Hungerford 13 Bargain Hunt

Today, we're in Hungerford, the only town in Britain

that celebrates the annual Hocktide Festival

which marks the end of the financial year.

Now, talking about finances, let's go bargain hunting, yeah!

The medieval Hocktide Festival is also known as Tutti-Day.

Nowadays, though, Tutti-Men don't collect a penny from every household.

They collect kisses in exchange for an orange.

Hmm, that doesn't sound like a bad rate of exchange. I wonder if they're looking for recruits?

Fancy an orange?

On today's show, the Reds get lost in reminiscence.

-Which is your favourite album?

-Fireball.

-Right. I just bought Machine Head recently.

-Impossible!

-Whilst the Blues go a-bickering.

-You should stop saying "no" to everything.

-Stop picking up rubbish!

-LAUGHTER

-That's the simple answer.

-Be more diplomatic!

-Stop picking up rubbish!

I say! Let's meet the teams.

On today's programme, we've got teams of couples.

For the Reds, we've got Enid and Roger, and for the Blues, we've got Ann and Ash.

-Hello, everybody.

-Hi, Tim.

-Hello.

Enid, it says here you've got green fingers.

I have, Tim. I'm a flower arranger. I'm very fortunate to be a member of the Salisbury Cathedral flower team.

-The cathedral is a beautiful place.

-It's a wonderful place to work. We are volunteers.

-Good.

What do you do, Roger?

-A bit of this and that, Tim.

-Shrug your shoulders?

Yes, and spend my time listening to music and volunteering for the Salisbury Festival.

-Tell us about your love of music.

-I spend a lot of my time collecting music,

particularly 1960s psychedelia. It was a very interesting period of music, I think.

Things were getting very creative. To use a Salisbury example,

Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich had a very good run of very commercial records

which were written for them.

They'd be told to make the B-side in a few hours in the studio and you'd get something interesting

which would amaze people who only knew their commercial sides.

Loads of vinyl in your collection?

Quite a bit. Vinyl's making a comeback. You can't beat the vinyl, particularly with the LPs.

By jingo, haven't the values gone up in the last ten years?

-Yes. Everybody was throwing the stuff away a few years ago when CDs were coming in.

-Yes.

-Now they wish they hadn't.

-What are your tactics? Will you spend all your cash and go for broke?

-Yes, we're going to spend big.

-You're excited.

-Yes, looking forward to it.

Bubbling over. I wish you good luck.

Now, Ann, I understand, like Enid, you too have green fingers.

I do, but I help people grow plants, rather than do flower-arranging.

I'm a gardener and I help people in the village that I live in keep their gardens looking spick-and-span.

I can tell that you're a colourful character.

I'm quite fond of the old bright colours. Give us a revolution of your trousers.

-I'm scared of getting lost and you won't lose me wearing this.

-You won't get run over in those, darling.

So, Ash, you've had many careers over the years.

Absolutely, yes. I spent six years in the army as a surveyor.

I spent a year also as a dispatch rider before spending 12 years in IT.

Then about six, seven years ago, I stopped that and I joined the ambulance service.

And I'm now a registered paramedic.

-That is some shifting about!

-Absolutely.

Tell me about this Mensa business.

Ah, Mensa, yes, yes.

About 20-odd years ago, I joined Mensa. It was whilst I was in the army.

About the same time, Ann joined, although I didn't know her at the time, but it was...

-Great minds think alike.

-Absolutely. Part of the reason we got together was at Mensa meetings in Newbury.

Good. And now the money moment... You don't need a Mensa qualification to count that lot.

It's £300 apiece. You know the rules, your experts await

and off you go and very, very, very good luck!

Gosh, whatever is going to happen today?

Today, the Reds have a man always sporting the best antiques know-how.

It's Colin Young. And the Blues get bright, brainy Braxton.

Now, what are we looking for, you two?

We'd like something really useful.

-OK.

-We quite like useful things, so that would be quite good. Or something pink and sparkly.

I like purple. That's the thing. I shall be drawn to things purple.

-Right. Any reason for that?

-It's a spiritual colour.

-Is it?

-Hmm.

-Right. What spirits do you drink that are purple?

I'm more a wine man, actually.

No, Colin, we're talking divine presence, not distilled tipples.

Oh, look! Are the Blues in the pink already?

-It's pink and sparkly and it's useful.

-And it's very expensive.

-£285.

-So how are you going to make a profit out of that?

-Talk me through that one.

-I'll get him to knock the price down a lot.

