Lincoln 8 Bargain Hunt

We're in Lincolnshire today,

where the first tanks were developed in 1915.

EXPLOSION

Here on Bargain Hunt, we have our own epic tank battle.

Reds versus Blues.

Who will be victorious?

And who will retreat in defeat?

Well, I think the show will be much more impressive than this.

So let's go Bargain Hunting!

Here at the Lincolnshire Antiques and Home Show,

our teams are gearing up to hit the stalls.

They have £300 and just one hour in which to buy three items

to take off to auction.

But who will come up trumps?

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

The Reds are in fighting spirit.

-Come on! We need to come first.

-We've got to win!

And the Blues have a squabble.

-They're a bit meaningless to me, to be honest. But I do like...

-What!

Sorry, they're just meaningless!

But at the auction, it's tense...

-40 is bid...

-Yes! You've done it!

..with everyone on tenterhooks.

-35.

-Come on, keep going!

-38, now.

And shh - I'm off to do some reading.

Intrigued?

But that's all for later. Now, let's meet today's teams.

And today we have two married couples.

And for the Reds we have Andy and Sandy.

Rhyming, that's good, isn't it?

And for the Blues we have Carl and Janet.

-Hello, everyone. ALL:

-Hello!

-Hi.

-My word! Well, you sound rather enthusiastic.

-Oh, we are.

-Looking forward to it?

-Yes.

-Good, good, good.

Now, Andy, I was going to say, "What do you do?"

But if I ask you to give me your surname, I think that could tell me!

-My surname is Goodacre.

-Goodacre.

-And I'm a farmer!

Now, you're not the average farmer, are you?

I think there's a sort of speciality to you?

Yes, I'm a punk rock farmer.

-A punk rock farmer!

-Yes, I've got my own punk rock band.

-Marvellous!

-Called March to the Grave.

-Oh, lovely. Charming!

We've been going for 36 years.

-You haven't got to the grave yet?!

-Not yet!

Probably best known for our YouTube hit called "I'm Too Fat".

# I've got high cholesterol

# Cos I'm too fat

# I used to run around every corner of this town

# But now I get a taxi down cos I'm too fat! #

Lovely! Lovely.

-I'd like the full script of that, please.

-Yeah, you can.

Now Sandy, you have an interesting thespian career, don't you?

Yes. When I lived in London I was a working actress.

I was in The Bill, Holby City, The Office, Silent Witness.

-The Office?!

-Yes, yes.

-What's the head of The Office like?

-Lovely, Ricky Gervais.

-Is he?

-Charming, funny, very intelligent.

Well, all the things you saw in your punk farmer, really!

-Indeed.

-Yes.

-There's a lot of similarity!

-Are there?

So, when it comes to antiques, will you be spending all your money?

-No.

-Oh, dear! How deeply disappointing!

-Cheap and cheerful.

-Cheap and cheerful?

Well, anyway, have a great shop.

-Now, Carl and Janet. Carl, how did you meet?

-We met down the gym.

We spent the best part of... I think it was eight weeks, wasn't it,

seven or eight weeks, looking at each other.

She was watching me in the mirrors.

So every time I was like that... I thought, "Ey up, she's there."

And I thought, not a bad-looking lady, not a bad-looking lady.

So I thought, well, I've got to get in here before somebody else jumps in.

So I stuck my tongue out at her when I copped her looking in the mirror.

-Yes?

-And the rest is history, basically.

-The rest is history.

-So, Carl, what do you do for a living?

-I'm a painter and decorator, run my own small business.

-Yeah.

And then also I'm sort of a part-time househusband as well,

-look after the kids.

-Oh, right.

-And hobbies?

-Hobbies, collecting cars, going to Spa and Le Mans, etc.

What sort of models do you have, then, Carl?

-I make 1/43rd scale Le Mans cars.

-You make them?

-Yeah, and buy them.

-How many cars have you got?

-Oh, I've got about...

Oh, sorry, was that a leading question?

-How many cars have you got?

-I've got about 300 in 43rd.

-About 32? Interesting!

-Yes, 32!

Now, when you've left Carl at home with the children, what are you doing?

I'm a senior legal counsel for a US-based aerospace manufacturing company.

So I look after the operations across Europe.

Gosh, that sounds pretty high-profile job.

It's a challenge, it's a challenge.

But I thrive on a challenge, so really enjoy it.

-Do you? And hobbies?

-I used to moan about the amount of cars and the time Carl spent

building and making cars.

-So I got home from work one day, there was a sewing machine on the table.

-Yeah?

And he'd booked me on a course to go and learn how to make a cushion!

So, off I trot. I learned how to make a cushion,

and I've never looked back, I've loved it, absolutely loved it.

I've got all the kit now and everything, just love it.

What about the shopping, when it comes to antiques?

-Spending all your money?

-No.

Going to leave little bit behind, put the experts under a bit of pressure.

-Ah, we love experts under pressure!

-Yeah.

So what are you missing, teams?

-Cash!

-Money!

-Money, oh, yes! Money, I've got the money.

-There you go.

-Thank you.

-300 for you.

300 for you. Go and join your experts, and off you go,

-have a great shop.

-Thank you.

Well, there we have it. The punk farmers against the gym fanatics.

