0:00:04 > 0:00:06Hello. I'm Sean Fletcher.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08You're watching Inside Out London, here is what is coming
0:00:08 > 0:00:10up on tonight's show.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13We meet the former city worker on a mission to get rid
0:00:13 > 0:00:15of London's plastic waste.
0:00:15 > 0:00:19Just in one hour I've filled up both my nets.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21There is much more plastic in the canal but I can't
0:00:22 > 0:00:23collect everything.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26Why antique furniture has plummeted in price and popularity.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29About ten years ago, I'd like to think we would have got
0:00:29 > 0:00:31£400 to £600 for this.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35Today, it is in the auction at £30 to £50.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38And 75 years on, we remember the victims of the Bethnal
0:00:38 > 0:00:41Green tube disaster.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44I heard all the people screaming and calling for their mothers.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46We just couldn't get out.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48I couldn't get out.
0:00:48 > 0:00:55It was a terrible, terrible night.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03The recent broadcast of the BBC's Blue Planet series has got everyone,
0:01:03 > 0:01:06including the Queen and the Prime Minister,
0:01:06 > 0:01:09talking about how we can reduce our plastic waste.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13So we went to check out three very different London projects that
0:01:13 > 0:01:16are trying to do just that, on the canals, in the classroom,
0:01:16 > 0:01:26and on the high street.
0:01:29 > 0:01:37In 2015, I raced a 70-foot yacht from London to Rio de Janeiro.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40And in the middle of nowhere we found these two
0:01:40 > 0:01:41turtles cut in a maze
0:01:41 > 0:01:42of fishing nets and water bottles.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45He's got yellow and orange around his front right fin.
0:01:45 > 0:01:46Well done.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48In the middle of nowhere, in this amazing ocean,
0:01:48 > 0:01:51it is blue water everywhere and then you have all this plastic.
0:01:51 > 0:01:52Well done!
0:01:52 > 0:01:55But it starts right here.
0:01:55 > 0:01:56Everything needs to stop at the source.
0:01:56 > 0:01:57What is the source?
0:01:57 > 0:02:03The source is us.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08We couldn't have opened at a better time if we had planned it.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12We were looking to open 12 months ago.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15If we would have opened 12 months ago, we wouldn't have been
0:02:15 > 0:02:17as successful as we are now so it is all to do
0:02:17 > 0:02:22with David Attenborough.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26If you take a plastic bag, is it your fault?
0:02:26 > 0:02:28I think it would be the shop's fault.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32Good answer.
0:02:32 > 0:02:37In London, 66,000 tonnes of plastic were sent for recycling last year
0:02:37 > 0:02:40alone but nobody knows how much was simply discarded elsewhere.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42And while the government has pledged to ban all avoidable
0:02:42 > 0:02:44plastic waste by 2042, some Londoners are
0:02:44 > 0:02:54taking action now.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01So today we were out with children from Canary Wharf College and we
0:03:02 > 0:03:07were doing plastic fishing trips.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10It is really important to get children involved in this
0:03:10 > 0:03:16and excited by this from such a young age.
0:03:16 > 0:03:17Plastic Pirates!
0:03:17 > 0:03:21Remember to recycle!
0:03:21 > 0:03:24There was a recent study that showed that 75% of fish that live
0:03:24 > 0:03:27at the bottom of the River Thames have plastic in their guts,
0:03:27 > 0:03:30so it is a very real issue here in London.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33Back on dry land, the children are less than impressed with
0:03:33 > 0:03:34the government's 20-year timetable.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36Do we think that that is soon enough?
0:03:36 > 0:03:38No!
0:03:38 > 0:03:39No.
