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.

I'm going to 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.

Not 'alf.

Well, hello there.

It's leg four of our Welsh spending spree with Izzie Balmer and James Braxton.

Along with their trusty 1977 Morgan, this pair of antiques acquirers are on the penultimate day of their road trip.

I don't want to jinx it, James, but look at the blue sky.

I know, this is extraordinary, isn't it?

JAMES: We're in Snowdonia National Park, but Snowdonia is over 1,000 meters.

Does it have to be over 1,000 meters to be a mountain?

Please don't ask me technical details.

OK. Or is it 800 meters?

It's far too early in the morning?

VO: He'd say the same if you asked after lunch.

Snowdonia, if you'd want to, you can walk all the way up to the top.

And yet there is also a train.

Is there?

Is there a train?

Yes.

Mr Philip Serrell has got the train up to the top before.

He's not a man built for walking, is he?

Says...says... JAMES: I can hardly speak.

VO: You said it.

Last time neither had any trouble spending.

IZZIE: There we go.

£85 there.

JAMES: 195.

DEALER: Yes.

JAMES: Thank you very much indeed, Stephen.

VO: But the same couldn't be said for making the stuff...

So you spent big... And I lost big.

VO: ..meaning Izzie is back in the game.

The auction.

Yes.

I don't like to mention it, because it wasn't a glorious moment.

I wasn't going to bring it up, but, you know, now that you have, you've given me a real helping hand, James, by so kindly, gallantly, heroically, losing, hemorrhaging so much money...

I did.

..without really doing anything on my part, I have now stepped into the lead.

VO: Yes!

At the start of the week, James had £200.

But after the last auction, he's down to £165.64.

Izzie, however, has turned the same amount into £225.40 and romps into the lead.

JAMES: It's like a game of tennis.

All you have to do is return the ball.

Yes.

Let the...let the other person make the mistakes.

JAMES: Yes.

I've let you do all the hard work here.

It is all to play for still, because there's only about £60 between the two of us.

IZZIE: It's a little bit like climbing a mountain, really, this game, isn't it?

You make some progress and then you stumble, and you slip on all the scree, and you slide back down on the bottom.

JAMES: Yeah, well... IZZIE: You have to pick yourself up again and start again.

VO: Wow.

That's, like, so deep, man.

Today's route heads inland to the heart of the Snowdonia National Park before doing a U-turn back to the coast.

Then the auction, at Cardigan Castle.

Lovely.

First they have a mountain of antiques to conquer at the first base camp, Bala.

JAMES: This is pretty, isn't it?

Look at this.

IZZIE: Oh, it's beautiful.

Does it deserve another wow?

IZZIE: Wow!

Yes, it does.

Right, well, I bid you farewell.

I've got shopping... Have a lovely day.

See you later.

VO: Going their separate ways, Izzie's heading for Dodrefn Rhystig with her £225.40.

Hey, Rhys.

Hey, Izzie.

Smart joint you've got here.

Thank you very much.

Take a look around.

Fantastic, I will do.

VO: Dodrefn Rhystig roughly translates as "rustic furniture".

Ha!

Ooh.

Just bear with me.

Oh!

And that doesn't even have any water in it.

VO: Careful, butterfingers!

(CHUCKLES) This is a bit unusual.

Something about it catches my eye.

I think it's in part this...

It's a bit like an arrowhead spout here.

So a jug of some description.

It's not signed.

So there's no way really of tracing this to anyone.

But I'd like to think that given that we're in Wales, that this is a bit of local Welsh pottery.

The decoration it quite naive.

It seems at first glance that it's just a series of brush strokes, and yet when you turn this side around, you've got a nudie lady here.

It's got a little bit of damage, unfortunately, to the base and to the bottom of the handle here.

It's priced at £22.

One to have a little think about.

Something about that just speaks to me.

Now, not too far away, James is homing in on Capel Hefin antiques armed with £165.64.

Cor, looks right up your street, old boy.

Main man is Hefin.

JAMES: Got some nice bits here.

VO: Yeah, what did I say?

So all these funny things of yesteryear.

Look, these are to keep the shape of your shoes.

So if you bought a nice pair of shoes, maybe brogues, or Oxfords, or something like that, you would put these, like shoe lasts, into your shoes when you weren't wearing them.

They're probably quite cheap.

They're probably a fiver.

VO: Back of the queue for the shoe stretchers then.

JAMES: What you do with this enamel cloisonne is you always feel, and you're feeling for damage.

Quite like the design of it.

We've got this big dragon here, haven't we, on this black ground.

And he's a sort of quite an imperial dragon, because he's yellow.

That is very much associated with imperial emperors.

Nice and heavy.

None of this flimsy-flamsy.

This is why it survived.

