Edinburgh 17 Bargain Hunt

MUSIC: I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) by The Proclaimers

Today I'm standing on an extinct volcano, 130 metres above sea level.

I am of course at the magnificent Edinburgh Castle,

and despite towering above the landscape,

the castle is said to be the most besieged place in Britain.

We love a battle in Bargain Hunt,

and today's battle between the Reds and the Blues

is happening in that direction, at the Royal Highland Centre.

Time for the battle to commence.

Let's go Bargain Hunting!

Armed with £300 to buy three items,

our teams have this huge arena to get around.

But they'll have to be canny,

because they have to be done and dusted in 60 minutes.

Let's have a wee look at what's coming up on today's show.

John's literally feeling the pressure...

After all that, I want to put my OWN head in a mangle!

THEY LAUGH

The Blues cause chaos...

We need a first aid kit already?

-The dealer's taking casualties.

-Aye.

Both teams have a bumpy ride,

but who will need patching up after the auction?

The Reds...

THEY GASP IN EXCITEMENT

-..or the Blues?

-Oh, no!

-No!

And I pop back to explore Edinburgh Castle.

This must be the cannon of all cannons!

But that's all for later.

Let's meet today's teams.

Two sets of friends.

-For the Reds, we have Gillian and Wilma...

-Hello.

-Hello.

..and for the Blues, we have Dot and Aileen.

-Hello, everyone! ALL:

-Hi!

It's lovely to have you along.

-Now, Gillian...

-Yes.

..I believe that you two are the best of friends,

and you've been friends for a long time.

We met on our first day at school.

I was four, Wilma was five.

-That was in...well, over 50 years ago.

-SHE LAUGHS

Oh, you don't need to...you don't need to give us the details.

-Well, WELL over 50 years ago!

-THEY LAUGH

And we've been friends ever since.

-Yes.

-What kind of things do you together?

We do lots of things together.

We go shopping, we go to boot fairs, and we have dinners.

-Prosecco lunches.

-Prosecco lunches.

-Very nice. THEY LAUGH

-So you're both retired.

-We are.

Gillian, are you enjoying your retirement?

I am, I'm loving it. I ran a vintage dress shop with my daughter for a

long time, which was lovely,

but I was a trained artist,

so I'm really doing a lot more art now,

and I was lucky enough to get some work into

the Royal Scottish Academy,

and, even better, I actually sold it, so that was wonderful.

-Oh, congratulations!

-Thank you.

-That's terrific.

And what about you?

I worked in a school with children with additional needs,

and then I was a classroom assistant and I helped with the art and...

because I'm a sort of compulsive crafter, that worked out

really well, and then, now I'm retired, I do some volunteer work.

Being best mates and having similar tastes should make you a good team.

-Hopefully, yes.

-You won't fall out?

Oh, no. No, we've never fallen out.

-Yet.

-THEY LAUGH

So that's the Red team.

Let's meet our Blues,

-Dot and Aileen.

-Hi.

-Girls, lovely to have you here.

-Thank you.

Now, you guys have been friends since school as well.

Aileen's older than me, so she was the year...

-You would never have guessed it!

-Is she still your best friend?

-I don't know why, but, yeah.

-THEY LAUGH

-I'm just slightly older, but I'm also taller, so...

-All right.

-So you better watch it.

-Yeah, so we've been friends

a long, long time. Since black-and-white telly.

-Oh, well...

-And power cuts!

-THEY LAUGH

Now, Dot, you're retired, but I believe you had a very sort of

high-falutin' job, you were a scientist.

I literally just retired two months ago from the Haematology Department

at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.

I tested blood for anaemia, malaria,

glandular fever and also crossmatch blood.

Are you enjoying retirement?

Well, two days after I retired I broke my ankle in three places.

Were you skydiving? THEY LAUGH

-As you can see, I've got my moon boot on, so...

-Oh, yeah.

It's on the road to recovery now.

Uh-huh. Aileen, it says here that you're a dentist.

Do you enjoy dealing with teeth?

I do, and a lot of people probably think, "O-o-oh!"

Yeah, but it's more than teeth,

it's people, and that's the most important thing.

A pretty impressive pair of gals,

but what do you know about antiques and collectibles?

-BOTH:

-Absolutely nothing!

-THEY LAUGH

But Dot does buy a few odd things.

-Right.

-The, sort of, latest purchase was two

dogs' heads, sort of blue fluorescent velvet.

-Do they nod?

-No.

-They're not nodding dogs!

-THEY LAUGH

Static heads. Either side of my sideboard.

-The unusual.

-Yeah.

-And do you agree with her on that?

Are you going to let her lead you?

She'll lead, but we will disagree.

-But Dot's the leader, there's no doubt at all about that.

-All right.

In order to let you spend some money,

I have to give you some money.

-£300 for you...

-Thank you very much.

-..and £300 for you.

-Thank you.

Your experts await, so off you go.

