Malvern 14 Bargain Hunt

Today's show comes from the historic spa town of Malvern in Worcestershire.

Famous for its pure waters, ancient hills and spectacular views.

No wonder this place has inspired great writers and composers,

from JRR Tolkien to Sir Edward Elgar.

Marvellous! Well, over there is one of the UK's largest flea markets.

So let's get going, let's go Bargain Hunting!

Here at the Three Counties Showground,

there are hundreds of dealers,

so plenty for our teams to find a bargain.

With £300 and one hour to find three items to take to auction,

let's take a sneaky peek at what's coming up.

The Reds just can't agree.

I'm beginning to lean that way.

Yes. And which way are you leaning, Claire?

-Is it still too expensive?

-Well...

And love is in the air for the Blues.

The second most beautiful girl I've seen today!

And over at the auction, there's plenty of excitement.

At £25.

But will it stay that way?

But all that is coming up later.

So let's meet today's teams who are couples who all admit to having

something of a travel bug.

For the Reds, we've got Rod and Claire.

-Hello.

-And for the Blues, we've got Jess and Caroline.

-So hello. BOTH:

-Hello!

So, Rod, you two have been married for 34 years.

So how did you first meet?

To begin with, we almost didn't meet because I was leading a group of

Christian students out to Italy to build a conference centre.

And I was outside Victoria Railway Station with a banner saying,

meet here. And I was left on the outside

-and everybody else had met inside!

-Right.

And finally we did all meet up and went out to Italy.

So tell me, what is it you do with your spare time now?

Well, in the past I made a spinning wheel and a loom

and I'm trying to get back into woodwork now, which is quite good.

And then we've just got a Mazda MX5 and the plan

is to drive around Europe.

Fantastic, fantastic.

So, Claire, I believe you're always up for a challenge, is that right?

Well, yes, I guess so!

We certainly go travelling and we've been out to Africa and we visited

our daughter who was working with her husband with the Massai on the

Tanzanian-Kenyan border.

That was really interesting.

How are you at the Maasai jump? Are you...?

No, I haven't quite mastered that yet, I don't think!

No, I learnt about jewellery making, but not so much about the jump!

So what about your tactics?

I think we're going to go for fairly cheap, perhaps under £50.

Unusual. And silver, not silver plate.

And things that are useful.

And as it's so cold today, I'll be looking for a brass monkey!

Well, good luck with that one!

But turning my attention to the Blues. Caroline, hello.

-Hi.

-Now, you two are both Australian?

-That's right, yes.

-So how did you both meet?

We met in Australia at a friend's party.

And we were actually in the line for the toilet.

So it was a fairly humble beginning for us!

But it worked out well, yes.

So what was it that brought you to the UK?

Well, I've been working for a few years as a teacher and then I really

wanted to do some postgraduate study in history,

so I've come over to the UK, to Oxford, to do that.

So fulfilling a dream a bit, yeah.

-What are you reading?

-I'm reading medieval history, postgraduate, yeah.

So Jess, tell me, what are you doing for a job?

So I'm working at a publisher, I'm working at Oxford University Press,

which is great. So designing, yeah, book design for high school students.

-Fantastic job!

-It is great, I really love it.

So, yeah, looking at all the things that I probably should've learnt

in high school, I'm learning it again now through design, which is great.

So what do you do in your spare time?

Oh, I love all types of things,

but I really love hiking and sort of getting outdoors.

So a couple of years ago I went to Nepal with some friends,

which was great and we trekked up to Everest base camp.

Unfortunately I don't love flying as much,

but it's always worth it when I get to the other end.

So I'm wanting to know, what are your tactics today?

Well, I think everything we've learnt,

we've learned from watching Bargain Hunt!

About antiques. So I think we're going to go for things that are

small but well made, and we're going to aim for things that are probably

under the £100 price range, but we'll see how we go.

Well, you're both going to need some money.

So here's £300 for the Blues.

And here is £300 for the Reds.

So this is where you go off to meet your experts.

Well, it strikes me that we've got a programme here

with something of an international flavour.

And, of course, our two teams will need some guidance along the way.

Hoping to turn up the heat for the Reds, it's Caroline Hawley.

And trying hard for the Blues, it's Thomas Plant.

So Rod, Claire, what are you looking for today?

Something small, interesting, useful.

Excellent. And Claire, what about you?

Silver, but not silver plate, I think.

-Caroline?

-Well, as I study history, anything with a bit of a past.

-Anything antique.

-What about you, Jess?

Oh, something old and kind of printed I think, maybe.

Magazines or posters or anything in that kind of genre.

-OK, so reflecting what you do?

-I think so. A little bit, yeah.