It's a heavy, weighty piece.

What it was used for, I do not know.

It's not terribly old.

There's no empty spaces.

Every single bit has a sort of stylized cloud or ripple here.

It was a souvenir of foreign lands and a very exotic foreign land, being China.

Hefin, how much have you got on this wee bowl?

HEFIN: 45?

Would 38 buy it?

Oof!

40.

40, I will buy your cloisonne bowl at £40.

VO: Quick work, James.

Thank you.

And goodbye.

VO: Bought for a naughty 40, means James moves on with £125.64.

What's happening back with Izzie, I wonder.

Uh-oh.

Make myself nice and comfy.

VO: Yeah!

Careful you don't bake in that sunshine.

Do you know what this is?

These would have originally been used by a baker, and he would have in here his farmhouse loaves.

It's probably not that old.

Probably 1970s-ish.

Someone buying this today, what would they use it for?

Well, inside the house, you could use it to grow some herbs.

You could have it on your kitchen windowsill.

You could have basil, thyme, parsley, mint, all of the herbs that you need.

Outside you could use it to grow some little alpines, or, again, some sort of little plants that don't mind shallow growing soil.

They're not priced up, so who knows how much they are?

VO: Well, you've got plenty of dough for them.

IZZIE: Oh.

Do you know what this is?

This is a brick mold.

You've got your brick, which you put in here, and then you've got your stamp here.

I'm just trying to work out what that would be back to front, so... P-I-V, PIV.

Now it's possible that that's the maker's stamp themselves, so that each brick can be traced back to its maker.

It's very rustic, I mean it's a beautiful piece of wood.

It's very crude, because why would you need to spend a lot of time and money making a brick mold?

Now, ticketed at £22.

VO: Do you know, I can feel a deal coming on.

Heya, Rhys.

Hey, Izzie.

IZZIE: Seen three items.

RHYS: OK.

So the first one is the jug priced at £22, with a little bit of damage to it.

OK.

The second item is the brick box, brick mold.

IZZIE: Priced at £22.

RHYS: Yep.

And then the third item is the baker's five-loaf tray, which actually doesn't have a price on.

OK, I could do the baker's tray, I could probably do that for 15.

Could do the brick mold for 15 as well.

And with the jug, 40.

So what are we at?

30... That's £40 for three.

Let's say sold.

Yeah, that would be amazing.

RHYS: Excellent.

Fantastic.

IZZIE: Fantastic, thank you.

IZZIE: There's 40.

RHYS: Lovely.

Thank you very much, Izzie.

Thank you so much, that's wonderful.

Thank you.

IZZIE: Bye bye.

RHYS: Ta-ta now.

VO: And with that Izzie is left with £185.40 in her pocket.

Whilst Izzie shops on, James has come to Harlech Castle to find out about its place in British history and connection to Owain Glyndwr, the last native Prince of Wales, with tour guide Sian Roberts.

Hello, Sian.

Hello, James.

Welcome to Harlech Castle.

Let me tell you a little bit more about its story.

Thank you.

VO: In his conquest of North Wales in 1282, King Edward I built Harlech as part of a defensive ring of castles designed to help strengthen English control over Wales.

This is truly fabulous and huge, isn't it?

It's smaller than it looks, but it is a large place as a military garrison.

And walls this thick.

SIAN: Walls that thick, absolutely.

JAMES: Wow.

VO: They were put to the test in 1400 when a Welsh rebellion, led by Owain Glyndwr, a descendant of the princes of Powys, took the castle from the English.

Who is Owain?

Owain was an unlikely rebel.

SIAN: He came from Anglo-Welsh gentry of northeast Wales.

He trained at the Inns of Court as a lawyer.

He served with the then-king of England, Richard II as a soldier.

Owain launched his rebellion shortly after that in 1400, because there was a feeling among the Welsh that they were losing out, they were not getting treated in the way they thought, and they saw Owain Glyndwr as a good leader.

JAMES: Did Owain have any peculiar tactics he used to beat the English?

SIAN: Well, to begin with, we would call them guerrilla warfare.

Owain and his and his men were used to the mountainous region of Wales, so they would come down from the hills... Yeah.

..attack an English-run town, and then quickly disappear into the mountains.

VO: Glyndwr not only held court at Harlech, he also made it his center of operations and his family home.

What happened to Owain?

Well, he was here until 1408, 1409, by which time he was starting to lose battles.

He was starting to lose ground.

In February 1409, they managed to take back Harlech.

Owain fled, and it's believed he fled to a cave in a mountain further north in Snowdonia.

Wow.

And then disappeared.

Nobody knows where he was buried, and it's been a mystery ever since.

It's still being debated now.