Thank you.

Two sets of wild ones today.

We could have trouble on our hands.

All our teams need now are their experts.

Weighing in with the Reds, it's John Cameron.

He's always loud and clear for the Blues, it's Paul Laidlaw.

What are we looking for?

I'd like to find something...curling stone or something, or golf clubs.

We are going to be buying jewellery.

For me?

I'd like to get a bit of glass, but more if I just feel like something,

I like it, that's it.

Silver and small.

Silver and small. And are we going to be spending small or big?

-Big.

-Big.

-Both big, huh?

OK, teams, your time starts now.

-There's loads to see, so let's go shopping.

-Let's go!

-Let's go find it!

-OK.

Good luck, teams.

-I like that way. Let's go that way.

-That's the way we're going, then.

That's it, get stuck in, Blues.

There's lots and lots of cabinets and it is easy to, sort of,

stop and have a good look in them, so don't rush around too much.

Don't dawdle either, Reds. The hour flies by.

What's jumping out at us?

When you see it, holler.

-Wow!

-Oh, there's far too many lovely things here.

Wilma's in her element. What's caught the Blues' attention?

-It's like an old first aid kit.

-We need a first aid kit already?

-THEY LAUGH

-The dealer's taking casualties.

-Aye.

-Bit too much.

-Too much out of the old budget, that one.

Well, you wanted to spend big, Reds.

Wilma, something small and silver was on your wish list.

There's plenty here.

-That's lovely.

-Isn't it?

-I like it.

-It's nice, isn't it?

You've got the striker on the top there.

-And do you strike inside it as well?

-Yeah, absolutely.

-Truly sweet.

-I do like the novelty seal.

-So what do you think of it?

-I like that as well.

Oh, look, little piggies as well, these...

Little pincushion.

-I don't think we're going to get them away from your stall, Jim!

-LAUGHTER

-I love that mouse.

-They're like children in the toy shop here.

-They love the mouse, they love this...

-I need to get to get my glasses on now.

-I just noticed a fairy on that little box.

-You've noticed a fairy?

Oh, here we go.

This little piece of silver bijouterie is

a little box for the tooth fairy.

What a wonderful thing.

-It's beautiful. It's so sweet.

-Well spotted, sharp-eyed Wilma.

-Isn't it lovely?

-I love it. I absolutely love it.

It's got a lovely gilt interior, which is continental,

but it has...it's been imported into Birmingham.

-How much is that, Jim?

-£25.

-25 quid.

-THEY GASP

-Would you do 20?

-Yes, I will.

-Thank you.

-OK.

-We can have this for £20, now...

-£20.

-I've got to have that.

-We've got to have this.

We've got to have that. So, £20.

-Would you like to shake this man's hand?

-I'd love to, thank you so much.

He's got a warm heart, this man, and lots of patience, too.

THEY LAUGH

-I think we need to make a wish, don't we?

-We do.

-Wish it come true.

-Yes.

-Right...

-Right, we've made the wish.

-First purchase done. Well done, girls.

And in just ten minutes.

I hope you wished for huge profits.

Small, silver, fairy - ticks all the boxes.

-And your wingman here got a fiver off for you, too.

-Thank you.

So the Reds seem happy with their first buy.

What's Aileen spotted for the Blues?

Is this a coat stand?

A telescopic standard

oil lamp back in its day. If you lift the bonnet...

-Oh, right.

-..it's been converted to electricity,

but I'll wager that dates to, let's say, about 1900.

-Really?

-And it would have carried a cradle, and therein would be the

reservoir for an oil lamp, and in 1910-1920,

when electrification came about, they went,

"Well, it's a darned fine standard.

"What are we going to do? We're not going to throw it out,

"we're going to convert it."

-I quite like it.

-I adore such things.

However, your price tag...

-It's pretty big.

-You know what it's worth at auction?

-What?

-It's worth 50-100 on a good day.

Do you want to ask?

-There's never any harm.

-We could ask, and then...

-Why not?

-What's your best price?

-120?

-It's going to be too steep for us.

What's your very best?

-He's thinking...

-For you, 90 quid.

No, I think that's too much.

It's one you can think about, though.

It's the first thing we've...

-We're not going anywhere.

-We know it's here, so we can...

-I just like it.

-It's unusual.

-You've got good taste.

-It's the first thing I saw.

-It is a nice one.

See if we hide it with a hat, no-one else'll see it.

-We can keep it in mind, so thanks very much.

-I do like it.

-No problem at all.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Aileen was right, Dot's in charge.

Reds, could you squeeze a profit out of this?

-Look at this, girls.

-Gosh, that's...

-Wow!

-Look at that.

-Look at that!

What do you think of that?

-Oh, it's so sweet.

-That's really sweet.

-Did either of you have one of these as a child?

-A real one.

-You had a big one.

-I had a big one.

-Yes, we had a big one.

-Is that how you earned your pocket money?

