VOICEOVER (VO): It's the nation's favorite antiques experts...

I've got it, I've got it.

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

VO: ..and a goal to scour Britain for antiques.

Argh!

VO: The aim - to make the biggest profit at auction.

(GAVEL) VO: But it's no mean feat.

Doubled up there!

VO: There'll be worthy winners... AUCTIONEER: £1,700.

SERHAT: Yay!

VO: ..and valiant losers.

Oh, no!

VO: Will it be the high road to glory... Loving it, loving it, loving it.

VO: ..or the slow road to disaster?

This is the Antiques Road Trip.

VO: Oh, yeah!

VO: Good morning, trippers.

(SHEEP BLEAT) VO: Bristol beckons for our dealers Paul Martin and Margie Cooper.

PAUL: I love Bristol.

Yeah.

Yeah, it's a great city.

VO: Sure is.

PAUL: Bristol's famous for its air ballooning.

Hot air.

MARGIE: Yeah.

PAUL: Loads of hot air.

MARGIE: Well, what happens if your hot air goes?

PAUL: I mean, there's a lot of hot air in this car right now!

VO: (LAUGHS) He's right.

PAUL: It's the start of our second leg.

MARGIE: Absolutely.

And we've got this gorgeous car.

It likes a straight line.

It likes a bit of speed.

VO: Well, it is a sporty 1958 Jaguar XK150.

Delightful!

Gorgeous day.

Ooh, it's beautiful, isn't it?

Yeah, the temperature's heating up and so's the competition.

PAUL & MARGIE: (LAUGH) VO: Isn't it just?

VO: Cheshire-based Margie set out with £200... Oh, let's have a go.

VO: ..and after one auction, more than doubled her pot to just over 420.

MARGIE: Oh, my goodness!

Paul!

VO: ..whilst Wiltshire man, Paul... Dum-dum-dum, hello, is anyone in?

VO: ..started with the same amount, but dipped a little.

Oh, you're going to take some catching!

VO: ..and has almost £180 to spend this time.

Got to make it back up.

VO: Them's fighting words.

Now, quick reminder of their route so far.

Our Paul and Margie set off in Shepton Mallet, and after trekking around Somerset and the West Country, will finish off in Devon.

PAUL: I've got a slightly different game plan.

You've got to kiss a few frogs before you find your prince, haven't you?

Most definitely!

Mm?

So I might buy, like, something cheeky, like a garden gnome.

Well, good luck, Paul.

VO: I do like a gnome.

VO: Their purchases will be heading for Evesham for the auction, but our shopping shenanigans start in Totterdown.

VO: A suburb of Bristol, there's two parks to choose from, and plenty of wildlife to boot.

Paul has dropped Margie off up the road from Piglets Vintage, with its vibrant, come hither, canary yellow walls.

VO: Piled high with antique, retro and collectables, looks like Margie's in for a treat, with just over £420 in her pocket.

Good morning!

JAYNE: Hi.

Morning.

MARGIE: You're Jayne?

Yes, I'm Jayne.

Nice to meet you.

MARGIE: I'm Margie.

VO: And I'm Tim.

VO: Charming boater.

MARGIE: This looks quite nice, doesn't it?

VO: Aye-aye.

MARGIE: Isn't that nice?

A piece of garden statuary.

Ooh, it is quite heavy.

MARGIE: It's probably about 20, 30 years old.

MARGIE: You can tell by the mottling on it that it's been in a garden for some time.

MARGIE: It's a little Cupid, which is always very nice.

MARGIE: Always nice to see a bit of soil and a few cobwebs!

MARGIE: (LAUGHS) Authenticity!

And she's £25.

VO: Yeah.

Sounds fair.

MARGIE: Paul mentioned this morning he fancies buying a garden gnome.

VO: She wouldn't steal his idea, surely?

MARGIE: But that reminds me of somebody.

It's not a garden gnome, is it?

Who are these, Jayne?

JAYNE: Em... Em, it looks like... JAYNE: Laurel and Hardy?

Laurel and Hardy.

Yeah, right!

Well, they're funny, aren't they?

JAYNE: Yeah.

MARGIE: Oh, and here's... That's Oliver Hardy.

MARGIE: Funny, aren't they?

Not terribly old, and that's his little mate.

They're very good, aren't they?

VO: No ticket price, but she seems to like 'em.

MARGIE: Ooh, look, a fire bell.

MARGIE: Oh golly, let's see if it works, shall we?

(FIRE BELL RINGS) MARGIE: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah!

VO: (SHOUTS) Yes, it works!

No, I'd better not.

The fire brigade might turn up!

Oh, that's good, isn't it?

How much is that?

£25.

I quite fancy a fire bell.

VO: Not a gnome, though.

I'm fancying all sorts today.

VO: She does seem rather in her element.

VO: So, where's her compadre, Paul, got to?

VO: Ah, there he is, en route to Weston-super-Mare.

VO: He loves to be beside the seaside, and he has £179 to either sink or swim in Violet Antiques.

VO: Angie's the holder of the purse strings here.

VO: Meow!

VO: Ruff-ruff!