0:03:39 > 0:03:44You're going to write a letter to Theresa May in this lesson,
0:03:44 > 0:03:54explaining to her why you want to stop using
0:03:54 > 0:03:57plastic in a time frame that is up to for you.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59So off you go.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01In Battersea, this shop is currently the only plastic
0:04:01 > 0:04:02free shop in London.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04Inspired by the owner's experiences overseas.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06There are lots of shops like this in Australia,
0:04:06 > 0:04:07like, every town has one.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10I started googling about zero waste shops in the UK
0:04:10 > 0:04:11at the time there wasn't one.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13I just thought, "This is not OK.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16"I have to go back to London and set a shop up."
0:04:16 > 0:04:19So the idea is that you bring your own containers from home.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21It can be an old Tupperware container, an old glass jar.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24The idea is that you reuse what you already have.
0:04:24 > 0:04:29Then you just fill with what you need.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31So we have got lentils, grains, rices, we have got cereals,
0:04:31 > 0:04:33nuts, herbs and spices.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37The good thing about shopping like this is that you do not go home
0:04:37 > 0:04:39with tonnes of products that you are never going to use.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44Then you just pay for what you need.
0:04:44 > 0:04:52After cycling 150 miles on the Thames, ex-city worker Drew
0:04:52 > 0:04:54is now clearing plastic from London's canals on board his
0:04:54 > 0:05:00floating bamboo bicycle.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03Just one hour in the canal, I collected these two nets
0:05:03 > 0:05:07full of plastic rubbish, from packets, wo water
0:05:07 > 0:05:13bottles to energy drinks to single use packaging.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15I can't collect everything because if I collect
0:05:15 > 0:05:16everything, I will sink!
0:05:16 > 0:05:20The reaction from the public is amazing.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24They stop and they see and say, "What are you doing?
0:05:24 > 0:05:25"Are you cycling?
0:05:25 > 0:05:35"Is that your own bike?"
0:05:37 > 0:05:39They few people on the loch say, "Stop."
0:05:39 > 0:05:42So cleaning up the canal cleaning up the river, for me personally,
0:05:42 > 0:05:45I don't believe is a solution.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48My whole goal is to get people to make no more plastic pollution.
0:05:48 > 0:05:49Talk about it.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51Ultimately, if you're not going to solve this,
0:05:51 > 0:05:55we have to go and educate the young people and make them more aware
0:05:55 > 0:05:57of how damaging this is and how we are destroying
0:05:57 > 0:05:58their world, their planet.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00You know, we're making it worse for them.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04Do you know, Gavin is also, his charity is about creative ways
0:06:04 > 0:06:05of solving some of these problems.
0:06:05 > 0:06:12Back at Canary Wharf College, the children are working on their
0:06:12 > 0:06:15letters to the Prime Minister whilst coming up with their own ideas
0:06:15 > 0:06:22for dealing with plastic waste.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25You could give artists or some people who use sculptures
0:06:25 > 0:06:27or something and maybe they could make, like, sculptures
0:06:27 > 0:06:29and art out of it or something.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32In Sweden we still do this and if you have a can or something
0:06:32 > 0:06:35like that you bring it to the shop and it gives you about
0:06:35 > 0:06:3650% of what you paid.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39But being ethical isn't always easy.
0:06:39 > 0:06:49Starting a new business is hard for anyone but it is even harder
0:06:49 > 0:06:51when you're trying to find vegan, cruelty-free, no palm
0:06:51 > 0:06:53and minimal packaging possible.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56And selling it for a decent price whilst still being able
0:06:56 > 0:06:58to afford to pay your bills.