Occasionally you'll find archaeologists saying, "We think it's here, we think it's there."

JAMES: Right.

SIAN: Nobody really knows.

He's lying in wait in secret.

VO: To get a feel for what it was like to fight like Owain, James is meeting up with Benji Williams, part of the Ardudwy Knights who re-enact life at the time of Glyndwr.

Nice knowing you, old boy.

BENJI: James.

JAMES: Oh!

(LAUGHS) BENJI: Now it's your turn.

JAMES: Stand back!

(LAUGHS) Where do I start?

Normally when you're attacking... JAMES: Yeah.

..cuz you're right handed... JAMES: Yup.

..your right leg should be slightly forward of your left.

Do I come any closer?

BENJI: Head.

JAMES: Head.

JAMES: Shoulder.

BENJI: Shoulder.

BENJI: Leg.

Leg!

BENJI: Head.

JAMES: Head.

I had a little hot flush then.

(LAUGHS) VO: Valiant effort, James.

JAMES: I survived.

I think I have all my limbs.

VO: I think the only round table you'll be sat at will be for sale at auction.

Ha!

What is certain is that Owain Glyndwr is a national hero in Wales as much today as he was more than 600 years ago.

And there ain't many people who can lay claim to that!

Meanwhile, Izzie has driven east to the picturesque riverside town of Llangollen.

She's here for a mooch about the Chapel Emporium, armed with £185.40.

Run by Christina, it's packed to the pulpit.

So her keen eye, diligence, and rocking-on... Ha!

..is the order of the day.

This rather caught my eye.

Mostly because of the size of it.

It is quite unusual to get a scent bottle this size.

And I say scent bottle, it's possible that it could be a stirrup flask.

So let's have a look.

No, that's a scent bottle, so actually, disappointingly, it doesn't have its stopper.

And that's quite important for scent bottle collectors.

The other thing that's very important for scent bottle collectors is the condition.

And I can feel under my hand already that this cut glass is actually chipped and damaged in quite a lot of places.

Now, it does have one redeeming factor, and that is that it has this hallmark here, which is SM, which is for Sampson Mordan & Co. Mr Mordan was a silversmith, and he was born in 1790, and he died quite early in 1843.

So today we think of Sampson Mordan as producing novelty items.

And this in itself is a little bit novelty because it's really large.

It's Victorian.

I would say, looking at that, because it's the capital H, the shield-shaped cartouche, that that's probably going to be 1880s-ish.

It is priced at £110, which is pretty expensive considering the condition that it's in.

But, you never know.

Maybe it's been in the shop a long time.

Perhaps a rather hefty deal, hopefully, can be done on it.

VO: Going to have to be one heck of a discount, my girl.

Do you know what?

I think I'm going to take that with me, and find out the price.

And then if it's a no, at least I know I need to come and look for something else.

Hey, Christina.

Hi.

It's interesting to find you sorting the bottles, because I found a bottle of sorts that I'd be interested in purchasing.

But I'm not gonna lie, I'd be looking for quite a hefty discount, just because of the damage to it, and because it's missing its stopper, and it's missing its original case.

Yeah, I can probably work with that.

Oh, good.

So we're on the same page, that's a starting point.

OK, OK.

So it's priced at £110.

Where would you be looking?

Where would you be happy with?

CHRISTINA: Oh, well, I could perhaps knock... ..40 off.

IZZIE: 70.

CHRISTINA 70.

I'm not going to lie, I was sort of hoping for 40 or 50.

Is that too low?

I reckon... ..50... IZZIE: 50?

CHRISTINA: Yeah.

Thank you so much.

I will shake your hand on that.

Because I appreciate that that is a good half price discount.

CHRISTINA: It is.

IZZIE: So thank you so much.

I'm just going to put that there.

20, 40, there's £50.

CHRISTINA: Thank you.

Fingers crossed a collector buys this who just wants to give it a loving home.

Absolutely, yeah.

And doesn't mind the condition that it's in.

CHRISTINA: Thank you.

IZZIE: Bye bye.

Thank you, bye.

VO: And with that, Izzie's day is done.

JAMES: They've got a little train that goes around Bala lake we can have a...

This evening, we can go round Bala lake on the train.

That sounds rather nice.

JAMES: Yeah.

Clutching an ice cream.

Ooh, yes.

JAMES: (SMACKS HIS LIPS) VO: Sleep tight, you two.

VO: Bore da.

It's the second day of Izzie and James's antiques expedition in north Wales.

We really are in the depths of Wales, aren't we?

With these very tiny, winding roads.

JAMES: Lovely roads.

IZZIE: They're beautiful.

I mean, you haven't got any sides to the roads.

We're just here in the field with sheep.

Hello.

(SHEEP BAAS) Baa!

