Gloucester 30 Bargain Hunt

Ahoy there! Time to up anchor and set sail again

as we go bargain hunting. Yeah!

Today we're in the gorgeous Gloucester docks.

Back in the 1800s, this was a thriving port

serving the entire Midlands.

But today, what precious cargo are our teams about to find?

'Gloucester Antique Centre is bunged with booty for our intrepid teams to duel over.'

-Ah, I like the look of this.

-I like the look of that, as well.

-What do you think, Carrie?

-It's amazing.

-You like it?

-Yeah.

-OK.

£145?

OK, I'll offer you £110 and a lollipop! Will you take it?

'Who will win the battle of the bar? It's going to be a swashbuckler.

'So let's meet our cygnets, I mean teams.'

Carrie, Andy, Chris, Matt, welcome to Bargain Hunt.

-Hi, Tim.

-Lovely to see you. Now, Carrie, you're partners. How did you meet?

My brother's a musician, my best friend's a DJ

and they were both booked to play a night that Andy puts on in Glasgow

-two years ago now.

-And was it just caramba?

-Absolutely!

-Was it?

-A wink and a nod.

-Brilliant. So what do you do for a living, Carrie?

-I work for the NHS, just in an office Monday to Friday,

-so it's nice to be outside today.

-Are you into buying and selling antiques?

We like spending time looking round charity shops.

We'd say probably 20th century art and design

-but a good bargain is what we're after.

-Something cheap but with style.

-Absolutely.

-Quite right, too. Have you got any interest in collecting or trading, Andy?

I like collecting classic football shirts. It's got me into trouble before, spending money online.

What are your tactics going to be today? Not to go for expensive shirts, I hope.

No, we're going to look for quality and combine that with getting a low price, get a bargain.

Right. Well, we'll enjoy watching that. And very good luck.

Now for the Blues. Here's two scallywags.

-THEY LAUGH

-So, Chris, what do you do?

-I'm a building surveyor.

At the moment, I'm working in schools to look after any sort of extension work or refurbishment.

I design it and then project manage it on site.

-You see the kiddies going to school and think, "That's the school I built".

-That's right.

-Matt, what do you do?

-I'm a primary school teacher in Liverpool.

I've promised I'm going to say hello to class 3A.

Hello, 3A! Have a nice time today! I've been doing that for the last five years, which I love.

It's a really interesting job, no two days are the same

-and it's really interesting.

-Have you ever worked in a school Chris has done the building work on?

I haven't, no. Never crossed paths that way. But maybe one day we will.

-Are you going to make a good team?

-Definitely.

We've got good tactics. We're going to take one of your mottos with us.

-What's that?

-We're going to use some leftover lollies

and we're going to see if we can get prices down by bribing them with lollipops.

I told you we'd got some scallywags. Anyway, here we go.

£300 apiece. £300. You know the rules.

Your experts await and off you go!

Lollipops indeed! The cheek!

'I think those Blues are going to be trouble.

'I hope their expert, Anita Manning, can hammer them into shape.'

Boys, are any of you guys good at DIY?

'Meanwhile, the ever-fashionable Colin Young

'will be on hand to help the Reds.'

A very dapper piece of 20th century. Do you think it will go in the sale?

-Yeah.

-Suits you well.

-So, team, Gloucester awaits. Is there a plan?

-Yeah, attack!

-Is there anything you want to buy?

-Some nice glass.

-Glass.

Glass, class. Let's get buying.

-OK, guys, here we are. Are you excited?

-Ah, very excited!

-Do you want to spend plenty of money?

-Yes!

-Let's go!

You know the rules. Each team gets £300

and an hour to shop for three items with the help of their expert

and then try and make a profit at the auction.

'Gloucester Antique Centre is like a TARDIS.

'It's three floors crammed with goodies

'so our teams should be spoiled for choice.'

I think probably the good thing to do on this is to do a quick run round,

anything that grabs your eye, look at it,

-but otherwise just keep sweeping through because there's so much to get through.

-OK.

-I like this type of...

-Art Deco.

-Yeah, something you could use for perfume.

-Do you know what it is?

-Perfume?

-Perfume, well done! This boy knows what he's doing!

-It's a bit pricey, though, £60.

-What do you think that could make if it was in your auction?

-£60.

-THEY LAUGH That's all we're going to get?

'Leave it there, Blues. The idea here is to make a profit.'

-What is it?

-Edwardian circular washstand.

