
Angus Ashworth and David Harper, Day 5
Season 18 Episode 25 | 43m 54sVideo has Closed Captions
Angus Ashworth is drawn to two rather gothic purchases. David snaps up some hatpins.
With his head full of saints and relics, newcomer Angus Ashworh is drawn to two rather gothic purchases, while David Harper gets in touch with his feminist side, snapping up some hatpins he thinks are of Suffragette origin.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback

Angus Ashworth and David Harper, Day 5
Season 18 Episode 25 | 43m 54sVideo has Closed Captions
With his head full of saints and relics, newcomer Angus Ashworh is drawn to two rather gothic purchases, while David Harper gets in touch with his feminist side, snapping up some hatpins he thinks are of Suffragette origin.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipNARRATOR: It's the nation's favorite antiques experts-- Yeah!
Super cool.
How about that?
NARRATOR: --behind the wheel of a classic car-- [LAUGHTER] BOTH: --and a goal to scour Britain for antiques.
[LAUGHS] BOTH: The aim-- to make the biggest profit at auction, but it's no mean feat.
They'll be worthy winners-- Yes.
NARRATOR: --and valiant losers.
Lost it.
NARRATOR: Will it be the high road to glory or the slow road to disaster?
This is the "Antiques Road Trip."
Uh-oh.
Shall we do it?
The last leg-- let's do it.
Let's get this show-- On the road.
--on the road.
NARRATOR: I'm in.
Wow, just look at that Northumbrian scenery.
Angus guess please.
I know.
Look at that.
Feast your eyes.
ANGUS: Do know your-- it's that tempting.
You just want to jump in the sea, don't you?
NARRATOR: Well, you'll be dipping a toe in soon enough, uh-huh.
Veteran roadtripper antiques dealer, David Harper, a new recruit, auctioneer, Angus Ashworth set out in this 1973 VW Common Gear from Central Scotland.
They've toured B roads North and South of Dakota, then for a final auction in Alnwick.
Has it been a friendly alliance?
--before, you know, we might have a few issues.
What was your main worry?
But you'd always-- I mean, to be stopped to go to the toilet.
MAN: Cheeky.
Your time will come young man.
But you know, you've been all right actually.
- Really?
- Yeah.
Well, my concern was that if we saw the seaside, I'd have to maybe stop and buy you an ice cream.
I do love ice cream.
Too, yeah.
I think you ought to buy me one.
I'll buy you an ice cream because you have been good.
Obviously, you've been very good.
I've tried.
You have.
NARRATOR: You have.
You really have.
I mean, starting with 200 pounds, Angus has had plenty good fortune and sets out on this last trip with a piggie full of 317 pounds and 34p.
David has almost doubled his original 200 pounds, and his pig is swelled up with 396 pounds and 20 pence as they trot to the end with just shy of 80 pounds difference between them, which is per mile.
Northampton has got a real rawness to it.
It's just ancient.
- It feels ancient, doesn't it?
- It's nice.
I love it.
And the sun is now-- well, the sun does shine on the righteous.
Finally, we've been discovered as being righteous.
NARRATOR: Yes, and glory be.
The righteous brothers are headed this morning to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne-- the cradle of Christianity in the Northeast of England.
Pilgrims have walked over the sands to the island for 1300 years.
Today's visitors can drive a mile-long causeway, which is dramatically submerged twice a day by perilously fast moving tides.
But right now, the tide's out.
DAVID: So if you run, you'll beat the tide.
Go, go, go, go.
See you.
Yeah, goodbye.
Can you run faster than the tide?
Tide?
Yeah, I can run fast.
I can swim.
Go on.
Run.
NARRATOR: We'll leave Angus to make his pilgrimage on foot and catch up with him once he's reached the island, mindful of the need to return before the next high tide.
In the meantime, with that last auction in Alnwick looming, landlubber David is off to Ford, where hopefully, the only thing sweeping him away will be the lovely views of the Cheviot hills and the quality of the antiques at his first shop.
The old dairy is a collection of former agricultural buildings housing a promising variety of wares belonging to an assortment of dealers.
Nice.
Oh, there's a miniature David trapped in a cage.
Too much to see.
David has to enlist the aid of dealer Sarah.
Well, now, I'm going to ask you if you can tell me what this is.
Oh, OK.
I hate this, OK. Well, I can give you its date.
This is certainly Edwardian-- 1900, 1905.
Pinned, nicely made, probably beech, slightly shaped top.
Then you got that muslin.
Yes.
So it's a strainer.
Absolutely.
You're on the right track.
OK. You see cooking and me don't work.
I did "Celebrity MasterChef," you know.
I was a complete disaster.
I was the worst they'd ever seen in their life.
So how would I be expected to know what that is?
Tell me.
So for jam making and for jelly making.
How very fantastic, OK.
Very unusual.
Have you ever used anything like it?
No.
