Shepton Mallet 10 Bargain Hunt

This is the Royal Bath and West of England Showground in the heart of the Somerset countryside. Ooh, arr!

And today, it's hosting a massive antiques fair,

so let's go bargain hunting, yeah!

The showground's patron is the Queen. Oh, arr!

But sadly, Her Maj is not amongst us today.

What we do have is a right royal collection

of antiques and objects,

so hopefully, there'll be a good selection for our teams

to come up with something that would be fit for a king

or even a queen, ducky!

Coming up, the Reds don't really know what they like.

-I like that mirror. Do I like that mirror?

-No.

-No.

-No.

And with the Blues, there's no accounting for taste.

-Lucy, do you like this?

-No, it's horrible.

She's right. It's a battlefield out there and with both teams bearing arms, who will win at the auction?

£20...

65...

What does a Greek "urn"?

Well, not so much these days.

We give our teams £300 and an hour to find three objects to sell at auction

and the team that makes the most profit wins.

It's enough to send you bonkers, or rather "conkers".

Conkers or bonkers, let's go and meet the teams.

On today's Bargain Hunt, we have a pair of magpies versus a pair of adventure-seekers.

For the Reds, a mother and daughter combo, Alison and Hannah.

-Hello.

-Hi, girls. And for the Blues, husband and wife Stephen and Lucy.

-Hello.

-Welcome to Bargain Hunt. Lovely to see you.

-Now, Alison, would you say that you're actually more like two best mates?

-Yes, we are.

We do a lot of things together. Hannah's funny and keeps me laughing

We have days out. We go on antique days, hunting for little hidden gems in antique centres.

-You like things that are a bit glittery, don't you?

-We like glitter.

-Anything that sparkles.

Probably in a previous life, I was a magpie and then I just gave that to Hannah.

A magpie flits over something glittering and has to pick it up.

-I don't steal them though.

-No, you have to pay.

-I do pay.

-Yes.

Hannah, how has this glitter gene affected you?

It means I normally have no money because I've spent it all on anything that glitters.

So what do you collect apart from the glittery stuff?

-Snow globes.

-Oh, yes.

-Yeah. I have about 23.

"Snow" business like show business!

-How many of them?

-23.

-23?!

-Yeah.

-That's ridiculous.

Will you support your daughter in her search for snow globes?

Yes, we will be on the lookout for a snow globe, but they might be rare

so we will be looking for other things.

-Anything that glitters, silver.

-Shiny things.

-Yeah.

-Are you going to spend a lot?

-No, we spend very little.

-We're cheap. We spend very little.

-We've got one of those.

-Selling high!

-OK, very good luck with that.

-Thank you.

-Stephen and Lucy, great to see you.

-Hi, Tim.

-Steve, you're a proper action man.

-That's nice of you to say so, Tim.

That's what it says here.

But you're incredibly sporty, you're fit,

you do the London Marathon and the Bath Halves and all this stuff.

-What's the wildest thing you've done?

-That would be a bungee jump in New Zealand.

-This is somebody who doesn't like heights. We did a tandem jump.

-The two of you?

Yes, we were strapped together.

-On the basis that if I go, you can come with me?

-That's what happened. I jumped and he came with me!

You also swam with sharks in Hawaii?

Well, we went out into the ocean and went down in a cage.

-What did we see?

-Some white-tipped sharks, then at the end of the session, there was a tiger shark.

Oh, nasty. Do they come and snap at you in your cage?

-They're inquisitive. They'll circle the cage, but they don't have...

-They don't come too close.

Will those experiences with sharks help you with the dealers of Shepton Mallet?

-I should think so.

-Hopefully.

-We'll send you out in a cage.

-Luce, you're also a member of your village's all-girl Morris dancing team?

-I am. Bells' Angels.

Yeah. Bells' Angels!

-I love it!

-Bells' Angels - we've got the bells on our knees, the hankies and the sticks and we go out...

-You trot around?

-Yeah, to local events.

I did my first folk festival this year and it was absolutely amazing.

-Tactically, do you think you're going to spend the whole lot?

-I'd like to think so. A bit of quality.

So we've got a team that intends spending nothing and one that might blow the lot.

Now the money moment. Here's your £300. £300 apiece.

You know the rules. Your experts "aweek"...

"Aweek, aweek"? Await!