Who's going to win?

All our teams need now are their experts.

Searching out those bargains for the Reds, it's Raj Bisram.

And hoping to sail away with profits for the Blues, it's Kate Bliss.

What sort of thing are you looking for today?

Something vintage, something that someone can use in the house.

Probably toys, I think. Meccano, Lego...

Something with provenance, Raj.

And something with a story to it, maybe.

I think more jewellery, a bit of bling.

Right, teams, your time starts now!

GLISSANDO

Let's punk rock and roll!

Sounds like a piece of cake. Come on!

Yes, they're off! And already the Blues have spotted something.

Yes, they're a fairly ordinary, ordinary pair.

But, yeah, interesting thing.

I can tell you like sort of instruments...

-Yes.

-You know, practical things.

Practical things, old school.

On the other hand, the Reds have their eye on something completely different.

Why are those tiles so expensive?

-They're £60.

-That's too much.

-That is a lot of money.

But the reason they are is because they're Art Nouveau.

What price would you get a profit on them?

I wouldn't want to be paying more than £20 for those, to be honest.

-OK.

-OK?

-OK, yeah.

-All right?

-Yes.

Hmm. So not much of a chance of a profit there, then!

What have the Blues seen now?

It's a little miniature camera.

But what we've got also is the box.

Which is quite nice.

What intrigues me is we've got some little photos here.

-Yes.

-Which go with it.

What sort of value would it bring, though?

At auction it could be anything from sort of £15-20, to £40-60.

-Yes.

-What can you tell us about it, sir?

It's been a working camera.

It's a British make, but it's very unusual.

So it is an actual working camera?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Date-wise, do you think '20s, '30s?

-Yeah.

-Do like that.

-It's 55.

-We need as low as 20.

-What could we be talking, what's...?

I could do it for 45.

40? So we've got to make a little bit, you see,

-as well, while we're there.

-Yeah, I could do it for 40.

-What do you think?

-I think I'm happy with that.

-Definitely.

-Final answer?

-Yes.

-Great. Thank you very much indeed.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

I hope you do very well with it.

-I hope so. Thank you.

-First item in the bag!

-Come on! Brilliant!

-Let's go.

Quick work, Blues.

Less than five minutes in, and you've snapped up your first item.

Over to you now, Reds.

Raj, what about this?

Yeah, it's a Royal Doulton one.

Jug and bowls, they've really gone off the boil.

-I would stay clear of it.

-OK. OK, yes.

So a definite no for the Reds.

Meanwhile, the Blues are drawn to some silver.

There's nothing jumping out.

-No.

-No, OK.

-Let's keep going.

-I'm not a spoon man.

You're not a spoon man, OK!

Keep looking, Blues! Meanwhile, the Reds are playing catch-up.

I've just spotted something over here.

This Art Deco letterbox holder.

Yeah, I like it.

Art Deco has a design, see the angled shapes there.

-It's useful. If someone's doing a house up.

-Yes, absolutely.

It's a bit narrow, though, Raj? Only for postcards?

I guess all the money that comes to your house,

-you need a big letterbox, don't you?!

-Massive!

-OK.

You should always check that it's got its fittings as well.

And they all work. It's still got its spring on it.

It's got 24 on it.

-12?

-12?

-12, Raj, go for 12.

-Try 12.

-OK.

-Settle on 15, maybe.

All right, well, let's see. You never know.

We can only try, yeah? I'll be back in a second.

Do your best, Raj.

Over with the Blues, however, Kate has gone all soft.

He's a very nice bear.

So we've got a really great name here.

-Can you see that?

-Merrythought.

Yes. So I would say he's probably '70s.

-OK.

-Yeah.

-Is he English made?

Maybe a little bit later.

Yeah, Merrythought was the leading British manufacturer in toys

-in the 20th century.

-OK.

-That's good.

-He's golden mohair.

-Yeah.

-Is the technical term.

Lovely little stitched nose.

-But he's actually in very good condition.

-Yeah, yeah.

I can hear you hesitating! Why aren't you sure about it?

-I don't know, he just looks a bit too new.

-Does he?

I like the really old, ragged-looking ones.

-I quite like it, I'm sorry.

-I don't know...

-He's a bit... You can have it!

-It's £24, we can knock that down.

What's he kind of worth, then?

I would probably put somewhere between £20 and £40 on him at auction.

See, it's 24, I think there's definitely some leeway there.

-So you quite like him, Carl?

-I do.

I mean, I don't think bears have to look raggy.

No, I know. I do like him, I like him, I just don't know,

it's not raggy enough. I don't know.

OK, well, I'm going to leave you two arguing.

Leave the bear with you. I'll go find the stallholder.

-Yes.

-All right?

-He is lovely.

-I think...

-You think it's that, don't you?

As Kate's just said, the name, it's a good name.

-It's in great condition.

-I like him. I like him.

And I think we can knock him down.

What do you think to it? I don't want to pay more than 15, really.

Time to leave this little domestic.

The Reds are awaiting news on the letterbox.

-Come on, we need to come first.

-We've got to win!

Fighting talk from the Reds! Can Raj pull off a deal?

I did what you said, I offered 12.

He said no, he can't take 12. But he said he will do it for...15!

-So, what do you think?