[LAUGHS] OK. Well, clever you for knowing what it was, honestly.
I actually wouldn't have known.
How much is it?
Well, at the moment, the price on it is 45.
It feels like 20 quid to me, but that's how it feels.
You can come back to me on that one.
Yeah.
OK, what else have you got that's a bit different?
Not outrageously different but rather attractive and something that-- Where are we going?
Next door.
Follow me, and we'll come into this section over here, and I think I've got something that you might be interested in-- this rather elegant bronze and a dog's head.
OK, so bronze.
Yeah.
Cast bronze of a-- it's a shooting dog, isn't it?
Yes.
So it's a wall plaque, well-cast bronze.
To having a gun room, something like that.
Yeah, yeah.
You could even put it on a an oak board.
It could be an award of some sort, couldn't it?
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.
Could be made into that.
No foundry stamp, but it's got some numbers.
48, it doesn't mean anything.
8, 9, 2 and 61-- that means nothing.
Look here.
The typeface, really, it feels 19th century, 1880, 1890-- that kind of period.
Very well done, isn't it?
I mean, and a good color as well.
So he would literally attach to a wall like that.
It's very grand, isn't it?
Very, very grand.
OK, what's trade on that to me Sarah?
Right.
Let me have a little look.
Be kind.
It's marked up at 40.
28?
25.
OK, OK. You're brilliant.
We're going to do lots of business together, Sarah.
Wonderful.
Brilliant.
NARRATOR: Every dog has it's day.
Now, what about that jelly straining contraption?
I would have it at 20.
I know I'm being hard.
I know I am.
How about at 25?
And I'll shake on it now.
Go on.
You know you want to.
You're right.
I'm having it.
I knew you would.
So I owe you 25 pounds for the bronze, and I owe you 25 pounds for the funny jelly strainer.
That's wonderful.
Sarah, you're very good.
Thank you very much indeed.
In fact, it's so good.
I'm taking you with me.
Wonderful.
NARRATOR: Unhand that woman you silly old goat.
And back in the car, time for pastures new.
Meanwhile, Angus has crossed to terra firma and landed on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, where the first Christian evangelists in England settled in the year 635.
At the Priory, Reverend Rachel Pullman explains how this religious community of 12 monks led by Saint Eden emerged from post-Roman Dark Age Britain.
RACHEL: There were lots of war and kingdoms, lots of changes of Allegiance, and King Oswald became king here just across the water in Bamburgh, and he as a child had been exiled to Iona in Scotland to monks, so he became a Christian.
And when he became King, he invited monks from Iona to come here and establish a monastery and start spreading the faith.
NARRATOR: The monastic mission on Lindisfarne flourished, and in the 670s, the Island's most revered monk arrived.
He was Cuthbert, a teacher, healer, and friend to animals.
Reputedly a man of miracles, he became a superstar of early Christianity, attracting pilgrims to this island.
What made Cuthbert so iconic?
He was very much respected as a man of prayer, a man whose faith shone out of him, and he lived a simple life.
He wasn't interested in status, and yet his reputation grew in his lifetime.
People came to him for counsel.
There's all sorts of stories about him.
For instance, praying up to his waist in the North Sea.
A brave man then me.
It's not something I'd do.
But the story goes that when he came out, otters came to dry his feet.
ANGUS: Oh, wow.
So there's all sorts of stories, stories like that.
ANGUS: Fascinating.
Yeah.
A few years after he died, they had reason to open the coffin, and they found his body intact.
So again, his reputation at that point just grew and grew.
And then later when the Vikings came here and there were a series of bloody raids and monks getting murdered and so on, so the remaining monks fled carrying his coffin with them.
ANGUS: So truly revered by his peers.
They took the most precious things they could from the island, which included his coffin and his remains, and traveled on foot carrying his coffin for many years, crisscrossing the North of England.
And his reputation has lasted down through the centuries.
NARRATOR: After more than a century on the move, Cuthbert was finally enshrined at Durham in 995.
Along with his relics, the monks fled with the early 8th century Lindisfarne Gospels created in Cuthbert's honor.
The priceless original is in the British Library, but there is a facsimile in the Priory.
RACHEL: It was all done by one person-- a monk named Edfrith.
And when you think the whole process they had to initiate, it's written on vellum.
So the whole processing of calfskin to make the velum, gathering up plants and other things to make the pigments for that.
ANGUS: The colors-- I mean, you look at this, it's just phenomenal-- RACHEL: So vivid.
ANGUS: --vibrant.
Even in the original, it's still is vivid.
ANGUS: Vivid.
It's just full of these beautiful illustrations.
I mean, they're incredible.
It looks like a Persian rug, doesn't it it?
It does, yep.
And these pages are known as carpet pages, so there isn't-- Well, you can see where they get that name, can't you?
RACHEL: It's an incredible detail and intricate designs, Celtic knots.
So although it's very ornate and has lots of other influences, it also feels very rooted in the island as well, in the Island, Lindisfarne.