(SHEEP BLEATS) IZZIE: Baa!

VO: Hidden talents, that girl.

Yesterday, this pair bimbled about, hoovering up the best booty that they could lay their mitts on.

Izzie bought the baker's loaf tray, a brick mold, the studio pottery jug...

I just quite like it.

VO: ..and the Sampson Mordan scent bottle, and starts the day with £135.40.

James, on the other hand, bought just the cloisonne bowl.

JAMES: We've got this big dragon here.

VO: So, he starts today with £125.64 precisely.

I've got a hat in the back.

IZZIE: Hey, I'm gonna put my hat on, James.

JAMES: Put your hat on.

Is that a beanie or a... IZZIE: Well, it's got a pom-pom, but, yes.

JAMES: Pom-pom.

IZZIE: There we go.

JAMES: That's very smart.

IZZIE: That's much better.

VO: With yesterday's items en route to the auction in Leicester, James has pitched up in the quiet village of Llanbedr.

Well, it was quiet until Braxton arrived.

Cambrian Clearance is not only the name of the shop, but also James's intentions for the day.

At the helm today is Lucy, and daughter Seren.

Anything jumping out at you, James?

The calculator came out, I think, when I was about eight, and the next term one of my friends was given a Texas Instruments calculator and it cost the same amount as his school fees for the term.

Amazing.

It was about £100.

VO: Pounds!

I thought guineas were legal tender when you were a boy.

Ha!

I spotted some chairs upstairs, and I, here we are, have the ladder.

I didn't realize there was another story to this place, but here we are.

I might find some fresh stock up here.

I've found one chair up here.

I'll try and bring it down the ladder.

VO: Mind your head.

Ah, there we are.

Trials and tribulations.

Right, and here's the chair.

Thank you much indeed, Lucy.

I've got it, thank you.

JAMES: (GROANS) VO: But sometimes a problem can be worth the effort.

It's got a good weight to it.

It's a big old sort of Sheraton revival dining chair.

When I mean revival, I mean Sheraton was late 18th century.

This is late 19th century.

And I can tell it's not old because if you go, look underneath, take some of this hessian off, if this was an 18th century one, it's got a nice cross brace there, if was an 18th century one, it would be just a bit...

They were far more resourceful, and far more thrifty.

It would just be a rough bit of wood that would have been trimmed, and let in from the top.

This is a nice finished piece of wood, nicely squared and everything, which I'd associate with the 19th century.

It's a practical chair.

It would have to be bought cheaply.

You're buying work with this chair, because you need to reupholster it.

That's the problem.

I'm walking down a horizontal crevasse of utility furniture.

At any moment, I could be swallowed.

VO: That would make you flat-pack, too, James.

Ha!

I've always loved these sort of silver-plated trays because they're big, big and heavy, and eminently practical.

This is made, what is it, 19th century fellow.

And then you've got this rather nice gadrooned border.

You want to buy these at sort of £20 or £30.

They don't make a great deal now.

I remember, years ago, these used to make really good money, but they've just slipped out of fashion over the last 15, 20 years.

I quite like this.

It's well made.

In fact, it's got my name written all over it.

I'll go and find out how much it is.

VO: Fashionable or not, it's best to buy what you like.

Hello, Lucy.

Hi, James.

JAMES: Hello, young assistant.

SEREN: Hi.

Now, I found this nice plated tray, quite a heavy fellow, and we released that chair from the loft, didn't we?

For the two, could you do 30?

Say 35 for the two.

35.

Yeah, you have a deal.

35.

LUCY: Do think that's good?

VO: Let's call it 25 for the tray and 10 for the chair.

JAMES: Bye.

LUCY: Bye.

SEREN: Bye!

JAMES: Bye!

Lovely seeing you, bye.

VO: Sterling work, James.

That leaves you just £90.40.

Now, Izzie's taking a break in the peaceful surroundings of Llanfair, to learn more about a gentle giant that's been roaming these hills for centuries.

She's here to learn about the Welsh Black, from cattle farmer, Lynn Foxwell.

Bora da, Lynn.

Sut dach chi?

Da iawn, diolch.

How are you today?

I'm very well, thank you.

How are you?

You've picked a beautiful day to come.

IZZIE: It's stunning!

IZZIE: I absolutely loved walking down your drive and admiring the view and the cows, it's beautiful.

LYNN: My Welsh Black cattle, yes.

IZZIE: Well, do you know what, I've seen them in the fields before, but I had no idea they were Welsh.

Oh, yes.

This is the heart of the Welsh Black country.

You won't see Herefords or Limousins or anything.

An odd few further around, but round here it's the Welsh Black capital, if you like.

IZZIE: Ah!