Off you go and very, very good luck. "Aweek"...?

We never let our teams loose without the guidance of our experts.

Teaming up with the Reds today is Jeremy Lamond

and helping the Blues is that whippersnapper, Henry Meadows.

How do you feel about it? What sort of items are you looking for?

We'll look for something a bit quirky.

-Have you got any preferences at all?

-Shiny.

-Shiny?

-Shiny.

Something that serves a purpose.

-We are shiny, happy people.

-Yeah.

With over 200 stalls to choose from, there's plenty of opportunity for our teams to shine today.

# Shiny, happy people laughing... #

-These are out of old shells.

-Oh, wow!

-You've got coal scuttles there.

-Sugar scuttles.

-Are these for sugar as well?

-Yeah, a bit of trench art.

This is a First World War, 1917, shell here.

-This has got 1916 on it.

-And it's been fired in anger.

-I quite like that.

-Yeah.

-Aren't they talking pieces?

They are talking pieces. I didn't look twice at them until you said that.

If I was looking at it with my auctioneer's hat on, I would be saying 30 to 50.

-And that's what the auctioneer will say.

-I'll do 35.

-35?

-35.

-I think we're getting in range.

-Could you take 32?

-I can't do any less than that, sorry

-35...

-The shell is in the breech at the moment.

-It is.

-Yes.

And I am fascinated by them.

-What do you think?

-I think we should go for them. I really like them.

-I do too.

-That's the main thing.

-And we've only got about 55 minutes left, so we've got to hurry up, you know(!)

-Yeah.

The Reds fire off the first round after only five minutes, but how are the Blues faring on the battlefield?

-What have you found?

-I think it's a compass.

-I quite like the look of the case.

-I like the case more than the compass.

-They were carried by officers during the First World War.

-Right.

-1919.

-1919, so it's going to be right on the cusp of it.

It could have been carried by an officer in Afghanistan in 1919.

-It's poignant, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-The bad news is the price.

-Yeah. Oh, I didn't realise it was £95.

-95.

-It's got 95 on it.

-How much would you expect?

-They make about 60 at auction.

That's a "no" then. With the Blues stuck in the trenches, the Reds are looking at world domination.

That is very striking. I have no idea what it says, apart from "China". What is it about?

-Do you know?

-No. I thought it was a propaganda poster.

Yeah, that's what you would think it would be.

This is Chinese and Soviet,

beating the Americans, so it's post-war.

They've beaten the Japanese and the Germans and now...

They want to beat somebody else, but we're not sure who.

-They're comparing the Americans to the Germans.

-That's the dollar sign.

-On the swastika.

-It's interesting.

-Very interesting. I like it.

-If you want it, we'll get it.

-Let's see what we can get it for.

-It's 60.

-60. It's not very shiny though!

No, but it's interesting.

-We do like that.

-I think we should g further afield.

-Right, OK.

-OK.

Not swayed by the propaganda poster, the girls return to the field.

Now it's action man Steve's turn to take up arms.

-Do you know what that's called?

-I don't know. I guess it's a gun case.

-That's right.

What does it look like?

What would you say it looks like?

It looks like a guitar.

-MAKES TWANGING SOUNDS

-I like that.

-It's called a "leg of mutton" gun case.

-Oh, yeah.

They're nice things, obviously price-dependent.

-They've got potential at auction.

-Is that a good quality one?

-Is that good condition?

-The leather needs feeding because it's cracked, but it depends how much it is.

-Is that 40?

-I can do it for 35.

-35...

I like that. Do you like that?

-It's all right. Again, it's a boy's toy.

-I think we should go for that.

We've been looking for 20, 25 minutes. I like the look of it.

-OK, get it.

-I think I'd like to buy that.

-Let's go for that one then.

-Go on.

We seem all to have been bitten by the shooting bug today. Even I've got Dad's Army-itis.

Do you remember old Jonesy?

One of his catchphrases on Dad's Army was, "They don't like it up 'em!"

Well, the reason they don't like it up 'em

is that if you were presented by an infantryman doing a bayonet charge

and there's maybe 50 of them coming at you in a trench,

it would be a pretty frightening affair.

But how did the attacking infantryman know how to do their bayonet drill so well?

Because they would have been issued before the First World War with one of these

which is called a fencing musket.

If you needed to practise how to properly bayonet the enemy,

one of these things would be just ideal.

