Oswestry 8 Bargain Hunt

Today, I'm in Shropshire where, over 100 years ago,

a Scotsman called Henry Eckford developed a little-known flower

which was to become a worldwide favourite -

the sweet pea, known for its bright colours and wonderful scent.

And today, at our antiques fair, we have two very colourful teams,

each on the scent of some great buys.

So, let's go Bargain Hunting!

The antiques and collectibles fair at Oswestry Showground

is today's fertile garden,

where our teams hope to pluck a bargain.

To do this, they have just one hour and £300

to buy three items to take to auction.

But will they grow any profit?

Let's take a look at what's coming up.

On today's show, for the Reds, it's all about compromise.

Well, if Alan likes it, I'll let him choose this one.

And for the Blues, it's all about disagreement.

-The chair, Josie.

-No, no, not the chair.

-The chair.

While at the auction, there's disappointment...

Oh!

..and frustration.

-Thomas!

-I know, I know, I know.

That's all for later, but let's meet today's teams, two sets of pals.

For the Reds, we have Alan and Colin,

and for the Blues, we have Josie and Nicole.

-Hello, everybody. ALL:

-Hello!

It's lovely to have you here. Alan, how did you two guys meet?

We met about 20 years ago when I was invited to become a Freemason.

Colin was already there.

He showed me round and we've been pals ever since.

Alan, you're retired now, but you used to be a policeman.

How did you get into that?

I met my future wife at a dance

and she'd got rather an austere grandmother.

She pulled me to one side one day, she said,

"Young man, I approve of you going out with my granddaughter

"but before you get married, why don't you get a job with prospects?

"Why don't you go and join the police force?" So, I did.

You know, things you do for love, isn't it?

-And did you marry that girl?

-I married that girl, yes, indeed.

Now, Colin, I believe you were in international freight.

What does that involve?

International freight is shipping cargo from the UK

to anywhere in the world.

But my greatest achievement was when I became a ship owner for 15 days.

-15 days?

-Yes, and somewhere in my loft,

I still have a cheque which was made out to me for over a million dollars

for the charter of the vessel.

-Why is it up in the loft?

-It was only a photocopy.

LAUGHTER

What's the plan out there today?

Buy what we fancy, something perhaps a little retro,

spend a little and make a big profit.

That sounds like the real thing to do.

So, that's the Red team. Let's meet today's Blue team, Josie and Nicole.

Now, Josie, how did you two guys meet?

Well, I'm a founder member of Sale U3A,

which is the University of the Third Age,

which is an organisation set up for people who've retired

from full-time work but want to keep their brain active.

It's a self-help thing.

There are no teachers, no tutors, we don't pay anybody.

The mantra is that those who teach learn, and those who learn teach.

-Nicole came three or four years ago...

-Two years ago.

..and joined the committee and, for some reason, we gel,

because we're completely different people, but we do gel.

Down here, it says that you like jumping off buildings.

There was a charity saying, "Pay us some money

"and we'll let you abseil down the Palace Theatre in Manchester."

And I thought, "That's a good idea." So, I went to do that.

And it was, it was a fabulous experience,

but I had two hunky men helping me, so it did do good.

I think you're a bit of a wild woman.

Now, Nicole, you're also retired,

but you started off as a set designer for television.

Yes, I was a set designer.

One of the programmes that we were allocated to do was Play School.

I designed the clock that has the petals on it that goes round

and a stick and then a bit at the bottom

that had what was on today going round.

It was lovely. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

So, what are your tactics going to be?

Mine is to buy with my head and not my heart.

But, Josie, I'm going to buy with my heart

because that's the way I do things. So, we've got a heart and head here.

-Well, maybe that's a winning combination.

-Or...

-We'll have to see, we'll have to see.

-Heart, head.

Let's give you some money.

-£300 here, £300 here.

-Thank you.

-Your experts await, so off you go.

-Thank you.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's the battle of the sexes.

And on hand to help, we have today's experts.

Hitting the right note for the Reds, it's John Cameron.

And hoping to snap up a profit for the Blues, it's Thomas Plant.

What are we going to be buying today?

I'm all for finding some silver, ceramics.

-Interesting things.

-Interesting things.

-Interesting. Off the wall.

A bit of retro, memorabilia, something police orientated.

Anything that'll make a profit.

Right, teams, your time starts now. BELL RINGS

Make a profit, and off the wall.

-We've got our money. Let's get on the beat.

-Yes!

So, they're off and our eager Blues jump straight in.

-Can we please look at the deckchair?

-You've seen a deckchair?