0:06:58 > 0:07:06But the community as a whole is very supportive.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09We are not against each other, we are about helping each other
0:07:09 > 0:07:11so that makes it easier.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13It's mainly just the environmental cost of using plastic.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16I'm a geography teacher so it is quite a big part
0:07:16 > 0:07:18of my life, teaching people about trying to be more mindful
0:07:19 > 0:07:20of the waste they use.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24I'm just really aware of not using so much plastic.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27I've been trying for a while now, starting with getting loose
0:07:27 > 0:07:33vegetables and fruit and just trying to reduce as much as possible.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37Hubbub has been set up for four years and I think that in those four
0:07:37 > 0:07:39years we have seen a real change in public attitudes
0:07:39 > 0:07:41and public perceptions towards environmental issues.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43I think there is more of an acceptance among
0:07:43 > 0:07:46the public that, yes, we need to do something about these
0:07:46 > 0:07:48issues but it does not mean completely changing the way
0:07:48 > 0:07:51that we live our lives.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54It does mean re-evaluating certain aspects of it which are just really
0:07:54 > 0:07:55unnecessarily wasteful.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58Seeing this plastic I feel very sad because you are not just
0:07:58 > 0:08:00destroying the way it looks, you're also destroying
0:08:00 > 0:08:01the life here.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03If you can avoid purchasing unnecessary plastic that would be
0:08:03 > 0:08:04really, really helpful.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08And if you can do it and get your friends to do it
0:08:08 > 0:08:11and they can get their friends to do it it could have a real impact.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14"Dear, Theresa May, I strongly believe that your idea to solve
0:08:14 > 0:08:17"the issue of plastic pollution is great but there is just one
0:08:17 > 0:08:19"problem, it is not soon enough."
0:08:19 > 0:08:23"Plastic bags should be £1 each.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27"The problem is that fish can get trapped in them."
0:08:27 > 0:08:30"Also, I think that if you are found using a plastic straw,
0:08:30 > 0:08:33"you should be fined £500."
0:08:33 > 0:08:37"In 24 years, I will be an adult.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39"We want it sooner.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41"Everyone needs to come together to help.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43"This is our only world.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45"Yours sincerely, Frederick."
0:08:45 > 0:08:47"Yours sincerely, Maud."
0:08:47 > 0:08:50"You need to act on this fast so please help.
0:08:50 > 0:08:51"It is embarrassing for us.
0:08:51 > 0:08:52"Yours faithfully, Bella."
0:08:52 > 0:08:53"Yours sincerely, Ian."
0:08:53 > 0:09:00APPLAUSE
0:09:09 > 0:09:12What a great way to get around London and he's doing some
0:09:12 > 0:09:21really important work.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23Now then, still to come on wonight's show...
0:09:23 > 0:09:25In auction houses across London, like this one in Islington,
0:09:25 > 0:09:27there are incredible bargains to be had.
0:09:27 > 0:09:33Good quality, antique wooden furniture is going for a song right
0:09:33 > 0:09:36now but it is only those in the know who realise what
0:09:36 > 0:09:37a bargain you can get.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41This weekend, a memorial service was held in the East End to mark
0:09:41 > 0:09:42the 75th anniversary of the worst British civilian disaster
0:09:42 > 0:09:49in World War II.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52During an air raid alert, 173 people were crushed to death
0:09:52 > 0:09:54as they fled to their nearest shelter, the unfinished
0:09:54 > 0:09:58Bethnal Green tube.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01Recently, a fitting memorial was finally unveiled at the sight
0:10:01 > 0:10:04of the tragedy but the survivors and families of the victims
0:10:04 > 0:10:07are still seeking an official apology for the way the authorities
0:10:07 > 0:10:08handled the disaster.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11I should warn you that some of the details in this
0:10:11 > 0:10:17report are disturbing.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19Yesterday afternoon, mourners gathered at the Church
0:10:19 > 0:10:26of Saint John on Bethnal Green to pay tribute to the hundred
0:10:26 > 0:10:28--173 people, among them, 62 children who died on March
0:10:28 > 0:10:33the 3rd 1943.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36Only a handful of survivors from the tragedy are still alive today.
0:10:36 > 0:10:41We was running down Victoria Park Square.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43Wanting to see the entrance to the tube which could not
0:10:43 > 0:10:46come up fast enough.
0:10:46 > 0:10:52Alf Morris first spoke to Inside Out back in 2003 about his experiences.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55He was just 13 when the air raid sirens went off.
