian ladle.

Instantly you can tell it's Irish or Scottish,

because the handle is a lot longer than the English ones.

But there's some nice weight, there.

It's a good time to sell silver

because everybody's investing in it right now.

But if I show you on the back of the handle

the owner has put some sellotape on the back of the assay marks

because she's frightened of cleaning them too much

when she's cleaning the rest of the ladle.

If this was English,

a ladle like that, dating from around the early 1800s,

would realise, in auction, around about £100 to £120, tops.

But because it's Irish,

and it's from Dublin,

this ladle is worth £300.

I think she'll be pleased with that!

From a dainty piece of silver to Sharon's mighty bronze.

Now, I hope you haven't had to lug this here all on your own,

because there is quite a weight in this.

Have you got a big strong man helping you with this?

Yes, I did bring him along.

-Excellent, he's helping off-camera, is he?

-Yes.

-Keeping under wraps!

Well, it's an impressive bronze you've brought along today.

What can you tell me about it?

My parents had it in their hall since I was a child.

It always just sat in the hallway, nobody ever talked about it.

Really?

And then I inherited it about ten years ago.

It's beautifully modelled.

I mean, that's one of the key things with bronzes,

how crisp and detailed it is.

The bull's face here and the detail in his skin

and this Japanese man, because that's what it is, it's Japanese bronze.

We can tell that by this figure, who's very much similar

to the kind of figures we see carved in ivory or kimonos

-and that sort of thing.

-OK.

This is going to date from around late 19th-century, Meiji period.

Early Chinese and Japanese bronzes, they were ceremonial pieces.

Tigers attacking elephants, that sort of, quite, shall we say,

macho bronzes that a lot of people aren't that keen on.

Now, this obviously doesn't have any,

sort of, ritualistic connotations to it.

The whole, sort of, fashion started to change

with the rise of Buddhism, shall we say,

when more naturalistic themes started to come into their thinking.

Sort of, farmers, rural workers, fishermen.

The same applies to the ivory carvings that we get

from Japan as well.

So, you remember it from your childhood.

You've got no inclination to hold on to it, really?

Well, I've tried to grow to like it.

I've put it in my hall a few times and let it sit there,

and then put it back in the garage.

-It's been sitting in the garage for about ten years.

-In the garage?

That's terrible. We hear that all the time on Flog It!

If it's not in the bottom of the wardrobe,

it's under the stairs or in the garage.

I'm glad it's seen the light of day today.

I think we can do quite well with this at auction, to be honest.

Did your parents ever let on

what they maybe thought it was worth or...?

-No.

-Have you seen similar items?

-No, I didn't even know it was bronze, to be honest.

-OK.

-So...

Well, look, bronze has got a scrap value as well,

let alone what it's going to be worth for its artistic merit.

But I wouldn't be surprised

-if we could put this in the saleroom at around £400-600.

-OK.

Is that something that you think would sit well with you

and perhaps your sons,

who might perhaps stand to get a cut themselves?

Oh, I'm sure they would be happy enough!

Yeah, I'm sure they are.

They'll be watching now saying, "Yes, go on, Mum."

But I'll be there with you on the day to hopefully see it sold.

-OK.

-Thanks for coming, Sharon.

This is the bit I love at valuation days,

dipping in and out of the queue

before the experts see all the little treasures.

So, I'm sitting next to Helen, who's got a little bit of tissue paper.

What are you going to reveal, there?

Oh, look at that!

What's that going to do?

THEY LAUGH

And now it's Brian and Ellen,

who have brought in some of the family silver.

Thank you very much for coming along to Flog It! today

and bringing along this lovely piece of Victoriana.

From first glimpse, we could think

it might be a little Victorian handbag,

but if we just open it up, here...

..we can see that it is a plate...

Probably a little food warmer of some description.

So perhaps you used to put your water...

I don't think you would have put candles underneath,

cos it's probably a little bit dangerous

because of this barrel shape here.

So perhaps put your hot water

and then you would have put something on the top, here, to heat it up.

Now, tell me a little bit about it. Where did you get this from?

Well, my mother left it to me. It was her grandfather's.

-Right, OK, so it's been handed down through the family?

-It has, yeah.

Now, if we look on the front, here, it does say...

There's a little inscription here and it says, "Presented to..."

Just trying to make that out, "..N Luke Esq,

-"by the pupils of the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin."

-Yeah.

-Your grandfather was actually given this as a...

-Retirement present.

-As a retirement present.

-He taught art in this college.

Are you an artist yourself?

-He dabbles!

-Oh, he dabbles! Oh, very nice.

It says that it's, "A token of their esteem and affection."

And that's May, 1879, so right at the height of Victoriana, here.

And that works perfectly, with all this lovely decoration, here.

I mean, the Victorians liked to go over the top, really, didn't they?

But, this, I love. It's really beautiful.

-Now, have you actually ever used this as a warmer?

-No. No.

I was sort of afraid to do anything with it, in case, you know,

it wasn't the right thing.

I thought at first, as you say, putting, like, muffins

or something to warm them, but then I was afraid of that.

I mean, I really think that's probably what you used to do.

Little muffins or something like that on the top.

I have to say, it's been beautifully made.

It's not silver.

I mean, had it been solid silver,

we'd be talking about something very special.

If you turn it over here...

You can see, there, the registration mark, which is actually 1876.

Have you ever had it valued before?

Yes, about 1960 something

-I got an insurance appraisal of

-£10. £10?

I'll give you £10 for it now! I'll give you 15!

-Well, I would like to say, probably £100-150.

-Lovely.

-Let's hope it makes more than that.

-Thank you very much.

Thank you so much for coming along and I'll see you at the auction.

-OK.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

Next up, it's aspiring collector Danielle.