VO: The Welsh Black is Wales's only native breed, which is why the national has had a love affair with these bovine beauties for centuries.

IZZIE: What an absolutely beautiful view.

You've got the stunning mountains, and then these gorgeous cows and bull calves.

LYNN: Yes, it's a pleasure to look at them through the window every morning.

IZZIE: I bet it is.

Hello!

Where did the Welsh Blacks originate from?

We think that they're a bit of a cross breed of other breeds, but you're talking about a long, long time ago, thousands of years, that they've developed into Welsh Black cattle.

IZZIE: As long as that?

LYNN: Yes.

IZZIE: Where would the cattle be taken to market?

LYNN: Hundreds of years ago, they used to be taken by the drovers down to London, and they would walk them all the way there.

When they got to England, they would sell them.

And what did they do with the money?

Because they'd go for a drink, or go for something to eat, and their money would be stolen.

So there was a lot of this going on.

So a man called Davy Jones, who was a farmer, and a farmer's son and a drover, started a Welsh Black cattle branch of a bank, and the drovers then put their money back in before heading home.

VO: Jones established his bank in Llandovery, a popular meeting point for Carmarthenshire drovers, in 1799, at the King's Head Pub.

However, locally it became known as the Black Ox Bank, due to the emblem of the Welsh Black adorning their banknotes and cheques.

Nice.

This bank would be in the key market areas, such as London.

Yes.

And you'd have a bank there and so they'd sell the cattle, go to the bank, hand in the money, and then head back to Wales.

Yes, yes.

And thanks to the Welsh Black cattle.

Yes.

Wow, so the Welsh Black cattle was...

Liquid gold of Wales, yes.

VO: Once sold, the cattle dealer gave his gold to the Black Ox Bank, safe in the knowledge that the farmer's credit will be waiting for them on return to Wales.

The bank and the breed became synonymous with the traits of security, stability, and resilience.

This is Zachariah.

Cor, he's a big boy, isn't it?

Yeah, he's a lovely boy.

He's very calm, very quiet.

Hello!

He loves being brushed and washed and everything else.

Hello, you.

You are so handsome, aren't you?

Shall we go and get you some food?

IZZIE: This way.

LYNN: Just pull him.

That's it, come on.

Out this way.

Now, Zac, you're going to have to show me where to go, because I haven't done this before.

Are we gonna go this way?

Shall we go here?

VO: The Welsh Black is one of the oldest breeds in Britain, with an ancestry stretching back to pre-Roman times.

That's one heck of a family tree.

So what are the main differences between Welsh Black cattle and other breeds?

Well, it's their hardiness.

We haven't got any big sheds to keep them in in the winter.

They're out on the mountains or out in the fields all winter.

The colder it is, the more their hair grows.

IZZIE: Right.

LYNN: So if they know in the winter that it's going to be cold, they seem to produce more hair.

I don't know how, but they do.

Well, you've had your feed, Zac, so is it time for a pamper session now?

LYNN: Yes, he loves his brush.

You start from the mid-length here, and then you brush him up.

IZZIE: Upwards.

OK. LYNN: You don't have to sort of just do it softly.

LYNN: You want to do it hard.

IZZIE: OK. LYNN: If you give him a good brush.

IZZIE: This is like having a nice little scratch, isn't it, Zac?

LYNN: Yes, exactly.

OK, Izzie, I think he's had far more attention than he's ever had before, and you've done a lovely job.

Shall we take him back in his barn?

VO: Thanks to farmers like Lynn championing the breed, the Welsh Black will remain part of the landscape of Wales for another thousand years.

LYNN: Come on, then.

IZZIE: Bye, Zac.

LYNN: Come on, then.

Say bye bye to Izzie.

IZZIE: Bye!

VO: Meanwhile, James is en route to his last buying destination.

On my final shop, I'm looking for possibly one or two items, and just...

I'm just going to buy on price.

They've got to be bright and shiny.

Look at these great stones.

Look how the buildings are made.

JAMES: Just like Cornwall.

VO: My word, James is chipper this morning.

And rightly so, with £90.64 to play with.

He's bound for the market town of Machynlleth... ..and Toad Hall Antiques.

Actually, in that car, in that hat, you're the spit of old Toady, James.

Still, what treasures await?

Inside, Ian is the man in charge, and not too shabby with the old duster either.

JAMES: This is something rather fun.

I've seen lots of these.

I know it's Royal Doulton, the great Henry Doulton's manufactory, and it's like a black jack.

This is made of stoneware, and it looks like leather.

It's stitched, silver collar here, little rim.

It's got a couple of dents, so it may well have been used in a pub.

Who knows?

It's called the landlord's caution, and this is a puzzle jug.

It has a twist.

You read it backwards.

So you think you read "More for do I shall what."