I like this.

Nice easel, actually.

It's adjustable.

PAUL: I like the signs that it's been well used and well loved by an artist, not just used as a prop in a shop, really.

PAUL: They are collectable.

This is quite nice, cuz it's not exactly a studio easel.

It's not big, it's not got wheels, it's not too cumbersome.

It does fold away and it folds flat.

VO: Late 19th, early 20th century?

It's got a bit of woodworm.

VO: Haven't we all?

Ha ha.

Ticket price, £130.

Might be too much money, but I'd like to buy that.

VO: Angie?

PAUL: It's got 130 quid on this.

Would you take 60?

65?

60.

I'll buy one other thing in the shop.

OK, deal.

PAUL: Is that alright?

ANGIE: Yeah, that's fine.

OK, £60, that's a deal.

VO: Very kind, at less than half price.

Better keep hunting, Paul.

VO: Now, Margie in Totterdown seemed rather keen on a few bits and pieces earlier, but she hasn't settled on any of them.

(BUCKET CLATTERS) MARGIE: Nearly kicked the bucket then!

(LAUGHS) VO: Oo-er, crisis averted!

MARGIE: Look at that.

Isn't that interesting?

VO: What you got, Margie?

That is a stoneware little lamb feeder.

MARGIE: Look, the milk comes out of these little holes.

So it's got, let's count them, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine little lambs can suckle off this.

And probably, I wonder if pigs could probably suckle off it too.

MARGIE: It's made by a company, Arnold and Sons.

MARGIE: They are an early 19th century company who made veterinary instruments.

VO: Yeah, and a later piece produced in 1953, "the foster mother", mimicked the feeding action of the animal's mum.

It's in such good condition, there's no chipping.

MARGIE: That's been hidden away somewhere in a barn or farm building.

MARGIE: It's really attractive.

And...it's £15.

Mm, that is really nice.

VO: Sounds like a possibility.

VO: Moo-ving on...

They've jewellery.

I quite fancy buying a bit of jewellery.

This is all, em, paste, I think.

Anything else?

Oh, that's quite nice.

Very, very pale amethyst.

MARGIE: It's a nine carat gold ring, there's a bit of age to it.

The amethysts are very, very pale.

MARGIE: Little tiny diamonds.

They might not be diamonds.

Mm.

A bit worn, but it's probably...70, 80 years old.

VO: You'd expect some wear and tear, then.

VO: No ticket price.

Hm.

Right.

VO: Time to check in with Jayne.

MARGIE: So, Jayne... JAYNE: Hi.

I've had a good look round, enjoyed myself, but I think I've made my mind up.

I've loved the foster mother... VO: Stoneware, for lambs or piglets.

..and that's 15, so that's fine, a deal.

VO: That was easy.

MARGIE: The other thing is, I like that little ring in there.

It wasn't ticketed.

There's no price on it.

Would you take 30?

Yeah, we'll be happy with that, yeah.

MARGIE: Alright.

VO: So that's 30 for the ring and 15 for the feeder.

So I'm going to pay you now.

JAYNE: Yeah.

Great.

VO: And that leaves her with a very healthy £377.30 still to spend.

And she's off to find some lambs to feed!

VO: Back to Paul now in Weston-super-Mare, who's cut a deal on a Victorian easel for £60, as long as he makes another purchase.

(RATTLES) Little baby's teething rattle.

VO: It's not a toy, Paul.

That's quite nice.

It is damaged, it's missing its little tiny chain.

PAUL: But it does have its striker.

I like that a lot.

PAUL: I think there's a little hallmark up there, a lion passant moving to the left, which tells me it's sterling silver.

PAUL: And the mother of pearl is in very, very good condition.

It's decorated with roses and swags.

PAUL: This to me looks late Victorian, circa 1880, 1890.

PAUL: A well-to-do middle class family would have owned something like that.

VO: No price tag.

Angie?

How much is it?

Well, to you, how about a tenner?

I'll take that for a tenner.

Yeah, I'll take that for a tenner.

ANGIE: OK.

Right.

Thank you very much.

ANGIE: You're welcome.

VO: That's the second purchase and it seals the easel deal for £60.

PAUL: Ooh!

(LAUGHS) Oh, that's better.

VO: Now what's he up to?

PAUL: Gosh, I haven't played with these type of marionettes - these are Pelham Puppets - since I was a kid.

PAUL: Give you a wave.

(LAUGHS) VO: (LAUGHS) Clever.

PAUL: Hello, Angie.

He's lovely, isn't he?

PAUL: Well, he's in very good condition!

ANGIE: He is, he is.

Have you got the box?

ANGIE: I have.

PAUL: It's OK, its original box.

PAUL: I'm quite fond of Pelham Puppets.

VO: First made in Marlborough in 1947, just after the war, puppet maker Bob Pelham used any materials he could get his hands on.

PAUL: It was all army surplus.

Old parachutes, old silks... ANGIE: Oh right.

..to make the clothes.

The broken-up pieces of furniture to... ANGIE: Mm.

..to make all the little arms and legs.

PAUL: Their heyday was definitely the 50s and the 60s.

