antiques experts... Let the Road Trip begin!

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

IZZIE: Ooh!

DAVID: You hit the roof then!

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

Pump yourself up... with antiques.

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

But it's no mean feat.

That's a top job, isn't it?

VO: There'll be worthy winners... AUCTIONEER: £400.

RAJ: Fantastic!

VO: ..and valiant losers.

I'm screaming on the inside.

VO: Will it be the high road to glory...

The gloves are off.

VO: ..or the slow road to disaster?

The gearbox has gone!

VO: This is the Antiques Road Trip!

Nice!

VO: Whee!

We're flying through Norfolk this morning.

And catching the thermals - possibly even wearing them - it's antiques experts, dealer Irita Marriott and auctioneer Phil Serrell.

And every day is a school day.

PHIL: So it's es... IRITA: Yeah.

PHIL: ..esmu... IRITA: Yeah.

PHIL: ..skaista... IRITA: Yeah.

PHIL: ..puke.

IRITA: Yeah!

PHIL: Es esmu... IRITA: I am strong as oak.

VO: Not in my Latvian phrase book!

So that will empower you to go and find those amazing antiques and stay strong and have willpower.

VO: She speaks with forked tongue, Phil.

VO: Phil cut a dash last time.

I reckon I could carry this off, you know.

VO: But despite a confident approach to the auction...

There we go.

My car's bigger than your car.

VO: ..his hopes were eventually pickled.

It could have been worse.

How?

VO: Irita, however, walked a tightrope and even got down on her knees before her cup runneth over.

Well, I ain't going to grumble with that.

VO: Time for more useful Latvian phrases.

Cik?

How much?

I like that.

I think that covers all angles, that does.

Nobody in the shop will understand.

I might not find a Latvian shopkeeper.

(CHUCKLES) Well, I think your chances are pretty slim.

VO: Me, too.

In that fine '70s Aston Martin, our polyglot and her pupil are meandering up the east of the country to find a final auction reckoning in Northumberland, and they'll be scouring for bargains all the way.

What's your plan then, Irita?

Buy what I like.

That is always my plan.

If I love it, I buy it.

What about you?

See, I don't think anybody's got a warped mind like I have.

Right?

The Serrell mind is a troubled place.

VO: Calling Dr Freud!

At the last auction, Phil made a modest profit on the £200 he started with.

Ha-ha!

Actually, he has £209.66 in his budget.

Irita added a little more than Phil to her 200, and sets out today with £219.10.

Veiksmi.

That means good luck, by the way, in Latvian.

PHIL: I think I'm going to buy a plow and turn it into a coffee table.

(CHUCKLES) That will go down well.

Revert to type.

(CHUCKLES) VO: Well, it's a brand-new day and anything is possible.

It's time to part company.

Their end destination this time is Doncaster.

But first, Irita's dropping Phil at Castle Acre, which boasts a gate, and a fine motte and bailey castle and ramparts dating back to the Norman Conquest.

There's nothing that old at Castle Antiques & Collectables, but there's plenty for Phil to unearth.

And possibly a plow or some such to make that coffee table out of.

Here he is.

Get rummaging in that salvage.

Do you know, everywhere you look here, there's interesting things.

And that's a cool thing, isn't it?

So that is...

It is a...

It's clearly a dolphin.

And the dolphin kind of features a lot in all sorts of antique things.

You get vases with dolphin feet.

Erm... And this is made out of bronze.

And what's lovely is you've not just got the knocker, you've got the... the striking plate, as well.

How old is it?

Well...

I suspect not that old.

And, actually, there's a clue.

Cuz it says here, handmade by somebody from Malta.

But...

I keep saying it, in the antique world, you sell a look.

And I think that's got a look.

I really like that.

Don't know how much it is, there's no price ticket on it.

But I'm going to take that in with me.

Just worth one final look around, see if I can see anything else.

VO: See you later.

VO: We're off to catch up with Irita, who's 30 miles to the west... in Wisbech, where Granny's Cupboard looks just like her kind of place - shelves groaning, jam-packed with possibles.

Hello, there!

Oh, hello.

What a shop.

This looks like a bit of me.

Well, I'm pleased to hear that.

VO: Told you so.

Right, get in amongst all that stuff.

Oh, blimey, this is full.

Love that.

Oh!

Now, look around, there's porcelain from 1900s.

Few bits from 1800s.

Now, imagine finding something that dates from 1780s.

There it is.

These are so, so rare to find.

