Devon 28 Bargain Hunt

Today, we're in Topsham in Devon, where many of the houses have

an attractive, continental look to them.

That's because this shaped gable reminds us of houses in Amsterdam.

Hence these are known here as the Dutch houses.

But we're not here for a history lesson -

let's go bargain hunting! Yeah!

MUSIC: "Have A Nice Day" by Stereophonics

Not a lot of Dutch influence, it has to be said,

here at the Quay Antique Centre, but it is home to 70 dealers,

so it's a great choice for our teams.

Let's have a quick peek at what's coming up.

The Reds call the shots...

I'll tell the jokes, he stuffs the animals,

you tell us whether that's a good deal.

-That's put me in my place!

-Get out of here!

..but it's sink or swim for the Blues.

That's all coming up, but first, let's meet the teams.

Today, we have Tom and Patrick, brothers representing the Reds,

and partners Lisa and Paul for the Blues.

-Hello, everyone.

-ALL: Hello!

Lovely to see you.

Tom, let's start with you. What line of work are you in?

I'm a stand-up comedian/ sit-down writer.

-Are you really?

-Yes.

In that order?

A little bit of both.

-Really?

-Yeah.

Well, that's very brave - stand-up comicry.

I suppose it is fairly, yeah.

I don't think I could do that, I have to say.

Well, you get used to it.

I mean, I still get pretty nervous before going on, but...

They say that the adrenaline nerve is the thing that gives you

-your edge, but it's not a nice thing, though, is it?

-No, it's not.

If you're going to stand up in a beery environment

and try and make somebody laugh and they don't find you amusing,

-then you soon know that, don't you?

-Hasn't happened often, though.

Well, I'm glad to hear that. Well, good luck with it.

Now, Patrick, what do you get up to?

Your brother's establishing himself as a writer and comic,

-what do you do?

-I've actually got, sort of, two jobs on the go.

First one being taxidermy,

which I've been doing since I was about 12,

and I'm a gamekeeper as well in my spare time.

Well, those two connected jobs are rather convenient, aren't they?

They go rather well together, yes.

And people still want their specimens,

their game specimens and whatnot, preserved, don't they?

Yes, obviously that side of it is a much smaller market today,

but they are still about.

You've done some pretty big mammals in your time, haven't you?

Yes, not ones that I've personally shot -

things that were found about 100 years ago.

Things like tigers and polar bears.

-Have you done big cats?

-Yeah, I've worked on a few of those, yeah.

Oh, God. What are you going to go for, you two?

Will you go for taxidermy if you find it, Paddy?

I will have a look for some, yes,

but just anything a bit fun, a bit quirky, really.

We want to find fun stuff - we're not in the market for crockery.

Not something you'd find on Grandma's shelf.

Something a bit different that's going to stand out in the auction.

This is the voice of youth today!

What is going to happen on Bargain Hunt? Anyway, very good luck.

So, team.

-How did you and Paul meet, Lisa?

-We met a couple of years ago.

Paul's a host at one of the local hotels in Torquay,

I was brought in as the Christmas Day singer,

and we sort of hit it off. Paul texted me later that evening

and we've been together pretty much ever since.

What sort of entertainment were you providing that Christmas Day, then?

-Erm...

-Carols?

No, it was songs from the '60s through.

-I do a bit of a mixture. I'm a singer, so...

-Yes.

..I do a bit of everything, and in the hotel on Christmas Day, I think

I did a couple of Christmas songs, despite being told by Paul not to.

-Why don't you give us a trill, then, Lise?

-OK.

Here we go, then. Stand by.

Exercise your vocal cords,

because this is...Lisa!

# Ain't no sunshine when he's gone

# It's not warm when he's away

# Ain't no sunshine when he's gone

# This house just ain't no home

# Any time he goes away. #

Now, listen, how brave do you have to be to do that?

You've got a really beautiful voice.

-Thank you.

-That's fantastic.

No backing group, she didn't know

she was going to have to do it, and out she trilled, which is great.

Paul, you're in the same line of business, then?

Yeah, pretty much the same line.

I do the all-round entertainment thing.

I obviously sing a few songs, tell a few gags.

I also run my own disco company as well.

Seems to me that you two were made for each other, then.

-That's rather clever, isn't it?

-Yes.

Now, guys, what do you collect and what's your tactics going to be?

-What do you collect, Lisa?

-I collect shoes.

-Do you?

I don't know if it's a... Well, it is a collection, as such,

I've probably got in excess of 80 pairs.

Are you the Imelda Marcos of Torquay?

The first thing she did when we moved in together was

-she made me go out and buy her a shoe wardrobe.

-Yes.