-Do you want to go down the jewellery route, Matt?

-Swizzle stick.

What?

Something like that is popular at auction. That clock is going to make probably £50 to £80,

that sort of range, which only leaves you with one problem.

-It's £120.

-Yep.

'The Reds are starting slow and steady, but time is ticking by

'and those cheeky Blues are already eyeing up their first item.'

What you've got here is a huge, colourful display

of late 20th century items

and these are hot just now.

-So have a wee look and see if there's anything...

-I like this.

-Do you like that?

-Yeah.

-See, I think you've got a bit of taste there, darling.

Erm, I think that's quite interesting. Let me just get a wee bit closer to it.

-It's an interesting item.

-What we've got is this chrome column here

and we've got this wacky plastic shade.

Do you think £85 might be a bit too much, though?

Well, stylish. It's hot.

So I think that it's quite possibly...

-Do you think it might be worth having a word and see what price we can get?

-Yep.

'Very trendy, chaps! That kitsch look will do well in a city boutique.

'Bit of a shame they're selling at a rural auction house.

'Ah, well, I'm sure the sensible Reds know better. Oh, no, what's this?'

-I like the look of this.

-I like the look of that, as well.

-That'd fit nicely in the lounge.

-What do you think, Carrie?

-It's amazing.

-You like it?

-Yeah.

-What a truly classic and iconic piece.

The hooks on there to get your glasses in. I think that's fantastic.

Let's see what the magical price tag is on it.

Marked at £145. That's going to be a bit painful, I think.

-If we got it for the 45, we'd be doing quite well.

-You'd be doing great at 45.

-I think, really, it's got to be pitched in at under 100.

-I'd put it on the shortlist as a wildcard.

-OK.

-But a lot less money.

-There's some damage down at the bottom.

-Oh, yes.

A little bit tatty. I must admit, though, the excitement you've had for the item,

-should we just go and see if we can get a deal done?

-Yeah, why not?

-'Go on!'

-Yeah.

-Yeah? Go for it. Let's go and ask what we can do.

'Carrie's a bit hesitant, but I think Andy really loves the bar.'

-We've been having a look at this little bar of yours.

-Rather lovely, isn't it?

It is rather good. We love it.

The only problem is, two minor things on it.

-One's about that long and it's the little bit of damage on it.

-Yes.

-And the other one is about that long and it's the price tag.

-Right, OK.

A little bit of damage, it's a 1950s/1960s home bar and it's been enjoyed.

-The price tag, I've got £145 on it, haven't I?

-Mm.

-Erm...

-What do you think to it, guys?

I'd look to start at maybe half that.

No. £110 is as good as that's going to be.

-90?

-I'm going to hold fast at £110.

-OK.

-Well, I think it's early days and we know where it is.

-Yep.

-So we could come back later on.

Yeah. We've got plenty of time left and it's certainly on the shopping list as a possibility.

Thanks very much.

'Don't leave it too long. There's no guarantee it will still be there when you come back.

'The rate the Blues are going on, they'll be buying up the whole of Gloucester.'

-Boys, do you like that?

-I noticed that before. I thought it was quite interesting.

-It drew your eye.

-Yeah.

Erm, it's West German.

It's probably 1950s, 1960s.

There is lots of colour in it.

This is a piece of retro and it would fit perfectly

in a room which was lit by this crazy lamp.

Let's see if we can grab the guy

-and see if we can get a deal on both things.

-What do you think?

-Cos we were talking about maybe 60 for this.

-Uh-huh.

It's down for 85. Do you think if we went for 85 for the two, that might be something he would go for?

Is that too much?

-No, no, no, no. See what you can do.

-Shall we take this and see if we can find...

'Two for one? Could be a good deal. I like your thinking there.'

They won't go any lower than 65 on the lamp, I'm afraid.

OK. What if we were to buy it in tandem with this? Would you do a deal on the both?

Could you do...

Let me see what the best price is on that.

-But they definitely won't go lower than 65, which is...

-A good reduction.

-If we get a good reduction on that one...

-Let's see what we can do on this.

'Ten minutes in and the Blues have got two potential items. Come on, Reds!'

That's a very good spoon.

The bowl is sort of slightly obscure.

Looks like it's been extremely well used by a left-handed person.

John Lampfert, it says. 18th century. Dates from 1772.

-That's what it says on the label. I think that's worth a look.

-Definitely.

There we go, slip-top. That end of the spoon is what's known as a knop.