You are somewhat below the demographic age

that we usually see on this programme, which I am pleased about.

I'm glad to see a younger generation coming through.

And you've brought, what I would call,

a piece of almost folk art, I suppose.

That sort of, well,

let's call it what it is, chessboard, draughts board, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-What can you tell me about this? Are you a chess grandmaster?

Is this what you practise on?

Me and my brother was actually just in a phase

of playing chess and draughts at the time

and me and my dad would be a regular goer to car-boot sales.

And I spotted this and said it was nice,

and asked how much it was and the lady told me it was £2.

But I had £1 in my pocket so I said, "Would you take £1?"

And she said, "Yeah, take it with you."

So I was quite happy and me and my brother played on it for a while.

-So you actually used it?

-Yeah, for a while.

And you've got her down to £1 from £2, I mean, good work.

Good haggling, I like your style.

I don't think it's going to be hugely valuable,

before we get too excited!

But I just like its honesty and its simplicity, shall we say?

I say simplicity, it's actually quite sophisticated marbling on here.

We've got this border round the outside,

with these wonderful shamrocks, sort of ribbon tied shamrocks,

very apt being here in Northern Ireland.

And in the corners, we've just got these compass-type stars,

-aren't they?

-Yeah.

-It's that sort of feel.

And all hand-painted, remember. This is all hand-painted.

You've got these, sort of, double lines.

This red line bordered in yellow

and then you've got this marbled effect in the squares,

to denote the black and white squares.

How old do you think it is? Have you any idea?

-Maybe ten, 20 years.

-Ten or 20 years?

So what are we talking, '80s or '90s?

I think it's a bit older than that, to be honest!

I'm going to say it's definitely 19th century,

-so we are talking, yeah, 1800s.

-Yeah.

So you liked it, you've used it, you didn't pay a lot for it,

so why are you selling it?

Daddy said just to take it today, to see what it was worth.

-Did he? Daddy said?

-Yeah.

So I've already, sort of, told you more or less that it's not

-going to be worth a fortune.

-That's fine.

But I think, you know, as someone who likes it

and would probably have a go at it if I saw it in a sale room,

I would be prepared to pay, what, between 30, 40, maybe £50 for it

so how does that sound as a return on your £1 purchase?

That sounds fantastic.

Next up, I couldn't resist stopping to have a chat with Margaret

and her granddaughter Alana.

What have you brought in today? Apart from Alana!

-And these wonderful sandals.

-You're sitting on it.

-Oh, am I?

Oh, can I have a look? Oh, that's nice, isn't it?

Do you know, we always ask people to bring in furniture

on Flog It! and not many people do.

Where has this come from?

Well, when my husband and I got married,

a year later we had some wedding money.

We were married in 1947

and we bought our antiques in Oxford.

Oh, how lovely. So you got this chair in Oxford?

Yes, and I have another,

a walnut one that was sold as two Queen Anne chairs.

Oh, now you are talking! How much did you pay for two chairs, then?

-Can I just...? I'm just going to do this.

-That was 60 years ago.

A dropping seat.

-Yes, the seat actually belongs to the walnut chair.

-Does it?

Did you model them up, then, on the way up this morning?

No, my daughter did!

This is a lovely period piece, it really is.

These date from the Queen Anne period.

This is, sort of, early 1700s.

If I just tip this upside down a minute,

I just want to have a look underneath,

because it's always good to turn a piece of furniture upside down.

You've got to, really, to examine its toes.

And look at those very generous, great big, pad feet.

And just look at the quality of the wood.

I mean, that's Cuban mahogany, wonderful, tight, straight grain.

A very good colour.

So much mahogany was coming into the country after around 1721,

when William Walpole, the first Prime Minister,

reduced the taxes and the levies on imported woods from the tropics.

So all this wood was coming back from the Caribbean.

Look at the width of that wood.

Now, that's been cut from one section of Cuban mahogany.

That width and that thick.

My apologies to the monkeys that were done out of their residence.

I'm really, really sorry, but they would have been dead by now anyway!

Oh, dear.

Isn't that lovely?

And if your walnut one is the same,

then the walnut one is worth a little bit more money than this one,

because walnut is a much more sought after and expensive wood.

Why are you selling them?

-Because we are downsizing.

-Oh, are you?

Hey, this is your inheritance, Alana!

-I know, but there's many more in her house.

-Oh, is there?

-Yeah.

Would you like to sell them as a pair?

Shall we put them into auction as a pair, one walnut and one mahogany?

Well, yes, I would.

The condition on this one does let it down because of the splits,

unfortunately. I think it's still worth in the region of £100-150,

and hopefully if your walnut is the same, we can double that.

I'd like to get £150 a chair, top end.

-So £200-300.

-That's OK!

-They have to go.

-And let's hope we get the top end!

-That's all I can say. Lots of money in Ballymoney!

-Well, that's it!

It is believed that Irish monks were the first people to produce whiskey,

possibly as far back as the 12th century,

making it one of the earliest distilled beverages in Europe.

A licence to distil whiskey in the Bushmills area was granted in April, 1608, by James I.

And some 400 years later, this area is still thriving, producing and

bottling all of its own whiskey, to sell to people all over the world.

I'm here to meet Colum Egan, the master distiller, to find out more.

So, Colum, as master distiller, what does your job involve? What's the role?

I have to ensure the whiskey that we're making today has the same taste

and the same characteristics that they have been distilling 50, 100, 150 years ago.

It's a great sense of tradition in this area, for making whiskey.

Start me through the whole process, from the beginning, from Bush River.

Well, we take that water, and we take barley, and then we allow it to ferment.

-How long does that take?

-It takes about 60 hours.

At the end of that 60 hours, you get about 8% strong beer.

At that point we're ready for distillation.

When you see our wonderful stillhouse and the wonderful aromas and smells...

