Will Axon v Paul Hayes - Foreign Market Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

This is Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is - the show that pitches

TV's best-loved antiques experts against each other in an all-out

battle for profit...

Elementary, my dear dealer.

..and gives YOU the insider's view of the trade!

HE GROWLS

Each week, one pair of duelling dealers will face a different

daily challenge...

Actually, if you can.

The Axeman cometh.

Putting their reputations on the line...

Urgh!

Ready for battle.

..and giving you their top tips and savvy secrets

on how to make the most money from buying and selling.

Get in there!

Today the Morecambe mastermind,

Mr Paul Hayes, takes on action-man auctioneer Will Axon

in a Parisian market.

Coming up - does Will repeat old mistakes?

Now, have I learnt my lesson?

Paul struggles with the lingo...

Not usually what I'd buy.

-Parlez-moi francais.

-"Je ne parler francais."

And Will puts his cards on the table.

15 is one of the worst hands you can have to draw.

This is Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.

Ah, bonjour, Put Your Money aficionados, to a challenge

with an international je ne sais quoi.

Today two tres magnifique men of antiques have

arrived in France hoping to elope with a profit.

So let's meet our warring duo.

Rolling in to town with a tank full of talent

and an artillery of antiques experience,

a man who has marched all the way from Morecambe.

It's Paul "Mr Morecambe" Hayes.

Do you know what? It's all part of the fun.

And the sound of supersonic soaring heralds the arrival of an auctioneer

ready to parachute down over enemy lines and escape with a profit.

It's Will "The Axeman" Axon.

If in doubt, chuck it out.

The chosen battlefield upon which this conflict will occur is

the Porte de Vanves flea market, Paris.

They've each converted £750 of their own

money into euros - and once they've sold on their wares, any profits

will go straight to their chosen charities. So, euros at the ready!

Paul Hayes and Will Axon,

it's time to put your money where your mouth is!

Croque monsieur, Mr Morecambe?

Sans jambon, Monsieur.

Mucky buckets!

-I see you are a natural linguist.

-I see you studied French.

Maybe to pre-11 level.

I can understand it a little bit, but I believe that you've been to

this market before. That's the upper hand for you, isn't it, today?

I have been here before but it's a different day,

-a different market, different stallholders.

-That's right.

And more importantly, different kit.

The only thing I have a problem with, really,

is French numbers. 20 plus 4, plus 8.

I can't work it out.

I've got a cunning plan.

I'm not going to tell you that, of course.

You've got me thinking now, Paul.

-But we can spend up to £750 worth of euros.

-Ooh.

You can buy some good stuff with that.

Yeah, that's plenty of money.

Like I say, there's a bit of everything at this market,

so I reckon with that sort of budget will be all right.

Really good luck to you. I know you've been here before.

I have one thing to say to you - "J'habite dans un jardin publique."

Oh, bon chance, Monsieur!

So Paul's got a secret plan to get the upper hand on Will!

Come on, we're all friends here, spill the beans!

I'm quite good with the lingo, but don't tell that to Will.

The only thing I get confused about is the numbers, so I've done my homework

and I've written down all the numbers so that if I get confused

I just simply point and hopefully get the correct price.

A cunning strategy there, Paul.

He's written down all the numbers. That's right.

Not some of the numbers. No. All of the numbers.

And while Paul's concerned about how he's going to buy, it seems

Will is thinking about WHERE he's going to buy.

Invariably everybody starts off up where the old coffee machine is,

having their swift espresso,

so I'm going to wander down to this end and work my way back up,

so hopefully find the treasure before Paul does.

Will's experience is already paying off as he swims upstream.

Both have their strategies but now they must stop theorising

and start rummaging. For all of Will's confidence,

Paul is the first to have spotted an item with some potential.

I get a magazine every week which is to do with

antiques, and on the front page of the magazine

there was a world-record price paid

for some Scandinavian furniture,

which looked very, very similar to this -

the height of the 1960s/'70s,

the start of the Scandinavian invasion.

Paul likes the table

so he brings out his secret weapon, the list of numbers.

Le prix?

C'est le prix?

Cent cinquante.

-Cent...?

-Cent cinquante,

-100...

-150, OK.

Est-ce je peux acheter

pour ensemble?

Eh, 100...

Monsieur...

-100?

-No, 120.

120? 120.

Is it worth a 120-euro gamble?

What do you think? Place your bets now.

Do you know what? Live dangerously. OK. Monsieur!

"Je purchase...oui."