This is the plainest of the plain. Lovely hammered bowl.

And full set of hallmarks there.

As it says, it dates from 1772. It's a London assay mark.

-Feel the item, see what you think to it.

-It's very light.

-It is, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-What's it on for?

The price it's marked at is £135.

Erm, I would say a spoon like that at auction certainly should realise £90 to £120,

which means you're going to have to be a long way from that £135.

Erm, if it's something that you like, we can ask a price,

-but I think there's a few other things in this cabinet to have a look at while we've got it open.

-OK.

'The cheeky Blues are mid-haggle and about to deploy their secret weapon.'

-£90 for the two?

-Would you take another £5 off if we bought both items?

-I can't. That is the real rock bottom price.

-Is it? OK.

What if we promised to return later with a lollipop for you?

Honestly, if you could take 85 and we gave you a lollipop, and we promise you this,

-could you do it?

-Strawberry flavour?

-Strawberry.

-85.

-85?

-85.

-That is our very lowest.

-Right, 85. Thank you.

'Oh. The Blues are off to a lolly good start.

'But more kitsch! You boys do know we're selling in Worcestershire, not the Portobello Road?

'Anyway, two items down, the lamp for £65 and the butterfly plaque for £20.'

Guys, you were a wee bit slow starting

but 15 minutes down, we've got two items,

our pistols are packed so we've got tonnes of time.

-So let's have a good look around and let's have some fun.

-Yes!

-Let's go.

'Fun? Oh, dear, I hope those scallies Matt and Chris aren't going to lead our Anita astray!

'Now, in an Aladdin's cave like this,

'you can always unearth something worth forking out cash for.'

What is the most popular activity for the Brits?

Without doubt, it is gardening.

People just love it, whether they've got a window box or 25 acres.

And the Victorians were equally keen on horticulture.

George Unite, the celebrated Birmingham novelty silversmith,

sure did know a thing or two about making novelty pieces like this perfectly.

For a kick off, the ivory handles have been perfectly formed.

That shaped handle is exactly like the spade that you've got in the potting shed.

The shaft is joined to the metal bit with a rivet,

just like the real spade would be.

And the metal bit is, of course, solid silver

and you can see the hallmarks here, Birmingham 1876.

The spade itself is bright cut with these curls

and lovely bits of design.

Quite plain on the back but fancy on the front.

But what would you use such an implement for in your dining room?

The answer is butter

because this things is technically a butter spade.

Think of a pat of butter nicely set out, you want to cut a lump off,

this spade will do the job perfectly for you.

And having got your slab of butter out,

what do you do with the pot of pickles next door?

Well, you take this chap, which continues the horticultural theme,

with its perfectly formed ivory handle and shaft,

and it is, of course, a fork for forking out pickles.

And it's made with four tines, one of which is irregular.

This outer one, if you look, is a bit fatter than the ones inside

so that you can cut through the pickled onion

and then continue to use the fork to take it from a side plate

and put it on your main dinner plate.

What's all this lot worth?

Well, it could be had for £200 cash.

And in a specialist sale, I think they could be worth as much as £500.

So there you go. Dig for victory!

'In fact, the Reds need to dig deep and buy something, anything.

'At least they're delving deeper into that cabinet of treasures.'

What about the silver ring stand with carved mother-of-pearl?

-Far too much money.

-What's that?

SHE LAUGHS

It is actually a netsuke. It's Japanese, ivory.

-It's a two-faced one.

-Mm. Is it a rattle?

-Let's have a look.

It has got a rattle in there.

What does the label say on it? Ivory, Japanese, £125.

Again, it's just too much money.

If you could buy that for £60 or £70, I would say that's a definite, go for it,

-but... Is that your choice item?

-Definitely.

So what's left for me to choose? Silver pin cushion.

Birmingham, 1909. Edwardian. Erm, marked at £95.

Again, that's really got to be a £50 or £60 purchase.

-So...

-We've got the spoon for £135.

-Yep.

-This one at £125.

-Yep. That's marked at £95.

Is there anything there that you really don't like?

-I really like the spoon.

-I like these two.

-Shall we see what prices we can get these down to?

-OK.

'The Reds are taking their time, but the good news is they could be about to bag a three in one purchase.'

'The pin cushion, £60. The netsuke and the spoon at £85 each.

'But they are so indecisive,

'they need help from someone knowledgeable, sophisticated. Look out.'

This looks like a right old muddle. What's going on here? Everybody's got something.

