

Paul Laidlaw and Catherine Southon, Day 2
Season 12 Episode 2 | 43m 46sVideo has Closed Captions
Catherine Southon and Paul Laidlaw soak up the Irish scenery en route to Scotland.
Catherine Southon and Paul Laidlaw soak up the stunning scenery of Northern Ireland. Will the luck of the Irish be with our antique experts as they try to uncover some hidden gems to take to auction in bonnie Scotland?
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback

Paul Laidlaw and Catherine Southon, Day 2
Season 12 Episode 2 | 43m 46sVideo has Closed Captions
Catherine Southon and Paul Laidlaw soak up the stunning scenery of Northern Ireland. Will the luck of the Irish be with our antique experts as they try to uncover some hidden gems to take to auction in bonnie Scotland?
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
How to Watch Antiques Road Trip
Antiques Road Trip is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipVOICEOVER (VO): It's the nation's favorite antiques experts.
This is beautiful.
That's the way to do this.
VO: With £200 each, a classic car and a goal to scour for antiques.
Joy.
Hello.
VO: The aim - to make the biggest profit at auction.
But it's no mean feat.
(LAUGHS) (GAVEL) VO: There will be worthy winners and valiant losers.
Sorry, sorry!
VO: So, will it be the high road to glory or the slow road to disaster?
The handbrake's on.
VO: This is Antiques Road Trip!
Yeah.
VO: Welcome to the second leg of the trip!
We're soaking up the stunning scenery in Northern Ireland with two top antique experts - Catherine Southon and Paul Laidlaw.
They look happy now but leg one saw tensions flare!
CATHERINE: Would you please remove yourself from this cabinet?
I thought you were my friend, Paul.
What?!
The honeymoon's not even started!
No.
It's divorce already, I'm sorry.
PAUL: Oh, no!
CATHERINE: It's divorce.
Well I want the dog.
(LAUGHS HYSTERICALLY) VO: Anyway, with nearly 20 years of antiques experience under her belt, Catherine certainly knows what she likes.
Oh, I love this.
That's super.
VO: Laughing boy Paul is an auctioneer who's just as opinionated.
But these are good.
PAUL: First auction behind us.
Oh, you were nervous at the auction.
I'm always nervous, get used to it.
Is it because you have never been against such a good competitor?
That's exactly what it is.
CATHERINE: Is that why?
PAUL: I'm quaking.
VO: In his boots.
VO: Catherine started this trip with £200 in her pocket.
After some wise buys on leg one, she's turned it into a respectable £258.80.
(GAVEL) VO: Paul began with the same sum and also made some profitable purchases so has two £282 to play with today.
This week's automobile of choice is a 1971 Morris Minor, manufactured before seatbelts became mandatory.
That's why they're not wearing one.
Each.
CATHERINE: I just think, I really do feel relaxed.
I'm so laid back.
This is the...
This is the life isn't it?
VO: I've never seen her so relaxed!
She's horizontal.
VO: Our journey began in Portrush, County Antrim, and after exploring Northern Ireland they'll cross the sea to Scotland, before finally finishing several hundred miles later, in Aberdeen.
This second leg kicks off in Aghadowey, Northern Ireland, and will finish up in bonnie Scotland, where they'll do battle at auction in Galashiels.
Come on, Paul, I am going to challenge you.
Can you buy something retro?
Ah, uh, eh, ah... Oh, oh, no, oh.
No!
Don't make me, don't make me.
Oh, come on, Paul, have a bit of fun.
PAUL: We'll see, never say never.
VO: Catherine's first shop of the day is nestled in the lush countryside of County Londonderry, in Aghadowey.
CATHERINE: "Sarah Rose Antiques..." We are going to get on famously, Sarah Rose and I. I'm not looking, I'm not looking.
Assume there is nothing there, Laidlaw, assume there is nothing to be bought.
I'm coming back with armfuls.
(LAUGHS) Oh, don't!
Armfuls!
See you later.
Have a good un.
Have fun.
VO: The shop's namesake Sarah Rose runs the family business with her dad James.
With a mixture of past and future antiques, there's plenty on offer.
If you need any help, give me a wee call.
