Anglesey 15 Bargain Hunt

Our two teams today are husbands and wives.

And not a marriage joke to be seen.

So let's go bargaining hunting!

Somewhere in all these thousands of antiques is a bargain or two.

Hopefully, the teams will find three items that will make them want to renew their vows at the auction.

Either way, they'll have £300 to nag each other with.

'Coming up today, the Reds fool around with Mark Stacey.'

-David.

-Yes?

-I thought we were supposed to be on the same team.

'The Blues bargain hard with Jeremy Lamond.'

-It's got 150 on it.

-150?

-We were looking at more like 50. HE LAUGHS

-'And it all hangs in the balance at the auction.'

-Oh, rubbish!

'Nail-biting stuff. On with the show!'

For the Reds today, we have the husband and wife combo from heaven,

-Irene and David, who've been together now for nearly 60 years.

-Feels like it.

-How long actually?

-42 years on Thursday.

-And counting.

-And counting. I'm still on my first husband.

That's brilliant. Something must be going right. How did it all start?

We met at a 21st birthday party.

He was my knight in shining armour and has been for 42 years.

-Well, isn't that lovely?

-That'll be a first. SHE LAUGHS

-You've been retired now for a bit.

-We have.

-What do you get up to in your time in train, David?

-I was a police officer for 27 years in Merseyside.

-Any particular highlights of your career?

Well, I was on patrol one day with a colleague and we saw this vehicle go through at very, very high speed

-and I said, "We're going to pull over that car and have a word with the driver."

-Quite right.

And I did have a word with the driver, who just happened to be my wife.

-No!

-In our new car. My new car.

How embarrassing is that? So you gave her a ticket, I hope!

I gave her a rollicking! I would've had to pay the ticket! THEY LAUGH

So is it going to be a question of good cop, bad cop with you today?

-Who's going to be the good cop? You're the good cop and you're the hard woman.

-Definitely!

-Well, we'll see how it all pans out. OK, lovely.

-Thank you.

-It's great that you're on the show.

-Now, over to the Blues. Mel, it says here that you've been married to the great Ken for 15 years.

-Yes.

-And has it been wonderful all the way?

-Fantastic.

-No arguments?

-Erm, just one or two.

-THEY LAUGH

-Well, thanks for owning up to that.

-Got any sprogs?

-I've got two lovely children, Jonathan and Heather.

-They take up a lot of your time.

-Yes.

-But it does enable you to still pop off to the bank.

It does. I work in a bank as a cashier, so I'm in charge of the money.

-I mean, £300 for you today is just like chicken feed.

-Peanuts.

-Yeah, peanuts. Great.

Now, Ken, you are very keen on the Scouts. Tell us about that.

Yes, I started working with the local Scout group a year or so ago

-and we go out walking and...

-It's a really nice thing to do, isn't it?

-They're a handful up a mountain or up a hill.

-Scattering like sheep.

They scatter. We tell them, "Don't go here, don't go there." It's an adventure,

seeing them all disappear in different directions.

Lovely. Anyway, moving on, it's the money moment. £300 apiece. There's your 300.

You know the rules, your experts await, and off you go!

And very, very, very good luck.

What lovely teams, eh? This is going to be fun.

What are you trying to achieve today?

-OK, well, we're going to have a load of fun to start with.

-Right.

See if we can find some nice Moorcroft or something like that, or maybe some silver.

I'd like to look at some pottery and maybe some Moorcroft, something like that.

-OK.

-I like wooden things.

Plenty of those to choose from. We're surrounded by wooden things.

-Ready to go?

-Yes.

-Let's go.

-Let's go.

'Mainly wooden experts! Both teams know what they want.

'Moorcroft!'

-425.

-Oh, my word!

-It's an early piece, you see? So it's realistic, actually.

-Very, very expensive.

And this is a little iris piece here. 250.

-Still a bit pricey.

-Very pricey.

-And that one's free.

-Free, obviously.

-Cos it's got no price on it at all.

-THEY LAUGH

-So you're not convinced by those?

-No.

-Should we move on?

-Yes.

-Thank you.

-OK.

'Oh, Irene, you are a hard one to impress.

'What you looking at, guys? A radiator grill?'

-What sort of date would that be?

-Er, 1959.

-1959. Interesting thing, isn't it?

-Interesting thing.

A car collector would probably put it on the wall

-like a paintings collector would put a picture on the wall.

-Memorabilia.

Yes. And either you put it on the wall or you put it on your Jag.

It's aluminium. Just missing a radiator cap here.

