VO: It's the nation's favorite antiques experts...

Perfect.

Sold!

VO: ..behind the wheel of a classic car.

Lovely day for it.

VO: And a goal - to scour Britain for antiques.

Every home should have one of these.

VO: The aim?

To make the biggest profit at auction.

But it's no mean feat.

Yes!

VO: There'll be worthy winners... 950.

You're gonna make £1,000!

VO: ..and valiant losers.

Nooooooo!

VO: Will it be the high road to glory?

Make me a big profit.

VO: Or the slow road to disaster?

Are we stuck?

IRITA & RAJ: Yay!

VO: This is the Antiques Road Trip.

Giddy up.

Howdy!

Today's another day in North Wales, and the sun's not only got his hat on, but his sunglasses and SPF 50.

It can't be Wales - we're bathed in sunshine.

I know.

This is a surprise.

VO: It's the third leg of our jaunt around Wales with the young Izzie Balmer, and the not-quite-so-young James Braxton.

Ha!

Our lovely couple are razzing around in this sporty, royal blue Morgan from 1977.

Cor!

Those were the days, hey?

Wales - the gateway to Ireland.

IZZIE: Yes.

JAMES: Holyhead, isn't it?

IZZIE: Yes.

Well, you know, if I get fed up with you, I might stick you on a ferry to Ireland.

VO: She wouldn't!

Well, she might.

Better change the subject, James.

Wales, famous for... Daffodils!

Daffodils.

Sheep.

Daffadowndillies!

Sheep.

Onions.

VO: You're thinking of France, old boy.

Are they famous for onions?

Why do I think... JAMES: Leeks!

IZZIE: Leeks, yes.

Part of the onion family.

VO: Last time, Izzie and James were keen to fill their stomachs.

IZZIE: Oh, it looks delicious.

So what have we got in here?

Ooh.

Oh, that smells good.

VO: As well as their coffers.

But at auction, disaster struck.

AUCTIONEER: Thank you.

Dear, oh, dear.

VO: So, Izzie won the day by losing the least.

Ha!

AUCTIONEER: £70.

Thank you.

JAMES: Well done.

Well done.

I've got to raise my game.

I almost lost £100.

Well, do you know what I'm kicking myself about?

Is listening to you telling me, "Spend all your money."

If I hadn't bought that flipping coffer, I'd have closed that gap between us a bit more.

VO: They started the week with £200.

Izzie begins the day with just £23.70 better off than she started.

James has fattened his piggy bank to £334.90.

Harmony restored, and bursting with vim and vigor, this pair are ready to take on the world.

Oh, they've stopped already.

This is what I like about our road trip.

What do they call this?

Elevenses, is it?

I think they say it's me spoiling you.

IZZIE: That's what they call it.

Well, this is spoiling.

Now, come on.

You said that your favorite cake was a fruit cake.

It is.

And because you are, you are James Braxton, it's not just any old fruitcake, James.

It's got a fair amount of booze in there as well.

It's a boozy, steeped...

It's a boozy... VO: Today's tour traces the northwest coast of Wales, pops cross to Anglesey, then back to the mainland, following the curve of the west coast, with a final showdown in Pembrokeshire.

James, what are these?

JAMES: I haven't a clue.

(LAUGHS) Your guess is as good as mine.

VO: Ahem.

When you finish stuffing your faces, there's a road trip to crack on with.

The first port of call for James is the delightful Rhos on Sea.

At Bygone Days.

It's a shop packed to the rafters with delights, from, well, bygone days.

Gerry is at the helm today.

What does this feel like?

(TAPS VASE) It's always sensible, really, to have a good tap of this.

VO: What have you got there, old boy?

Nice Welsh dragon.

JAMES: (SIGHS) Here we are.

No antique shop is complete without a tea caddy.

It's an 18th-century tea caddy.

It's made of mahogany.

But I can see lots, a lot of problems with this.

It's got a wrong handle.

Edwardian.

I think it's probably 1760, something like that.

Somebody's forced the lock, which is a real shame.

I don't like this either.

The interior is gone.

The divisions here are later.

It would have been divided, probably, into two.

And you would have had green tea from China, black tea from India.

But, £90, I'm going to leave it.

It's too battered.

VO: So the caddy won't be accompanying James today.

Anything else taking your fancy?

This is rather nice.

One, it's rather intact.

I think this is something like a butter dish.

But I like the fact that we've got three materials.

We've got oak, which is a very nationalistic wood.

It's got this plated frame with a swing handle here.

And then inside, another classic bit of England, here, is Staffordshire.

Beautifully printed, idealized landscape.

So we've got a rather nice trellis fence here.

We've got this rather lovely bridge here, and then we've got the pagoda and, of course, the weeping willow.

So it's priced at £35.

It's nice.