The whole thing has no complicated trigger mechanism or firing breech

because it's not meant ever, ever to be fired.

It goes in like that just like a real bayonet and when you pull it out, it springs up like that.

And actually, these things are serious collectables to those of us who love militaria.

What's it worth? Well, it could be yours here today on the stand for £120.

All that history and it's in great condition.

What might you get for it?

Don't tell him, Pike!

You stupid boy!

# Who do you think you are kidding, Mr Hitler... #

Don't panic, Mr Mainwaring. However, time is running out for our teams and decisions must be made.

Can the Reds escalate the arms race?

That's a Spanish comb morion. You see that helmet?

-Like the conquistadors.

-It's fantastic.

-Yes.

-I love the shape.

-Yeah, I do too. They must have been so uncomfortable

Not as uncomfortable as you'll be if you don't make any decisions smartish.

-Lucy, do you like this?

-No, it's horrible.

I agree, Lucy, but what has Henry found?

It's an oil lamp, probably late 19th, early 20th century, probably Edwardian.

It's electroplated. It's very much in what they call Adam style.

It's got its glass chimney here. I don't think it's the original chimney. It's very thin.

And it doesn't have the same sort of quality as the base.

I'm not that keen. It's got a good weight to it, but again it's masculine.

-What do you think it's worth?

-I have no idea.

-I'd say £80, £100?

Would you be surprised if I said the stallholder is asking for £30?

-How much do you think it would get at auction?

-You may well get your £80 for it. It's quality.

Quality. We said at the start...

Even though that is not the same quality and doesn't go with it?

-Whoever buys it will buy it to display.

-I really like it.

-Maybe we should go for it then.

-How long have we got left?

-30 minutes.

-We've got half an hour.

-Let's come back to it.

-Shall we ask the stallholder to hold on to it for half an hour, then we can make a decision?

-OK.

If there's a genie in that lamp, you might just wish yourself away to an exotic destination. Like Paris.

-May I pick it up?

-Yeah.

-Thank you.

-It's quite heavy.

-Oh, yeah.

-That's different.

-It's really interesting.

'Interesting indeed. It's time I stepped in for a closer look.'

The Eiffel Tower? What are you women up to? I don't know!

-Neither do we!

-How's it going?

-It's going pretty well.

-Is it?

-Yeah.

-I think it's quite an architectural model. It's missing the top and the base.

-Yeah.

-It's just crisply cast.

-How many pieces have you bought?

-One so far.

-OK.

-We've got a pair.

-That only counts as one item. Hannah, you can't go doing that!

-"Can this be two?"

-Absolutely.

-"Does this count?"

-You've just got to get a move on.

-Yeah.

-Don't let me interrupt you. Bye!

-Bye!

-Would you do it for 30?

-I'll take 30 for it, yeah.

-I think we should buy the Eiffel Tower.

-Really?

-You don't like it?

-I like the Eiffel Tower.

-I'm not entirely convinced, I have to say.

-OK.

-Not entirely.

-Do you want to leave it then?

-Yes.

-OK.

We might come back. We'll mull it over.

Zut alors! The clock is ticking, girls, and it's time for some decisive action.

-You look like Steve McQueen.

-Yeah. In The Great Escape.

-Look at the keys!

-What is in your head as you're looking at these?

-Steve, I can see what the Reds are u to.

-What are they buying?

-I'm not sure, but they're buying something.

Let's hope it's not that good.

-I like that mirror. Do I like that mirror?

-No.

-No.

-What have we bought so far?

-The gun case.

-Remind me.

-Yeah, that's it.

-I reckon we should go back and buy that oil lamp, so that's two.

-Oh, no.

-It takes the pressure off.

-I like the oil lamp.

-If you think that's going to make a profit...

-I prefer the compass.

-No, I like the oil lamp.

The compass, you won't make a profit on it, but I think the oil lamp will.

-Then we focus our last 20 minutes...

-On me!

-Solely on you.

-Then the rest of the money we can devote entirely to you.

-Spend as much as you want.

As much girly time as poss. So one of you can run off and go and do the deal.

-OK, you can go. How much did he say?

-30 quid.

-Try and get it for 20.

-Yeah.

Lucy is not a fan of the oil lamp, but Steve heads off on another adventure to fetch it.

With 20 minutes to go, the Reds are still two items shy.