ANGIE: Yes.

PAUL: And I'd say he's late '50s, early '60s.

ANGIE: Mm.

He...he has got a name.

Do you want to hear his name?

VO: I do now.

Are you ready for this?

VO: I am.

(DRUM ROLL) PAUL: Clever Willie.

VO: Love it.

PAUL: Gosh, he's a lot of money.

£49.

PAUL: Mm.

What's the very best on him?

Would 20 be any good to you?

Would you do 15?

ANGIE: Would 18 be any good?

PAUL: I'll take that, £18.

VO: Very, very generous.

PAUL: I'm feeling really, really guilty about this, knocking you down an extra £2.

Let's just call it £90.

I bought three things for £90.

VO: Well, what a gent, eh?

VO: Right.

So 60 for the easel, 10 for the rattle and 20 for the puppet.

VO: That's £90 of anyone's money, and that leaves Paul with just over £89 for the next shop of the day.

VO: Our Margie's made her way to Weston-super-Mare to hear an astonishing story involving a top secret World War II weapons department that came to be situated on the town's now derelict, but once busy and thriving, Birnbeck Pier.

VO: All will be revealed by local historian John Crockford-Hawley.

MARGIE: John, we've just passed the grand pier.

And here's another one.

JOHN: Yes.

Yes.

This is one of three piers in Weston-super-Mare.

JOHN: This is a great Victorian structure, opened 1867.

It's composed of 14 trestles.

JOHN: They were manufactured in Newport, brought across the channel, and then simply turned upside down, screwed into the seabed.

MARGIE: Right.

Planks put on the top.

And it's been there since.

MARGIE: Looks amazing.

VO: The Victorians loved promenading, and by the turn of the 20th century, there were around 100 pleasure piers in seaside towns all over the coast.

JOHN: It's a forlorn sight now.

But in its heyday, this was heaving with traffic, steamers coming in and out.

15,000 people a day on the pier.

JOHN: But very quickly, the owners of the pier company decided they actually wanted to keep them on the pier itself.

JOHN: So they built all sorts of funfair amusements, so people would come on the boat, stay on the pier... And spend their money there.

VO: Birnbeck continued to grow in popularity right through to the outbreak of World War II.

VO: Then, while many other piers were dismantled over fears they could be used as landing stages in an enemy invasion, this one's fate was very different.

JOHN: So during the war, this was taken over by what we refer to as the Wheezers and Dodgers.

JOHN: But it was the department of miscellaneous weapons development.

VO: The Royal Navy's Admiralty set up the mysterious directorate in 1941 as a temporary wartime body.

JOHN: It was boffins out here - Oxford and Cambridge designers.

MARGIE: Yeah.

They were part of a scheme to develop different and new bombs, including the... JOHN: ..the bouncing bomb.

MARGIE: Yeah.

Ah!

And this has links with people like Barnes Wallis.

MARGIE: Yeah.

VO: The famous aviation engineer headed up the department and Birnbeck's team invented a different but also important weapon, called the Hedgehog.

VO: The device could fire a volley of 24 bombs in a circular pattern ahead of a ship.

VO: The projectiles would then sink, hitting a submerged submarine, making it invaluable in anti-submarine warfare.

VO: The Hedgehog was deployed by the USS England in May 1944.

Six enemy submarines were sunk in a two-week period.

It seems like an unlikely place to test bombs and... JOHN: That's the whole point.

It seems unlikely.

JOHN: And therefore, in terms of security, it's an ideal position.

JOHN: I mean, if you were going to do this testing in, say, Portsmouth or Plymouth, the Luftwaffe would have been much more interested.

VO: But with the end of the war, the clandestine weapons department closed and the pier never recovered its earlier appeal.

JOHN: People had discovered the Costas, they were going on holiday to Spain.

This sort of traditional British seaside... MARGIE: Yeah.

..was changing.

VO: In the 1990s, the structure was declared unsafe.

MARGIE: So what does the future hold?

JOHN: There's hope.

The hope would involve the Heritage Lottery Fund, Historic England and the local authorities.

Oh, good!

Good.

The old girl might rise again.

MARGIE: Oh!

VO: Whether or not it re-emerges from the sands of time, the pier's invaluable contribution to the war effort has never been forgotten by those who know its very secret history.

VO: Now, where's Margie's pal got to?

PAUL: I really love Margie.

I think she's such good company.

PAUL: And I wanted to be a winner really, let's face it.

But I do need to close that gap.

VO: Undoubtedly.

VO: Paul's on the road to Wells and he's got just £89.80 to spend in Matthew Coles Antiques.

VO: He means business.

VO: Every item in this shop is hand picked by owner Matthew.

VO: Nice work, sir!

PAUL: Hi Matthew.

I'm going to take a browse, have a wander.

Carry on.

OK, thank you.

VO: I wonder what he's done with the rest of the body.

Ha!

PAUL: It's a gate leg table.

This is French, it's continental.

(TAPS WOOD) That's chestnut.

It's a fruit wood.

PAUL: This has got a lovely colored hue to it.

PAUL: And it's £300.

VO: Ouch!