-It's how I've got my muscles.

THEY LAUGH

And what about you, Wilma, did you have anything like this?

I love that. Yes, we had one.

But we went to the steamie to do our washing.

To the steamie? I love that. To the steamie.

-So it's by Tri-ang. You've heard of Tri-ang?

-Yes.

Now, the Tri-ang company was formed by three brothers.

-Their surname was Lines.

-Oh, right.

-And what do three lines make?

-Triangle!

-There you go.

-Oh, wow, right, didn't know that.

And it's got £56 on it.

-56.

-I...no, we need to get it down.

-Well, we can ask, we can only ask.

-We can ask maybe if...

-We can only ask.

Hello there, hi, how are you?

These young ladies have taken a bit of a shine to the mangle.

What would be your absolutely best price on that?

Very best would be...

46, and honestly, that's it.

-No less.

-It's your call girls, your call.

I think that's too much.

I don't think it will get that back at auction.

-Do you want to...

-Can we come back?

-We'll think about it, yeah?

-Yeah.

-All right.

-I think so.

-Because it's lovely.

-After all that,

I want to put my OWN head in a mangle! Come on.

THEY LAUGH

So much for spending big, Reds.

Back with the Blues, and they're still at the oil lamp store.

What have they spotted now?

What do you think of this screen? It's easy missed,

because it's hidden underneath hats and behind everything else.

But it's got a price tag on it.

-Oh, I like that.

-What price of tag is on it?

-65.

-I tell you what,

I'd love to see that in a lovely Edinburgh town house boudoir,

and I'd love to imagine what was going on behind it as the nightdress

-is being draped over.

-Don't imagine Dot!

-Is that too much?

-Don't imagine Dot.

-I got in my happy place there.

-It's nice.

-How old do you think it is?

-Anything?

-Victorian.

-Could that not be a bit 1920s Art Deco?

-Modern?

You've got the geometry throughout the decoration and indeed the form,

so in good condition I'd say comfortably 40-80 at auction,

so 65 is sitting very safely in the centre estimate.

But he might do us a deal, if we went for two.

-I like the way you think.

-Show us your negotiating skills then, Blues.

Now we're going to go...my friend likes this, she really likes this.

-And I really like this.

-But 90 is a bit steep for us.

90 is a bit too much for that.

-45 on that one.

-45, OK, I think that's definitely...

-So, both for 120?

-I like that.

-120?

Are you the boss? Who's the boss?

Don't look at him now! Right?

125? Put it there, 125. There we go.

-Are you OK with that, Paul?

-That OK? Yeah? Yeah?

-Thank you very much.

Lovely things, lovely things.

Thanks very much.

That's a screen bought for £45, and £80 for the oil lamp in 15 minutes.

Speedy work, Blues.

These two are tough negotiators.

Dot and Aileen are taking no prisoners.

They know what they like.

That was the first stall we went to.

Thankfully, however, they've got good taste.

Paul's pleased, and this should please the Reds.

A little bit of Arts and Crafts there, girls.

-Yes, I looked...I saw this as well.

-That's lovely.

-Do you like that?

-It's a nice desk set, isn't it?

-It's lovely.

No self-respecting gentleman would be without.

Price tag is £125.

-It's lovely.

-Receptacles for your stamps here.

-Here for your ink and pounce, the powder.

-That's lovely.

Your pen dish is there as well.

-That's really pretty.

-A little bit of the plating is worn off,

but I think that would be... it's understandable.

Somebody could get that re-plated.

-How old, do you think? Sort of 1910 or something?

-I think this

would be... Yeah, I'd be surprised

if this wasn't that or a little bit earlier.

And we can see that all over its been treated with this planished

decoration, or planishing, which is effectively, like, hammered, and

that's a real, sort of, key feature of the Arts and Crafts movement,

which was all about hand craftsmanship.

I love that, actually, I really do, but not at £125.

So what sort of money would you be thinking?

-About 90?

-About 90. Do you think you could get it for 90?

-What do you think?

-Do you know what, I like it, I do like it.

-Excuse me, sir.

-Excuse me.

These two young ladies have taken a bit of a shine to the desk set here.

-Yeah, it's a nice piece, that.

-You've got 125.

-What would be the absolute death on it?

-I really wanted 110 on it.

I would prefer it if it was about 90.

No, I can't do it for 90. I'll do it at 100, that's the absolute...

-100?

-Are you in agreement?

-Yeah.

-Yeah, we are.

-Yeah. Shake his hand.

-100.

-Shake his hand before he shoos us away.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you very much.

-Thanks.

-I like that. Well, we've got some

Arts and Crafts silverware, we've got some fairies.

-What left, ladies?

-BOTH:

-Jewellery!

Well, there's plenty here, Reds,

so we're halfway through and it's two-all.

The Blues have spent £125.

What about the Reds, John?