See if we can get it a bit cheaper.

I think she wants to sit down already.

You want to sit down already?

While Nicole knows what SHE wants,

the Reds have found something on their shopping list.

Well, it's the West Mercia Police, and it's where we are.

It's one that I used to wear.

It's a little bit of nostalgia and a very limited market,

-I would think.

-So, you're not going to buy this?

-No.

-No, no?

-No.

All right then, OK. There we go.

-I'm glad you made that decision, Alan.

-Come on.

So, case closed.

Meanwhile, back with the Blues, Nicole is on a mission.

How much is your deckchair, please?

-Told you.

-What have you done?

-I'm sorry. 10 quid.

Oh, shut up! Really?

-Yes. Shh, shh. What's the matter?

-You just bought it?

-Should I not have done that?

-No, that's absolutely marvellous.

We've been shopping for a minute!

Wow, I think that's a Bargain Hunt record!

But before you move on, what have you bought, Nicole?

-This is it, Josie.

-Yes.

Now, you see, all they have to do is put a new thing on this

and you've got a good solid deckchair there.

That's it, all they've got to do, all they've got to do...

I know! I know!

I don't think you need to put a new seat on it, do you?

-Well, I would, if that was me, yes.

-Yeah, I can see, if you want to.

-But it's a solid construction.

-You're selling it to us.

But you didn't even look at it. You just sort of went and bought it!

-I could see that it was all right.

-You could see the quality.

-I could see the quality.

-Does good luck follow you?

-Yes.

-Well, there you are. That's all I need to know.

-I hope so.

-Come on.

-All right, go on.

-Off we go.

One item down and we know who's in charge with the Blues.

I'm just going to leave it to you, Nicole.

How are the Reds getting on?

I quite like that.

"Oven and freezer-proof, microwave and dishwasher safe."

Which would suggest it hasn't got a huge amount of age to it.

-A reproduction.

-Why do you like it?

I like the style of it and it looks like a miniature barrel,

-as they used to be.

-I agree with you there, Alan.

I think it's a nice form. It's a coopered barrel.

I think that's a marvellous old craft that has pretty much died out

in this country, of being able to build something made of wood

with no glue joints on it,

-that is held together by those metal rings and it's watertight.

-Yeah.

-But this one is ceramic, John.

-I like it.

I like the whole form of it and it would look nice in the kitchen

or in a bar or somewhere of that nature, I think.

There's only one thing to say.

# Roll Out the barrel Let's have a barrel of fun. #

What do you think, Colin?

Well, if Alan likes it, I'll let him choose this one.

Got a price tag here of £15.

I wonder if there's any movement on that at all.

-What's your best price?

-£10.

-Can you do it for £8?

-No.

-These two!

-Make it £9 and you've got a deal.

-Go on then.

-You've got £9. Thank you very much.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you very much indeed. Just the job.

-£9.

Well, I quite like that as well, actually.

So, the Reds also have their first item

and they said they wanted ceramics.

Blues, what's Nicole spotted now?

-It's been redone.

-That's all right.

-I love it!

-That's fine.

-It's beautiful. It's a beautiful chair.

Is it what they call a hall chair?

It's modelled on something like a saloon suite,

cos you get a suite of these.

It looks like it's in walnut, it looks continental.

And it's being sold by a shy stallholder

who has priced it at £125.

It's like a prayer chair.

-So, if you are a believer.

-Yes.

-So, you kneel on it.

-Yeah.

-And then you pray to your...

-Mm.

-I think it's beautiful, Thomas.

-Yeah.

-Absolutely beautiful. Would you take sort of like £100?

-No.

-Would you take £110?

-No.

Would you take £115?

She's going up.

Yeah, will you stop her, please, before she says she'll buy it?

-What do you want to do?

-Buy it.

-No, for me.

-No.

-Yes.

-Yes, no.

-Yes, yes, yes, yes.

-It's an option, it's something to look at.

-It's beautiful!

-Right, girls, I think

-I

-need to kneel...

-JOSIE LAUGHS

-..and pray.

I think the ladies have broken Thomas!

Have a look at this, boys.

-Look at that!

-This looks interesting.

This horse sulky tricycle. Look at that!

-That is beautiful.

-Isn't it stunning?

-Fantastic.

-How old would that be roughly?

-I would say...

-"1930s".

That's says when it was designed.

I'm looking at that, thinking it's probably 1960s.

You can imagine the youngsters in the 1960s

really having a fantastic time on that, can't you?

What a wonderful thing.

Well, I want to go and find the stallholder

-and just see how much that is.

-OK.