OK, teams, get your skates on because your 60 minutes starts now!

OK, we've got our instructions, shall we go?

-Yeah.

-Let's go!

And the Reds get straight on the case.

I quite like that case thing.

Yeah, a lot of people put glass tops on.

What's the best on that one?

-Best on that one is 60.

-You wouldn't go to 59?

-60 is the death.

-See it's really useful getting under that 60,

-I know that!

-We'll think about that.

-OK.

-Thank you very much.

One for the back burner already.

You don't mess around, Claire!

Quick, we'd better move!

-No, no, it's not...

-Oh, what have the Blues spotted?

-Come this way.

-What's this little item, here?

So the little piece here is the Bayeux tapestry key fob.

-Oh, of course.

-Very interesting.

-But it's only a fiver.

-Yeah.

Well, you have plenty of time to play with...for now.

Back to the Reds who are looking for something pretty.

-Oh, I like that rabbit.

-How much is your rabbit?

110. It's a Winstanley.

-That's lovely.

-He is very beautiful looking.

-You wouldn't go under £100?

-How much under 100?

-A lot!

-I don't know, I don't know, 69?

No?

-I don't know how much under.

-What's your best, then?

-90.

-90?

No, could you come down a bit more?

So, under the ten, like 75?

-85.

-85, oh, I don't know. What do you think?

-That is definitely it.

That's a lot of money.

-85 is it.

-It's going up, we said we wouldn't spend that much.

OK, we'll leave him for the minute then, thank you very much.

-But he is nice.

-He is nice.

What is the figure that you were hoping to get?

Do you have a figure for whatever it is, it's got to be 69?

Well, we did say under 50,

but I did once see a rabbit that sold for a bit more.

Or a hare, he's a hare, isn't he, not a rabbit?

-He's a hare.

-OK, we've got time to look around.

-Can we run back?

-We can run back.

Not as fast as that hare, though!

Come on. Thank you, sir.

That's another maybe for the Reds, then.

But remember, time is flying.

Now, where have the Blues got to?

There are some interesting things on here, though.

-Look at this, here.

-Oh, wow.

This is sort of like, it's like a netsuke.

It's a Japanese netsuke, yes.

-Yeah.

-To hang their robes, they need to keep something to...

Yes, so in their robes, so they've got their belt on.

And they were wore like inro, which is like a purse,

and they want to hang it off their belt,

and they want to keep it on their belt with something decorative.

-Right.

-And that's a boxwood Japanese netsuke.

-I like that. It's cool.

-What does it say on here?

This is a Chinese, twin headed dog carving from a large nut.

But it has got these typical two holes you get for a netsuke.

-OK, right.

-He's called it Chinese.

I mean, I've must admit, the Chinese temple dogs are Chinese.

Yeah, I thought it looked Chinese to me first off.

But it's an interesting thing that we both thought it could be one,

you know, we both thought it could be a netsuke.

Do you think, I guess it's hard to tell the age of something like that?

£59. It is expensive, but widely collected.

-OK.

-We might come back to that, I think.

-You might, OK.

-That's great.

So that's a, "No," then for now.

Back to the Reds, and what's Rodney spotted?

What about the type of stoneware bottles?

There's an awful lot of them about.

-And they're not great sellers.

-OK, we don't want those then.

-No, right.

-OK, move on then, Reds.

Meanwhile, with the Blues, Thomas is looking rather excited.

That's great!

-Look at that!

-Come around here, come round here.

Are you Napoleon fans?

Well, I'm not a big fan of Napoleon himself.

But it's a great little item, I have to say.

You don't like Napoleon?

It's horrible!

-It's kind of, you know...

-Is it a fire curtain?

-It's memorabilia.

-It's a fire screen.

Not something you probably need for Australia!

It's Jacques-Louis David's copy, right?

It is Jacques-Louis David.

It's Berlin wool work.

-OK.

-And it's in this walnut frame, and it's marvellous.

Has it got a price on it?

I don't know. How much is the fire screen?

-110.

-£110?

-Yes.

-£110?!

Try not to be too shocked, it's Napoleon!

-I know it's Napoleon.

-I was more like thinking two figures.

I'm quite happy to let it go for what I paid for it, which was 80.

I just don't know if anybody would buy it.

It's not that I don't like it, I just...

There are Napoleon collectors out there.

It's interesting, though because it's got all those names and things.

-Bonaparte.

-Carolus Magnus.

I think it says Charlemagne.

-Charlemagne, yeah.

-Hannibal.

I mean, look, I'm quite happy for you to...

-I don't know. I'm a bit unsure.

-If you like it, I mean, she said 80.

-But we could do even better, potentially.

-80's pretty good.

Do you think we could squeeze you just a little bit more?