I can smell them now, I can smell the yeast coming through in the breeze. You can smell that.

It drags you into the distillery every morning.

Shall we get inside and have a look?

The whole journey from grain to glass involves eight stages.

Irish whiskey is made in its own unique way.

The key characteristic being that it's triple distilled,

whereas Scotch whisky is distilled twice.

How come that's clear? That looks like water.

Where do you add the colour?

When you distil something to that purity, you get absolute crystal-clear colour.

Whiskey is brown.

That brown colour, that golden hue to it,

that all comes from the type of wood it's matured in.

-Right.

-So, by law, it has to be in that oak barrel for at least three years.

During that time, the whiskey expands into the oak and draws out a lot of the flavours and the colour.

And of course the older it gets, the more expensive!

Absolutely!

See if you can sell some of that!

There is a big difference, isn't there,

between a mature single malt to a three-year-old one.

Yes, the longer whiskey has in the barrel,

the more chance it has to pick up little nuances

and pick up different character from the wood itself.

And that's where your expertise really comes in?

Every day, I have to nose, I have to taste, and I have to make sure of the consistency of character.

What goes in the bottle itself has to be the same today as it's going to be in ten years' time.

Can we see the barrels, see where the colour comes in?

The barrels used in the maturation process are shipped in from Spain, Portugal and even as far as the USA.

They'd have previously been used in making sherry, Madeira

and bourbon, and add a certain flavour to the whiskey process.

Look at this! I just love the smell of mature oak.

How many barrels are in here?

These are actually all empty barrels.

We will store about 2,000 barrels at any one time in this area, getting ready to be filled.

I guess it's essential to use oak, for the taste, for the flavour?

Oak is fantastic, because of the characteristics and taste it gives to the whiskey.

There's also a very important factor in it, that oak is impervious.

-Of course.

-Because the whiskey spends so long in there, from three, to 30 or 40 years,

we have to make sure that none of the whiskey gets out of there.

Well, the grain's always tightening, as well, with oak.

It really does go dense, doesn't it?

You said... This has been full of bourbon in its day,

will that not affect the taste?

To put triple-distilled Bushmills spirit into a brand-new oak barrel,

you'd be overpowered with woodiness and oakiness.

So, why I go to Kentucky is, bourbon actually strips out...

They like that, heavy, oaky, woody notes.

So, they strip out into their bourbon.

What's left behind is some nice toasted wood, caramel.

-And a bit bourbony?

-A touch.

It's got to be, surely, hasn't it?

Actually, it leaches out of the wood itself.

They like every drop of their own bourbon in their own stuff!

The next stage might look a bit alarming,

but it's time for that whiskey, which has been maturing in barrels

for anything up to 30 years, to enter a blending process.

How many bottles do you think are in each barrel, here?

There is probably about 1,000 bottles of whiskey in each of those.

So what's that worth?

-£20 a bottle.

-£20 a bottle... about 20 grand.

-Oh,

that's a lot of money, isn't it?

That's a lot of money per barrel! £20,000 per barrel!

What I want to know is why you're letting it all out into this gully?

What we do, we drain it out, put it into these troughs, and we bring it across and we put it into large vats.

From those vats, we mix it in certain proportions, and that's what gives us our final brand of whiskey.

Oh, so this is another of the secrets of the Bushmills?

What's all the black stuff, charred-looking stuff?

The inside of American barrels are charred to sterilise them.

The great thing it does for whiskey, it caramelises a layer of sugars in the wood,

so you get these nice caramel and vanilla notes coming from them.

I can smell them now!

I think we should go to the tasting session.

-I think that would be ideal.

-OK, come on, then.

What are you smelling there?

That's a nice vanilla, mixed in with a little bit of woody and oakiness.

These lovely fruits beginning to come through, floral notes.

I can't smell them yet.

My nose isn't as trained as yours.

A couple of weeks here, and you're there.

I've got the vanilla.

So, what would be the classic toast?

Well you'll have to raise your glass,

and it simply goes,

there are tall ships, there are longships,

there are ships that sail the sea, but the best ships are friendships,

and may they always be.

-Slainte!

-Cheers!

Today, we're at McAfee's Auctioneers.

Good luck later on.

Hopefully, you're going to be bidding on some of our items.

Well, I hope so. It's a jam-packed saleroom here in Ballycastle.

Someone today is going home with a lot of money. But do you know what?

Auctions are so unpredictable.

It can be a roller-coaster ride for everybody.

Someone may be going home very disappointed. Right now,

I'm going to catch up with our owners,

and we're going to leave you with a quick rundown

of all the items going under the hammer.

We have Heather's textured Charlotte Rhead vase.

Eagle-eyed Danielle's bargain chessboard.

Brian and Ellen's silver-plated food warmer.

Margaret's early 18th-century chairs,

and Sharon's Japanese bronze bull.

Sell it...

Gerry McAfee is on the rostrum.

Let's hope it's checkmate in one. You know what I'm talking about.

I've just been joined by Danielle,

and we're talking about that lovely chessboard.

We've got £30-£50 on this, and you got this for just £1.

-Yeah, at the car-boot sale.

-At the car-boot sale.

-Have you been back since?

-Yeah.

-Any other bargains?

Yeah, I've got a few teapots and a few books and stuff.

And the good thing is, you've been playing chess as well.

-Yeah, and draughts.

-And beating her brother. Do you play chess?

Yeah, I used to play a lot with my father, and my grandfather was good.

It's nice to see someone who is keeping the tradition going,

because I can imagine it's a game that's dying out somewhat.

Well, I tell you what. This is a lovely, unique piece.

You could say it's a bit of folk art,

and as we are here in Ireland, it's a bit of Irish folk art.

It's beautifully painted.

