Oswestry 18 Bargain Hunt

-And action!

-Yes, we're off.

We've got two teams.

We've also got two experts. So what are we waiting for?

Let's go bargain hunting.

Welcome to the Oswestry Showground in Shropshire.

It's all going on in today's programme.

Coming up... Charles goes on the charm offensive for the Reds...

I like the dress you're wearing today.

..while Jonathan has to prove his credentials to the blue team.

You know what? Anybody would think you were an expert.

But at auction, will they all be in for a shock?

The ministry that is Bargain Hunt

are a faithful flock and they clearly know what the rules are.

But, for those who are inexperienced in these matters, I'll repeat them.

Each team gets £300 and an hour to shop for three items which are taken away and sold at auction.

The team that makes the most profit, wins.

Let's go and meet today's teams.

Today we have little sister Roxanne with her big brother, Lance, for the Reds. Welcome.

And two pastors for the Blues, Rob and Phil.

Welcome to Bargain Hunt. Very nice to see you.

So Roxanne, you're quite accustomed to this acting lark, aren't you?

Yes, I am. I've been in a small budget film around the local area called Vicious Culture.

And what were you in Vicious Culture?

I was a mean solicitor, and I sent down an innocent man.

-Did you really?

-Yes, it was really bad.

-That's terrible.

-I know.

-So you're interested in cameras and all that, then?

I don't like them but I like what they can make me look like, if you like!

Well, I hope you're going to be pleased with how you appear on Bargain Hunt.

But you've done some driving awareness videos.

Yeah, I was the backing vocals for a song that a young girl wrote around my area.

That's hopefully going out to local schools around Wales,

just to basically make people be a bit more careful on the roads.

Good. And are you working at the moment or are you still a student?

I'm a full-time barmaid and waitress.

-Are you?

-Yes.

-And where do you do that?

Just at a local holiday camp.

-Uh-huh. Hi-de-hi?

-Yes.

-Red coat?

-Hi-de-ho.

-No, unfortunately not.

-And you take part in triathlons and all of that.

Yeah, I've been part of the London Triathlon 2008,

raising money for epilepsy charities and things like that.

Well, you're obviously very charitably motivated, which is lovely, Roxanne.

And I hope you do well today. Lance, what do you do with yourself?

-I'm a chef at a local hotel.

-And when did you start cooking?

I started cooking when I was about 14, just doing starters and things, and built it up from there.

Do you cook for yourself at home?

Do you like cooking kind of for relaxation or is it just too much?

Yeah, I do like cooking but obviously when you're working a lot,

cooking with food, when you get home it's nice to just relax.

-And is it interesting, cooking a new dish and creating a new menu?

-Definitely, yeah.

When you create a new menu, the menu changes probably every couple of days or so, so always busy.

-Good for you. Anyway, you're up for the challenge today, you two?

-Yeah.

-Oh, yes.

And I think you're a smashing couple.

Anyway, good luck. Now, Rob, you've been a pastor now for five years.

-That's right, yes.

-So what lead you into this line of work?

For the last 21 years, I've been involved in industry

as an operations manager, but for the last six years, I guess, well,

-six years ago I felt the call of God on my life.

-So what happens?

In the middle of the night do you get a thunderbolt come? A vision? What is it?

-It's something that builds over a number of months.

-Oh, I see.

It's something that you discuss with your family. And I've got a wife and

three children, three daughters, so it was a big decision for the family.

-Were you a practising Christian before?

-Yes.

So you had discovered God.

That's right. Since 1985.

Well, you've made your bed and now you're in it. Are you happy?

-Very, very happy.

-That's the main thing, isn't it?

Good on you. And how did you meet Phil?

Part of the theological training that I was doing was to spend some time at a church, and that happened to be

in Wem, and the church was Wem Baptist Church.

And, lo and behold, this fella was the pastor there.

And I've been trying to escape ever since!

Phil, do you enjoy the job, then?

Oh, yes. Best job in the world.

We do stuff, it's great to be able to give good news in a bad-news world. We love doing our job.

You've been out and about and had a few accidents on windy days, haven't you?

Yeah, when I first went into the ministry a number of years ago,

I managed to drop my Bible at a funeral, at a graveside.

I dropped it in the hole.

Which wasn't very good. The wind caught it and it kind of fell in.

-What d'you do - nip in and get it back?

-Fortunately, I had a very, very good funeral director

who fetched it back out for me.

I suppose he has one of those long arm type things?