That just doesn't work, does it?

But if I read it this way, "The maltster has sent his clerk."

So that's making more sense, isn't it?

"And you must pay the score.

"For if I trust my beer, "what shall I do for more?"

Rather nice, isn't it?

What has he got on it?

Far too much.

(LAUGHS) It's a bit damaged, but I'm going to ask our man about that.

It's rather nice.

VO: Look out, Braxton, old bean.

You've got company.

Oh, no, he's already here!

VO: Izzie joins him with £135.40 just aching to be spent.

IZZIE: I quite like this.

Some people might say it's a jardiniere, a planter.

I reckon you could use this as a wastepaper basket.

So it's very much inspired by the arts and crafts movement.

It was born out of the Industrial Revolution in 19th-century England, and with the Industrial Revolution, items could be mass produced, and craftsmen were rebelling against this.

Rather than mass production and everything being uniform, they wanted to focus on the craftsmanship, the unique heritage of making something yourself, and the skill involved.

VO: Spearheaded by the great William Morris, the movement influenced everything from furniture to architecture, interiors to jewelry.

With metalware, you've got here the use of copper and brass.

They're not particularly expensive materials.

You've got this lightly hammered finish, and this sort of bobbly, bumpy effect.

This would have been created by hand with a little hammer.

You've then got these sort of applied sort of crown-like, fleur de lys-esque, Prince of Wales' feather-esque.

It's priced at £30.

I do quite like that, but perhaps I can find something else.

Maybe keep it tucked away just in case.

VO: Where are you off to, James?

Oh, I see, checking in on your mate.

Right, what does this mean, that you've put that there?

IZZIE: I have no idea.

JAMES: Nor do I. VO: Best stick to what you know.

Suddenly I think you're getting very involved in it.

You're going into a sort of chess-like head, aren't you?

IZZIE: Yes, I'm quite enjoying this.

I'm trying to think it through.

Right, but we've got items to buy.

I think we should get going.

IZZIE: OK, alright.

JAMES: (SIGHS) There we are.

JAMES: Oi!

Stop it.

VO: Cheeky!

Here we are.

This is rather fun.

We've got a clock, a little timepiece.

What does it say?

"Fabrication", it's made in France.

And it's got an unusual thing here.

Looks like, to me, like a table lighter.

And I'm going to press that, and lo and behold, it is.

And then at the bottom, you've got the holes.

I'll be interested to know the price on that.

VO: Got to be worth a tenner of anyone's money, I reckon.

Ian, I've been rootling around your lovely place.

I like this, I like novelty things.

Your art deco clock/table lighter.

JAMES: Now, could that be cheap?

That could be cheap, yeah.

Are we talking, what, fiver cheap, or how cheap?

IAN: No.

VO: Very cheeky.

We're talking 15.

What about a tenner, would a tenner buy that?

A tenner'd buy that.

I notice there was a rather fun black jack, a Doulton black jack?

IAN: Yeah.

Something like that, with the damage, could that be... 20 quid?

I'd do it for 30, and that would be it.

JAMES: Are you sure?

IAN: Yeah, I'm positive.

JAMES: You're very sure?

IAN: Yeah, very sure.

It couldn't nibble under, 28?

Yeah, I'd go 28.

28 plus a tenner, that's 38.

Yeah.

VO: How does he do it!

That's you done, James.

Ian, thank you very much indeed.

I bid you fare well.

Thanks very much.

VO: Any takers for your hard-earned cash yet, Izzie?

I picked this up because I thought it was a bit unusual, and quite striking, and I was hoping that there would be a mark on the base to help me identify who this mug is by.

So it's quite naively made.

It's got a face on it.

It's got the initials RR to the side, which presumably are the initials of the artist.

Now it is in the style of Ewenny, and Ewenny pottery are a Welsh pottery.

They're actually one of the oldest potteries in Wales that still make products today.

They were established in 1610.

Not all Ewenny products are stamped Ewenny, but the vast majority of them are.

But quite a few of them can have this sort of quite naive look, but also very much this sort of particular glaze.

This mustardy, mottled glaze.

It's hard to know if this is circa 1920s, 1930s, or if it's actually earlier than that, and sort of circa 1880s, 1890s.

I wonder what the price is.

£68.

That's quite a lot of money for something that's just caught my eye.

Do I risk it on a mug that I quite like, that's a bit different, that you never know.

I think it's gonna have to come down to money.

That's brutal, isn't it?

VO: Otherwise, it won't be the only mug at the auction.

IZZIE: Hello, Ian.

IAN: Hi, Izzie.

So I'm going to be completely honest.

I've seen two items, I really like both.

It's going to come down to the price.

Right.