If that was what I had in my budget, I'd be buying this.

VO: Maybe next time.

VO: I think he's looking out for a money tree.

Ha!

PAUL: I think I've found something I want to buy.

VO: Hurray!

PAUL: That's a cast-iron fender for a fireplace.

PAUL: That literally sits around the central fireplace and if you're burning wood, or you're burning coal and bits fall off, it won't roll onto the wooden floor.

VO: Goodo!

PAUL: It's kind of late Edwardian and I'd say it's 1920s, 1930s.

PAUL: It's got its original paint.

It's quite a nice casting.

I can't see a registration mark.

I can't see a kite mark.

PAUL: It's very understated.

And architecturally, it finishes off the symmetry of the fireplace.

VO: There's £45 on the ticket.

Matthew!

PAUL: What's the best price on that?

20.

PAUL: I'm going to take that.

MATTHEW: It's yours.

PAUL: That's a super discount.

VO: Sure is, at better than half price.

Brilliant.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

I'll leave the money there.

VO: As Paul's kitty shrinks to £69.80, hereby ends today's shopping.

VO: I hope his jacket's still in the Jag!

VO: The day is almost done for our bubbly buddies.

I love a bath after work.

I like to soak.

MARGIE: I like to soak.

MARGIE: Soak until your little toes and your fingers shrivel!

MARGIE: (LAUGHS) VO: Splish splash!

Nighty night, you two.

VO: Rise and shine.

The Jag is on the move.

PAUL: This little drive is a great start to the morning, isn't it?

MARGIE: It is.

Do you know?

I slept well yesterday, did you?

I did.

VO: Me too, thanks for asking.

PAUL: Look at this!

It just gets better and better.

MARGIE: I know.

What a glorious day!

VO: It's the Quantock Hills, don't you know!

MARGIE: How was your day yesterday?

I spent the whole day shopping.

MARGIE: Yeah.

PAUL: And I bought four things.

So what did you buy, Paul?

Cuz I've got a Clever Willie.

MARGIE & PAUL: (LAUGH) PAUL: Do you know what I'm talking about?

A puppet.

VO: Phew!

VO: Alongside the Pelham Puppet, Paul purchased a Victorian fender, a teething rattle and an easel.

You need an artist with a baby, don't you?

PAUL: Yeah.

VO: Or an artistic baby!

VO: Paul has left himself with £69.80 in his kitty.

VO: Margie came away with an Edwardian nine-carat gold ring and a lamb feeder.

Pigs could probably suckle off it too.

VO: She still has a comfortable £377.30 for today.

MARGIE: Whoa!

(LAUGHS) Sorry, Paul!

VO: The Goodies are off to Evesham for the auction.

And we're kicking off in the seaside town of Watchet.

VO: And what a lovely, ancient harbor town it is.

PAUL: Oh, good parking!

PAUL: Which...which bay are you going in, Margie?

MARGIE: I've not decided yet!

PAUL: (LAUGHS) PAUL: You're bang in the middle of two!

VO: Oi!

You can't park there.

Take two.

MARGIE & PAUL: (LAUGH) Oh, good parking.

Look at that.

Just about.

PAUL: Brilliant.

Yes!

That'll do.

VO: Phew!

VO: Awaiting Margie and her £377 is Adorium Antiques.

VO: Love it already!

Stuff everywhere you look.

VO: My kind of shop.

Oh, look at that.

So here we are in the West Country and I think...

I'm almost certain that that's...that's a cider press.

VO: So it is.

MARGIE: So you put your apple in there, push down, and you get your juice out.

MARGIE: It's probably sort of late Victorian.

MARGIE: And the price is £60.

Isn't that nice?

I really like that.

Shall I buy an apple press?

VO: Um... And I love cider.

MARGIE: Trouble is, it's very intoxicating, isn't it?

You think it's like an apple drink, but it's not.

VO: (HICCUPS) Maybe not.

I'll move on.

VO: I think that's wise.

Vintage clothes.

Scarves.

Very nice.

What have we here?

Oh, gosh!

It's an old telephone.

I remember these.

VO: As do I, my dear.

My parents, we lived in the country, and the phone number was three digits.

VO: Crikey!

MARGIE: And here, it's telling me, very helpfully, how to talk on the telephone.

VO: Do share!

Hold the mouthpiece about an inch from your mouth.

Right, I've got it.

I've got it.

"Say hello."

VO: A for effort!

MARGIE: It doesn't seem to be for sale.

VO: Well, that's an anti climax.

VO: Anything else?

MARGIE: Right, I'll keep going.

Wonder if it works... Oh, it does!

VO: Ouch!

MARGIE: Look what we have here.

We've got a toilet bowl, a blue and white transfer printed...

I think they were called thunder boxes.

VO: They were indeed.

VO: In the mid 19th century, wooden commodes were added to chamber pots.

VO: They came to be known as thunder boxes because of the echo from the box, if you get my drift.

MARGIE: It's quite nice actually.

MARGIE: It's probably quite early, it's probably about 1860.

MARGIE: But these are like garden ornaments now.

Hm!

I wonder whether this is worth a...punt.