Very much part of the culture.
It's sort of ingrained in it.
NARRATOR: In between the lines of Latin, a word for word Anglo-Saxon translation was added in the 10th century, the first such translation into English.
ANGUS: To think that this still survives today, it's incredible that it's lived all that time and intact.
Yeah.
It was carried around for decades in a coffin, and that has been preserved for centuries if you think-- we find it remarkable in our day and age in a fairly small monochrome world without much art around.
Especially for ordinary people, the impact of seeing all of this and associating it with Cuthbert and with the Christian gospel as well must have been remarkable.
NARRATOR: Well, we'll leave our pilgrim to some quiet contemplation in the sun on this beautiful island before the 21st century calls him back to the last shop of the day.
But hark, David is on his way there already, speeding through the quiet byways of Northumberland to Powburn.
Hedgeley Antique Center is the destination, and it is fairly stuffed with all manner of antique vintage and retro to tempt the man in the lemon shorts with 346 pounds, 20 in the back pocket.
I love cabinets like this.
They are just positively bulging with things, pretty things and colorful things.
Now, what I'm looking at here is what looks liked before ladies hat pins, but what's really interesting about these four are the colors.
These I think indicate that the particular hat pins are suffragette pins.
NARRATOR: In 1908, the Women's Social and Political Union adopted the colors purple for loyalty and dignity, white for purity, and green for hope.
Now, there's a big resurgence in the interest in the suffragettes and the women of that time-- very powerful strong women who made a very big difference to hundreds of millions of women around the world.
And we have a lovely woman here, Heather, who owns this cabinet, and I'm going to talk to her about it.
Heather, can you come and talk to me about these hat pins?
And I'm kind of tying them in to the suffragettes.
Am I right or am I just being a fantasist.
No, no.
You're not at all.
That's completely right.
Would you have been a suffragette?
- Oh, probably yes.
- Would you?
Yes.
I would have been up there at the front with the banner.
Fascinating time.
Oh, yes, absolutely.
So we've got four of this, all of the same period.
What are your thoughts trade-wise for the four?
The four for 50 pounds.
Four, 50?
12.50 each.
40, I'm going to 40.
Are you?
Do you want a weapon?
Yes.
45 then.
En garde.
Go on, then.
[LAUGHTER] Oy.
You worry me.
I'm going to give you 45.
There's no arguing.
Lovely.
Thank you very much.
NARRATOR: I'm not arguing either.
Excellent choice.
Now, the tide seems to have washed in the venerable Angus to Powburn.
Let's see what flotsam and jetsam he'll find here.
Now, underneath all this hidden away is a superb box.
Look at that.
Probably late 19th century.
French I'm guessing.
Lovely tooled leather-- the gilt work on it there.
DJ, well that obviously relates to the name there.
"Very fine quality," it says on the label.
Well, I'd agree with that.
Yes, I think it's rather nice.
NARRATOR: What an interesting curiosity.
I wonder what it was for.
ANGUS: Price there, 85 pounds.
I really like that.
Do you think there'd be much movement on that?
I can give him a ring.
Give him a ring, that will be fantastic.
I mean, he obviously doesn't rate it, because it was buried in the bottom under everything else.
So you can remind him of that, and it's dusty.
And I like it, but I think it's a little bit chancy, so we need to see where we are and where you are.
I'll do my best for you, OK?
I'll give you my ring.
- Thank you very much.
Thank you.
- OK. NARRATOR: Jolly, good.
Now, this is what David should by.
In fact, I'm almost tempted to buy it for him.
That's David Harper to a T, isn't it?
Go well with his canary-yellow shorts.
NARRATOR: Angus, get back in the box.
I can do 70 on that.
It's come all the way from the West of France.
I've come all the way from Yorkshire.
I see it at sort of 60 to 80 in the sell room, so really between 50 and 60.
I was just going to say 65.
65 is the last-- like I'll just-- do or die, isn't it?
All right, let's go for it.
- Go on.
Yep.
Hopefully, I won't regret this.
Great.
NARRATOR: Episode 2, 65 pounds, at least good.
Has David found anything else?
Look at this.
I love it because it has the presentation box.
I don't love it because it's very, very boring.
This is the problem, so let me see if I can fall in love with it.
So obviously, an egg cup and a spoon.
You can see its hallmark, so I'm going to date that for you.
Made in Birmingham, and the date letter be-- I think that is 1926.
Lots of potential there.
It's all down to price.
I'm going to put that there.
It's a bit ordinary, but then we have silver again.
This is getting a little more exotic, so if the spoon and egg cup were made in Birmingham, this is going way East.
This is definitely going to India.
It's going earlier, more likely than 19th century, as opposed to the beginning of the 20th century.
It's Anglo-Indian silver.
It's a little pillbox decorated typically with Indian patterns.
You've got forests, wild animals, very intricate.