-Yeah, let's go for it.

-Will we make a profit?

-I think at auction that should make £20-25.

-Yeah.

-I really do.

-Yeah, let's go for that.

-OK, yeah. Get our first one, yeah.

-OK, brilliant.

-OK, I will go and do the deal!

-OK, excellent.

Great job, Reds. That's your first buy - and within 12 minutes.

Back with the Blues...

-Shall I tell you what the verdict is?

-Go on, then.

-So the stallholder actually thinks it's likely earlier, maybe '60s.

-OK.

And she's come down to £20.

I have to tell you, I think he's worth every bit of that.

Really? Do you think that is the best price?

It is absolutely best price.

-All right, we'll go for him.

-I think we should, yes.

-Happy?

-Yes.

-Brilliant. Well, before you change your mind,

I'm going to go and tell the stallholder Teddy has a new home!

-Brilliant, thank you.

-That's great, thank you.

So with Janet persuaded,

that's a second buy for the Blues within 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, back with the Reds.

-Sorry?

-Is that a radio?

-Yes, it's an old radio case.

-20 quid?

-Unless it's fully working and it's more of a speaker, I would...

-OK.

Move on then, Reds!

Uh-oh! Carl has been distracted by his love of cars!

-Cigarette cards.

-Yeah.

-I used to have these when I was a kid.

-Did you?

Yeah, but I never, ever got them into a book.

So did you ask all the grown-ups who were smokers

-to save the cards for you?

-Yes, in them days. Yes, definitely.

-Oh, yes.

-What's that? Oh, I like that.

That's Hans Stuck, the racing driver, his father raced that.

-Is that right?

-Yeah.

-You do know your cars!

-Yes, I do know my cars.

-Oh, he does, he does.

-There's not a lot he doesn't know about cars.

Janet, what do you think of these?

I like them. But they're a bit meaningless to me, to be honest.

-But I do like them.

-What!

Sorry! They're just meaningless to me.

Oh, dear. We've got a bit of damage there.

-Someone's dropped a cigarette on there.

-They are collectable,

but they do have a ceiling, you know?

What do you think? You're not keen, are you?

No. I've sort of had my way with the last two, haven't I?

-So...

-I'm not that keen, I'm not that keen.

-OK.

I have to tell you sort of price- wise at auction, they're only going

to be sort of a couple of pounds.

And an auction house would normally sell cigarette cards

-in quite large quantities.

-Yes.

-Unless there's something really rare.

-I'd leave those. £5.

-But they are nice.

-OK, OK. All right, you've got your way! OK.

Vetoed by the wife!

So that's a no for the Blues.

But Andy's seen something that might hit the mark.

I think that's a good old knocker.

I mean, it's a really unusual mallet.

I've never seen one that size.

What's quite nice is the metalwork, as well.

You know, the metalwork's all in good condition.

I mean, it has been worn, hasn't it?

-Yeah.

-You can see here it's been used.

-Used to knock posts in.

-Yeah.

Have you ever seen one like that before, Andy?

-I've never seen one that big, no.

-No?

-I'm afraid I have.

-Have you?

-I've got one in my shed!

-Really?

-Exactly the same size.

And do you remember what you paid for it?

I think it was about £15.

-It's a bit different, isn't it?

-It is different.

-And pricey.

-It is a bit pricey.

It's the ideal thing for a punk rocker, isn't it?

Going on stage...

Andy, you're the farmer, you tell me.

-Shall we go for it?

-For £20, but I think that's it.

-Well, in that case, shall we call the stallholder over?

-Yeah.

Hello there.

-Hi.

-This small mallet...

-Yes.

Got quite a lot of money on the price ticket.

We were hoping to get it for £15?

No, I'm afraid not. It's got 55 on it.

I know, I know, but...

I'm afraid normally the trade would be around sort of 50, 47.

I could do you 45.

-What about if we went up to £20?

-No, still can't do it.

-OK.

Thanks very much indeed. I think that's too much.

-Yeah.

-Shall we move on?

-Yeah.

-Come on, then, let's go.

Ah well, Reds, best hit that one on the head!

Better luck next time.

Meanwhile, some bling has sparked Janet's interest.

-I like the little trinket boxes.

-OK.

Do they sell, though, trinket boxes?

Yeah, they do. Some of those are a little bit more modern, I think.

-Yeah.

-They are modern, I have to say.

-Oh, are they?

-Yeah.

-You're not liking this, Carl?

-No.

Tell you what, that's quite nice.

-Do you like that?

-It's not... No.

Oh, look at that, that is lovely.

-But no, not your thing?

-Not for me, not for me.

-OK.

-Well, I don't think anything's leaping out at you.

-It's not really.

-Shall we keep going?

-Yeah.

-Let's keep going.

-OK. No.

So no joy here for the Blues.

But are things looking up for the Reds?

-Oh, crikey.

-Well, it's in good condition.

You know, this is a meat platter.

Can you tell me about the design of the plate, Raj?

Yeah, it's very, very well-known pattern,

it's called Asiatic Pheasant.

-And you can see why, because it's got the pheasant here.

-Mm-hm.

And the lovely flower decoration.

And this one is in good condition.

It's got a... Oh, even better.