-It doesn't happen very often, apparently.

-Apparently not. Just as well!

Anyway, I hope you have a great time today on Bargain Hunt.

We come to the money moment. Here you go.

£300 apiece. You know the rules.

Your experts await. Off you go, and very, very good luck.

So, will the Blues find anything of virtue,

or will the Reds be serving us up three tremendous courses?

To do that, our teams are going to need some expert help today.

So it's full steam ahead for the Reds with Charles Hanson,

and making sure that the Blues stay on track is Jonathan Pratt.

-Good luck.

-Thank you very much.

-You'll need it.

So they've got one hour, two experts and an abundance

of bargains to browse. So they'd better get cracking.

-Oh, wow.

-Some really nice objects.

-Do you like them?

-They're horrible.

You said you were looking for a violin.

It's about your size, isn't it?

-Here you are, Rob. It's a sat nav!

-Let's focus.

Looks like Jonathan might need the patience of a saint with this pair.

-See that?

-You know, I saw that.

I'm purposefully covering my thumb over that because the shape of that,

it shows you a little bit of the neo-classical influence of the late 19th century, and the

sharpness of the edge, it's not a piece of heavily cabinet made stuff.

It's usable but the mirror is a bit sort of mottled.

Small, functional items in homes are very easy.

That's what your missus says about you all the time.

-What, useless?

-No, no...!

-I didn't say that!

Anyway, look at that. Small, functional and very useful.

Thank you very much.

15 quid. At auction, you sell things rarely for less than 15 quid.

You know what? Anyone would think you were an expert.

Well, I'm convincing. I bet you get the same reaction in church.

Let's have a chat with the stall holder on that one.

So, while the blue team reflect on the oak wall mirror...

It's got all of its anatomy.

..the Reds continue their search,

but they don't look like they're about to make any snap decisions.

We'll come back and get that one if we can't find anything else.

The Blues, on the other hand, might just be about to make their first buy of the day.

We'll give you a tenner. Tell you what, 11 quid.

Brilliant. Nice one.

That's how you do it, Blues.

-It's OK. I didn't break it.

-And that's how you DON'T do it, Reds.

-We'll have a think about it.

-Yeah, can we come back?

-Thank you awfully.

-My advice is, less thinking, more buying.

You've had over half an hour already.

-How often do they come up?

-Not very often. It's very decorative.

How much is the Poole uplighter?

-50.

-It's a colourful thing.

But at 45, I'd say 40, maybe.

-40, go on, then.

-I wouldn't have said 40.

I'd have said 30.

Don't listen to him! What does he know?

I'll tell you what I know - you'll get 65. It all depends at auction.

-30 quid.

-35.

-They're a couple of vicars.

-35, go on, then. Yeah, go on.

It's decorative.

I don't like it, but it's always very popular.

Our ministers see the light and buy it with just £46 spent in total, thanks to some ruthless bargaining.

-Get a move on!

-We're coming, we're coming, we're coming.

Charles's team, meanwhile, have yet to spend a single penny.

There we are. Look at that.

Is it Charles Horner, or do we know who it's by?

And the date code must be, what?

-I'm not sure, actually.

-It's like a Blue Peter badge.

In fact it's Chester silver, and Chester stopped hallmarking in 1962.

-It's arts and crafts, quite stylish.

-I used to live in Chester.

Fantastic. Well, there you go.

-Perfect.

-Can I have a look? It reminds me of Blue Peter!

Here's one I made earlier, OK?

I really like that. Do you like that, Lance?

Very stylish. Like your earrings, aren't they, a bit?

I love your beads, by the way. You look very attractive in the beads.

Are they for sale?

We've got the lion passant, we all know that, sterling silver, and the maker's mark and the date code here.

Date letter X would make it George V, circa 1915-20.

What I'm doing, Lance, is making sure the actual clasp has never been obviously been re-inset.

I'm happy that it probably isn't.

The lady has said we can have it for £20 which,

-to me, is quite reasonable.

-Would you mind buying a brooch, Lance?

No, I'm not buying it for myself!

I like it. It's very nice.

It's got that very sort of Celtic feel about it. The arts and crafts.

Is there any lower price on it? Would you do it for any lower?

I think 20 is a good price, really.

Yeah, you're going to settle on 20.

Not £18, maybe?

She's very good.

It's brother and sister, you see.

I'm looking for the best I can get for it, basically.

-I do 18.

-Good lady. We'll take it.