VO: I think it's a goer.

MARGIE: Beautiful, isn't it?

Beautifully done.

Probably made in Staffordshire somewhere.

VO: Yep, I should think so.

MARGIE: Yeah, I might have a go at that.

VO: No ticket price.

Right, let's see if I can do a deal on this handsome beast.

VO: That's no way to talk about John.

MARGIE: (SIGHS) John, don't laugh... MARGIE: (LAUGHS) Right.

I'll try not to.

MARGIE: Of all these things in this place, look what I've... JOHN: Indeed.

(LAUGHS) Look what I've...look what I've chosen!

The old blue and white thunder box, isn't it?

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's probably about 150 years old.

MARGIE: It surely is.

Is it possible to buy this?

JOHN: Of course.

And how much is it?

I'm thinking around the £50 mark.

What about 45?

JOHN: I'm going to...

I think I'm going to stick with £50, Marjorie.

That... JOHN: If that's OK. That is fair enough.

Disappointing... MARGIE & JOHN: (LAUGH) MARGIE: ..but fair enough.

JOHN: OK, lovely.

MARGIE: Thank you very much.

You've got to try, haven't you?

JOHN: Yeah, yeah, of course.

VO: And she still has more than £320 for later on.

VO: Meanwhile Paul is just up the road in Watchet's Harbor Marina... DAVID: (SHOUTS) Oyez!

DAVID: (SHOUTS) Oyez!

Oyez!

VO: ..where sits a 19th century seafarer with a very special talent.

VO: He was responsible for the preservation and recording of dozens of sea shanties that would otherwise have been lost forever.

VO: Here's town crier and local historian David Milton.

(BELL RINGS) DAVID: (SHOUTS) And God save the Queen!

David, that was brilliant!

PAUL: Hello.

DAVID: Hello Paul.

Good to meet you.

DAVID: Good to meet you too.

Who is this chap?

Tell me all about him.

DAVID: Well this handsome chap, his name is John Short, but colloquially known as Yankee Jack.

VO: Born in 1839, he lived until the grand old age of 94.

And although he spent most of his life at sea, he was born and died in Watchet.

So how did he get his nickname, Yankee Jack?

Well, at the age of nine, he went with his father in the coastal boats up and down the Bristol channel and over to southern Ireland, but when he became 18, he went to sea and he sailed over to America and he became Yankee Jack.

PAUL: Why's he so fondly remembered?

For his singing of shanties.

And I bet he had a good voice.

Tremendous voice.

They say you could hear him two miles away.

VO: Powerful lungs and a tuneful timbre made Jack the ideal shantyman.

VO: It was a tradition aboard the large sailing ships for sailors to sing sea shanties to accompany the rhythmical physical labor on board.

DAVID: You'd have capstan shanties, hauling shanties, halyard shanties, pumping shanties.

PAUL: So for different jobs on board ship?

DAVID: Yes, and they were sung at different rhythms.

DAVID: The shantyman would lead it and then look for response to come back from the crew.

DAVID: So for up on the spars, you'd have a little short song called Hanging Johnnies.

So you wanted a little short one to bring the sail over the spar and it'd be like this.

# Oh, they calls me Hanging Johnny hooray, hooray, # they calls me Hanging Johnny, so hang, boys, hang!

# DAVID: And you pulled the sheet over.

Pull together.

PAUL: Pull together.

And a good shantyman was worth his weight in gold.

So the more proficient they were doing the job, more trips, more money, more profit.

VO: Yankee Jack became the solo shantyman on ships across the world and he learned and memorized countless songs.

VO: But towards the end of his time at sea, sails were replaced by steam power and the traditional tunes were dying out.

PAUL: So how did he keep the songs alive?

The Reverend of Watchet here introduced Jack to a man called Cecil Sharp, who was an eminent collector of folk songs and sea shanties.

DAVID: Cecil came down and said, "Sing us a song, Jack."

And he went and sung nearly 60 sea shanties, penned them down in 1914.

DAVID: Cecil Sharp did a sea shanty book and 46 of the 60 songs that were in this book were Yankee Jack's.

VO: What an achievement, eh?

VO: And because of his recalling and singing those songs, they survive for future generations, raising Jack's profile in the town and beyond.

DAVID: And when he died, he's the only common seaman ever to have his obituary in The Times.

And that's quite an accolade.

VO: It is indeed.

VO: And Jack's passion for the songs of the sea means that his music is still performed today.

DAVID: Some of the songs and the tunes are used in the Last Night Of The Proms, when they do their shanty medleys.

VO: Yeah, and of course, performers like David and his backing singer are also keeping the tradition alive.

# I met her in the morning # Won't you go my way # In the morning, bright and early # Oh, won't you go my way # Well done!

VO: Bravo!

PAUL: Thank you so much for sharing your time with me here in Watchet.

PAUL: And listening to you sing was absolutely brilliant.

And maybe I'll sing that shanty on the way home.

Thank you very much.

DAVID: Thank you for coming to Watchet.

VO: Where, thanks to Yankee Jack, the music of the sea still echoes to this day.