It's got Wedgwood. And everybody knows Wedgwood!

That's not a bad price there.

Yeah, good spot, that.

So do we know exactly how old then, Raj?

I can tell you it's probably around 1880, 1890, this was made.

-How can you tell that?

-I can tell by the feel, the look.

The wear on it, etc.

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

-£25-35.

-Well, shall we see what they can do?

-Yeah.

-Yeah, good spot.

-We were just wondering...

-What's the best?

£20.

£20.

-Give us one second.

-OK.

I would go back in and say, is it possible,

-would you take 15 to give us a chance?

-OK.

-Try it, go on.

-Excuse me, sir.

-Hi.

We were just wondering if you'd give us a chance

and take a little bit less?

Would you take 15?

-No.

-What's your best, best price?

Well, 18.

-17?

-OK.

-17.

-OK, deal.

-Thank you.

-Thank you, sir.

-Thank you.

-Brilliant. I think at £17, there's got to be a profit in this.

-I hope so.

Fabulous, Reds.

You've got your second item in less than 30 minutes.

But what's this the Blues have seen?

Oh, no! Oh, no, no!

-Are you having regrets now, Janet?

-No, no. I'm not.

-Are you preferring this one?

-That's the sort of teddy I had in mind.

Look, he's more expensive than the one we bought!

No, I've got no regrets, but that's the oldie...

-Good, moving on! This way!

-Quickly!

No, there's no time for second thoughts, Blues.

Just keep going!

-This is something a little bit different.

-That's nice.

This looks like a book,

but when you open it up it's actually a photograph album.

-Oh, yeah.

-Ooh.

-Yes, he's rather nice.

Here she is in all her finery.

It's not in bad condition.

Really nice with a leather sort of tooled...

Highlighted in gilt and silver.

And this is very much what's known as aesthetic movement in style.

-Which is the end of the 19th century, the Victorian period.

-OK.

Now, the ticket price is £70,

-but I think the stallholder might do a bit better for us.

-Yes.

Let's ask this lovely lady. What could you do for us on that?

35 would be my best price on that.

Is that the very best?

Well, you can squeeze me another fiver, I suppose.

Squeeze you another fiver? Thank you very much.

-For 30, I think so.

-I think so.

-Yeah. OK.

-Pretty good, to me.

Yeah? Is that a joint decision?

-For once!

-I think... For once!

-Fantastic!

-I'll go along with this one.

-Brilliant! That's a deal!

Thank you so much. We'll take it.

-It has got its original clasps, which is good.

-It is, it's lovely.

Thank you very much indeed.

-We're done!

-That's it, we're done!

-Three pieces, well done!

-Record time, there we go.

-It was pretty good time, actually!

Quick work! Well done, Blues.

Happy?

-Very happy.

-Cup of tea?

-Cup of tea, definitely.

-Yeah, definitely.

Now the Reds. How quickly can they seal the deal on their final item?

I just thought it looked very intricate.

Yes, it is. It's a Far Eastern box, not very commercial.

-Music box? OK.

-Not very commercial, no.

Not even for jewellery, no? No, OK.

Keep going, Reds!

What's Raj spotted now?

If I could have a look at that vesta?

Lovely, thank you very much indeed.

-Do you know what vestas are used for?

-Yes, matches.

Absolutely. There we go, we open that up.

The matches would have gone in there.

That is really very decorative.

-Is it silver?

-It's silver and it's got a silver hallmark there.

There's even a little space there that would have been for an initial,

-to give as a present.

-OK.

And on the other side you can see here...

-..the striker.

-And it's collectable?

-Very collectable.

Maybe people who collect silver and who collect vestas?

Absolutely, yes. Absolutely.

That would fetch at auction somewhere between...£20-30.

If you could get that for...15,

I reckon that that would be a really decent buy at £15.

Can we have a think about it?

-Yes, of course.

-That one could be 15.

That's a simple little one.

OK, this is another one, much smaller.

The design is more Edwardian.

You know, those two as one lot...

They'd sell well as a pair?

Well, they're not a pair, but selling two vestas,

if they didn't make £40-60, I would be very, very, very disappointed.

They would definitely do that.

So if we could get those for, you know, £30 the two,

that would be a good deal.

-If we were to buy the two...

-Yes.

-..what could you do the two for?

Well, 35. I could do that one for 15.

So that would be 30. Could you do two for 30?

-Yes, I'll do the two for 30.

-You don't look that enamoured with it.

It wouldn't have been something I would have gone for,

but we haven't got anything silver.

Shall we put them down for the moment?

Ask her to hold them for 15 minutes while we have another look, yeah?

-Yeah.

-OK, let's do that.

So that's one for the back burner.

Can they find anything better?

Good spot. This is clearly an Art Deco mirror tray.

And it's really in good condition.

I mean, that is so saleable.

-But the price ticket on it, look.

-It's a bit high. It depends on...

£60 on it. I mean, that is top, top money.

-I would want to be paying £15, £20 for that.

-Yeah.

So that's a definite no.

Time is ticking!

OK, guys.

I know we got our first thing really quickly,

but we've only got ten minutes left, OK?

-Ten minutes. It does go really quickly.

-Yeah.

-Spot anything you like? Do you like teddies?

-No!