70. That is my bottom.

-70, no more.

-It's Victorian.

It's decorative.

It's a proper antique.

-True.

-£70 isn't a great deal of money

for something which looks that good.

-So are we going to go for it?

-I think we are going to go for it.

-I think so, yeah. I like it, yeah.

-I like it as well.

-Yeah!

Not that keen, Oh, we'll find something you like.

I will reserve my judgment, we'll see what happens!

-£70?

-Brilliant.

-I think we're going to go for it.

Sold. Thank you very much.

-Thank you very much. Good job.

-Right, first item down.

-Brilliant!

-Two more left.

-Let's go.

Well done, Blues. Good work.

Now, are the Reds any closer to making their first purchase?

-Oh, yes.

-What about...?

There's an old shoe, what about that?

Oh, wow. I quite like that.

I can see that planted up with something in the garden.

Can you get inside? What happens inside? Don't drop it!

Certainly weathered and aged, isn't it?

-It is.

-Is there any...?

What do you think?

I think it's interesting.

I think you could plant it up with something.

Let's ask. Where is the man, there's nobody round.

If you have a nice garden full of...

I think that would be quite fun. Because I've got a stone shoe in our

garden and I quite like it.

My mum loved it when we bought her one.

It's already got drainage holes in.

It certainly has got some drainage holes.

We just need to know how much they want for it.

-Let's see if I can find somebody.

-OK.

-Excuse me, sir.

Is this your boot?

Yeah, it belongs to me.

-Yeah.

-How much is your boot?

-It's £120.

-You'll get it for ten.

-Ten?

-Ten.

-No, would you do 8 for it?

OK. £8.

-Oh.

-Brilliant. Shall we have it?

Go for it. Shake the hand.

Well done, Reds. You've got your first item.

Time to head indoors where the Blues are eyeing up a piece of glass.

Now what you've got here, you've got a little bit of an opalescence.

-Even against my black glove...

-You can see...

..there's an opalescence. Now it's marked Lalique, France.

If this was going to be made

when he was alive, it would be marked R Lalique.

-OK.

-So we know... And we can see by the box, it's a modern box.

-Yeah.

-So it's a modern piece of Lalique glass.

-OK.

-But I personally think having the female figure with a

cornucopia of flowers, etc, around her, I think it's rather nice.

What is the very best on this, please?

What have we got on it at the moment?

You've got the grand price of £95.

£85?

I was thinking a little bit less.

-I'll give you 10%.

-Extra off.

70?

MUMBLING

-I think £70 is quite good.

-£80.

£80. Could we...? What about £75?

-Go on, then, we'll do it for that.

-£75?

-Yeah, I like it.

-I love it.

-Yeah, yeah.

-I love the fact that you spotted it.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-She's gorgeous. Let's do it.

-We'd love to do that.

-She's gorgeous.

She's gorgeous, but don't get too excited,

she's not as gorgeous as your girlfriend.

She's the second most beautiful girl I've seen today.

You're quite right there, Jesse.

Back to the Reds who've spotted some silver.

Is it marked, this one?

-It's marked 925.

-925. Do you know what that means?

No. What does it mean?

It means there's 925 parts silver to 1,000.

And it is generally continental silver marked,

it is not British standard.

It is really pretty, isn't it? There's a little tiny one.

-A little tiny stamp.

-It's got stamps on it.

They were very popular in Edwardian, Victorian times.

These will be more recent.

-They are, yes.

-They're quite modern.

-Are they quite modern?

Fairly modern. They'd be about '70s, '80s.

-Oh, I see.

-Yeah. But they're charming little pieces of silver.

So this big one is £30 and this one is £25.

-Right.

-Are you interested in both of them as a lot?

-What about...?

-What?

-Would you be able to do them both as a lot?

£55.

If you'd like to buy them as a lot, leave something in it for you...

-I could do it for 35.

-You wouldn't do 32?

I would do 33.

-33.

-Go for it.

-Go for it?

What would you... Do you want to go for it?

-Yes, because...

-I'm beginning to...

I'm beginning to lean that way.

-Yes?

-Is there a better price?

Oh, go on, then, I'll go to 32.

-32, that's what I said.

-All right, then. Go on.

-Go on, then.

Thank you very much.

-Yes. I'm going to take my glove off.

-Well done, Reds.

That's two items down and one to go.

Leaving the teams shopping,

I'm heading off just down the road to the Malvern Museum.

I'm going to meet local historian Cora Weaver,

to find out about Malvern's famous water.

So, Cora, tell me,

why was it that Malvern became one of this country's premier spa towns?

It goes back a long way, back to at least the 1500s,

where people came from all over the place to Malvern to drink the water,

bathe in the water, wrap themselves up in strips of wet linen,

and they did it just according to custom.