They need to make a decision quickly now. The pressure is on.

I think they've got a few ideas of what they want,

which are over that way, but they've just been diverted by the coloured glass,

which you can find everywhere!

And that's as close as gentlemanly Jeremy comes to cracking up.

-Now Steve's not here, I want to buy something girly.

-No problem at all.

I've painted my fingernails and I'm ready to find girly things.

-Come on then. I haven't seen anything...

-What about that?

-Not that girly!

-Do you know what they are?

-No, what are they?

They're little pincushion dolls, known as "half dolls".

-They've got holes on the bottom. They would be fixed to a foam-filled base and you put your pins in.

-OK.

-That's quite girly.

-Yeah, but too girly.

-Too girly?

-Too girly even for me, yeah.

-Ladies, you just can't win.

No, you can't, Henry, but Steve's back, having spent £30 on the oil lamp,

leaving the Blues with one more item to buy

and the Reds still have their hearts set on the Eiffel Tower. So much for shiny!

Is there any chance in any way to knock a couple more pounds off it?

I'll take £29 for it.

28...pounds 50?

LAUGHTER

- She's a trier. - "Trying" is more the word.

- That's true as well. - Okey-dokey, I'll take £28.50.

-Well done.

-Well done, Hannah. Thank you very much.

Et voila, another one in the duty-free bag for the Reds!

-What do you think to this?

-I love it.

-Love it? It's not very girly, Lucy.

-It would look nice in a nursery, even if you weren't going to use it.

-How much is it?

-£58 on the ticket.

For £58, you've got probably a mid-20th century piece.

-It's got a nice look about it.

-The damage wouldn't make any difference?

-It's not a write-off.

-Not quite.

-It's still got a bit of mileage left in it.

-Let's hope it's got some mileage on the day.

-What do you think?

-It's not the girly thing you were looking for.

-No, but I do like it.

That would look nice in our little boy's room.

-What's the very best you could do on that?

-It's got 58 on it.

Um...48.

You can't go any lower than that?

Take £40?

-We'll take it off your hands.

-45 and you can have it.

42? Meet you halfway?

-Go on then.

-OK. We've got a deal.

-Good bargaining, Blues.

-That's all three items.

-Well done.

-Yeah, well done, you.

-Shall we go and get a cup of tea?

-Yeah, let's go. You still owe me a girly item.

-I'll leave them to it.

Oh, what a sweet pair of lovebirds, eh?

Will there be an equally happy ending for our Reds?

I'll do 45. 45.

-I think you're getting there.

-That's a good buy.

-We like the poster.

-You're not going to...

What about a couple of pounds?

-No.

-£43.50?

-No. I'm sticking on 45, honestly.

-£44.50?

-No.

-Come on, 50p?

-No.

- She's awful. - Sorry.

-Yeah, she is.

-£44.55?

-No.

-OK, 45.

-I like round figures.

-Yeah, don't we all?

-I love the poster.

-OK, yeah, great. Thank you.

-There we are.

-Thank you very much.

Time's up! Well, it is for the cow.

Let's look at what our teams have bought. Our Reds, Alison and Hannah,

were blown away by this First World War trench art at £35.

They then bought a cast-metal model

of the Eiffel Tower for £28.50. Ooh, la, la!

And to round off their selection of distinctly unshiny objects,

they bought this Chinese propaganda poster for £45.

-Was that good fun, girls?

-It was.

-We really enjoyed it.

-Which is your favourite piece?

-My piece, the Eiffel Tower.

"My piece, the Eiffel Tower!" What about you, Ma?

The Soviet poster, it's got to be.

-You see, we are the Reds.

-We are red.

-There's reds under the bed! And it's arty too. Which will bring the biggest profit?

-The Eiffel Tower.

-Most definitely.

-The poster.

-It's so nice to see a family that agrees so well.

How much did you spend?

-£108.50.

-£108.50. So I'd like £191.50.

-There you are.

-Which is an awful lot of cash.

-Yes.

-I'm not surprised if you've been buying Soviet posters!

You could make a very substantial profit out of your modest purchases,

-but I do hope you'll blow the lot, Jerry.

-I'll have a very good go.

-Something shiny would be nice.

-Something shiny.

-We're the shiny, happy people.

-We are.

-What we want is a shiny, happy profit.

-We do.