Yeah, is that alright Sarah, cos I've got my eye on a few things already.
That's alright.
As I'm talking to you my eyes are wandering.
VO: Oh yes, some nice things in here alright.
Like that.
What is it?
Help me out here, Sarah.
This looks really interesting.
SARAH: Uh-huh.
On the wall here, cast iron.
Is it for being next to a fire?
It is.
That would be for... CATHERINE: For breads, scones...
It would have been for breads, uh-huh.
VO: This is a Harnen stand, traditionally used to toast or dry out large oatcakes in front of the open fire.
This one probably dates from around the early 19th century and is worth a closer look I guess.
CATHERINE: I like that.
What have you got on that?
SARAH: There's £85 on that there.
CATHERINE: I mean, I see that at auction probably more like your £30-£50 estimate but... SARAH: That's OK, I'm sure we can have a think about that one.
VO: While Catherine continues to peruse... VO: Paul has made his way to Ballynure, in County Antrim.
This rustic and rugged county was home to a number of filming locations for award winning fantasy TV series Game Of Thrones.
Paul's come to Bridgend Antiques, a unique type of shop situated next door to its owner's house.
What fun.
PAUL: Hello there.
Hi Paul, pleased to meet you.
Hector?
Hector Thompson, pleased to meet you.
Good to see you.
Good to see you.
This place smells the way I like my world to smell, beeswax.
Beeswax, furniture polish.
(LAUGHS) I dab it behind my ears of a morning.
(LAUGHS) VO: Nice!
I will lift every stone because I am meticulous.
VO: It looks like some Capodimonte figurines have turned Paul's head.
Excellent modelling, they want to be Belle poque, they want to be 1900, don't they?
HECTOR: Yeah, yeah.
PAUL: They are quality, they are quality.
I see a price tag on there, 38 quid.
That is the two now, that's not one.
PAUL: That's the two.
HECTOR: That's the pair.
But you know there is no way I am going to take the first price on anything.
We know that, that goes without saying doesn't it?
That's good, so there's no surprises or disappointments here.
HECTOR: Goes without saying.
Just give me the absolute bottom line.
HECTOR: 20 quid.
We broke the ice.
HECTOR: Ice.
PAUL: We are off and rolling.
OK. Good man.
I am a wee bit in love.
I fancy the one on the left and her mate's not half bad either, I can't lose here tonight, I'm in.
VO: On that note, Catherine, what have you found?
There's a little table there.
Mm-hm.
Now I quite like the top of that table.
I like the detail here.
Mm-hm.
I mean, I think this is the sort of thing that was probably churned out in mass and it...
Yes.
Made for the western market.
Uh-huh.
I like the legs, I think they are quite decorative and I think at £15 that's...that's not bad.
Is there any movement in that one?
Uh... That one is actually £68 on that one.
Oh, well I read the other side which I prefer much more, 15.
(LAUGHS) That's...
Sorry, that's like a code for our book.
CATHERINE: Oh is it?
SARAH: Mm-hm.
Oh no, I thought that was the price.
Sorry about that.
(MOUTHS) VO: Unlucky, eh!
Paul meanwhile has found something else he fancies, a rather nice Royal Crown Derby Cabaret tea set.
It was a Cabaret tea set, it's tea for two is it not?
Yeah?
Which is sweet.
I get the... For me there's a touch of romance there.
Now Cabaret tea sets, yeah you can buy those.
Cabaret tea sets with trays are uncommon so what you get is an uncommonly complete set by one of the more desirable manufacturers.
I think that is pretty seductive.
VO: But at £185 it's too pricey for his purse.
Hector, what's your best?
125.
No.
Um... Where do you want to be?
Do you know what, I'm going to make you a cheeky offer.
OK.
Going from porcelain figurines to China teaware would suggest to many I have lost the plot but at 75 quid I don't think I could do bad at it.
90 anyway.
Oh jeez.
You are down to two figures.
No, it just... Are you a gambling man?
Oh jeez, you're not going to pull a coin..!
I'll spin you.
Oh, no, no, no, I hate that.
75 or 85 quid.
Spin the coin.
Tails.
Heads.
Ya!
Ye!