That's our nice little bit in the house - shoe wardrobe for me.

-For you, but not for Paul?

-BOTH:

-No.

You never know what you're going to find in an antique centre like Topsham.

Anyway, the money moment now, £300 apiece. There's your £300.

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

Very, very, very good luck.

I feel like bursting into song myself.

Focussed on helping out the Reds today is expert Philip Serrell.

Bless him.

Whilst it's full steam ahead for Charles Hanson,

as he keeps the Blues on track.

So, you...

-This one here...

-Yes.

-You stuff things?

-I do indeed.

And you, you crack them up laughing?

-I try to.

-Oh, right, OK, fine.

I think I'm going to stick on your side and not your side, then.

-Don't turn your back to him.

-No, absolutely.

OK, guys, so we're by the seaside.

And I'm with a couple of lovebirds.

-Even a couple of songbirds.

-Indeed you are.

And before we go bargain hunting, can you give me a warm up?

# La-la-la-la-la-la! #

-Follow me.

-Woo! CHARLES LAUGHS

And they're off, with both teams raring to go.

Their 60 minutes start now.

Now, this, Patrick, is stuffed, so it's not exactly what you want.

It was never living, though.

-It's an old... It's described as an old teddy bear.

-It's £39!

-Yeah, but it might be worth a lot of money.

-It's got a mini chair, though.

Could we not buy him and the chair and then have it as one thing?

-One lovely, little...

-What have you found, guys?

-teddy bear on a chair.

And how much is the chair?

-I like the chair, but I hate the bear.

-The chair is £22.

-Let's have a look. The chair...

-It's a little bit damaged.

I think the chair's a bit fun, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-It's for tiny people.

-That rules you and I out.

-Yeah.

What do you think its background would be?

Well, it's copying a sort of a late 18th/early 19th-century

rush-seated, ladder-backed chair. That's called a ladder back

because it's like a ladder that you step up, OK? Erm...

When I first saw it, I thought it was probably 1950s,

but I think it might be a little bit earlier than that.

If you can get that for 15 quid, I think it gives you a chance.

-So that's our cheapo, isn't it?

-That's our cheap option.

-Go and have a word with the man up there.

-With this?

-Yeah, and let the stuffer and I go and see what we can find.

-OK.

So, whilst Tom negotiates for the chair,

the Blues continue to hunt high and low for that elusive first buy.

-Now, what have they found here?

-They're nice, aren't they?

-Yeah.

-They are nice.

-I like them.

Good spot - I like them.

-And I think you'd buy them as a pair, wouldn't you?

-Yeah.

-I like that one.

-Because they're very aesthetic, aren't they?

And they're actually...

little, sort of table...almost like fruit bowls, aren't they?

Or just little table centrepieces.

But they are quite decorative.

These go back to around 1885, 1890.

And at the height of the fashion for all things Japanese.

These were made for the western market.

£24 a pair, should be worth 40?

I reckon, at auction,

I would guide them at between, probably, 40 and 60.

50 and £70. So if I can get a deal...

They're £28 each, aren't they?

-BOTH: 24.

-That's OK, which makes what?

-48.

-Exactly. He's a clever guy.

-Yeah!

He's a clever guy. 48, OK.

If we could get the pair for, like, I don't know, £35, even 30...

-Go in at 30.

-Yeah, go in at £30, yeah.

Whilst the Blues head off to get a price for the plates,

it seems Tom has an update about the chair.

Here we go, take a seat.

-Now you're rushing me.

-Here.

Now listen, do you think if you put this into auction

you're going to have a leg to stand on?!

-There we go!

-18 quid. I think that at auction is going to make...

I think it's going to make between 20 and 35 quid.

Well, that would be a profit.

-Let's go and put that over there.

-Right.

Definitely buy it, and we'll just carry on and see what we can find.

-Excellent.

-Right.

Great news - that's the first item in the old bag for the Reds,

and only 20 minutes into the shop.

Now, what's the latest on them plates?

-Cheapest we can do it would be £40.

-Did you hear that?

That's pretty good, it's £8 off. So from 48, we've come down to 40.

-Worth a gamble?

-I think so - we're running out of time, aren't we?

-Think so?

-Yep.

-Need to buy something.

-Let's buy them. Yeah?

-We'll take.

-Job done.

-Thank you.

-Thank you, sir, we'll take them. That's great, one down, hey?

-One down, two to go.

-So, both teams have their purchases.

You've got to have some bottle to battle it out on this show.

Speaking of which...

What did you do in the old days if you weren't feeling so hot?

You didn't go and see your GP.

Actually, the man that you went to see was the apothecary.

The apothecary had been about for centuries.