It's a great bit of fun, isn't it?

Anyway, another possibility.

VO: A possible possible, then.

Meanwhile, down the road in Llandudno, Izzie's arrived at Digby Antiques.

It's a cornucopia of curios and collectables, run by Graham and his fluffy assistant.

Woof.

IZZIE: Hmm, this is, in some ways, an unusual find, because at first glance, you might think, "Well, why?"

It's just a money box.

But how do you get the money out?

The only way to get the money out is to smash it.

This one hasn't been smashed, so it's either never been used, or they put tiny little coins in that they could shake out.

Now, that is a possibility, because what I'm looking for is any sign of restoration or repair.

Now, his nose is intact.

It has got a crack running there.

So where that stems from, that could imply that you've shook the money out.

He's probably late-19th, early-20th century.

Generically, he's probably Staffordshire.

He doesn't have a ticket price on.

I'm gonna leave him there for now.

I'm going to keep looking, and see what else I can find.

VO: Maybe bank it for later, eh?

No?

Alright.

Suit yourself.

James, what are you dropping your pennies into?

Gerry, what are you fiddling around with?

Oh, just tidying up, doing a little bit of dusting.

Now, Gerry, if I can draw you away from the fossils, you've got this rather nice little churn here.

Yes.

Ernie the milkman.

It's got a price tag of 38 quid on it.

Could it be lower?

25?

GERRY: Yeah.

JAMES: I'll do it.

I'll take a punt on it.

There we are - 25.

I'm going to leave it on mon monsieur's flora and fauna.

JAMES: Bye.

GERRY: Bye.

VO: Well done, James.

Thank you.

VO: That leaves you with £309.90.

Back in Llandudno, Izzie's still busy browsing.

Hmm.

"Popcorn, toffee apples, candyfloss."

We have got part of a sign, by the looks of it.

So it's just a wooden plank, very naively painted, but, you know, from a fairground or similar.

People do love a bit of advertising.

Now, what price is it?

It's £35.

Let's put this one down.

Let's continue walking around this small, but absolutely jam-packed full shop, and just see if I find anything else to be in a dilemma about.

VO: Do you know, I think that's called a first world problem.

Hmm.

What do you think?

Woof.

It's quite a nice little jug.

You've got this sort of very idyllic country theme with the dogs here and the horses, and then you've got these vine leaves around the edge.

And what I really like about it is this luster glaze.

This one, actually, is stamped Wood, Wood and Caldwell, to the base.

And I'm just looking at condition.

There is a crack here to the spout, which looks like it's been repaired in some way.

And then some of the vine leaves have chipped off, and there's a bit of a loss of the paint.

There also isn't a ticket price on it, so I have no idea how much this is, but I think that's just quite a nice, decorative jug.

I'd have that with some milk on the breakfast table in the morning.

Plonk some milk on your cereal.

Crunchy Nut Cornflakes, if anyone's asking.

VO: I'm more of a muesli man myself.

Oh, there's Graham.

I wonder what he prefers.

Probably cold, hard cash.

Hiya, Graham.

I've got to say, I'm in a dilemma.

I've seen three items I like.

The fairground toffee popcorn sign, that's ticketed at £35.

Then we've got the Wood and Caldwell jug.

And the sort of little money box pigeon.

Now, those two items haven't got prices on them.

What could they be?

Well, I can do the pigeon for 35.

Aha.

I can do the lusterware for 35, and I'll do the fairground sign for 25.

Would there be any further discount if I bought all three?

Anything you can give is gratefully appreciated.

I'll do another 10 off that.

Another 10. that takes us... GRAHAM: 85.

IZZIE: That takes us down to 85.

Yes, please.

So, £85.

IZZIE: So, 20, 40, 60, 80.

IZZIE: There we go - £85 there.

Thank you so much for having me.

OK. You're welcome.

Thank you very much.

IZZIE: Bye bye.

GRAHAM: Thank you.

Bye bye.

VO: Nicely done, Izzie.

That's 30 for the pigeon, 30 for the pearlware, and the fairground sign for 25, meaning she's leaving with £138.70.

Now, at the other end of Llandudno's promenade, James is ready for a ride on the Great Orme Tramway, and meeting tram attendant Nigel Norman to find out more about this unique mode of transport.

JAMES: Hello.

NIGEL: Hello.

Croeso.

Welcome to the Great Orme Tramway.

Thank you.

VO: The Great Orme Tramway has been an important part of this seaside resort for well over a century.

Built to cash in on the town's popularity as a Victorian holiday destination, the building of the tramway meant sun-seekers didn't have to break a sweat to climb the 670ft to the summit.

You've got rails here, but how does it actually get up?

NIGEL: It is a funicular tramway.

The trams are pulled up the Orme on winches.

The cables are attached to each car.