0:10:55 > 0:11:00When we got down about as far as where I am standing,
0:11:00 > 0:11:08the rockets went across the park, went across here.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12There was a tremendous "shhh" and everybody just leapt
0:11:12 > 0:11:17forward and calling out, "There is bombs, there is bombs."
0:11:17 > 0:11:20In fact, the noise wasn't German bombs but a new anti-aircraft gun
0:11:20 > 0:11:25being fired in Victoria Park.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27The unfamiliar noise was enough to panic people as they headed
0:11:27 > 0:11:29for the tube shelter.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31There wouldn't have been the exits that we have here today.
0:11:31 > 0:11:36There would only have been this one.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40It was covered in wood.
0:11:40 > 0:11:49There was one very narrow doorway so none of us know what dark
0:11:49 > 0:12:00is like today but in the dark of the black out, inky
0:12:04 > 0:12:06dark of the black out, people would have had to come
0:12:06 > 0:12:10to the shelter by feeling their way along the railings to find their way
0:12:10 > 0:12:13here and they went through the door and straight down these 19 steps.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16You had 300 or 400 people trying to get through this narrow door
0:12:16 > 0:12:19and at that same time, a lady at the bottom of the stairs
0:12:19 > 0:12:20holding a child fell.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23She pulled another man on top of her and before they could get up,
0:12:23 > 0:12:25others were falling on top of them.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28And all those people coming through this door just could not see
0:12:28 > 0:12:29what was unfolding below them.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32So they were falling on top of people all the time.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34Ray was nine years old when he went down the steps
0:12:34 > 0:12:37with his brothers and sisters, just ahead of their parents
0:12:37 > 0:12:38and grandparents.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41It was such a surge going down, pushing, you went with the surge
0:12:41 > 0:12:42which ever way it went.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44The people fell over and people started going over
0:12:44 > 0:12:46and that is when we were going down.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49We got pushed out in the corner, right at the bottom.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53It was like a floodgate opened and everything happened at once.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57Ray and his siblings managed to get out of the crush and reach the lower
0:12:57 > 0:12:59staircase but they got separated from their older relatives.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02The rest of the night we stood at the bottom of the stairs just
0:13:02 > 0:13:04looking up waiting to see the others come down.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06They did not show up.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08It was at that point, my sister was saying,
0:13:08 > 0:13:10"This is really bad, this is, something really
0:13:10 > 0:13:11"bad has happened."
0:13:11 > 0:13:21Alf was stuck in the crush at the bottom of the stairs.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24I could not get out but a lady air raid warden named Mrs Chumley
0:13:24 > 0:13:25grabbed my hair and pulled.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28That wouldn't happen so she put her arms underneath my arms
0:13:28 > 0:13:36and just yanked me out.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39All my legs were all bleeding and I was frightened out of my life.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41I heard all the people screaming.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43They were calling for their mothers and fathers.
0:13:43 > 0:13:44We just couldn't get out.
0:13:44 > 0:13:45I couldn't get out.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47Mrs Chumley pulled me out.
0:13:47 > 0:13:53It was terrible.
0:13:53 > 0:14:02At the time it was terrible.
0:14:02 > 0:14:10After three hours of trying to pull people out, the children, you know,
0:14:10 > 0:14:18some of them were not recognisable except by what they were wearing
0:14:18 > 0:14:23and the rescuers really suffered from the most horrendous trauma.
0:14:23 > 0:14:28They laid bodies along street here and had to go along
0:14:28 > 0:14:33the bodies
0:14:33 > 0:14:37with a mirror under the nose to see if it steamed up to see
0:14:37 > 0:14:38they were still alive.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40My grandmother and my cousin died.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42And my mother and my aunt were survivors.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45For Ray and his siblings, it was many agonising hours before
0:14:45 > 0:14:47the fate of their older relatives was confirmed.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50My sister, she was 17 at the time, she had been round the hospitals
0:14:50 > 0:14:52and couldn't find any of them.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54So she ended up going round the mortuaries
0:14:54 > 0:14:58and that is when she found my father and grandfather and grandmother.