He had a shop in town - he sold tobacco,

he sold wine and he also sold drugs.

In any ,shop there would be a vast array of bottles like this.

This fellow has got its title label on it, look - "Cayenne".

You're right, cayenne pepper.

If you had a reflux from your stomach, most uncomfortable,

you'd take a bit of cayenne pepper.

Next door to that, we've got a bottle that says "Chlorof" - an abbreviation for chloroform.

Used, of course, as an anaesthetic.

And the last bottle says "TR", for tincture.

"Colch", for colchicum.

And colchicum are autumn crocus.

Harvest the juice of the autumn crocus and it's poisonous.

But you could use it to treat gout.

But it's dodgy stuff.

And each one of these bottles, I guess, is worth between 40 and £60.

What might they cost you, though, in a fair or antique centre like this?

An average of £10 a bottle.

So, they could be yours for 60

and you could get £350 at the end of the day.

Keep taking the tablets, eh?

Back to the shopping at 30 minutes in, and it seems Charles has spotted

another oriental piece for the Blues.

-Paul, it's a blue and white plate, right?

-Yep.

-Lisa, do you like it?

-Yeah.

-You've got here...

You've got the sea, you've got a lakeland landscape,

but this plate was made in the 18th century.

It was made under the reign of Emperor Chien-Lung, or Qianlong,

who... It was a period of history from 1735 to '95.

So, this would go back to around the French Revolution.

It would go back to the time of King George III. It's 18th century.

-Isn't it great?

-Yeah.

And it's £12. And to me... that's a bargain.

-Lisa doesn't look quite so sure, Charles.

-Lisa, look at me!

Lisa, this is it. This is the goldmine. This really is...

Buy an antique with a big capital A.

Because it really is what it purports to be.

-Shall we try and make an offer?

-Yes.

-Yes.

-Give him a shout, Paul, he's over there.

-And your best deal?

Probably be ten at the lowest.

Well, it's a good thing.

It's a shame we can't get a bit more off, but £10 is £10.

-Just remember, it is blue, OK?

-We are Team Blue, let's go for it. £10.

-OK, that's it.

-We've got to go with it, and then let's go and spend...

-How much is left over?

-BOTH: £250.

-Really?

-Let's buy something big.

-Let's go big for Lisa.

-OK.

OK, we'll take it, sir. Thanks ever so much, great.

Don't worry, Blues - you're in safe hands with Carlos.

Now, what have the Reds spotted here?

Let's have a look at these two.

That's the old... What's that?

That would be a... Oh, I reckon this is probably a rack adjust.

-Oh, the old rack-adjust telescope.

-Yeah.

-Looks like one.

-You do the gags, he stuffs.

-You've been doing the gags!

-I'm the antique man.

-I'll do some of the antique stuff now. There we go.

-Kids trying to nick our jobs now.

-I like that one, that's quite sweet.

What would be nice... Normally, there's a maker's name here.

-There you go. The Spotter.

-I quite like that.

-I like its action.

-Do you really?

-This one doesn't have...

-Well, that's the old rack adjust, isn't it?

-Well, exactly.

That's priced up at £59.

I think at auction that's going to make

probably 30 to 50, 40 to 60 quid.

-Right.

-So you've got to be buying that for...

I suspect it's not going to come to much below 50,

which doesn't give you much of a chance.

-It is nice, though.

-I think it's a 40 to £50 lot.

I'd like to see you buy that. Do you want to have a word with the lady?

-Let's have a haggle, shall we?

-Yeah.

Could you possibly find out

what the best is you could do on that for us, my love, please?

-So, two small items, let's now try and find that really big one.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Really big.

-Really big one, really big one!

-Oh, hello!

-So, you just bought your plate?

-Yes.

-That's nice, isn't it?

-Yeah. In good order. Yeah, exactly.

-Little hairline crack.

-Oh, yes, thank you!

I think I'll shut up while I'm ahead. You can re-negotiate now.

I don't know, it cost £10.

I didn't see that. I've missed that lovely little crack there,

and Mr Wonnacott's just seen it.

Yeah, thanks, thanks, mate(!)

-I can't believe it! Sorry, guys.

-It's been lovely seeing you!

Yeah, look, you can see just there.

I've got an appetite, and tonight it might mean what?

-Singing for our supper?

-Well, my supper, exactly. I can't believe it.

£10 down, but do you know what? It's 18th century and we'll stand by it.

-And do you know what? It might still make a profit.

-Yeah.

-You watch.

-£10.

-Exactly.

Ever the optimist, Charles!

Whilst waiting for a price on the telescope, what has Phil fished out?

Salmon gaff, look.

-Salmon gaff?