I mean, in the last eight years I've been dealing, I think I've handled three or four.

That's how rare they are.

And they actually originate from next door to me, Stoke-on-Trent, from a Wealden factory.

So, basically, these are designed and colored to copy tortoiseshell, hence the colors of green, yellowy-browny.

There is one thing that is not so good about this plate - but to be fair, I don't mind it - and that is the rivets.

It has been broken at some point, and it has been riveted back up.

It was all done by hand tools.

I mean, that is a skill.

You would think, "Oh, it's damaged."

But in my eyes, that's quite beautiful.

They have restored it to its original glory, and I think that is just so nice.

£35.

In my eyes, bargain.

I ain't even putting this down, because if I do, somebody else might snap it up.

I'm taking it with me.

VO: Yeah, and I believe that Wealden ware is big in Wisbech.

Ha-ha!

Anything else?

Now, who on Earth needs a tap?

I surely don't.

VO: Someone with a barrel of beer, cider or even whisky.

This one was made by Farrow & Jackson, a company begun by a Norfolk man in the early 1800s.

This one's not that old though.

This has a lockable lock.

So that means that when you closed it... ..and locked the key... ..you couldn't get to the drink in there.

I mean, that must have been one special drink... ..to be locked away, literally.

And I've never seen one.

But does that lock make it worth £65, when one without the lock would be only worth a fiver?

Well, I reckon that might be a question that we need to take a gamble on.

VO: I think Irita is the gambling type.

Meanwhile, has Phil salvaged anything else back at Castle Acre?

Those are interesting.

Put my dolphin down.

I love these.

Ooh, isn't that sweet?

Look.

So this is just a little sewing accessory.

So you've got your tape measure there.

There's our pincushion.

And it's all formed as a little stool.

How sweet is that?

You know... ..sewing items are really quite collectable.

And that hatpin...

So, is this silver?

Yes, that's silver.

It's Chester silver... and it's got the magic monogram CH, or the initials CH on it.

CH is Charles Horner.

Hugely collectable.

So we've got the bit of Charles Horner... ..and the little pincushion, and we've got our dolphin door knocker.

And the beauty of this is that I can either put the pincushion and the Charles Horner hatpin as one lot or two.

And the door knocker is clearly one lot, but it's all down to price.

VO: None of the items are ticketed.

PHIL: Les.

LES: Yes, mate.

How are you doing, alright?

Yeah, I'm fine.

Yeah.

We've got a Charles Horner hatpin, we got this little kind of sewing accessory tape measure thing.

And... and this door knocker.

The old dolphin.

And I wouldn't mind buying the three off you as kind of a package, if I could.

Yeah, I can do you a deal on those.

PHIL: Can you?

LES: Yeah.

90 quid.

I reckon that's me done, Les.

80 quid.

LES: Well... PHIL: Can you do that?

PHIL: Go on.

LES: I can do that.

You're a gentleman.

OK, thank you very much indeed.

VO: More than generous.

15 for the sewing kit, 30 for the door knocker, and 35 for the hatpin.

And Phil's off.

VO: Back at Wisbech, what's the story with Irita?

Gosh, there's lots of goodies here.

There's bound to be something good, something a bit unusual.

Oh, what about that?

What have we got here?

Something that looks Indian.

The decoration is beautiful.

It isn't just the pendant that is silver, it's the whole entire thing, so the strap itself has been made out of silver wire.

So if you've ever braided a child's hair, you know how hard of a work that actually is.

And this is basically the tiniest little strands, individual hairs which are silver, braided the whole entire length.

Indian silver is very rarely marked, and if it is, it will be marked with 800, which is also known as continental silver.

Now, I don't think this has any marks at all on it.

Not that I can see.

And it looks like this bottom bit is a locket.

If I could get in it, that would be alright.

Nope, not a chance.

It's a little bit stiff.

And the decoration on the front is so, so typical.

And even the lock.

I mean, look at... Look how that works.

It's quite sophisticated.

And it's £60.

It's missing a few bells at the end.

I mean, but how many of these do you see?

VO: Sounds like time to talk to Richard.

DEALER: Hello.

IRITA: What a place you got.

Oh, thank you.

I have come up with three things that I quite fancy, but it's all gonna come down to the price, really... DEALER: Yep.

IRITA: ..for me to decide, which one out of the three am I going to buy?

One is the plate.

Yep, the Wealden.

The Wealden one, yeah.