-Thanks, madam.

-Finally, after 45 minutes of indecisive dithering,

the red team buy their very first item.

..Oh! My nose!

And now it looks like the blue team are more focused on mucking about,

-this could be a chance for the Reds to catch up.

-More tea, vicar?

More tea, vicar! That is a good idea!

-That's nice, isn't it? That's beautiful.

-Silver flask.

What you've got first and foremost is an enamel lid.

It quite clearly screws open like that.

There you've got, you'd have had a stopper inside.

It's, I suppose, a little decanter, a little spirit flask.

Sweet. Look at that wonderful chaste design. Can you see in the light?

-Nice find, that.

-So it's supposed to have the stopper in it?

It would have a stopper originally. It wouldn't be difficult to replace.

I've never really seen them with enamel as the lid before.

-Normally it's...

-It's unusual, isn't it?

The hallmark is London. It must be about 1918,

so it's George V. A nice object.

Do you think something like that would do well in auction?

I think it would. Maybe all you're missing also, you may have had a silver cup on here.

You'd then serve yourself.

Would you agree, madam? Exactly.

Your price, £75.

Hopefully you've got your book there and you can...

60?

The sweet thing is, the quality is superb.

-But it's just that silver sleeve.

-Would 50 help?

I do like that. I do like that a lot.

You like it. So why don't you buy it, Roxy?

Anyway, let's take a breather now from the teams and have a look at MY catch of the day.

Hello. Here's trouble.

Well, there would be trouble if you'd one of these in your pond.

These pike are vicious killers. Just look at the teeth on this thing.

Of course, the French like to eat them.

Anyway, this thing doesn't particularly appeal to me

as a culinary delight,

but it is a bit of a delight when it comes to the old taxidermy.

I'm endlessly fascinated by how the old fashioned taxidermist

went about removing all the flesh and bones from a dead specimen, and then replaced

the interior with kapok, having wrapped the surface in arsenic

to prevent the actual scaly skin from decomposing.

The fellow that did this one, I reckon, did it in about 1880,

but he has made an attempt

at the river bed, with scattering a few mussel shells along the bottom

and inserting some dried grass to give you the semblance of weed

on the bottom of the riverbed.

It's a handsome fish. Taxidermy is ever more collectible,

particularly the older pieces.

This has got the right age.

The case needs a bit of tickling up, but I reckon this thing,

at £200, which is what it would cost you to buy, isn't too bad.

In fact, one might say that it's a bit of a fishy bargain.

Now, let's see if those teams are still fishing around for their last items.

Got any local watches or anything? Anything made locally?

It's difficult, because they're usually big, city-made things.

To me, that looks new.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Like, spanking.

Just cleaned the surface. That has had very little use.

-What's that going for?

-He's asking 75 for it.

If I have a gold plated pocket watch which comes in,

I'll immediately say

30-40, £40-£60.

Whatever the guy's best price on that would be...

We can debate that.

That's the Liverpool one, you see.

That one is better. Do you know why?

Because it ticks with the right accent.

-You've got to be kidding!

-It does.

-It goes, "Tick, tock."

-Personally, I'd say the gold plated one would be easier to sell.

So we might come back and have a discussion about that one.

Can we keep that somewhere?

We will come back. But that helps us. That's a nice start.

Nice one, good start.

It looks like indecision could be catching today.

-We've only got seven minutes left, and we've got two objects to find.

-OK.

If I were you, I'd go back to the flask!

-Your sort of thing, that...

-Hello.

Get a move on! What are these here?

We've got three minutes.

Finally...

-Hello. We're back for this.

-We've only got two minutes.

-How much did you say you could do this for?

-50.

-50? Yes, we'll do it.

-We've only got 45 left. We haven't got £50.

-Have we not?

-No.

-We've only got £45 left, would that be OK?

Will that be OK? Oh, brilliant.

Nice object. Yeah, nice object.

Pressure, pressure! Right, one more to find.

Well, look at that, the little minx!

Roxanne, according to my maths, you've still got £237 left!

-That's a Brixton number!

-Is that your parish?

Yeah, it's calling home. I worked in Brixton.

Did you?

I was just looking at that.

-1892.

-That's really pretty, isn't it? Isn't that lovely?

-Yeah.

-What's this, then, in the middle?

-That's tortoiseshell.

That's tortoiseshell.

Erm... But in fact, it's hallmarked for London 1892.

It's actually a very pretty item.

-I really like that.

-It's pretty, isn't it?