Paul pays 120 euros for the wooden table, which works out

as £98.36, and it's not his usual type of purchase.

This type of Scandinavian furniture,

it's extremely popular at the moment.

you can sell this easier than you can a Georgian table.

It's rosewood, metal legs,

it's just dead Swinging '60s.

I think it has a real chance of making a good profit.

So Paul has one purchase under his belt but Will's "delve deep"

tactic means he hasn't even got going yet.

Well, I've pretty much come to the end of the fair here,

so I'm hoping most of the crowds are up the other end

so it gives me a chance to maybe have a look at the better bits

before they come down here in their hordes.

And it's not long before our Newmarket man has spotted

an equestrian item...of some sort.

-C'est combien, sir?

-C'est cinq euro.

-Cinq euro?

Whatever it is, the vendor wants five euros for it.

-C'est cinq pour les chevaux?

-Oui.

It's something to definitely do with horses!

Dans meilleur prix?

C'est juste probablement un cafe, cinq euros.

Bon. Donnez-moi la main.

Achete. Cinq euros.

Will is happy with the price of £4.10 for the picture,

so what is it a picture of?

What I have bought here is, I think, an advertisement from a French

magazine for different designs of horse blanket.

It caught my eye, really.

I thought, who wouldn't want an animal-print horse blanket

with a picture of the Eiffel Tower?

Who indeed, Will?

Of course, the advantage of a return visit is that you can

learn from your mistakes.

Mmm, last time I was here I bought a few bottles of wine.

Probably about the same vintage, early '70s.

Turned out to be vinegar, not even good enough to cook with.

Now, have I learnt my lesson?

Let's hope so, because last time you had a disastrous sale.

-It's gone, hasn't it?

-The off wine lost him £45.

So will he risk it again?

Trying to pick up some tips that I was told by my master of wine.

Appellation Margaux is a good name.

Mis en bouteille au chateau -

that's what you've got to look for.

Mmm...

Le best price?

I think he's telling me that it's good wine.

I'm trying to get a deal on six bottles.

I'm going to shake your hand.

60.

Done. And if it's no good,

-I'm going to come back and make you drink it.

-Come back...?

I'm going to make you drink it.

So Will buys six bottles of red wine for 60 euros,

or £49.18, just as the hordes descend.

I seem to have started a craze!

"Come on in, boys, there's wine for sale!"

I better start getting out of here before someone else has me bottled!

You take it from here and sell it back.

Yeah! Merci, Monsieur.

Thank you!

That was a bit manic, wasn't it?

But I've ended up with six bottles of Margaux wine.

Well, let's see if I've learnt any lessons

from last time, because that's what we do in the trade.

I hope this lot comes out smelling of roses rather than vinegar.

And if it all goes pear-shaped this time, I'm going teetotal.

And with Will dashing from stall to stall, Paul is playing a slow hand.

What I'm hoping for is Will has been a bit quick and rushed past

all these wonderful stalls.

and going to take my time and find something that he has not spotted.

Both our experts are playing a very tactical game today,

and Paul's plodding approach appears to be paying off

when spots his next potential purchase.

I've found something typically French.

This called a garniture de cheminee.

The idea is that it goes onto your mantelpiece

and it is very Art Deco.

-Monsieur.

-Oui.

-Bonjour.

-Bonjour.

-C'est combien...?

-Cent cinq-ont.

-La garniture de cheminee?

-Oui.

Est-ce vous acceptez...ont cinq?

Cinq ont?

130, oui?

Paul buys the damaged timepiece for a rather hefty £106.56,

so will it help him clock up a profit?

Do you know what? I've bought something quintessentially French

and something that just roars "Art Deco".

Fantastic quality, I'm just delighted with it.

The guy had a really good idea. This has a broken glass on the front

and he said to take the glass from the back door

to put into the front and that will repair itself.

What a fantastic idea. It's a quick restoration job, it's 130 euros. It's an absolute bargain!

With two purchases now, bought Paul is clearly getting a little giddy!!

It's called a car phone!

PHONE RINGS

It's ringing. I'll answer it.

What's that? No more jokes?

We all expect corny jokes from Paul but now Will's at it!

Well, I've never seen that before. A mounted ray head.

Alas, poor Ray, I knew him.

Come on, boys, stop joking around. Mind you, what's that?

He's a cheery looking chap, isn't he?

It's quite a nice theme, isn't it, circus? I wonder how much that is, it's quite striking.

Let's see if I can't ask the ringmaster. Monsieur, c'est combien?