-I'll be back in a sec.

While John goes search of a price,

it seems Nicole and Josie are struggling to agree.

-I like them.

-For me, I wouldn't even pick them up.

No, we'll go with yours the next one. We'll go with yours.

-That's what you said with the deckchair.

-I shall put them back.

Well done, Nicole.

Back with the Reds, John has found the stallholder.

Tell us what you know.

Right, very little, except it's the only picture we could find

-of this style horse and trap.

-Right.

Unfortunately, I can't say it's a original Steiff.

-It's papier mache.

-Yeah.

-And if you look under here,

you can see the original felt.

It's been left out, obviously, and they've recovered it.

I had a young lad on it the other day going up and down the path.

Don't get any ideas, you two! You're a little bit big for this.

It will adjust a little, but not quite that much.

Not for us, I'm afraid.

We can dream, can't we, of what we would have done when we were young?

The big question is, what have you got it up for?

I've got it for £125.

Could we get that down to around 100 notes?

-No, less than that! 100 notes?!

-See what I'm dealing with here?

All right, to please everybody, I'll come just under the £100. £95.

I think you've got yourself a deal, don't you?

I think we'll go with that.

-Put your hand out.

-Thank you very much indeed.

-I didn't even have to get involved there.

-Thank you very much.

-It's a retro, which I wanted.

-You did.

-You wanted retro, you like toys as well.

-Exactly.

Brilliant, boys. Well done.

Well done indeed.

That's two items in just 25 minutes

and another one ticked off your wish list.

Now, is Josie having any luck in choosing an item for the Blues?

-It's a tribal.

-Right.

-You normally see these for toiling the soil, don't you?

-Yes.

But that's not been used, so is it all right?

-Must be ceremonial.

-Ceremonial.

-Or it could be one of these things

bought at the airport in Nairobi or somewhere.

It's one of those mad things. Do you like it?

-I do.

-What do you like about it?

-I just think it's unusual and tactile.

-It's not very much money at £16.

-No, no. Where's our stallholder?

How much? I know what I want to pay for it,

but what would you want to ask for it?

-Well, it says £16 on it.

-Yeah.

-Could put it down it down to £12.

-£8.

-Shh.

-Go between us, her £8 and your £12.

-Go on then.

Thank you very much indeed. Can I shake your hand? Thank you.

-Right, Thomas, £10.

-That's brilliant!

-That's great!

-That's a really great result. Well done, you.

-Well done.

So, that means that you've bought something for £10

-and, Josie, you've bought something for £10.

-Mm-hmm.

-You've got £280 left to spend.

-Yes, we can buy the chair.

We're not talking about the chair! We're going to move on.

-I'm going to introduce you to a few other things.

-Thank you.

-OK.

-And there's a deep sigh. Come on!

-OK.

Good luck with THAT one, Thomas.

Back with the Reds, John's got a plan of his own.

Right, boys, we've used up nearly half our time

but we do have over half our money left.

Shall we head inside and look at some of those stalls in there?

-That sounds good.

-Come on.

-That sounds like a good plan.

You've been very efficient shoppers, boys,

and silver is the only thing left on your wish list.

-Is that pewter?

-That's pewter, yeah. It doesn't sell massively well

unless it's got something special about it,

so perhaps if it's got a good designer name on it, like Liberty.

They did a lot of pewter in the Arts and Crafts period.

So, you're looking for names and things like that.

Well, it's not silver, but it is shiny-ish.

Over to the Blues and Nicole has found a vintage railway wagon plate.

-Do you like it, Josie?

-They can sell very well.

But that's only £45.

-Even if we paid that, we've not actually spent an awful lot.

-I know.

-And we're not going to make a lot of profit.

-No, I know.

-No, right.

That sounded like a joint decision, Blues.

Now, Reds, how's your search for silver going?

-John, what about this pillbox?

-It's quite sweet.

-Is it silver?

It looks silver. It looks like it's hallmarked 1909. It's Chester.

It's got £110 on that.

Also, I've spotted there, there's a little auctioneer's gavel,

-and it's a rattle. Can you see that?

-Ooh, yes.

-Now, we're after a golden gavel, obviously.

-That's right.

But this could be our chance to buy a silver gavel.

-That's got £155 on it, hasn't it?

-Hmm, OK.

-Let's ask the vendor, see what we can do on price.

-OK.

Sir, my partners in crime here have taken a shine

to a couple of items in your cabinet here.

What about this little gavel here?

It's a baby's rattle.

-RATTLE TINKLES In working order.

-In working order.

Let's have a look at this one.

There's a nice embossed scene on the top there.