-Good luck with that, Ash. Ann's got faith in you.

-How much would it be worth at auction?

-About £70.

-Really?

-Really?

-I think even Ann's faith would be tested there.

-Probably not a goer then.

-No, I wouldn't go for it.

-Cool.

Think smaller. Think smaller.

How does etched cranberry glass sell? You'll say "no". I know you'll say "no".

-Very well if it's old.

-Ah!

-And that is...?

-New.

-New.

-I'm a Deep Purple fan as well.

-Which is your favourite album?

-Fireball.

Right. I just bought Machine Head recently because they re-did that one. That's quite a good album.

-Impossible!

-Forget Deep Purple. You'll be in deep trouble if you don't get a move on!

-Do you like Black Sabbath?

-Yes, yes. I saw them last year at Download.

-Oh, did you? I saw them back in the day.

-Yeah.

-Oxford Town Hall.

-How long have we got?

-One of the loudest...

-Sorry. Are we boring you with our interest in music?

Quite right, Enid. How about some bargain hunting, chaps? Rock on, Reds!

Instead of pink and sparkly, how about blue and twinkly?

-It matches your fleeces.

-It's a beautiful colour.

£300.

-Would it achieve that sort of price in an auction?

-It wouldn't be far off.

Hello, hello, hello. Ding!

-That could be useful.

-Marvellous.

-Here we are. Where are we, team? Look at that.

-That's just beautiful.

-Really good.

-It is lovely, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Very, very beautiful.

And very, very expensive.

JAMES MAKES BUZZING SOUND

LAUGHTER

We don't want to kill our expert yet. We've got a couple of things to buy first.

-Don't worry, I'm hanging on to the rubber.

-You can stop doing that now.

-Yes, James, an electrifying performance!

-Isn't that lovely?

-All these things come alive when you introduce light.

-Yeah.

Yeah, I think that was generally the idea.

"Customers, each and every item displayed in this cabinet is priced at only £5.50.

"So go grab the key and bag yourself a bargain."

-Oh!

-Well, at £5.50...

-Might be able to build up a bit of a group lot there.

-A trio of items.

-There's got to be something we can buy in there for £5.50 and make a profit.

-What about this blue glass?

-It's a flower vase table centre.

-OK.

-This is a really interesting cabinet all of a sudden.

-That price makes so much difference.

At those prices, it's got "bargain" written all over it, surely!

Meanwhile, it's not pink, but can the Blues lighten the price with dealer Stuart?

The best price I'd do it for is £150.

-Really?

-Is that good for you or not? I think it's a beauty.

-I think it's a beauty.

-That sounds pretty good. Is it all perfect?

-We'll get it down and have a look. It should be.

-Shall I do it?

-If you can reach it, that's good, yeah.

-Are you OK there?

-Mind the weight.

Careful, James. You haven't bought it yet!

OK...

It's the points you need to look at, really.

Yeah, feel... Sometimes the eyes can lie.

-Yeah, I think it's good.

-When would this have been made?

-I'd say 1920s.

-I'd say Edwardian.

-The thing is, it was made for electricity.

Electricity was generally not widespread for lighting until the '20s, but houses had it...

-This is a beautiful item. It would have been made for a good house.

-They'd have had their own generators.

-Decision?

-I would go for it.

-It's great fun.

-Well done.

-Yeah, well done. Really kind. Thanks a lot, Stuart.

-Thank you.

-Thanks.

-Well done too.

Thank goodness the only thing that dropped there was the price, to half price!

-Over with the Reds, presentation is everything.

-It just says, "Eye-catching blue vase."

-Well, it caught your eye. There's no problem with trade descriptions there.

-It is eye-catching.

Go on then, your turn.

-As a flower arranger, I think...

-You'd like that to go with it.

-What about you, Colin?

-I'll go for this.

-That's nice.

-Yes, that's good.

-A nice chunk of glass.

Isn't it? OK, a nice little turtle.

I think that's going to be a sweet little lot for auction.

-That's £17.50...

-It's not as much as that. It's 16.50.

-16.50.

-16.50.

-I just saved a pound!

-Are we agreed?

-I think...

-Teamwork?

-We've made a start, a good start.

-Excellent. First purchase done.

OK, three bits of modern glass, Reds. Maybe there's safety in numbers here. We'll see.

20 minutes gone. Now, can the Blues find something to bring a twinkle to James's eye for a second time?

-"Silver-plated gallery tray."

-You're going for shiny things.