The downward motion of the downward tram helps with the upward propulsion of the upward tram.

VO: Four trams are in constant service, meaning you can hop on one every eight minutes.

Oh, ha, here's one now.

JAMES: This is very exciting.

It has a sort of San Francisco-like look.

VO: Construction started in April 1901, and, remarkably, just 15 months later, the first paying passenger rode the rails.

Very comfy, this, Nigel, isn't it?

This is the inside of the saloon car, and it's pretty much unchanged from the off.

As a naval officer's son, I like to see a bit of varnish on things.

Lovely bit of varnish.

I think we're going now.

Yeah.

Very nice, easy action.

Indeed.

Indeed.

Yes, it's a smooth ride.

VO: 120 years on, the old girl is still going strong.

JAMES: (LAUGHS) VO: Today, she's carrying almost 200,000 passengers every year.

It is a lot further than I thought from the humble platform down there.

Each section is about half a mile.

I wouldn't want to walk this.

VO: I can't say I blame you, James.

In places, the gradient reaches 26%.

That's 1 in 3.8 in old money.

Here, we're coming up to Bay View bend, and you can see that the view there is of the whole bay.

JAMES: Oh, that's fabulous, isn't it?

That's worth coming up for, isn't it?

VO: Certainly is, old boy.

JAMES: And we're halfway now.

NIGEL: We are at the halfway station, yeah.

So, the second half, is it on the level, then?

No.

We've come up about 500ft here.

NIGEL: There's another 200ft to go.

VO: The halfway station also houses an exhibition of the tramway's history and the winding gears.

NIGEL: We're now on the upper platform.

And this is the next tram.

And off we're moving along the track now.

VO: Two sets of winches work in unison to pull the trams up the hill.

The set at the back brings the tram to the halfway station.

The set in the front takes the tram up to the summit, which is where our James is headed.

What's the top speed of this beast, then, Nigel?

About 5mph.

5mph.

At 6mph, it automatically cuts out.

Right.

VO: Ha!

I had a car like that once.

Ha!

NIGEL: We are coming up towards the summit now, which is at 679ft.

And you can see the Summit hotel... JAMES: Wow!

NIGEL: ..coming up on the right.

JAMES: And there's a hotel here.

NIGEL: Indeed, indeed.

Lovely, isn't it?

Look.

NIGEL: We're coming in to the station now.

JAMES: Come on, Nigel, I'll buy you a cup of tea.

NIGEL: Oh, splendid.

Go on.

Off you hop.

NIGEL: All tram drivers love tea.

Oh, tea, yeah.

Thank you.

JAMES: Very nice.

So, not far to the summit, then?

No, we're there.

The summit cross is actually over there.

Wow, Nigel, what... What a view.

I should say, it's what it's all about, isn't it?

Were Welsh kings crowned here?

NIGEL: I would hope so.

JAMES: Yeah.

If not, very close.

What are we looking at here?

That is Puffin Island, the small one there, with Anglesey behind.

And you're looking down what they call St George's Channel, down to the Menai Strait.

VO: The Great Orme Tramway has been a treasured part of Llandudno's heritage for 120 years, and is set to thrill far into the future.

With James taking the tram back to town, Izzie's on her way to her next shop.

IZZIE: I have surprised myself.

I've had such a productive morning.

I've bought three items, but only because I was overcome with indecision and I thought, "Hey, why not buy all three of them?"

But it does take the pressure off a little bit for this afternoon, because I can now find... You know, I can spend the time and search for something that I really want.

I don't need to worry that, "Oh, I need to get several items."

I feel like, you know, three is a good number to have.

I'd like to get at least one more today.

But I would say, even though it may be a bit premature, a good day's shopping.

VO: And she's happily washed up at the Treasure Chest.

Run by Darren.

It's already got Izzie into a spin.

I always like seeing rings that look like this.

These have been made out of silver spoons.

This is the stem, and the terminal of your spoon, that have just been hammered round to create this ring.

So I just think it's lovely that something is recycled and repurposed into something else.

That's so much better than that being scrapped and melted down, and lost forever.

They're not expensive.

They're not particularly valuable.

I'm not going to buy them, but it's just nice to see something like that.

A bit of green recycling.

VO: That's the beauty of the antiques world.

It's one big recycling merry-go-round.

Anything interesting down there?

IZZIE: Darren.

DARREN: Hello.

Please, could I have a look at your cloverleaf necklace?

DARREN: You can.

DARREN: There you go.

Thank you.

Do you mind if I take it to the front of the shop?

DARREN: No, that's fine.

IZZIE: For the light.

DARREN: OK. IZZIE: Thank you.

IZZIE: And I was really drawn to this piece of jewelry.

And this is a bit of Victorian costume jewelry.