No, forget teddies, forget teddies, OK.

No, it's the Blues that love teddies!

-A money box.

-There's a money box.

£55!

We're coming to decision time soon, guys!

-What do you think?

-I wouldn't say it's going to make a lot of money

though, that, at auction. Not at Grantham.

-We've got five minutes!

-Guys, we've got five minutes left.

We're running out of time. I don't want to have to buy something in the

last minute, so let's make a decision.

-No, let's get... Let's get...

-Two vestas.

Two vestas? In that case, come on, let's go, let's go, let's go.

Wise decision, Reds.

Right then, Raj, can you squeeze a little bit more off the price?

One final little offer, would you take £25 for the two vestas?

-Yes, all right.

-Fantastic! We've done it.

-Thank you.

And in the nick of time, two minutes left.

Brilliant, we've got our three items, what do you think?

-The good, the bad and the ugly.

-Yes!

Oh, I hope I'm not the bad or the ugly!

-No, I'm confident.

-Right, teams, your time is up.

Let's go and celebrate.

Let's remind yourself just what the Red team have bought.

First up they bought an Art Deco brass letterbox for £15.

They carved up £17 on this Wedgwood meat platter.

And finally the team matched up two silver vesta cases for £25.

-Well, Andy and Sandy, down to the wire a little bit at the end, wasn't it?

-Yes.

-Two minutes.

-Two minutes!

-Yeah.

-What was your favourite lot?

I think the two vesta boxes.

-Yeah? And yours?

-The plate.

-The plate!

-And I like the letterbox thing as well.

You like the letterbox "thing", marvellous!

-What's going to make the biggest profit?

-The two silver vestas.

-Yeah.

-The plate. I think the plate.

-You think the plate?

I think the money they paid for it, it's a good size, nice design,

-it should make a profit.

-Should be all right.

Well, you spent £57, I gave you 300.

Which must mean that somewhere in your pocket is £243.

And there it is.

Raj...

-Happy shopping, there we go.

-Come on, come on!

-There we go.

-Lovely.

-There's all that money.

What are you going to do with that? You'll be able to buy a tie!

Well, after your remark probably buy a tie, Charlie.

So, while Raj goes off to purchase a tie,

let's check out what the Blue team have bought.

Firstly, they snapped up a miniature camera

and a set of photographs for £40.

They went all cuddly on a Merrythought jointed teddy bear -

theirs for a cute £20.

And finally they framed up £30 on a late Victorian photograph album.

Janet and Carl.

Cool, calm, collected.

-Happy with what you bought?

-Yeah.

-What's your favourite lot, Janet?

I think my favourite is the camera.

The camera, yeah, the miniature camera.

Yeah, it's just cute, I like it.

-You fancy a bit of spying, do you?

-Oh, yes!

What's your favourite lot, Carl?

It was the camera, but I've gone with the bear.

Gone with the bear. What, for the biggest profit?

Yeah, I think so, I think so.

The bear is the biggest profit?

-Do you agree with that?

-I do, I do.

-Do you?

-The camera is my favourite,

-but I do think the bear will make the most money.

-Do you? Good.

-Yeah.

-I think they might be right.

You think they might be? She's hedging her bets.

-Just a bit, isn't it?

-Well, it was a medium sort of spend, wasn't it?

-Yeah.

-£90.

-£90, yeah.

-It's not bad.

-I thought it was good.

It does mean you've got £210 on you somewhere.

-Yes, I have.

-Hand it over. Well done.

Do you feel confident about leaving this young girl with £210?

-Yeah, because she was brilliant.

-Yes, definitely.

-Blimey, no pressure! Off you go, then.

-Thank you.

What are you going to do with that?

-I'm going to get something completely different, OK?

-Oh!

So while Kate goes off to buy something completely different,

I'm off to somewhere rather interesting.

Just a stone's throw from our auction house in Grantham

is St Wulfram's Church.

From the outside, it's a magnificent parish church.

But inside there's a hidden secret.

Follow me.

Intrigued?

Well, here we are.

And who would have thought that in this room above the south porch

is the first ever public reference library in England?

I've come to meet Brian Stagg, one of the church volunteers.

-Hello, Brian.

-Pleased to meet you.

Well, it's very nice to be here.

Now, what can you tell me about this fascinating library?

Well, it was founded in 1598 by Francis Trigge.

Trigge was the rector of Welbourn,

-which is a village about 12 miles north of here.

-Right.

So this became, in essence, the first public library.

So why exactly did he start the library?

Because he wanted to increase the opportunities

for learning and education in the county.

It didn't belong to the church,

it belonged to the civic authority here.

-And three people had keys.

-Right.

The Vicar of Grantham North, the Vicar of Grantham South

and the headmaster of the grammar school,

-which is just across the road.

-Right.

There are 358 books catalogued in the library.

Brian, I've noticed that some of these books are chained.

-Why is that?

-Probably to prevent theft.

-Ah!

These chains where forged here in Grantham by a local smith,

-and unfortunately some of the chains have now been lost.

-Yes.

Because as you can see from this book, and indeed of this book,

people tended to pull the book out from the shelf using the chain.

The library houses a few rare books that were printed before 1501.

One of the earliest and most treasured is this volume

of 14th century Roman legal cases, printed in Venice in 1472 -

four years before the first book was printed in England.