You could put any sort of chess figure on this.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Why do you want to sell it? Are you trading upwards,

going to put the money towards something else?

Yeah, I'm just looking, because, like, it's worth so much compared to

-what I bought it for, so I just think it's worth more money to sell it.

-OK.

-And buy other things?

-Yeah, buy other things.

-That's the spirit!

Always trade on and trade upwards. Right now, we're trading this one,

and it's going right under the hammer. Good luck.

We have a wooden chessboard. Very nice early wooden chessboard,

being held up for the back of the room.

What will we get for the wooden chessboard? £40? 30?

Ten bid. Wooden chessboard at £10.

That's cheap. We are in profit.

16. 18. £20.

I think they like it, Danielle.

25. 25 for you. £25.

Good value at £25. This chessboard now £25.

I'm selling it. We're all finished now at £25.

The bid's here at 25. Last call. I'm selling it at £25, all right?

-Hammer's gone down. £25. That's a good result.

-Yeah, very happy.

-You paid £1 for that.

-Yeah.

Don't forget, there is commission to pay.

But anyway, that's good for you,

-because you can now go off spending it and trade upwards.

-Yeah.

-What's on your shopping list?

-Anything... Anything to make money.

THEY LAUGH

We've got the makings here of a real dealer, haven't we? Brilliant.

She's great. It's good to see.

Maybe Danielle will even be one of our future experts.

Next up, Margaret is going to find out the fate of her chairs.

Remember that lovely Queen Anne chair I saw?

Well, there's now two, because Margaret and Alana

brought the other one in, and I've just got to say,

it's wonderful to see you both again.

You're looking fabulous, and so are you.

And hopefully, we've got some bidders here

-to buy these two chairs.

-Yeah, fingers crossed.

Otherwise, they're going home, and this is your inheritance,

-and you have got to look after them.

-I know!

-Because they're Gran's.

-They take up a bit of space!

THEY LAUGH

Use them, girl! Use them!

-Enjoy the moment, won't you?

-Yeah, oh, yes, I will.

-And I won't be sorry if they don't go!

-OK.

They're going home if they don't go.

We have a pair of framed parlour chairs.

Very, very nice chairs, from a very early period of chairs.

100 only bid for the pair now. £100.

-We're in at 100.

-And 110. 120.

130. 140.

150.

This pair now at 150.

-On the phone, 160.

-Phone bid!

-170.

New blood, 180. For the pair now, 180.

190. On the phone at 190.

On the phone at £190 for this pair now. 190.

We'd like a little more now at £190.

If we are all out here at £190...

I'm going to sell to the phone at £190.

-Two to three, we said, didn't we?

-Two to three, yeah.

Are you OK with that?

-Yeah. I think that's pretty good.

-Oh, yes.

I mean, we said 200 and got 190, so that was quite good.

Well...

All those memories of Oxford. It was Oxford, wasn't it?

Oh, it was.

It was early in our marriage too!

SHE LAUGHS

Thank you so much for coming in.

Well, thank you for giving me the opportunity to be myself.

So, Gerry the auctioneer used his discretion there,

and someone's got a great deal.

They were lovely quality.

Brian and Ellen, it's great to see you. Love the American accent.

-Come on, give us a bit.

-Hi, y'all.

-How long have you been in Ireland, then?

-I've been here for 21 years.

Wow, and you were working here.

-You were obviously working across the road, that's how you met.

-Yes.

-That was a good day, wasn't it?

-Yes, it was.

-That was a good day.

-How many years ago was that?

-That was 17 years ago.

-17.

-My car had broken down, and he helped me out.

-And he fixed it?

-Aw, that's love, isn't it?

-Love at first sight.

Good luck, good luck.

I agree with the value, anyway.

Yeah, well it's a piece of Victoriana, isn't it?

-A high Victoriana.

-Very dressy.

-It is. Really dressy.

And I think it's quite good quality. It should do top end.

It's got the look! It's got the look.

Let's find out what the bidders think.

It's going under the hammer right now.

A fine silver food warmer or biscuit box, circa 1870,

a lovely piece of early silver plate,

and I can start it off with an internet bid of £70.

£70 bid, £70.

With me at 80. 85.

£90.

-95, £100.

-(Keep going!)

£100 bid now, at £100.

Bid left with me at £100.

£100 for the food warmer now. £100. 105.

110. 110 there. 110.

115. And I'm out at 115.

The bid's in the room now at £115.

And I'm selling at £115.

-It's gone.

-Great.

-£115. Happy?

-Yes.

-Good.

-Thank you very much.

Well, maybe you can treat yourself for a nice meal out,

-the two of you together.

-Thank you.

-A romantic supper.

-Yes.

-Yeah? OK.

Another meal, care of Flog It! It's good to be of service.

Next up, there's some more meat on the menu.

We've got some real quality going under the hammer right now.

It's the Japanese bull bronze. We have that.

Unfortunately, Sharon, the owner, can't be with us tonight,

but we do have Will, our expert. £4-£600, a lot of money.

-Well, it's got to be worth it, hasn't it?

-I think so, yes.

We've got a packed saleroom.

Let's find out right now what the bidders think.

Here we go. This is it.

A large Japanese bronze of a bull and herdsman, nicely carved,

very fine bronze here.

On a lovely carved base. Very, very nice base.

Start at £300.

£300, bid at £300.

320.

-Surely.

-340. 360.

380. Big bronze now at 380. £400.

The bronze now at £400. This big bronze now. 420 on the phone.

We need someone in the room with that bull.

£420. The bid's on the phone now at 420. 440.

He's like a Jack Russell wrestling with an old sock. Won't let go.

I was thinking that.

And in the room at 440 and selling. At £440...

It's gone down. 440. That's good.

-I think we need to get on the phone and tell Sharon.