0:14:58 > 0:15:06She then carried on looking for my mother and somebody said,
0:15:06 > 0:15:08"Well, they took them to the hospital in Dalston."
0:15:08 > 0:15:10She was in a bad way but she was alive.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13Her face was all bruised, her legs were bruised.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16They went through it down there.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19At the time, the disaster was covered up so as not
0:15:19 > 0:15:20to damage wartime morale.
0:15:20 > 0:15:26And an enquiry published after the war suggested
0:15:26 > 0:15:28that the crowd had panicked for no reason.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31For the survivors, the bereaved and the whole Bethnal Green
0:15:31 > 0:15:33community, achieving greater public recognition of the disaster
0:15:33 > 0:15:38has been a long road.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42Just before Christmas, after a ten-year fundraising
0:15:42 > 0:15:49campaign, a striking memorial was finally unveiled to the victims.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53I took one look at it and my niece had to give me a handkerchief.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56I got so emotional.
0:15:56 > 0:16:03I think it is absolutely amazing and I have said for donkeys years
0:16:03 > 0:16:06that I wouldn't see that finished.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08All my family come from Bethnal Green.
0:16:08 > 0:16:13One of my relatives died in the tragedy in 1943,
0:16:13 > 0:16:16Dickie Corbett, his actual name was Coleman.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18He is up on there.
0:16:18 > 0:16:19Coleman.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22He was a boxer.
0:16:22 > 0:16:27Although I wasn't born until 1944, the family always
0:16:27 > 0:16:36talked about the terrible Bethnal Green Underground disaster.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38With due respect, we name and honour the 173
0:16:38 > 0:16:40people whose names now are here permanently, openly,
0:16:40 > 0:16:41publicised and not hidden away.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43I'm born and raised in the city.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45I am a London.
0:16:45 > 0:16:51I am a --Londoner.
0:16:51 > 0:16:56Even I was not aware of this tragedy until a few years ago.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58It is important we remember the stories that the
0:16:58 > 0:17:05survivors still remember.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08The memorial was designed by local architect Harry Paticas who thought
0:17:08 > 0:17:09that the small plaque over the station entrance
0:17:10 > 0:17:11was inadequate for the
0:17:11 > 0:17:12scale of the tragedy.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14I thought that the plaque was not really a very sufficient reminder
0:17:15 > 0:17:16of what actually happened.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18I suddenly had an idea for a memorial and the concept
0:17:18 > 0:17:22was to take a cast of the space where everybody died and to lift it
0:17:22 > 0:17:23up above that stairway.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25The memorial has become known as the Stairway to Heaven.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27It's a very powerful moment to stand underneath it
0:17:27 > 0:17:33and look up into the space where all those people were.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36There's 173 holes cut into the roof of the stairway and these cones
0:17:36 > 0:17:39are orientated towards South and they are asymmetrical so they
0:17:39 > 0:17:40will let the sunlight come through.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44There will be this moment at certain points of the year at around midday
0:17:44 > 0:17:46when there will be 173 spots of light that will be shining
0:17:46 > 0:17:51through the void of the stairway and onto the grounds.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53We have many memorials around London for smaller disasters so I think
0:17:53 > 0:17:56it is incredibly important.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58I think maybe for the national consciousness, that this disaster
0:17:59 > 0:18:01is properly recognised.
0:18:01 > 0:18:0675 years have now passed since the disaster.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09But many still feel that the historic record
0:18:09 > 0:18:11of the tragedy needs to be officially put right.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13Certainly somebody should be apologising.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15This should never have happened.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18It was preventable.
0:18:18 > 0:18:23If only the entrance had been safer, nobody would have fallen down.