-Yeah, it's the kind of thing I was kind of looking for.

-Really?

-Would it have been a part of a set at any time?

-No, I don't think so.

I think it's just purely ornamental.

For a calling card, or maybe for sweets.

It's in fairly good condition. There's some slight loss of silver.

But even so, it's a pretty tray.

-Yeah, I like it.

-What's the best price, sir?

-What have we got on the ticket?

-£75.

Oh, well...

Obviously, you want to make a profit, don't you?

-My guide price on this, Roxy, would be between £50 and £70, Lance.

-Right.

-So my friend over here,

in his very nice white cap, hat, might be able to give us a discount.

We'll do it for 60.

I was thinking around £60, you know, to ask for it.

-I'll do it for 60, yeah.

-I really like it.

-There's a lot of work gone into the work on the silver.

-Quite right.

-You know...

-Could we squeeze an extra five pounds out, do you think?

-55?

-I'll tell you what we'll do...

-Yes.

-..we'll do it for 58.

-We'll come back to you, sir.

-Definitely come back.

-Thanks.

Come back?! You've got to be kidding!

-There's less than two minutes to go!

-That's pretty, isn't it?

It's very pretty. I like that one.

We've got a minute left. The clock is ticking.

-So why don't we...?

-Get a watch?

-Very good.

-At least the Blues have got the right idea.

Remember, there are just seconds left to go, Reds!

God, we've got a minute and a half!

Could you just whip out the clock we looked at before?

We like the watch, we like the case.

-We've got a minute left.

-45 quid.

-With the chain?

-Will you throw a chain in?

-Nice chain? A decent chain.

I wouldn't go with the chain, to be honest with you.

-Wouldn't go with the chain.

-£40 without the chain.

-40 quid without a chain.

-Go on.

-Come on.

-It's nearly Christmas.

-Yeah? Great, thanks a lot.

-Good man.

-Top man.

-Sold.

Excellent. Job done, son.

-D'you know what? That's a bargain.

-That's a bargain. Nice one!

I definitely want to go for that. We haven't got much time.

-Got about 10 seconds.

-It's yours!

-Yeah!

Thank you very much. That's for you.

Oh, thank God!

Right, time on our hands.

-Thank you very much.

-Time up!

-High five!

-We had two seconds left.

Now the shopping's over, I want to tell you all about the bonus buy.

Any leftover lolly from that shopping will be given to the experts to go and find a bonus buy,

a mystery item that will be revealed at auction,

and the teams have to decide whether they want to gamble and potentially boost their profits.

Right now, though, let's go and see what the Reds are up to.

After a slow start, the Red team sail off

with the arts and crafts brooch for £18.

Lance took a shine to the George V scent bottle and snapped it up

with just five minutes to go.

And after more dilly-dallying,

the Reds finally bought a decorative tortoiseshell tray, priced at £58.

We've spent all that money. It's not a bad job, really.

You don't be congratulating yourself straight off!

-It took you 45 minutes to buy your first item!

-Yeah.

That's just ridiculous!

Well, we've not spent a lot of money, so that's quite good.

-How much did you spend?

-£121.

-Is that all?

-Yes.

-£121?

-I know.

Leave it for me, the big finale, the final curtain, I shall spend it all.

£121, that means, do I want £179?

-179.

-Yeah, and I have it here.

-179...

There you go, there's a lot there.

-OK.

-Thank you very much.

There's my week in Corfu!

Well, it is, isn't it? A week in Corfu currently for four people!

-Well, come along!

-Oh, thank you very much.

-What do you want Charles to buy for the bonus?

-Anything quirky.

-Yeah.

-Mysterious and quirky, there's your challenge.

-And maybe Chinese as well, Tim.

-Oh, Chinese, mysterious and quirky!

There's a big hint.

Now, let's see what the Blues bought.

They got off to a raring start

with a compact oak wall mirror priced at £11.

After a bit of haggling, they paid £35 for the Poole Pottery light.

And finally, in the last minute, they bought themselves

a bit of time, literally, in the form of a gold-plated pocket watch.

-We've done it.

-Here we are.

-Ah, the man himself!

-What do you mean, ah?!

-Ah!

-Are you looking for divine intervention, you chaps?

-We're doing our best.

-We've been trying all day.

Did you have any pulpit talk?

-Well...

-We used every minute to talk and talk and talk.

-We did try to work on Jonathan.

-Yeah.

When I started, I thought I was anti-pasta!