It is shiny, but it is silver plate. I don't know whether silver plate is a good thing or a bad thing.

-It's a bad thing, yeah.

-LAUGHTER

Next question.

That'll be another rejection.

-And what price have you got on that?

-It says £66.50, but...

-What would it be at auction?

-Very accurate pricing on this stand!

-What would it be likely to fetch at auction?

-Seriously?

-Hmm.

-50?

-£10 to £20.

-£10 to £20?

-Yeah.

-So we would reject that then.

-Probably lose something on that one, I would have thought.

Never mind, Blues. Keep trying. James is a hard man to please.

-I like that wooden bowl.

-It's a little whisky taster or a quaich.

-A quaich, that's it.

-A quaich.

-Good morning.

We just need that cabinet opening, please.

Shop manager Adrian is the man to awake the quaich.

-It's taken your eye, so you may as well...

-You grab it.

-Oh, that's really pretty.

-Yeah.

-Is that Scottish silver-rimmed then?

-I don't know. Can you see a hallmark on it, Enid?

-No. I do love it though. The wood's so beautifully smooth.

-It's nicely aged, actually.

It is. You can see it has been used.

Yeah, it's a nice piece of treen, in effect, turned wood, but no hallmark which will be a bit of a downer.

-That's a shame.

-It's interesting because it's priced at 39 euros.

-Looks like a £-sign to me!

-What's that in real money?

-What's that in real money?

-£25?

-About £25.

-I think so, yes.

-About £25?

-So what would be the very best on that one?

-I'll find out.

-In GB-pounds.

-GB-pounds.

Yeah, we know that 39 euros is what's being asked, but...

-We'll find out.

-That would be great.

- I won't be a second. - Thank you very much.

-Are you sure that says "euros", chaps?

-I think that's actually their £-sign, by the way.

-No, I think...

-No, they don't mean that.

-They've misled you.

-£25 I think they meant.

-Yeah, that's right. That's our story and we're sticking to it.

-If we stick together on this, we'll be fine.

-Yeah.

Nice try, boys. Even if it did say 39 euros, that's more like £33, not £25.

This looks a good old jumble of goodies. Get in there and bring me out a bargain.

-What should I be bringing?

-Something that will make lots of money and is cheap.

-A guitar?

-No.

-No?

-I don't want to say "no" any more, but you keep giving me these questions.

You have said "no" quite a lot.

What did I say? He's a tough man to please.

Does Murano do anything for you?

-Is that Murano glass?

-It says it is.

Whether it is or not is another matter.

Spatterware...

Spatterware.

That looks like end-of-pier glass, rather than Murano.

-Murano is generally quite fine glass.

-I can only go with what it says on the label.

-An allegedly Victorian candlestick.

-Yeah, I'd concur with that.

-OK, he agrees.

-How much has he got on it?

I don't think it's a huge amount.

What, £2...? £12.

It's got a bit of age, but at auction, that would be dismissed, really.

Yeah.

I think Ash knows the feeling, James!

Adrian has wisely handed the quaich negotiation over to Colin.

Yes, a pretty little example, it is.

What sort of, um...you know, figure can you bring it down to?

£28?

-And, um...

-(Yes.)

-They're looking very concerned and very worried at that price(!)

-Far more than I thought it was going to be!

-Thank you. It's a deal.

OK. Bye now.

-Well done.

-Lovely.

-£28.

-Lovely.

-You liked it, didn't you?

-I love it. I do love it.

-That's good.

-Colin, we need to spend big now.

-We do.

-We do.

Quite right, Reds. Whether you're spending euros or pounds, you're not spending big.

Let's see who splashed the cash on item three.

-How does a chestnut roaster grab you?

-I don't want it to grab me anywhere!

Would that have any value at auction?

Go on, say those two letters you know you love saying to me!

Is the second one "O" by any chance?

It's...

But as a decorative item, would that have much value?

-Just...

-I think you've answered your own question, haven't you?

-Yes, obviously, I have.

-Yeah, well done.

You've got to hand it to Ann. She's still laughing. For James's sake, let's hope she stays that way.

-He is being a bit negative.

-He has a different form of taste.

Yes.

Panicking, panicking. We've bought the most fabulous light, though, so I'm nourished by that.

The light's not something I would have thought about getting, but it is beautiful.

-Yeah, it is good. Yeah.

-No room in our house for it, but it's very nice. We're not buying it.

No, we don't have anything suspended from the ceiling, apart from the people that upset us.