-Yes.

-She's going to be really happy.

-I hope so.

If you've got anything like that, we would love to see it.

Bring it along to one of our valuation days.

You can log onto bbc.co.uk/flogit

go to the links, and hopefully we'll be coming to a town

very near you soon.

Aspiring collector Heather followed this advice,

and now her vase is going under the hammer.

Heather, I love the buzz as well, the thrill of buying and selling.

It's good, isn't it? The hunt, the search.

I've just been joined by Heather.

We're putting the Charlotte Rhead vase under the hammer,

-which came all the way from Scotland, didn't it?

-Yes, it did.

-Are we going to make a big profit?

-We should do.

-We should do.

It screams Charlotte Rhead, though, doesn't it?

It's got the colours, the patterns, that lining. It's a nice thing.

-It's the only piece like that here today.

-Yes. A good sought-after name.

-Yeah.

-Great name. That's going to get it away, isn't it?

-I hope so.

-So do I!

-THEY LAUGH

We're going to find out what the bidders think right now,

because this is your lot.

The Charlotte Rhead Crown Ducal vase.

Again, lovely quality, lovely colours.

Will somebody give me £100?

£100 for the Charlotte Rhead Crowned Ducal vase. £100?

-Go on, Gerry.

-Started at £50.

£50 bid for the Crown Ducal vase.

-Fingers crossed.

-55 bid. 55. £60.

Crown Ducal vase now at £60.

Take another five. Anyone there at £60?

(Go on! A little bit more.)

We finish at £60.

And I'm going to sell it, then, the Crown Ducal vase, at £60.

-Just on its reserve.

-No estimate.

-It's gone.

-That's OK.

-Happy?

Only cost me 30.

It only cost you 30. That's a good result.

Doubled your money, haven't you?

That's what it's all about. Profit, profit, profit.

Well, so far, so good.

That concludes our first visit to the saleroom today.

We are coming back here later in the programme, so fingers crossed

there's going to be one or two big surprises.

The Irish are very passionate about keeping their traditions alive.

THEY SING

And this can be found in music and dance,

and one very unique sporting event.

'The All Ireland finals are national occasions,

'arousing such passions, becoming an obsession,

'overwhelming every other aspect of life for weeks before.'

The team sport of hurling is one of the fastest

field games in the world.

It's frenetic, it's energetic, but most importantly,

it's born of Irish tradition.

'The men of the county hurling team

'prepare for the All Ireland senior hurling final.'

Hurling is an ancient sport. It came to Ireland with the Celts.

For the past two millennia,

the Irish have celebrated its legendary status.

It's in their blood.

So, what's involved in the game?

Well, two teams of up to 15 players try to get a ball

between two sets of extended goalposts.

They get one point for doing that, and three points for getting it

into the back of the net, past a goalkeeper.

More recently, during the Troubles,

hurling has become even more important. By uniting communities,

it's helped to heal the divide in Northern Ireland.

But on the pitch, things have been known to get a little out of hand.

It is tremendously exciting,

but what's caught my eye is the attention to detail

in making this very simple piece of equipment.

Michael Scullion runs a hurl-making business from his back yard.

That's how it starts. You can almost see it taking shape now, can't you?

-I can show you in the workshop now.

-Sure, OK.

How many do you make a year?

We would make probably between eight and 10,000 of all sizes.

-That's a lot, isn't it?

-Yes, a lot of hurls.

-That is a lot.

Ashwood is used for its flexibility and strength.

Michael customises the hurdles for each player's needs.

You made this so quickly. All of a sudden,

you've turned it almost into a piece of sculpture.

It feels so perfect. It really does.

There's great balance there, isn't there, as well?

That's what you're looking for, that balance.

Do you know, I'm very impressed with that. I really am.

If you've got a quality tool, surely you're halfway there.

Oh! Missed it completely. Maybe not.

I think I might need an expert to show me how.

You can dribble with it.

And then as soon as you've got it up, you can...

When you've got it up, you're allowed to take four steps

with the ball in your hand, and so I'll try and get away from you.

I can set it on there, and you're allowed,

when that ball's free like that, you can try and tap it away.

I see!

The ball is coming in, and we're trying to win it.

-HE LAUGHS

-Do people get hurt in this?

-Yeah!

Hurling is fast, furious, and above all, fun.

For the Irish, it's more than a sport, and it's vital

that this tradition is kept alive

and handed down to future generations.

'At all the pubs on the roads, there were celebrations.

'And at every one, they sang the same song, The Banks Of Lee.'

Back at Lissanoure Castle, there's a buzz in the air.

And all of these people have come here today to ask

that all-important question, which is...

-ALL:

-What's it worth?

-That's more like it.

-And what are you going to do when you find out?

-ALL:

-Flog it!

And that's just what Joan is hoping to do with her pottery.

Can you remember how much you paid for these?

Well, I know it wasn't any more than £2 each.

-£2 each?

-Yes.

I tell you what, Joan, can I come with you next time?

You certainly can, because it'd be great to have the expert!

Well, I tell you, for £2 each, I think

you did pretty well there.

Now, do you know anything about these at all?

No, only what I've found out from you, watching your programmes.

-Right.

-At the time when I bought them, I didn't know at all.

-So you didn't even know they were Moorcroft?

-No.

They are actually quite late in date. I would say they're probably 1930s.

This one, the brown, and this sort of coral or orangey flower here,

the pattern here is actually known as Hibiscus.

This is probably like a little bonbon dish, something like that.

I don't like this one so much.

I mean, the colour, it's not so commercial,

and I think also the shape, whereas this one,

you could nicely display this in your home, and I think also

the colour is more commercial. It's going to be more collectable.

Now, the pattern on this one is actually called clematis,

this dark, very dark blue.