Ah, very good! Now you're very pro-pasta.

Now I'm pastor-ised!

He wore the collar, didn't he?

Shall we just do it?

He even got dressed for the occasion.

Now listen, how much did you spend?

Well, we spent in total £86.

-£86?!

-Yes.

Does that mean there's £214 in the collection plate?

-There is a lot in the collection plate.

-£214.

-But as always, with the collection plate, hand it over.

-To ME!

-There you go!

-Thank you very much.

-Now, you've got the cash, yes?

-Thank you very much, yes.

-May your God go with you.

And for me, I'm heading off somewhere right stately.

Attingham Park in Shropshire was built in 1785

for Noel Hill, the first Lord Berwick.

It was inherited by his son, Thomas, second Lord Berwick, in 1789.

His story is one of obsession, extravagance

and ultimate great financial loss.

Thomas just loved to spend money, and he did it very well.

Too well, in fact. Nothing pleased him more than to visit Italy or London

and return laden with works of art to furnish his new home.

Needing a suitably grand place to display his collection of pictures,

he commissioned the architect John Nash to design him this spectacular picture gallery,

with its novel, illuminated ceiling with iron elements,

rich red walls to show off the gorgeous pictures and columns.

Ooo-ar!

Thomas's extravagant spending continued unchecked,

and he finally met his downfall

in the shape of one 17-year-old French courtesan, Sophia Dubochet.

He promptly married her, unsuitably,

social ignominy and unhappiness ensued,

but the two of them nevertheless managed to work their way through the family coffers,

and eventually Thomas was declared bankrupt.

In 1827, Thomas had to watch practically the entire contents of Attingham

being sold off in an enormous 16-day auction.

But one of the pieces which was not sold was retained,

is this little delight, which was a gift from Thomas

to his succulent young wife.

Now, the central element is of course a harp,

but a harp that's been most exquisitely crafted.

If you look at the strings, each of those are graduated,

as they would be in a real harp,

and the detailing in, for example,

the metalwork on this scroll top piece, is extraordinary.

And in front of the harp, we've got a most curious

patinated metal little monkey, who's chained to the stool.

You see he's got a collar, and a very fine chain,

which goes down to the stool, where there's a purpose-built little loop.

The whole creation sits on a sheet of mother of pearl.

And then a concave-sided base which has been cast

and raised with lyres and strands of foliage.

All in all, a massive amount of workmanship

has been used to create this thing.

Concealed within the base is a musical movement.

And the clue to that, of course,

is this little key sticking out on the side.

So, let's give it a tweak and see what happens.

Half a turn, I think.

MUSIC BOX TINKLES

Isn't that charming?

All in all, an absolute tour de force of Swiss workmanship.

No wonder they didn't put it in the sale.

The big question is today

will there be any monkey business over at the auction with our teams?

Today we are with Halls' Auctioneers in Shrewsbury, with Jeremy Lamont.

-Very nice to see you Jeremy.

-Nice to see you too.

Now, Lance and Roxanne for the Reds went with this brooch.

Bit of a valkyrie brooch here.

Yes, it looks very Georg Jensen, doesn't it?

-Yes.

-Looking at the Viking theme,

certainly a Scandinavian theme to it.

One would think it was perhaps Art Nouveau.

But it's actually 1948.

Iona style I suppose you'd say.

Really? 1948, it really doesn't look as late as that, does it?

Anyway, it's a stylish thing. How much do you think it's worth?

-30 to 50?

-Great.

-£18 was paid by Charles Hanson.

-I think that was good.

That's not a bad buy in silver, is it? Nicely made.

Next is the scent or gin flask.

This is quite a decorative one.

It has been wheel cut.

But it is incomplete as you can see, there's no cup.

We've put 40 to 60 on it.

-If it had the bottom you'd be looking at 150, 200.

-Yes.

40 - 60 is fine though because Lance paid £45 for it.

-That's OK.

-That's not too bad, is it?

Next is this little tray.

We've called it a pin tray

-but could it be a desk stand for a little ink bottle?

-Could be.

It's an unusual little item and very decorative so we think £30 to £50.

£58 paid by Roxanne for that so she may have just gone over the top

-but the strange thing is, odd little bits of silver, isn't it?

-Yeah.

There are people who are intrigued.

They're always in vogue, aren't they?

In the meanwhile,

let me just check out what's going on with the bonus buy.

Now, Lance and Roxanne,

you are not a couple who like to spend money, are you?