It's Irish, I would hazard a guess, because I think that these quatrefoil shapes here are trying to be the four-leaf clover that Ireland is famous for.

It's just made from, like, a hard stone, like a green sort of agate.

I think it's probably been helped out a little bit with some sort of green paint or green filler there.

Just to sort of emphasize the color a little bit.

Now, looking at it, I don't think that's silver, unfortunately.

It's possibly a very low grade of silver, but I'm not fully convinced.

Victorian costume jewelry, however, is very popular.

So, depending on what the price this is, it could stand a chance to make me a bit of a profit.

VO: Well, you'd better go and sweet-talk the main man.

IZZIE: Darren.

DARREN: Hello.

I do very much like your necklace.

I couldn't help but notice, nothing in this shop has a price on it.

What's your best price?

15 quid - today's special offer.

IZZIE: Today's special offer?

DARREN: To you.

IZZIE: £15.

DARREN: Only to you.

Why not?

I'll take it.

Yes, please.

Thank you.

Okie-dokie, then.

Lovely.

VO: Crikey, that must be one of the quickest deals in Road Trip history.

And she's still got £123.70 left.

Chinese tonight.

VO: Oh, yeah.

Egg foo young for me.

Any time.

Bye bye for now.

IZZIE: Bye bye.

DARREN: Bye bye.

VO: Now, be off with you.

James will be wondering where you've got to.

JAMES: Now, how's your day been, driver?

IZZIE: I've had a good day, James.

Very satisfactory.

Have you bought any winners?

They're all winners, James.

They're all winners.

How about you?

I like to keep my winners away from the auction room.

Yes.

Good, yeah.

A good day.

It's been lovely.

It's been lovely and sunny.

VO: Here's to more of the same tomorrow.

Nighty night.

VO: Rise and shine.

It's another day of antiques road tripping, and our pair sound in fine fettle.

How are you feeling today, James?

Very good.

Very good.

How are you feeling, Izzie?

Very good as well.

But a little on the tired side.

Why?

I think it's all this fresh Welsh air.

Oh, the lovely Welsh air.

VO: Well, Izzie wasn't idling around yesterday... IZZIE: Hmm.

VO: ..bagging a pigeon money box, a pearlware jug, and a fairground sign.

So, it's just a wooden plank, very naively painted.

VO: So, she starts the day with £123.70.

Whereas James bought just a Victorian butter dish, leaving a whopping £309.90 burning a hole in his pocket.

JAMES: Bye.

Do you know any Welsh folklore or myths?

I don't.

JAMES: And so much is attached, because mountains were dark, sinister places, weren't they?

That's where trolls might live.

Yes.

IZZIE: And Welsh trolls.

JAMES: And giants.

JAMES: Welsh trolls.

Welsh trolls.

Dragons.

VO: With yesterday's items winging their way to the auction in Evesham, James sets off across the Menai Strait.

JAMES: I'm looking forward to the shop.

There might be that little treasure lurking.

I think treasures are very often hidden, and they're hidden in storerooms, and behind desks of the owners of said shops.

I think the best approach is always to ask.

I don't think good stuff is often on the shelves, and when it's put on the shelf, it's very often bought.

VO: Bound for Beaumaris, a vibrant little village on Anglesey, James heads straight for, of all places, Anglesey Antiques, who specialize in country house interiors.

Owner Stephen is on hand to help.

Hi, Stephen.

But where, oh where, does one start, James?

VO: Oh, a cabinet full of silver.

As good a place as any.

JAMES: Here.

It's always fun buying things in pairs.

So we've got the silver bonbon dishes.

Now, why bonbon dishes?

They're little sweet dishes, aren't they?

Years ago, sweets might well have been dried fruits, rather fun, sugar-coated almonds, nuts, dried fruit, rather fun things.

And they stood on a table, and they were there to decorate a table.

These are made of silver.

I'm huffing on the marks, and there I see Sheffield.

And this is machined antiques, really.

These are stamped out.

They aren't handcrafted, but there's a nice bit of weight.

Late-19th century, they're not Victorian.

I'm going to ask Stephen about those.

VO: That's one, or should I say a pair, on the maybe list, but with so much choice, what's a boy to do, eh?

But yet more shiny metal has piqued James's interest.

They're always fun.

They're always slightly wobbly.

Maybe people were a lot lighter.

But, you know, when you stand on something... Now, what on earth is this?

Now, I'm attracted to this because this is very much my material.

We've got copper, and then it's brass.

What on earth is that?

I haven't a clue what that is.

Stephen.

Hello, James.

Could you help me with this mystery object?

I thought, initially, it was a shell case, but what is it?

I bought it as a shell case.

That's what I thought it was.

Did you?

I had no idea.

I thought it was a military piece.

That's what I thought.

It's a rain measure.

Oh, OK.