We've still got £180 to spend, and they wanted to spend big, and they

both want to buy a piece of jewellery, so I think it's back to

sharp-eyed Wilma now to spot something in these cabinets.

Eyes peeled then, Wilma.

Now, a curling stone was on Dot's shopping list.

-Oh, it's an inkwell.

-It's an inkwell.

With a handmade body.

-Yeah, I don't know what it's made of.

-Silver-plated mount.

Nice wee thing, wee inkwell.

What do you think it's worth at auction?

-I think it's worth £15-£25.

-Is it heavy?

-No.

What's it priced at?

-£28.

-I like it, but we've got plenty time,

so we can have a wee think about it and come back.

Dot's spoken and she's put her curling stone on ice.

The Reds are on the lookout for jewellery,

but the Blues might have beaten them to it.

Here's like-it-or-loathe-it territory.

See the bar brooch with the lustrous green elements?

-Yeah.

-What do you think that stone is?

Are they some sort of animal?

-How's about...dead beetles.

-What?!

-Scarabs.

-Scarabs, oh, right.

That's different, Blues.

So...

there you have two dead bugs,

and don't look fantastic, but

in Egyptian culture, of course,

-this wee beetle was a deity, I suspect.

-Yep.

I think these likely date to the period of Tut mania.

Oh, the early 1900s?

-When Howard Carter...

-Right.

-..opened up King Tutankhamun's tomb,

there was a real revival in interest in all things Tut, or Egyptian.

-Yeah, yeah.

-And your wee scarabs were made into all sorts of

souvenirs and jewellery and so on, and here we have a little pair of

scarabs mounted on what I guess will be silver.

-Do you like?

-Yes.

-I actually do like that.

I didn't think I would, but it's actually really nice.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-That's good.

-It's because it's unusual.

What's it priced at?

-45.

-45. Is there slack in the price of that?

Yeah, I'll do it for 35.

35. Is that it, it's not 30?

-What about 30?

-30 then.

OK, it could be £30.

How much do you think it will make us?

Do you know what, I think that's got to be worth £30-£40.

I mean, no-one's getting rich out of this,

but I think it's a good wee thing.

I think it's unusual. I like that better than the inkwell.

Yeah, I do too.

In fact, the other one wasn't granite

and the hinge was a bit shoogly.

-I think it's because it's unusual, we should go for it.

-I like it.

-You reckon?

-Yeah. Oh, aye.

-You want it?

-Aye, yeah.

-Deal. £50, thanks very much. Thank you.

-Thanks very much.

Very good.

Well, that had Dot's seal of approval.

You're all done with 20 minutes to spare.

Are we going, then? Come on, Let's go.

Ladies, you look like you enjoyed that.

It's been really good fun,

but the most important thing is we've both liked...

-What we've bought.

-..what we've bought.

There's been no disagreement. I thought we would disagree.

It's been so much fun.

YOU were great fun, ladies.

So 15 minutes left - one more item to find, Reds.

I thought you said you wanted to buy jewellery, ladies.

I love this. When I was growing up, my grandfather, who was

an antiques dealer, he had lots of interesting curios in the house,

and one of the things that he had that I was fascinated with

-was a cigarette box where a stork came round to grab a cigarette.

-Oh!

But it wasn't Arts and Crafts like this.

This, I will tell you, is the best one I've ever seen.

And the fact that its Arts and Crafts ticks your box, doesn't it?

-It does.

-And yours.

-I'm so pleased.

-And it ticks mine in some striking childhood way.

And what's interesting is, after probably 100 years or so,

the mechanism is still working beautifully, isn't it?

-It's gorgeous.

-People do collect tobacconalia, or smokerama,

all sorts of names given to it.

And the absolute best on that was...

It was 160.

-You love it, don't you?

-150?

-I really do.

-Would you do 150?

-Yeah, I'll do it for 150.

-Oh, yes!

-150.

-You want to buy it?

-Yes.

-Yes.

-You want to buy at 150?

-Yeah.

-OK?

-Yeah.

-Thank you.

OK, there we are, look. Out of nowhere.

-Well done.

-Job done, Reds.

I hope you've picked up a bargain.

Right, ladies, we are bought up with

a magnificent seven minutes to spare.

-Yes! Wow!

-Seven minutes, wow.

-And you spent big.

-We did.

-We did.

-Although you didn't buy a piece of jewellery,

I think you bought a little gem.

-Do you?

-I do. All right? Well done.

-Thank you.

I think we've earned ourselves a bit of a cup of tea.

That sounds wonderful.

So, with both teams finished early, I'll call time.

That's it, teams.

Time's up. Let's check out what the Red team bought.

First up, Wilma wanted something

small and silver, and she bought the tooth fairy box for £20.

Next, another silver item acquired.

They paid £100 for this desk set.

And finally, instead of jewellery,

they bought this Arts and Crafts cigarette set for £150.

Well, girls, did you have a good time?

-We did.