Grr!
Um... That was me taking that well.
But that is a good deal.
Thank you very much.
Wonderful.
No, spot on, spot on.
I am happy with that.
That's fine.
Excuse me.
Wait a minute, wait a minute.
I think I forgot something.
You fool!
(ECHOES) Fool.
Fool.
VO: Back in Aghadowey, Catherine's spotted a piece of silver.
The rest of it is plate in there.
it looks like it is initialed L&S, Levi and Salaman maybe.
VO: Yes indeed actually.
It's probably about late 19th century.
Little belt buckle, really nicely decorated.
Not a lot to it.
It is priced up £12.
VO: Aha!
The shop owner returns.
Hi, Sarah, there was this one other thing.
This which is a little, just like a little, I mean just like a simple belt buckle.
Yeah.
VO: Sarah's going to consult her dad about the best price for the belt buckle and the occasional table.
She's already agreed to knock £40 off the Harnen stand, giving that a price of £45 which has to be a snip.
Now, I have asked him about the table and I've explained to him that you'd seen the thing and you thought it was 15.
Yes.
So he says we'd go down to 35 for you.
OK. And this wee one £10.
Right, OK, I will take this.
Mm-hm.
No problem.
At 45.
If I can have that for 30 then I'll take it.
Mm-hm.
What happens if we give you just a wee luck penny back?
Oh, what is a luck penny?
A luck penny is like an Irish thing, the table is 35 so I am giving you £2 and it means you're taking the luck with you from Ireland.
Aw!
And the table, then you'd pay me £33.
So the table was in fact £33?
Yes.
VO: Feeling lucky Catherine?
If you can do that for a fiver I'll take that as well and that will give me another little bit of luck.
That'll do.
CATHERINE: Is that alright?
SARAH: Yeah.
Thank you so much.
Alright, thank you.
VO: So, that's the Harnen stand, the occasional table and the silver buckle bought for £83.
Wow.
Over in Ballynure, Paul's found a pair of early 20th century evening bags.
Bit unusual for him.
Purchase, what can these be?
Can be £15.
They cannae be £15, that is not working for me.
What is cheap?
What is the bottom line, my last shot on the way out of the door?
To give you a chance... That hinge is a wee bit iffy and that's no use at all.
Give me your hand and we'll have a deal at a fiver.
We've got a deal at a fiver.
Done.
Magic!
(LAUGHS) You know what I'm going to buy now, I've got two more things to buy for this auction.
I'm going to buy a dress and I'm going to buy some... High heels.
Some...some vintage perfume bottles.
VO: So that means Paul has paid £110 for his haul of three items.
VO: Catherine meanwhile is taking a break from shopping and has travelled to Bellaghy in County Londonderry.
VO: A place of rural peace and inspiring tranquility, it's here that the late, great Seamus Heaney grew up.
A Nobel prize winner for literature, Seamus was internationally recognized as the greatest Irish poet since WB Yeats.
And he had a good line in hats.
VO: Catherine's come to Bellaghy Bawn to find out more from local photographer and old family friend, Fergal Kearney.
OK, Catherine, you're very welcome to the Seamus Heaney library in Bellaghy Bawn.
It's a treasure trove of Seamus Heaney's history from his school bag to his duffel coat.
This room really is in memoriam now to one of our greatest 20th century writers.
VO: The Seamus Heaney Archive at Bellaghy Bawn opened 20 years ago, and explores the history and background of the area that inspired Seamus's poetry.
You said he was one of the most important 20th century poets but when did that really start?
I think it goes back to his very early childhood.
I suppose not all of us would be as attuned to the place around us as Seamus Heaney was when he was growing up.
And he was a great explorer, he almost used it as a touchstone for his adult life, the innocence of childhood and the experiences of childhood and really, not an anecdote, but the reality of growing up in such a beautiful place to actually create words of lyrical beauty.
VO: Born into a farming family in 1939, Seamus was a bright boy and at the age of 12 was sent on a scholarship to St Columb's college in Derry.
He eventually became a teacher but found fame in 1966 with the publication of his first collection of poetry, Death Of A Naturalist, much of which focused on his childhood memories.