0:18:23 > 0:18:29The host secretary sprinkled his statement in Parliament
0:18:29 > 0:18:32with "the loss of self control" phrase and so that's probably made
0:18:32 > 0:18:36the survivors feel really guilty.
0:18:36 > 0:18:42I hope that having this memorial here now across the road
0:18:42 > 0:18:45is helping them, in a way, to have closure, that at least
0:18:45 > 0:18:54people know what happened to them and how awful it was.
0:18:54 > 0:19:0020 years ago, London was home to hundreds
0:19:00 > 0:19:04of antique shops and dealers, now, just a handful remain
0:19:04 > 0:19:06because antique furniture has plummeted in both
0:19:06 > 0:19:09price and popularity.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11So with brown furniture at rock bottom, could now be a good time
0:19:11 > 0:19:12to snap up a bargain?
0:19:12 > 0:19:20We sent financial expert Jasmine Birtles to find out.
0:19:20 > 0:19:25In auction houses across London, like this one in Islington,
0:19:25 > 0:19:28there are incredible bargains to be had.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31Good quality, antique wooden furniture is going for a song right
0:19:31 > 0:19:34now but it is only those in the know that realise what a
0:19:34 > 0:19:38bargain you can get.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42I just really want to show you this...
0:19:42 > 0:19:44Tracey Martin runs this Islington auction house.
0:19:44 > 0:19:53This is a typical example of Victorian...
0:19:53 > 0:19:57About ten years ago, I would like to have thought
0:19:57 > 0:20:01we could have got £400 to £600 for this.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04Today it is in the auction at £30 to £50.
0:20:04 > 0:20:05Fire surround.
0:20:05 > 0:20:07I can sell that for £45.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09Sold for £45.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12That is really sad that that is genuinely all you think
0:20:12 > 0:20:13it could really get.
0:20:13 > 0:20:14It is a considerable drop.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17I think a lot of that is to do with fashions.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20Things go round in circles but I also think it is to do
0:20:20 > 0:20:25with how it fits into our lives and our houses.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29This is the first time I have been to an auction
0:20:29 > 0:20:31and I found some great pieces.
0:20:31 > 0:20:41There is a real mixture of people buying here.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45An old teacher's desk, made of oak and it's
0:20:45 > 0:20:47got this lovely little
0:20:47 > 0:20:49bit at the front here.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51I've got a very small flat but I will use this
0:20:51 > 0:20:54as a chest of drawers and remember my old days teaching.
0:20:54 > 0:20:55It is very unique.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57That is what you're looking for.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59I have bought many things over the years.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01Tables and chairs, they're just such good value and you just can't
0:21:01 > 0:21:05buy them for that price new and they are better quality.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07It is not just lower-end brown furniture that has suffered.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09High-end antique dealers have also taken hit.
0:21:09 > 0:21:14Kensington Church Street in West London used to be
0:21:14 > 0:21:17full of antiques shops, now in this section, I count five.
0:21:17 > 0:21:18The rest are being replaced with restaurants,
0:21:18 > 0:21:25hairdressers and nail bars.
0:21:25 > 0:21:30Patrick Sandberg is one of the remaining few.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34I started 25 years ago and it was the height of the market.
0:21:34 > 0:21:35We had many, many Americans and private trade.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37It was an amazing time.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41If people were going to buy a desk, if they did not buy it from me,
0:21:41 > 0:21:44they would buy it from one of the other people on the street.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47Everyone would get a bite at the cherry.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49But the millennium brought with it minimalism, white walls
0:21:49 > 0:21:50and flatpack furniture.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52Antiques fell out of fashion.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54Over the past decade, sales of antique furniture
0:21:54 > 0:22:00have fallen by 40%.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02Business did get more difficult.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04Dealers were forced to close.
0:22:04 > 0:22:0520% have gone.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07How have you survived?