IRITA: That was priced at 35.

DEALER: Yeah, we'll do... Where could that one be, please?

DEALER: 30.

IRITA: OK. That's a yes, then.

There was a tap.

You know the one with the lock?

DEALER: I do, the unusual one.

IRITA: What could that be?

DEALER: 55.

IRITA: Also, er, IRITA: there's this locket.

DEALER: The Indian silver... Locket, yeah.

£60.

50 for the pendant.

Tell you what, you go large or you go home - I'll have all three.

Thank you very much.

VO: £135 down, £84.10 left.

They're fairly splashing it about today.

Tally-ho.

VO: Phil's away east to Norfolk's wetlands, where, at Watatunga nature reserve, 170 acres is dedicated to the conservation of endangered species.

David Waters is director of a program which has reintroduced a bird long extinct in the UK.

David, how are you doing?

Hello, there, Phil.

Yeah, very good, thank you.

Yes.

There's something here that you want to show me.

There's one bird, quite literally, up and above all the others - the great bustard.

And the great bustard lives here.

Come on, let's go and have a look.

VO: On his wildlife safari today, Phil might also encounter deer, antelope or pheasant.

But it's been 200 years since he'd have encountered a great bustard, as the world's heaviest flying bird was last sighted in Norfolk in the 1830s.

PHIL: When was the heyday of the great bustard?

They probably reached their highest population in the... sort of the early middle ages or the dark ages.

Yeah.

That's when there was the most agriculture, cuz they're really a bird of agricultural land.

They don't like forests and things like that.

So they don't perch in trees or anything like that?

No, they're tridactyl - a clever way of saying they've just got three toes... Yeah.

..all facing forward.

So they've got no...

So, if they're on a branch, they'd fall off.

They can't perch on anything at all.

VO: Great bustards were often on the menu for nobles and royalty.

48 of them were served up to Henry VIII and the King of France at a feast in 1532.

But while agricultural changes - including enclosure - eventually caused decline, the main factor in eventual extinction was human persecution.

The final nails in the coffin of the English great bustards were the ones fired by the Victorian collectors.

They...

If they wanted to study birds as ornithologists, they just collected them.

They collected the eggs, but they collected the birds, as well.

VO: In the 1990s, David founded the Great Bustard Group to bring back the species to Britain.

There's two of them there.

Can we go and have a look?

Let's go up closer.

(BIRD BARKS) What?

(BIRD BARKS) PHIL: Really?

VO: Don't know who's the cheekier!

DAVID: So, once a year, the males gather up, and it's kind of like the bustard disco, and they turn into this huge white puffball.

The males sort out who's the biggest and the best or the toughest or whatever.

And then a little bit later, when the females are interested, that top male will mate with most of the females.

What, the others don't get a look in?

Nope.

They are, yes, somewhat worn out at the end of that and then it'll... then it'll swap round.

But after the mating season, the males, they just strut around.

They do look good in their breeding plumage.

They've got a lot of red down the front, a huge mustache, which, of course, always looks good.

PHIL: Yeah.

OK, I've got that.

DAVID: (CHUCKLES) VO: At Watatunga, Phil can get up close and personal with one of these rare birds.

Maybe not too close.

So, having established that you want to bring them back into this country... Yeah.

..how did you bring them back in?

So effect...

It was an egg rescue program in Russia and then an egg collection in Spain, all under the right government licenses and so on.

Get the eggs back to the UK, rear the chicks - and that's quite involved.

And then we release them, keeping the chicks as wild as we possibly can.

He looks pretty wild.

Has... Has he got a name?

Er, his name's, oddly enough, Dave.

PHIL: Dave, Dave... DEALER: Er, Dave.

Yes.

VO: At their other site in Salisbury, the project has had success in rearing bustards to live in the wild - a process involving distancing the birds from human contact.

They're breeding and we've got the second and third generations coming along.

And we very much hope, with our project partners here at Watatunga, that these birds - and Dave - will breed, and then we can use their chicks as a basis for starting another wild population here in Norfolk.

It's how do we rear the chicks without them thinking... PHIL: You're Mum.

DAVID: ..we're Mum.

Right.

How do you do that?

Well, if you're up for it, if you look in the bag there, you'll find... What, here?

..a dehumanization costume.

They're only used for little small chicks in the spring.

Which is the front, which is the back?

There's a gray... Gray side to the front.

VO: Oh, dear.

You've...

Effectively you've got no legs, you've got no arms.