-Have you bought the lot?

-No, no quite yet.

-Are you trying to decide?

Three really good items and we've asked the price and none of them seem too expensive,

-so we've got a dilemma.

-That's nice, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Who does that remind you of?

-THEY LAUGH

-Apart from the hooter.

Anyway, good luck. Isn't it nice to be spoiled for choice?

So we've got a little bit of a dilemma with these three items.

Plus, we've got the bar, of course. We've got 20 minutes to go.

What are we going to do?

I think they've offered us £85 for this spoon and for the ivory.

I think we should try and cut a deal. £150 for both.

Because then that still gives us enough money to have a deal on the bar.

-OK, so we're going to try and haggle for these?

-Yeah.

-See if we can get a bit more off them.

-Yeah.

Hiya.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-Good news! We got them both for £160.

-Ah, good work!

I think that's pretty good.

'So, £80 for the silver spoon and another £80 for the netsuke. Hurrah!

'At last the slow Reds are catching up with the speedy Blues

'and they're on their way back to get the bar. But hold on, someone's beaten them to it.'

OK, who wants a drink? Anyone?

-I think I'll have one of those.

-OK, yeah.

-There we go.

-I quite like these.

-Oh, they're nice, yeah.

-There we go.

-OK.

-You can have one of those, as well.

-Mm! Lovely!

-I like this, Anita. It's very nice.

-I like it, too.

-I like it, too.

-It is a bit wacky.

-I don't know who would buy it.

-See, that's the problem.

-I would, but I'm not at the auction.

-How much is it?

£145? For the whole bar?

The thing about this bar, boys, is that it's so bad that it's good.

I think my brother would kill me if I brought this home, but I love it. THEY LAUGH

-I could afford that, as well.

-145 quid for your own pub!

-I know, brilliant. All the parties at my house.

-And you could buy one of these wee things to go with it.

-Do you like it? Do you think we should ask about it?

-We should certainly get more information.

-Hello. The boys have fallen in love with this bar.

-You'll have to fight the other team. They want it, too!

-How much would you...

-I offered it to the other team for £110. The same deal is on the table for you.

What about £110, the lollipop, but you throw in these things on top of it, as well?

Erm, no, I've got another £15 on those bits.

What I'll do for you is £120 with those.

-And a lollipop.

-What about £115 and two lollipops?

No. £120 and one lollipop.

-Shall we go for it?

-I think so, yeah. It's a deal.

-It's a bit of fun, Anita.

-Ah, that's my boys!

-I think we should go for it.

-Guess what, Matt. It's a bar-gain hunt!

-THEY LAUGH

'Hang on! I do the jokes around here.

'So that's three items in the bag and the Blues have finished shopping.'

We came looking for silver and jewellery and fine antiques

and ended up buying a crazy bar,

a wacky lamp and a nutty wall plaque.

They were great! It was smashing fun.

And they might just make a profit because the market loves this type of unusual item.

'Anita's pleased. But look out, here come the Reds and they won't be happy.'

-The bar looks empty.

-I'm packing it away for the other team.

THEY GASP No!

-Yep.

-How much did they give you?

-Exactly what I offered it to you for.

-£110?

-Yeah.

-I can't believe it.

-Oh, dear.

-Looks like it's closing orders.

-It was always a good item.

'You snooze, you lose. The Reds lost the home bar.

'So, will it lose them the game? We'll find out at the auction.'

-I can't believe it.

-I can't believe it, either.

-Those Scousers!

-I think we're now on desperation row.

-What about the pin cushion?

-Erm, we'll have it if we can't find anything else. We'll just have it.

So let's just see if we can actually find something we really, really want.

'Meanwhile, the Blues clearly think it's put them full speed ahead! A-harr!'

My boys! You look lovely.

-Ah, it looks like Tim.

-Looks like Tim.

-Me and Tim could be twins.

-'I don't think so, thank you very much.'

This is where we need to just do the quick walk, quick scan,

and anything that just does take your eye.

'Get a wriggle on, Reds. There are only five minutes left. Tick-tock.'

What about a set of buttons for £30?

I must admit, I'm starting to feel the pressure a bit now.

What do you think to this?

-Cups.

-Definitely not for us.

-Let's go and buy the pin cushion.

-Pin cushion.

-OK.

-Cos it's a two-minute walk back up there and we haven't found anything else, have we?

-No.

We'll we're very lucky. Seconds to go,

it's still in the cabinet, still got a price tag on it, so we can buy it.