-Yeah.

So you'd be out fishing for your salmon

and you'd get one on the line.

And as it comes in, instead of netting it, you'd hook it.

-And you extend it and you hook it like that.

-Careful, careful!

Easy, tiger. And this is all in brass.

And this is...

Might be rosewood, or what does it say on the thing?

It just says "Telescopic salmon gaff". And it's priced at £98.

I bought one of these 12 years ago and paid about 160 quid for it.

-Do you like that?

-I do, yes.

Is that your sort of thing?

It's an interesting...

Have a word with the dealer and see what the best price for that is,

see what the best price for the telescope is,

what the best price for the two is,

ask him to put them by for half an hour,

-then that takes the pressure off us a bit, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

-Absolutely.

-Job's done.

-Brilliant.

-I will go and have a word with the dealer.

-Thank you very much.

So, good luck with reeling in a deal, Phil.

But the teams have only 15 minutes left to go.

It's always nice to spend cheap, but when you spend cheap

and buy badly, it's even worse.

So, the two Japanese dishes are delightful,

and for £40 they're on the money,

but that plate, which had

such a pedigree, is now just a broken plate.

Guys, are we ready? Now, then. Here's the plan.

The telescope, which was £59, we can have for 50.

And that's the finish, OK? The gaff, which was £98, we can have for 85.

And if we buy them both, they're still 50 and 85.

So, my suggestion is we put them both by

for however long we've got left, have a look round.

I can see us definitely coming back for this, and if we can't find

anything better that floats our boat, we'll come back for this.

-Yeah.

-But what we don't want to do is make a gaff, do we?

-Oh!

That's another maritime pun, at it again!

Phil, leave the gags to Tom, will you?

Looks like Charles has a plan to spend some money.

-Do you know? I'm thinking...I'm thinking nice piece of silver.

-Yes.

Something sparkly to give us a bit of flamboyance.

-Definitely.

-Let's do it.

Despite time ticking on,

Phil and the boys decide to talk tactics in the sunshine.

We've just had to come outside to get a bit of clear thinking

on this, haven't we? We've rushed,

ground floor, first floor, second floor,

we've seen pretty much everything there is.

-Is there anything else that you like at all?

-Erm...

-I don't know. I mean... I like the salmon hook.

-Yeah.

-What's it called? BOTH:

-Gaff.

-I like the gaff, but...I don't know.

-Yeah.

-I think we don't have any time to...

-There's nothing else I've seen...

We've got three to five minutes left, or something like that.

So literally all we've got time for is to go back in and say,

"Yes, we'll have them."

-Yeah.

-So, it's 50 quid and £85.

Otherwise, we end up just taking away a small chair.

Yeah, otherwise we go into the final conflict

with £18 worth of modern chair, really.

-So, that's not the answer, is it?

-Let's get the gaff.

Let's just hope it doesn't leave us like that over there.

Er, anyone got that sinking feeling?

Right, we got to go here. Come on, guys.

I hope they're still here. Oh, that's a relief. Here we are.

-I didn't sell them!

-50 and 85, job's done?

-Done, let's do it.

-Shake hands, shake with the man.

-Jolly good, 135.

-I think you've made the right decision.

-Thank you very much.

So, the Reds have landed all three items,

and with only minutes to go, it's crunch time for the Blues.

-This is it now, this is where time is really of the essence.

-Yeah.

This is a very, very nice silver christening mug

with a good weight. The one problem is, it has got an inscription.

It says here, "ES Parkin, from his godfather."

So that's not so good,

because inscribed objects haven't got the same popularity.

What's that like?

-It's quite heavy, it's quite pretty.

-Yep.

-I like this, more so than I like...

-OK, let's have...

This is early, which is good. This is 1830, who was King of England?

-I'll test you.

-Don't ask me!

William. William IV. He was in his first year.

The maker, we can see, is G Turner.

We've got the all-important Exeter three-turret mark on there as well.

What would you use it for?

-Fish.

-Exactly, and where are we?

-In Topsham.

-On the...?

-Along the coast?

-Exactly, so it might appeal to fish people,

perhaps fishermen and all of that.

And we're going to Exeter and, of course, it's hallmarked for Exeter,

so maybe fish of Topsham and Exeter being its place of assay

all those years ago, it might have a popularity.

But it needs to be nearer £200 to give us a chance, OK?

We've got three minutes to go.

-What's the best you can do us on this?

-I don't know.

We could go to 200 and...20.

15.

-You wouldn't go one more?

-We've got 30 seconds left!

Give us a slice off, sir!

How much are you going to pay me back?!

-THEY LAUGH

-All right, 215.

Job done. Sold. Job done. We got it. That's great.

Thank you, sir. Shake his hand quick.

That's it.

-That was close!

-That was too close for comfort.

Congratulations, Blues.

You've finished your shop too, and just in the nick of time.

Let's remind ourselves what the Red team bought.

First of all, they stuffed £18 into a rush-seated ladder-back chair.

Next, they zoomed in on this telescope, picking it up for £50.

Finally, the brass and turned-wood salmon gaff caught their eye at £85.

-You guys, I tell you... A-ha!

-Moan, moan, moan!

We wouldn't be British if we weren't moaning about the weather or something.

No, seriously, did you have a good time?

-I did, yes.

-Both of you? Yeah.

-This guy's brilliant.

-He is brilliant.

At last, recognition, Philip!

Anyway, now, which is your favourite piece, Tom?

-I'd have to say the telescope.

-You got your eye on that?

We did say before coming in, we were talking about what kind of things

we would like, and that came up, telescopes and microscopes.

Did it? That's lovely.

Which is your favourite piece, Pat?

I'd say the salmon gaff.

I'd never come across anything like that before.

Phil seems very taken with it, so...

They're beautifully-made objects. And have a practical purpose.

Which is going to bring the biggest profit?

I would say the telescope.

Yes? Do you agree with that, Tom?

I'm going to... I'm going to go out on a limb and say the small chair.

-Oh! We do have a split opinion.

-Absolutely.

What did you spend all round? What was the total?

-153.

-153. So, you have 147 left over.

-Should be...

-147...

-Let's have a look.

-..tucked about your person. 147, Tom.

Thank you very much. Straight to you, Phil. Good luck.

I think I'm going to try

and develop the sporting theme that's been going on.

Well, you're a very sporting man, Philip.

Meanwhile, why don't we check out what the Blue team bought, eh?

They acquired this pair of lacquer pedestal dishes for £40.

Continuing the theme, they chose an 18th-century blue-and-white plate,

despite its small hairline crack, for a smashing £10.

Finally, they spent a whopping £215 on an Exeter silver fish slice. Wow.

Hey, how about that? That was a bit hairy, wasn't it?

-Yes, definitely!

-A bit close to the knuckle, yeah.

-Well done, anyway.

Which is your favourite piece?

I'm going to have to go for the fish slice.

-Yeah. I've just decided.

-Have you? What about you, Paul?

It was going to be the blue-and-white plate.

But no, I'm going to go for the two Japanese bowls.

OK. Japanese bowls are your favourite.

-Are they going to bring the biggest profit?

-Probably not.

-No?

-I'd like to think so,

but hopefully the...that's in line with the fish slice.

-Do you agree?

-Yeah. Hopefully. That's why we bought it.

I'm so confident, aren't I(!)

There seems to be a lot of finger crossing going on!

With you two, I don't know.

-Anyway, you had a good old wodge to spend, didn't you.

-Yes.

How much leftover lolly? What did you spend?

-We spent £265.

-265.

Who's got the 35?

-I have.

-Thank you.

There we go, £35. That goes straight across to Carlos Hanson.

The escape to victory is on. We had an interesting shop.

Bought a wonderful fish slice...

-at a great price. But this is mine, OK?

-Yeah.

I don't know what you're going to find for £35,

but very good luck with that, Charles.

Meanwhile, while you go and have some tea,

we're heading off somewhere absolutely splendiferous.

The estate at Antony in Cornwall has been home to the Carew family,

and their current descendents, the Carew Poles, for over 600 years.

In 1961, the house was given to the National Trust to ensure

its preservation, but the family remain in residence today.

The current house was built by Sir William Carew in the 1720s.

He was the youngest of seven children,

who would not normally have expected to inherit.

But his good fortune -

or misfortune, depending on how you look at it -

was that his six siblings predeceased him,

he inherited the place and built this house

for himself and his wife, the wealthy heiress Lady Anne Coventry,

to live in.

During the centuries since, the rooms have been filled with

delights by generations of collectors,

enriching it with tapestries, furniture, ceramics and portraits.

In the dining room, the dominant piece, which literally grabs

your attention, is this incredibly elaborate piece of silver.

It's called a Neff.

Literally a piece of silverware created as galleon in full sail.

Each of the crow's nests on this particular Neff are inhabited

by crew-members, standing, wearing oddball circular hats,

looking out to sea.

And then, in a completely potty confection-type way,

we've got field cannon.

Cannon on wheels just plonked onto the decks, as if they were designed

to be part of a sea-going vessel, which they clearly couldn't be.

No vessel actually existed that looked quite like this thing.

It's a sort of fantasy interpretation.

The smaller examples, on wheels, were used

to transport sometimes drink,

sometimes sweetmeats around a dining table.

More often than not, though,

they were simply there as a tour de force of the silversmith's art,

and to show off to all the guests exactly how rich you were.

Nobody knows quite how this thing came here at Antony.

That also applies to other things in this room.

For example, this rather handsome long-case clock.

What do you make of that?

Well, the case itself was made of walnut.

If you look carefully, here we've got some banding.

That's called herringbone banding.

This style of case is thought to date from the early part

of the 18th century.

If you move onto the dial, this is a really peculiar thing.

We've got Thomas Parker down below,

with correct period script writing.

And Thomas Parker up above, in a mixture of gothic and oddball script

that looks suspiciously to me as if it might be mid-19th century.

The secret is that that whole dial and movement have been restored.

Thomas Parker of Dublin may have something to do with

the manufacture of this clock early in the 18th century,

but as time went by, it fell apart,

it went in for restoration, bits of it were renewed,

it now strikes on a gong - the whole thing has been cobbled together.

The giveaway is that later inscription in the dial.

In short, it's a bit of a dog.

The big question today is, of course, over at the auction,

which of our teams is going to finish up as being top dog?

We've come to Bearnes Hampton and Littlewood's sale room in Honiton,

all the way from Topsham Quay,

to be with auctioneer today Brian Goodison-Blanks.

-Good morning.

-Morning.

Very nice to be here.

For the Reds, their first item is this child's rush-seat chair.

That's got a lot of rushes in its seat, hasn't it?

-It does, for a small chair.

-It's mainly rush and not a lot of seat!

A lot of work gone into the seat, but not much else on there.

The thing with these sorts of pieces is that

doll collectors and teddy bear collectors like them

for displaying the teddy bears and dolls.

-That's where I can imagine the interest coming from.

-Good.

-In that instance, it might make 30 to £40.

-Wow.

They only paid £18. They'll be really chuffed about that.

Now, we've moved into the sporting-goods department,

first of all with the spotter scope, which is in nice nick.

It's quite nice for its period.

It's sort of late 19th, early 20th century.

It's the sort of thing that a gillie on the Highlands would use

for stalking, isn't it?

For one of that particular size, with the leather casing,

would be 20 to £30.

That's going to disappoint them. £50, they paid.

So what they might make on the child's teddy bear chair,

they're going to lose on the telescope.

-This lovely gaff...

-It is lovely.

-Beautifully-made thing.

-Nicely made.

An example of the quality pieces that were made.

Telescopic, you can see with the turnwood handle,

the lanyard ring, for when you're standing in the water,

and the vicious-looking hook at the end there.

It's late 19th, early 20th century.

Unfortunately, it doesn't have the magic name of Hardy on it...

No. But the quality is there. That's a rosewood handle.

Look at that tanning there.

-It's lovely tanning.

-Yeah.

-Interesting piece. Sort of 30 to £40.

-Our team paid 85.

They really rated it, actually.

You West Country auctioneers,

you do attract the sporting types down this part of the world.

-We do. Field sports is our thing.

-Mmm.

-Anything might happen.

-It could do, yes.

Well, if all goes badly, they're going to need their bonus buy,

so let's go and have a look at it.

-Tom, Patrick - are you ready for this?

-Definitely.

You spent 153. He had 147. What did you spend it on, Phil?

I just had a vision of these boys in the pub,

having a quiet game of crib and a smoke.

So I bought this.

England's Glory - the match people.

It's a crib board.

-You're completely underwhelmed.

-I am a bit!

Tom, have you ever played cribbage?

-I have.

-Good.

I was one of the most boring games I've played,

if I'm honest with you, Phil.

So this is going to go down really well(!)

You're not a member of the British Cribbage Society(?)

They wouldn't have me. No.

Explain to your bro exactly what goes on here.

It's a card game.

-Cards not included?

-No.

-So it's already one thing wrong with it!

-Damaged!

-Yeah!

-You have little pegs. Pegs not included?

-No.

Really, it's kind of a...

-You use it as a scoreboard?

-Yeah.

You play the game, you use it as a scoreboard,

you advance the pegs up and down through these little holes.

There are people who collect all this advertising stuff.

I paid £20 for it, and I think it might make you 10 or £15 profit.

No more than that.

-It's a safety net.

-Yeah.

I can't see you losing money.

-It's not a safety match.

-No. Very good!

-I like that!

-For the audience at home,

let's find out what the auctioneer thinks about the crib board.

-I've never played cribbage, have you?

-No, I never have.

I've seen them and seen the boards quite a number of times,

and this one is a nice piece of breweriana.

Breweriana. Absolutely.

So every pub would have one of these to advertise the matches.

The old boy would be having his pint and having a game.

It's the sort of thing that has got some sort of following

for collectors of those sorts of things, but only about 20, £30.

-OK. Phil paid £20, so he's spot on.

-Yes.

If the teams decide to go with it. Anyway, that's it for the Reds.

Now for the Blues. We've got the lacquer dishes,

which I suspect are a bit more Wolverhampton, from this country?

I think they probably are.

I think with this decoration on the front,

we're looking at similar transfer-decoration aesthetic plates

that we see in the late 19th century.

Yeah, 1880s, 1900.

Yes, with the sort of butterflies and geisha there.

They're the sort of thing that collectors might pay 50 to £70 for.

Well, let's hope so. £40 paid by our lot. That's a good start.

Now, the cracked plate.

Charles showed me this at Topsham, and I revealed to him that

it had been broken. I don't think he realised it, actually.

-So, rather embarrassing.

-It is.

It is late in the period, but it's that blue and white

which is still popular with collectors.

-Yeah.

-Even with the damage, it's probably 20 to £30.

Very good.

Well, they only paid £10, so Charles has done very well, really.

Lastly, the Exeter silver fish slice.

They put great store by the fact that...

bought in Topsham, West Country silver,

bound to do well, cos it's West Country silver

being sold in the West Country. Is that true or false, Brian?

I think there are collectors for Exeter silver.

But the practical thing of it - it's a fish slice.

It's fairly plain with the piercework decoration to it.

-I think we're looking at 80 to £120.

-Dear, oh, dear, oh, dear.

This is their black hole. £215.

-Oh.

-Wow.

-Too much, eh?

-I think it may be a little bit optimistic at that.

They're going to need their bonus buy. So, let's go and have a look.

Now, you two naughty ones.

You spent a magnificent £265 and only gave Charles £35. Charles?

Tim, exactly.

We came off the rough-and-tumble edge of a wonderful fish slice

that cost a large sum of money,

so I wanted to dig deep and find a piece of silver that would

just bring us back into the game,

back into making a profit overall. So I found Sylvia.

-Eh?

-And here is Sylvia.

Or Sylvia's little vesta case, or match-case sleeve.

From the year 1920. So it's George V, and it's solid silver.

-Feel the weight of that, feel the weight.

-That's quite heavy.

And I'm just hoping today in Honiton there might be

Sylvia in the room who's looking for a very nice silver match case.

-Sylvia looking for silver.

-Exactly.

-How many people do you know called Sylvia, Charles?

-Not many.

It's like Barbara or Margaret - they're slightly outdated names.

Paul, how many people called Sylvia do you know?

A grand scale of no-one.

Lisa, how are you with Sylvia, sweet?

-No-one.

-Lovely.

I rest my case.

It's a blast from the past. It has a pedigree.

We can only imagine, who was Sylvia who liked her silver

back in the Roaring Twenties...?

-Did you use all the money?

-It cost me 20.

-OK.

-I'll be very disappointed if Sylvia doesn't race away

and doesn't make 30 or £35.

-I do like it. I think you've done well.

-Thank you very much.

-OK.

I think we've exhausted the topic.

Let's us find out for the viewers at home what the jolly old auctioneer thinks about Sylvia.

There we go. Strike a light.

If you know anyone called Sylvia, it's a nice little present,

-isn't it?

-Yeah, I know.

-Do you know any Sylvias?

-No.

I don't really know that many Sylvias myself.

It's one of those old-fashioned names. Lovely name.

-You don't get them much, do you?

-No.

Had it been plain, it would have perhaps made a little bit more.

Realistically, they're looking at 20 to £25.

Charles paid £20, so he paid a pretty keen price. Who knows,

it might do extremely well.

Thank you very much, Brian.

18, 20, 22...

At 18...

Tom, Paddy, how are you feeling?

-Pretty good. Pretty confident.

-Are you?

-Excellent.

-As always.

Here comes your chair.

Lot 170 is the rush-seated mini ladder-back chair.

Commission's here with me at eight, ten, 12 - £12 with me.

15. I'm out.

18, behind you, 20, 22,

25, 28.

Can't see you, sir. 28, 30.

£28 in, at the far chair there at 28.

At 30, I'm looking for now. At £28, then...

Liking it. £28 is plus £10.

Thank you very much, Tom. Good pick.

Now, the telescope.

Lot 171 is the spotter four-draw telescope by JH Steward of London.

What am I saying for that? £30?

£20. 20 here. Thank you. At 20, opening bid of 20.

Two now elsewhere?

At £20 - looking for further bids.

22 online. 25?

25 in the room, I have. 28 now online.

I'll take the bid of 30 online. 32, sir?

32 in the room now, I have. 35 online.

£32, bid is in the room. 35, 38.

38 in the room. At 38 in the room. 40 online?

Bid is now 40. 45, sir? Bid is on the internet at £40.

Five I'm looking for elsewhere. Two if you lie.

At £40 - bid is on the internet, then, at 40.

£40. There is a very happy gillie somewhere.

That is minus £10, which means you have nothing at the moment.

Lot 172 is the 19th-century brass and turned-wood salmon gaff.

The salmon gaff there. Nice example. Commission bid here at £55.

60 do I see?

60, five, 70, five, 80?

At £75. Back with me at 75. 80 at all? Quite sure, sir?

At £75 with me, then, all done at 75.

It's not so far off, I have to say, minus £10.

We've gone plus £10, minus £10, minus £10.

Overall, you're minus £10.

This is incredibly bad luck. You're on the cusp of everything.

-So, the cribbage board, then?

-Got to go for it.

Got to go for it, haven't you? It's £20. Everything to play for.

Here comes the cribbage board from heaven.

Lot 175 is the England's Glory cribbage board.

Interest here with me at £5. And eight now? At £5 with me.

Something to do on a winter evening. Eight now?

You quite sure, then, at £5 only?

At five, and selling.

Minus 25. Now listen, chaps, that could be a winning score.

Don't say a word to the Blue team. Mum is the word.

No point in ruining their day.

We might tempt them into an even bigger loss.

-How you feeling?

-Nervous.

-What about you, Lise?

-Yeah, nervous, I think.

First up are the lacquer dishes. Here they come.

Lot 190 is the pair of Japanese lacquer dishes. Circa 1900.

£30?

-30 do I see?

-Let's move.

20 do I see?

£10 at all? Ten, thank you, sir. 12 now?

At £10, open bid. 12 at all? It's a pair.

At £10, then. £10 only.

-Oh, dear. £10, that's not good.

-His guide price was a lot more.

£10 is minus 30.

I'm not liking the look of this. Now your plate, Charles.

Blue-and-white plate. Qianlong Dynasty.

It is damaged, but what will I say for that, £30?

30? 20? Ten?

-Five?

-Oh, dear.

Five, thank you, sir. At £5, and eight now? £5 only.

Eight, do I see? At £5...

Eight, thank you, sir. Ten?

-Nine I'll take.

-Why not?

Ten? Ten - let's do it the easy way.

-At £10, then.

-10.25!

£10 only. Quite sure, then?

At ten.

Disappointing, isn't it? Sorry, team.

That's £10, then. Now the fish slice.

The Exeter silver fish slice from George Turner. Circa 1830.

Interest here with me at 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130...

130, I have. 140 now?

-At £130...

-Keep going.

140 at all?

£130 for the fish slice.

140 now? £130, then.

130 is 70 - minus 85. Minus 85 plus 30 is 115. Minus 115.

What are we going to do about the match case?

I think we're going to have to go with Sylvia.

-I think we bring it on...

-Take it on the chin.

-Take it on. Walk tall.

-Yeah. We trust it.

Ready? Here it comes.

The silver match case, engraved "Sylvia".

Interest here with me at ten.

12, 15. At £15, I have. 18 now?

At £15. 18 at all?

-18, 20, 22, 25, 28...

-Well done, Charles.

-We've made a small profit.

-28 now?

£25 here, £25.

£25. Well done, Charles. That's a £5 profit.

-I'm sorry, team.

-Overall, you are minus 110.

Don't say a word to the Reds.

Dear, oh, dear, oh, dear.

Some days it's good days, and some days it's bad days.

For some of us around here, today's a particularly bad day.

Nobody is going home with profits.

One team, however, is going home with a massive loss,

and that team are the Blues.

I'm really sorry about this. Minus £110 is not so hot.

-No.

-No.

-No.

It's all down to the fish slice - we're off fish slices, aren't we?

-And fish.

-And fish all round.

You've been brilliant about it, I have to say. I shan't ask you to sing again, don't worry.

-Have you had a good time?

-Yes, thank you.

We've loved having you on the show.

The victors today, who win by only losing £25, are the brothers.

Well done, Tom. Well done, Paddy.

Happy about that?

It didn't really feel as if it ought to come out like that for you today.

You started off with a £10 profit.

Then you had these silly little £10 losses that could have

easily gone the other way. That crib board wasn't right either.

All round, I'd say it's bad luck.

-I feel you should have gone home with some cash.

-Yeah, well...

But it's the next best thing to win. Congratulations.

It's been such fun,

join us soon for some more bargain hunting. Yes? Yes!

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