When you're in that suit, you're a different color back and front.

And humans just don't do that.

We're always top and bottom.

VO: Oh.

There's more.

This...

The little chick or eldest chick thinks this is Mum.

And it means that basically you can feed it and... and it thinks its mum is not a human, basically.

That's the important bit.

Yep.

Yeah.

And then when you release them and you stop exposing them to that costume and those puppets... Yeah.

..they live out and about as wild birds, and they don't come up to people and expect food or all that sort of thing...

I think it's time for me to... Slip into something less formal.

PHIL: Yeah, yeah.

DAVID: Yep.

VO: Ha-ha!

So, thanks to the Great Bustard Group and their partners here at Watatunga, these magnificent birds are back in these parts after 200 years.

Yeah.

Now it's time for Phil to fly.

VO: Meanwhile, our mother hen has been making her way north to King's Lynn... one of the country's biggest ports in the middle ages, trading with cities of the North Sea and the Baltic.

Irita will be trading at Old Granary Antiques, tucked away in a lane, packed to the gunwales with antiques and vintage.

And Ruth is in charge today.

So what's here that might have Irita's name on it?

You OK, Mr Phil?

Yeah?

You had a good day?

VO: Well, he's bonnier than Phil.

That's a bit unusual.

VO: Is that a boomerang?

Now, these things are incredibly hard to date... ..because there's no real way of doing so.

How do you value that?

VO: Not my specialty.

It's really a bit of a stab in the dark, because it all depends on whether the collector who wants to buy it believes it's the real deal or not.

This one is priced at £52.

And I think that might have some potential.

VO: Yeah.

Well, let's keep looking.

That, very much so, excites me.

These were made in the 1930s, specifically for Dunhill.

You would have put your matches in, in the little holes, to make a little Mohican on him.

And here is your striker.

These were designed by Henry Howell.

But the thing that makes them immensely collectable is the beak.

Let me put my torch on and this is how you tell whether something is amber.

Can you see the little veins running through?

That is all natural.

Look at that.

Look at that beautiful cherry amber being lit up.

That red shows me and tells me that the beak is definitely original and it is made out of cherry amber.

Cherry amber is one of the best ambers there is.

I am in love.

Now, this is definitely not a copy because it has the actual impressed mark at the bottom.

And it says, "Trademark YZ, made in England" and it has the original registration number.

It's a steal at £40.

It's a no-brainer for me.

VO: Yeah, well spotted, Irita.

Hello, Ruth.

Hello, there.

I have fallen in love with the wee birdie.

Can you believe it?

Yes, I can, cuz I quite like it myself.

Do you?

It's priced at £40.

Right.

Is there any maneuver in that?

Erm, 28.

Well, I ain't haggling with that.

28 it is.

VO: I think that was a bit of a snip at £28.

Right, thank you.

Thank you.

VO: Good work, Irita.

Now it's time to collect Phil and catch up.

I've had a good day, actually.

I've really, really enjoyed it.

Messed around with some silly bustards.

Um, but it was good fun.

I'm a happy bunny!

But I'll be even happier once I'm fed and watered.

VO: Who wouldn't be?

Bon appetit!

And good morning, Lincolnshire, where the Aston Martin glides like a dream on those straight, flat roads.

Oh, there's a ditch.

Woohoo!

PHIL: See, I'm... IRITA: Ooh, well avoided.

VO: So what's on their minds?

I'll tell you a little secret, right... IRITA: Go on, then.

PHIL: I've sneaked with us PHIL: a bacon sandwich.

IRITA: Have you?

PHIL: Yeah.

Indeed... IRITA: In your pocket?

This is an old trick my dad used to teach me, right?

If you want to keep a bacon sandwich hot... Yeah?

..pop it in the engine.

VO: What?!

IRITA: No!

PHIL: My bacon sandwich.

IRITA: Can't... PHIL: Always be prepared.

It...

I can't believe there's actually a sandwich in there!

Yeah.

So if you pull that out, is it still warm?

It is really warm.

Ahh!

Ahh.

Well, if it wasn't smoky bacon in there before, there's definitely smoky bacon now.

OK, OK, so...

So, don't get grease on the bonnet.

VO: Don't try this at home, folks.

Hey, guess what?

What?

You've cut it in two.

Yeah.

Aw, Phil, thanks.

Sharing is caring.

Mm!

What?

VO: (GIGGLES) What next?

Fried egg on the bonnet?