-We asked you earlier about this pin cushion.

-Yes.

We'd like to make the vendor an offer. Go for 55 and see if they'll take that.

-I'm sure they will, yes.

-You're sure they will?

-Yep.

-Brilliant! Can we shake on that?

-Yep.

-Thanks.

-Great!

-Extra fiver might make the world of difference to us.

-It all helps.

-And it probably will.

'Right, that's it, time's up. Let's have a look at what the Reds have got.

'Cautious Carrie and Andy eventually went for the silver spoon at £80.

'The two-faced Japanese netsuke rattle was also £80.

'And that last-minute purchase, the pin cushion, cost £55.'

-Well, you two love birds, did you enjoy that?

-Yeah, it was great fun, thanks.

-Which is your favourite piece?

-I like the netsuke.

-Do you?

-Yeah.

-What about you?

-I think the spoon is going to make us the most money on the day.

-And you spent how much?

-£215.

-I'd like £85 of leftover lolly, please.

-There you go.

-Thank you. £85. Colin Young, there's a challenge here for you.

-There is indeed.

-You like a challenge, don't you?

-I do. Are there any ideas of what I'm going to buy for the bonus buy?

-No.

-No?

-No.

-You're just a tease, you are, Colin. You know perfectly well what you'll spend the cash on.

Meanwhile, why don't we find out how the Blues are getting on, eh?

'They couldn't wait to get spending,

'starting with the retro lamp for £65. Yuck!

'The pottery butterfly wall plaque for just £20. Yuck!

'And finally, they sneaked in ahead of the Reds

'and bought the home bar complete with decanter for £120. Yuck!'

-Had a good shop?

-Very good.

-Very successful.

-What's your favourite piece?

-I have to say the bar.

-It would be, wouldn't it?

-What's your favourite, Chris?

-I love the lamp.

-The lamp. Is that going to bring the biggest profit?

-Er, probably not. I think the actual butterfly might bring the most profit.

-And how much did you spend?

-We spent £205 overall.

-So I want £95, please.

-Oh, I haven't got it.

-Look at his face.

This is Merseyside meets Glasgow. Now, darling, what are you going to spend your £95 on?

-I have absolutely no idea. The boys wanted to buy something traditional, initially.

-Yes.

And they've gone for the latter part of the 20th century.

They've gone for the drink. The most sensible thing they could do. Good luck with your £95. Thanks, chaps.

Meanwhile, we're heading off somewhere positively sublime.

Castle Howard is one of the finest privately-owned houses in the country.

Home to the Howard family,

it also has many, many links to other historic houses and families.

Here we've got a charming naive pastel portrait of Lady Georgiana Cavendish,

aged one year old in 1784.

By the time she's 17,

she's married the 6th Earl and she's moved in here to this bedroom,

which is to this day known as Lady Georgiana's bedroom.

What's extraordinary about this room is the number of portraits hung upon the walls.

Most of these images relate to Georgiana's and the 6th Earl's progeny.

They had no less than 12 children.

Now, history doesn't relate as to whether this actually is the marital bed.

It's a type of bed called a lit a la Polonaise

with this lovely raised ruched canopy

that's contained at the top by a pelmet.

A pelmet that's described as being lambrequin

because it has these pendant, leaf-like drops.

And, of course, it's got these dramatic ostrich feathers in vases surmounting the top.

The nice thing about decoration at the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century

is how, quite often, themes are repeated.

So if you take that lambrequin pediment

and you relate it to the pelmets above the windows, they match.

The other nice thing in this room is the use of mirrors.

Here we've got a spectacular landscape mirror,

called a landscape mirror because it's long and wide.

This landscape mirror dates from about 1690 to 1720.

And at that time, it wasn't possible, normally, to make sheets of glass

and have them mirrored much longer than about this.

So what do you do? You add two additional pieces of mirrored glass on either side,

and where the joint is, instead of having a dull, fractured joint,

you make a virtue out of it by jollying it up with some flat cutting,

making these nice floral scallops.

And then the whole thing sits in a very exotic sub-frame which is also made of glass.

And that's called verre eglomise

because the gilding is introduced with a black lacquered surface

to give you this rich and exotic effect.

Then you slap it in a traditional wooden frame that's parcel gilt.

All in all, a pretty spectacular job.

Of course, the big question today is, will our teams' dreams be reflected over in the auction?