-Actually, it's quite dusty here, isn't it?

-Yes.

We could do with a bit of a clean.

Value-wise, this one, we'd probably be looking at about £40-£60.

This one, we'd be looking at about £80-£100.

How does that sound?

-That's lovely.

-From £2, I think that's pretty good going!

-Yes, a good return.

-Not bad at all.

Now, why do you want to sell them?

Well, I have grandchildren, and I'm scared sometimes,

maybe they could topple it over and they'll be worth nothing.

This way, if I sell them now, I can have a holiday to Blackpool.

I love going to Blackpool!

Well, I have to say, it's a pretty good return on £2 each.

-Very much so.

-Very good. Next time, I'm coming with you,

so make sure you put my number in your phone,

give me a call, and we'll be there together!

But you've made everybody so wise now to it!

Will has spotted something quite unique amongst the crowd.

William, can I call you William? Are you a Will, or a Bill?

-Willie, actually.

-Willie.

I was called Willie by my father, I'm William when I'm in trouble and Will by my friends.

So, Willie, you've got an interesting item here.

It really caught my eye when I saw you in the queue.

Obviously, looking at it, it's a picture made up of tiles

in this oak frame, which I think is period.

I don't think they've ever been out of this frame.

What really intrigued me was the scene we've got here.

What can you tell me about this? How have you come by it?

-It was given to me by my sister, who in turn got it from a friend who was doing a house clearance.

-Right.

-No idea of its history other than that.

-She obviously didn't like it?

-Didn't like it.

-So she palmed it off to you.

-Who doesn't like it!

-So, it doesn't hang in your home?

-No.

-Where does it live?

It lives in the study, under a large box.

Under a large box! You really are trying to hide it away!

Surely you can appreciate how well painted it is, and the unusualness of the scene.

My family have quite a few connections with South America,

and so my father used to go out there a lot.

That kind of caught my eye, because I was trying to work out whereabouts it was.

We're obviously near some rather large mountains.

We've got this figure here. It does look a bit like a crow,

but I suspect it's trying to be more of a condor, or something like that.

And then we've got these rather fine-looking, shall we call them rancheros?

Nice strong colours in the blues and greens,

and then just this hint of the rockwork in these mountains.

I've had a closer look down here at the bottom, and we've got

a name here which we can just read.

-"Joost Thouet and..."

-"La Boucher."

La Boucher. Well done.

"Delft, Holland."

That's helpful to us. It tells us who made it, it tells us where they made it.

What's unusual, though, is with Delftware,

obviously people associate it more with perhaps blue and white clogs and windmills.

I think always intended to be displayed here as a tiled picture.

And like I said, I think the frame is contemporary,

so I think we're looking at around circa 1900 as a date.

-I quite like it, because it's different.

-Yes, but it certainly...

no, it's not something I would hang on the wall.

Doesn't fit in with your scheme, shall we say?

-What about value?

-I have no idea.

Let's have a stab in the dark, shall we?

I mean, I haven't seen one similar, so I couldn't tell you what the last one I saw made.

Let's be mean and say £10 a tile, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80.

We're going to reach that magic estimate that we like, 80 to 120, aren't we?

I think it's worth a go at that. I just think it's a bit different and like I say,

that's what the market wants -

quirky things that aren't run-of-the-mill.

-Have you got to phone your sister, is she going to be upset?

-No, no, not at all.

She'll be relieved. I'm hoping that someone who likes it will buy it.

Now we come to the point of reserve.

I don't think you'll be too worried if this just makes what it makes.

-What it makes on the day, that's... Yeah.

-You're a man after my own heart as well as my own name.

We'll go 80 to 120, without reserve, then, yes?

And on the day, fingers crossed it's going to fly

-away with the condors even, perhaps.

-It makes what it makes.

-Well done.

So, Willie is taking a punt on no reserve.

I hope he doesn't end up regretting it!

Time for some fresh air.

Cherry and Hector have brought along a family heirloom.

I've decided to do this one outside, and I know it's drizzling a bit,

but this castle dates back to the 14th century, and I'm sure it's seen

a lot worse, don't you? We don't mind a bit of drizzle, do we?

-We call it mizzle.

-Mizzle! Why do you call it mizzle?

-I don't know!

THEY LAUGH

-Do you really? Mizzle?

-Yes, it's mizzling.

-It's mizzling!

Well, hopefully it'll clear up a bit, anyway.

But we don't mind that. It's not dampening our spirits, is it?

We know what this is, don't we, Cherry and Hector?

Do you know what this is?

-Not really.

-No, no.

If I span that round...

Have another think.

It's an ornament of some sort, isn't it? It goes on a desk.

-Inkwell?

-Yes! Look.

That's where the glass liner should be.

Which sadly is missing.

But that doesn't matter, does it, really,

because hundreds of those have survived.

Not many of these have, and I'm sure we can find a replacement for that.

So, tell me, how did you come by this?

Well, I think it came back from India

with one or other of two great uncles of mine

who worked there in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Now, were they in the forces at all?

They both worked for the railways in India, although one of them,

I think, was a volunteer in the Armed Forces with the railway.

Right, OK. It probably did come back from India, but do you know what?

It found its way out to India.

Because this was made in England.

It is, unfortunately, the downside, it's only silver plate.

It's electroplated on a Britannia metal.

Queen Victoria was made Princess of India and there was this whole,

sort of, zest for anything that had the Raj influence.

I think an officer and a gentleman, who was serving in the Army,

took this out on campaign

with all of his wonderful mahogany camping furniture.

He would have stuck that inkwell on it...

and that would have put a smile on his face and reminded him

of home, and also of where he was.

And it's obviously an Indian elephant

because it's got small ears.

It's got some wonderful ceremonial headdress on it as well.