-No.

-Well you will be delighted to know that as you only spent £121

and you handed £179 to Charles Hanson...

And you know what? I spent every last penny.

I spent the whole, the full £179.

-Are you ready?

-Yes.

Look at that.

Oh, wow.

Is that a beer keg?

-Well...

-Is it for brandy or something?!

I would say, first and foremost, it's beautifully cut.

Look at this hobnail decoration

on this barrel-shaped spirit decanter on this wonderful stand,

very much in the period 1885, 1890.

-Late Victorian and I think it's delightful.

-What do you think?

Get down and look at it proper.

If you come down... Crouchy, crouchy down.

Come on, Lance. Down you come.

Cos you've got to look at this thing from side on,

-we've got very chunky legs like you'd get in a pub.

-Correct.

-A sweet little tap down this end.

-Correct.

Cork bung hole in the top complete with Cork, how about that?

-Is it hallmarked silver as well?

-It's not silver, it's silver plate.

-Oh.

-Even so, it's just an object of great quality.

To late Victorians, when it came to novelty and quality,

I think this oozes that.

It also has a certain modern feel.

There we go. There's a big question you need to ask.

Will it make a profit?

Gosh. That's a good question.

Well, I think this ordinarily ought to make between £200 and £300.

-Think about it.

-Yeah.

Very exciting moment to hang on to.

-OK.

-But for the audience at home

let's find out what the auctioneer thinks about Charles' little barrel.

Jeremy, Here's something to warm the cockles of your heart.

Isn't that splendid?

-It's been made with spirit, hasn't it?

-It has.

-It's very heavy.

I'm going to put it down.

It's a silver-plated spirit barrel and when researching this lot

we found one that had sold in London a couple of years ago,

retailed by Ospreys with a silver stand exactly the same as this,

-made £5,000.

-How much?!

-£5,000.

-£5,000?!

But this is a plate one.

-However that's a pretty good start, isn't it?

-Well, it is.

I think we've put a couple of hundred pounds on this, 150, 250,

I think it will take off, this.

It ought to. Thank you very much for researching that.

That's most interesting. Isn't it?

That's it now for the Reds.

Now, for the Blues, first up for them in their wacky mix

is this Arts and Crafts wall mirror

which I quite like from the point of view of the style of the thing.

I can see that in a modern home.

Really nice to put your gloves or keys or something

when you come in through the front door.

A little wall mirror. Always useful.

Yes.

Jonathan paid a handsome prize for that. £11.

I think he'll get his money back. I think £20 or £30 easily.

That's what we like to hear. Very good.

Rob found the Poole Pottery wall light.

I'm slightly on record as not being the greatest fan of Poole Pottery.

-How do you rate this piece?

-It's a very striking thing.

It's what we might cynically call an antique of the future

but there will be collectors for it. I think £30 to £50.

Very good. £35 is paid. So they'll be well pleased with that estimate.

Jeremy, thank you.

And the pocketwatch.

Gold-plated, pretty standard keyless lever pocketwatch.

-Yes, in a presentation case.

-What's the estimate on that?

-20 to 30.

-Gosh. They paid 40.

Things are getting tight. They might need their bonus buy.

Let's go and have a look at it.

OK, our boys in blue, you spent a parsimonious £86.

Shocking!

You gave £214 to Jonathan, and you look in pain there, Jonathan,

so I'm just going to give this a tweak.

We're going to reveal it...now!

-Look at that.

-It's a very nicely painted picture

of a couple of spaniels, in the Victorian style.

There's a great collector's market for this sort of thing

and when I saw it I thought it was a wonderful object.

So the big question is, how much did you pay?

I was doing a bit of a Charles Hanson. I felt rather rich

and I should have gone for 214 quid but I went for £210.

That was negotiating...

I had to hand over blood at that point as well!

What would you say this would go for?

Uh...I'm on the spot now!

That's the question!

Well, erm... I bought it in a bit of a hurry

and I think that in hindsight it may not be as old as I first thought.

So "Victorian style" is STYLE.

Yeah, sadly so.

Hence why it's like this in the frame because the picture expert

had to have the opportunity to look at the back properly,

which I only got a snip of.

-Not whilst buying it, anyway.

-What would you value it at?

Ballpark.

-Do you...?

-That's the worry!

I'm not liking this!

The hesitation there!

On this happy note, boys...

Why don't you park those thoughts and we'll ask the auctioneer

what he thinks about Jonathan's picture.