And then in 1842, Dr James Wilson

and Dr James Gulley came to Malvern and they attracted wealthy

people, and quite famous people.

Charles Darwin came.

Alfred Tennyson.

Florence Nightingale.

Florence Nightingale said, "It shouldn't be called the water cure,"

she said, "because people think that it is only the water alone that does

"the curing, but it's not."

The water cure was a package.

Drinking water, bathing in it, wrapping in it, fresh air,

exercise and a good diet.

So, tell me about the chilling realities of a water cure

establishment here in Malvern.

It meant getting up early, six o'clock.

And then your water cure attendant would prepare your bed for the pack

that was usually the first treatment of the day.

So what exactly was a pack?

The pack was one of the most important treatments.

The body was wrapped in a cold wet sheet,

which stimulated the circulation.

The sitz bath was used for people with blockages in their lower

intestine, and so it gradually released those blockages,

but apparently it was also good for people with bad tempers

-and boils on the bottom.

-So were there any other treatments?

There is one, and it was the douche, the descending douche.

And there would be, six metres up, a pipe and out would come cold water,

so it's really good for the circulation.

So it's the body's response to heat and cold that does the trick,

so it's you healing yourself rather than today,

where you have pills and potions and a knife.

So tell me about some of the objects that we can see here.

Very poorly people couldn't have such cold water,

it would probably kill them, it would give their body such a shock.

So if they were in a bath or they were being wrapped up,

they would have slightly warmed water,

and that's what we have this hot water jug for.

So you would just slightly warm the water and the doctor would say

how warm the water had to be,

so the water cure attendant had to be able to read the thermometer.

Fascinating. Thank you so much for sharing that story with us.

But meanwhile, let's check with our teams back at the fair.

Back to the shopping and both teams have two items each.

We're just over the halfway mark and Thomas has spotted a didgeridoo.

-Are you sure you can't play it?

-Definitely not, no.

And the Reds are talking strategy.

So we've no idea at all?

Not really, no. But we think it's going somewhere that grabs us.

Come on.

-Look at this. What do you think of this?

-Cool!

-A cannonball.

-That is awesome.

-A nine pounder.

-Wow.

-That is amazing, isn't it?

-Can you feel the weight?

-Yeah.

It's heavy.

That's... Yeah. It's got to smash through a ship, so...

-Wow.

-Cannonball!

-Fantastic.

-A cannonball, isn't it?

-Where has it come from?

-It came out of a stately home near Exeter.

A stately home in Exeter.

-And what is the price?

-£45.

-I think that's rather fine.

-Wow.

-Yeah.

-Do you think it's going to blast us into a profit?

I don't know. It's quite funny, people love cannonballs, don't they?

-What's the very best it could be?

-The best on it could be £40.

-We might keep looking, maybe.

-You want to keep looking?

I think we should keep looking.

I think it's quite interesting, but £40...

I think you'd be hard pushed to find something that interesting.

-True. We might come back.

-You might come back? OK.

-We'll see.

-All right.

OK, team, move on. Only 20 minutes left.

Over with the Reds and Rodney still has his eye on something pretty.

-Do you like it?

-What have you spotted?

-It was just that...

-That.

-Enamel bracelet.

-Bracelet.

-It says Art Nouveau, doesn't it?

-I love a bit of Art Nouveau.

-Do you?

-Yes.

Silver and enamel Art Nouveau.

-We need to have a look.

-OK.

-Do you want to go and ask?

-You go and ask.

-OK.

-Go on, Rod.

So, after a quick word with the shy stallholder,

will it be good news for the Reds?

He's going to let us have a look at it, but...

He thinks it's about £65 at the moment, but it only says

silver on it, so is that...?

It's not the Art Nouveau, it's not an original Art Nouveau.

-Oh.

-I wouldn't have thought.

Well, leave it for the minute and we'll come back.

-There's another one there...

-Are you sure?

-.. with silver things

-in there. Come on, quick.

-We need to move.

-Right. OK.

It's a, "No," from Claire. Never mind, Rodney.

Onwards and upwards.

And back to our straight talking Blues.

-How about this?

-What is it?

-It's a little, you know...

-A plumb bob?

Yeah, if you need to tell if something's straight not,

you wind it out, and because this is quite heavy and it's pointed,

it'll tell you whether it's straight or not.

-Thomas?

-We have a disagreement.

-You have a disagreement?

-Well, not a disagreement.

What do you think about this? It's a little vintage plumb bob.

-Right.

-It's only £16.

-OK.

-I don't know if it's got much age to it, but it's a nice thing.

I don't... I'm not so keen, but I'm not against it.