Oui!

Cent? OK.

Tres bien.

A deft bit of haggling there, and Will buys the poster

for £81.97, so does it make him smile?

Well, I bought it, and to be honest,

it's growing on me. I like it more and more.

Slightly menacing Alice in Wonderland-type figure,

which it turns out is actually an original vintage game

which would have been in the exhibition

of games and the circus.

From 1985, but I'm almost looking forward

to try to find some crazy cat that juggles and does the trapeze

and perhaps the high wire, who might be interested in buying this.

With his flair for French, Will is doing well

but when Paul finds a pair of wooden bookends he likes,

he has to rely on his natural charm to get the price he wants.

For some reason these have taken my eye. Not usually what I buy.

A little.

"Le besier prix?"

Le besier prix? It's not technically English or French

-but she seems to understand him.

-50.

Merci beaucoup! Tres bien.

Paul wins over the vendor

and he wins the bookends for £32.79

so is he hoping they'll give him stand-up profit?

Now, I must admit this isn't something I would normally buy,

but I'm in Paris. Why not get drawn into the whole thing?

They are very unusual items.

They have all been handcrafted and signed by the artist.

They represent me and Will, one at either end. Who's going to win?

Who indeed, Paul? Who indeed?

So at this halfway mark let's see how the figures stack up.

Paul and Will each arrived in Paris with £750-worth

of their own euros to spend.

Paul Hayes is playing a gentile game

and has put his hand in his pocket three times,

spending £237.71, leaving over £512 in his kitty.

Will Axon is tearing around and also has three purchases

for £135.25,

meaning he still has £614 burning a hole in his pocket.

-How did you get up there?

-I'm working that way, are you going that way?

So you've got ahead of me, ahead of the game? Have you scooped up all the bargains?

Not all of them, I've left one or two for you.

-Have you bought anything?

-I'm enjoying it.

-I understood that the word "mille" means thousand.

-Yeah, there's plenty of that about.

Everything is quite expensive but then I was quite shocked -

-the last thing I bought was quite reasonable. You just have to persevere.

-Exactly.

Pick through the items. What about yourself?

There's a few things I've looked at but it's all about the money.

And then I got something for literally five euros.

And that got the ball rolling.

Any pointers, anything good down that end?

I have left you loads.

Keep walking.

I wouldn't bother going down there, mate. There's nothing down there

What, you've had it all, have you?

Yeah... Lots of tactical

misdirection from our contestants there as they head in opposite

directions through the market. They may have different tactics,

but both hope they're heading towards a profit

and it's Paul who stumbles onto an interesting item first.

What's nice about this is it's a bronze trophy

which has been converted into a lamp.

I was wondering if that would be reconverted.

Monsieur...

-J'achete, Monsieur.

-D'accord.

Paul is clearly taken with the lamp and takes it for 150 euros

or £122.95, but that whisky will have to wait...

Well, it just goes to show you have to persevere.

I've managed to find this bronze lamp for 150 euros,

which is a complete bargain - I think it's fantastic quality.

What I like about it is it has an inscription here,

which has been mounted onto the front, of a sports challenge

from Pierre Bourry. I will research that.

If that turns out to be something important in French culture I will leave it on.

If not, I will remove it. This might just win me this competition.

Happy to be in the lead again,

he's found someone who will really appreciate his jokes.

Do you know what, mate? I've got a job for you in a mirror shop.

I can see meself working there.

He's a card, that Mr Hayes. Talking of which, Will has found

a playing card dispenser he thinks might deal out a profit.

C'est combien, ca, Monsieur?

Best price, trente.

Best price, 30.

I'm thinking 20.

I tell you...

Do you...? yeah, 20?

I was going to flick a coin for it but the man says yes, the man says yes.

Will pays a total of £16.39 for the card dispenser

so will his gamble pay off?

Well, whilst I like this piece for what it is,

a card dispenser, I'm intrigued by its possible history.

Imagine the high-rollers' tables that this has sat on.

Imagine the fortunes that have been won or lost

by the cards that people have been dealt.

Hopefully there might be an ace of spades in there somewhere

for me to hit the jackpot!

A high-roller is a happy man.

But Mr Morecambe appears to have hit hard times.

Well, I've got to hand it to you, William, there's nothing down this end of the market.

I have been through all these stalls and there's nothing that I want to buy.

I'm going to go back to where I started, change tack slightly,

and see if I've missed anything. You never know, it is possible.