-Oh, it was fabulous. We had a wonderful time.

Well, you stuck very much to the plan.

You looked at things with an artistic eye, you bought

Arts and Crafts, and best of all you spent lots and lots of money.

-Yes, we did, we did.

-£270.

Now tell me, what was your favourite item?

Well, my favourite item was the little silver tooth box that had the

-wee fairy on the top.

-You like fairies, uh-huh.

-It was lovely.

-Is that the item that is going to make the most profit?

I don't think so.

I think maybe the cigarette dispenser will be the best one.

And what about you? What do you think will make the most profit?

I think the little tiny little box will probably make the most profit.

Uh-huh. Was that your favourite?

No. My favourite is the desk set.

-I love the desk set.

-Right, right.

Now, you spent £270.

-Yes.

-Could I have £30 please?

-You can. There you go.

-Lovely.

-Which I'll pass straight over to John.

-Thank you, Anita.

-John, do you know what you're going to buy?

-Not much with 30 quid.

I'm going to have to do a loaves and the fishes with this,

-make it go a long way.

-OK.

-I'm sure you can do it, John.

-We can do it.

While John goes off to buy his bonus buy,

let's remind ourselves what the Blues bought.

First up, £45 was spent on these room dividers.

Let's hope they don't divide opinion at the auction.

They swiftly followed with the purchase of this oil lamp, for £80.

And finally, they bought some jewellery

and paid £30 on this scarab brooch.

-You both shot out there and you bought two items.

-Yep.

-No messing around.

-No messing around. And it all went to plan?

-No...

-We didn't really have a plan.

-THEY LAUGH

-What's your favourite item?

-Mine is definitely the screen.

Is it the item that's going to make the most money, though?

-Absolutely.

-Dot, do you agree with her,

or do you have your own favourite item?

Well, I actually agree with her on both counts.

Excellent. Well, girls, you've spent 155, which is not too bad at all.

145, please.

-Yours.

-Which I will hand straight over to Mr Laidlaw.

-Thanks, Anita.

-That's quite a lot of money, Paul.

-Isn't it just?

But you like spending. HE LAUGHS

You bandit!

We passed something with a sporting flavour to it,

and I feel there's a hole in your life there that you need to fill.

-Oh, right. Right.

-That's what I'm going to do.

-Right, OK.

-Right, we'll see.

-THEY LAUGH

While Paul goes off to buy his bonus buy,

I'm off to explore Edinburgh.

I've popped back to Edinburgh Castle to find out about its wonderful

past, which has been part of

Scotland's life for over 1,000 years.

It's all happened here - it's seen sieges and lavish feasts.

It's been a place of prayer, and the birthplace of a king.

It's even been destroyed and rebuilt.

Rachel Pickering, the cultural advisor here,

is going to show me around.

Rachel, this must be the cannon of all cannons.

-It's a whopper!

-Yeah, this is Mons Meg.

It's one of the largest guns of its kind.

-It weighs around six tonnes.

-Six tonnes?!

-Six tonnes.

-Wow!

-And it has a bore of around 50 centimetres,

so it's thought that it could fire a cannon stone ball,

like one of these, for a distance of up to two miles.

She could probably reach just about up to the shore,

an incredible distance.

And it's thought to be the largest gun ever fired in Britain.

So, why is it here at the castle?

Well, it was gifted to James II by the Duke of Burgundy.

James was married to the Duke of Burgundy's niece.

And it was one of two guns that were gifted to him in 1457.

So, was she used to defend the castle?

We think she was probably only used once to defend Edinburgh Castle,

but we know that she was taken all over Scotland and northern England,

and was used during sieges.

I think it took around 100 men to move her,

and she could only travel around nine miles a day.

She was often used as an intimidation tactic,

perhaps more than actually being fired.

It struck terror into their hearts, just looking at this monster.

Yeah, certainly.

The castle was an important royal residence from the 11th century to

the early part of the 17th century.

The palace was positioned at the very heart of the castle,

providing a safe haven.

So safe that Mary Queen of Scots abandoned the comfort of

Holyrood House and moved into the palace for the birth of the future

monarch, King James VI, in 1566,

the most important event to take place at the Palace.

Did she make herself comfortable?

She would have brought all her furniture and furnishings up

with her. She had this bed made up with blue velvet and taffeta.

-How lovely.

-And a special cradle made to match.

When the time came for her to give birth,

she moved into the closet next door.

But that's a tiny little room!

It is a tiny room,

but it would have been the only really secluded and private place

within the royal apartments.

Within ten months of his birth, her husband, Lord Darnley, was murdered.

Then shortly after that, Mary was imprisoned and then forced to

abdicate, so her one-year-old son became King of Scotland.

So, did the King spend a lot of time here?

When he became King of England as well, he abandoned Edinburgh

and went down to London.

And really, from that point onwards,

Edinburgh Castle lost its royal resonance.

Did he come back to the castle much?