So-- NARRATOR: Uh-oh.
Where then Earth did that go too?
Seriously?
Heather?
NARRATOR: No, she'll stick the hat pins in you.
No, I've got it.
I've got it.
I've got it.
I should stop throwing things around.
NARRATOR: Yes you should, till after you've bought them.
No dents, no damage.
Not everybody I would say was a skilled throw.
Who's saying I can't do it?
Heather?
NARRATOR: How much for the egg cup and for the pillbox then?
You can have one of them for 35.
I see.
I want you to make the decision.
Which one can I have for 30?
You could have either of them.
For 30?
Mm-hmm.
Still not help me make the decision, OK.
I'm going to flip a coin.
Go on then.
I'm going to have one of them for 30.
Right, go on then.
So heads, I'm going to have the egg cup, tails I'm having the Indian pot.
Yes go on.
BOTH: Tails.
I get the Indian pot.
- You wanted the Indian pot.
- I did want the Indian pot.
There you go.
I was going to have the Indian pot anyway.
NARRATOR: 45 for the hat pins and 30 for the pillbox.
It's closing in time and off with the pair of you.
ANGUS: I think I might've stolen the show.
DAVID: Really?
ANGUS: Yeah.
Epic this time.
Epic?
Yeah, you've never mentioned epic before.
Epic.
I shouldn't wait.
I'm looking forward to epic.
Let's have some epicness.
NARRATOR: I look forward to tomorrow's Odyssey.
Nighty night.
And there you are-- our mythical heroes nearing the end of their story.
DAVID: That's it Angus.
It's the final countdown.
We're on our last leg.
You're on your last legs.
Listen, these are first legs these.
Look at them mate.
They're terrible.
They're not.
Let's get them out for summer.
[LAUGHTER] NARRATOR: Or put them away.
Yesterday, Angus crossed the sea to the Holy Island.
I can swim.
NARRATOR: So he had time to book one purchase-- a Victorian casket, and ventures forth today with 252 pounds and 34p, while David's jelly strainer was an unlikely culinary purchase.
I did "Celebrity MasterChef," you know.
NARRATOR: And after also buying a pillbox, a plaque of a gun dog, and four hat pins, he still flushed with 271 pounds 20.
ANGUS: This is the border.
OK, so we're currently in England.
England, England.
No man's land.
We're halfway across the river.
- Still no man.
- We're on the banks.
On the banks.
Scotland.
Welcomes you to Scotland.
Wonderful.
Whee!
NARRATOR: Yes, David and Angus are making a border raid this morning.
And after dropping David off, a lone river is making for the Berwickshire Coast in the village of Coldingham-- home to the Coldingham, Gallery, which specializes in Chinese art and antiques, all presided over by Sue Lee.
Behind the front shop, Sue Lee has a number of other outbuildings housing a vast array of oriental treasures.
Come on Angus.
What catches your eye?
This is what a lot of people associate Chinese-- is what quite popular now is the-- Cantonese.
Yes, the Cantonese and the Canton famille rose, very popular, especially on the vases.
I mean, that's a very commercial piece nowadays.
And that would have been sort of a rice spoon-- - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- Yeah.
That-- Soup spoon.
Soup spoon.
Or rice or soup.
Soup.
Late 19th century, sort of 1870.
Lovely colors on it, isn't it?
Yeah.
Yeah.
What sort of price would that-- could that be at?
It's OK, we have 10% discounts.
10% discount.
So that was 75.
That would take it to about 67 50 pence, won't it?
65 then.
65 pounds.
Well, do you know what?
I'm going to take that for 65.
- Yeah?
- That's wonderful.
Good.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, yeah.
- Thank you.
I'm delighted, but I think we're going to have a look in the shop at the front as well because you never know.
It might be something else.
NARRATOR: On we go.
Uh!
Look what's in the window.
And I love that.
I mean, it's handsome, like the spoon.
Yeah.
I mean, that's an impressive thing.
You know inside the detail, the outside.
I mean, it was beautiful.
I mean, you've had 700 pounds on that, and you've reduced it to 120 because it's got this crack-- Because of the crack.
It runs through it, which is a real shame, isn't it?
I love the Canton.
Did you want to buy this?
And here comes the sales lady again.
No, I selling to you 70.
That's enough.
That's-- You're making this very difficult for me.
Just want you but it because I want you make some money.
You want me-- you know, you're making this very difficult.
So with the soup spoon and this-- 70, 65.
That would be 135 pounds, wouldn't it?
Or a straight 130.
- Deal.
- Deal.
Deal.
Wonderful.
You have been a charming lady, and actually enjoyed.
I will take those two, because we've got the spoon on there, and I shall get you some money.
Yeah.
NARRATOR: That leaves Angus 122 pounds 34 p. - Thank you very much.
- Wonderful.
Thank you very much.
It's been an absolute pleasure.
NARRATOR: And he's off.