You'd better get a move on, Paul. Time waits for no man

and Will has already found another target.

These are quite sweet...little set of kitchen jars.

What have we got? Sugar, flour, coffee, spices and pepper.

A little graduated set.

I suppose they're going to date from the 1940s, that sort of period.

Bonjour, Madame.

What is your very best price?

Le prix...

-Soixante, Monsieur.

-Soixante. 60.

-Voila.

-One, two, three, four...

Yeah, 60. Soixante euros...

Will buys the five aluminium pots for 60 euros, which converts

to 49.18, and he's potty about them.

Well, I ended up paying 60 euros for five of these stylish storage jars.

Do your own maths, but as French kitchenalia

so fashionable in England,

I don't think I'll have trouble selling these at all.

It seems as though Will has had the upper hand since the off,

but Paul is a trouper and it's not over yet.

He's now spotted an antique glass jug.

-Quarante euro? Est-ce vous acceptez trente?

-Allez. OK.

Parce que c'est vous, eh?

-Sympathique!

-Merci beaucoup.

Paul's charm gets him ten euros off the asking price

and he winds up with the jug for £24.59.

Now I've found something tres elegante,

as they say in this neck of the woods. This is a claret jug

which has a silver-plated mount, but what a wonderful Rococo design.

It's a bit loose but it can be glued together.

The idea was that this would contain your claret

and during your meal a gentlemen would come round

with his claret and serve it to every dinner guest.

So it's quite an elegant thing to have. I don't know how you pour your claret at home,

but from now on I'm going to pour it this way.

And with his luck on the turn, Paul spots a glass vase

and spends £57.38 on it.

Do you know what? This is exactly what

I would expect to find out here in Paris - a bit of French glass.

It just says Art Deco, 1920s and 1930s. Very much in the style of Rene Lalique.

It is signed on the bottom. I am not sure who the manufacturer is,

but what a cracking piece.

It has these modern dancing girls reminiscent of the ancient Greeks,

done in their own way, typically modern, of the day.

70 euros, fantastic.

And with that, Paul decides he's spent enough.

Do you know what? It's been a real feast for the eyes today.

I so enjoyed coming to this market.

I stuck to my guns, I tried to buy some French items.

In a roundabout way I think I have done that.

I can't wait to get them back to Blighty

to earn "les profits". Monsieur...

Paul is all done with his French items but Will

is still shopping and what could be more French than a tea set?

He's not selling the tray with the five-piece set

but I quite like this....

He's now chucking in... Oi, get out of it, you.

He's now chucking in the tray.

200 euros, wahey!

Yes, a bit of playing hardball

and Will gets the tray thrown in with the silver tea set

for a sizeable £163.93, and he's more than pleased.

Well, maybe my back-up career is in silver service, but look at this,

what a bargain!

Classic Art Deco - he called it a service anglais,

so it is English-style.

I looked at the marks, I think they are actually Canadian.

Even so, nice quality. Good, heavy gauge.

200 euros for that and the tray, baring in mind he had marked up

originally at 450.

I think that's got to be bargain of the day!

Cup of tea, anyone?

And with Will off for a cuppa, both our experts are done and dusted

so before they meet to compare their wares,

let's see how much they spent today.

Both our experts arrived in Paris with £750-worth of their own euros.

Paul was slow and steady but ended up with six items for £442.63.

Will tore through the market like a bullet

and also ended up with six purchases and spent £364.75.

And so our pair of battling buyers meet up to check out each other's hauls.

Paul, you provided the table!

Do you know what? It's unique for me. Watch this moment.

I hardly ever buy furniture - this is one rare occasion.

I'm trying to get down with the masses, get hip, a bit funky.

A bit like yourself, and sometimes I let the cat change its spots.

-I'm interested to see how this gets on.

-So am I.

You might get burnt or you might fall in love with a new area.

It could be a safe bet if I play my cards right.

I see that. I loved it.

I play a bit of cards.

It's genuine, it has the wear.

Imagine if it could talk, how many fortunes have been won or lost...

Exactly. Something that is probably not my cup of tea, this one.

Yeah, I see what you've done.

It's not my thing, either,

but I think I possibly have someone in mind for that

and at the price I couldn't say no.

What about your bits and bobs?

That's been a lamp.

A bit of damage up there.

-You've got some work cut out for yourself.

-It's work in progress.

But rather than watch telly in the evenings, I'll sit there

and bring these things back to life,

regenerate. That's what it's all about, recycling.