He came back once, in 1617, to celebrate his Golden Jubilee,

and he put a great amount of effort into this occasion,

including redecoration of the birth room next door,

which became something of a symbol of his ancestry and his kingship.

One of the most impressive parts of the castle is the Great Hall,

built for James IV in 1512 as a lavish room for all his guests.

This roof is so impressive.

It's stunning, isn't it? It's a medieval hammerbeam roof,

and it really shows off James's sophisticated tastes and styles.

It's one of the most important roofs in Britain.

The stone corbels which support the roof are really impressive as well.

They're Italian Renaissance in design and show off symbols of

James's kingship, his marriage with Margaret Tudor, and his ties with

England and France.

But it hasn't always been used as a Great Hall.

When Oliver Cromwell took over the castle in 1650,

he turned this over into a barracks,

so he subdivided it and then put three floors in, filled with beds.

It was turned over to military use for around 200 years after that.

And who organised the restoration of it?

Well, in 1886, architect Hippolyte Blanc began works

to restore it to its former glory.

Well, he certainly has done that.

Rachel, thank you so much for giving me a brief glimpse

-of Edinburgh Castle.

-Oh, not at all. It's my pleasure.

But now it's time for me to head across Edinburgh

for today's auction.

UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS

Today, I'm at Shapes Auctioneers in Edinburgh,

with auctioneer Dennis Clark.

Dennis, it's lovely to be here.

Lovely to see you, Anita. You're more than welcome.

Thank you very much. Let's go straight into it.

The Reds, their first item was this

wee, tiny first-tooth box.

I like this item. It's decorative, with the fairy on top there.

The hinged lid is working OK,

so I'm hopeful there's a lot of silver buyers as well,

-that somebody will take to it.

-What's your estimate?

-15-25.

-That's not bad at all.

They paid £20.

Yes, I think there's a fair chance they'll get 20,

-and maybe a bid or two more.

-Excellent.

Second item is this impressive desk set.

I do like this item, very Art Nouveau.

The wells at the top,

possibly with the hard glass inserts that are lacking.

Oh, you think that's going to make a difference, Dennis?

It could make a bit of difference to the price. All in all, a nice item.

-Uh-huh. Estimate, please?

-80-120.

-Well, they paid £100.

-There is the hope of a profit on that one.

-Yeah.

Third item. Now, Wilma thinks this is going to make the most profit.

It's a cigarette dispenser.

But I think this sort of stands on its own as a decorative item.

Yes, I do agree, Anita. It's a very decorative item.

Typically Arts and Crafts,

-and I do like the Ruskin pebble there.

-Makes a difference.

Yes, looks in good condition.

And the mechanism is very good.

-Can just see the way the crane dives in.

-Oh!

Yes, I think it has potential to make top estimate.

-Right, tell me what your estimate is.

-150-200.

Well, they paid 150, and you think it might go to the top estimate?

I do. I think this'll make 200, maybe a bid or two more.

It's all looking very positive for the Reds.

They may not need their bonus buy.

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

Girls, you left John with £30.

-What did you buy?

-Well, £30 did go a long way, but didn't buy me a whole

suit of armour, which I was trying to buy. It bought me one piece of

the armour.

It's a ring, modelled as the left arm of a suit of armour.

-Your face says it all.

-Oh, does it?

-THEY LAUGH

-So what are you thinking?

-Is this bit here all silver?

-The whole thing?

-Yes, it's all solid silver.

-Solid silver.

-Round the...

-Do you want to have a look?

-Yes, please.

-There you go.

-Try it on, girls.

I don't think I've ever seen anything like that in my life.

Me either, which is why I was drawn to it.

-It was unusual.

-Actually, it's very comfortable.

It articulates well.

-I think it's hideous, personally.

-JOHN LAUGHS

I'm sorry. Did you spend the whole £30?

-You only left me £30.

-I know...

It's solid silver. What do you think? I paid a fiver for it.

Well, you were done. Did you spend the whole £30?

-Of course I spent the whole £30.

-OK. Well, each to their own.

-Well, girls, a bit of divided opinion, and not too keen...

-No.

..but you don't need to make up your mind just now.

-Good.

-Wait until your first three items have been sold.

But in the meantime,

let's find out what the auctioneer thinks about John's silver ring.

Well, John Cameron's bonus buy is this mad thing.

It's a ring in the form of some sort of armour.

Will your buyers like this crazy item?

-Hopefully!

-THEY LAUGH

It is a novelty piece and, for all those ring-wearers, who knows?

-But we'll wait and see.

-What's your estimate on that, Dennis?

-15-25.

-John paid £30. He must have liked it quite a lot.

Yes. I'm not sure it'll make £30, but, again, I'm hopeful.

Well, that's it for the Reds.

Now let's go over to the Blues.

Dot and Aileen bought this four fold Art Deco screen.

They just fell in love with it.

Dennis, did you fall in love with it?