'Oh, very neat. It's time to sell our goodies,

'and find out whether the retro bar will be a hit with the Malvern crowd.

'Or whether it will sink our Blues.

'Let's see what auctioneer Philip Serrell thinks about our items.'

Well, it has been a pleasant hop up from Gloucester to Malvern,

and even more pleasant to be with Philip Serrell at the saleroom.

-Philip.

-How are you, Tim?

-I'm very, well, thank you.

-Good, good.

So, this team, Carrie and Andy. First off, they've got the slip-top spoon,

which is quite an eccentric object, isn't it?

I think they've got some really interesting things,

and I think this spoon is, well, you've said that it's late 18th century, mid-1770s

-but the hallmark isn't that clear.

-The date letter on it is an Old English R.

-Yep.

And if you didn't go with 1775, you might go with 1675.

-What's your estimate on it?

-We've put £60 to £90.

-Next is this odd-ball netsuke. Do you like that?

-I do. I think it's really fun.

-And I think that's £60 to £90 worth.

-I mean, it's all there, isn't it? And it's amusing, too.

-It's fun. It's good fun.

-Well, again, £80 was paid by the team.

-Lastly it's the pin cushion. That's fun, isn't it?

-It's sweet, isn't it? It's sweet enough.

People collect pin cushions, people like little bears,

as a novelty piece of silver at £40, £60, I think that's fine.

-That's your estimate?

-Yeah.

-40 to 60. Very good. £55.

-So this team have boxed clever.

-They bought good things.

They bought nice little collectable objects.

They shouldn't need their bonus buy but let's go and have a look at it anyway.

So, Carrie, Andy, you spent a magnificent £215, I'm so proud of you.

-£85 went to the Colin Young. What did you buy, Colin?

-I didn't spend all of it.

All I spent was £68 and I thought a wonderful little lot for £68 was that.

Silver. Early 20th century. Chester assay mark.

It's a drum mustard, always really popular.

-Nice little thumb piece and associated spoon to go with it.

-Hm. I'm impressed.

-So how much did you spend on it?

-£68.

-What do you think it could fetch?

-I would hope that might make 90, it might make 100 if we're lucky.

-All right.

Do you want to handle it, Carrie?

-Weighty or not?

-Weighty.

-Weighty.

-Marks.

-And is the spoon the original one?

-Associated. It's not the original one.

But it's got its original blue glass liner, very clean item.

So, what you call ready to go, Andy?

I think so. We need to think about it, but wait and see how we do at the auction.

Anyway, think about it, but for the audience at home,

let's find out what Philip Serrell has to say about the mustard.

Do you like a bit of mustard with your banger in the morning?

Well, it's sort of OK. I'm not overly inspired, but we've put £50 to £75 on it.

-There's a lot of silver there.

-Yes. £68 paid by Colin.

He's clever. Whether they'll need it, cos they really have bought well.

Which is lovely, isn't it? That's it for the Reds. Now the Blues and something completely different.

-Well, it's all that, isn't it?

-Uranium orange has to be my least favourite colour.

I just can't see it. I put £20 to £30 on it. If we get that, I think we'll have swum the channel.

-£65 they paid.

-Really?

-Which is quite a chunk of money, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-I mean, I can see it in one of those markets in London.

-And we're about 140 miles from London.

-I know.

They buy in Gloucester, they bring it to Malvern

and think this may be the epicentre of selling chromium plate and uranium orange objects.

Yeah. I think that's a dangerous, risky strategy.

Next up, they've gone for something pretty similar. The old West German pottery pot.

Looking like a stylised butterfly.

Are those the sort of things you see screwed to people's bungalows

on seafronts at Aberystwyth and places like that?

Don't know. You might find them in Dusseldorf, not so much Aberystwyth.

If it was Spanish I'd understand it because in Spanish ceramics

where they divide the sections with a little wall and put different colours in, it's called cuerda seca,

and that's what they make in Spain quite a lot, but for German stuff!

-Absolutely.

-What's your estimate?

-£10 to £15.

-Very sensible. £20 paid. So they didn't pay a lot.

-And it is a bit of fun.

-Yes.

-But the final item,

-Philip, we have to move, because I'm going to take you over there.

-Really?

It'll be a difficult thing to place, I guess.

We thought that this was, sort of, the Peckham period. It was very Trotter-esque in its look.

I'm not really sure Malvern is ready for this.

-How much did they pay for this, Tim?

-They paid £120, mate. How do you see it, estimate-wise?

-40 quid.