Reinvigorate them. Well, Paul, another eclectic mix.

You can't say we buy the same stuff.

Variety is the spice of life, Monsieur.

Mange tout, my friend.

So our dealers set sail for Blighty with their treasures underarm,

knowing that the true test is yet to come.

Because now our continental cohorts must metamorphosis into superstar

salesmen.

They'll each be hoping to raise the most cash, to beat their opponent

and raise the maximum amount for the charities of their choice.

Back in Morecambe, how is Paul feeling about the road ahead?

Now, we all know that the French word for work is "travail".

I have beaucoup de travail to do on all these items.

They all need a bit of restoration.

The garniture set needs the back door putting on the front,

the bookends need one nail to make that stick together,

the claret jug needs a bit of glue to mount the silver mounting,

easy enough. And this one needs

wiring and part testing before I can sell it as a lamp.

A little bit more tricky has turned out to be this table.

There are new laws at the moment to do with rosewood.

It has comply with a CITES,

which is a protective order on the rosewood,

and I need to get this tested.

One thing that doesn't need anything doing to it all is this beautiful 1920s vase

by a guy called Georges Lefebvre.

What that will sell for, who knows, but do you know what?

Part of the enjoyment is finding out.

So Paul certainly has his work cut out for him. Over in Newmarket,

how are Will's battle plans shaping up?

Well, from the hustle

and bustle of Paris back to the serenity of Suffolk,

and a chance to reflect on my buys.

First off is the horse blanket advert.

I was just drawn to it, from the wacky designs.

This, on the other hand, is a good, strong image.

I'm hoping to find either a specialist poster dealer

or someone who is in love with the circus.

In front of me here, this wonderful Art Deco tea set,

very elegant as well, with the mirrored tray -

really sets it off.

In the front here, very trendy at the moment, kitchenalia,

period French vintage.

Aluminium, but the lady who I bought it from has polished it up beautifully.

I don't think I'll have any trouble selling that.

Another of my favourite lots is the card shoe.

I like a game of cards as much as the next man,

but these are unusual to find on the market.

They usually belong in casinos and even Paul

said he hadn't seen one in all the years that he's been dealing.

Then to my nemesis, bottles of wine.

I hope I've picked up some tips and pointers

and this time the boy is going to come good.

On the day, my French was un petit peu rusty,

but I think Paul's was too.

I'm just hoping he got his numbers all mixed up

and has paid hundreds rather than tens.

Yes, wishful thinking from Will there, but now our duelling dealers

need to make the necessary calls to line up the perfect sales.

In this game it's not just "what you know" but more importantly

"who you know" that brings in the best deals.

But remember no deal is done until they shake on it.

Both Will and Paul want that all-important first profit,

but it's The Axeman that strikes first, bringing his silver tea set

to a tearoom in Bury St Edmonds.

Well, this was one of the poshest tea sets I've seen for a while

and I hope it's going to fit in perfectly with the sophisticated look at Harriet's Tea Rooms.

It cost him over £160 so he'll be hoping for a sweet profit

from tearoom manager Tiffany.

Well. Tiff, what do you reckon?

Do you know what? I actually really like it, Will.

It's quite Art Deco, isn't it?

Exactly. It's Art Deco but without being that kind of

hardcore geometric Deco which can be a bit much sometimes.

-Absolutely.

-You certainly have that more sort of

elegant Deco feel here.

The tray is big enough to display the tea set and...

I loved the tray - that actually might end up at home.

It's really smart, isn't it? Then you have the two teapots,

-which I think are rather smart. Look at those.

-I love them!

And I'm liking the spout.

-A nice traditional little spout there.

-And the key to

-a good teapot is how well it pours.

-Is it really?

-It is.

I tell you what, Tiff - you say there,

and I'm going to go to see if I can't prove that this is a good teapot.

Oh, fantastic, thank you.

So Will dons the appropriate garb to test the teapot's pour-ability.

So this is the moment of truth.

Is it's a good pourer or not?

Oh, look at that!

No spillage.

That doesn't bode well for me with negotiations.

No, you've shown your hand.

-I have.

-Well, listen, I'm dressed for serious business.

You seriously are!

-I'm asking 250.

-Initially that doesn't sound too bad.

Oh! I've let myself down again,

I should have come in higher.

But I'm not going to say 250.

I'm going to start at 210.

210? I'm going to come back

at 240. What are you going to say to that, Tiffany?

I'm going to come back at 225.

225? It sounds like we're going to shake at 230.

-At 230.