(SEAGULLS CAW) # Oh, I'm bound to leave you, Shallow, oh, Shallow Brown, # Oh, Shallow Brown # VO: From sea to shiny Jag, and Margie is navigating some windy country lanes.

MARGIE: Ah, look!

A little lamb.

VO: She's en route to Taunton, with £320 burning a hole in her pocket, which is great because the Taunton Antiques Collective houses several shops on one site.

VO: Which one will she choose?

VO: Ah!

Stuff n Nonsense, which is stuffed with furniture, decorative items and lighting.

MARGIE: Oh, gosh.

Look at this.

A galleon.

£80.

MARGIE: Can imagine Sir Francis Drake stepping off that.

I'd be seasick on that.

VO: Step away, then!

MARGIE: Unusual chairs these are.

Hall chairs.

Edwardian.

Gosh!

They're really nice.

£245.

MARGIE: Hall chairs were never meant to be sat on for long, so they were always uncomfortable.

VO: You can't have everything.

Ah!

A pair.

A pair.

VO: Excitable, isn't she?

MARGIE: Quite like these.

Light fittings do alright.

If they could be rewired, which I think they can.

Aren't they nice?

Empire style.

And there's two of them.

VO: Empire style was an early 19th century design movement that originated under Napoleon Bonaparte's rule in France, drawing inspiration from neoclassicism and French conquests.

MARGIE: I really like them.

They're rather nice, aren't they?

Very elegant.

VO: Super sconces.

No ticket price.

MARGIE: If they'll do me a deal on those, I think I'll buy those.

VO: Okey dokey.

VO: Oh, hang on.

Guess who's just arrived on site.

VO: Well, there's plenty of shops to go around.

PAUL: Oh, look at that.

The Jag is here, Margie's beaten me to it.

Oh, and she's been busy.

PAUL: Hey!

This is the first Jag I've seen with a loo en-suite.

VO: Handy.

VO: Paul has £69.80 to spend in Savoy Art Deco Collectables, which is just as it says on the tin.

PAUL: I love this kind of look.

I feel like I'm in an episode of Poirot, Agatha Christie, Downton Abbey, you know, all those great classics.

PAUL: It's the jazz age.

It's superb, but it's style, and that's what it's all about.

PAUL: It's good cutting edge style for its time, that sort of 1930s, you know, on trend right now.

Look at these lovely chairs and this burr maple.

PAUL: There's a matched pair there.

I bet they're comfortable as well.

Yes, they are.

It's the light woods.

It's the maples.

It's beautiful.

Absolutely beautiful.

VO: Ticket price, £525 for the two.

I can't afford them.

VO: Never mind.

I think he's off to try one of the other shops in the collective.

VO: Isn't this fun?

So let's rejoin Margie, who had fallen for a pair of Empire light fittings.

Ah!

Cabinet.

Let's have a look in here.

Ooh!

That's unusual.

It's open.

VO: Glad to hear it.

MARGIE: Look at that.

I've never seen one like that before.

MARGIE: An umbrella clock.

I personally haven't seen one of these ever.

MARGIE: It's like a cobweb, isn't it?

You've got your handle there, like a little umbrella handle.

Isn't that lovely?

VO: Mm, lovely.

MARGIE: Must have been very hard to make.

You've got this pretty little porcelain face with these little festoons.

MARGIE: Probably German, probably, what, 1930s.

MARGIE: I just think that would look fantastic on somebody's dressing table.

I wonder if it goes.

Does it matter?

VO: Well, it is a clock.

VO: Ticket price, £85.

I wonder if we can do a deal on the two things.

The two sconces and this.

VO: Mark's your man.

MARGIE: Mark, are you busy?

Hi there.

Right, I've fallen in love.

With your umbrella clock.

Lovely.

Little dressing table clock.

MARK: It's pretty.

It's lovely.

MARGIE: It is, yes.

And also I've seen a pair of sconces.

How much were they?

They were 90.

MARGIE: Were they?

So that... And this is 85.

Absolute best on the clock would be 50.

MARGIE: Right.

MARK: The wall sconces would be 30.

But I can do no more than that.

MARGIE: Right.

OK. Well.

MARK: That's your best.

That's very good.

Yeah, that's really kind.

MARGIE: Thank you.

MARK: OK. You're very welcome.

Well, deal done.

VO: Two thirds off the sconces and a chunk off the clock, very generous indeed.

VO: And at £80 in total, Margie's all shopped out.

VO: Now, Paul's moved on to Pickers Paradise, a joyful mix of all sorts.

PAUL: There is so much stuff in here.

It's crammed.

VO: Told you.

VO: Argh!

VO: Too much choice, eh?

I like that.

I think it's a very useful size.

PAUL: Great color.

Wonderfully weathered.

VO: What is it?

PAUL: It's just an old water tank.

VO: Oh, great.

PAUL: But it's those big Victorian rivets.

It's the construction, the over-engineered Victorian design, what attracts me.

That now makes a fantastic garden planter.

And it's got the look.

It really has got the look.

PAUL: You just need to drill a couple of holes in the bottom for drainage and you've got something pretty cool.