Thank you. Meanwhile, why don't we check out what the Blue Team bought?

Our Blues, Steve and Lucy,

first targeted this leather "leg of mutton" gun case for £35.

They then spent £30 on an Edwardian oil lamp.

And despite her search for something girly,

Lucy ended up with this very unfeminine pedal car for £42.

But will it drive home a profit at the auction?

-That was good fun today.

-Yeah, we got there.

-Some very different items

-Are you running some sort of play pen, buying all these pedal toys and whatnot?

-It seemed that way.

-One toy.

-One toy?

-Yes.

-How much did you pay for that?

-£42.

-Did you?

-Yes.

-Overall, how much did you spend?

-107.

I would like... £193, please.

-Here's my leftover lolly, Tim.

-Thank you. You've been watching a lot of this programme, I can tell!

-Which is your favourite piece?

-I like the leather gun case.

-That's your favourite.

-Definitely.

-The motor car would be yours.

-Yes.

-Which will bring the biggest profit?

-Maybe the gun case. I'm not sure, actually.

-Do you think the gun case, Stephen?

-Yeah, a nice item.

-Or that horrible lamp.

-The horrible lamp!

-Don't tell anybody that. They might think it's lovely.

-Don't fall out on camera!

It's just a happy married couple shopping.

-Here's the leftover lolly. That's a huge amount of money.

-It's a good sum.

The theme seems to be girly items. I've got my work cut out.

-Do you normally go out buying a lot of girly items?

-Not really.

-You don't strike me as the girly item type of guy.

-Not really.

That's why we ended up with three very masculine items.

-That pedal car was quite girly.

-Really?!

OK, fine. Over to you, then. Go and have a cup of tea, chaps.

Meanwhile, we're heading off to William Morris land. You wait and see.

Kelmscott Manor in the Cotswolds was built around 1570

and was passed down through the same farming family for 300 years.

In 1871, it was offered to let. At this time,

William Morris, the leading Arts and Crafts designer, was looking for a country house

to escape from the pressure of London.

When Morris saw Kelmscott Manor in the estate agent's particulars,

he fell in love with it, passionately in love,

describing it as heaven on Earth.

For him, Kelmscott epitomised vernacular Britain,

a home built by the people who actually lived in it.

A return to a simpler way of life,

far removed from those beastly factories and machines which he so detested.

'The house and farm buildings have a strong affinity with the surrounding landscape

'and inspired some of Morris's best-known works.'

And in this, the old hall, which was used as an eating room

when the Morris family took it first on their tenancy,

we've actually got pieces of furniture that were included in the lease that the family used

and are still here today. For example, their dining table.

This is the table that the Morris family would have gathered around.

But when the family were sitting down for their meal, they'd actually be seated on a product

of Morris and Co. The prettiest little set of chairs,

known as the Sussex range of chairs, that you could possibly imagine.

Now why did William Morris so enjoy this style of furniture?

Well, for a kick-off, it's the fact that the design is so sturdy.

If we take that end post, which supports the arm rail,

it goes clean through the seat rail and projects underneath

until it goes through a second stretcher, making this thing incredibly strong.

The seat itself is hand-woven out of rushes that would have appealed to William Morris.

And so that they could sell a whole set of chairs, they were uniformly ebonised

or covered in this black paint effect that in places today has worn away

to give you that lovely, rich, golden colour.

The other joy is that, at the time, these chairs weren't expensive.

According to the Morris and Co catalogue, a side chair like this

could be yours in 1910 for about seven shillings.

And a lovely armchair like that, nine shillings.

The big question today is for our teams at the auction,

will they achieve a similarly good turn on their money?

Well, we've come up the road to Bristol to be at Dreweatts saleroom with Simon Raynor.

-Hi, Simon.

-Hello, Tim.

-First up for the Reds are these shell cases converted into scuttles

for something. Not sugar. Maybe sweeties?

Maybe, yeah. That's a good call. 1916 or 1917, but they're not particularly exciting.

I've seen more extravagant examples. £20-£30.

There are collectors of anything connected with WWI these days.

-Yes, militaria is a strong area, so they've got a chance.

-It's a nice bit of social history,

hacking up the detritus of war and creating something that's got a domestic interest.

Turning cannons into ploughshares, that type of thing.

-I think £20-£30.

-OK, £35 they paid so that's not so swift.