This included the tremendously poignant poem Mid-Term Break; a reflection on the death of his four year old brother.
Mid-term Break is a poem which is a memorial to his little brother Christopher who was sadly killed on the road outside Mossbawn, outside the family home as a four year old.
Oh God.
He ends the poem "Next morning I went up into the room.
Snowdrops and candles soothed the bedside; I saw him for the first time in six weeks.
Paler now, wearing a poppy bruise on his left temple, He lay in the four foot box as in his cot.
No gaudy scars, the bumper knocked him clear.
A four foot box, a foot for every year.
Gosh, that really hits you, doesn't it?
VO: Seamus' powerful poetry often contained rich depictions of his rural upbringing and Irish heritage that remained close to his heart throughout his life.
CATHERINE: I mean he achieved wonderful things, he was a professor at Harvard, he was a professor at Oxford but it comes back... FERGAL: But he was a boy from Tamlaghtduff.
CATHERINE: Exactly, that's what it comes back to.
And you know, he died in August 2013.
His last wish was to be buried in Bellaghy and he lies here forever now at peace in Bellaghy in the soil that enriched his life and subsequently enriched ours through his work.
CATHERINE: Thank you so much.
No problem at all.
CATHERINE: It's been wonderful.
FERGAL: That's good.
It's been moving.
But it's been wonderful, thank you so much.
I've really enjoyed it.
FERGAL: And you are very welcome.
VO: Paul meanwhile has made his way to Belfast.
Home to over a third of the population of Northern Ireland, it was awarded city status by Queen Victoria in 1888.
But Paul's not here to soak up the culture, he's here to shop.
PAUL: Hello there.
Hi Paul, welcome to Belfast.
PAUL: Laurence.
LAURENCE: It is indeed, yes.
Good to see you.
Thank you very much for the greeting.
I am looking for something interesting, a bit stand out at the right money.
It's as easy as that.
VO: Sounds simple enough.
What's that with the trigger?
Er... That is a stilton... Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's not silver though is it?
No.
That's not the prettiest I've seen.
Arguably it's quite ugly.
But it's undeniably interesting.
"So what is it, Laidlaw?"
It is a tiny little gardening shovel for leprechauns.
No, in all seriousness it's a stilton scoop.
OK?
So when one delivers the stilton to the table you need this, this is what you need.
I like that.
It's cool.
Um... Tell me the price.
£25 would show me a small profit.
Sir... ..thank you very much.
You are welcome.
Thank you very much.
Glad you found something.
PAUL: I like that, I like that.
But I'll have another wee mooch about.
That cries out one of two trade names coming out of Scotland, Monart and Vasart.
Why do I say that?
Well, we get the use of what is called aventurine glass here, see these metallic sparkling inclusions here, it's like gold stone.
And then you get the mottled, almost blue opaline and the lovely contrast between the two types of glass.
A good baluster form with a flared neck dating to the 1930s, 40s.
£22.
Yeah, let's ask.
VO: Is there a deal to be done with Laurence?
You can walk away with that one for 20 if that helps you.
I bid you a tenner on that.
Are you Scottish by any chance?
(LAUGHS) Meet me halfway.
15 quid.
It's going to a Scottish auction and it's 15 quid and it is sold.
Good man.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you very much.
Great stuff.
So, what do I owe you?
15 quid.
Remind me, was that?
LAURENCE: 25.
25.
I owe you 40 quid.
And I am out of your hair.
VO: With those two lots bought by Paul, we say nighty night to a busy day of shopping.
What fun.
VO: Good morning road trippers!
How did you get on yesterday?
(LAUGHS) Oh there is that laugh.
It's the laugh.
No, oh what now?
It's the knowing laugh that you did... VO: Uh-oh, they're at it again!
Yesterday Catherine bagged herself the iron Harnen stand, the carved table, and the silver buckle, leaving her £175.80 to spend today.
Paul picked up five lots; the Capodimonte figurines, the Royal Crown Derby tea set, the ladies' hand bags, the stilton scoop and the vase.
He's got £132 burning a hole in his pocket.
VO: Catherine's come to central Belfast for her first shop of the day, hoping to uncover some splendid buys.