-I quite like this. Is it all right if I keep it, because I see you are advertising for staff?

-Part-time job.

-Yes, Will lines up a waiting job but he's no longer

"waiting" for a profit as he makes £66.07 for the tea set.

A smart start from Will, and talking of smart,

he's also dressed up for his next sale.

I'm at Churchill College in Cambridge

and I'm here to meet Alistair, who is a student

but also runs top-class casino nights.

I'm hoping he will be the perfect punter for my card shoe.

I've even made a special effort and I dug the old tuxe...

Hang on. Guys!

I can't work like this.

My trousers at the clean...

Thanks for nothing!

Almost a good effort, Will.

He paid £16.39 for the card dealer, so will casino manager

Alastair help him come out of the deal feeling flush?

What do you think to that? Pretty stylish, isn't it?

It looks fantastic. It would really fit in with the theme of a lot of the events we do.

Comes from France, it's a genuine casino piece.

They don't usually come onto the market. Nice quality.

Maker's mark in there,

the company that made it, just gives it a sense of authenticity.

What sort of money do you think that would be worth to you?

Give me a figure.

Perhaps about £30.

I was thinking nearer £50.

OK, maybe we can settle that over a hand at blackjack.

Ooh, you got me now.

I do like a game of cards.

So Will "The Pantsman" Axon takes on Alastair

"The Premiere Croupier" in a Casino Royale knockout game

of blackjack. Remember, the cards have to add up to at least 17

and it's closest to 21, and under, that wins.

Alastair deals Will's cards first.

So it's 15 to Will. Alastair draws a king, giving him ten.

Look at this. I mean, 15 is one of the worst hands you can have to draw.

I tell you what, I'm going to twist.

That's a dangerous move...

-Oh, look at that! That's 21.

-All right.

Alastair needs an ace to win. But Will's done it!

-Result, that's £50.

-£50.

Yes, that's quite a victory!

Will takes the house, gets his asking price,

and wins a profit of £33.61 on the card dealer.

What a lucky chap!

That was nice and easy.

You win some, you lose some. It just turns out I'm a winner today.

-Beginner's luck? I don't think so!

-Very good, Will.

Perhaps next time you'll remember to bring your trousers.

He's sold two items so Paul will be hoping to catch up with his first sale.

The marble clock cost Paul just north of £100.

He's handed it over to Morecambe-based clock expert

John for restoration, so now it's back to its former glory,

how much will he want to pay for it?

Now, I notice that my garniture is here.

-What do you think?

-I think it looks fantastic.

I notice first of all you've done some repairs on it.

-Yes, we've done all the work on it.

-Excellent.

When I was in France the gentleman was trying to explain the glass from the back

could be taken and put in the front. Was that what you did?

That was the easiest way of doing it.

I was hoping about £150. Does that sound about right?

I think we can shake hands on that.

That compensates you for even doing the restoration?

-Yes, that will be fine, Paul.

-Right.

-I think we can do that.

-Shall we do that, then?

-We certainly will.

There we are, thank you very much.

Hmm, sounds like Paul could have gone in a little bit higher there,

but he does make £43.44 on the clock

and his selling campaign continues to tick along.

But it appears stepping out of his comfort zone with those

unusual carved bookends hasn't paid off. He sells them

to Joseph in Chatsworth, but makes a loss of £12.79.

Undeterred, however, Paul has already lined up another sale

and staying close to home, he's taking his glass vase

to the Midland Hotel in Morecambe.

Designed in the 1930s by Oliver Hill in the Art Deco tradition,

the hotel is renowned as a pillar to the modernist movement,

and Paul thinks his vase will be a perfect match for the interior.

But will hotel manager Matt agree?

You can't really mention the word Art Deco now without

-mentioning the Midland Hotel. It's put it on the map, I think.

-It has.

We have people from literally all over the world coming here.

We have people travelling for miles just for afternoon tea,

for instance. It's extremely popular.

What I've brought you is something very, very similar.

I've come across this vase...

I was out in France and France, I think,

is the whole Art Deco feel.

They use this frosted glass effect at the time, dead 1920s.

It was done by using acid. The acid would wear away at the surface

and give this frosted effect.

-Have you ever seen anything like this before?

-Do you know, I've not,

but it's startlingly similar to what we can see behind me.

There you are, you see!

No, I think we'll certainly find somewhere for that.

If I was to ask you £100, does that sound reasonable for you?

-How does 90 sound?