The first one, actually, you're stood right by, is planter or wastepaper basket, but the arts and crafts... IAN: Yeah.

IZZIE: ..container.

IZZIE: That one's priced at £30.

IAN: Yeah.

And then the other item that I really like is the Ewenny-style mug with the face.

IAN: Face, yeah, nice.

And that one's priced at £68.

IAN: Right.

Can you do anything on the prices?

Yeah, I can do the face mug for 55.

IZZIE: Mh-hm.

And I can do the planter, the arts and crafts, for 25.

Is that your best on both?

50 on the mug.

OK. And how about 20 on the planter?

And you can't go any lower on the mug?

A pound.

I'll take you up on that.

Thank you very much.

So 49 plus 20, that's... 59, 69?

IAN: Yeah.

IZZIE: Fab.

20, 40, 50, 60, there's 70.

Look, all it is.

IZZIE: Thank you so much.

IAN: Thank you.

IZZIE: Thanks for having me.

IAN: Thanks.

IZZIE: Bye bye.

IAN: Bye, bye.

VO: I hope you've remembered your change.

And with that, Izzie's done for the day too.

Start the car, Brackers.

JAMES: I think we have lift off.

JAMES: Here we go.

VO: Time to head off and hit the hay.

Tomorrow's another day.

I'm a poet and I know it.

Are you feeling lucky?

Is it profits, profits with you?

Mm, I feel like I haven't bought fantastic items this time, James.

JAMES: Really?

IZZIE: Hmm, yeah.

JAMES: But you've, you've generally done well.

I've bought safer items.

Have you?

JAMES: I can say, hand on Morgan, I'm not going to hemorrhage money.

OK, that's good.

Is that because you've not spent a lot?

Well, I haven't got a lot to spend, have I?

VO: Nighty night.

VO: It's the day of the auction, and Izzie and James are watching from the grounds of Cardigan Castle.

JAMES: Oh, what a place!

Cardigan Castle, no less.

JAMES: Cardigan Castle.

JAMES: Anything to do with the garment, do you think?

IZZIE: I don't know, but I am sporting a cardigan today.

A little cardy.

All my cardigans have been eaten by the moth.

IZZIE: Oh.

VO: Let's hope your items fare better.

They're on sale at Churchgate Auctions in Leicester, where auctioneer Dickon Dearman has picked holes in them - ha!

Bidding can come from the room, on the net, over the phone, and on commission.

Any further bids?

VO: Izzie's five items cost £159.

The studio pottery jug.

It's a nice piece, it's well constructed and well glazed.

The nudity aspect may well raise a few eyebrows, and I think it might well do quite well today.

VO: James spent £113 on his five items.

What does Dickon think about those?

The cloisonne bowl.

It's a nice piece.

Cloisonne's still very popular.

It's got a very nice design.

The oriental design on it.

And I think that could well make a decent figure today.

VO: Clutching their tablets in anticipation, our pair are following all the action as it happens.

VO: First up, Izzie's studio pottery jug.

Start me at £20.

£20 only now.

A tenner, I'll take £10.

£10 on the front has been bid.

Do I see 12 now?

12.

It's at 12.

Just there.

14.

16, 18, £20.

DICKON: £20 now.

20, I see 20?

New bidder, 22.

£24, 26, 28, £30 just there.

DICKON: Selling then for £30.

Thank you.

Not to be sneezed at.

VO: Couldn't agree more.

Jolly good.

Yeah!

VO: Your chair's up next, James.

It's got the most terrible seat, though.

It's a plastic seat.

So hopefully no one sits on it.

Bidding, do I see £30 for this chair?

I'll take 20, then.

£20.

£20 on the front has been bid, thank you.

DICKON: Do I see 22 now?

22, £24, 26, 28, £30.

32, 34, 36, 38, £40.

IZZIE: And it's got a plastic seat!

DICKON: Selling on the front row then, just here for £40.

DICKON: Thank you, sir.

Quadrupled your money.

JAMES: £40.

VO: Bless you, James.

That's good, isn't it?

VO: Okie-dokie.

Next, Izzie's pottery mug.

I've never seen one like it.

I thought it was really unusual.

I mean, now, having bought it, I have a horrible feeling it's going to bomb and make a huge loss.

£30 only now, do I see?

30, £30, £20.

£20 has been bid.

Do I see 22 now?

22, £22, 24, 26, 28.

£30, 32, 35, 37, £40.

DICKON: With no further bids, selling on the front row just here then, for £40.

Thank you, sir.

Well, it could have been worse.

JAMES: £40, £40.

IZZIE: £40.

It's a small loss.

VO: Bad luck.

It's a nice thing for little money.

You've got to live life.

You've got to take risks.

JAMES: Yeah, you've got to risk it.