-What about the Eiffel Tower?

-Yeah...

Unfortunately it's lacking the finial at the top, obviously.

I think it's made of mazak, a crystalline metal. The sort of thing that makes die-cast toy cars,

Matchbox, Dinky cars. I don't know how many people come to Bristol looking for an Eiffel Tower.

-It's cheaper than going to France, isn't it?

-I guess so. I guess so, but £10-£15.

-OK.

-They paid £28.50.

-Yeah, I think they'll be lucky.

-A pretty strange price to pay.

-OK, their last item is the poster.

-I like this.

It's quite a funky image. Chinese Communists, circa 1950.

You can see Stalin and other world leaders. My gut feeling was £30-£50, in that region.

-£45 Alison and Hannah paid.

-OK.

-So that's the target price.

Doesn't sound like there will be a huge profit. They're going to need their bonus buy!

They're going to need it, so let's have a look at it.

-Alison, Hannah, this is your leftover lolly moment.

-Yes.

-£191.50 you gave to Jeremy.

-What did you spend it on?

-I thought I'd buy something that would add a bit of flavour,

-so what do you add flavour with?

-Salt.

Right. You might have to hold it in something.

-That is so pretty.

-It's no ordinary salt.

-It's silver, but does it look English to you?

-No.

-What does it look?

-Chinese?

-You've got it in one. A Chinese silver salt.

-Wow.

-Underneath is the maker's mark. What's nice about it is all this beautiful work here.

-Beautiful!

-Look at these feet here.

-So lovely.

-It's also signed by the maker.

-If the right people are in the room for this, it'll do well. The Chinese are after Chinese silver.

-True.

-In a big way.

-It is absolutely exquisite.

-Lovely.

-Just the exquisite little details.

-Beautiful, isn't it?

-Stunning.

-And there's no damage to it.

-No.

-What would you pay for that?

-What would I pay?

-£191.50?

-Well, I would. It's wonderful.

-It's a snip, then.

-How much did you pay?

-£75.

-Did you?

On the basis it's on the internet, that should flash up for any buyers that there is Chinese silver.

-It's lovely. Really nice.

-Great. Whatever it makes, at least you like it.

-And it's shiny!

-Shiny, yes!

-Well, you've done the right thing.

Everybody's brightened up. Let's see if the auctioneer brightens up when he sees the salt.

-What a sweet little thing that is.

-Datewise, probably 1900, maybe later.

Probably a blue glass liner at one point, but that's not there now. It won't make a huge amount.

-I think less than £50.

-Oh, dear. £75 paid by Jeremy Lamond.

Oriental items are selling well, but I think the chances are it's going to struggle.

Maybe some Chinese will get encouraged by the sight of the poster and will repatriate it.

-That would be good.

-Would be nice.

Well, that's it for the Reds. Now the Blues and the leg of mutton gun case.

These are a fairly common sight. It's a fairly good example.

No bad damage. I've seen an awful lot worse. I've said £40-£60. Fairly standard lot.

-OK, £35 paid.

-I think they've got a good buy there.

-Next is the electro-plated oil lamp.

-Yeah.

-Quite grand in silver plate, I suppose.

It is. A very strong neo-classical influence. You can see the swags, the rams' heads.

But against it, the funnel's got nothing to do with it. You'd like a globe with it, ideally.

-£30-£50.

-OK, £30 paid. So they've done quite well at that.

-We're not getting on too badly. What about this wacky pedal car?

-It's quite a nice-looking thing.

Not as old as I'd like it to be, but it's got quite a good look.

-Someone might buy it for window dressing or a shop fitting item.

-It's got no pedals, though.

-That is a bit of a worry.

-Estimate?

-£30-£50.

-That's not too bad.

-Our Henry paid £42 for it.

-Not a bad buy.

That's it. I think they'll need their bonus buy so let's look at it.

Now you've spent a miserable £107, giving our Henry £193 of leftover lolly.

-What did you spend it on?

-It was a difficult one, really.

-We were trying to find something girly.

-Yes.

-And that reflected in my bonus buy.

-Try as I might, I failed.

-Oh.

-Oh.

-I like that.

-It's different.

-Do you know where it would have been made, or its age?

-Is it Chinese or...?

That part of the world, yeah. It's actually Japanese.

-I would have thought it's probably 1900.

-So it's got a bit of age.