I'm not sure about falling in love with it,

but it is typically Art Deco, and it's got nice embroidery panels.

-So, we'll see how it goes.

-What's your estimate?

-20-30.

-They've paid £45 for it.

I probably think that's a bit too high,

but it has the potential to get there on the day.

Dot and Aileen didn't hang about.

They bought this telescopic brass lamp from the same dealer.

Art Nouveau decoration there, Art Nouveau item,

brass, and it has some nice, stylised heart roundels,

and it might do OK on the day.

Dennis, what's your estimate?

50-70.

Mm-hm. They paid £80 on that.

I'd probably say a touch too high, but you never know.

It has the potential to make £80.

Oh, great. Their third item was the scarab beetle brooch.

Is it the sort of thing that will be popular today?

Yes. I'm hopeful it will do well on the sale.

The iridescent features of the scarab beetle are in good condition.

What's your estimate on it?

-20-40.

-Uh-huh. Well, they paid £30, so there is a chance of a profit.

There is a chance of a profit.

Well, all in all, they may or may not need their bonus buy,

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

Now, girls, you spent £155.

You left Paul 145.

Paul, what did you buy?

Well, I looked for something sporty,

but then I had to give up and buy a walking stick.

Oh, I think I know what that is.

-Oh, maybe I've NOT disappointed you on the sporty front.

-THEY LAUGH

-What is it, then?

-It's a Sunday stick.

-So it is.

But why a Sabbath stick? You know - tell me.

Because you weren't allowed to play golf on a Sunday,

so they used it as a walking stick,

and they could practice their swing on a Sunday.

Absolutely. You can spare the wrath of the minister.

Covertly...

No ministers in the hedge? Get in!

THEY LAUGH

Date-wise, early 20th-century.

-Might be late 19th.

-So how much did you pay for it?

-30-40 quid?

-Och no, not as much as that!

-How's about the first one?

-Really?

-30?

-Yes!

-Girls, you don't need to make up your mind just now,

wait until your first three items have been sold.

In the meantime, let's find out what the auctioneer thinks about Paul's

Sunday stick.

Paul's bonus buy, a golf club.

We're in Scotland, the birthplace of golf.

Are your bidders going to like this one,

and is there anything special about that?

Yeah, a decorative item again,

and could also double as a Sunday stick,

although originally Sunday sticks would have been wooden-headed.

But as a miniature golf club, again, it could do well.

-What's your estimate?

-15-25.

Well, they've paid £30 for it, Dennis,

so they might have a "fairway" to go.

On the other hand, I might be able to swing it.

If anyone can do it, Dennis, you can.

-Are you our auctioneer today?

-Yes, I am.

-Terrific!

20 is bid at the back of the hall. Standing at 20.

Any advance on 20 now?

I'll sell to the room for 20.

Well, girls, here we are.

The moment of truth.

A packed room.

The auctioneer is in fine voice.

Tell me, how do you feel?

-Really excited.

-Really excited, yes.

-Really excited?

-Really looking forward to it.

And your first item, the little pill box, charming wee thing.

-It's about to come up right now.

-I want it, I want it.

A small, square silver pill tooth-box.

Nice, decorative item here,

and I have a commission bid.

I'll open the bidding at £15.

I'm straight in at 15.

20, 25. 30?

-Yes!

-35 takes the bidding now.

It's standing at £35 in the room.

40, fresh bidder.

45. It's 45, standing at the back.

-45!

-Any advance on 45?

All done at 45.

-£25 profit!

-Yes!

-That is absolutely wonderful.

-Magic.

Next item's coming up.

You've paid £100 for it, you spent a lot of money, but it's a good item.

So let's keep our fingers crossed for that one. It's coming up now.

This nice Arts and Crafts silver-plated desk stand

by Kaiser of Germany there.

-Who'll start me at £80?

-80, good start.

£80 on the desk stand?

Who'll start me at 80?

80 is bid on the phone, we're straight in on the phone at £80.

Any advance on 80 now?

Bid if you want it.

Any further bids at 80?

All done at 80, then I'll sell to the phone for £80.

THEY GROAN 80. Aawww. That's minus 20.

You're still in profit, girls. Good luck with the next one.

Nice item, Arts and Crafts.

We have a metal novelty cigarette box, there.

-£75 starts the bidding.

-Oh, no!

80 takes it from me in the room now.

Seems cheap at that.

Any advance on 80? Anybody want it now? It's seated in the room at £80.

85, fresh bidder. 90. 95.

-100.

-100!

Any advance on 100?

100. Oh, girls, a bit unlucky on that, John.

So that's minus 50.

You've got to make up your mind if you want to take the bonus buy.

-Yes.

-Yes.

Do you think it will make a profit?

-I hope so.

-You hope so.

-We trust him.

-Are you absolutely sure?

-Yes.

-Positive.

-Right. Let's go for it.

-Good luck, girls.

-Thank you.