What do you make of this joker?

On the face of it, on first glance,

we were quite excited about it,

compared to what had been paid for it.

However, if you turn it over and have a look,

unusually, it's got a piece of modern hardboard on the back.

-And a bit of brown paper which has been stained.

-Artificially aged?

Artificially aged.

So it immediately the antennae are up.

But the painting itself

is painted, but if you can see,

it's painted on hardboard, modern hardboard.

So if you look at the front of the picture out of the frame,

some of the paint has been thinned in areas around here

to make it look like natural wear, and if you bought this in a fair

it would be very easy to think this was a Victorian oil.

So we put a decorative estimate on it of £100 to £200.

Jonathan paid £210.

But he soon realised the error of his ways, having paid the money,

but it's too late to go back.

So he's explained to his team,

we're going to run it through the sale anyway.

But it's very interesting, you analysing it like this,

just as a fair warning to anybody going out there to buy.

-Caveat emptor.

-That's it.

What does that mean again?

-Buyer beware.

-There we go.

Be interesting to see what happens in the auction. Thank you.

And taking the auction today is Christina Trevanion.

-How are you feeling?

-Nervous.

Excited.

-Why are you nervous?

-I don't know.

I just really want the items to do well.

-What about you, Lancey?

-Anxious. We've been waiting for a while.

-A bit like visiting the dentist?

-Yeah!

Not quite sure what's going to happen.

Here we go. Here comes the brooch.

264. How about that for £30 for the brooch?

Little Arts and Crafts style brooch. 30 is bid. At £30.

Are we all done at 30?

I will sell, make no mistake, at £30. If we're all done, at 30.

-GAVEL THUMPS

-£30! Not bad, Charles.

Plus £12. That's a good kick off.

Now...

Silver-mounted ladies' flask. George Carlsberg and Son.

London, 1931.

How about that for £30 anywhere, for the flask at 30?

At £30, the ladies' flask. At 30.

20 is bid. On my right at £20.

At 20. Any further interest at 20?

I will sell, make no mistake.

And two against you, sir?

25, 28, 30.

That's £30 right, then, at £30. Are we all done at 30?.

-GAVEL THUMPS

-Oh, we want a bit more than that!

Oh, no. £30. That's minus £15.

You're now minus £3. Oh, dear.

It's down to your pin tray, baby.

Who will start me at £20 for the little pin tray?

20 is bid. Thank you.

At £20 with the lady at £20.

Are we all done at 20? And two.

25, 28, 30, 32, 35, 38, 40,

5, 50, at £50, at the back, then, at £50.

Are we all done at 50?

-Selling, then, at £50.

-More, more, more!

GAVEL THUMPS

You're so right, Roxanne! She sold it for £50,

which is minus eight.

Which overall means you're minus £11.

That's ridiculous. Minus £11.

-That is disappointing.

-Lot 271.

-I think you've done jolly well.

What are you going to do? Are you going go with the spirit barrel?

Are you going to risk £179?

-Go for it.

-OK, I'll leave it up to the lads.

-It's not my fault.

-Fine.

A family decision. We're going with the barrel. Here it comes.

Lot 270 is the hobnail cut glass spirit barrel

with plated mount, circa 1890.

Interesting thing, this, lot 270.

And who will start me at £100 for it? For the spirit barrel.

At £100 anywhere? At 100?

At £100? At 80 anywhere?

£80. Surely £80 somewhere.

60 I'm bid, on my right at £60 and I will take at £60. All done at 60?

I will sell, make no mistake. If you're all done at £60.

-GAVEL THUMPS

-She's going to sell it!

£60, well, I tell you, I'm speechless.

-I'm amazed.

-That's minus £119.

I don't believe it.

-Not too bad.

-It could still be a winning score!

So that's £130, overall losses.

Isn't that amazing? The joy of the auction, eh?

Yes, the joys of the auction.

It just goes to show you never can tell.

Do not tell the Blues a thing,

because personally, I'm still in shock.

-Now, Rob and Phil, how did the Reds get on? Do you know?

-Don't know.

I haven't got a clue. Wouldn't tell us.

No divine intervention here?

-None at all.

-No messages beaming down from on high?

-We often do but not yet.

-Just wait and see what happens.

-Perfect.

First up is going to be Jonathan's mirror.

Here it comes.

Lot 286 and I have interest here with me on commission at £25.

On commission at £25. With me at 25. Are we all done at 25?