Yesterday, Irita spent up on a Wealden plate, a silver locket, a tap or spigot, and a Dunhill striker, but has £56.10 left.

Phil still has £129.66 after shelling out for a silver hatpin, a dolphin door knocker and a Victorian pincushion sewing accessory.

I love that!

And it's got a little tape measure underneath, look.

Oh, Phil, I love it.

How much did you pay for that?

What do you think?

35, 40 quid?

It was £15.

15?!

PHIL: Yeah.

IRITA: That's a bargain.

VO: They're on their way to the same shop this morning, in the village of Navenby, on the old Roman Ermine Street.

It's the high street they're bound for, and Navenby Antiques Centre, where the wares of 30 dealers and owner Laura await them.

And the time starts now.

Grand Tour souvenir.

So if you would have gone on a holiday in the late 1800s, this is probably what you would have ended up coming home with.

It is basically a carved shell.

What we refer to as cameo.

And you know how you see little brooches, earrings, little pendants carved out of shells?

Basically, this is it.

Just a larger version of it.

And it's quite a good quality one.

And as bigger they get, as more valuable they are.

And when you have full ones, you often see that there's a hole drilled on the base and little bronze legs or brass legs put on the bottom and used as lamps.

Cuz when that lights up, it just stands out and glows.

Literally.

I like that.

It is £29.

I can afford it.

And I think that's cheap.

Now, what do you reckon?

Is that going to make me some money?

VO: Ooh, a good chance, I'd say.

Hello, there, Laura.

Oh, Irita.

Hi.

I'm coming to shell out.

Hey!

Good, very good.

You... You like my shell joke?

At least somebody does.

£29, any maneuver on that?

The best we could do on that, Irita, would be 24.

I'm not going to argue with that.

Let me get my cash out.

See, I'm an easy dealer.

Now that was quick and straightforward and easy... IRITA: I know!

DEALER: ..wasn't it?

No messing around.

Here's the money.

VO: With her auction items in the bag, that's Irita finished shopping, but Phil's still on the hunt.

Look at this.

So this is a piece of English silver.

And I can tell you that that little oval... cartouche there has got the initials AEJ in them, and that's AE Jones, who was a really good kind of arts and crafts silversmith.

This is later.

This is 1950, assayed in Birmingham.

But it's got that look, there's just a little bit of attention to detail.

Look at how this terminal, this ring terminal here splits and you've got a ball in the middle of it.

And just look at the... Look at the way that turns up.

I think that's really nice.

At auction it's probably going to make... Don't know.

Perhaps £40-£50, something like that.

But I think that's just a really nice thing.

I like that.

I'm going to put that on the table because that might be something I want to see if I can have a deal on.

VO: The spoon is priced at £45 and it looks like he's digging in for the duration.

So let's leave him to it and follow his traveling companion.

Irita is in the village of Horncastle, traveling in the footsteps of an unsung hero of scientific exploration.

At a new center dedicated to Sir Joseph Banks, Irita's meeting curator Paul Scott to hear about the man responsible for a giant leap in recording and cataloging the natural world.

The tropical garden here is a tribute to this early plant collector, a keen naturalist from a young age.

He left Eton and went to Christchurch, Oxford... Hm.

..and studied botany.

And when he left Oxford, his grand tour was... was a trip to Newfoundland on a fisheries protection vessel.

So all the way across the Atlantic to study the flora and fauna of Newfoundland.

He was there for about six months and he brought back hundreds and hundreds of specimens... Hm.

..and... and so it was a huge success.

VO: By the time he was 24, Banks was well established in scientific circles and had been made a fellow of the Royal Society.

Banks very quickly realized who the movers and shakers were within the Royal Society, so it wasn't long before he realized that there was an expedition being planned - a major, major expedition.

It was hugely significant because it was the very first scientific voyage, and Banks paid £10,000 of his own money into the voyage.

And I think it's probably fair to say that that clinched it - that was a huge sum of money... IRITA: So... PAUL: ..in 1767.

So, really, he bought his space, in a way.

He bought his passage, in that respect.

PAUL: Yes, he certainly did.

IRITA: Yeah.

VO: That's 1.7 million in today's money.

Endeavour, commanded by James Cook, spent three years sailing to the Pacific Islands, New Zealand and Australia.

Today, Banks' record of the people and natural world of the southern hemisphere is an undeniably impressive scientific achievement, even though the expedition itself is now tainted by the actions associated with colonial voyages of the time.

It was very dangerous.