-I just want to make sure we make a profit.

-I'm not against that.

You know what people like to use these things for?

-As for light switches.

-OK.

You know, there's a multiple use to them, but it is what it is.

-OK.

-Yeah. All right, let's keep going.

Right, teams, only 15 minutes to go and you both still have to get

your final item.

Back with the Reds, Caroline has spotted something unusual.

I've no idea what it is.

It is a snooker cue tipper.

-Oh!

-No, not true.

It's a snooker cue...

It earlier than that. It's a billiard cue.

OK, a billiard, snooker...

A billiard cue tipper.

Yeah. You put the billiard cue in there and then you clamp it tight.

The bit on the top, here, it should have a little chain

with a flat file.

You file the top of the cue and then you slack it off,

you shove it up here, you glue on your tip,

ram it up against there and pull it tight.

-A new tip.

-And when it's dry,

you hang it up on your peg in the billiard hall and off you go home.

Yeah, I like that.

Do you like that?

-It's...

-I quite like that.

It's very different, but is it missing a file.

It would have a little chain with a flat file.

With a file on it.

-Yeah.

-Would that matter much? I don't know.

It depends how much you're asking.

-I could certainly do 20.

-Can you go below 15?

Can you go what?

-Go below 15 for us.

-14?

Pete, would 14 be all right?

-Oh, go on. Go on.

-All right, 14.

Brilliant!

Yeah, we're happy.

-Absolutely brilliant.

-Well done.

-Come on.

-Wow.

Oh, let's go and have a sit down.

A cup of tea, hot water bottle.

Well done, Reds, you've done it.

A last-minute push and you've finished ahead of the Blues.

Come on, just ten minutes to go.

What about the trinket box? That's quite useful.

Have a look, open it up.

-It's nice.

-Sheffield.

-Silver.

-How old is it?

-1926.

-So it's...

-That's good.

-Which King was on the throne then?

-George.

-George the...?

-Fifth.

-Fifth, yes.

God, this is so much fun.

You know your British history.

-I don't know.

-130 though, I mean...

-You could always do a deal.

-Well, that's right.

-What have we got left?

-155.

-155.

What's your best price you could do on this item?

-What have we got on it?

-£130.

-That is a little bit more than we...

-Somewhere around...

£95, if there's any...

-For your two...

-You are trying to bankrupt me.

-I know...

Very difficult. It's on the cusp.

It needs to be a bit less to make a profit.

I don't know if we're going to squeeze him any further.

-Well, you can always try and ask.

-We can try. £85.

-You've got literally five minutes left.

-85.

-It's tense stuff.

-I'm really kind of done at 90.

£90 flat.

And then we're done.

-OK, £90.

-It's a lovely little item.

-That's a really good discount.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you so much.

-No problem at all.

-Thank you.

BELL RINGS

Teams, your time is up.

-We're done.

-So impressed with you.

Let's remind ourselves what the Reds bought.

First, they walked away with his wooden boot for £8.

Then they took a shine to these silver metal stamp boxes,

costing them £32.

And finally they struck lucky with a wooden cue stick topper

for just £14.

The all-important question is, did you have fun?

-Yes, we did.

-We definitely did.

-It was great.

-Had a great day.

-So, Claire, tell me, what is your favourite item?

I'll go for the silver envelope, stamp envelopes.

Yeah. Stamp cases.

And which of your three buys do you think will give you the biggest profit?

I think the shoe will, if it doesn't fall apart before the auction.

-Yeah.

-What about you, Rod? What do you think?

I was rather taken by our last item, which was the billiard cue tipper...

-Yeah.

-..which I've never seen anything outside it.

-Right.

Hopefully... I like that because it was just unusual.

-Right.

-And hopefully there will be a lot of people out there playing

snooker and billiards who will like it as well, so...

OK. Which do you think is going to give you the biggest profit?

For those reasons, I think that will give us

more than any of the others.

So what was the final spend?

-£54.

-£54.

Right. Which means you're going to give me £246, is that right?

-If I have to.

-You have to. Where's the pound?

It all counts. Well, Caroline.

-Thank you.

-You can do a lot of good with that.

-I can, indeed I can.

I'm going to find something sparkly, shiny, silver,

-but not silver plate.

-No, not silver plate.

-Thank you.

-In the meantime, let's find out what the Blue team bought.

First up, Caroline and Jess warmed to this 19th-century fire screen,

costing them £75.

Next, they fell in love with this beautiful Lalique lady.

Price paid - £75.

And finally, this silver dressing table box bought for £90.

So, was that ripper or what?

-Absolutely.

-Pretty good.

-Fantastic, thank you.

-You've enjoyed yourselves?