It's for planting in a field, and it rains, the rain gets caught in it.

JAMES: So you don't get any evaporation once the water's gone in there.

It's trapped and measured.

Stephen, what could this be to me?

That will be £30.

I'll take 30.

That's really kind.

Good, excellent.

First one down.

Well done.

I will pay you later, but I just want to carry on shopping.

Carry on, James.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Do you encourage that in your shop?

Openly.

Smashing.

VO: Deal done.

What on earth will he dig up next?

So here is something very much of this area.

The coastline I passed, driving here, is just all rocks, rocks, rocks.

It's a navigational nightmare.

What you would have had, before satellites came along, is you would have had a sextant.

It's in sort of slightly untouched condition.

You know, we've got remnants of gilding here, but also we've got remnants of a lot of dust.

Now, I think dear old air's got in, and slightly deteriorated it.

So you've got this vernier scale here, so you can find out degrees, and with it you work out the latitude and longitude.

I can see no price tag on it.

I'll ask Stephen about that.

It's a nice item.

Hello, Stephen.

Hello, James.

Funny enough behind you there I found some bonbon dishes.

Oh, the little silver ones at the front?

JAMES: Yes.

What could they be?

STEPHEN: £60 for two.

JAMES: Excellent.

So that's £60.

STEPHEN: Yeah.

JAMES: So I'm doing quite well now.

JAMES: Sextant.

How much is the sextant?

275.

I couldn't do 275.

Bring it under the 200.

195?

Yes.

JAMES: Could you?

STEPHEN: Yeah, that's fine.

That will really help me.

VO: Cor, maybe you should change your name to "Jammy" Braxton, eh, James?

So how much, Stephen, is that in all?

The total was £285.

JAMES: 285.

Thank you very much indeed, Stephen.

Thank you very much, James.

Never laid down so much money in my life.

Never taken so much off an Antiques Road tripper before!

VO: Ha!

Don't believe a word of it.

JAMES: Thank you.

VO: So, that's 60 for the bonbon dishes, 30 for the rain gauge, and 195 big ones for the sextant...

I'll gather my items and go.

Very good.

VO: ..leaving James with just £24.90.

So, while James loads up his loot, Izzie has come to Anglesey and the idyllic fishing port of Amlwch, which once played host to the largest copper mine in the world, and helped Nelson's victory at the Battle of Trafalgar.

She's here to meet with one of the trustees at The Copper Kingdom, Neil Summers.

Hi, Neil.

Hi, Izzie.

Croeso i Borth Amlwch a'r Deyrnas Gopr.

Welcome to Amlwch port and The Copper Kingdom.

VO: This exhibition opened its doors in 2013, and tells the story of mining in the mountain and the development of the industry.

It's all thanks to a local miner called Roland Pugh.

In 1768, he found a huge deposit of copper ore at Parys Mountain.

This sparked a frenzy of activity, and Amlwch became Anglesey's own copper rush town.

Good on you, Roly.

So this is one example of what they use of copper for.

This is copper sheeting, which was put on the outside of wooden ships to increase the maneuverability of ships, but also to vent barnacles on the outside of the ship.

VO: The friction of thousands of these pesky crustaceans slowed down a wooden-hulled ship.

They couldn't stick to a hull clad in copper, making warships quicker and more maneuverable, crucial attributes in the heat of battle.

NEIL: This copper sheet has actually come from HMS Victory.

And if you go to Victory now, you can see the copper on the underside of the ship.

IZZIE: So that must have been fairly crucial then to the success of this area, having the Royal Navy commissioning or buying up the copper for use on their boats.

NEIL: Absolutely.

I think one of the things that the mine managers did, as well as just getting the copper out of the ground, they developed the port outside.

So that would enable the copper to get exported to elsewhere.

VO: With the Royal Navy knocking on its door, the town saw huge growth and prosperity and the mine became so profitable it needed its own currency.

The miners were paid with these pennies.

On the outside of these pennies, they were stamped the word that these could be exchanged for a proper penny of the realm in banks, including banks in Chester.

VO: As business boomed, Amlwch experienced a population explosion, going from a few hundred inhabitants to thousands almost overnight.

50 new pubs alone opened to quench the miners' thirst.

And if you think the hard labor was done by just big burly blokes, think again.

Whole families worked in the mine, and there was a specific job for the ladies of the mines.

These are called the Copper Ladies.

And the Copper Ladies had a metal glove on their left hand, and a small hammer, and their job was to take the ore that the men had brought to the surface and break it down into smaller pieces.

VO: In the centuries since its closure, the only sound coming from the mines are the footsteps of hikers.

If you look in the bottom of the opencast... IZZIE: Yeah.

NEIL: ..that triangular piece of rock is the remains of an underwater volcano.

IZZIE: Yes.

And the volcano spewed up all the minerals which came into this great opencast.