-What's lovely about it is that it's well together and in good nick.

-Yeah, it's all there.

OK. Well, we could be steaming for a major loss here.

In which case they're going to need their bonus buy, so let's see what Anita has found.

-So, boys, you happy?

-Yeah, we're happy.

-Perfect. £205 you spent, which is very respectable.

And Anita Manning ran off with your £95. What did you buy, Anita?

In our pre-buy tactical discussion,

the boys wanted to buy some silver, some porcelain and traditional items.

In actual fact, they bought all this wacky 20th century stuff.

So I thought with my leftover lolly I would buy you something traditional, boys.

Oh, that's brilliant! Just what we wanted.

It's a rather sweet scent bottle.

Beautifully cut crystal with this raised body here.

Silver hallmark, silver core here, and lid. So it's a nice traditional item.

It's in fair condition. And I thought I'd just be completely different, laddies.

-Do you like this type of thing?

-I do, yes.

-How old is it?

It's Edwardian, so between 1900 and 1910.

-And there's nothing orange about it.

-I think you're a bit underwhelmed, boys.

I do. I think it's very nice.

As I said, I don't know much about this type, so what do you think it could make?

-Er, well, I've paid £70 on it.

-Yeah.

-It's not going to fly. I might put it to £80 or £90.

-Very good.

-Any profit's good.

-So, yeah.

-That will help our kitty.

-That will help our kitty, definitely.

There, we've got a prediction of profit there.

Let's find out, for the viewers at home, whether the auctioneer concurs that it's going to make a profit.

-So, Phil, is there a smell about?

-Well, we've put £50 to £75 on this.

It's an honest sort of a thing in its own way. There's an odd nibble here and there with it,

but it's got a silver collar round here, and I just think that it stands a chance.

£70 Anita paid and she's pretty canny with all this stuff,

she knows that ladies in particular like these things on dressing tables.

All I can say is, with this bar, good luck.

£200 bid. £200.

210. 220. 230. 240. Sold.

-So, Carrie, Andy, how are you feeling?

-Good.

-It's a lovely crowd.

-Yeah, I'm picking up the energy, as well.

-It's good fun.

Anyway, let's just run through your items. The first piece we have a bit of a disaster with,

which is the slip-top spoon. You paid £80 for it, right?

And you bought it as an 18th century spoon, which is what it is.

But Philip Serrell has finally determined

that actually the spoon has been altered from an 18th century spoon

so that it looks like a 17th century spoon.

-So he's withdrawn it from auction. All right? So it won't be offered.

-Oh, no!

So what we're going to do, we're just going to call it a wiped face.

So there's no profit, no loss. It's withdrawn. It's not your fault, you start with no profit or loss on it.

First up now is going to be your netsuke and here it comes.

Lot number 291 is the Meiji period Japanese netsuke. Lovely.

What will you bid me for that? Start me at £50. 50.

Bid me £20 someone to get on with it quickly. 20 I'm bid at 20.

20 bid. 5. At 25. 25. 30.

30. 30 bid. At 30. At £30 only. This is cheap.

At £30. 5. 35. 40, sir?

At £35 only. This is for nothing.

At £35, there's the bid. At £35 and I sell then. Thank you.

£35, that's the price for a repro! That is minus £45. Now...

The little bear pin cushion, and a bit of interest really, I suppose,

so I start at £130 bid. At 130.

At £130 only. At 130. 140. 150.

At £150 bid. On the book. At £150.

You're all out in the room at 150, on the book bid.

And I sell on the book at £150

and done then at 150 and done, thank you.

Well done, Colin. You spotted that. That is plus £95.

Which wipes out your £45 loss and leaves you with plus 50.

-Now that is what you call a result, isn't it?

-Yes.

-A £50 profit. Well done.

So what will you do about the mustard pot, then? Are you going to run with it or park your winnings?

-I think we stick.

-Stick? Yeah, we'll stick.

Are you sure? Cos there's an element of doubt there, isn't there?

-After that did so well, the other bit of silver could do better.

-It could, but you've decided to stick?

OK. We're sticking. We're not going with the bonus buy but we're selling it anyway just to see what happens.

Silver mustard pot, put your glasses on, have a look.

30. £30 I am bid. At 30. 30 bid. 5.

40. At £40. 45. Gentleman's bid.

At 45. 50. 50 bid.

One more, sir? At £50 standing at the back.

50. Is there any more at all? Can I sell then at 50 and done? Thank you.

They're good, these two. I mean, really cool.