PAUL: It could even make a funky coffee table or something like that, useful storage.

But you know, you have to be clever, use your imagination with stuff like this because it's all about upcycling.

And that's the beauty of antiques.

You know, you repurpose them.

VO: Couldn't have said it better myself.

PAUL: £30 is on the ticket.

I like it.

Let's find out if we can do a deal.

VO: Oh, Gary?

PAUL: Hiya, mate.

GARY: Oh yeah.

PAUL: This old little water tank.

Yeah, it's a pretty little tank.

30 quid is on the ticket.

GARY: OK.

Yes.

What's the very best?

It's 20, Paul.

I was thinking a little bit less.

PAUL: Can you do 18?

GARY: Go on, then.

PAUL: Yeah?

£18?

GARY: Yeah, that would be good.

I'll take that.

Thank you.

GARY: Thank you very much.

VO: That's very kind.

That is brilliant.

I've got the cash.

GARY: Lovely.

I might even have the right money cuz I've got loads of loose change.

Five, 10, 15... VO: The tank will be sent on to the auction.

PAUL: Thank you for giving me a super deal.

GARY: And good luck.

PAUL: Bye bye.

Yeah, I'm going to need it.

PAUL: (LAUGHS) VO: And that's the shopping done for this leg of the trip.

VO: It's been a busy old day for our charming chums.

PAUL: Shall we find... MARGIE: Yeah?

..a pizza/pasta type place and sit outside in the sun?

PAUL: Just catch the last hour of the sun.

MARGIE: Ooh, that'd be nice.

And let's not talk about antiques.

No.

VO: Impossible.

PAUL: I got the smell of pine trees there.

MARGIE: Yes, lovely.

Conifers.

VO: Ooh, I wish we had smell-o-vision.

VO: Oh, well, time for some shut eye.

VO: Oh, I do love an auction day, even in the pouring rain.

VO: And after a jaunt around Bristol and Somerset, our drippy duo are parking up in Ilfracombe Harbor... MARGIE: Oh no!

PAUL: It's bracing.

MARGIE: Come on.

VO: ..where they'll view their goodies going under the hammer in the shelter of the former St Nicholas' Chapel.

Overlooking the harbor.

Lovely, isn't it?

Absolutely gorgeous.

VO: Isn't it just?

VO: Their items have moved on to Evesham's Littleton Auctions.

VO: What does auctioneer Martin Homer make of Margie's five lots, on which she spent £175?

(GAVEL) The pair of Empire sconces, one of my favorite lots.

MARTIN: They are very attractive and I think there'll be quite a lot of interest in those.

VO: Paul's five items cost £128 and his puppet has caught Martin's eye.

It's good because it's got the original box with it.

And already we've got some commission interest on that one.

VO: Excellent.

VO: The auction is open to online and commission bids from around the world.

MARGIE: I wish you luck.

PAUL: I wish you luck as well.

I just want to close the gap slightly.

MARGIE: Oh, here goes.

Good luck.

VO: Margie's first up with her 1930s umbrella clock.

VO: Nice little thing, this.

MARTIN: Where shall we go with this?

Surely £50 will start me on this one?

Very pretty clock.

50, I'm bid.

PAUL: Yes.

I'm asking five now.

At five, at 55, 60 now, 65.

Oh, good.

At £65.

I'm asking 70 now.

Oh, good.

That's a good profit.

MARTIN: 70 I've got.

And five.

MARGIE: Ooh!

MARTIN: At £75.

Aw!

80 I've got now.

At 80... PAUL: Yes!

MARGIE: Marvelous.

PAUL: Oh, you're in the money.

MARGIE: Oh!

PAUL: Ooh!

Happy.

At £90.

Are we all done?

Oh, it's so pretty.

MARTIN: £90 going once.

90 going twice.

(GAVEL) PAUL: Pretty sells.

I really liked it.

VO: Good strong start there, Margie.

VO: Paul's go now with his Victorian studio easel.

Look at this beauty...

This beauty!

30, straight in.

At £30.

40, we're at now.

At £40.

No, no, it's climbing.

MARTIN: £40.

At 40.

45, 50 now.

Come on.

MARTIN: At 50, 55.

At £55.

Come on.

Do we see 60?

£55.

Any more?

All finished at £55.

(GAVEL) I am really surprised.

I am as well.

VO: Disappointing, but early days.

Someone got a bargain.

VO: They did.

Stand by.

Here's Margie's Edwardian amethyst and gold ring.

MARTIN: Pretty ring there.

Where shall we go with that?

MARTIN: Surely £50 to start me?

50 I'm bid.

Thank you.

At £50.

At 50, Looking for five now.

£55.

I'm asking 60 now.

MARTIN: Is it 60 anywhere?

All done and fair warned at £55.

(GAVEL) PAUL: Well done.

Happy.

PAUL: Aw, you've got to be happy with that.

MARGIE: £25 profit.

VO: That's two for two for Margie.

Brilliant.

And the gap widens.

MARGIE & PAUL: (LAUGH) VO: But there's plenty more in the tank.

Its Paul's galvanized Victorian water container now, and it's a goodie.