There are books on natural history.

And a copy of one in particular

that influenced explorer Christopher Columbus.

It's a book that covers geography, navigation, astronomy.

And was designed really to give some indication of the size of the world.

Or at least how they saw it in 1410.

It is, of course, the old world.

-Yeah.

-Europe, Africa, Asia.

There's nothing really south of the equator, is there?

Nothing south of the equator was known about.

It has a very interesting sentence.

"The furthest habitable point in the east,

"and the furthest habitable point in the west are close together

"and there is little sea between them".

HE LAUGHS

Well, Christopher Columbus, after reading this,

concluded that if he sailed west from Europe, rather than east,

he would end up in Asia.

However, the sea turned out to be an ocean,

and he accidentally stumbled across the Americas.

This book is fascinating.

It's called Historia Animalium by Conrad Gessner.

It's basically the starting point for modern zoology.

Printed in 1587,

these illustrations were created from people's descriptions.

Most of the animals are real, such as the camel.

Porcupine.

And tiger.

But some are mythical.

For example, the unicorn.

And what's this?

What a fascinating place.

Such great books.

Well, we are off down the road to the auction,

and it's literally that way.

I'm with the head man, Colin Young.

-Hi.

-Good to see you, Charlie, good to have you back.

Well, Andy and Sandy, they went off shopping,

and this is what they've bought.

We start with the letterbox.

Good Art Deco, late Deco styling.

-Usually, in fairness, you put them in with other bits and pieces.

-Ah.

So as a single lot, I think maybe £10, £20, something like that.

Well, they didn't pay a lot. They all liked it. They paid £15 for it.

-OK.

-So little bit of work from you and they'll be all right.

-OK.

The next lot is the meat platter.

This is a good piece of Victoriana.

An estimate these days, maybe £15-£30.

-But it is Wedgwood. It's well stamped, isn't it?

-Brilliant, yes. Good thing.

And they paid £17.

You would do well to buy one cheaper, wouldn't you?

-You would, indeed.

-I think it's a good buy.

-Yeah.

-Now, vesta cases. They've bought two vesta cases here.

-Yeah.

-What do you think of them?

-Fairly standard vesta cases.

There's not one there that stands head and shoulders above the other.

-However we gloss up the description of them, we're still at an estimate of £40-£60.

-Yeah.

Well, I think they bought these very, very well.

You've put £40-£60 on them as you say - £25 paid.

That is a really, really good price.

You would never expect a single one to be any less than £20.

-No, no, they've done well there.

-Yeah.

So, with any luck, they won't need their bonus buy,

but they just might. Let's have a look at it.

Well, Andy and Sandy,

I thought we sent him off to buy a tie, didn't we?

It looks like I should have bought a tie, Charlie!

You only spent £57. Do you know how much that gives him?

£243!

Well, to be honest, I didn't spend very much,

but I bought something I think is rather nice.

Oh! What?!

This is a Dutch solid silver caddy spoon.

It doesn't actually have any markings but it's definitely silver.

I would say it's the later part of the 19th century.

What do you think I paid for this?

£22?

That's pretty good, both of you.

I paid £5 for it.

-£5, bargain.

-Are they collectable?

They are very collectable in Holland.

Oh, well, I hope there's someone from Holland in the auction, then!

I can see some Dutch buses arriving.

Excellent.

How much is it going to make?

At auction that should make £20-40.

-OK.

-Well, well, well.

-That's very unusual.

Raj is confident.

Will the auctioneer be as confident?

Raj went off, as you can see, with a lot of money.

And he went... Well, I'd like to say he went to Holland,

but it started in Holland, I think.

-Caddy spoon?

-Yeah, it is.

-You don't like tea?

-No.

-I'm afraid it's just something that doesn't really inspire me.

-Yeah.

Very much a typical touristy-ware piece.

I would guess probably from 1900 to 1930.

These things were fairly commonly out there.

In terms of an estimate, I've put 15-30.

Actually, Raj would be quite pleased with that estimate,

-because he only paid £5.

-Oh, the pressure's off, then!

Yes. Pressure is off.

Now, the Blues, Carl and Janet.

They started with something, I think, really rather interesting.

It's a lovely miniature camera. British made.

Got a nice little box to go with it as well.

In a sale, we put an estimate of £30-50.

Well, paid £40.

-So we're more or less in line with your estimate.

-Yeah.

-It's going to be short loss, short profit, maybe.

-Yeah.

What about the teddy bear?

-Well, the teddy bear there, it's in really good condition.

-It is.

You've got the magical name at the bottom there of Merrythought.

Sort of slight negative and giveaway with it, of course,

is the other mark that's on there, the CE mark.

That really sort of means it's going to be post-1980s,

because of when the legislation changed,

so we know it's a more modern bear.

And on that basis I would give an estimate of, say, £25-40.

-But that's great. It only cost 20.

-Did it really?

-Yeah.

-Janet really liked that, and £20, I think is a good buy.

-Yeah, great.

-What about the photograph album? Lots of history.

-Yeah.

This is a really, really nice example.

Even if you've not got the sort of social history behind it,

you've got the imagery of the period.

You have got the most wonderful work on the leather there.