Wow, this is much bigger than I thought.
Hello.
Hello.
Hi.
Catherine.
Hello, you must be Heather.
I'm Heather.
Hi Heather, lovely to meet you.
CATHERINE: It goes back a long way doesn't it?
HEATHER: There is plenty to look at.
CATHERINE: There is an awful lot to look at.
But as soon as I come in I see lots of smalls which is lovely.
CATHERINE: I see in there that you have got a little belt buckle and the reason I am asking that is because I have bought another belt buckle recently and I am thinking maybe I could put the two together.
HEATHER: Yep.
That's an early one, it's not a reproduction.
Because so often these are reproductions.
Yes.
And that is quite nicely chased isn't it?
Right, what would you do on this one because you have got 68 on that?
I do it for 60.
Oh, Heather.
Is there no way you can do a bit more on that one?
I could go to 50.
Can you do 40?
It is dropping an awful lot.
Well, alright.
CATHERINE: Is that OK?
HEATHER: 40.
Thank you very much.
VO: Now, what else?
That's lovely isn't it?
The bookslide there with the fans on.
It's really nice.
It's all lacquered with mother-of-pearl inlay on it.
I don't really like bookslides, they're normally terribly boring.
It's something I've never ever bought actually but that's actually really nice.
VO: With a price tag of £120, do you like it enough?
CATHERINE: What would be your very best on this?
HEATHER: Oh well, it really should be 100 but if I said 90?
Hm.
Can we say 80 on it?
And then I think I will shake your hand because I do like that.
Uh...
Yes.
I shall shake your hand, thank you very much.
VO: That generous discount means Catherine parts with £120.
VO: Paul meanwhile has made his way to Dungannon in County Armagh, VO: ..where he's visiting The Argory - the family home of a soldier named Ralph Shelton; an ordinary man who survived an extraordinary disaster before he was out of his teens.
Here to tell Paul more is house manager, Matthew Morrison.
This was the home of Captain Shelton, he was a survivor of the Birkenhead disaster in 1852.
Now, this is...
This is really significant in terms of maritime disasters is it not?
It is, this was the largest maritime disaster before the sinking of the Titanic and it was at this event that the Birkenhead protocol was established which is the women and children first were to be evacuated.
My word!
So it's quite an important event in our history.
And actually although we believe it happens a lot it has only ever been used officially twice in history, once on the Birkenhead and then again on the Titanic... Oh my word!
So it is not as common as we think.
VO: It was in January 1852, just shy of his 20th birthday, that Shelton set off to fight in the Cape Frontier Wars in South Africa.
He travelled on HMS Birkenhead.
PAUL: Who was aboard it?
Just troops?
Er... No, this is one of the very early voyages where women and children would have travelled along with the officers.
They were there to act as nurses and cooks to the men.
VO: In the early hours of 26 February, while travelling around the Cape of Good Hope, disaster struck.
The ship hit a rocky outcrop called Danger Point.
Shelton was fast asleep below deck.
MATTHEW: At 2am he was woken as they hit the rocks and at that point they were all called onto the deck.
Yeah.
Very early on Shelton was ordered to remove the horses and lead them overboard.
They were hoping to lighten the weight and they got very distressed.
Dearie me, it is horrific quickly isn't it?
VO: Even with the horses cut loose and thrown overboard, the ship continued to flounder.
It was then that the historic order of "women and children first" was issued.
MATTHEW: After that Shelton went beneath deck where he took his own initiative to search and make sure all women and children had evacuated safely and it was there that he found the two little girls that were holding each other in one of the cabins, terrified for their lives.
If we look here on the picture we can actually see Shelton with the two young girls that he saved and he passes them into the lifeboat where their mother hysterically waited for them.
PAUL: Right.
Now like the Titanic there are not enough lifeboats are there?
There's not enough lifeboats and there was some difficulty in launching those that were...that were workable on board.
Right.
And we believe that there was only several that actually made it safely away.
VO: Fearing the few lifeboats carrying the woman and children would be swamped, the commanding officer drew his sword and ordered his men to stand fast, and remain on the ship.
The Birkenhead split in two and sank only 20 minutes after hitting the rocks.