MARTIN: What shall we say for that one, ladies and gentlemen?

MARTIN: £20.

PAUL: Get in there.

At £25 now.

At £30, looking for five.

At £35.

C'mon, c'mon, c'mon.

Come on, you garden-lovers.

£35.

All done, fair warned... At... 40 we're at then.

MARGIE: Oh!

PAUL: Oh!

Ho ho!

MARTIN: £45.

Yes!

MARTIN: At £45.

At 45!

MARTIN: Last chance.

£45.

(GAVEL) Sold to the lady with the green fingers.

MARGIE & PAUL: (LAUGH) VO: And Paul is back in the game.

My spirit is lifted.

MARGIE & PAUL: (LAUGH) VO: Amen to that.

VO: Ah, Margie's Empire wall sconces.

The auctioneer liked these.

And I can start you on commission at a mere £20.

MARGIE: Eh?

Do you know, I thought he was going to start with 200 then.

Come on, folks.

Oh, come on!

£22.

Give it 25.

At £22.

Oh no.

25 I'm at now.

Oh, that's a disappointment.

28 now.

He's on 28 now.

28.

Asking £30 now.

At 28...

I really liked those.

MARTIN: Are we all done?

At £28.

(GAVEL) Thought they'd be chasing those.

And they haven't chased them.

VO: Nope.

They were sadly left unpursued.

MARGIE: I've lost £2.

PAUL: Sorry.

MARGIE: No, you're not.

VO: No bickering, please.

VO: Time for Paul's Edwardian cast iron fender.

MARTIN: 20 I'm bid on both platforms.

Ooh!

That's competition.

That's good.

MARTIN: 22.

25 now.

28.

£30.

35.

MARTIN: 40 we're at now.

At £40, looking for five now.

At £40.

Are we done then?

Done at £40.

(GAVEL) You're in the money.

In the money.

VO: Mm.

Paul's on the up.

MARGIE & PAUL: (SIGH) VO: Enough said.

VO: Margie's lamb or piggy feeder now.

MARTIN: A bit of interest... MARGIE: Oh!

I can start you with just £20.

At 20 with me.

At 20, looking for two now, for the animal suckler At £20.

MARTIN: 22 now.

Animal sucker!

(LAUGHS) MARTIN: 22 now.

MARGIE: 22.

MARTIN: At £22.

MARGIE: Oh, go on.

Come on, somebody MARTIN: Come on, folks, it's worth more than that.

At £22...

He's trying hard.

Look, bless him.

MARTIN: 22, and I will sell it.

Make no mistake... No, I'm happy with that.

All done then, 22.

(GAVEL) Made a profit.

MARGIE: I've made £7.

Made a profit.

PAUL: That's the main thing.

You didn't make a loss.

VO: Quite right, too.

We're doing alright.

Yes, so far, so good.

MARGIE: So good.

VO: Can Clever Willie keep Paul bouncing along?

For the Pelham Puppet, let's go £30, surely?

30, I'm bid.

At £30.

At £30.

Profit.

MARTIN: 35 anywhere?

I'm at £30.

Are we all done then?

£30, I will sell...

Thought it'd have done a bit more than that.

MARTIN: At £30.

(GAVEL) Look, I'm happy with a tenner.

MARGIE: Abso... (LAUGHS) PAUL: I'm happy with a tenner.

VO: He should be.

He's on a nice little streak here.

Did you have one?

I had one when I was a kid.

PAUL: Yeah.

VO: Me too.

VO: Didn't have one of these, though.

VO: Margie's last item, the transfer-printed 1860s thunderbox.

£30 for it.

30 I'm in.

Straight in.

That's a good in though.

At 30.

I'm asking five now.

MARGIE: Oh no.

MARTIN: £30.

PAUL: Come on.

MARTIN: £30.

All done then?

Selling... My toilet bowl's died.

(GAVEL) Gone down the pan!

VO: Funny.

(LAUGHS) And it's true.

VO: Quite a plunge there!

Mental note - don't buy any more blue and white toilet bowls.

MARGIE & PAUL: (LAUGH) VO: Whyever not?

Without too much ado, Paul's last lot today is the Victorian silver baby's rattle.

Surely £50 to start me there.

Just 30 for it then.

MARTIN: £30 anywhere?

Looking for 30.

30 I'm bid.

MARTIN: 35.

MARGIE: Oh!

MARTIN: 40, 45, we're at 50 now.

MARTIN: 55.

At £55.

Oh!

Come on.

MARTIN: At 55... 60, he's on 60.

Looking for five.

At 60.

All done?

Yes!

At 60, going once, going twice.

(GAVEL) I'll take that.

£60.

Great.

VO: An excellent result for Paul.

You've won the day.

Congratulations.

Getting closer.

VO: Paul is certainly creeping up behind you.

Margie kicked off this time with just over £422 and has bobbed about, ending up with £431.80 after saleroom costs.

(GAVEL) VO: But Paul aced today and grew his pot nicely, from £179.80 to a very respectable £240.40.

MARGIE: Wow.

What a day.

PAUL: The weather certainly changes quickly, doesn't it?

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