Mr Braxton, are you listening to this? Colin is steering a much more harmonious ship.

What about a bit of Shelley?

£39.75.

-It's not big money.

-It's not big money, so you want to avoid it?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-It's quite nice, but I don't think I could face Tim if we've only spent about £60.

-No.

I don't mind because you two stand nearest to him and I'm the one that has the furthest distance to run.

But I've got long arms, Colin.

Well said, Enid. Spend big.

The amount of time left, however, is getting rapidly smaller.

-So, fire dogs?

-Fire dogs.

-Good for a general sale?

-They would be good for a general sale. They'd withstand some heat.

Put a nice log on it, get some air under them, they're away, aren't they?

-Crikey! Does he like them?

-Quite a reasonable price at £28.

-It's not bad, is it? They're just wrought iron.

-Yeah.

-Nothing negative so far.

But we're not in a position of strength with ten minutes to go and two items to find.

You should stop saying "no" to everything.

Well, stop picking up rubbish.

-That's the simple answer, Ann.

-Be more diplomatic!

-Stop picking up rubbish.

Come on, Blues, play nicely.

Adrian, what, £15 for these?

-Lovely things.

-Lovely?

-Yeah.

-It's not the first adjective I'd use for them, but they're lovely and black.

-Practical.

-Practical.

-Lovely.

- Practical is useful. - Why don't I just say 18?

-OK.

-Fantastic.

-18.

-Thank you.

Well, thank goodness! We have agreement amidst the tension and item number two is bagged.

# It's oh, so quiet

# Ssh, ssh

# It's oh, so still

# Ssh, ssh... #

The Blues' bickering contrasts sharply with the Reds' reticence.

Does this mean that everybody is struggling now because there's this element of silence?

-It's gone very quiet.

-It has, hasn't it?

-Yes.

-Do you want to try the shop across the road?

-Yes, that'd be lovely.

-Come on.

-Let's go over the road.

-In a last, desperate bid for glory.

-Yeah.

Now, why did the Red Team cross the road? Punchlines on a postcard, please.

-The Emporium.

-Ah!

-See what bargains behold.

-Oh, yes.

Blues, if you can't agree on a third item, you can kiss goodbye to any chance of winning.

We've just seen this bottle-stopper. We're not having you saying "no".

I don't care if you hate it.

It's even nastier in action, isn't it?

Good. I love it. If you hate it, do you know what? I don't care!

Mutiny?

Lovely.

That is... That is...lovely.

We are going to need every ounce of help with these - £48.

-I'll try my best. What are you thinking of?

-20, 25?

-I'll go and ring the dealer for you.

Marvellous.

£48 down to £25?

He's brazen, our Brackers, isn't he?

-I'm getting worried. Time is short.

-Colin, what about this?

-That's all right.

-A bit glitzy.

-Yeah, quite nice.

-What do you think, Roger?

-Is that wood, Colin?

-It's wood, it's been gilded. I'm not sure what the wood base is.

Interesting combination, though. Rococo design scrolling, all of that, C-scrolls and S-scrolls on it.

Yeah, got a bit of a good look about that. I just wonder whether that's the original plate.

But it all works together well.

It's that sort of French Revival, late 19th century thing.

-What about price, Colin?

-£70 doesn't seem too bad, actually.

-Is the back OK?

-Yeah, that's all right. I like that.

It certainly shows its age.

Yeah, it's fine. We'll have to make a decision. Let's see if we can get the manager.

-Do you want to go and fetch him, Roger?

-Yeah, I'll see if I can find him.

-And hurry up!

-Yeah, run!

I should "Rococo", Reds. You've got less than three minutes.

-PHONE RINGS

-The kissing bottle-stopper's dealer is ready for a Braxton haggle.

Hello, it's James Braxton here.

-Thanks for calling.

-'James, how are you doing?'

-Very well.

I've got the Blue Team who are doing very well, then they alighted on your kissing couple.

'What are they at the moment, James?'

A very high, chancy price of £48, sir.

-'£48...'

-I was thinking about 20.

'Oh, James!

'If you could do 25, I think we've got a deal.'

25? Yeah, brilliant. That's really kind of you. I think they're really delighted.

-Brilliant. Thank you.

-We all are.

-'It's been a pleasure, James. I hope you do well.'

-Thanks a lot. Bye.

-Bye.

-'All the best.'

-Bye.

-'Bye.'

-Fantastic.

-Everything in life is negotiable, from 48 to 25.

-Do you like it better now it's only 25?

-I do.