Hm.

Banks' party of eight, for example, only two came back.

Six died.

This was a moon-shot of the Georgian period, really.

All the amazing things that they brought back with them, things that Europeans had never seen before.

Amazing plants, animals that...that were just so different - like a kangaroo.

Can you imagine Europeans seeing a kangaroo for the very first time?

What would they have thought of that?

But the real success of the voyage was the opening up, I suppose, of new worlds to Europeans, to the European eyes.

VO: The voyage landed at Botany Bay - named for Banks, who collected more than 7,000 specimens - illustrated by Sydney Parkinson, a young Scottish artist who sadly died en route home.

Banks was a celebrity, going on to spend 41 years as president of the Royal Society, using his wealth and influence to encourage scientific exploration and advancement.

Banks followed that up in his later years, when he was director of...the unofficial director of Kew Gardens.

Really working for the king, working for King George, who wanted the best botanic gardens in the world.

And Banks set his stall out to give him just that.

And so he was sponsoring plant hunters and people who are going on expeditions and the Royal Navy and the East India Company to bring specimens back for Kew Gardens.

VO: Intending to publish Parkinson's illustrations, Banks had 800 copper plates made of his drawings.

But these lay in the British Museum for 200 years before finally being printed.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the museum and a company called Editions Alecto actually recreated the prints, and they had to bring experts and people from all over the world to do this.

People who understood what colors the Georgians were using and the natural ingredients they used, to actually make these colors, and the types of paper and the techniques for printing.

It was a...

It was like rediscovering how to print these things.

Mm.

Um, but they did it.

It took them many years, but they produced these amazing pictures that are now in the Joseph Banks' Florilegium.

Which, as you probably know, now sells for hundreds and hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Oh, yes.

I would like to find one of those on the road trip.

Yes, I'm sure you would!

VO: Banks died in 1820, leaving instructions that there was to be no ceremony or monument to remember his life - only that his contribution to science should speak for itself.

VO: Back at Navenby, where he's laid aside that fine silver spoon, Phil is taking his time amongst the cabinets.

So, what have we got here?

Well, imagine this being that high, made out of mahogany.

Circa 1765, 1770.

And when you open the lid up, there's little compartments in there for cutlery.

And it's a nice box.

You would have stored your really expensive, Worcester-handled, pistol-grip knives and forks in a box like this.

And then what happened in the 19th century, as cutlery like that ceased to become used, the innards got ripped out, and people put divisions in these boxes to turn them into stationery boxes.

But this is...this is neither of those.

This is just a little reproduction.

Probably...early part of the 20th century.

And it's been made into just... Well, I don't know what it's for.

Possibly you might have kept cigarettes in it.

It might have been a cigarette box.

It might have been a card box.

But it's got this beautiful serpentine shape.

You've got a bit of a shake with the veneer on the top.

Always look for these to see if there's any damage to the hinges.

But I think that's a pretty little thing that kind of stands merit on its own.

VO: It's priced at £48, and that silver spoon he fancied earlier was 45.

Time to talk to Laura.

The spoon by AE Jones is nice.

It would be lovely if it was perhaps 30 years older but, you know, it's a...

But it then wouldn't be whatever... Wouldn't be £45!

And I love the little knife box.

Yeah.

Not quite sure what on Earth you'd ever use it for.

I know.

But isn't it beautifully made?

PHIL: Yeah, it's sweet isn't it?

DEALER: Yeah.

DEALER: Yeah.

PHIL: It's sweet.

I wouldn't mind buying them both off you, if I could.

PHIL: And do you know what?

DEALER: OK.

There's a kind of symmetry here, you know, because if I could give you £35 for the spoon and £35 for the knife box, which I know is a good discount, but it kind of...

It fits a really nice symmetry, don't you think?

(CHUCKLES) I like your style here.

I like your style.

I'm trying hard, I tell you.

Oh!

Yeah.

I could certainly do 35 on the spoon.

Yeah.

48, 40.

Go on, Phil.

Give you a fighting chance.

Yep, we'll do 35.

You're an angel.

Right, I'm gonna pay you quick before you change your mind!

So there's 20, 40, 60, five and 70.

You're a star.

Thank you very much indeed.

Thank you, and good luck with the items.

I'll go and put them in the boot of the car.

DEALER: Alright.

PHIL: See you soon, now.

DEALER: Bye!

PHIL: Bye-bye.

VO: £35 apiece.

Very good.