David, meanwhile, is 20 miles inland enjoying the Berwickshire countryside near the village of Greenlaw on his way to Marchmont house.
Keep walking David.
At 1.3 miles, this is Scotland's longest Avenue.
This 1750 palladian mansion house was enlarged and remodeled in the 20th century by Edinburgh architect Robert Lorimer, and it contains one of his greatest treasures, which curator Francis Raeymaekers is waiting to show off to David.
Welcome to Marchmont.
Francis.
Nice to meet you.
Very lovely to meet you, and this is a astonishing house.
NARRATOR: Lorimer designed buildings from churches to first World War memorials, but it is his work on houses for which he is held in the highest regard-- much influenced by Scottish castles and tower houses of the baronial style.
He was a leading proponent of the arts and crafts movement, renovating many historic houses in his signature style, and Marchmont house is a magnificent example.
Look at that.
DAVID: What a staircase.
FRANCIS: Yes, well, this staircase was designed by Robert Lorimer, and it has all sorts of things that he loved.
Like can you see the-- there are actually gold birds, but they are supposed to be blackbirds.
DAVID: It's art.
It's not just a staircase.
It is actually art, isn't it?
Well, if you imagine that every little sinew and curl is hammered by hand, every twist in these posts is hammered there by hand and heat and forged-- No duplication.
No duplication.
Everything is original.
Everything is made piece by piece.
And what is this?
And this is the original entrance hall-- the saloon.
The original entrance hall of the palladian villa.
DAVID: The statement the moment you walk into a home, it might as well be a billboard telling you exactly where you are and what to expect.
You know you've arrived in a seat of power, even if it is Berwickshire power, but it is a very important place.
NARRATOR: In 1912, Lorimer was commissioned to enlarge and reconfigure the house to suit the tastes and interests of its new owner, a wealthy Edinburgh lawyer.
Now, I'm going to take you to what I consider to be Marchmont's greatest treasurer-- Lorimer's music room.
That's quite an entrance.
It is.
It's all built out of concrete, because Lorimer was a great fan of using concrete and making it look like stonework.
So the floor is concrete.
The floor is concrete.
The ceiling is concrete.
Lorimer was a great fan of concrete.
Goodness me.
This is the music room.
Wow, I mean, you can already hear the acoustics.
FRANCIS: Yes, the acoustics in this room are simply breathtaking.
Originally, the stables were on the floor beneath us, and there was nothing here above.
Oh, right.
So Lorimer raised both wings of the house, and this is his design and installed under his careful watch.
One thing that is very Lorimeresque about it-- that nothing is symmetrical.
In the sense that yes, the structure is symmetrical, but the detail is never copied.
Other than the radiator panels which are pairs, everything else in the room, there are no two panels that are the same.
And the ceiling is contemporary to the rest of the-- The ceiling was designed by Lorimer and then installed under his supervision, and it is a wonderful, wonderful arts and crafts ceiling.
NARRATOR: The room's magnificent organ cost almost a million pounds in today's money.
And all 1,986 pipes have now been painstakingly restored by the current owners.
I've organized for Martin Strachan to come and play for us a little bit, so that you can get a real sense of the acoustics in this room.
Hopefully he won't blow out the windows.
This is Martin?
This is Martin at the organ.
All right, Martin, all over to you.
[MUSIC PLAYING] You can feel the note reverberating.
It sends shivers down your spine, doesn't it?
Every organ in your body is moving.
Handles fireworks.
Fabulous.
Martin, fabulous.
[APPLAUSE] NARRATOR: Bravo.
I could handle more of this, but we're following Angus now to historic Melrose nestled between the Eildon hills and the River Tweed.
The town is home to one of the loveliest of 12th century border abbey's.
Angus is making for old Melrose furniture studio, his last shop of the trip.
Surely, plenty of possibilities here.
Could be something quite interesting.
Look at the color of that.
It's sort of amorphous color coming through this mottled glass.
Very stylish, sort of 1960s whitefriars, or at least we think it's whitefriars.
Original whitefriars glass, the studio glassware makes a lot of money.
The trouble is it's heavily copied.
There's a lot of repair out there.
32 pounds on it.
It's worth a chance at that.
In a sale on the internet, two people, whitefriars collectors will ultimately decide on that.
So I'm going to take that through and put it to one side, but I'm going to keep looking because I want to buy some more items.
NARRATOR: We'll leave you to it, old fruit, and catch up with David, who's torn himself away from Marchmont House and is making his way to the town of Hawick in the heart of Teviotdale-- famous for knitwear, rugby, and its annual common riding.
No horse, though, for David, who's hoofing it to his last shop-- Denim Antiques and Interiors.
Looks good.
What's he thinking inside those shorts?
This is really interesting.
If you just stand still and scan around the room in a shop like this, you've got a real eclectic mix of stuff and inspired by my visit to the lovely arts and crafts influenced house today.
What about this?
It looks very plain and very simple.