PAUL: So what becomes of Shelton in all this?
He is aboard the vessel as it is going down?
He was.
As a reward for his courage and foresight Shelton was actually offered a place on a lifeboat to save his life.
Really?
But he declined and he chose to stand with the men and go down with the ship.
VO: Death by drowning came quickly to many of the men, the more unfortunate were killed by Great White sharks.
Shelton, however, survived, enduring a terrifying three hour swim to shore.
MATTHEW: Our story doesn't end with just Shelton surviving the Birkenhead.
When he was removing the horses from board, his own horse went overboard and into the sea.
When he landed on the bay and he came through he was exhausted.
He looked up and there was his own horse standing and it too had survived the swim.
Behave yourself!
Seriously?
It is yes and this is the horse here which he bought back here to The Argory.
It was known as the Birkenhead horse.
(LAUGHS) Of course it was.
Oh, no, that's astonishing, is it not?
It is, it's an incredible story.
VO: 193 people survived, including all the woman and children, but it's estimated nearly 450 men lost their lives.
VO: Shelton went on to have a successful military and diplomatic career, before inheriting The Argory aged 34.
He spent the rest of his life lovingly renovating the house, but he never forgot his brush with death on board the HMS Birkenhead.
Well, I am delighted to have visited the house that clearly he cherished.
I'm indebted to you Matt.
Loved that.
You're very welcome.
Thank you for coming.
Great stuff.
VO: Reunited once again, Catherine and Paul have made their way to their final stop on this leg of the road trip, Ballinderry Upper, in County Antrim.
This looks like it.
PAUL: Ballinderry Antiques here we come.
CATHERINE: Are you ready for this?
Are you ready?
(LAUGHS) Born ready.
VO: Spread over three floors, there's plenty on offer in Ballinderry Antiques, and it's Paul who's first to find something.
The first thing I pick up is a Georgian firing glass.
Wait a minute.
Did he say firing glass?
What on earth is one of those?
Well, there was a fashion amongst 18th and early 19th century drinking clubs and societies for toasting, and when one toasted, "to the king, hurrah".
Imbibe.
And then slam the glass down on the table in unison, they'd go off like gunfire.
So what do they do?
Develop glasses specific for toasting.
A small bowl, because you don't want to get drunk too quickly, and a heavy, heavy foot with a heavy, short stem.
It's a firing glass.
That's the term.
And that's what we've got there.
If I went to buy that from a glass specialist, I'd have a budget of £80 in mind.
Price tag on this says £28.
Smug face.
(LAUGHS) I think we'll keep this in mind.
But I've only just started.
VO: Catherine's downstairs with dealer Donald.
CATHERINE: What's that sampler?
DONALD: Yeah, a Victorian sampler.
Ann Thomas.
That would be £55.
Often with samplers you would find little children doing like the alphabet or numbers, embroidering them, but here we've got this little girl, we've got Ann Thomas, aged nine years, dated 1867.
But what I like about this one is it's pictoral.
Those are the ones that sell for more money.
Can we say 35 on that?
No, I couldn't.
£40, that would be... £40, you say?
Yeah?
That's the end?
That's the end.
That's the end.
Let me shake your hand.
VO: Good work, Catherine.
Right, Paul, decision time on that firing glass.
PAUL: I can't resist a nice piece of glass.
Would you sell me that?
£20?
Straightforward.
Easy, easy.
No problem at all.
Excellent.
VO: Talk about blink and you'll miss it!
A speedy deal on the firing glass for £20.
And just like that, both our experts are all bought up.
VO: Catherine spent £243 on five lots, the wrought iron Harnen stand, the Indian carved occasional table, the silver buckles, the unusual bookslide and the Victorian sampler.
VO: Paul spent less, forking out £170 on six lots, buying the Capodimonte figures, the Royal Crown Derby tea set, the ladies' evening bags, the Victorian stilton scoop, the glass baluster vase and the Georgian firing glass.
So what do they think of each other's lots?
That you can buy an interesting, I've got to say good quality in every regard, charming period sampler, good to go for £40, is the best advert imaginable for entering our world.
I never thought Paul would go for the Crown Derby tea set, and I didn't really think he would go for any Capodimonte figures.