You've got these little cherubs, playing music.

-That's nice, yeah.

-It opens up there.

-There's still traces of its gilding inside.

-Yeah.

And you've also got some marks here as well.

So, £110 is the asking price. What can you do on that?

-£100.

-What do you think?

-How about £80?

-£95.

-I tell you what...

-£90, negotiate.

-I tell you what,

make it £90 and I'll take it off your hands right now.

-I'll sell it to you for £90.

-You're an absolute gentleman.

I think he's going to sell it to you for £90

-just to get rid of the pair of you.

-THEY LAUGH

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you very much indeed.

-Very happy chaps.

Well done, you two.

We've got our third purchase and we have got 25 minutes left,

so you certainly haven't slowed down in your advanced years.

In fact, you two have gone round here like a couple of two-year-olds.

Is it either a cup of tea or some warm milk?

-I'll settle for coffee.

-A cup of coffee.

Well done, Reds.

Three items bought and your shopping list all ticked off.

Now, Thomas, how are you finding shopping with THESE women?

Well, I've one, Nicole, who goes on impulse.

-Give me free money and I'll just go for it.

-Yeah.

And then I've got Josie,

who's lovely and she really wants to take her time and consider.

And then I'm stuck in the middle.

-What do you mean, my thing?

-Or both.

We haven't spent very much money.

So, Blues, what are you thinking?

-We're trying to negotiate, aren't we?

-We are indeed.

-We're trying to sort of do that.

-Yes.

-But...

-But we've not really spent very much and we need a third item.

-The chair, Josie, the chair.

-No, no, not the chair!

I think you need to keep looking, Blues.

Now, did the Reds find their cup of coffee?

What do we think of the Bargain Hunting?

-Well, I think it's a bit of a doddle.

-I think we've cracked it

and I bet the others are going round still shopping.

-Well, shall we drink to that?

-I think we should.

Now, now, Reds, no need to be smug.

But the Blues do still need one more item

and they now have just ten minutes of shopping time left.

I've brought you here because there's some nice little bits

-of silver and I feel that silver does very well at auction.

-Right.

-I know you still like your chair.

-Yeah, I do.

I know, I know, but I am just trying to introduce you to other things.

Josie, what do you see?

These three pieces of silver - the mustard, the pepper and the salt.

These are lovely. There are three bits,

it's part of a cruet set, it adorns anybody's table.

They're not made to go together

but they are three things to go on a table.

They have the same date letter.

We call those trencher salts

and that cruet is missing its blue glass lining, that one there.

-Yeah.

-But you can get those.

And if you open that mustard, what do you see in there?

-It has got its liner.

-That's beautiful, isn't it?

-It's beautiful.

-Absolutely beautiful.

-Price is £120.

What's your best possible price?

The best price would be £100.

Can you do any better? £80?

No, I couldn't do £80 because I paid more than that.

-I'll drop to £90, if that would help.

-OK.

If you could possibly just drop it a fiver, down to £85?

OK, as it's the end of the day.

Well, it's Josie you need to shake with, not me.

No, you've just done the... Go on.

Thank you very much indeed.

Thank you. Appreciate that. Thank you. Thank you.

Oh, I love you two! This has been marvellous.

HORN BLARES Right, teams,

stop clowning around. Time's up.

-£105, you two have spent on three items.

-That's not bad.

-We can go and get some more then, can't we?

-We're not allowed!

THEY LAUGH

Let's remind ourselves what the Reds bought.

First up, their stoneware barrel.

Next, the child's sulky tricycle.

Finally, it was the silver pillbox.

Well, you guys knew what you wanted,

you knew what you liked and you went out and got it.

But not only that, but you are fast.

What was your favourite item?

My favourite item was the little pillbox.

-Do you agree?

-No.

-No.

Mine was the ceramic barrel.

I think that's a super little item and that's my favourite.

-But is it going to make the most profit?

-Yes, I think it is.

-Do you agree?

-No.

-ANITA LAUGHS

I think the pillbox will do very well.

Remind me, again, exactly how much you spent.

£194.

Well, that is absolutely splendid.

Could you give me £106?

-There we are.

-There you go.

-£106. I will hand it over to John.

It's not a bad amount of money, John.

-Do you have any idea what you're going to buy?

-No, I don't.

It's a good sum of money, but we certainly had

no bitter pills to swallow and barrels of fun,

so I'm going to keep the consistency up here.

I want to surprise you both.

So, while John goes off to buy his lovely surprise,

let's have a look at what the Blues bought.

Nicole was quick off the mark with her folding deckchair.