But nice grill. And the aluminium is in pretty good order.

-Slight damage on the other side.

-Slight damage here.

-Yeah.

-Where's that? Yeah. So what we need is a panel-beater.

-Is there a panel-beater in the town?

-How much is it?

-Go on, what's the...

-10.

-£10.

-What do you think?

-I think that's...

-I think, for £10...

-It's worth a go.

-Would you take 8?

-I will.

-You will? Oh, that's lovely. That'd be great.

-Shall we do that?

-Fantastic.

-First purchase out of the way.

'Are you on the right show? This isn't Top Gear, you know?

'Let's hope Mark's team are on the right road, though.'

-David. Where's David? Oh, he's off.

-He's looking at something in that cabinet over there.

What's he found?

-David?

-Yes.

-I thought we were supposed to be on the same team.

-What have you found?

-What has he found?

-It's just an amethyst and it's your birth stone.

-Oh, right.

-Very pretty, isn't it?

-It is.

'Oh, stop messing around and start buying bargains!'

It's Crown Derby. My nan used to have one of those.

Crown Derby is a very popular factory, isn't it?

-There's a little miniature vase there, which is quite pretty.

-Are people still collecting them?

It still is collectable, and the Imari pattern is quite popular.

I mean, this one is marked up at 48. Crown Derby circa 1907, which is about right from the mark.

-Is it perfect?

-The thing is...

-DOG BARKS

-Oh, hello.

-We didn't bring our dog.

-I think that must be the Blue Team.

-THEY LAUGH

-Fighting already.

-Oh, you are cruel.

-Do you like it?

-Yes.

-It's pretty, isn't it?

-It is nice.

-It's lovely, but we need to get it a lot cheaper.

She's straight in there, isn't she?

-We've got our work cut out.

-I know.

I think, if I was putting that in for sale, it is quite a decorative example,

I would've thought you'd be looking at maybe an estimate of £30 to £50.

-Right.

-So 48 is a bit in the middle.

And it depends how the dealer is about it. Is this your stall, sir?

-What's your best price on that?

-What's on it?

-48.

-The very best would be 40.

-40?

-35?

-No. It's got to be 40.

I think, at £40, it's not a bad price.

-Do you like it?

-Yes, I do.

-We'll go for that.

-Are you sure?

-Nan used to collect Crown Derby and it reminds me of her.

-So there's a connection. Shall we give it a bash?

-OK.

-Done. That's our first purchase.

-Thank you very much indeed.

'Don't bash it too hard. Even Irene's satisfied.

'Now, come on, you lot, let's find an antique, shall we?'

-Hey, what's this?

-What's that?

-Is it a vase?

-We've all heard about the Ming vases, haven't we?

-We have.

-This is a Ming vase.

-Is it?

-Yeah. So this was made between 1368 and 1644,

which was the Ming Dynasty. Many emperors ruled in the Ming Dynasty

-and this one is towards the end of that period.

-Goodness me.

Really, really old. It's a typical what we call provincial Ming style.

-Thousands were made, so every Ming vase isn't necessarily a valuable vase.

-No.

-But 55.

-55?

-Is that a good price or not?

-It's something we could consider.

I quite like it. I like that it's got a lot of age to it. Interested to know how much we can get it for.

I don't think it's a million-pound vase, but it's interesting and it might be worth it just for that,

-the first Ming vase on Bargain Hunt. What do you think?

-Yeah.

-Shall we investigate?

-Ask the stall holder.

-Excuse me.

-Yes?

Hi. We're pretty interested in this Ming vase.

What's the best you can do on it?

Erm, I could do 45 on that.

Would you take 40 for it?

-Erm...

-Please?

I'd be struggling a little at 40. Erm, 42.

-Yeah.

-Shall we go for it?

-Yeah, we'll go for that.

-Thank you very much.

-OK.

-Thank you.

'Ming-tastic! That's two down for the Blues.'

OK, so we're 19 minutes in

-and we've got £250 left.

-Whey!

So we could go anywhere and see anything. The world is our oyster.

-Yes. We've done really well.

-We've done very well.

'Well done! But let's not get smug just yet, eh?'

-Same type of design, I suppose.

-Looks a bit drab, doesn't it?

I wouldn't say...

I think you need to work on your customer relation skills, Irene.

A bit drab. I don't think I would call it drab.

-I would call it exciting, cos it's very decorative.

-Sorry.

-We went to different schools.

-Well...

-THEY LAUGH

'Bet you were mostly in detention!'

-That's different, isn't it?