Right, get your motor running, Phil.

Time to collect Irita.

Look at that lot on that fire!

What a... PHIL: We could've bought that!

IRITA: Hey!

That's a Loom chair!

PHIL: I know.

IRITA: That was a Loom chair.

VO: Sacrilege!

PHIL: It's now a burnt Lloyd Loom chair.

IRITA: Oh!

Well, I can't believe it.

That was 20 quid's worth, right there.

Yeah.

I've bought worse things than that on the Road Trip.

VO: Who hasn't, Phil?

Ha-ha!

Sweet dreams, eh?

VO: And Irita and Phil have landed in auction day after leaving Lincolnshire and journeying north to Doncaster.

IRITA: Look at this bad boy.

Oh, auction time!

Come on, hop out.

VO: They'll be watching their items being auctioned... IRITA: Come on, Phil!

VO: ..from the South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum, which houses a fabulous collection of planes dating from the first years of flight to more modern jets and helicopters.

PHIL: Isn't this a cool place?

IRITA: Very cool!

VO: Meanwhile, their purchases have flown further north, to Newcastle upon Tyne, to go under the hammer at Thomas N Miller.

Bidding will be in the room, online and by phone, and the auctioneer today is Guy Macklam.

Irita's spent £187 on five lots.

What has Guy got his eye on?

GUY: The art-deco match striker is a really good object.

These don't appear at auctions very often.

This one, I think, is a really nice thing.

VO: Ah!

I think that birdie will fly.

Phil spent 150 on his five lots.

Guy?

Arts and crafts items always sell well, and this little spoon, I think, will do really well today.

Good make.

Good design.

Has real quality to it, so this should do quite well.

VO: Are they ready for take-off at Doncaster?

I feel like James Bond when he flew in on one of these, didn't he?

Do you remember?

What was it called?

What we should do is, the loser... PHIL: Off you go in this.

IRITA: Er... PHIL: What do you reckon?

IRITA: No.

PHIL: No?

No.

IRITA: No.

VO: First to fly or sink is Phil's dolphin door knocker.

£30 is bid.

35 is bid... Straight in, Phil!

40 is... 40 is bid.

Don't stop there, internet.

Come along.

Please, push on...

Yes, come along, internet!

Any advance at £40 for the lot, then?

All out in the room.

The buyer here... IRITA: Come on.

GUY: ..at 40.

This is your last chance, online.

At 40.

Well, that was knocked in and out, weren't it?

VO: Well, he landed a profit.

So I've just made £10 on that.

Yeah.

That's not going to win me the trip, is it?

Well, you never know.

It all adds up.

VO: Sh!

Is that the sound of the sea?

Must be Irita's carved shell.

I've got 65 bid.

Whoa!

Got 65 here on this screen.

All sure?

Any advance?

I've got a buyer here on the internet at 65.

Are we all out elsewhere?

At 65, this is your last chance.

Hey, I'm not complaining... Oh!

Well, I'm absolutely PHIL: delighted for you.

IRITA: Woo-hoo-hoo!

Aw, thank you.

Well, your face kind of says something else... (THEY CHUCKLE) VO: She did do rather well there.

What's interesting is, you know, I wouldn't have bought that.

VO: Each to their own.

He did buy the silver hatpin, and it's next.

Collectable silver lot here, for only 10.

10 bid.

Thank you.

Any advance on only £10?

I'm just going to get in this and go off the edge of a cliff somewhere.

Any advance?

At 10 for the lot then.

Come along, internet.

Where's the internet bidders gone?

I've got £10 offered.

All done?

Are we sure?

No!

Make an offer.

At £10, we sell.

What's going on?

£10?

VO: Ouch!

It was lovely too.

Well, I would've thought you could melt that for more than £10.

VO: Indeed.

And will Irita's silver fare any better?

Her locket is up now.

Have a look, please.

20, five.

30, five.

40 to the net.

Any advance at 40?

Against you at the back, I'm afraid, I've got 40 here on this screen.

Jump in now, bid 45.

Come on, Mr Auctioneer.

Any advance?

At 40 bid.

I've got 45 on this screen first.

Jump in now.

I've got £45 here already.

Any advance at 45?

Out in the room.

45 hammer.

Sold to the net at £45.

Oh, bogies!

I don't think you should say "oh, bogies".

VO: She "picked" the word carefully.

I don't think it's a day for silver, do you?

I'm pretty sure you're right, there.