Next up, the tribal tool.

And, finally, the silver condiments set.

-Well, girls, did you have a lovely time?

-Yes, thank you.

-Yes.

Now, Nicole, you bought the first item in one minute.

I've never seen that happening before.

Well, it was just sort of, like, it was there, so I went and bought it.

-And I forgot about Thomas, I forgot about...

-Josie.

-I forgot about Josie.

-Josie.

I forgot everything and I just went and shook hands and it was done.

It was a shock to me. I didn't know it was happening. It was just done.

Tell me, what's your favourite item?

For me, it's the Chester silver, the three-piece cruet set.

-Nicole, what's your favourite item?

-The deckchair.

-Ah, wonderful.

I think it will make a profit, you see.

But I think that the silver will make the best profit.

-Yes, the silver.

-Do you agree?

-I do.

-You girls are in agreement.

For once, this afternoon.

Tell me, how much money did you spend?

We spent £105.

£105. Well, £195 to me, please,

which I will hand over to Thomas.

Thomas, that is a lot of money.

-It's a lot of money.

-What are you going to spend it on?

I'm going to buy something with a bit of quality

to reflect the quality ladies I've had the pleasure

-of shopping with today.

-How lovely you are.

While Thomas goes off to look for something with a bit of quality,

we're going to go and have a look at someplace interesting.

I've headed across to the Izaak Walton Cottage in Shallowford,

which was once owned by the author of a book

that has remained in continuous print for around 300 years.

Izaak Walton's The Compleat Angler

is said to be the third most reprinted book

in the English language,

after the Bible and the Works Of Shakespeare.

But who was the man behind this ever-popular novel

that focuses on the pastime of fishing?

Born of humble beginnings, here in Staffordshire, in 1593,

little is known of Walton's early years.

It's thought he received a grammar school education

and then an apprenticeship,

but became a successful and wealthy London tradesman,

who made friends with the poets and nobles of the day.

I'm meeting Jill Fox, who can tell me more.

Jill, it's lovely to be here.

And this is the book,

The Compleat Angler, that Izaak Walton was famous for.

It certainly is. And this particular one is our prized possession.

I've brought this in specially for you to see

cos it is a first edition.

It was published in 1653. Izaak was 60 at the time.

-So, he was an older man.

-Yes, yes.

But why a book on fishing?

Maybe, during the turbulent times of the 1600s,

a fishing book was quite a safe book to write.

There's no need for an actual manual on fishing at that time

because a very good one was published a few years earlier.

I think it's more sort of love of the countryside and fishing,

and Izaak liked to be very quiet,

and maybe it was that he wanted people to understand that.

So, as well as being a novel, it had advice for fishermen too.

It sort of told you a lot about how to catch fish and how to cook it.

-Everything was there.

-Everything you needed, really.

Do you know what? I feel hooked.

I think I'm going to have to have a wee look inside myself.

"There is no life so happy and so pleasant

"as the life of a well-governed angler,

"for when the lawyer is swallowed up with business

"and the statesman is preventing or contriving plots,

"then we sit on cowslip banks,

"hear the birds sing and possess ourselves in as much quietness

"as the silent silver streams which we now see glide so quietly by us."

You get a feeling that Izaak wanted to paint a picture

of a better way of living and seeing the world.

But not only did he write about these higher morals,

he demonstrated these in his actions.

And a copy of his will in the cottage gives us some clues.

What does it tell us about the man, Jill?

I think it tells us he was a kind, generous, decent sort of a man.

The cottage that we're standing in now was part of Halfhead Farm,

which he left to the Corporation of Stafford.

So, how did this help the townspeople?

Well, the rent from the farm was to be used for apprenticeships

for two young boys from poor families.

That was £10 per year for that.

And then £5 of the rent was to go to a poor man's daughter.

It seems to me that, not only did Izaak leave a legacy,

but his book, The Compleat Angler, continues to enthral.

So, thank you very much, Jill.

And now it's time to move on down to the auction

to see if our teams can walk away with a catch of their own.

Today, we're at Trevanion & Dean Auctioneers & Valuers

-in Shropshire with Christina Trevanion.

-Hello.

-Christina, it's lovely to be here.

-It's a joy to have you.

-Well, our Red team here have, well, quite a mixed lot of items.

-They do.

-And their first item is this pottery barrel.

-Yes.

-Tell me what you think of it.

-Well, it's useful, isn't it?

It was obviously made to look like a antique cooper barrel

but it is particularly modern. But useful for parties, I would say.

Christina, you're being so lovely and positive.

What's your estimate?

Well, apparently, I'm not allowed to put £1 on it,

so I've put £10 to £20, in hope.

-They paid £9.

-Oh, there we go.

-They'll be fine.

-Hopefully, they'll at least make their money back.

-Yes, let's hope so.

-If not, a couple of pounds.

-Let's hope so.

Their second item - now, this is a lovely thing.

Child's tricycle or velocipede.

It would be lovely if this was a Steiff horse but you,

as in the auctioneer, will have had time to do the research on it.

Yeah, you're absolutely right.

It is so important that when things come into us,

we do thoroughly research them and go into them.

Steiff certainly did a version of this.

So, as much as I would love it to be Steiff, sadly, it's not.

-Steiff style.

-Estimate?

I put £40 to £60 on it because I just think it's so much fun.

I love it, Steiff or no Steiff.

-Well, they paid £95 for it.

-Ooh.

It would be nice to think that it would go there

-and quite possibly might have a chance.

-I would hope so, yes.

-Their third item is this little oval box.

-Mm-hmm.

-We see a lot these reproduction ones.

-Yeah.

-But this one is a period one.

-Mm.

-What's your estimate?

I've said £30 to £50.

It's a good silver sale, so there will be a lot of silver buyers here.

-Well, they paid £90.

-Ooh, wow!

-So they really pushed the boat out.

-Yeah, clearly, yeah.

-So, it may be that they will need their bonus buy.

-Mm, they might do, yeah.

-So, let's go and have a look at it.

Well, you guys spent £194. Not too bad at all.

You gave John £106.

John, what did you buy?

-Well, I bought this lovely silver novelty money clip.

-Wow!

-Modelled as a tennis racquet.

-That's lovely. I love silver.

-That really looks nice and elegant.

-And how about your oppo here?

-How about your doubles partner?

-I think that's a bit...miserable.

-Is it silver?

-It's a slightly lower grade.

It's 800-grade silver, so it's continental silver.

-Continental silver.

-So, it's imported?

-It's imported.

-How much did you pay for it?

-I paid £45 for it.

And how much do you think it'll fetch at auction?

Well, again, this, for me, is a good internet lot.

It's novel, it's a money clip.

I think we should get excess of £50 for it.

Oh, fantastic! That's really good.

-Is that wishful thinking?

-Yes.

THEY LAUGH

-Now, Alan, you love it.

-Yes.

Colin's a bit more sceptical about that.

-I certainly am.

-Well, you'll have to discuss it between yourselves.

You don't need to make a decision just now.

But right now, we're going to find out

what the auctioneer thinks of John's money clip.

-Do you like it, Christina?

-I do.

I think it's a great little novelty item.

It is a slightly lower grade of silver but, nonetheless,

what a bit of fun. That's the kind of present

you'd give to somebody who's got everything.

Perfect Christmas present, perfect birthday present.

-Christina, your estimate, please.

-£25 to £35 at auction.

Well, John paid £45.

Well, we'll have to get a rally going in the bidding, won't we?

-Do you think we might get there?

-Well, let's hope so.

-Now, let's have a look at the Blues.

-OK.

-Josie and Nicole.

Their first item, went straight to it, was this deckchair.

It's brilliant, isn't it?

Not quite sure whether there'll be a huge amount of interest in it,

in landlocked Shropshire, but we'll see. No, they're great.

In all seriousness, it's just great, isn't it?

Easy to store, easy to fold away

and a bit of vintage loveliness in your garden.

-Who couldn't fail to want it?

-You couldn't fail. What's your estimate?

I've said £15 to £20. We have sold them before.

Nice sweet things, but not hugely valuable.

-Well, they did very well by buying it for £10.

-Really?!

-Yes.

-Well done, them. That's great.

-Their second item is this Polynesian axe.

-Yeah, absolutely.

-Tourist item, perhaps?

-Yeah, I think you're absolutely right.

But it's a nice thing. It doesn't have a huge amount of age to it.

Yeah. What's your estimate?

We have said £15 to £20, as a sort decorative, tribal-looking piece.

-Yeah, they paid £10 for it.

-Brilliant. Happy days.

Now, what about these three pieces of silver, Christina?

-Mm.

-George V silver.

-Mm-hmm.

-Chester hallmark.

Chester is our local assay office and we do have, particularly,

buyers coming in here, saying, "Do you have any Chester silver?"

They'll only buy town marks, obviously collecting by town.

They're in great condition.

They'd make a great wedding present and they're still useful today.

-Yeah. Estimate?

-I've said £60 to £100 at auction.

-Mm-hmm, well, they paid £85.