I will sell, make no mistake. If we're all done at 25.

£25. Plus £14.

£14 profit. Look at that.

The Poole Pottery wall uplighter, decorated by Nicola Massarella.

Lot 287.

And who'll start me at £20 for it?

At 20. 20 is bid. Thank you.

And two, 25. 28, 30, 32,

-35, 38, 40, 5, 50...

-Well done, Bob!

-..5, 60.

-Look at this!

-At £60. With you, madam, at £60.

-If we're all done at 60.

-£60!

-Fantastic. Well done, the lighting department.

-£60!

That's brilliant. Plus £25 on that.

That's not bad, is it? Now, the watch.

Lot 288 in its fitted case there, as well. Lot 288.

Who will start me at £20 for it? £20. 20 is bid. Thank you, madam.

£20 at the very back, then, at £20.

And two. 25.

28, 30, 32, 35, 38.

-Yes!

-Thank you anyway. At £38 with you, sir, at £38.

-One more!

If we're all done at 38.

-GAVEL THUMPS

-£38. £2 loss. 38 minus 2.

That means you're plus £37.

It's like you almost had a crystal ball there. That's fantastic.

£37 up.

-Are you sure all your parishioners aren't there?

-No.

They haven't been having a bit of a whip round?

Last week's offering!

Seriously, boys, what are we going to do about this picture?

It's a toughie, this.

Do you know what, I think we might be barking up the wrong tree

if we go for the two dogs.

But have they got any collars on?

-No.

-No dog collars.

-No dog collars!

-Dog in the manger.

You've been working this, haven't you, boys?

Much as we admire Jonathan, we think no. This one is a bit of a dog.

As they say in the trade, if there's any element of doubt,

you have to leave it.

There's an element of doubt here.

And we're leaving it. Is that right? Here it comes.

..is this picture here, in the manner of Colin Graham.

Two setters in a landscape, oil on board.

It's modern. Lot 292.

Who will start me at £80 for it, for this decorative picture here?

At £80.

Setters in a landscape at 80.

At £80 anywhere? 60, then.

£60 for the setters, at £60. 50?

£50, surely, for this picture, here.

It's an oil on board at £50.

40, then. £40. 40 is bid.

-Thank you, sir. At £40.

-Phew!

All we all done at 40? I will sell, make no mistake, at £40.

-And five. Against you, sir.

-Another bidder, here?

At £45 on the internet, and 50.

On the internet!

At £50 at the very back, at £50.

At 55 against you. At £55 on the internet, then. At 55.

GAVEL THUMPS

£55! Gosh.

-Good decision.

-I make that...

That's £155 down the proverbial, isn't it? Minus 155.

That's got to be my best yet, I think, on one lot!

£155. I think you're quite grateful you didn't go with it.

I think you make the right decision, there.

Definitely divine intervention.

Definitely was divine.

Anyway, you've parked your £37 profit.

You've ring-fenced it, very sensibly.

And for the moment,

don't say a word to the Reds.

Well, today it's a question of going with the bonus buy

and not going with the bonus buy.

-Talking, you chaps? Have you been talking at all?

-No.

Very good. It is my duty to reveal today that the runners up,

pretty substantially, are the Reds.

-Oh, no!

-Whoa! Yeah!

We're not going to dwell on the spirit barrel.

It was minus £11, all right? And then the spirit barrel came along

and it finished up as being minus £130.

Which is incredible!

I have to say, in Charles' defence, I rated that thing.

-I thought it was a pretty good, high-octane object.

-Quite right.

-That just failed to ignite today. So bad luck.

-It's still his fault!

It's still his fault.

I think we'll leave the bickering to the children, shall we?

And turn to the victors. It is very respectable, isn't it?

-You are plus £37.

-Fantastic.

-By not going with the bonus buy.

We were very generously not going with the bonus buy.

But, Jonathan, your mirror made a good price. Which is nice.

With a profit of £14. And you made a nice profit on the Poole.

-I did.

-Which was great. Nearly made it on the pocketwatch but not quite.

Which means you're going to wander home with £37.

Fantastic!

Got 35 there. Got a couple of quid coming out there, look.

There you go, son.

I thought you were going to give that to Jonathan for a moment.

Completely unprompted.

-But you had a good time, I hope.

-We've had a great time.

-Fantastic.

It's lovely to go home with profits and I congratulate you on that.

Thank you very much for joining us.

-We had a great day. Join us soon for some more bargain hunting, yes?

-Yes!

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