-LAUGHTER

-Ann, I love it.

-How I didn't spot this, I do not know.

-You really must practise the honesty, you know.

Thank goodness for that! The Blues' shop ends with laughs all round.

The Reds aren't smiling yet. Can they do a deal with David over the mirror?

-Can you do anything to help us on this one?

-70... It should be a minimum of 60.

-Yeah.

-It should be.

-It should be. Do you think we might get another few quid out of it?

Is there a profit, a bit of a gamble for you?

-It was a pair.

-It was a pair?

And we sold the last one at 60.

Oh! Of course, that means it's now no longer a part of a pair, so the values have dropped.

-The value's gone right down.

-It has. 58?

-58, I can probably do.

-Right.

-Ann's happy with... Yeah?

-Let's go with it.

-Let's go with it.

-Thank you very much. You've saved our bacon with seconds to go.

-Thank you, David.

-Phew!

-And relax!

Tut-tut, teams! Time's up.

Let's remind ourselves what the Red Team bought, eh?

'They started off with the job lot -

'three bits of modern glass for £16.50.

'Next they bought a whisky quaich for £28.

'Finally, they saw a profit in this Rococo-style wall mirror at £58.'

You have finished shopping now, haven't you?

-Yeah, just about.

-What did you spend in total?

£102.50, I think.

Can I have £197.50 then? Who's got that?

-You can. I'm ashamed to give you that.

-You're not happy with that. We've got the small change there.

There's a bundle of money there. Colin, what will you go and find?

I really don't know. There's so much money there, so much stock out there. I'll be spoilt for choice.

-That's nice.

-Yes, that's lovely.

You go and relax while we check out what the Blue Team bought.

'The Blues spent big on the cut-glass light bowl - £150 paid.

'They then bought these wartime fire dogs for £18.

'Finally, they kissed and made up with James

'as they bought this Austrian bottle-stopper for £25.'

They do like a chat, don't they, these Blues?

-You're very chatty.

-Very chatty. We did stop a little bit, but not much.

Not much. OK, was that fun?

Absolutely, yes.

-Which is your favourite bit, Ash?

-My favourite bit was the blue light.

-The blue light. Do you agree with that?

-No, the bottle-stopper is my favourite item.

-Will that bring the biggest profit?

-No. The blue light will.

-LAUGHTER

-Not a blue flashing light?

-No, no.

-Maybe.

-Not something you nicked off an emergency vehicle?

That's made that prediction. How much did you spend?

£193.

Who's got £107 about their person?

-I have.

-Well done.

-There you go.

-Thank you very much.

£107. I won't count it. I trust you implicitly.

-I'll hand it straight over to Brackers.

-Thank you.

-What are you going to do with that, James Braxton?

-I'll complement our already very fine purchases.

-LAUGHTER

-Absolutely.

-And that is the right answer. Thank you very much.

Meanwhile, we're heading off somewhere absolutely dazzling and it's in South Wales.

This is Tredegar House near Newport in Wales.

Originally built some time before 1540, its owners, the Morgan family,

went on to improve and embellish it down the centuries in spectacular style.

Its story can be told from three sides.

Basically, the core of this house dates to the late medieval or Tudor period.

And it existed perfectly happily until the great modernisation,

that happened here between about 1664 and 1674,

led to the creation of the restoration bits that embellish the house as we see it today.

But around the corner, wow!

See what I mean?

Now, this is what I call impressive!

William Morgan decided to improve the existing building dramatically

by joining up building this new front,

the open medieval structure within.

And he did it in the new-fangled Restoration style

with a quality of build and symmetry that fair takes your breath away.

If you look at the detail around this entrance, it's extraordinary.

The Morgan family are making their statement in the coat of arms within a shield at the very top,

symmetrically placed between the broken arch pediment,

and underneath, the flanking Corinthian-capped columns

which are twisted and wrapped with olive fronds.

And what I think is so nice about this stone

after X-hundred years of being weathered like this

is that it takes on a sort of crusted antique quality,

which is very, very special.

And around the next corner, more of the same. Or is it?

Here on the north-east side, what about this exquisite stone porch

that looks so authentic?

Well, it isn't

because Sir Godfrey Morgan, in the 19th century, added it on.

But didn't he do a good job, eh?

Any house as grand as this needs an equally grand set of gates

through which visitors could pass and be suitably impressed.

In the 18th century, Tredegar was gated by its owner, John Morgan.