It's just a carved mirror.
Nothing exceptional about it, apart from the fact that it's completely handmade.
So it's off the arts and crafts period.
So it's late 19th, early 20th century.
All of that decoration is completely hand-carved.
Every single chip that you see is done by hand.
The glass, the mirrored glass, is original.
It's bevel, so it dips in on the outside edge.
Now, the back will tell you just as much as the front.
We have-- again, it's oak obviously.
A little labor on the corner.
That's an original label, maybe a price label.
It could be a depository label.
It's a lovely thing.
It's plain.
It's unassuming, but it's oozing quality and craftsmanship.
Definitely in period.
Definitely arts and crafts.
28 pounds.
I definitely got to buy that.
NARRATOR: Time to see Pete.
Pete?
OK, Pete.
What have you got me T?
Last of the big spenders.
I want to make you an offer.
But as you take your price, I'm going to give you a one time offer.
Here we go.
Are you ready for it?
Go on.
The offer-- Look at the ticket price.
No, you can make the offer first.
OK, offer is 20 pounds-- one time offer.
28.
I want you to take 10 pounds, 20 pounds.
I want you to have that, and then I'm going to have the mirror an exit.
How does that sound?
It's an original mirror.
You know that.
I know it's original.
It's fantastic.
It's worth about five grand.
Thanks a lot.
[LAUGHTER] Have we done a deal?
- We've done a deal.
Marvelous.
Pete, you're a gent.
Thank you.
Later.
NARRATOR: Yeah, and with that, he was gone.
Now, how's Angus getting on back at old Melrose?
He's got dealer Tim-- great name-- opening a case.
ANGUS: This little bit there, I'm interested in.
It's quite nice.
All right.
Got it down as a holy oil container?
Mm-hmm.
Bought a little casket, I see.
Earlier on in this leg, I was wanting something interesting just to sit in it.
Not particularly expensive.
Just to add to it as a-- you know, it's a glass casket.
And I've got something to sit in it.
TIM: Add a bit of interest.
ANGUS: Add a bit of interest to it, yeah.
I'm getting excited.
I can hope 16 pounds, fine.
That's quite nice.
Can you put that on the counter?
And I'll be-- I'm going to try and find some more things.
But that's a definite, so put that to one side.
Oh, right.
Right.
NARRATOR: And he's not done yet.
Oh, now that's a good decorative piece, isn't it?
Probably Victorian in date, magic lantern, maybe a little bit later.
It still got the oil lamp in it there, so you'd like the wick there.
So you'd have your light.
That's your chimney for the fumes to come out from the lights.
You'd slide a glass-- slide in there basically, and then this would project it out.
You could adjust the focus onto a screen.
So very much an early projector, pre-electrics and all that sort of thing.
That looks like the stump possibly for Bing, who did a lot of tin plate work and a lot of toys, famous toy manufacturer.
But I'm a little bit rusty on that, but I'm pretty sure.
It's got this box there.
Hopefully, suddenly no slides in it, but makes a good base for it.
It's the right size.
That's nice is that.
What have we got on the ticket price?
65 pounds.
Now, they don't make big money, but that's unusual.
I haven't seen one with quite this shape before.
It's not going to do a Paul Laidlaw and do me 20,000, but there's a bit of room in there.
I think I'm going to take that for it, and see what we can do on that.
NARRATOR: Yeah, time to get down to some business Tim.
Tim?
Timo?
16 pounds, I know, there's not a lot of margin.
That's something I'm more than happy about, but is it a little bit on this too?
This one's not actually mine, so I can check with the dealer for that one, see if we can do anything.
This one is mine, 65.
As it's you, 50 pounds.
Brilliant, OK.
So 50 pounds on that.
We're going to check a price on that.
That's 16 pounds.
That's fair enough.
So that's 66 pounds as it stands at the moment, and we'll find out our way out on that.
- And I'll get a price for this.
- OK, it's brilliant.
All right, I'll go and get that now for you.
NARRATOR: Tick tock, tick, tock.
- Good news?
- Yep.
I've had a chat with the dealer, and he's happy to take 24 on that one.
24, OK.
So that's-- 92.
90 pounds altogether.
I'll take it.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
NARRATOR: Yeah, nice work.
Now, take up thy chattels, and get the hints.
Wandering Willie is waiting for his lift.
DAVID: I'm going to miss this Angus.
Oh, do you know what?
I really-- I'm going to miss it.
I've had a fantastic experience.
Loved it.
Are you going to miss me?
Well, I think you'll miss me more than I'll miss you for me.
Why is that?
Well, because I think I've taught you so much.
NARRATOR: Oh, yes.
He never stops, does he?
If you need to keep in contact with me, you can, but can you just keep it limited to maybe once a month.
I don't want you hounding me.
NARRATOR: We'll unleash the dogs again after some shut-eye.
And we've crossed the border back into Northumberland for the final act of this antiques drama.