You parked your winnings, you are plus 50.

-That could be a winning score. Don't talk to the Blues, all right?

-Lips are sealed.

-Thank you, well done.

'Well done, Reds. Now for the Blues

'and their rather gaudy collection of retro items including that much fought-over bar.'

So, you're feeling a bit nervous. Why are you feeling nervous?

Mm. Not too convinced that what we've bought is the right product for the, er, customers here.

-Well, it is, of course, a country saleroom. And you knew you were coming to a country saleroom.

-True.

So what you've bought is some cutting edge contemporary stuff for the young trendy market, right?

-It is.

-That's your strategy.

-But there's internet bidding. Internet bidding! It's going all the way.

-It's the way forward.

-OK. First up then, the retro uranium orange lamp and here it comes.

Lot number 311 is the 1960s retro lamp there.

Start me off, someone. Who's got £30 to go?

Who's got £20 to start me?

20.

20 I am bid at the back of the room. At 20 bid.

At £20 only. At 20. And 5. 25.

30. 30 bid. And 5. 35.

40. 40 bid. £40 and I sell then at 40 and done.

That's not as bad as it might have been. That is only minus 25.

Next is the German pottery wall plaque. Well, goodness me.

Start me off £10. 10.

Who's got a fiver for it? 5 I'm bid. 5 bid.

At £5 only. At 5. £5.

Is there any more at all? At £5 I'm only bid.

At £5 and done.

-Thank you very much. £5 is minus 15.

-We're doing well.

-But here's the bar.

-Look out for the bar.

Now, surprisingly, we do have two commission bids.

-Ooh!

-Yes!

-Regrettably, they don't add up to much.

-Oh!

-OK? But we'll start at £40. At 40. 40 bid.

At £40 only. At 40. And 5. 50. 50 bid.

-And that's the end of it, I'm afraid. At £50 only. At 50.

-Oh, no!

At £50. Is there 5 anywhere in the room?

These poor chaps invested hundreds in this. At £50 only.

Can I sell then at £50 and done? Thank you.

-Minus 110, check!

-Check. I'm happy with that. I'm happy with that.

OK. Cabin crew to open the doors. Now, what are we going to do about Anita's bonus buy?

-Do you want the scent bottle or not?

-Even if we made profit

or just a little loss, we'd have always gone with Anita.

-Are you sure, now, boys, because your minus could be a winning score?

-We've got nothing to lose.

-There's confidence for you.

-They're so sweet.

-It's not about the winning, it's about the taking part.

We're going to go with Anita's £70 scent bottle and here it comes.

317, this rather nice cut glass scent bottle with a silver collar.

20 I'm bid. At 20 bid. At 20. 5. 30. 5.

40. 5. At 45. 45. 50 now. 50.

50 bid. At 50 only. At 50. Is there any more?

At £50 only. Is there more at all?

At £50 and I sell then at £50 and done, thank you.

-Sorry, guys.

-Should've gone to Glasgow, shouldn't it?

-Anyway, here we go. Minus £130. Now, that's not too bad.

-SHE LAUGHS

-So, don't say a word to the Reds, all right? All will be revealed in a moment.

-Fantastic.

Well, that was fun, wasn't it? What an extraordinary morning we've had.

I mean, talk about chalk and cheese.

The runners-up today, if you've not been talking, which you haven't, have you?

So you don't know how you're getting on. By a long chalk, and cheese,

it's the Blues. I mean, you are minus £130, you guys.

You made a loss on every single item.

They were items that were perfect for London.

Oh, yes. The thing is, we're in Worcestershire, you see?

-But you had a good time.

-We had a brilliant time.

-We've loved having you.

-You have been a fantastic team.

-Thank you.

Thank you for giving us so much fun by buying all these alternative things.

It absolutely has not worked for you today.

But for the team on the contraire, who've done supremely well,

who not only lost their first item,

thanks to a legal technicality in the silver hallmarking laws,

so you only had two items to trade, and you managed to make a £50 profit on those, which is pretty good.

Then you didn't go with the bonus buy which, sadly, made a loss, so that was very savvy too,

cos these are two cute operators, I can tell you.

-And you're going to go home with £50...

-Thank you.

-..folding money.

Congratulations, both of you. Really, really well done.

In fact we have had so much fun,

-why don't you join us soon for some more bargain hunting, yes?

-ALL: Yes!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

E-mail [email protected]

.