-Absolutely, yeah, it was great.

So, Caroline, what's your favourite item?

I think my favourite was the silver trinket box that we got last.

Yeah, I think we did really well with that.

What do you think is going to give you the biggest profit?

Probably more likely to be the Lalique statuette, I think.

Jess, what was your favourite object?

I think my favourite was the little Lalique statue that we picked up,

I thought was really nice quality.

But I think the object that will bring us the biggest profit is the

little silver box that we bought.

-OK.

-Yeah.

-So how much did you spend, you two?

We spent £235.

-OK.

-So we have...

-Which means you are going to give me £65.

Which I am going to give to Thomas.

-Thank you.

-Thomas, got your eye on anything in particular out there?

I have, actually. Something we might have seen.

-Oh, I see.

-We might not have seen.

-Excellent.

-But you two were amazing.

-Thank you.

Absolutely amazing. It has been a pleasure.

-Lovely doing business with you.

-Yeah.

So, while Thomas goes off to spend his £65,

we're going off to the auction.

Well, we quite literally nipped up the hill to the Malvern sale room,

and I'm joined by auctioneer and legend, Mr Philip Serrell.

Eric, it's lovely to see you.

Thank you, lovely to be here.

We're going to be business-like.

We're going to start with the Reds, now this is Claire and Rodney.

And their first purchase, yes,

was this huge wooden clog or boot or whatever you want to call it.

-Well, log.

-Log!

It's an interesting thing.

When I first looked at it, I didn't think too much to it, really.

It's got a bit of age, hasn't it?

I think it has.

Whether or not it might have been a street sign, you know,

for a cobbler, or has it just been a novelty jardiniere with a few

flowers coming out of it?

Well, it's a first for me, because I have never sold a log before.

I think it's going to make £5-£10.

The only chance that it might have, is if someone sees something in it

-that I haven't.

-But anyway, it's all in the eye of the beholder.

They paid £8 for it.

So I think it was a pretty good buy, all things considered.

-Yeah.

-Well, the next lot, we're going down a peg or two in scale

and we've gone for stamp boxes.

I think they are probably Continental.

They're stamped 925 which means they're silver.

I would think they're probably copies of perhaps ones that would've

been made in Birmingham which was famous for producing

this type of thing at the back end of the 19th century.

-I think they will make between £20-£40.

-£20-£40.

They paid, actually, 32, so there's room for movement there.

Yeah, we're in with a chance, aren't we?

-In with a chance.

-Good.

The final item is one that might even qualify to most people

-as a mystery object.

-I love it.

Would you like to explain that to me because it's described as a

boxwood, metal snooker cue holder.

Right, well, the first one of these I bought, someone told me it was for

holding a fishing rod so you put your fishing rod up there,

you did that and you hung it on the wall.

But this is a snooker cue holder.

Either way, what do you reckon it from a value point of view?

I've been a bit mean, £5-£10.

If people like it, it might make 20.

Do you know what they paid for it?

14. I mean it's a conversation piece, isn't it?

-Absolutely right.

-Pass it around at a dinner party.

Well, after all that, will they need the bonus buy?

Let's have a look.

Claire and Rod, a day of great expectations?

-We hope so.

-Yeah, well, for all of us, it goes without saying.

But in the meantime, you left Caroline the tidy sum of £246

to go out and spend. So, Caroline, reveal your bonus buy.

Now, look at this.

-Oh, is that enamel?

-It is enamel.

-It's very pretty.

It's on silver, it's of the Art Nouveau period...

-Yes.

-..which I absolutely adore.

-But...

-But what?

-How much?

What did you pay?

I paid £75 for it.

£75.

What do you think it would make at an auction?

I think if two people want it in a fair wind,

it could well make 90.

Yes, it's really pretty,

-it is very pretty but over what we'd have spent.

-Right.

OK, remember you don't have to make your decision now.

In fact, you've got to wait until all your first three items have been

sold, but in the meantime, let's find out what our auctioneer

has to say about Caroline's bonus buy.

So, here's the bonus buy.

Well, that is lovely, isn't it?

It's enamelled, it's aping that sort of really strong Charles Horner,

Art Nouveau design and I really like that.

I think it's very wearable.

A bit small, but it depends what you're spending.

I think it's going to make between £50-£80, that sort of region.

-What did she pay for it?

-She paid 75 for it.

-Good punt.

-We both agree it's got potential.

-Yeah, I think so.

-OK.

Right, well that's the Reds. Now for the Blues.

This is Jess and Caroline and their first purchase is this fire screen.

I think it's lovely. It's a bit of an age gone by and if you're

a Napoleon Bonaparte fan, there's the lot for you.

But I love the frame that it's in.

These tramlines, here, show you that that's the beginning

of the influence that we took to the Edwardian era.

But it's got one problem with it.

-You've got that lovely sort of swirling scroll over here.

-Yes.

And then on this side it's either been broken off or flatted off.

-It holds it back in my view.

-It does.

-I put £40-£60 on it.

I think if it was all there, it's a £100-£150 screen.

I'm with you. Well, they paid £70 so, you know,

we're in fighting territory.

-We've got a chance.

-OK, so next item is a piece of Lalique.

Not a very great age, Phil, but tell me what you think.

Eric, you're the man that knows more about Lalique than anybody else,

so I'm going to tread very carefully here.

-I mean, to me, that hasn't got great age.

-No.

But it is Lalique and it's £40-£60 worth.

-Now you tell me.

-Basically you can see you've got the original box.

It was probably made in the late 1990s but it's a nice thing.

They paid 75 for it.

It's a magic name, Lalique, isn't it?

And I think that could be a selling factor.

-OK.

-But the final lot is something that me and you

have seen a lot of over the years, haven't we?

The thing is, it's like being transported back in time for me.

This is a staple diet of an antique fair at the local hotel in 1983.

-Yeah.

-And these things were bought in huge quantities

as part of a larger dressing table set and they have kind of fallen

out of fashion because today, things have got to be functional,

-so what are you going to do with it?

-Exactly.

I think it's going to make £40-£60.

What did they pay for that?

They paid the princely sum of £90 for it.

-Punchy, that.

-Taking all three lots into consideration,

it looks to me as though they may be in need of their bonus buy,

so let's find out what Thomas went out and bought.

So, Caroline and Jess,

I think it's fair to say you had a pretty healthy spend, didn't you?

-Yeah, we did quite well.

-I think we did OK.

Can you remember exactly how much you did spend?

235?

Or was it 230? Something along those lines.

235, that meant that Thomas had £65 to go out there and spend.

So, Thomas, show us what you bought with that £65.

Well, I bought something I think we all quite liked.

Oh!

Lovely. I was hoping it would come back.

Absolutely, so this wonderful Chinese boxwood Netsuke

with these carved dogs of Fo heads.

They've got little black, glass eyes.

I just think it's got tremendous quality.

-It's great.

-Good size.

-So can you remember how much it was?

Was it 40 something, 45?

It was marked more expensive than that.

-It was like 65.

-So what did you get it for?

-45 is what I paid.

-45. Very nice.

-Excellent, OK. Great.

Do you think it will make any profit?

Do you know, I think it's got a really good chance.

I think it's a nice thing.

-Look at the little faces.

-The faces are really sweet.

Almost two for the price of one, really.

Cut it in half and sell them both.

Having said that, it goes without saying you've got to wait until

you've sold your first three items before you decide whether to go

with the bonus buy or not.

But in the meantime,

let us find out what our auctioneer has to say about Thomas's bonus buy.

So, here it is.

Best described probably as Oriental, a little carved wood.

What would you describe those characters as?

It's from that neck of the woods, isn't it?

And these are dogs of Fo, aren't they?

Yes, or even Buddhistic lions or something.

It's much the same thing, isn't it?

And I mean I'm not sure whether it's a dog of Fo or what it is, really,

but it's very difficult to put a price on these Oriental items.

It's certainly not my area of expertise but I would think that's

going to make £20-£40.

Thomas went out and paid £45 for it.

What I really love is his eyes, look at his little eyes.

That one is looking at you and this one is looking at me.

You looking at me? You looking at me?

So, you're the auctioneer today.

-I am indeed, Eric.

-Go up there and enjoy yourself

and try the old smile now and then.

OK, I just want to check on the excitementometer.

The excitementometer is quite high but a bit nervous too.

-Don't be.

-Have you done auctions before?

-Once, once before.

-I've done two.

-You've done two?

OK, so here's your first item coming up.

It is your driftwood shoe for which you paid the princely sum of £8.

A bid at ten, £10. At ten, ten bid.

This is for nothing. 15, 20.

At £20.

20 bid. Any more at all?

At 25.

At £25. At 25, at £25.

And I sell, then at £25. And done, thank you.

£25. That means that you're plus £17.

Here's your second lot coming up, it's your little white metal

stamp boxes and they're coming up now.

Put me in a bidding. Start me off £50, the two.

£20 the two, quickly.

Bid 20. 20 bid.

At £20, and five, 30, 30 bid, five, 40 with me.

At £40 on the book.

£40 bid, is there any more?

At £40, commission bid.

At £40 and I sell then at 40 and done, thank you.

£40, OK, so you're plus £8.

So here's your third item, your snooker cue holder. Here it comes.