-That's not bad.

So, there is a possibility of a profit there.

That's really good, actually. £85 for three pieces of silver.

-That's very good.

-So, it's all looking quite good for the Blues.

Worryingly so, isn't it?

They may not need their bonus buy,

but we're going to go and have a look at it anyway.

Now, you spent a canny wee £105.

And you left Thomas a huge £195.

Thomas, what did you buy?

Well, girls, I wanted to get you something functional,

stylish and with some real quality.

-You're joking.

-I bought you...

-Oh, Thomas!

-What do you mean, "Oh, Thomas"?

I've been dreaming that you would have bought

that apricot prayer chair.

-I know, I know. But I didn't.

-That's rubbish!

-It's not rubbish!

This is made by one of the great London houses.

It's made by Asprey.

It's engine-turned, it's in sterling silver, it works,

it's beautiful, it's highly collectible.

-How much, Thomas?

-Well, you gave me £195.

-Mm-hmm.

Now, I spent £95 on that. It's the name. It's the name Asprey.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Right.

-Beautiful quality.

-What's it going to make?

It could make between £20 and £30 profit with the right people there.

You're going to have to come to some sort of agreement.

You don't need to do that just now. Wait till the auction.

But, in the meantime, let's see what our auctioneer thinks

about Thomas's little silver Asprey case.

-What do you think?

-I think it's gorgeous!

I think there's a faint mark on there

which I think is Asprey's and, obviously,

that name is just synonymous with luxury, beautiful, well-made goods.

-What's your estimate?

-I've said £50 to £70.

Thomas has paid £95 for it.

-OK.

-Is that too much?

Um, it is a little on the heavy side

but, at the end of the day, you never know.

Anything can happen.

-Well, that's what auctions are all about.

-Exactly.

-Are you our auctioneer today?

-I am, yes.

Oh, I can't wait to see you on the rostrum.

Blimey, I'm quite nervous now!

OK, Colin, Alan, how do you feel? How do you guys feel?

Nervous excitement!

Anticipating.

I'm rooting for you, boys.

First item is the little stoneware barrel.

It's not terribly old, but it's decorative.

Boys, you only paid £9. Here it is.

-Put me in, someone. £10 for it.

-Come on!

-Beautiful for parties.

-Surely, for £10, somewhere.

-Come on.

-Come on! Come on, somebody!

Are you sure?

At £10. 5 then.

£5. Put me in, someone, at £5.

5, she's back! Quite right.

-Come on!

-Good, good.

-At £5, I have.

I'll take 6. I'll take anything, frankly. I've got 5.

I'm looking for 6.

-But I'm selling it at £5 only.

-SHE BANGS GAVEL

-ALL:

-Oh!

-How did you do that?!

-Sold for £5.

-Oh, dear.

-So, it's minus 4.

Your second item, it's the child's tricycle, and it's coming up now.

-Bid me £30 on him.

-Oh, at £30.

-We've got a starting bid.

-Ooh!

-At 30, I have.

35 online. 40.

-50.

-50.

-55.

-Keep going!

60. 65.

-I'll be selling, online, at 65.

-Oh!

-SHE BANGS GAVEL

-Oh!

-Never mind.

That is minus £30, boys.

That takes you, after the first two items, to minus £34.

Next item is your lovely little silver box.

-Here it is now, boys, so fingers crossed.

-Oh, fingers crossed.

Look at those really rather sweet cherubs there. Bid me 30.

30 I have online. I'm looking for 5 now.

At 35, I have. 35 online now.

At £35. 40 with you, sir, thank you.

At £40 in the room. At 40. 45.

50, sir? 50. 5?

-We're getting there.

-55. And 60.

65. 70, sir?

£65, with you then, sir.

-At £65, seated in the comfy chair.

-SHE BANGS GAVEL

-Oh!

-Oh, £65, boys.

-Here we go!

That's minus £25. That takes your overall score

to minus 59. You've got to make up your mind

whether you're going to go with the bonus buy.

John paid £45 for that lovely little silver money clip.

Do you want to go with the bonus buy,

cos you weren't too sure before?

I think it's a superb item and I liked it the moment I saw it.

-And I'm all far going for it.

-Being as you've changed your mind

-and want to go for it, yeah, we'll go for it!

-Go for it.

Bid me... What's it worth? £20 for it? £20. Surely at £20.

-Come on, come on!

-Let's let the market dictate. Where's 20?

20 is bid. Thank you. On the front row at £20.

-You're all done at 20.

-SHE BANGS GAVEL

-Oh!