-If you're going to have one, this is the one to have.

-Absolutely.

I've put an estimate of 30-50.

It was Janet that liked it, but she's only paid £30.

I think that was a very good buy.

Yeah. So we're looking at three good buys there, aren't we?

-Yeah, absolutely.

-Yeah, yeah.

So they might go with the bonus buy, they might not.

Let's see what it is.

Well, Carl and Janet, happy with your £90 worth of spending?

-Definitely.

-It did mean that you've given Miss Bliss £210 to splash out.

-What have you done?

-Are you ready?

-Yeah.

-OK.

LAUGHTER

-Um...

-Right. OK.

-We've clearly blown the budget.

-Absolutely, out of the window.

I know you are a fantastic seamstress, Janet,

because I think you, of all people, will know what this is.

I'm liking this, now.

A little tape measure. Well done. She's figured it out.

And if you hold that little lens there up to the light,

you will see a tiny little microphotograph

of some views of Chartres.

Have a little look. You have to hold it up to the light.

Can you see anything?

Hold it quite close to your eye.

Oh, yeah, it's Blackpool Tower.

LAUGHTER

It's known as a Stanhope viewer.

The million pound question, how much did it cost?

-I paid 28.

-OK.

-That's not bad.

So how much do you think it will bring?

Well, I would think, with the Stanhope viewer,

-I would put an estimate of 20 to 40 on it.

-OK.

-Yeah.

You don't have to make a decision now.

-I would buy this.

-You would buy it? He probably wouldn't.

So we'll wait until the auction, then you can make up your mind.

Meanwhile, let's see if the auctioneer

can see a profit in this lot.

Well, Kate went off and bought this little barrel.

It's very well made. The treen is beautifully turned.

-Yeah.

-The painting on it is wonderful as well.

And often the problem

is the condition of the tape that's in there,

and that still winds fine, it's in good order.

The Stanhope is viewable as well.

Estimates, I suppose...

-Yeah?

-£15-£30, is that good enough?

I think you need to be at the top end, that's all I would say.

-OK.

-Kate spent £28 and I can understand spending £28,

-but you're just going to have to push a bit, aren't you?

-Yeah.

No doubt you'll be bringing in the collectors

and the Stanhope viewers from far and wide,

and you'll be working the gavel?

-I will indeed.

-Good.

-Well, good luck.

-Thank you.

185 will do...

-Andy and Sandy, excited? BOTH:

-Yes!

-Really excited.

-Cor, blimey, she's going over the top, here.

The first lot is the brass letterbox.

-Yes.

-Do you like it?

I do, but I'm a bit nervous about it.

It only cost £15.

-Here it is.

-Who's going to start me at, what, £30 for it?

30? £30, anybody?

30, I'll take 20. 20. £20.

Ten, anybody at £10?

Ten? Ten. Thank you, ten is bid by special delivery at ten, bid.

12, 12 bid, now 15...

Please...!

18 is bid.

£20 bid, 22 for anybody else, are we all done?

Last call for you, then, at 20.

-Are you sure?

-I'm sure.

Looks like we're knocking then.

Sold on 20. You've made a fiver.

-You've made a fiver.

-Gosh.

-Do you want me to get you a chair, Sandy?

-It's getting hot!

It's got you quite excited.

-A good start.

-You've got the Wedgwood meat dish coming up next.

-Yes.

-£17, it cost. And here it is.

Who's going to start me at 50 for it?

£50. 50. 40 to go, then.

40. 30 if you like, then.

£30. I'll take 20 to go, then.

£20. Really? £20.

£20 for a strong one, £20 bid.

At 22 now.

-You've made another profit.

-£22, now, do I see?

£20, lady's bid has it. Maiden bid has it. Are you sure?

I'm going to sell then. £20 and done.

-Plus three.

-Don't worry.

Two profits. Don't look sad, darling.

You've made two profits.

Two vesta cases standing between you and a golden gavel.

One is 1896.

I mean, that's Victorian, comfortably Victorian.

And here it is.

And they cost £25.

£80 for this pairing.

£80. 50 to go, then.

50 anybody? £50. 40.

-40 is bid. £40 bid.

-You've done it!

42. 45. 48. 50. 50 bid.

Five. 60. Five. 70 now.

65 and a bid, 70. 65, are we all done?

Any more bids? Now, at 65, in the front here then,

selling in the front row at £65.

Well, my word, that is...

Congratulations, you two. You have made

£48 profit, and you have a golden gavel each.

There is a bit of jeopardy left, isn't there?

You've got a caddy spoon chosen by the master.

-Yes.

-Can't go wrong.

-Cost £5.

-I trust the master.

-You trust the master.

-Are you going with it? BOTH:

-Yes.

£48 up, and here goes.

What can happen to this £5 spoon?

Start me at £20. £20. 20.

£20. 15. 15.

Ten to go, then, surely. Ten.

Ten. £10, £10 is bid.

I've already ten, it'll have to be 12 in the room now, 12.

-12 bid. 15. At 12...

-Yes! Yes.

15 now, surely. At £12 bid, last call for everybody.

Selling at 12. Are we all done at 12?

Well done.

It's a tidy little £7.

£55.

-Yes, yes, yes!

-What are you going to do with that, then?