We have an interesting item, now.

This is a large, modern, silver full-finger ring.

£15 for the finger ring.

15 is bid online.

In at 15 online.

Bid if you want it now. 20, fresh bidder in the room.

-Come on!

-25. Any advance on 25?

Bid if you want it now. All done at 25.

Selling online for 25.

Aawww! You were nearly there, girls,

nearly there.

That takes your overall total to minus 50.

-50?

-50?!

-O-o-o-oh, no!

Minus 50. But girls, girls, all is not lost.

That could be a winning score.

-Right.

-The only thing is, don't say a word to the Blues.

-No.

Well, Dot, Aileen, here we are at the auction.

-How are you girls feeling?

-We're really excited.

-Are you?

-But you're always excited.

-No, no, no, more excited.

You're more excited? THEY LAUGH

Well, your first item was that very stylish Art Deco screen.

But good luck with that, girls,

because it's coming up right now.

The vintage fabric-covered folding dressing screen.

This is nice, with the Art Deco decoration there.

Who'll start me at £20? Easy start. 20 is bid on my right.

Any advance on 20 now?

Any advance on 20?

Are we all done at 20?

And I'll sell to the room for 20.

-Oh, no.

-Oh, no!

That takes you to minus 25.

Second lot,

you might make up on that, the wonderful Art Nouveau brass telescopic screen.

Oh, I don't know about that.

So let's hope that it does a little better.

The Art Nouveau brass telescopic floor lamp.

A good item, this.

Who wants it for 40?

-35, I'll take.

-Come on!

Bid if you want it now.

35 is bid on my right.

Any advance on 35?

Any advance on 35? All done at 35?

Selling to the room for 35.

35.

Oh, girls.

I can't believe this!

That takes you to minus 70

-on your first two items.

-I don't believe that.

-I'm...

-I'm gobsmacked.

-..shattered.

-Yeah. But never mind.

-I'm just...devastated.

You've still get your third item to come...

-That's going to do well.

-..that scarab beetle brooch.

Continental silver scarab beetle brooch, there.

Nice, decorative item. Who'll start me at £20?

-I'll take 15 then.

-Oh, no!

-15? Come on!

-I'll take 15. Who wants it for ten?

-O-o-oh!

-Girls!

-Ten is bid in the room. 15 behind you now.

There's 15, seated in the room.

-You tell them, girl.

-Any advance on 15?

Bid if you want it now. Are we all done at 15?

Aww, 15, girls. THEY LAUGH

That's minus 15.

Which takes your overall score to minus 85.

-I'm gobsmacked!

-She's gobsmacked. She's gobsmacked, Paul.

Girls, all is not lost.

Do you want to take the bonus buy?

-Yes!

-Oh, yes!

-It's the Sunday stick.

Have you seen the last three results?!

-No pressure!

-Let's hope it makes a

huge profit to get you back online.

£80 profit would be good.

It'll need to make a lot for us to get a fish supper out of it.

Fingers crossed, because it's coming up right now.

The golf club head Sunday stick, there.

Start me at £15?

Who'll start me at £15 on the Sunday stick?

Who'll start me at 15?

I'll take ten, then. I'll come down a bit, start me at £10.

-Come on, come on!

-Let's get going now. Ten is bid.

15, fresh bidder now.

15 at the back of the hall, 20.

25. 30.

-Yes!

-Seated, at £30.

-Come on, one more!

-40.

40. Any advance on 40?

All done at 40?

-Yes! Well done, Paul.

-Well done, Paul.

-Well done.

That's plus ten.

Well done, Paul.

But it takes your overall score

to minus 75.

-Och, well.

-Girls?

We enjoyed it, it was really good.

But it could be a winning score.

-Oh, it could.

-Oh, it might be.

-Uh-huh, uh-huh.

Well, we bought antiques, so we played the game.

You played the game. But, one thing, don't say a word to the Reds.

Oh, no, no.

Well, folks. Did we have a good time?

-Yes.

-Fantastic.

-Brilliant.

-Absolutely wonderful.

And you were marvellous competitors.

-Thank you.

-It's just a pity that you both made losses.

THEY LAUGH

Today's runners-up, with a loss of minus 75,

are the Blues.

-THEY LAUGH

-Oh, yes!

Commiserations, commiserations.

A loss of £75, girls.

We won't go into the nuts and bolts of it.

Suffice to say, we had a great time.

-We did.

-Yes.

-The Reds are today's winners with a loss of only £50.

-So well done.

-Thank you.

Now, you started off really well, girls,

and it was all downhill from there.

-Couldn't even be rescued by John's bonus buy.

-No.

But the main thing is that we had a great time.

-Oh, yes.

-We did. We had a wonderful time.

If you'd like to find out more about the show,

check out our website or follow us on Twitter.

Details on your screen now.

But best of all, join us soon

for more Bargain Hunting. Yes?

-ALL:

-Yes!