-It's known as Satsuma ware.

-Really nice. How much did you pay?

-That's the big question!

-Here we go.

-I picked it up for £55.

-That's really good.

-Yeah.

-I think you've done really well.

-Yeah.

-I'm glad you're pleased.

-I did try to find a dress or a handbag.

-I wouldn't have wanted anything too girly. It's nice.

-Lovely.

-Girly enough for you?

-Yeah, yeah, I think so.

What sort of profit will it make?

A small profit I would have thought. I'm not going to mislead you. I paid 55 for it. £5 or £10.

-OK.

-But it's worth thinking about if we need to use it.

-It could do well, particularly if it's been on the internet.

-We're pleased.

-Good. I'm happy.

For the audience at home, let's find out what the auctioneer thinks about Henry's Japanese bowl.

-Well, there you go. A standard piece of Japanese ceramics, I'd say.

-Yes, a bit of Satsuma.

And it's signed, which is good, but it's not fantastic quality, is it?

-What's that woman doing with a moustache?

-Goddess of Luck, I believe.

-That IS lucky!

-For somebody.

-Surrounded by some very strange-looking gentlemen.

I think they're all on tablets. Anyway, very nice.

-Strange, but colourful.

-Yeah.

-What's it worth?

-Em, £30?

-£55 paid by Henry.

-I think that's a big ask.

-Thank you very much, Simon.

At £40. 45 now. 45. And 50.

55. 60. 65. At £65.

Selling in the room at 65, then.

-Hannah, Alison, are you excited?

-Yes!

-Yes. A bit nervous.

Aren't we all a bit nervous? It's like that just before the auction.

Which piece is your best prediction, Hannah?

Mm, I don't actually know. The Eiffel Tower's my favourite.

-Well, you found it.

-Yes.

-The flagstaff on the top has been snapped off.

The auctioneer didn't like that. I don't think he has the romance of Gay Paris in his heart.

-Definitely not, no.

-But this lot in Bristol are very romantic.

-All these hard-bitten men in leather coats.

-You never know!

-You never know.

First up are your sugar scuttles.

Two commission bids. Open the bidding here at £28.

30 anywhere now? At £28 here. 30.

Thank you. 32. 35.

-Look at this.

-38 now? At £35. 38 anywhere?

All done at 35? 38 for anyone?

-At £35. We're selling at 35.

-I don't believe this!

-It's a wiped face.

-At least it's not a loss.

Well done, Hannah. Now hold on, girl. Here comes the Eiffel Tower.

£20 for this lot? £10, then?

-Somebody buy it!

-£10 for the Eiffel Tower? 5, then?

-I'm not liking the look of this.

5, thank you. £5. At £5.

8 anywhere now, then? At £5. All done? At 5? Thank you.

Oh, dear. No entente cordiale round here. That's minus £23.50. Stand by for your poster.

Lot 574 is the 1950s framed Chinese Communist propaganda poster. Two commission bids. Start at £50.

55 anywhere now?

At £50. 55, anyone? 55. 60.

5 now? At £60 on a commission bid. All done at 60?

Told you not to buy the Tower!

-Selling at 60.

-That is brilliant.

-That is plus £15. How cool.

-Sorry!

-Which means you are minus £8.50.

Currently. Minus £8.50 after all that.

-What about this silver salt?

-We're gamblers.

-You're going to do it?

-Yeah.

-Are you sure?

-Yeah.

-You don't have to.

-Yeah.

-You don't want to?

-We do.

-Are we sure about this?

-Yes.

-Not at all sure, but we're going with it.

-Final answer. Fine. You can't phone a friend. Yes?

We're going with it. The decision is made. Here it comes.

Chinese silver salt with the bamboo decoration. Start me at £30 for this lot? £30?

30? 20, then? £20 bid. At £20.

22 anywhere now, then? At £20 only on the Chinese silver salt. 22. 25?

-At £22. 25 now?

-I could cry.

-At £22. All done?

-I don't believe this.

All done at 22, then? Thank you.

£22. Which, very sadly, is minus £53.

Minus £53. That's a bore, isn't it? That means, overall, you are minus £45.

-Which is not so bad, is it?

-No.

-And it could be a winning score.

-I've seen worse.

-The big thing now is don't say a word to the Blues.

-We won't.

-We don't even like 'em!

-Mum? All right? Mum.