-Spend it.

-Oh! There is a shock.

Anyway, not a word to the Blues.

Congratulations on making a profit.

-Thank you.

-And we'll find out who the winner is later.

-Carl and Janet, this is the moment...

-It is.

..we've all been waiting for.

Is this a new experience for you, going to a sale?

-This is the first time I've ever been in an auction room.

-It is?

Well, that miniature camera cost £40.

And here it is.

£30 anybody? 30?

£20? £20?

Surely 20. 20 is bid from Australia.

-22 in the UK?

-£20 from Australia!

-Did you hear that?

-Got to be £28.

Keep going. 30.

Two, now.

Anybody else? At 30.

Have another one. Two. There's even some pictures in there as well.

You never know what's not been developed in the camera.

Oh!

That could be the surprise.

30, 32, now, do I see?

Last call and going then at £30.

It's just the price that's underdeveloped.

Oh!

Disappointing, isn't it, to lose £10 on that.

Never mind, let's push that

to the back of our minds and go with the teddy bear.

Cost £20.

Can't go wrong, can we? Here it comes.

Who's going to start me at £50?

50. £50.

Just give the bear a home. 50.

40. 30.

-Come on.

-Oh, dear.

-20 then.

£20 anybody? 20.

£10. Ten is bid already at ten.

12. 15.

18. 18 bid. 20 do I see?

Now at 18.

£20 a bid.

22, now. £20. 22. 25.

-Yes!

-Five now.

25. Just remember, a bear isn't just for auction day.

28. A bear is for life.

30 bid. 32, now, do I see?

32 bid. 35, now, do I see?

At 32, bid, five, now, do I see?

-35 is bid.

-Yes!

This is amazing!

At 35, looks like it's a clean sweep on the internet.

All done and finished at £35.

Plus 15.

So, you're now on an overall profit of £5, which is brilliant.

Here is the photograph album, cost £30.

What shall we say? £60 of anybody's money.

60. £60. 50. 50.

Half it, 30. 30.

Two, now, do I see? £30 bid.

Two, five, do I see now?

32 with you. Five now, do I see?

-32. 35. 38. Bid 40.

-Yes!

Lovely. 40 bid. 42. 45. 45. 48.

No? At £45, the bid in the middle then.

Last call for everybody.

Lady's bid sells, then, at £45.

Yes! Very good.

Well, you've made £15. You had £5 coming forward,

so you're up at £20, which is marvellous.

We are in a quandary now, aren't we?

Well, let me give you the auctioneer's description.

"A mid-20th-century treen Stanhope tape measure."

You've made a profit of £20.

You could increase it or it could all come crashing down in flames.

-Go for it.

-Go for it.

-And of course, you have Kate to thank for this.

-Let's do it.

-Or not. You're going for it?

-Yeah.

-Sure?

-Yeah.

The auctioneer's estimate is 15 to 30.

He thinks it might show you a profit.

Here it is, the Stanhope tape measure.

-Cost £28.

-£30.

Who's going to put me in there? 30.

30. 30.

20 to go, then. Got to be worth a close look at this price.

20. 20. Ten. £10.

Ten at the back of the room. 12.

15. 18.

20. 22.

25. 28. 25 is bid.

Eight, now, do I see?

£25.

Come on! Looking at 28 now.

At £25, are you hovering on the net or are you going to come in?

You are, 28 is bid.

-Yes!

-30 now. 30 bid.

32 now. At 30 bid.

Two, now. 32 bid.

35.

Keep going, keep going.

Obviously not taking a very measured decision here.

Oh!

35, at the back of the room, then, going at £35. Lady's bid.

-Yes!

-Well done, Kate.

So, £7 profit from that.

£20 hitherto.

-Gives you £27 profit.

-Well done!

Now, not a word to the Red team.

-No, we are not going to.

-You may have won.

You may have lost.

Well, I've got some marvellous news for both of you.

You both made profits!

-ALL:

-Yes!

-What about that, though?

But who are the winners?

Any idea, have you been talking?

-ALL:

-No.

-I should hope not.

Well, I can reveal, of course, that the winners are indeed the Reds.

-Yes!

-No!

But don't get too excited.

Quieten down, Reds. Don't get too excited.

Now, Blues, you did particularly well.

-£27 profit.

-Not bad.

I'm afraid Kate's had to rush off, but with her bonus buy,

it increased your profit and I have got £27 for you.

You had one tiny little loss, but we'll gloss over that.

-Have you had a good time?

-Fantastic, thank you.

Marvellous. Well done.

Well, well, as for you two,

you may well feel proud of yourselves.

-£55.

-Brilliant!

And three profits. You know what that means, don't you?

-Yes.

-Golden gavel.

Oh, well spotted! That's what you came for.

-There is your money.

-Thank you.

And now something to wear with pride.

Look at this. Are they even better than you thought they would be?

-They are.

-Pull them out.

-I feel my life is almost complete.

Oh, that's so romantic, isn't it?

-Have you had a good time?

-Fantastic.

-Yes. It's been brilliant.

Been great having you on the show.

Now, don't forget to have a look at our website

and indeed to follow us on Twitter.

In the meantime, do join us for more Bargain Hunting.

-Yes? ALL:

-Yes!