-Oh! Well, sold at £20,

so that's minus 25.

And that takes you to a minus £84.

The only thing is, boys, remember,

-don't say a word to the Blues.

-Not a word!

-Josie, Nicole, well, here we are at the auction.

-Mm.

-How are you feeling?

-Nervous.

-Are you nervous?

-I'm nervous, yes.

-What about you?

-No.

-No?

-She's not, no.

-She's a cool character.

-Yes.

-Your first item is the vintage folding deckchair.

-I love it!

I love it as well, Nicole.

-But you only paid £10 for it.

-I know.

Well, it's your first item and it's coming up now.

A vintage folding deckchair with a striped seat. Bid me £10.

-Where's 10? At £10.

-THOMAS:

-Surely.

5 then. Bid me 5. Ooh, 8. You've got competition.

10, Vanessa? It's 8 here, with this lady.

10 I have now. At £10, with the lady in black.

-THOMAS:

-Go 12!

-AUCTIONEER:

-Bid me 12. At £10 I have.

Looking for 12 now. At £10, if you're all done.

-Thank you, milady. At £10.

-SHE BANGS GAVEL

Oh, there you are, there you are. £10.

You had a lot of fun buying it and you haven't made a loss.

The next lot - again, a lot that was bought fairly cheaply -

is this Polynesian axe.

-I didn't like it, Thomas, very much.

-Didn't you?

-No, no.

-She wasn't impressed.

-I thought it was ugly.

Bid me 10 for it.

At £10 only. Where's 10?

At £10 for this tool. At £10 only. 5 then.

-Come on.

-THOMAS:

-5?!

-AUCTIONEER:

-Give me 5, somebody.

5, I have at the back, thank you. At £5 only. At £5.

Looking for 10 now. At 5.

-Are we all done at 5?

-SHE BANGS GAVEL

-Ooh.

-£5.

-Oh, Thomas!

-I know, I know, I know.

-£5. That made £5.

You paid £10, so there's a £5 loss on that.

But your first two items, it takes us to still minus 5,

which is not too bad a score.

Let's hope that your silver can take you into profit, girls.

Coming up now.

Lot 314 is the George V silver condiments set.

Bid me £50 for it, please.

At £50. 40 then.

-No!

-Come on, come on.

At 40. 40, I have. Internet bidder at £40. You should be all over this.

-45 in the room. Bid me 50.

-THOMAS:

-Oh, come on!

-AUCTIONEER:

-At 45. Against you at £45.

-THOMAS:

-This is a nightmare!

At £50. Looking for 5 now. 55 is bid online.

60 is bid. At £60 then, if we're all done.

-Selling online at £60.

-SHE BANGS GAVEL

Oh, £60, girls. I think you were a wee bit unlucky there.

So, that's minus £25 on that lot.

It takes your overall score to minus £30. That's not a lot of money.

It's too much.

You could be rescued by Thomas's Asprey engine-turned box.

-Are you going to take the bonus buy? He paid £95.

-We should go with it.

-Really?

-Because we've lost, lost, lost.

-Good luck, girls.

It's a quality item, and it's about to be sold now.

I have interest here, with me, at £50.

With me, on commission, at £50.

Here with me at 50. I'm looking for 5 now. At £50, I have.

-It's to my bidder at £50.

-THOMAS:

-Nothing online. Oh, no.

At £50 then. If we're all done, I will sell, make no mistake.

-My commission bidder wins it at £50.

-SHE BANGS GAVEL

-That's minus £45 on that.

-Oh!

That takes your overall score

to minus £75. Could be a winning score.

-I don't think so, somehow.

-You never know.

Not a word to the Reds

and we'll find out how we all got on in a wee bit.

Well, guys and gals, on Bargain Hunt, we have no losers.

We have winners and we have runners-up.

And today's runners-up are the Reds.

-Oh!

-Oh, no!

-Oh, no!

You were wonderful, but you made a loss on every single thing.

Well, at least we're consistent.

Boys were runners-up, with minus £84.

But you were greatest of fun.

But the girls are winners today. The girls were superb.

-There was only £9 in it and you are winners, with minus £75.

-Yes!

-Congratulations, girls!

-Thank you.

-Congratulations!

-Did you expect that?

-No.

-No.

-Not in the slightest.

-And, Nicole, tell me what did it.

-The deckchair.

-The deckchair.

-The deckchair.

-You was right.

But the most important thing is,

-did you have a good time? ALL:

-Yes!

Don't forget to check out our website.

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But best of all, join us soon for more Bargain Hunting.

-Yes? ALL:

-Yes!