And I definitely didn't think he would go for handbags.
Thankfully there are two pieces that I think could be tricky, and that saves my bacon.
I tell you what I do really like is that super stilton scoop.
£25 he paid for that.
He is going to double his money with ease.
And I'm jealous.
VO: After starting this leg in Aghadowey, our experts travelled around Northern Ireland and have now made their way to Scotland, where they're motoring towards an auction in Galashiels.
CATHERINE: This is your sort of territory, isn't it?
Well, I'm a lowlander.
I hail from Edinburgh, and that to a hielander, Edinburgh doesnae count.
"You're a lowlander!"
And historically you're a Sassenach!
CATHERINE: You see, all of a sudden your really strong Scottish accent is coming out.
I haven't got a clue what you just said in the last five minutes.
VO: Uh oh, let's hope you can work out what's going on at Hall's Auctioneers and Valuers then.
PAUL: There's your auction room.
CATHERINE: It's right by the river.
This is lovely.
PAUL: It beckons.
VO: The man with gavel today is Michael Hall, so what does he make of our experts' lots?
(GAVEL) I think the sewed work sampler is probably the best of the items brought in.
There's so much going on in it, and it's got a nice strawberry border.
The stilton scoop is in good condition, which helps all these items, condition-wise is important.
VO: Settle down, folks.
How are the old nerves, then, Paul?
The knee barometer.
I know.
I can feel it, I can feel the vibration on the knees.
VO: First up, Catherine's Indian carved occasional table.
£10 for the table?
10 for it.
10 is bid.
At 10 for the table.
Any more, at 10.
At £10.
More surely.
There's a lot of work in it.
It is a lot of work!
Are we all finished?
It'll sell at 10.
No other bids then, at 10.
(GAVEL) CATHERINE: Oh... That's a bad start.
VO: Looks like the luck penny didn't work after all.
That was your weakest link.
Put to bed, move on.
From now on, it's stratospheric.
VO: Wise words Paul, and fitting, as your riskiest punt is up next: the tea set.
This is my risk.
This is it.
I can start the offers at £16.
At £16 against you.
17, 18, 19, 20, 21.
Any more?
Oh no!
No, it's going up.
Good.
24, 25, 26.
VO: Och, he's going up by the pound!
30.
You've got two people.
30.
At 31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
VO: Pound by pound bidding... We could be here for a while.
40.
41.
42.
Bump the increments, bump the increments.
You're doing it, you're doing it.
This could really climb.
49.
50.
52.
54.
VO: Oh hang on!
He's going up in two pounds now!
64.
66.
68.
70.
How do you start at £16 and get up here?
80.
82.
How do you do that, Paul Laidlaw?
How do you do that?
£90.
At £90, all finished at £90, it goes now.
(GAVEL) Well done, you, that's brilliant.
I survived it.
I'm still here.
(LAUGHS) VO: Thankfully that's a profit for Paul after all of that.
VO: Who needs their oatcakes toasted, eh?
Catherine's Harnen stand's up next.
£10?
Oh no.
We'll start at five then.
Five is bid.
At £5, anyone, at five.
At six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
£17.
Any more?
At 18, new bidder.
At 19.
20.
Breaking out into a hot sweat here.
23.
24.
25.
26.
At £26.
(GAVEL) Mmm!
Huh!
VO: In the right room, that niche item might have fared better.
Unlucky, Catherine.
VO: Maybe glass is more this crowd's thing.
Baluster vase, anyone?
16.
16 in the room.
At 16.
17.
18.
19.
Oh, I'm telling you, I'm aging.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
It's just amazing.
How do you do this?
34, 36.
VO: It's picking up pace again.
44.
46.
48.
50.
Two.
54.
56.
58.
60.
Two.
64.
You want to swap it?
At 64.
At £64 all finished then.
(GAVEL) Yeah, that was good!
VO: Ah, might take a while, but that's another top result.
I've warmed to this auction, I don't know about you, but this is a good auction!
VO: He's a cheeky one.
Right, can Catherine make a comeback with her bookslide?
Beautifully displayed, look at that.
(PHONE) If you want one, then this is it.