-Mum.

-Well, kids. How are you feeling? All right?

-A little bit nervous.

-What have you to be nervous about?

-Excited as well.

-That's the point. How many auctions do you get to?

-Not many. We've only been to one or two.

-There you go. They're good fun.

-There's lots of people here. You have no idea how the Reds did?

-None whatsoever.

-You don't want to!

So that's it. Perfect. First up is the leather gun case.

Lot 598. Commission bids here. I start off at £40.

-45 now.

-At 40!

-45. 50.

55? 60. 5?

£60. 65 now? At £60. 65 anywhere? All done at £60?

Selling on a commission bid at £60. All done? At 60.

Plus £25. Marvellous. £25 up straight up.

Now here we go. The oil lamp, Henry.

Early 20th century oil lamp base. The neo-classical look.

Again, commission bids. I'm starting off at £35. 40 I'll take. Thank you. 45. And 50.

With you at 50. 55 anywhere now?

At £50 in the room. 55 now? At £50. All done? We sell at 50.

-Plus £20.

-Cheers.

-Well done, Henry. That's good.

-Now the pedal car for £42.

-Here we go.

And again two commission bids. I start off at £35. 40. 5. 50.

-Well done, Henry. In profit.

-With you at £70. 75 now.

At £70. We sell in the room at 70. All done at 70 and selling?

-Thank you.

-£70.

-That is brilliant.

That is plus £28. Well done.

45...65...73. Plus £73. How about that?

-Pretty good, isn't it?

-Brilliant.

-I mean, you spent £107 and you get £73 of profit.

I love it. And you get a profit on each lot. We know what that means!

-Anyway, what are you going to do? Risk all and go with the Japanese bowl?

-I don't know.

-Think carefully.

-Don't say a word, Henry.

-I don't think we should.

-Right. You're the boss. We'll stick.

-Not going with it? No? All right. We're going to sell it anyway.

Lot 604. The Satsuma bowl with the decoration of figures.

A signed piece here. £30 for this lot?

£30? 30? £20, then? 20 is bid, thank you. 22 now?

At £20. 22 anywhere? At £20. 22 now. 22, thank you. 25?

-25. 28? No? Back of the room.

-Nobody's ringing in from Japan(!)

All done at 25, then?

I think Lucy deserves a Dairy Milk there!

-She did well there.

-You were cool under fire there. You did not give in.

-No.

You were determined to preserve your £73 of profit by not going with the bonus buy. Well done.

-It could be a winning score. Don't say a word to the Blues.

-No.

-Well done.

Now you lot. One of these teams has got the cream and one of them hasn't.

-I wonder which is which. Been chatting at all?

-No.

-No.

Just as well for the Reds because it's diabolical for you. You were minus £8.50

then you went with that bonus buy and that torpedoed you down to minus £45.50. Bad luck.

-Well, we thought we'd gamble.

-It started off so nicely.

-I thought, "We're in with a chance here." Then we didn't do so well until your poster.

-Yes.

-Which was lovely. The high point of your selling process.

-It was.

-There were Communists in the room.

-Going to listen to your mother?

-Yes.

-Had a nice time, Hannah?

-Wonderful.

-Has it been good?

-Fantastic.

Thank you for jollying up our morning. Now for the victors,

who are going to go home with £73.

-There's your £70.

-Thank you.

-I've been dredging the cash box for the remainder.

You get that in small change. It's a dramatic success, isn't it?

Steve, £25 profit on your leg of mutton case. That was lovely.

Couple of Henry victories with the pedal car and the lamp.

That was very nice. And you decided not to go with the bonus buy.

Wise move. It preserved your £73. But, of course, as you made a profit on all three items,

you are eligible to enter the honourable order of the Golden Gavel.

So we now present you with these nice clips, which you can pin to your bosom and wear with pride.

-There's one for you, Henry. Have you had one before?

-Yes.

Well, you're entering the club big time, aren't you?

That's a serious mark of achievement, to make a profit on all three. Congratulations.

-Had a good time?

-Brilliant.

-We've loved having you.

-Join us soon for more bargain hunting. Yes?

-ALL: Yes!

I know, you're sitting there thinking, "I could have done better than that."

Well, what's stopping you? If you think you can spot a bargain, go to our BBC website and apply.

It'll be splendid to see you!

Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd - 2012

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