VO: Well, is it a day for Phil's tiny Victorian sewing kit?

It's next.

20, five.

30... See?

Straight in profit!

£30 to the net.

All sure in the room?

£30 for the lot then.

IRITA: Come on!

GUY: Buying at 30.

Do not put that hammer down!

This is your last chance, online.

At £30 we sell.

(GAVEL) I know you made a profit, but I'm gutted!

VO: Oh, come on!

After the hatpin, it's a triumph.

I thought it might do a little bit better than that.

Mm, I thought it was going to do, like, three times as much.

VO: Under the hammer now, it's Irita's tap or spigot.

Where do we say?

£20 was the estimate.

£10 to start me.

£10, any bidding?

10 bid.

Thank you for that.

I've got £10 offered.

Come on!

Work your socks off for this.

£10 offered, all done?

Are you bidding 12, internet?

This is your last call, at only £10.

This is your last chance.

Last chance at 10.

Oh, lordy!

VO: That's about the size of it.

Disappointing, eh?

Maybe a little bit.

VO: Maybe the wind will change for Phil now with his knife box.

18 offered.

20 bid, is bid first.

I've got 20 here.

Take five in the room now.

£20 to the internet bidder.

At 20 for the lot, all done?

Any advance in the room?

IRITA: No!

GUY: £20 will buy it.

This is your last chance.

Last call then.

Not last chance!

At £20, we're away.

I think that my future probably lies in cookery programs.

VO: (CHUCKLES) Only if the benchmark's a bacon sandwich cooked in a car engine.

Disappointment again for Phil.

That's a bummer, that is, isn't it?

That is a bummer.

Yeah.

VO: Maybe Irita's Wealden plate will serve up a winner.

14 offered, 16 bid.

IRITA: 14?!

GUY: Is there any advance?

Have a look at this plate, please, for 16.

Harder to find.

GUY: I've got 18 bid.

IRITA: (GROANS) I've got 20 on the net.

20, to the internet bidder.

Oh!

All out in the room.

£20 for the lot then.

Hitting estimate here at 20.

This is your last call.

For £20, we sell.

See, I think that's really unfortunate.

I mean, unfortunate for you.

Possibly fortunate for me!

VO: Well, possibly.

She's another tenner down.

Can't buy a brand new plate for £20, never mind one that's 250 years old.

Yeah, you were unlucky there, kid.

Yeah.

VO: They're both having bad luck.

Maybe Phil's last lot, the silver spoon, can change his fortunes.

And I'm bid £40.

GUY: £45 offered.

IRITA: Hey!

You're in profit!

..for lot number 95.

Any advance?

At 45.

Was it 50?

At £45 here on this screen.

All sure in front?

Take another bid in front.

45 here on the internet.

This is your last call, internet.

At £45, we sell.

(GAVEL) PHIL: That kind of deserved better than a tenner, I think.

It did.

VO: I agree.

I think that was really cheap.

VO: It's the last lot now.

Will Irita's Dunhill striker be the winner she thinks it is?

70, five.

80, five.

£85.

Come along, internet.

IRITA: Come on...

GUY: Push forward now, at £85.

Click the button.

90 bid.

95.

100 offered.

110.

GUY: Any advance on £110?

IRITA: Yes!

I'll take another bid in the room.

I've got 110 on this screen.

Don't hang around, internet.

IRITA: Come on.

Come along, 120.

130.

At 130, we keep going.

140, 150... Oh, oh!

Push on, online.

At £150.

Well done, you.

GUY: All done at 150?

IRITA: Hey!

We've got 150 for it today.

This is your last call.

Last chance to the internet bidder.

Last chance.

At £150, we sell.

IRITA: Ha-ha!

PHIL: Well done, you!

IRITA: 150!

Whoo... PHIL: That's good.

Well done you.

Well, it's more than 100, so I'm definitely happy.

VO: Well done, Irita, for spotting that birdie.

I am actually quite pleased for you, because it's rewarded your knowledge and it's rewarded the item.

IRITA: Hm.

It was a good thing.

PHIL: Yeah.

VO: It was.

Well, as I think you're the winner, do you want the red one or the blue one?

Oh, don't be ridiculous!

We've got a gold one outside.

IRITA: Come on.

PHIL: Go on, then.

VO: Phil hit turbulence and went into a spin, leaving him - after saleroom fees - with a new total of £178.56.

VO: However, Irita flew away, soaring to a new total - after auction costs - of £269.90.

But there's always next time.

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