-Yes.

-Nice bit of glass.

-It's a bit different, isn't it? £18.

-£18.

I think we're probably going to have to spend a little bit more than that.

-We're not spending enough money.

-Shall we think about it?

-Yeah.

-He won't be very happy.

-If we're down to the wire, we could come back and have a look at it again.

-Yes. OK.

'No, he's not happy! We give you people 300 smackers

'and you go and spend peanuts!

'Hello.'

How about this for the ultimate in arrogant plaques?

"People who think they know it all

"are especially annoying to those of us that do."

-HE LAUGHS

-What a terrible thing to have engraved on a brass plaque.

But look at the quality of this engraving.

We have very formal, gothic script

inscribed into the solid brass plate

and then, to make it stand out,

there's been some black enamel baked into the engraved out surface

so that you can read it really, really clearly.

And I don't know whether you've had any engraving done recently,

but it is incredibly expensive.

Today, to have engraved in brass or silver this quality of script

would cost you, I promise you, between £20 and £30 per letter.

Add up the number of letters on this plaque,

there's between £1,500 and £2,000 worth of engraving on this individual piece,

which is clearly bonkers.

All I can say is that when this engraving was done in the 1860s to 1880s,

engraving must have been much cheaper.

The asking price is £65.

What might it make

to a truly arrogant fellow

who believed in the motto?

He could pay anything.

'Now, back to business, and those Reds have some catching up to do.'

It's great fun, isn't it? You've got the servers, as well. Let's have a look. It is...

-Is it modern?

-No, no, it's not modern.

This will probably be around about 1900 or so.

-Does it speak to you?

-It says, "I'm hideous."

Does it? Hideous sometimes can be quite good. What do you think, David?

-It's quite nice. I think it's unusual.

-You could use it for a seafood salad.

-That's true, yeah.

-Prawn cocktail.

-It's very quirky.

-Is it something you want to have a negotiation on?

-We'll see what the price is.

-Where's the dealer? Hello.

-Hello.

Come and join the party. Now, they quite like this,

-but what's the very best price you'll do on it?

-65.

-65.

If we were putting that into auction, I would expect them to estimate it at £40 to £60.

-So the 65 is the upper end of that estimate.

-And we won't make a profit.

We don't want to drive you down too much, but if we made you a cheeky offer of £40,

-would that be any good?

-No, it wouldn't, I'm afraid.

-Well, I tried, didn't I? I did try.

-I'll do it for 50 for you.

-What do you think?

-I think that's a good price.

£50 is worth a try, I think. I think the dealer's being very fair.

-I think you're being very fair indeed.

-And charming. Thank you very much.

'It was a pincer movement from the Reds.

'Another one for the pot. Yummy!'

-Is this electro-plated?

-Yes, it is.

-OK, I'll pick it up.

-What does that mean?

Electroplated means that it's, at some point, been dipped in a silver solution

with potassium cyanide and an electric current run through it

and that combination sticks the silver to the base metal,

so it's a base metal core which has been plated.

-It's actually a stunning object.

-It is very nice.

-What's your best price?

-It's 350.

-Ooh. 250 we've got left, haven't we?

-But we can't spend all of that.

And we can't spend all of that cos we need to leave Jeremy some money.

-Yeah.

-Would you take 200 for it?

No, I'm sorry. Actually, at 350, it's quite close to the bone.

See, the best we could do is 240 and leave me a tenner for the bonus buy.

I mean, I will consult my friend, but I think the answer's likely to be no.

Please consult him, and say pretty please.

-I think 350 is too much.

-Yes.

But 240, I think you're in there.

-Sorry, we can't.

-No? Oh, well, never mind.

-Thanks for trying.

-We gave it a go.

-We did.

-Thank you very much.

-We'll keep looking.

'Ha! Was that attempted haggling or attempted mugging?'

I'm disappointed at that because it was really nice.

-It was a very nice object.

-It's nice to buy something that you like.

-It makes me want to go for something big, showy and impressive.

-Yes, it does.

-Anything grabbing you there?

-Not a lot, no. I want something frightfully expensive.

You've got a lot of money left. I think you need to get something for 100 or more, don't you think?

-Definitely.

-Because we've got a little budget.

-Yep, we have.

-It's very unusual for us, you know?

-I know.

-Especially for me.

'So, both teams want to spend big,

'but can they find anything grand enough?'

-How much do you think?

-We've got 150 on it.

-150.

-Too much.

-It's a bit top-side for us, isn't it?

We were looking at more like 50. HE LAUGHS

-Pick me up tomorrow.

-We need to make a profit.

'They're at it again. The dealers will be running for the hills.'

-Here's an unusual item, a monocular.

-I like the christening cup.

-Sheffield.

-Sheffield, 1902.

-How much is it?

-It looks a bit tinny to me.

-Gosh, she's difficult to satisfy, this woman, David.

-Yes.

-Sorry.

-Don't worry, you say what you mean.

'I don't think that's a problem for Irene, Mark.'

What we could try and do, because we both like that candelabra, don't we?

-Yeah.

-I really like it.

-We all like it and if we could get it for 240,

it would be really good at auction. I think he's probably going to stick to his guns,

but it might just be worth giving it one last-ditch attempt,

and then we've got five or eight minutes left

-to get the last one.

-All right.

-Shall we try that?

-Yep.

'They're having another go at the candelabra. I can't watch!'

We've come back again, just in case there was any chance that you've changed your mind

-and had a talk while we've been gone.

-We'd be taking a small loss on it.

-I think we're definitely no.

-Definitely no?

-240 cash, right now.

I can't. I paid more than that for it.

And I don't need to sell it, because it's such a strong thing.

-The whole point of this is to try and make some money.

-I know!

-All right.

-But thank you, anyway.

-Never mind. Thank you.

-Bye, then.

We need to speed up now, don't we?

'Too right you do, Mel! The opposition are homing in on their last buy.'

Shall we have a little look at that?

It's a Chippendale-style table.

You saw the bon-bon dish just now with the shell.

This is a little silver table. So the style of that table is Chippendale.

You've even got the little claw at the end.

-And it's actually quite a pretty little thing. What do you think?

-It is nice.

-Quite charming.

-It is quite pretty.

-What sort of money would we be talking about on that?

-165. I can do it for 150.

-It's a charming little piece.

-It's a charming little piece.

I think, if we estimated it at auction,

we're much nearer than we were with the other piece.

-Do you think so?

-I think they would probably estimate it at 100 to 150.

-140?

-I'll do it for 145.

It's a good price. It's a nice little thing.

-It's a nice quality object and we did want to get something quality.

-Just like what we are.

-Exactly, just like what we are.

-Like what we are.

-From a good quality dealer.

-Of course we are!

Oh, I can feel the love.

-A big love-in.

-SHE LAUGHS

-He's not going to budge. What do you think?

-145.

-145, OK.

-OK?

-Yeah.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you very much indeed.

-Thank you, sir.

-Thank you.

'That's three for the Reds with a few minutes to spare.'

Sometimes things look nice and then, as you get closer to them...

-Yeah, they don't.

-We need to be careful with our time.

-Yeah.

-I'm starting to worry now.

'Too right.'

That's nice with the barometer on it.

-We need to make a decision, don't we?

-We do.

If we could get something off this,

-shall we see whether this is a possible?

-Yep.

-Yes.

-Shall we ask the dealer?

-It's heavier than it looks.

-There we are. Right.

-It's a nice case, nice carving.

-Yep.

-Nice clock with a barometer.

-Yep.

-You know what it is.

-What's your best?

-What have we got on it?

-120.

-20 quid.

-THEY LAUGH

-You've moved the labels across, haven't you? I know what you're like.

-140.

-And you want to give me...

-£80, we want to give you for it.

-Please.

-You can't do that!

I can do it for £100.

-Yeah?

-Which is a very good deal.

-Can you not meet us in the middle at 90?

-No.

-I can meet you in the middle at 110.

-Oh!

'A taste of her own medicine. Mel, you've met your match.'

-£100 is a very good price. 100?

-Jeremy, what do you think?

-I think we go for it.

-Yep, we'll go for it.

-Deal?

-It is a deal.

-Melanie, good luck. And you, Ken.

-Thank you very much.

I always support the Blues.

'They're done, thank heavens. I couldn't take much more of that.'

That's it! Time's up.

The honeymoon's over. Let's check out what the Reds bought, eh?

'Irene's granny would be proud of the Imari pattern vase for £40.

'Will the £50 lobster salad bowl pinch a profit?

'And the silver bon-bon dish was all sweetness and light at £145.'

Well, that's exciting, isn't it? Sorry to interrupt. I mean, you had plenty of time at the end there.

-15 minutes I think we had left.

-Yeah, but you've got an eye for quality.

-I believe so.

-Yeah.

-Course he has, he picked me.

And you are in lobster red.

ALL: Ohh! THEY LAUGH

-Not that I want to remind you too much about that.

-It wasn't my choice.

-Which is your favourite piece?

-I love the silver bon-bon dish.

-OK, Irene, that's great.

-And, David, which is your favourite?

-I think I'm going to go for the lobster pot.

-You're bound to.

-Just to annoy me.

-THEY LAUGH

-How much did you spend overall?

-£235.

That is a magnificent amount of money. £65, please, of leftover lolly coming back.

A lot of coins there. There we go, £65.

Try not to drop the lot. There we go, Mark Stacey.

No better person to have all that dosh than Mark Stacey.

Thanks, Tim, and I think I've just got the right item in mind for them.

-Have you?

-Hm. The mind boggles.

-Coy! Anyway, good luck with that.

-Thank you very much.

Why don't we remind ourselves what the Blue Team bought?

'Will the grill be a work of art or a spare part at the auction?

'£42 got them some serious history with the Ming Dynasty vase.

'Under pressure, they bought the oak clock and barometer set for £100.'

-Was that a good shop?

-It was a good shop.

-Very good.

-How much did you spend overall?

-£150.

-150?

-Yes.

-That's exactly middle for diddle, isn't it?

-It is.

That's jolly nice. Which is your favourite piece?

-My favourite piece is the clock.

-Is it?

-Yes?

-And which piece will bring the biggest profit?

-The car grill.

-I think the vase will make slightly more than the grill.

Well, at least you're very up and optimistic.

I mean, how can you be otherwise with an expert like Jeremy?

Have you got £150? £150, there you go.

-£150.

-Going to get a nice T-bone?

-Another good night out.

-THEY LAUGH

-Excellent. Good luck with that.

Anyway, very good luck, all right? We're heading off to divine Droitwich.

'From the 1700s to the 1960s,

'Hanbury Hall was owned by the Vernon family.

'In 1977, the National Trust decided to open the hall to the public.

'The only problem was, it was more or less empty.

'So they filled it with art and antiques, breathing life back into the house.

'Some things they had to buy, but some were donated by generous collectors.'

I guess it was the Robert S Watney bequest,

a collection of furniture and ceramics,

that most enriched the collections here at Hanbury Hall.

The bequest included this pair of very nice late-18th century mahogany bookcases

together with their contents,

contents which amount to some 220 pieces

of largely 18th-century porcelain.

Now, it's always difficult when making a selection from a collection like Watney's

but he was particularly keen on the Chelsea Derby period.

That's between about 1769 and 1784,

when the two factories came together as a result of William Duesbury, from Derby,

buying out the Chelsea works.

And they were particularly renowned for their studies of figures.

Here is a good example of an Arcadian agriculturalist.

This is a farming girl going off to market,

except she doesn't look like any farming girl would've looked around 1770.

She's far too grand and far too healthy-looking, I might say.

But the modelling of the porcelain is exquisite.

She's going off to market with a basket of eggs,

each egg individually picked out in porcelain.

Her companion figure, perhaps her husband,

is similarly smartly dressed.

He's going to market with a basket of peaches

and he's got a wee lamb under his arm.

Watney didn't just go for Chelsea Derby,

he was not averse, also, to collecting Worcester,

and this plain, relatively contemporary-looking mug,

dating from around 1760,

looks as if it's been delicately painted,

but actually, this is an early transfer print.

The delicious technique where the ink design is printed on a piece of tissue paper

and then wrapped around the mug and peeled back

to reveal something that looks as if it's been exquisitely done by hand

but, in fact, is semi-mechanical.

Not all the ceramics on show at Hanbury come from the Watney collection, though.

This is another bequest, but I wanted to show it to you because, unbelievably,

it, too, comes from Worcester and it dates from the same period, Dr Wall period, around 1760,

as the mug, and you can hardly believe that in 1760,

the same factory was producing such a variety of wares.

This thing is a sweet meat stand

and it would've stood in the middle of your supper table.

What I really like is all this shell work underneath the main shell dishes. Look at that.

There must be, literally, hundreds of individual porcelain shells

that have been coloured and applied

along with rockwork and pieces of coral.

And the whole thing is topped off

in a typically mad, mid-18th century English way

with a cormorant standing above,

trying to decide what he's going to have a peck at next.

Of course, the big question today is, what are our teams about to have a peck at over at the auction?

Well, it's lovely to be at Peter Wilson's Auction House in Nantwich

-with the proprietor, Robert Stones. Morning, Robert.

-Good morning, Tim.

Now, first up for Irene and David is this wee Crown Derby baluster pot.

Nice thing. The thing about these is they can be transfer-decorated then over-painted by hand,

and this one's all hand-painted and it's got green in the palette, which is a bonus.

-I quite like that.

-Yeah, me, too. How much for that one?

-£30 to £40.

-Hm. £40 paid.

-Might do a tad more, might it?

-Could indeed.

Yeah, be optimistic, eh? Next is the salad bowl,

which has to be the salad bowl from heaven, doesn't it?

I mean, whether you like the old lobbo or not,

to have the terminals complete and not smashed or knocked about is fantastic.

It is. I mean, they generally appear without those servers,

they get missing or damaged, so it is good that it's got those.

-How much do you think it'll bring?

-£50 to £80.

-Really? £50 paid.

So that's all right. We're on the right side of the estimate.

And lastly, this sweet little bon-bon dish.

-You're a furniture man, you'll admire that.

-Well, I like it enormously.

It's so unusual. A super thing. Even down to the little detail on the feet of the claw and ball foot.

-It's a nice thing.

-I can see it with sugared almonds on it.

-I think it'll look great.

-Yes. Or nuts.

-How much?

-£80 to £120.

-They paid £145.

-Could do better. We'll see.

-Stand by.

-Yeah.

In case it goes badly, let's have a look at their bonus buy.

Irene and David, this is your moment. You spent £235.

You gave £65 to the ever-lovely Mark. What did he spend it on?

Oh, lovely Moorcroft!

Well, we talked about Moorcroft but we couldn't find any.

And I found this outside and I thought I simply must give it a chance.

It's Columbine pattern. It's not the earliest of Moorcroft

but it is a nice baluster-shaped vase with a nice decoration

and I thought it might appeal to you.

-Lovely. Well done.

-It's gorgeous, that.

-Yes.

-£50.

-Lovely.

-Right. OK, that's quite good.

-What do you think it'll make, if anything?

Well, if anything! That's a good point!

-David!

-Always the optimist.

-I think it's a little bit borderline,

but Moorcroft can fly in general sales, so it might make £10 or £15 on a good day.

-Right.

-That's lovely, that.

-Thank you.

-I'm quite impressed.

-Mark Stacey, enigmatic to the end.

Anyway, you don't pick it now, you choose if you want to take it after the sale of your first three items.

But right now, let's find out from the auctioneer what he thinks.

THEY LAUGH

There you go, staple fare of the auctioneers.

Yeah, well, we do like Moorcroft in our sale rooms here in Nantwich,

but, I'm afraid to say, green is not a great colour in terms of Moorcroft.

We prefer to see a different colour. And if you look at the base of this,

you can see there's a manufacturer's fault here.

You can see it's not quite round and it's been glazed over,

so it's got through the testers, but it's not very good when you look at it like that.

Would that be a second, then?

It's not a second, because we can't see any marks on there that suggest it's a second,

but it's definitely got a factory fault there,

so a collector might not be that keen on it.

-Well, how much?

-£30 to £50.

-£50 paid.

-See how we get on.

That's it for the Reds. Now for the Blues.

Wow. What a mixture! What about this grill, then?

-Well, I'm horrified.

-Are you?

-HE LAUGHS

The big problem with this is that if you got a Sovereign

and you had a bent radiator grill on it,

you might want to replace it with one of these,

but this one actually is damaged anyhow, so it's a bit of a problem.

This is the one that was removed because it was damaged and thrown away by the proud owner,

who put a replacement on which was in good state.

-Mm.

-Yeah, I can understand why you're a bit horrified there.

But I don't think we have to think big money here. We have to think £8.

Well, do you know, I think you're absolutely right,

but I can't believe that we've said £30 to £40!

-Is that what you put on it?

-I think we're mad.

You consulted with your automobilia consultant

-and he's had a bit of a turn.

-We'll see what the day brings.

Now the complete contrast, we've got this wishy-washy little pot in front.

A lot more interesting. Probably about 1600 dateline. So quite old.

But, unfortunately, they did make lots of repros of these, so it's rather difficult to tell

the difference between the two. So, there it is.

Provincial Ming Dynasty is what we're describing it as.

-So, a nice little pot.

-How much?

-£30 to £50.

-£42.

-Not a lot of money, is it?

-No, it's not.

-Good. And their last item is a bit wacky also.

A combination aneroid barometer and timepiece.

1930s oak. It is unusual having the two dials in the front there.

So we'll see how we get on with that one.

Well, our Melanie went mad for it and they actually paid £100.

No! Did they really? I think they were. £60 to £80.

Well, on that basis, they're going to need their bonus buy. Let's go and have a look at it!

So, Ken and Mel, you spent a magnificent £150.

You gave Jeremy £150. What did you spend it on, Jeremy?

A baby's plate. And it's by a factory called Shelley

and this is one from the 1920s, it's the 1920s mark here.

Just have a look at it. Do you recognise the character in the middle?

-I know neither of you are that old, but...

-It's Felix the Cat.

-Felix the Cat.

-Well done, Mel.

-And in good condition.

Yes, very good condition. How old is it?

It's about 1920, 1925.

-It's lasted very well, then.

-Just when I was in short pants.

-SHE LAUGHS

-Who are you kidding?

-How much did you spend?

-55.

-55.

-Good value.

-And how much do you think it'll make?

I think we'll get our money back at least, because it's an unusual object.

-Does it appeal to you, Ken?

-Yes, a bit.

-Not so much a boy's object, though.

-No, not really.

But I can tell Mel, here, she's really hot for it.

-And Shelley's a good name.

-It is.

She's on the ball when it comes to this.

-Just slightly difficult for the men to connect with the baby plates.

-Yes.

-Maybe a bit infantile.

-Oh, Jeremy, that's enough of that!

Anyway, on that silly note,

let's find out what the auctioneer thinks about baby's baby plate, baby.

There we go. Something else extraordinary for you to talk about, Robert.

-Felix the Cat.

-Yeah, baby.

-Yeah.

Well, Felix the Cat was very, very popular over the whole of the last century,

bearing in mind that it was in the early 1900s he was in film at first

-and then he was used as a test card in America for many years during the thirties.

-Really?

And then in the fifties, he was very popular for about 20 years.

So the fact that we've got Felix the Cat on a baby's plate

made by Shelley was probably quite commercial in its day.

-It doesn't appeal to me, but it's a collectable, isn't it?

-I think so.

-Fair enough. How much?

-£30 to £40.

-£55 paid by Jeremy.

-Well...

-He's just a great big baby himself.

-THEY LAUGH

-Good luck, Robert.

-Thanks very much.

-So, Irene and David, have you had your breakfast?

-Yes, we have.

-Feeling strong?

-Oh, definitely.

-Full of our porridge.

-Are you confident?

I think we're confident that we're going to make the biggest loss ever.

You think you're going to make the biggest loss? Seriously, do you?

Well, our lobster dish is rather unusual, isn't it?

Well, it is, but I think you'll be perfectly all right on that.

First up is the Imari pattern Crown Derby vase and here it comes.

Lot number 117 is the small Royal Crown Derby vase.

-I'm so excited!

-£30 to start it off, please.

Worth that to anybody, I'd have thought. 30 straight away.

35 anywhere now? 35 there.

40 bidding. 45. 50.

-You're in profit.

-At 50, your bid.

At 50, the bid's there. 55 anywhere else?

-Last chance.

-Profit's a profit.

-At 50 and will be sold.

A profit's a profit, and that is plus £10.

That's perfectly good.

-Now, the salad bowl.

-SHE LAUGHS

This delightful continental salad bowl with the matching servers.

What will you say for it? £40 to start it off, please.

-£40. A great chance...

-Come on. It's very unusual.

40 I'm bid. 45 is there now?

-Come on.

-Ooh, it's sticky.

At 45, the bid's there. At £45. 50 is there now?

-A couple more.

-Go on! Go on!

-Go for it!

45 only. Going to be sold at 45.

No, that's a loss. £45. Bad luck.

-Minus £5 on that.

-Less than I thought!

Lot number 119, the silver bon-bon dish in the shape of a tripod table.

What's it's worth to you? £80 I have. 85 anywhere?

Come on.

85 anywhere now? 85. 90 my bid. 95.

100 here. And 5.

105. 110. 115 now?

-Oh, dear. Come on.

-Oh, come on!

-At £110. Last chance at 110. All finished and done?

-Oh, rubbish!

-115.

-Oh, yes.

120 on commission. 125.

Go with it. 125. Your bid at 125.

It will be sold at 125. Last chance at 125

125, that's minus 20. Very frustrating.

That is minus £15 after all of that.

What are you going to do about the Moorcroft?

-We'll go for it.

-OK.

-Could be a winning score, minus 15.

-We trust you.

-Oh, dear.

-We trust you, darling. You wouldn't let us down.

Lot 123 is this piece of Moorcroft Columbine.

I've got £30 for it on commission.