It is a very, very good casting. I like all this matte groundwork

because that gives the texture of the elephant's skin,

which is so thick and undulating and hairy.

I think, if you put this into auction,

we'll give it a valuation of £120 to £150,

but it should do around that - 150, 180.

-Well done.

-Well, I like it a lot.

-That's delightful, isn't it? Something you'd like to own?

-Yes.

Well, come along to the auction a bit later.

-You never know, you could be the owner.

-That's right.

-See you there.

There's just time for one more, and it's Frank's carriage clock.

Frank, welcome to Flog It! today.

And you've brought what we would call a four-glass mantle clock.

Is this something that you've bought for yourself

or is this a family piece?

When my mother was a young girl, she was a servant.

She was in service, was she? In the big house,

-shall we say? On the hill.

-Yeah, that's right.

-And this was gifted to her, was it?

-It was gifted to her.

Well...a very nice gift,

and we do hear that a lot in this business.

Well, let's have a quick look at the clock itself.

Four-glass - called for obvious reasons -

-glass on each side.

-Yeah.

Nice, sort of, clean dial there, with the winding hole there,

and then another winding hole there.

I've had a quick look at the movement - it's stamped France.

They're fairly standard movements, to be fair.

They were produced in large numbers

and they were imported into this country...

It strikes on a gong rather than a bell.

They're not the most popular striking mechanism, the gong.

People tend to like the bells

because that tends to suggest

-that they're a bit earlier as clocks.

-Yes.

But the interesting bit that I like is the old mercury pendulum.

They were looking for clocks to be accurate. Obviously, you don't

want a clock that's going to start losing a minute every hour or

something because, by the time you get to the end of the day,

you don't know what time it is.

So you go back to the old sundial situation.

Heat expansions of the pendulums used to affect

the distance of the arc, the tick, and that in turn would cause it

to either lose time or gain time.

Now, the pendulum that was filled with mercury would

compensate for that temperature change

and therefore, in theory, it would keep better time.

Now, have you any idea what it might be worth?

I have no idea.

No idea at all?

If I said it was worth maybe £100 or so, would that be a

figure you would be happy with?

Well, to be quite honest, I thought it might have been worth more.

Well...

with clocks, the buyers and the collectors are really after named

makers - that's what they want.

This is going to be too of a, shall we say, industrial model for them?

A sort of mass-produced example of the four-glass mantle clock.

Now, I know you want it to be worth more.

I would like it to be worth more.

The auctioneer would like it to be worth more.

I'll tell you what, let's fix the reserve at £100.

Are you going to let me run with this one?

It doesn't stop it making more, remember, at an auction.

Put a reserve of 125 on it.

125? That's going to look a bit...

I'll tell you what, let's go 120.

You've seen the name of the programme, it's Flog It!

-OK, right.

-120?

-120.

-We'll fix it at 120.

-OK.

It will go and make £300 or £400 now, won't it?

It's time to leave Lissanoure Castle.

We're going to put those valuations to the test.

We're making our way over to the auction room

and leaving you the quick recap of all the items

we're taking with us.

Catherine was amazed by Joan's £2 Moorcroft finds.

Willie's framed set of Delft tiles.

Frank's clock ticks all the boxes.

And Cherry and Hector are selling their exotic inkwell.

We're back at McAfee's in Ballycastle.

Frank and Will disagreed about his clock's value.

What will auctioneer Gerry think?

We've got a valuation of £120 to £150 on this.

It should certainly make 120. It's a nice clock in working order.

-The case is a wee bit plain.

-It's very. Very.

Which will appeal to some people and not to others,

but it should certainly get away at the low estimate of 120.

Oh, that's good. We just need two people that fall in love with this

and bid against each other, really.

That's what auctions are all about, isn't it?

Getting two or three people going, that's right.

It's time to see if the bidders are here

because it's going under the hammer, right now.

Good luck. Good luck. It's jam-packed, isn't it?

The tension's building.

I think it's about time we found exactly what Frank's clock is worth.

It's been in the family a long time.

It was brought into my house

and my grandchildren didn't like it striking.

No, they didn't. Oh, dear. I love that sound, don't you?

-Yeah.

-It's a good sound. Good luck. Good luck.

Let's find out what the bidders think. This is it.

A very nice French brass carriage clock, folks.

You all viewed it during the viewing.

It's in very, very good working order.

Nice, clean brass case here.

The French glass carriage clock.

Someone give me a couple of hundred for it.

Couple of hundred for the brass carriage clock. Couple of hundred.

180.

£100. Starting at £100.

The brass carriage clock. 110.

110 beside me.

110. 120.

130.

140.

150.

160.

170.

180.

This is good. They like it.

Gent's bid me out. £190.

Nice carriage clock, 190.

And I am selling to the gent's bid at £190.

Yes, hammer's gone down. £190. Good result.

-Happy?

-Yes.

What are you going to spend your money on, Frank?

-Well, now...

-The wife.

-The wife will have to get some of it...

-OK.

..and I'll get some of it.

And a digital clock for the grandchildren -

-no chiming.

-Oh.

Sold over the estimate. Frank and family can now divvy up the cash,

but will Hector and Cherry be as lucky?

Well, if you've got a good memory, let's say, one like an elephant,

you will remember this next lot belonging to Hector and Cherry -

it's that wonderful elephant inkwell.

Fell in love with this on the day. What a charming little thing.

It'll grace any gentleman's desk.

So, what have you been up to since we last saw you, anything?

-Just sort of taking it easy, I guess.

-Yes.

-Bit of gardening?

-Enjoying the good weather.

-It has been beautiful.

-Have you seen the inkwell here?

-Yes.

-Yes, up at the top there. It looks well.

-It does look well.

Hopefully we're going to sell it.

If we don't, it'll go home and you won't mind.