Start me off wherever you want it to be, I don't know,

£20 for it.

-Go on, Phil, get them a profit.

-Who's got a tenner? Quickly.

-They want a profit.

-Five bid. Five bid.

Oh, I've got 15 on the net bid.

-15!

-15? Really?

-£15.

On the internet at £15 only.

Any more? 15 and done, thank you.

Plus one.

That gives you a collective total of £26.

So I need to ask you the question, what about the bonus lot?

What about the bonus lot?

Well, it's a bit more than we spent.

-But it is really pretty. Shall we go with it?

-I think we'll be brave.

-Yeah. It might do it.

-Be brave.

-Go for it.

273a, there we are, the enamel pendant.

Who's got £50 for it?

Who's got £20?

This is no money, really no money.

£20. I'm bid 20, 20 bid.

-Show it the audience.

-20, 20 bid. And five, 30. 35, on the internet.

At 35, 40, 40 bid, on the net.

Come on.

At £50. Any more at all?

At £50 on the net and done... 60.

60 bid. At £60 on the net. 70 bid on the net. Bid at 70.

70 bid. £70, thank you.

£70.

In all fairness, you're only minus £5 as a result

which gives you now a pretty reasonable total of plus £21.

And the golden gavel.

And, yes, as you no doubt remember.

OK. All right, hold on and just remember,

you know what I am going to say, not a word to the Blues.

Wipe the smiles off your face. Deadpan.

Well, Blues, have you been to an auction before?

-No, we haven't, actually.

-It's your first one.

And it's up here in the northern hemisphere.

That's right.

Excellent. Here comes your first item, it's the fire screen.

50, I'm bid, 50, 50 bid.

60, 70, thank you.

80, 80 bid, 90, 90 bid.

-100, 110.

-That's good.

-110. 120.

On the contraption at £120. At £120 and I sell, then, thank you.

Well done.

You just made yourselves a £50 profit.

Here comes your second item.

The amber Lalique glass figurine.

-Here it comes.

-£50 to start.

20 I'm bid at 20, 20 bid. £20 only.

And five, 35, I've got 60 on the net bid.

A bit more, a bit more.

At 70. Here's the bid at £70.

-On the net. Any more at all?

-One more, a little fiver.

At £70 and I sell, then, at 70 and done, thank you.

Oh, galling.

Minus £5, so your third item is coming up,

this lovely little silver dressing table box.

Here it comes.

Start me off, who's got £40 for it?

At 40, 40 bid, 45, 45, any more?

-At £45.

-No! No!

-Is there any more at all?

At £45 on the net. Any more?

At £45 and I sell, then, and done, thank you.

Oh, no!

Minus 45. I'm afraid that takes your positive to a zero, I'm afraid.

So we are in a situation where I have to ask the question,

are you thinking about going with your bonus buy?

-I think we should, yes.

-I don't want to put words in your mouth.

-We don't have anything left.

-What would you say, Tom?

I think you've got nothing to lose.

-Go for it.

-Exactly.

Lot number 301 is a little Netsuke.

20 I'm bid on the net. At 20, 20 bid.

And five, 25, 30 bid.

Before you.

I've got five on the net, 35, 35, 35.

Any more? At £35.

Internet bid. Any more at all?

At £35 and done, thank you on the net.

£35. OK.

So close.

I've got to say that your cumulative total is minus £10.

-That is no big deal, don't worry about it, OK?

-Not too embarrassing.

So the next thing I'm going to say to you is I want you to walk out

of here with deadpan faces and don't say a word to the Reds.

MUSIC PLAYS

Well, it was a near run thing this, teams, I don't mind telling you.

But before I do tell you, how has it been for you?

-Wonderful.

-Yeah.

-Really enjoyed it.

-Good fun.

You'd recommend it to friends, wouldn't you?

-Absolutely.

-Of course you would.

But we have to have a winner, but we never have a loser,

we only ever have a runner-up.

And I can tell you today that our runners up are the Blue team.

So near, yet so far.

But you put up a valiant, valiant effort.

Yeah, we had a lot of fun.

That's all that matters. Well done, Tom, anyway.

So turning now to... Yes, your faces,

you look like two small children on Christmas morning, you really do.

Before I give you the money,

let me give you something that money cannot buy.

You have achieved the dream,

the dream of earning yourselves each a golden gavel.

-Thank you very much.

-Excellent.

It's, as I say, better than money can buy.

In the meantime, here are your earnings, OK? £21.

-That's very nice, thank you.

-So, fantastic.

That's it from us but meanwhile, you can catch us on our website

or follow us on Twitter.

But better still, join us next time for some more Bargain Hunting.

-Yes? ALL:

-Yes!