-OK. Do you know what? I'd love to see it

-end up here. Does that sound all right to you?

-Perfect.

-All right, that's lovely. Thank you very much.

-Great.

Paul sells the vase for a profit of £32.62, which puts him

in the lead by one sale. But Will immediately catches up

when he sells his aluminium kitchen pots to Newmarket antiques dealer

Patrick for a profit of £10.82.

All of which takes us to the halfway point,

so let's take a moment to see who is selling in the fast lane

and who needs to put their foot down.

Paul has so far done three deals

and made a profit of £63.27.

Will is level pegging with sales

but ahead with profit, having sold three items and made £110.50.

So Will is in the lead.

However, his next sale could leave a sour taste

in his mouth as he's heading back to his Suffolk-based

wine expert David with a fresh crate of red wine.

Last time they met, his wine turned out to be vinegar.

So with almost £50 invested in his plonk, Will's praying

he's got a corker vintage.

Last time when we met, you had bought a sort of generic wine...

-That's right.

-..from a weaker vintage and we said actually,

what you really want is to look for a wine which has been

chateau bottled and you've absolutely got that.

You've got Chateau Martinen.

-If we talk about the 1974 vintage...

-1974, yeah.

OK, started very well...

Sadly, September and October came along

-and it absolutely tipped down the drain.

-No!

It was very wet and what happens is you then get very large berries

because they swell up and you lose the concentration of flavours.

Listen, I've got six bottles.

Do you fancy doing what you did last time and giving me

-a bit of corkage and maybe open that?

-Love to.

Now, last time it was a fiver...

I'm going to squeeze you for a tenner this time because, I mean,

-it is a bit better.

-All right, OK.

-So is there a tenner for me?

-I'll pay a tenner.

-Excellent, and I look forward to tasting it.

Let me get this out of the way.

So 1974 isn't a great year for French wine, but has Will managed

to find a vintage or a vinegar? They crack open a bottle to find out.

-I think you've taken advantage of me with that

-£10. Do you think?

-Good deal.

-Oh, well, not quite the result he was hoping for.

But Will does manage to add to the £10 corkage

and sells the remaining five bottles to Cambridgeshire pub landlord

Richard as a display item,

which means he still makes a profit of £20.82 on the wine.

He then heads south to meet London-based online poster dealer

Kirill and sells his circus print for a profit of £43.03.

Paul has been juggling his time too.

Firstly, he restores his £25 claret jug himself at no extra cost,

then takes it to Southend cafe bar and restaurant owner Sonya who also

buys, displays and sells interesting objects and vintage furniture.

Have you a use for an absolutely beautiful claret jug?

-Isn't that a cracker? Have you got a claret jug?

-No, I haven't.

-This will be the first.

-Isn't that an absolute beauty?

I bought this out in France, it has that very French Art Nouveau look.

I think it's about 1930, 1920-1930, I don't think it's a Victorian one.

But what a nice thing. Could you make use of that, do you think?

I think I could.

I don't think, actually, I would use it here because I think it would

break, but I could use it at home and it is very nice, you're right.

-If I asked you £50, would that be...?

-Sacre bleu!

Golly, golly gosh.

-That didn't go well, I assume?

-Hmm, I'll tell you what...

How much do you want to win this competition?

I really want to win this competition.

Of course I will pay your money, then.

-Thank you very much, that is so nice of you.

-A deal.

-That is so nice.

That makes £25.41 on the claret jug

and Paul is stunned by his result.

She paid my asking price - how rare is that?!

So Paul still has a few items left in his hoard to sell

while Will only has one item still to sell -

the equine blankets picture - so there's no time for horsing around.

Well, it's the young Axeman out front on Franco

and he looks over his shoulder to see Paul Hayes on Morecambe Donkey,

he's several furlongs behind.

I don't think Hayes has got a chance to catch this young,

talented jockey who's new on the scene.

He's coming over the finish line. Come on girl, come on, girl!

Come on, girl, yes!

Hmm, well, after framing costs, the picture owes Will

£8.47, so will he be able to ride off with a winning profit?

He's showing it to John,

who owns a specialist equestrian shop in Newmarket.

I like to think that these are

the raciest horse blankets you've ever seen.

Have you ever known a horse blanket to be animal print

with a picture of the Eiffel Tower on it?

-It's different.

-It is different.

-Certainly different.

Well, I'll tell you the truth - it wasn't very expensive,

but I see that hanging maybe in your office

or in or in the downstairs loo with a bit of fun...

Yeah, I'm glad you said that.