It was then the job of the miners to get the minerals out.

NEIL: You could see the platform sticking out into the opencast, with the men going down on ropes and buckets into the opencast with their picks and shovels, removing the copper ore to the surface.

IZZIE: I cannot imagine working out here in these conditions every single day.

It's a way of getting the penny a day, but it was certainly hard work for them.

A hardy lot, these miners.

They definitely were, yes.

IZZIE: What does the future hold for this mine?

Because I'm presuming it's not currently a working mine.

This area is no longer a working mine.

There is now a company who are developing this mine in an environmentally and sustainable way to get what they call polymetallic ores out.

Polymetallic ores are ores which contain copper and zinc, lead, silver, and a small amount of Welsh gold.

So hopefully within a few years we'll be able to get copper and other materials out of this mine again.

And, of course, now we need a lot of copper because of car batteries and other materials that use copper.

Hopefully, we'll be able to have sustainable, environmentally-friendly mining from this mine again, 4,000 years after the bronze age miners first started mining for copper here.

VO: The copper mines shaped Amlwch's past and with plans to wake this sleeping giant using greener, cleaner methods, it looks like Roland's discovery more than 250 years ago, could once again mean great things for the town and its people.

Right, with all this talk of toil, where's James?

Ah, there he is.

In Caernarfon, home to the world-famous castle and Blythe Farm Emporium, no less.

But with only £24.90 in his pocket what have you got your eye on, James?

I can see the profits coming...

I... do you know, there's something funny about telescopes.

Whenever I put them up to my eye, I can never see anything.

It's brass.

You can buy this for £85.

It comes with a nice cloth-covered case, buy it for £85.

You can fiddle around with it.

You'll fiddle around with it for about two minutes.

You'll get bored, and it'll stay on this table surface for the next five, 10 years, until you come to sell it.

VO: Which is a long-winded way of saying he's not interested.

Ha!

Stand by your beds, though.

Miss Balmer's back.

Looks like James has had some rain.

Roof's up.

This is a jug that you can drop on the floor and it'll bounce.

VO: That is most definitely a sign, James.

Anything moving you, Izzie?

Our pair are leaving no stone or figurine unturned in the pursuit of... Hey, what are those?

Get away, Izzie!

It's turning your hair red.

JAMES: Get away!

IZZIE: That's the plan!

No, that's the idea, James.

I'm topping up.

Oh, you're topping up?

IZZIE: Yes.

JAMES: Well, your choice.

VO: Oh, to have enough hair for color to be a concern, eh, James?

IZZIE: Do you know what?

Even though it's not heavy enough, I would not want to go under the sea wearing one of these.

VO: Well, you'll need a very long snorkel then.

IZZIE: Ooh, ow!

Ow!

This is a hazard of long hair, claustrophobic and a bit smelly.

VO: Ha, ha.

That's how James lost his luscious locks.

JAMES: Ha, ha, ha.

VO: At last, James has found something he likes.

Now, this is dear to my heart.

We've got a bamboo table.

So I think this would have been definitely for a plant.

The top is wrong.

We've got a slate top, that's been put on.

The slate would have worked had they had a big enough slate.

But they've got a bit of slate there, and then they put a slip in there, haven't they?

This would have just been a basket weave, and maybe a sheet of plate glass.

It's got a great shape, sort of like a pylon shape.

It's an aggregation, lots of little wired, very thinly-nailed bamboo struts, and it's got no price tag on it, so I can't see how much it is.

I'll go and ask Debra.

VO: Work your magic, James.

Hello, Debra.

You're hard at work, aren't you?

Yes, indeed.

Now, I noticed a rather nice bamboo stand.

No price tag, Debra.

DEBRA: OK. 35.

JAMES: 35.

All I have left to my name is £24 and 90 pence.

Oh, for you, James, yes, I could do that, yes.

There we are, £24.90.

VO: Sterling work.

That's you all spent up and done for the day.

Anything tickling your fancy yet, Izzie?

Oh, I saw this from the other side of the room, and I just had to come and investigate.

It's not quite as nice as I hoped it would be, but this is a piece of Victorian Tramp art.

Tramp art originated in America in the latter half of the 19th century, but it sort of had its main popularity during the Great Depression.

It refers to a style of decoration whereby you've got this series of stepped and sort of angular notches, and you look at that, and that pretty much is Tramp art.

Now, I like this one because we've got a date on the top, 1898, so this very firmly puts us in the 19th century.

So, unfortunately there's a fair bit of damage.

So we're missing a section here and here, and a little bit here.

But you open it up and inside, look, you've got the original paper lining.

And then here you've got M and T, maybe?

I do like it.

It is priced at £95, which I think is a bit on the steep side, given the condition that it's in.

VO: Look out, Debs.