The inspiration for this type of screen comes from France

where it's called a "claire-voie",

meaning a clear view or a gap between two places

which is joined by something that lets light through

and the Morgan that was living here spent £1,000,

a fortune at the time.

And the craftsmen, they weren't Welsh, they came from Bristol.

They were called the Edney Brothers

and to this day, this gate is known behind me as the Edney Gate.

The big question today is, of course, are the floodgates of profit about to pour forth

on our teams over at the auction?

It's lovely to be in the heart of Somerset in Crewkerne

at Lawrences Auctioneers with Richard Kay, our man of the moment.

-Hello, Tim. Welcome back.

-Thank you.

-First up, three little pieces of glass. Quite contrasting?

-Yes.

-But apparently, all in good nick.

What collectors want more than anything else with modern glass is a name or a factory or something

that makes them sufficiently recognisable to be obviously the work of a particular maker.

-Are these recognisable?

-They're not signed, put it that way, and that's off-putting.

-It is.

Mark you, our lot only paid £16.50 for the three pieces.

-That's not £6 a bit.

-It's £5.50 each, isn't it?

-All right.

-So we're looking at...

-They might get £20 to £30 for them.

-Might they?

-Yeah, I think that's fair enough.

What about the quaich or "quaish"?

Yes, these are traditionally christening gifts to young Scottish lads.

This is a very small one. It's quite nicely made.

The little silver collar on it is unmarked, so it's probably made in someone's workshop

and never formally assayed, so we don't quite know the date of it. 1930s probably, 1940s at a push?

-That slightly home-made feel is off-putting.

-Yeah. How much then?

-£15 to £20.

-OK, they paid £28.

Lastly, this splendid wall mirror. You very often see them as a pair.

Yes, it's a shame it's missing its partner, but it is at least carved

and although the plate is original and last quarter of the 19th century,

the gilding on the frame is a little bit brassy.

It's got a sort of greeny-yellow colour about it

which I think puts it well into the 20th century,

so it's had a lick of gold paint, as opposed to gilding.

If it was in its original gilding, at least the frame would have some integrity in its own right.

-Do you think it'll make the ton?

-I don't think it'll make the ton, no.

-But it should make £50 to £70.

-Half a ton.

-Half a ton.

-They paid 58.

-So, it's in the frame.

-We're on the way there.

-In the FRAME.

-In the frame, very good.

-On that happy note, let's go and have a look at their bonus buy.

Now, Roger, Enid, you spent a miserable £102.50.

You gave the £197.50 to Colin Young. Did he blow the lot?

-I'll help you here.

-Thank you, Tim.

-Ah!

-And did I blow the lot? Oh, yes.

Absolutely. Just have a look at this cracking pair of chestnut baskets.

Oh, yes. It's lovely.

-Yes, beautiful. They feel gorgeous.

-They are. They're a really good example.

Early 19th century, English earthenware, transfer-printed decoration.

-Really nice.

-No maker's name?

-No.

-Does it matter?

-It doesn't.

It's one of those areas that collectors of good, old, proper antiques would just die for these.

Beautiful. How much did you pay?

-£197.50.

-The lot!

-Oh, lord, he did blow the lot!

-How much do you think we'll get for them?

-It really would be a great shame if they made a loss.

They're lovely objects, Colin. I think they'll do well. Definitely worth a punt.

Your opportunity to decide will come in a moment,

but let's see what the auctioneer thinks about Colin's baskets.

Here we go, Richard. You don't want to be butter fingers with these because they're in ace order.

They are in ace order and that's very nice to see.

Not just a pair, but a pair that don't seem to have suffered any damages which is remarkable,

bearing in mind how finely cut this trellis pattern on the side is.

-Perfect diamond shapes.

-But all done by hand.

-There is a slight difference between each of them.

-Yeah.

You can tell that these were not done by a machine

and the transfer is a little uneven, but that's part of the appeal.

-You couldn't find a better pair.

-A very good pair and nice and original in every sense.

So Colin Young's done very well, really.

I don't know what he paid for them, but £100, maybe £120?

He paid a bit more. In fact, he paid £197.50.

He's paid the retail price. Will you get anything close to the retail price?

People might spend a bit more money on something that good. That's how people spend money at the moment.

That's it for the Reds. Now for the Blues with their blue, flashed glass ceiling light.

-Unusual in blue, isn't it?

-Yes, and probably not the sort of item that people are looking to buy.

You're right because the only house that this would fit in has to have a ceiling height of about eight feet.

-Anything less than that, it starts to look ridiculous.

-Far too low.

So, a substantial house with eight-foot ceiling heights

that happens this week to want a blue one.

-Yes.

-When the bulb's in that, the light that that gives off is blue.

That's an extra consideration perhaps that somebody buying this might not be aware of until they hang it up.

-You're wearing a red dress and you turn purple.

-I never wear a red dress for that very reason!

I can see you in that off-the-shoulder number. It'd be rather fetching.

-Anyway, probably a bit impractical for today's buyer.

-I think so. It's probably £60 to £70.

OK, £150 they paid which is probably going to be their comeuppance, I have to say.

The wrought-iron fire dogs are terribly ordinary.

-They are very plain. They have a sort of ironmonger's functionality about them.

-Yeah.

-Yes, they do.

-There's no decoration on them.

-They're honest.

-They're honest and they are what they are.

-How much?

-£20 to £30?

-Perfect. They paid £18, the right price for that.

Now, the bottle-stopper which I guess is sort of Black Forest.

I suppose so. Most of these things come from that part of Germany.

-A bit of carved pine...

-It's quite fun, but there's a very small market for these.

-I hope they haven't paid a lot for it because I don't see much potential in that.

-How much?

-£5 or £10?

-£25 they paid.

-Oh, dear.

On that happy note, let's check out their bonus buy because I think they'll need it.

Now, A, A...

You spent 193.

You gave James Braxton 107. James, what did you spend it on?

Well, I got an idea of what they wanted to buy during our period

and I thought I'd match them like for like and here it is.

LAUGHTER

So, they managed to alight on the most horrendous bottle-stopper.

I was lured into somebody's back stock room and I suddenly saw this Black Forest bear stopper.

-Yeah.

-And I thought, "They would not be able to resist that."

-How much of our fantastic amount of money did you spend on it?

-Lots of money.

-Really?

No, 25 quid. LAUGHTER

-So we're going head-to-head.

-We are.

-I still think mine will make more money.

-Well, we'll see.

-Brilliant.

-We'll call him James.

That's rather sweet.

-OK...

-Very sweet.

-You don't pick it now, you pick it later.

But let's find out, for the audience at home, whether the auctioneer thinks he would pick it or not.

-Well, would you believe it?

-There we are.

-It's another bottle-stopper.

I hope they have a little bit more luck with that.

It's a bear which is more associated with the Black Forest for carving, so I think we're on better ground here.

It is quite nicely done and thankfully in good condition, ears intact.

But not of great value. I hope high hopes aren't riding on this bear.

-What is your estimate?

-£5 to £10.

-Double what the last one was?

-About the same.

-But not much money still.

-Well, James Braxton managed to pay £25.

-Good luck to him with that. I can't see him making a profit.

-All I can say is good luck to you!

-We'll do our best. We'll do our best.

-Thank you, Richard.

-How are you feeling?

-I'm quite excited, Tim.

-Are you?

-Yeah, I'm looking forward to this.

-I've not done an auction before.

-Never?

-No, this is the first time.

-Enid, have you ever been to an auction?

-Yes, but I didn't bid. The person I was with bought some ducks.

-Did they?

-Yes.

-Going up a wall?

-No, proper live ducks.

-Proper ducks? A livestock auction?

-Yes.

-Oh, I see. How very funny!

-We've got no ducks today, but we hope you'll be lining up your ducks.

-I hope so too.

First item up are the three pieces of glass.

I don't like to stick my neck out, but it's got to be a dead cert to make a profit on £16.50.

Lot 264, three pieces of modern glass. £15 for them?

At 15 anywhere? £10 then?

10 is bid. Selling at 10... It's 12 now. 15.

It's £15, gentleman's bid.

I'll sell at 15. All done at £15 then, last time...?

-"You're bound to make a profit." You just made a loss!

-That £1.50.

-Yes.

Lot 265 is the small silver and wooden whisky quaich.

Start me on this at 15 if you will? £15. 18.

20. 5.

30. At £30. I'll sell at £30 then, last time...

£30 is plus £2 which means, overall, you are plus 50p!

Right, here we go then. Here's the wall mirror.

Lot 266, a Rococo-style wall mirror with engraved plate.

Shall we say 30 for that? £30?

20 then? 20 anywhere? 20 is bid. 25.

30. 5...

It's starting to creep up.

At £35, I'll sell...

-It's not creeping very far though.

-Oh, dear.

Last time at £35...

I don't believe that. That's five off 40, that's 18...

Minus 22.50. What are you going to do?

Well, they are lovely objects.

Enid loves them. It might be the wrong day, but let's go with it.

-We're in trouble already. Let's just have some fun.

-That's right.

-We're going to do the bonus buy.

-Very good. I don't blame you.

-They are magnificent objects.

-They are beautiful.

Lot 270 is a pair of Pearlware porcelain chestnut baskets.

45. £48 I'm bid. 50 now.

55. 60.

5. 65.

-It's in the corner at £65.

-My goodness!

-70, new bidder.

75. 80. 85.

90. 95. 100.

-The interest is continuing.

-By the door at £110.

-At £110, I'll sell...

-It could have been worse.

-Could have been worse.

All done at 110...

The theme continues.

That's a pound, eight, nine, ten.

Eight, nine, ten. Is that £110 on the nail?

-Minus score.

-Yes, that's not bad, really.

-Well, it's pretty poor.

-Yeah, it is, Tim.

-But quite frankly, it is not your fault.

-You had good goods. It just wasn't your day.

-No, they were good objects.

-They were good objects.

-Colin did well.

-All four of them.

-We lost more than we bought.

It's a bitter pill to have to swallow, but swallow it we must.

-Yeah.

-You never know, minus £110 might be a winning score.

-It could be.

-Now, kids, do you know how the Reds got on?

-No, they wouldn't tell us. They were so mean.

They were so mean. Were they crying or did they look quite happy?

-Quite happy.

-They looked quite happy?

-They were bluffing.

They could be bluffing. There is that to it.

Anyway, first up is the overlaid glass ceiling light shade. And here it comes.

Lot 285 is a blue and white, glass light bowl.

Start me on this at £20, if you will? £20 for this?

£20 is bid. 25 now. 30.

5. 40.

-5.

-Uh-oh!

-50. 5. 60.

5. 70.

5. 75.

-Thank you anyway. 75 on my left...

-Half-price!

At 75. All done elsewhere at £75...

£75 is minus 75.

-That was a lovely lot.

-A big hit. Now, the wrought-iron dogs.

Wrought-iron fire dogs. £12 will start me on these. £12 is bid.

At £12, I'll sell. Are we done elsewhere at £12 then?

-Last time...

-£12 is minus £6. It's getting worse.

Minus 81.

Lot 287 is a novelty bottle-stopper in the form of a kissing couple.

£15 for this? £10 then?

£10 if you will? £5 anywhere?

£5 is bid. Quickly, at 5.

I'll sell at 5 if you're done. £5. 8 now.

No? £8 near the cabinet. I'll sell at 8. At £8. Last time at 8...

Bad luck, team. That's £8. That's two short of ten.

That's minus 17, 81, 91, 98...

-That's quite impressive!

-Minus £98.

-Are we going to compound the error and go with another bottle-stopper?

-Absolutely.

-That's the spirit.

Lot 291 is a small bottle-stopper, a Black Forest bear.

Lot 291 and bids start me here at 12.

£15, I have.

At £15. 18 now. 20. 22.

25 and I'm out. At 25, it's in the room. I'll sell at £25.

Against you all elsewhere?

Well done, James Braxton. You've been vindicated again.

You win the bottle-stopper war.

Yes, you do. No profit, no loss. No pain, no gain on the bear stopper.

The overall score remains as minus 98. That could be a winning score.

Don't say a word to the Reds and all will be revealed in a moment. Well done, James.

Well, well, well! There are similarities between our teams today.

Both teams went with the bonus buy, both of which didn't do terribly well.

There is only £12 between the teams' scores today

which are substantially in the minus department.

-£12 between you. Been chatting at all?

-Chatting...

-Not about the money.

Not about the money!

Well, I have to reveal that the team that is running up today

-are the Reds.

-Oh!

-Oh!

Oh, dear.

-Oh, dear.

-Mainly because of the chestnut baskets, of course.

-Well, yes.

-You were minus £22.50 at one point.

You had your punt with those very nice things and I don't blame you.

They just didn't sell well. I admire you for having a go and regret that the strategy didn't work.

-Had a nice time?

-Wonderful time.

-It's been brilliant, fantastic.

-We've loved having you on the show.

But the victors today who win by only losing £98 are Ann and Ash!

The only ray of sunshine was James Braxton's wiped face with the Black Forest bear stopper.

-I took on their stopper.

-Yes, you did.

-And won.

-You have won.

-Your bung was better.

-Yeah.

On that happy note, join us soon for some 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 Red Bee Media Ltd