0:22:07 > 0:22:12I think by being competitive.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15Someone said to me if you've got a commodity like coffee,
0:22:15 > 0:22:20when the value of it has dropped to an extent that it is so stupidly
0:22:20 > 0:22:22that it is so stupidly cheap, then people will, forgive
0:22:22 > 0:22:24the pun, smell the coffee and start buying it again.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28There is hope for the antiques trade and I am sure we are not
0:22:28 > 0:22:35all going to disappear.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37Despite having had a devastating time over the past decade,
0:22:37 > 0:22:46things are looking up.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48Exciting new figures released this week by Art Market Research show
0:22:48 > 0:22:50a small but significant upturn in sales.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52Talking to dealers, there is certainly a renewed interest
0:22:52 > 0:22:53in buying antique furniture.
0:22:53 > 0:22:58That is exciting.
0:22:58 > 0:23:04It is something that as a magazine, we are championing.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06There are some interior designers who are using them
0:23:06 > 0:23:07in fresh, interesting ways.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09Jasper Conran, Ben Pentreath, they are making
0:23:09 > 0:23:13these pieces fashionable.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15Caroline is one interior designer who is championing
0:23:15 > 0:23:22the revival of brown furniture.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24I was brought up with nice antiques and I have worked in the antiques
0:23:24 > 0:23:25business for about 30 years.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28I think mixing old and modern can work very well.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31Here it is.
0:23:31 > 0:23:36Well, it's a very nice space with lots of sunlight pouring in.
0:23:36 > 0:23:3836-year-old Oliver has just moved into his new home and has
0:23:38 > 0:23:42enlisted Caroline's help.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44If we can add height to the room somehow...
0:23:44 > 0:23:49What exactly do you want to achieve?
0:23:49 > 0:23:52We just want a little bit of theatre to it.
0:23:52 > 0:23:57We're hoping antiques will add a bit more character to this space.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59A mirror there will visually open the room and give a little
0:24:00 > 0:24:03bounce to the sunlight.
0:24:03 > 0:24:04Absolutely.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07I will go away and talk to my dealers and arrange
0:24:07 > 0:24:08for some stuff to be sent.
0:24:08 > 0:24:09Brilliant.
0:24:09 > 0:24:10How exciting.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12The younger generation don't choose antiques enough.
0:24:12 > 0:24:14They need to learn to appreciate them and not regard them
0:24:15 > 0:24:22as something their grandmother had.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25Caroline's search for antiques begins in Chelsea, at Lawford's.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28I am working on a project where a client wants to mix some
0:24:28 > 0:24:31modern furniture that he has already got with some 18th-century
0:24:31 > 0:24:32style furniture.
0:24:32 > 0:24:33OK.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35So brown furniture.
0:24:35 > 0:24:36Brown furniture, maybe painted
0:24:36 > 0:24:37furniture.OK.
0:24:37 > 0:24:44I've got this lovely book case.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47There is nothing quite like the grain on a wood
0:24:47 > 0:24:49that is 100 or 200 years old, maybe more.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52You're not going to see it in somebody else's house.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54You own that one.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57It is a lovely honey colour and a nice fine grained oak.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59Unfortunately, just a bit too high for this house
0:24:59 > 0:25:00because the ceiling is very low.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04I think the prices have kind of gone as low as they can go.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07People are going to see the value in this and they are going to start
0:25:07 > 0:25:09looking at brown furniture.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12There was one I saw that had a rounded top.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14Caroline has seen a few items online that she likes.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17I mean, in theory, if it is too high, we could just not
0:25:17 > 0:25:19put the top bit on.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21We sell to a great many designers and interior
0:25:21 > 0:25:25companies across London.
0:25:25 > 0:25:34A lot of these people are mixing in very eclectic, cool designs.
0:25:34 > 0:25:39It's a trend that is reflected in magazines like House & Garden.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41I remember one interior designers saying you need
0:25:41 > 0:25:44a bit of black in a room.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47I think antiques and brown furniture add that depth.