The curtain will be going up at Alnwick auctions, and the principal characters are assembling.
- Are you going to miss me then?
- Do you know what?
I will do.
Didn't think I would, but-- I know.
It's been surprising, isn't it?
Yes, I know you've grown on me actually.
Oh, grown up-- after you, Angus.
No, after you David.
I insist.
NARRATOR: What am I bid for the pair of them eh?
Half a crown?
David's keeping a tight rein on the purse strings parting with only 145 pounds on five lots.
Wow.
The annoying thing is I actually want to buy this because it's really useful, but I don't want to give David any money.
Because I make a lot of crab apple jelly, and you'd be amazed.
But, you know, I'm a die hard in the kitchen, and that'd be really useful.
Otherwise, it's completely useless, but I don't think it'll sell very well.
So if it doesn't sell, I might offer him a quid for it.
NARRATOR: Our fruit machine fan Angus spent double his rival, throwing 285 pounds at his five lots.
DAVID: A really highly unusual lot there.
Summing, it screams Victorian.
It's a bit dark, I think.
I mean, it's a casket, but it also has a bit of a coffin feel to it with that interior, and he's put some kind of holy water, holy oil container inside the casket.
Just makes it feel a bit spooky.
It's good quality, but where's the market?
And at 81 pounds, I think, as we say in this business, it's old money.
NARRATOR: Let's get Nigel Blackburn, our auctioneer today down off his perch to give us his opinion.
The famille rose bowl had a hard life being kicked around.
Whoever managed to stick those bits back together has done one great job.
I don't like to sneeze near it.
It's that delicate.
If it was in one piece, 8 to 1000 pounds.
In that condition 80 to 100 quid if we're lucky.
My favorite piece is the arts and crafts mirror, absolutely stunning.
It shouts arts and crafts.
Quality is high.
Absolutely the most outstanding piece.
Definitely 100 pounds in my book all day long.
NARRATOR: Show time.
To your marks gentlemen, please.
Can you believe it?
The last auction.
- I know.
I can't believe it.
It's gone so quick.
I know.
Are you going to get emotional?
Probably not emotional.
I figured you might miss me.
No, I-- no, not really.
I want to celebrate the win.
My win.
NARRATOR: Settle down for the last time.
First up, Angus' magic lantern.
Start the bidding now at 35 pounds bid.
35, [AUCTIONEER CHANT] 35 for it.
Surely.
35.40 I've got.
40 pounds I have.
- 40.
It's good to go now.
40 I have.
45, 50 I've got.
50 pounds out on the net, 50.
Is there any advance on 54 in there?
Surely 55.
50 pounds we have on the internet.
Well, I'm selling at 55.
That's a rubbish lantern.
NARRATOR: It's lovely, just didn't turn a profit.
I've broken even minus commission.
So it's a loss.
NARRATOR: Will it be victory for David's hat pins next?
Suffragette or not?
50 pounds bid.
50 I have.
50, I've got-- Come on-- a bit more.
60 I've got.
70 I've got.
80 I've got-- Come on suffragettes.
AUCTIONEER: Is the room at 80?
Is there any advance on 80?
Nice, a bit more.
Once, twice, three times then.
80 pounds.
That's all right.
- You did all right, yeah.
- 35 profit.
Yeah.
NARRATOR: Well done David, but watch you don't have someone's eye out with those.
I mean, to be fair, they're nice things.
Lovely things.
NARRATOR: Time for Angus' rather Gothic goodies now-- the casket and the Holy oil bottle.
Starts bidding here at 25 pounds bid.
25, I have.
Is there any advance of 25.4?
25 pounds selling to you in the room.
This bidding is beneath-- 25 I have.
35 I've got.
40 in the room now.
It's going crazy.
45 I've got.
50 sir?
Worth at 45 I've got.
45 I have.
- They're buying a relic.
- A relic.
[LAUGHS] [AUCTIONEER CHANT] - Oh, it hurts me.
- Keep going.
Keep going.
Internet is kicking.
50 we have.
What?
[INTERPOSING VOICES] [LAUGHTER] 50 on the net.
[AUCTIONEER CHANT] That was my elbow.
50 pounds I have.
Five-- surely very holy relic.
50 pounds it is, and I'm selling.
Oh, have another go, why don't you?
Yeah.
[LAUGHTER] NARRATOR: Well, that was a hammer horror in every respect.
And he squeezed that extra fiver out of it.
I needed it.
[LAUGHTER] NARRATOR: Took a squeezing.
Will it be jammed tomorrow for David's strainer?
- 10 in the back of the room.
- 10?
- We have 10 in the room.
- 15?
20, sir?
BOTH: Come on.
Luckiest man I've ever met.
How can I be lucky?
Come on.
--20 Any advance-- Well, that's doing a lot better than the I thought.
20 pounds.
You know I was relying on that to lose you a lot of money.
NARRATOR: That's karma for you.