Cheeky offer coming your way.

Hello, Debra.

Hello, Izzie.

Debra, I found this rather lovely Tramp art box.

Yes, it's gorgeous.

It's stunning.

My only...

I say my only problem, two problems with it.

One, obviously always going to say this, the price, but mostly because there's so much damage to it.

Is there any movement?

It's £95.

I could do it for 60.

IZZIE: 60.

DEBRA: Mm.

If I'm really honest I was sort of hoping for 50.

Yeah, OK, we can do 50.

Yes?

Fantastic, thank you very much.

DEBRA: Alright.

IZZIE: So let me get you £50.

20, 40, £50.

There we go.

Thank you very much.

Thank you so much for having me.

Pleasure.

Keep up the polishing.

Yeah!

(LAUGHS) VO: An antique shop owner's work is never done, unlike Izzie, whose is.

Or is it?

Don't mind me, James.

I'll carry your great big, clunky item.

JAMES: Age before beauty.

Now, where have you parked the car?

JAMES: Just...just up here.

Only about another 200 meters, is that alright?

IZZIE: Alright!

IZZIE: Let's just have a nice, relaxing evening.

Nice, relaxing evening.

Put our feet up.

Put the world to rights.

Put the... That's a good one.

Put the world to rights.

VO: Sleep tight.

Don't let the bedbugs bite.

Ha!

VO: It's auction day.

And James and Izzie pitch up at Portmeirion, where fingers, toes, and everything else crossed, their hard work will come to fruition.

JAMES: Oh, look at this place.

Isn't it amazing?

VO: Meanwhile, their items have traveled to Littleton auctions in Evesham, where gavel basher Martin Baker has given them the once over.

MARTIN: Fair warned at 30.

VO: First, James's five lots, which set him back £334.90.

The bamboo jardiniere.

Yeah, nice piece of furniture.

Quite conventional.

Should do quite well.

VO: Izzie spent £150 on her five lots.

What's Martin got to say about those?

The Staffordshire pottery money box.

Nice piece of Victoriana, it could do quite well.

VO: Bids can come from around the world with online phone and commission bidding.

As the auction starts, James and Izzie are poised to follow the action on their tablets.

First, under the hammer is his last purchase, the bamboo table.

Where are we going with this?

Give me £40 to start me on this one, please.

£40, go on, sir.

MARTIN: Jardiniere stand.

20 to start me on it then.

Oh.

Straight down.

A tenner for it.

Ten bid.

Thank you.

At £10 with me in the room.

At 10.

Is it 12 anywhere?

12 on EasyLive.

£12.

I'm feeling quite worried now, because that was worth far more than £12.

JAMES: Anyway... VO: Oh, dear.

Not the best start.

I should be concerned, but in a way, I'm not concerned.

OK. VO: Izzie's fairground sign is up next.

These things can be very popular.

They're quite kitsch and trendy at the moment.

It's a fun item.

£20 for it, please.

20 bid, at £20.

Are we all in, and fair warned at 20.

Sold at 20.

IZZIE: OK, well... JAMES: 20.

The less said on that, the better.

Let's move on.

VO: I agree.

Let's hope the bidders do, too.

It's alright.

It's not a profit.

No!

But you could have had a disastrous result like my bamboo.

VO: Well, with any luck, your sexton will see a profit.

Just a really nice object, in its box.

All the restorer's labels, it's got everything there.

The only problem is, it's in found condition.

Well, but sometimes that's good.

Can I start that at £50, please?

Oh!

Go 30 for it.

30 bid.

Thank you.

At £30.

At 35, 40.

At 45.

At £45 with me on the net.

And fair warned at 45.

50, into the room at 50.

Room or net at £50... 55, at 55, 60, your 65, at 60 with the gentleman standing, then, at £60, are we all in?

Fair warned at 60.

JAMES: Oh, dear.

JAMES: Big loss.

IZZIE: Oh, James.

VO: Tough luck.

Someone got a steal, but it's a huge loss for you.

Moving swiftly on.

Well, well done, you, James.

You spent big.

And I lost big.

Yes!

VO: That's the spirit, old boy.

Right, can Izzie's pearlware jug turn the tide?

It's stood the test of time.

It's 200 years old.

It was in really good condition, and you could still use that today.

You could still put your milk in it and pop it on the table.

Let's go.

£50 for it, please.

50 bid.

Thank you.

At 50 on EasyLive.

IZZIE: Woo!

MARTIN: Room or net?

Are we all in?

Fair warned at £50.

JAMES: Excellent.

I'm really pleased that that's made a little profit.

That's good, isn't it?

VO: It is, James.

You doubled your money there, didn't you?

Almost.

VO: Can your butter dish do the same, James?

I do quite like a butter dish, though.

I like a butter dish.