0:25:47 > 0:25:52It stops it all looking bland.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55There is a move to use colours, not so many patterns,
0:25:55 > 0:25:58things look a bit punchier.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00Back at Olive'rs, the antiques have arrived
0:26:00 > 0:26:02and the team are hard at work.
0:26:02 > 0:26:03Wow!
0:26:03 > 0:26:04This is great.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06It looks quite different to what it was before.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08It is just with a few pieces.
0:26:08 > 0:26:09So talk me through it.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11What is new and what is antique?
0:26:11 > 0:26:14The sofa is new although it looks very old.
0:26:14 > 0:26:19The coffee table is 1960s or 70s.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21These pretty painted oval chairs are Edwardian, 18th-century style.
0:26:22 > 0:26:23The lamps are brand-new.
0:26:23 > 0:26:24This is lovely.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26That is a Swedish mirror from the early 19th century.
0:26:26 > 0:26:33Oliver's front room has been transformed from this to this.
0:26:33 > 0:26:34Wow!
0:26:34 > 0:26:35It is fantastic.
0:26:35 > 0:26:40I like the mix of things.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42This piece that Caroline has chosen has made the room higher.
0:26:43 > 0:26:44It has pushed the room further back.
0:26:44 > 0:26:51A lot of my friends would certainly like to use antiques.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53There's not a lot of education out there about
0:26:53 > 0:26:55antiques and where to go.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58You sort of think, "Where the hell am I going to find these things?"
0:26:58 > 0:27:01It is easier just to go to IKEA or the high street.
0:27:01 > 0:27:02Roughly how much was this whole room?
0:27:02 > 0:27:06I would have thought most of this together
0:27:06 > 0:27:10about £5000 to £6,000.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13I didn't have the time to really shop around.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15If you look on the Internet or you buy at auction,
0:27:15 > 0:27:17then you can buy cheaper.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20So if now is the time to buy, what should we all be investing in?
0:27:20 > 0:27:22Chest of drawers, little console tables, things like that that
0:27:22 > 0:27:26are stylish key pieces.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29Invest in a few really good pieces, this has to be a good time for it.
0:27:29 > 0:27:35Fall in love with something because if you really love a piece,
0:27:35 > 0:27:37you can generally build around it.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39I really hope that brown furniture will be back.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42I think it well.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45Well, I will definitely be keeping my eye out
0:27:45 > 0:27:46for some brown bargains.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49Jasmine Birtles reporting there.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51Right, that is just about it for tonight's Inside Out.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53Before we go though, let's have a quick look
0:27:53 > 0:27:59at what is coming up on next week's show.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02Why London's commuters are deserting the tube in their droves.
0:28:02 > 0:28:04Tomorrow is my last day working in London.
0:28:04 > 0:28:05Goodbye to the commute from hell.
0:28:05 > 0:28:11And to high childcare costs.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15Could the much-mocked British bungalow be coming back into vogue?
0:28:15 > 0:28:18Architectural critics began to get this bee in their bonnet
0:28:18 > 0:28:21about what they call bungaloid growth and it was a bit like working
0:28:21 > 0:28:26people taking over the countryside that had no rights to it.
0:28:26 > 0:28:31And the untold story of the secret canary girls of World War II.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34You couldn't have had the army, the air force and the Navy working
0:28:34 > 0:28:36without the bombs that were being made here.
0:28:36 > 0:28:42Without the munitions, the war could not have been one.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45That is it for this week's Inside Out.
0:28:45 > 0:28:47Don't forget, tonight's programme will be available on the iplayer.
0:28:47 > 0:28:49Just head to our website.
0:28:49 > 0:28:53BBC.co.uk/InsideOut and click on London.
0:28:53 > 0:28:54Thanks very much for watching.
0:28:54 > 0:28:59See you again next week.