The harder you work, the luckier you become.
I worked very hard.
NARRATOR: Last auction now, so hope his vase is going to work hard for him now.
10 pounds for it.
Tenner anywhere for it?
Fiver, then?
5 bid.
Oh, Lord.
I'm just going to let go-- [INTERPOSING VOICES] 10 sitting here.
10 I have.
Any advance on 10?
As good as one of your bits of sculptures.
[LAUGHTER] I'm selling at 10.
It's a bit of a loss, Angus, isn't it?
Yeah.
That's got to hurt a bit.
So what happens now?
It will be boring if you made a profit on everything, won't it?
Yeah, because it will be tedious.
NARRATOR: Under the hammer now David's Indian silver pillbox.
No debt.
20 I have.
25 on the house.
50 in the room I've got.
35 on my right.
You've made a profit now, 35.
35 pounds, and I'm selling it-- profit.
--at 35.
Do you know you are the luckiest person I've ever met?
It's called skill.
NARRATOR: 5 pounds worth in this case.
You're just lucky.
Listen, you make your own luck in this life Angus.
NARRATOR: What's that taste?
Uh, sour grapes.
Time for Angus' Chinese soup spoon now.
Start the bidding here.
I've got 50 pounds, 60 pounds.
70 pounds I have.
70 pounds we've got.
70 pounds it is.
Is there any advance on 70 pounds?
At this point you can just take off you know that?
Selling then at 70 pounds.
NARRATOR: Or not.
I'm kind of disappointed for you.
Well, it was a small profit.
Took a chance and-- And you got out of it.
NARRATOR: Well, he's muzzling that vicious looking gun dog Clarke, which is up now.
10 pounds bid.
10 I have.
- Ooh!
--advance for it then.
15 madam.
20 I have.
25 in the room, and I am after 25 in the room at 25.
One more will be a bit of a profit.
--25.
Selling then at 25 pounds.
Aw.
30 on the left.
[INTERPOSING VOICES] 35, 35 in the room.
No.
[INTERPOSING VOICES] In the room she's got it at 35.
Internet's got cold feet.
Oh.
Well, that's a good but.
NARRATOR: 'Atta boy.
Now, chain him up somewhere.
I think it's cheap enough for that.
Now, you say it.
NARRATOR: Angus' hopes are resting on his last lot now, the Cantonese famille rose bowl, lovely.
I've got 60 pounds bid.
It's not a bad start.
70 I've got.
80 I've got.
90 I've got.
95 I've got.
95 pounds on the internet we have.
Any advance on 95 pounds?
Sure, 100 pounds.
--for 95.
Selling that for 95 pounds.
Ooh.
NARRATOR: Quite a respectable return there, I think.
I hope that reverberation didn't smash the ball.
NARRATOR: Don't gloat.
It's not pretty.
Last lot now.
David's mirror on the wall.
Who is the wealthiest of them all?
And I can start the bidding here.
I have 90 pounds bid.
90 I have on the-- Come on baby.
Is there any advance on 90 pounds for it?
95 in the room we have.
95 pounds in the room.
We've go 100 online.
Got 100?
100 pounds on line.
110 in the room.
120, 130 in the room.
- Here we go.
- 130 in the room.
Come on.
130 pounds, I'm selling then.
Well done.
Well done.
Thank you.
NARRATOR: Well, that reflected a very fine profit indeed.
But you know what?
You might be a Mo Farah.
Alive and fit.
No, just gets to the very final bit, and then, whoosh, he's off.
Like this.
[LAUGHS] NARRATOR: Or as Tommy Cooper would say, just argh.
Now that they've reached the end, what's the final tally?
Well, the thing is new recruit Angus crested a wave on his maiden voyage, and even after a 60 pound loss today after selling fees, he sails into port overall with a goodly sum of 257 pounds and 84 pence.
But our ancient mariner, David, steered a steady course and boosted his coffers today with 101 after auction costs.
So he wins the overall trip with an impressive 497 pounds and 20p, and all those profits go to children in need.
Angus, I can't believe this.
That's it.
I can't believe this.
Well, we don't live too far away.
No.
Well, I'm going [INAUDIBLE] away.
You're going to do me dinner?
Well, I wouldn't say dinner.
I'll put the kettle on.
All right then.
[INTERPOSING VOICES] Yeah, yeah.
Go on.
Yorkshire blend, eh?
[CHUCKLES] This trip has fairly flown.
I'm getting in before you.
I don't think so somehow.
Just makes you proud to be British.
NARRATOR: It wasn't strictly antiques.
Oh.
That was the best shot of the day.
- I can swim.
- Go on.
Every antique shop must have a shop dog.
You are gorgeous.
You look like a right wally.
NARRATOR: And their was rivalry.
Marvelous.
Isn't that good news, Angus?
NARRATOR: But they were both champions.
I eat my hats, well done.
NARRATOR: Missing you already.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
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