At £30. 35 straight away. 35. 40 is there now?

40's there. 45? 45. 50 now.

55. 60 now? 60 bid.

-Yes.

-We're in profit.

-Well done, Mark.

At £65 and will be sold. At 65 then.

-THEY CHEER

-That is plus £15

which means you've made no profit and no loss!

-Wiped our face!

-You've wiped your face!

-That's what we wanted!

-Nothing. You've got nothing. Absolutely nothing.

After all this effort. Isn't that just the jolliest thing?

-Yes, it is.

-Absolutely fabulous.

-You might have a winning score having got nothing.

-THEY LAUGH

-That's right.

-Ken and Mel, have you been talking to the Reds?

-Nope.

-Nope.

-Not at all. You don't know how badly or well they've done?

-No.

-Brilliant.

First up is the Jaguar car grill and here it comes.

133, ladies and gentlemen, is the Jaguar grill. There we are.

£10 to start it. At 10 anywhere now do I hear? 5.

5. There's a man that knows what they're worth.

-HE LAUGHS

-£5 I'm bid. At 5.

10 is there now? Is that... 6?

-LAUGHTER

-6? 6.

6 sovereigns. 7 sovereigns.

8. 9.

-10. 11.

-You're in profit. Well done.

It's there at 12. The bid's there at £12.

13 on the internet.

Yes! LAUGHTER

14? 15 on the internet. 15. 16?

16. 17.

I can't believe this.

18. 19?

19? We're waiting. 19. Fill it up.

£20. 21.

This is an auctioneer working for his money.

-LAUGHTER

-In the room at £20 and will be sold.

At £20 only. Going to be sold, then.

-£20! Well done, team!

-APPLAUSE

£20 and a round of applause. How sweet.

Anyway, you're plus £12 on that. Great.

OK, 134, ladies and gentlemen, is this lovely provincial Ming Dynasty

blue and white vase.

Quite old. At £20 anywhere now do I here? At £20.

25 is there now? £20. 25 now do I hear?

You get £20 for a radiator grill

and you only get £20 for a Ming pot.

At £20 only, then. All finished and done at 20.

£20 is minus £22, which means you're minus £10.

Lot number 35, this Edwardian oak clock barometer mantelpiece.

Start me off at £50. Pardon? 55 on the internet.

-There we go.

-Ooh!

-A bid at 55.

60 now do I hear? At £55, the bid's on the internet.

-60 anywhere now?

-Uh-oh.

-Oh, no.

-On the internet at £55, will be sold.

At £55. Is it all quiet and done?

That's minus £45, which overall means you're minus £55.

I mean, it started off so well with the grill.

Listen, it's not over. What are you going to do about Felix the Cat and the baby plate?

-I think we're going to go for it.

-Yep.

-Excellent.

139 is the Shelley baby's plate, Felix the Cat. £20 to start it off.

£20 anywhere now. 20 straight away. At £20.

25. 30 now. 30 bid.

35. 40 now. 40 bid. 45? At 40.

£40. It's going to be sold at £40. Are we happy at £40?

45, fresh bidder. 50 I'm bid. 55 now? 55, can I tempt you?

-Go on.

-Go on.

-Come on.

-£50 only, then.

At £50 only. At 50.

£50. Back luck, J. £50.

-It's just not your day, is it?

-No.

-Minus £5 on that.

That is minus 60 overall. But I tell you one thing,

-don't tell the Reds a thing.

-We won't.

-All right.

Well, we've had a great show. Look at them, smiling like Cheshire cheeses all round!

-After all, we are in Cheshire, why not?

-Why not?

Anyway, you have no idea how each other have got on.

-No.

-No idea.

-Then it is my sad duty to reveal to the runners-up

-that they are the runners-up and they are the Blues.

-ALL: Ohh.

With a mega, mega losing score of £60,

-minus 60, which is not a very happy number, really, is it?

-No.

So we're not going to dwell on that. But let's revel in the fact that

the Daimler car grill made a profit of £12.

-Have you had a nice time?

-A great time.

-Was it good, Ken?

-Lovely.

We've loved having you on the show. You've been real sports. Thank you very much.

-But the victors today, who've won by making absolutely nothing...

-THEY LAUGH

Which is pretty good, isn't it?

I can count up the number of occasions when a team have finished up with no loss and no profit,

and this is one of those rare occurrences. I feel I should be giving you money, but I'm not.

-But you have the honour of winning today. Congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

Great show. Join us soon for some more bargain hunting, yes?

ALL: Yes! THEY LAUGH

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