Well, the gentleman's gallery is the downstairs water closet.

I'm looking for 30 quid and it's yours to hang.

I was looking at the lower end of, erm...

-A tenner.

-A tenner?!

-I might want to sell it on, this is what is worrying me.

-Ah, really?

I reckon you could ask for 30 for that,

so why don't we shake on 20 quid?

Meet in the middle and that leaves you a tenner profit. Go on, John.

-15 and we're done.

-Oh, I like your style. Done.

Will makes a profit of £6.53 for the picture

and he's all sold up.

Paul still has two items to go,

so he takes his brass Art Deco urn to Clitheroe-based dealer

Glen hoping the urn will earn him a profit.

Right, well, I've brought something along to show you.

-I got this out in France.

-Oh, right, yes.

It's solid bronze and it is neoclassical and I was

wondering if that's the sort of thing that you'd have a market for?

What's the market like for bronze at the moment?

It's a bit off on a lot of stuff but, you know, for something what's

nice, there are still people who will still buy it.

Well, I liked it, I saw something in it and I think with

a bit of restoration, it could be a fantastic thing.

It stands me at £120. Is there a little bit of profit in it for me?

Can you see a way out of that for it?

Yeah, I think there is.

The problem is just by the time you spend having it converted

back into a lamp, then you've got to get a decent shade,

I'd be wanting to pay £135, Paul.

-I think we'll shake on that.

-Yeah, is that all right?

-Is that all right with you?

-Yeah, no problem.

So Paul makes £12.05 on the urn

and he's down to his final item, his modern table.

Now since buying the table, Paul has discovered there are restrictions

on certain types of rosewood, so he's got his chemistry set out.

I'm going to have to do a test to make sure that it's not

made from Brazilian rosewood, which is endangered,

and it should be made from the more friendly Indian rosewood

-which is more commercially available.

-Paul does the test

and the good news is that it is indeed Indian rosewood.

Bolstered by this, he takes it to be valued by a local dealer

and leaves it in their hands.

Does he make back the £98.36 he has invested in it?

Well, all will be revealed soon enough. But first, let's remind

ourselves how much our incredible importers spent today.

Both our experts started off in Paris with the euro

equivalent of £750 of their own money.

Paul bought six items totalling £442.63.

Will did the same number of deals but spent £369.12,

including restoration costs.

But now, it all comes down to the most impressive profit.

All of the money that Paul and Will have made from today's

challenge will go to charities of their choice.

So without further ado, let's find out who is today's

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is champion.

I had great fun. I think... what were my favourite lots...?

Oh, yes, my horse blanket poster managed to fulfil a dream of mine

and get in full jockey silks.

I didn't get on a real horse because they scare me

but on the old practice horse...

I've got to ask you, how is Morecambe Donkey,

because I beat you pay about eight lengths?

-Do you know what Morecambe donkeys get for lunch?

-No.

-Half an hour, like everybody else.

-Oh!

TROMBONE SOUND EFFECT

No, joking apart, I got a nice piece of glass, the marble clock...

-That glass vase was interesting.

-Very Art Deco, very nice.

-Good profit?

Yeah, good profit. What has really stuck me this time is that

I went out of my comfort zones, So things like the bookends...

Yeah, they were unusual.

They were unusual, and of course that rosewood table.

-So I think you might definitely have this one, mate.

-Do you think so?

-Yeah, you must have.

-Maybe if it's in euros.

-Yeah, let's see how we go.

-Shall we?

-Bon chance!

-Un, deux, trois, ta-da!

Oh!

THEY LAUGH

-Oh, is in the black!

-It's in the black.

That '60s retro, mate - forget it, it's not going to work.

Well, listen, mate...

Yes, Will is today's walk-away winner after Paul makes

a massive loss on that rosewood table.

I took a gamble on that table. It's from the 1960s, it's rosewood,

it's something I know nothing about, I still know nothing about.

I left it with a gentleman to have a look, he doesn't want it,

I've run out of time. Unfortunately,

I'm going to have to take a hit on this one.

With the table unsold, Paul loses £98.36,

wiping out most of the profit he earned today.

So there we are. After all that hard work, one item really let me down,

so what a desastre! But do you know what? I'm in the black,

and that's formidable.

Well, the French fare turned out to be a good day out as far as

I'm concerned and as for the profit,

c'est magnifique!

So will today's loss spur Paul on to fight even harder when our battling

bidders go head-to-head tomorrow at an antiques fair in Sussex?