It was a YOLO moment.

What's a YOLO moment?

You only live once.

JAMES: Oh, yeah.

IZZIE: A YOLO moment.

VO: Hopefully it's a "you only lose once" moment too.

James's cloisonne bowl is next under the hammer.

I loved it.

Had a lovely weight to it.

It was very intricate.

It's got lovely colors.

Opening the bidding here at £50.

Yes, it's a profit!

55, 60, 65, 70, 75.

I've been left £80 on this.

85.

No, 85... IZZIE: Doubled your money.

85.

85 just there, thank you.

IZZIE: He thinks it's good as well, James.

DICKON: £85.

Thank you.

Fantastic.

£85.

Well done, you.

That's good.

VO: It's better than good, James.

Well done.

It was a nice thing.

It was a nice thing.

VO: Fingers crossed Izzie's planter continues the trend.

We've got a commission bid here.

Opening the bidding here with £15 on this.

DICKON: Do I see £17?

17 do I see now?

17 just here.

20 on a commission bid.

22.

£24.

26.

I've been left £28 on it just here.

£30.

30 from you, sir.

Selling then on the front row again for £30.

Sold.

VO: Any profit is a good profit, I say.

Happy with that.

That's a small little profit.

JAMES: It's very good, isn't it?

IZZIE: Yes.

VO: Now, how will your puzzle jug stand up, James?

What shall we say for this?

Start me at £20.

£20.

I'll take a tenner, if you like.

£10 has been bid just there.

12 now.

£12, 12, 14, 16, 18.

£20, 22, 24, 26, 28.

£30, 32, 32 now, then.

32 do I see?

32, new bidder.

34, 36, 38, £40.

42, 45, 47.

£50, 55.

55 now.

55, all done, selling in the corner then for £50.

£50.

£50!

VO: Not bad at all.

Really good.

You are absolutely on fire, James.

JAMES: I'm motoring.

VO: Izzie's Sampson and Mordan scent bottle's next in line.

Fingers crossed there is a profit in it.

I think there is.

I'm worried.

£30 only, do I see 30?

£30, 20 if you like then.

£20 have been bid.

22 now.

22, the lady at the back.

24, 26, 28, £30, 32.

32 new bidder.

35, 37, £40, 42, 45, 47.

DICKON: £50, Madam?

50, yes.

55, 60.

60, no?

60, is there anywhere, no?

Selling then for £55.

VO: Nicely done, our Iz.

Well, it's a teeny tiny profit.

Teeny tiny profit.

VO: Now, will James's silver plated tray serve up more profit?

What do you think someone would use it for today?

I think they'll put drinks on it.

Yeah, that's a nice idea.

£30 for the big tray, £30 been bid.

35, 40.

IZZIE: Straight in.

DICKON: 45.

50, 55, 60, 65.

70, 75, 80, 85.

Selling at the back of the room then for £80.

Sold, sir.

VO: Well played, dear boy.

£80!

VO: Can Izzie's last lot, the baker's loaf tray and brick mold, rise to the occasion?

Starts at £20.

£20 only now.

Do I see 20?

£20 has been bid straight away.

Do I see 22 now?

22.

24, 26, 28.

£30, sir?

30 from you.

32.

32, ma'am?

Thinking about it.

32, just there.

35, 37, £40, 42, 42 now.

42, do I see?

42, 42 just there.

45?

45.

47?

47.

£50.

50 from you.

55?

No.

Selling then for £50.

DICKON: Thank you.

It's a profit.

VO: It all adds up though.

VO: Finally, the novelty clock lighter is James's last item.

£20.

£20 has been bid.

22 now.

22, £24, 26, 28, £30.

No, £30 now.

30 just there.

32.

Do I see 32 at the back?

34, 36, 38, £40, 42, 45, No?

DICKON: 45... JAMES: Come on, 45!

No further bids, no?

Selling then for £42.

IZZIE: Quadrupled your money.

JAMES: I'm happy.

I'm happy with that.

VO: And rightly so, James.

You're absolutely on fire, James.

I'll tell you what.

We were in the same shop.

You should have bought it.

I should have done, shouldn't I?

VO: Now, time for the calculations.

Izzie began with £225.40, and with just one tiny loss, she ends the leg with £234.50.

Starting this leg with £165 and some change, James has almost doubled his money and finishes with £296.18.

So close, and all to play for in the last leg.

JAMES: Profit.

IZZIE: King James!

IZZIE: King Profit, OK. JAMES: King Profit!

IZZIE: King Profit.

(REVS ENGINE) What was that you said?

(REVS ENGINE) JAMES: Splendid.

IZZIE: Shall we go?

Let's go.

JAMES: Let's go.

subtitling@stv.tv