-We will welcome it home.

-I bet you will.

Cos it's a lovely thing. Let's find out if it finds a new home.

It's going under the hammer now.

A very unusual silver-plated inkwell

in the form of an elephant.

A nice bit of early plate.

Silver-plated inkwell in the form of an elephant.

A couple of hundred pounds for it? 180? 50 to start? £50.

Silver inkwell at £50.

£50 bid now. At 50.

60 bid.

-70 bid.

-It looks fabulous.

-It looks better...

-£80.

Surely worth more, folks? £80.

The inkwell at £80.

85? 85 bid.

£90. The inkwell now at 90.

The inkwell now at £90. We're hoping for more, folks. At £90.

This wee silver-plated inkwell only making £90.

We're going to have to leave this, folks, at £90.

No. I'm pleased it's going home

because it didn't sell at the price we wanted.

-We protected it with a reserve.

-Yes.

-A sensible reserve.

It's a lovely thing. Try and find another one.

-I'm glad it's going home.

-Oh, good.

-Maybe appreciate it more.

-I bet it never leaves your sight again.

Never again!

Well, at least Hector's happy to be taking it home.

That's just the way it goes sometimes.

Next up, it's Willie's turn with the tiles.

This is Willie's first auction. Come on, sum it up.

-Yep, first time I've ever been to an auction.

-It's packed, isn't it?

-I think the whole town has turned out today.

-It's brilliant.

-There's no reserve.

-That's right.

-There's no need for that.

Willie doesn't want them back, so let them make what they make.

That's the great thing. He said, "I've never liked them."

Exactly. Which is great,

because someone is going to fall in love with them, hopefully.

Welcome to the rollercoaster ride. It's going under the hammer.

Good luck.

Lot number 65 is the framed set of eight Delft tiles,

lovely tiles, in a hardwood frame.

£50 for the set. Start at £30.

Set now at £30.

I'm selling at 35 on the phone.

-It's all right.

-35.

£40.

At £40.

45 on the phone.

On the phone at 48. In the room at £48.

-50 on the phone. At 50. Good value here.

-Come on.

I'm selling. Delft tiles, bid's on the phone at £50.

£50.

All out. Selling on the phone...

At £50...

-Would have liked a little bit more for you, Willie.

-Yep.

Your first auction experience.

-But that's it.

-It was quick, wasn't it?

-It was.

-Blink and you'll miss it.

-Yeah. Phone bidder,

they obviously spotted them and I'm sure they'll be pleased with

-what they bought.

-I hope somebody will enjoy them.

Thank you so much for coming in.

Well, Willie took a real chance there with no reserve,

but he's just glad to have sold them.

Our last item of the day are Joan's Moorcroft pieces,

which have been split into two lots.

Going under the hammer, we've got some real quality.

I've just been joined by Joan, and it's not you going under the hammer.

-It's your Moorcroft. Two lovely finds.

-Yes.

-From a bric-a-brac sale.

-Indeed.

-How long ago?

-At least ten years.

Oh, OK. Not recently, then.

No. No, no.

So the first is the little vase. Yes, £80 to £100.

Why are you selling now, then, Joan?

Well, there's none of the family interested in it.

-Aren't they?

-No.

And they're always telling me to downsize.

I live in a fold, which... You only can have so much.

-So I really have to downsize.

-You live in a what?

-A fold.

-What's a fold?

-It's...

-I've never heard of that.

I can't say I know what a fold is.

What's a fold?

It's... You're independent living,

but you have a supervisor to check on you.

-Oh, OK.

-To see that you're all right.

-So you do need to declutter a bit?

-Yes. Really.

-Good luck.

Let's hope all the collectors are here,

because this is a name to collect.

We're now into two very nice pieces of Moorcroft.

We are starting at lot number 325, the Moorcroft vase.

Who'll give me £150 for it?

150? 125?

-Come on.

-£100, the Moorcroft vase.

50 bid.

60 bid. 70 bid. 80 bid.

-Good.

-85.

-We've sold this one.

-£90.

-Come on.

95. £100.

Standing here, at £100. The Moorcroft vase at £100.

105 on the phone.

110. At £110.

-Excellent. We like.

-On the phone at £115.

I'm selling to the phone if we're all out. 120.

Back in at 120. 125 on the phone.

On the phone at £125, and I'm selling...

-Yes, hammer's gone down. £125.

-Excellent.

Here's the second lot, it's the bowl.

-Hopefully, we'll get £50, £60.

-Unusual colours this time.

Who'll give me £100 for this one?

£100 for the Moorcroft comport?

£100? 90? 80? £50 for this one?

30 to start with. £30.

£30 now. At 30. £30 for this Moorcroft. 135.

-40 here. 45.

-Good.

-£50.

£50. The lady's bid at £50.

55 over here.

£60 here. 65.

-£70.

-This is great.

-I'm very pleased about this. It's great.

£75 over here.

I'm selling at £75 if we're all finished...

-At £75...

-Marvellous.

-Very good.

-And we always keep saying on this show,

quality always sells.

Joan, that's marvellous, isn't it?

-That's marvellous.

-Not bad for £2!

-That's going to come in handy.

-£2 from a bric-a-brac sale.

-Yes.

-Good on you.

Yes. And it was you who educated me.

And are you going to spend the money on yourself?

Well, I love Blackpool.

I'll probably put it into a holiday to Blackpool.

Holiday to Blackpool. Aw, lovely.

That's it. We've come to the end of another day

in another auction room.

It's been a marvellous rollercoaster ride of emotions

here in Northern Ireland - some highs and lows,

some hits and misses - but that's what auctions are all about.

You can't predict what's going to happen and I, for one,

can't wait until the next one, so join me again soon, but for now,

from Ballycastle in Northern Ireland, it's bye-bye.