And it's lovely that you've got the Oriental influence there that was ever so popular.

Yeah, the willow.

£30 to start me on this one, please.

30 bid.

Thank you.

I'm looking for 35 now.

IZZIE: James!

I'm in uncharted territory.

And fair warned at 30.

35 in the room.

Thank you.

At £35 and 40 on the net now.

45 in the room.

MARTIN: 50 on the net.

IZZIE: (GASPS) MARTIN: At 50.

The net's got it then at £50.

Going once, going twice.

IZZIE: £50.

Well done, you.

JAMES: £50, yeah.

You've doubled your money.

Doubled my money.

VO: Hurrah to that.

Should soften the blow of earlier losses.

It was a reminder of yesteryear, wasn't it, really?

VO: Now, can Izzie's pigeon money box come home to roost?

It looks quite stupid, doesn't it, you know?

Yeah!

Like pigeons do.

It has that pigeon look, doesn't it?

IZZIE: Yes.

£50 for it please.

Let's go 30 for it then.

30 bid.

Thank you.

On the net at 30.

On the net, then, 35, now.

40 in the room.

At £40 in the room.

MARTIN: Looking for 45 now.

Are we all in and fair warned at 40.

Oh!

This pigeon, he was a homing pigeon.

He knew where he wanted to go.

VO: Huh, he also brought another small profit.

£10 profit?

Yes, that's alright.

Flying.

Flying, flying profit.

VO: Next, it's James's sweet bonbon dishes.

The great thing about silver is you can always scrap it, can't you?

Oh, don't say that, James.

Where are we going with these?

Start me at £50 on these, please.

Surely 50 to start me.

MARTIN: 50 bid.

Thank you.

Ah, OK. 50, good.

Fair warned at £50.

JAMES: (CHUCKLES) VO: Ouch.

That's a shame.

Well, it could have been worse.

It could.

You're right.

It could have made 30.

IZZIE: Yes.

JAMES: (LAUGHS) VO: Look, on the bright side, James.

Maybe Izzie's agate necklace can bring some sparkle.

It's beautifully, beautifully made.

Yeah.

It looks nicely made.

And this sort of Victorian costume jewelry is really popular.

However, given how the rest of the auction has been going, I thought this was gonna be a big profit for me, and now I suspect that it won't be, as nothing of ours appears to be doing very well.

Couldn't we get £50 to start me on that one, please.

Go 30 for it then.

IZZIE: It should be worth 50 all day.

20 for it.

Oh!

Start me at a tenner.

MARTIN: Ten bid.

Thank you.

That was... 15 in the room?

At £15.

Is it 18 anywhere?

Oh, such a steal.

MARTIN: Fair warned at £15.

VO: Chin up.

I'm sorry that it didn't make more... You're not that sorry.

Well, no, I am sorry for you.

Thank you.

VO: Up next, James's last item, the handy rain gauge.

If it does rain, you can quickly measure it.

Yes!

If it's raining, I don't want to know how long it's raining for.

I want to know how much has fallen.

Can I get £30 to start me on that, please.

30 bid.

Ooh!

MARTIN: At £30.

IZZIE: James!

MARTIN: At 30.

35 now.

Room or net?

At £30 with me on the net, then.

At 30.

JAMES: Go on!

VO: It is wonderfully ludicrous.

Well, at least it's not a loss.

I did go in... Yeah, £30?

That's good.

Pleased with that.

VO: Last but not least, Izzie's final lot, the Tramp art casket.

I've got a good feeling about this.

It's nice.

How much do you pay for it?

I paid £50.

And I think this could go one of three ways, which is make a profit, make a loss, or break even.

And I honestly don't know because...

I'm putting my money on a loss.

Well, I am today.

Nice lot this.

Where are we going with that?

£100 for it, please.

MARTIN: Go 50 for it.

No interest at 50, go 30 for it then.

30 bid, on EasyLive at £30.

35 now.

40 on the net.

JAMES: £40.

50 on the net now.

Right, we just need another one or two.

JAMES: Slow burn.

At £55.

And with me on the net, 60 now.

Going once at 60, twice at 60, gavel's up.

MARTIN: Sold.

JAMES: Well done.

IZZIE: Do you know what... JAMES: £60 is a profit.

Exactly, it's a profit.

IZZIE: I'll take that.

JAMES: Well done.

VO: What did I tell you?

Given the way our items have gone today I'll take that.

Yeah, that's good.

You've done very well.

VO: Yes, took a pounding there, James.

Started off with a whopping £334.90.

But with almost £170 in losses, he finishes with just £165.64.

Faring little better, Izzie started this leg with £223.70, making a small profit of £1.70, she takes the lead, finishing with £225.40.

IZZIE: (REVS ENGINE) JAMES: Give it the beans.

IZZIE: Off we go!

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