The phones are ringing, see, the phones are ringing, they're all phoning in from across the world for the bookslide!
At £20.
At 21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
Any more?
At 31.
31 in front here.
£31.
Any more?
At £31, then, it goes.
All done at £31?
All finished.
(GAVEL) That's so cheap.
That was cheap at 31.
Somebody's walking out with a big smile on their face, and it's not just me.
VO: Is that the reek of smuggery I smell, Paul?
Poor me.
I'll buy you a big cake after this.
CATHERINE: Will you?
PAUL: Will that help?
That really will.
I'm going to buy you a big cake.
If it's a really big cream cake.
VO: There's the Laidlaw we know and love.
Time for your firing glass.
16 in the room.
At 16.
Any more?
17.
18.
19.
20.
One.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
£30.
At 30.
Any more?
30 for the old wine glass.
At £30.
At £30, all finished, then, it's going at 30.
(GAVEL) Well done.
That'll do.
VO: Another profit for Paul.
VO: Will his stilton scoop see him fly further into the lead?
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
38.
Any more?
38.
39.
40.
One.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
One.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
57, any more?
CATHERINE: My goodness me, Paul, that's fantastic.
60.
61.
£61.
Nearest me, 61.
PAUL: It's got diamonds.
61.
62.
New bidder.
63.
64.
65.
66.
At £66.
All done then?
Going, last time.
(GAVEL) We have the whole of the stilton cheese society here today.
They are all bidding for that.
(LAUGHS) VO: Fantastic profit there.
Paul really has bought well.
VO: Can Catherine redeem herself with her silver buckles?
20 to start.
Oh!
20 is bid.
£20.
22.
24.
26.
28.
30.
Two.
34.
36.
38.
40.
Two.
44.
46.
Yes!
Don't stop!
No!
Please don't stop!
..for the silver buckles, at 46.
All finished?
(GAVEL) That was lean.
It was worth more than that.
So much more than that!
VO: Unfortunately, that pound profit is turned into a loss after auction costs.
Unlucky, Catherine.
OK, it's two cream cakes.
(LAUGHS) Thank you!
VO: Time for Paul's impulse buy, the beaded handbags.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
At 34, all finished?
(GAVEL) I'll get my jacket.
VO: Sit down.
You might have made yet another great profit, but we're not done yet.
VO: And up next are a couple of your muses.
At £20.
22.
24.
26.
28.
30.
32.
34.
34.
Any more?
At 34.
At 34, they'll go.
Are we all finished at £34, then, they go?
(GAVEL) That's a shame.
They deserved to do a lot better than that.
I mean, I'm glad!
(LAUGHS) VO: Hey, that's still a nice little profit, Paul.
Think of poor Catherine.
This is it.
This is my last chance to claw back something today.
VO: It's the auctioneer personal pick, Catherine's sampler.
I can start the bidding on the sampler at £50.
CATHERINE: Yeah!
PAUL: Get in!
Any more than 50 for the sampler?
At 55.
60.
65.
70.
75.
At 75.
Any more?
Keep going.
It's worth that.
At £75.
Are we all finished at 75, then?
It goes then.
(GAVEL) Short and sweet but straight in.
(SIGHS) I'm so happy.
(LAUGHS) VO: I bet you are.
A well-deserved profit to end on.
Hot date with a big cream cake.
Oh, yeah, come on, please, Paul.
Come on.
VO: Before cake, let's talk money.
VO: Catherine started this leg with £258.80.
Unfortunately she made a loss of £88.84 after paying auction costs, leaving her £169.96.
(GAVEL) VO: Paul began with £282 and made a whopping profit of £90.76 after paying auction costs.
He is today's winner and goes into the next leg in the lead, with £372.76.
PAUL: You peaked late!
CATHERINE: I peaked very late!
(LAUGHS) CATHERINE: Onwards.
VO: Toodle pip, road trippers.
VO: Next time on Antiques Road Trip: Catherine meets Sooty.
Do I buy the brooch?
I do buy the brooch!
VO: And Paul gets to know Mr Pastry.
Don't judge me!
(CHUCKLES) subtitling@stv.tv
Support for PBS provided by: