VO: The nation's favorite antiques experts, £200 each and one big challenge.

Well, duck, do I buy you or don't I?

VO: Who can make the most money, buying and selling antiques, as they scour the UK?

Yee-ha!

VO: The aim is, trade up and hope that each antique turns a profit.

But it's not as easy as it looks, and dreams of glory can end in tatters.

DEALER: 60.

PHIL: Get out of here!

VO: So will it be the fast lane to success or the slow road to bankruptcy?

I'm gonna go and cry!

VO: This is the Antiques Road Trip.

Yeah!

VO: We're on the road again in a cool 1965 Triumph TR4 with a fine pair of auctioneers - Philip Serrell and Jonathan Pratt.

Philip Serrell is an old hand at this antiques road tripping - he won't mind me saying that.

A man who's never afraid to say it like it is.

PHILIP (PS): I'd like to give you 10 quid for that, 70 quid for the two.

HOW much?!

VO: Ha-ha!

But Philip doesn't like to travel alone, so he's brought his best man with him, fellow auctioneer and bright young spark, Jonathan Pratt.

JONATHAN (JP): You're mad!

Absolutely mad!

VO: Oh dear.

But sadly, Jonathan has not shined on the auction field.

In fact, he's lost lots and lots of money.

This isn't going so well, JP, is it?

Selling at 12.

Oh, Philip!

I wanna go and cry!

Don't quite know what to say now, JP.

(SNORTS) VO: And from his original £200, Jonathan has a mere £126.72 to stage a fightback with.

VO: Philip, meanwhile, has fared rather better.

Five.

Selling at £60.

At £150.

VO: So, in finer fettle, Philip has homegrown his £200 to a blossoming £366.62 to take out on the road once more.

PS: Well, JP, how do you reckon it's gone so far?

JP: Do you really want me to answer that question, honestly?

No, actually.

There are some things in life that don't need asking.

VO: This week, our chaps are journeying all the way from Cockermouth to Wilmslow.

On this leg, they're sadly leaving gorgeous Donny, heading to a crunch auction in Lincoln.

Pretty painterly Gainsborough is the first pin in our map.

PS: Is there a plan?

JP: Oh!

Oh look, there's got to be a masterplan.

VO: Gainsborough's been here for a bit with a market held every Tuesday for about 800 years or so, give or take a century.

PS: Is this it?

JP: Squeeze in.

PS: That looks fabulous, doesn't it?

Could have some fun in here, Philip.

There we go, right.

VO: Not sure you've got time for any fun, Jonathan.

Remember all that money you don't currently have?

I almost got very excited then.

I did.

Yeah, but that's been the story of my life for a long while.

VO: Cheer up.

You lucky chaps have safely landed in Gainsborough's wonderful Pilgrim Antiques with Michael and, er, Michael, here to help.

If there's no price, does it mean it's free?

It does, it certainly does, yeah.

Yeah.

So these would have been produced round about what?

18... ..80, 1890.

I would think so.

They're Chinese and they're on rice paper.

That is such a good subject.

I know it seems really, really macabre.

VO: Macabre they certainly are, but fascinating for it.

Possibly from the Chinese Boxer Rebellion at the turn of the 20th Century.

DEALER: £75 the lot.

Are your prices negotiable at all, sir?

Within reason.

VO: Michael, you're about to live to regret those words, old fruit.

PS: I think that's fantastic, look at that.

I'm gonna take this down here and have a closer look at it.

Oh Lord, I've kicked the stand out the way.

And how much is that?

Ticket price on that.

50 quid.

PS: 50 quid?

DEALER: Yeah.

That's a bargain.

So it's got a name on it.

It's a French one, isn't it?

Well, my job's never been that special, but it's got Toulouse on there and I think you will find that's in France, won't we?

VO: Oui.

C'est vrais, Philipe.

This handsome instrument dates from the late 19th or early 20th Century, but it is euphonium, a tuba or a vase?

Ha!

PS: I'm interested in that and the macabre Chinese things.

Do I do... is it one deal for the two, is it?

No, no, two separate deals.

How's that gonna work?

Well, one's his, one's mine.

You try us.

Ready?

Right, you ready for this then?

OK, that's the barter table, that is.

Would that buy each of them?

(LAUGHS) no.

He's...

He's not said no yet.

I certainly will.

Oh right, you've just said no.

Well, there we are then, look, how's that then?

30 quid apiece.

You're nearly there, you've just got to keep going.

40 quid apiece, that's my best I can do.

Well, that's OK for that.

Because it's a special event and we don't see you very often... PS: You don't want to either.

(LAUGHS) No, I don't.

VO: A double headed triumph for Philip.

£40 for the torture pictures and another £40 for the big brass... instrument.

Jonathan must be wondering what he's missed.

Time, though, for him to make his own sweet music.

It's open, is it?

Quick peek.

It's a little engraving from the earlier part of the 20th Century.

Pencil signed, you can see the plate mark here, so it's all nice and original.

It's quite a skill to do this.

It looks like an east coast harbor, it's kind of touristy.

It's only £7.50, nice and cheap.

VO: Certainly an attractive, reasonably priced picture and you need all the inexpensive help you can get today, Jonathan.

So I was actually going past the engraving to get to this little chap here.

It's quite fun, it's sort of a 1930s watercolor of a cartoon character, who's...

I forget the name of the dog actually, but he's a character you see from time to time.

VO: It's Bonzo.

Dreamt up in the 1920s by British artist George E Studdy.

He's listening to an old valve radio, singing his little heart out, which I think is quite sweet really.

They're only asking a tenner for that but I'm gonna try and get them both I think.

VO: But en route to the counter, Jonathan spots something dishy.

It's majolica, late 19th century.

But that mark there, which is that little patch, I believe is...

There's um, what's his name?

His name is... VO: George Jones?

Oh blimey, what's his name?

Now I've forgotten it.

VO: Yes, yes.

It's George Jones.

George Jones & Sons were famous Stoke-On-Trent potters from the 1860s to the 1950s and this unusual dish has a ticket price of £75, but possibly something missing.

Out of interest, how much is this?

It's... well, it has problems.

Yeah.

Yes.

JP: Don't we all?

VO: That's true.

So, it would have had a rack or something standing inside it.

DEALER: Handles.

JP: Handles there.

Yes.

OK, so they've gone completely.

DEALER: Yes.

JP: What's the best price on it?

65.

Not something you'd do for 40?

Er, no.

Am I close?

No.

(THEY LAUGH) VO: Interesting new tactic here.

Pretending to browse - I like it.

45?

You're closer.

Closer to 65, yeah.

£55?

Yeah, go on.

Go on, yes.

Go on then, I'll say thank you on that one.

Right, you're welcome.

It's a start.

Ooh, crikey.

Now, the two other things.

In the cabinet just over on the left, there's a little engraving, that little chap there, there we go.

Do you think you'll take a fiver for it?

No problem with that one.

JP: Oh brilliant.

DEALER: No problem at all.

VO: Wow, he should have tried £3.

Still, it's colorful.

So, will you take a fiver for the other one?

How much is on it?

Slightly cheeky but you're making two sales.

You are being cheeky.

Er...

He's asking a tenner for that.

DEALER: Seven.

JP: Do you know what?

JP: I'm gonna take that as well.

DEALER: OK. VO: JP, you are a buying machine this morning - shame you're nearly out of money.

And now, well, a road ahead beckons.

PS: I'm pilot, you're navigator, have you got us lost again?

JP: I can't even see out the windscreen actually.

PS: Oh well.

That sort of spreads rather than wipes.

VO: Our red blooded rummagers have been stuck in the same car and shops all week.

They've got cabin fever, so a bit of me time is on today's agenda.

Opened in the 1980s, the Astra Antiques center became one of the largest in Europe, however, it's former life was RAF Bomber Command in World War II, home to the massive Lancaster bombers, hence the size.

Today, with the many, many dealers stationed here, heroic Barry is on hand to help.

We've got an artist's little easel.

That's fantastic.

And this would have been an oil paint box and it says "old" there.

DEALER: Just old.

PS: I'm old.

It's gonna be 1900, 1920.

Yeah... and this is, you'd have little compartments here for all your different paints.

Winsor & Newton label, which I love.

VO: Winsor & Newton have made artists' materials since 1832.

Even during the Second World War, when many paint colors were requisitioned by the RAF for map and reconnaissance work.

This set is much earlier 20th century, with a current asking price of just £28.

I can become Pablo Serrell, couldn't I?

(THEY LAUGH) DEALER: What you painting?

Yeah, I can do walls and ceilings but that's about it.

This is a powder compact isn't it?

It is.

I could do with some of that.

VO: Well, you could blush when your eye catches the £95 price tag.

Fortunately today, tortoiseshell trading is regulated by international treaty, but it's been used for veneering all sorts of objects for over 400 years.

We've got the hallmarks there, so where would that be?

1920s?

I think it's '20s, yeah.

But we've got a whomping great crack there, haven't we?

Yeah, it is.

In my eyes, I'd like the two for 30-35 quid.

That's what I'd like to do.

We're not gonna get that low I don't think.

Are we not?

VO: Bold offer Phil, but maybe trying something else.

So let me see what happens, look, there's 30 quid.

How does that look?

Er, well, keep them coming and we'll get somewhere near.

What?!

Tell you what, let's both have a day out, 45 quid.

Go on, that's fine.

You're a gentleman, thank you.

Alright.

Another fine pair of items skillfully secured by Squadron Leader Serrell as he heads heroically onto his next mission.

VO: Private Pratt - ha!

- meanwhile, is heading for a revival of his fortunes.

For once, I'm feeling quite... well, I'm feeling optimistic for a good reason.

VO: Well, we'll soon see about that.

Jonathan has left Gainsborough and his traveling companion far behind, taking the road trip a precise 13.7 miles north to Epworth.

And lying in wait is Epworth's old rectory, birthplace of the Wesley brothers, John and Charles, founders of the revolutionary revivalist Christian movement known as Methodism.

Hello there.

Hello, come on in.

Thank you very much.

VO: Development manager Claire Potter welcomes us into this former home of the Wesley brothers' parents, Samuel and Susanna.

Susanna was a devout home educator, providing John and Charles with knowledge, education and of course, method.

Ha!

CLAIRE: This remarkable woman really had this very, very regimented system and she expected them to learn their alphabet in 24 hours, you know, and she was most upset when one of the children took a day and a half.

JP: Oh, really?

CLAIRE: Yeah.

You've got, sitting here, you've got maybe a two-year-old, a three-year-old, who's probably just...

But she's probably still learning her alphabet.

Yeah.

And you've got someone in the other corner, you know, the mother sitting in the corner there and you've got the eldest next to her reading Greek.

Samuel would've been involved a bit with this as well, but it was mainly Susanna's school and we are talking about the earliest bits of their schooling, so it was learning to read and write, it was learning their faith as well, it was very important to her.

Cuz the father had his duties anyway for the parish.

Yes.

Yeah, so he was away quite a lot actually, he had duties in London as well and often left the house and the family and in some difficulty at times.

In 1709, it completely burnt down in the middle of the night, they were all in the house.

And so they all got out, one of the daughters raised the alarm, apart from John, he was five and a half.

VO: Legend has it, John Wesley was the last child left in the burning rectory and very nearly lost his life until local people informed a human ladder up to his window.

CLAIRE: John was pulled out by the local people just as the roof fell in and the whole house was destroyed, but Susanna called John a brand clutch from the burning, which is a biblical quotation, to symbolize he was destined for something special because God had spare him from the fire and I think he spent the rest of his life believing the same.

VO: Not surprisingly, John grew up to become a bold man with a burning sense of purpose.

CLAIRE: We've got a portrait of Charles and John as young men.

And interestingly, John without a wig and Charles with one.

John was...

I suppose in a way the more radical, you could say, of the two brothers and he was very concerned to save as much money as possible so that he could give as much money as possible.

That was always his aim.

And if you had a wig, it cost money because you had to have a license because you powdered it with arsenic, so... You had to have a license for the wig.

Yes, so he decided he would wear his own hair, as he put it.

And you can see the difference in the portraits there.

VO: Charles may have been more flamboyant than his brother but he made his own harmonious contribution to religious life in Britain.

Charles wrote over 6,000 hymns in his lifetime and there's still sung, I mean the Royal Wedding was the most famous occasion this last year when one of them was sung.

Love Divine is one of his... Oh, is it?

So there you are.

That's a nice tune.

Indeed, yes.

# Pure unbounded love thou art... # VO: Charles's other number one hit was Hark The Herald Angels Sing.

The young Wesley brothers both studied to become ministers and found like minds at Oxford University to form their pivotal, though not always popular, holy club.

CLAIRE: Really, the holy club was a term of abuse from other students and the word Methodist came along fairly soon after that, also as a term of abuse, because they were very methodical.

You know, and they set out these rules that they would live by and they gave account for every hour of the day and they would not waste time in idle chatter or frivolity.

VO: Methodism departed the established and sometimes snobby Church of England, with its idea that Christianity was for everyone at every level of society.

He wasn't constrained by church buildings, he would go into market places where normal people, ordinary people met and gathered - farmers and peasants and people who didn't really have access to the established church and he didn't have an easy ride of it but was prepared to outside of his comfort zone and with him was this great ministry of Charles's hymns that actually people learnt from those open air sort of gatherings and gradually, you know... That's a great way...

I can see that, that's a great way of passing on a message cause if you write a catchy tune, it keeps on going and keeps on going.

Exactly.

VO: This new emerging branch of Christianity sought to unite and include everyone, using more than just words and music to engender feelings of fellowship.

Over here, we have a loving cup.

This is called a double handed cup, which they would use really just to share water, that's all they'd pass around in it.

But just as a symbol of their fellowship that they'd be drinking from the same cup.

VO: The Methodist tradition became a means to self-improvement by helping others and living a good life.

Something to bear in mind as Jonathan returns to the harsh, hard-haggling world of antiques.

God bless.

Thank you very much.

VO: Another good and noble day's shopping draws to an end.

Now, the kindness of North Lincolnshire is called upon to give our boys shelter for the night.

Oh, what a tremendous morning.

A call to arms for our boys.

Roof down and straight back on the road.

So far, Phil Serrell has made good with a double-double- double-double deal, spending £125 on four items - the Chinese torture paintings, the euphonium, the silver powder box and the artists' palette.

Philip has £241.52 left to make sweet music with.

Ahh.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Pratt nervously opened his withered wallet to spend just £67 on three items - the tourist engraving, the Bonzo dog portrait and the majolica strawberry dish.

Jonathan has just £59.72 left to back a winner.

Shall we just have a look in there?

It's always worth looking at a gift horse in the mouth.

It's amazingly flat round here.

It is.

VO: Yeah, bit like your jokes, Jonathan.

Moving swiftly on, Philip and Jonathan are dearly departed from Epworth, heading a bold 52 miles to the important market town of Grantham.

PS: # Here we are again # Happy as can be.

# (HUMS) JP: Oi oi!

VO: Oi oi, indeed.

Watch out for falling fruit and bombs overhead.

Grantham provided schooling for the young Sir Isaac Newton, you know, the bloke with the apple and all that gravitas.

And later housed the bomber command center for those rather famous Dambuster raids during World War II.

JP: Thank you very much, Philip, nicely driven.

VO: But the only thing being dropped off here today is Jonathan Pratt, outside the fine Belvoir Antiques.

Well, as I say Philip...

..I'm in it to win it.

JP: Morning.

DEALER: Morning.

VO: Morning.

The lovely, lovely Jessica is just longing to hear JP's sad, sad story.

I think this could be love.

I had a little bit of bad luck and I'm now sitting down with nearly half what I started with.

DEALER: Right.

JP: Which is not very good.

But it does mean that, obviously, I have to be shrewd.

I'm sure we'll be able to find something.

Good.

OK. VO: If there's anyone who can sell something to Jonathan Pratt today, it's Jessica.

Quite a good chest that, actually, isn't it?

Got a nice bow front that one.

DEALER: Yes.

JP: I mean I know it's...

It's out of my budget, but it's always nice to admire.

VO: Bow front chest indeed, cheeky.

What about the... a tea set.

A tea service?

VO: Yes, perhaps Jonathan could turn his attention to the modernist silver-plated five-piece tea set, made by Viners of Sheffield, with a current ticket price of £45.

It looks more or less 1930s, doesn't it?

And shiny.

I know it's exactly 1930s because that little finial there is that sort of step shape, is art deco.

If you had a strong art deco tea service, it would be worth £1,000 in silver plate but this is just a nice little pretty little border on the top with a traditional style handle.

How much is the tea service?

Well, as a really special deal, I could do it for £25.

But that's just for you.

VO: Well, that's an offer that's hard to resist.

Right, Jonathan?

This is a five-piece?

Is there a sugar bowl... DEALER: Yes.

JP: Oh look... OK, I'm looking a gift horse in the mouth.

JP: Thank you very much.

DEALER: Yes!

£25, but is the tray with it?

Yes.

Ay!

There we go, that's great.

VO: Well, that's tres tres bon, isn't it?

Good work, Jonathan, keep talking and you might get her phone number.

Crash, bang.

VO: But despite his good fortune, Jonathan looks a bit... well, lonely without Phil.

What time do you call this, eh?

It's wet time, that's what time it is.

I'm getting soaked.

This thing's got its own foot spa.

VO: Do you know, sometimes it's just nicer to shop together, isn't it?

You take the low road and I'll take the high road.

VO: The Notions Antique Centre plays host to their final frantic search, with Sharon on hand to help with antiques... and soft furnishings... and things.

What would you use this for?

Very posh picnic.

Bedspread or a nice throw.

I like this, Sharon.

So tell me about crewel work.

VO: Crewel work is a type of chunky decorative wool embroidery dating back centuries.

It was extremely popular in the 17th century and revived in the late 1960s.

Mostly chain stitch I think, used on the Bayeux Tapestry.

It gives you a decoration doesn't it?

My guess is, there's not much age to this... SHARON: No.

PS: Perhaps 30, 40 years?

SHARON: Yeah, I think so.

PS: But it's trying to look like it's 19th century, isn't it?

SHARON: Yeah.

It's very decorative.

Well, you've got £2.40 on it.

I have not.

Oh, yeah.

£24, sorry, my mistake.

Um, I...

Very reasonably priced.

It is very reasonably priced.

I'm gonna make you one offer and that's it, my love, alright?

Do you wanna sit down?

Oh, is it that bad?

No, no, I think it's fair.

I'd like to give you 15 quid for it and that's me finished really.

Go on then, you can have it for 15.

PS: You're an angel.

SHARON: Yep, yep.

I think that's really, really nice actually.

Yeah.

VO: An unusual purchase for Philip.

Quite girly really.

He never ceases to surprise us though.

But whilst Phil bags a blanket, could someone be about to throw in the towel?

Ha!

Maybe, I don't know, I don't like doing it, but maybe I'm going to stick to the four objects I've got.

I think I've got four good objects.

VO: The shops are closing and today's window of haggling opportunity has slammed firmly shut.

However, Philip has now got the feeling that he deserves a little trip to the boozer.

Get in.

Veteran collector Richard is waiting to share his unusual enthusiasm - over 1,500 dearly earned vintage beer trays.

From the 1870s to the 1970s and sourced over the last 28 years.

Sorry, Philip, this isn't actually a pub.

Richard, how many Richards are there in Britain?

Um... officially on tray collecting, there's only two people who collect purely trays but there's a lot of what's called breweryana collectors, so they collect jugs and show cards and match strikers and mirrors.

But I was the first person to specifically collect trays.

There's lots of people who collect beer bottles.

For them, it's their passion, it's the greatest thing on God's earth, but for me, beer bottles, you can't actually see the coloring, the beauty of the... On trays, you can actually see the splendid colors in here.

When did they start making beer trays?

The earliest beer trays in my opinion are probably around 1870, so these are all the oldest, the old enamel trays and obviously the brass and copper.

You think now, of all the television advertising and newspaper advertising, and I suppose, in the heyday of these trays, this was only source of advertising your wares in a way.

VO: Indeed it was and the same design flare went into creating beer trays as into packaging and sign making.

Breweries large and small employed design teams, taking inspiration from the world of art nouveaux and propaganda posters to persuade us Brits to drink more beer - as if we needed any persuading.

In fact, they're actually officially called waiter trays so you'd order your beer and take the tray with the beer to you as a customer and you'd take the beer off and of course the advertising was there to be seen.

Is that like an ashtray?

No, actually, it's the only tray that I have where there's a little change tray actually on the tray, so if there's any change, they put it into this little try here.

VO: These handsome examples of great British design heritage are sadly today hard to come by so Richard's fine, rare collection has been hard won in both time and money.

That one came on the market today and it if it was one I hadn't got, I probably pay 500 quid.

£500 for a beer tray.

£500 for that one, but it's exceptional.

Holy shamola.

VO: Holy shamola... indeed!

Something like that, William Thomson's Blackford near Perth in Scotland, about 1920, very small brewery.

So, it's nearly 100 years old.

Nearly 100 years old.

Extremely rare.

PS: So, how many pubs would they have had?

One, two, three?

I'd say a handful at most.

What interests me is then, why would they go to the trouble?

I mean these trays must have cost more than the beer cost to make.

I think it was just the pride of actually having some advertising.

And I suppose the other thing is if the big boys do it, PS: you do it as well.

RICHARD: Absolutely.

VO: Amazingly, there used to be thousands of independent breweries in Britain.

Some supplying a mere handful of pubs.

Most went out of business in the 1950s and '60s, either closed or engulfed by the big corporate brewers.

But these promotional trays once played an important role in keeping bespoke beers popular, hence the one-upmanship in design and beauty.

No wonder passionate collectors just can't resist them.

Could you?

PS: What's the most recent tray you've bought?

Well, I tell you that's an amazing question, cuz I've been after a local brewery in Grantham for 20-odd years - I've written newspaper articles, magazine articles and I've never come across the tray.

But this week I've actually managed to purchase the tray that I've been looking for.

It's this one here.

So, this is Mowbray's.

Yeah.

Mowbray's went out in 1952 so this is a pre-war tray, about 1938-39.

I've had an absolutely fabulous time, thank you very much.

RICHARD: Cheers.

VO: No time for a pint, sadly, because our brave boys must regroup to reveal their wares.

And now Philip's been carrying more than just a tune.

Real surprise.

JP: (IMITATES PARPING) VO: Assuming that is a euphonium.

Well, I don't know if it's a euphonium, a tuba or a baritone.

You wouldn't be able to get a tune out of it, that's for sure.

No.

£40, I think at auction, that could... Should make £50 on a bad day.

On a good day, it might make £80.

What I like about it is it's quality majolica.

I mean, you see some real rubbish.

There is a downside and that downside is it's lacking handles.

As a decorative thing, what did you pay for that?

55.

I think... Well, you tell me what you think.

I don't see how it can sell for less than 50 quid, I really don't see how it can sell less than 50 quid.

And I think if you have some luck...

..I think it will be £100-£150.

VO: Luck is just what Jonathan needs this week.

Oh boy.

JP: Oh my word, it's... Silver.

Tortoiseshell, tortoiseshell.

JP: (BLOWS) That isn't tortoiseshell anyway, that's plastic.

VO: Whoops!

Well, moving swiftly on.

Back on the print game again.

Really?

Baring in mind, I don't have a lot of cash, I thought I would steer clear of any big investments.

PS: Um, I like that.

JP: £5.

Yeah, and I think that's what it's worth.

Thank you.

PS: No, but I do.

JP: Yeah, yeah.

And I think these things are horribly undervalued in the current market.

VO: Whoops!

Well, moving swiftly on... again.

I bought this... what I bought for was for this, look.

I just think that's lovely.

That's cool, isn't it?

Why wouldn't someone buy this to use in the field anyway?

It's a perfectly useful box.

Um, it's £20.

I paid 15 quid for it.

JP: (CHUCKLES) PS: He's fun.

It's a watercolor of Bonzo the dog, singing his little furry sock off.

PS: I think that's really sweet actually.

Great thing for a child's bedroom, isn't it?

If I told you I paid £15 for it, I'd be lying.

I paid £7.

Is there a profit Philip?

Tell me, is there a profit?

That will make between 20 and 40 quid.

VO: Not bad for a sweet picture for a sweet child's bedroom.

PS: These probably aren't ideal for a children's bedroom.

Chinese torture scenes.

This chap's being hung.

Oh dear.

But I think they're quite fun.

VO: Fun ain't the word I'd use.

More, sort of, cruel.

That's crewel.

It is, isn't it.

Work.

It was priced up at 24 quid, and I gave her 15 quid for it.

And I just think it's a...

It's a profit really.

I think on a bad day, you'd get your money back.

JP: You can't lose on it really.

You didn't pinch that from the hotel reception, did you?

There we go.

You better take it back.

It looks like that... it looks quality, doesn't it?

Looks really good quality.

I mean, you think "Crikey, this is hundreds of pounds' worth of kit here."

Is that what you think?

No, that's what you're th... PS: Is that what I'm thinking?

JP: You're implying.

VO: Fine.

But what do you really think?

I think his silver tea set is probably a little bit later than he thinks it is, but he's so right cuz it's surely going to make him a profit, he can't lose too much money.

If that's the case, I'm moving back to that £200 and that's where my reputation's hanging by a thin thread.

VO: It certainly is Jonathan.

So, let's get you to auction without hesitation, repetition or deviation.

Anyway, um, none of this idle chit chat, Philip, we've got work to do.

VO: The road trip gets moving once more, leading our chaps away, Gainsborough, Epworth and Grantham far behind us.

Next stop is big, handsome Lincoln.

JP: One false move and we're all dead.

PS: That's cheered me up no end, JP.

VO: They call Lincoln the uphill, downhill town, built as it is on a gap in the Lincoln Cliff, all centered on magnificent Lincoln Cathedral.

First built in 1092, doncha know?

Today is, you guessed it, auction day.

And our would be winners arrive feeling fresh and frisky.

Well, fresh at least.

Well, Philip... Well, I wish us both the best, JP.

VO: Lincoln's unique auctions has been selling antiques and all sorts here since 2006.

Today's gavel basher, Terry Woodcock has kindly offered his thoughts on Philip and Jonathan's bag of auction dreams.

The silver compact.

Not a very good buy, it isn't tortoiseshell as first thought, it is just celluloid.

Scrap value, which really is what it's worth, £20-£30.

The silver-plated tea service with the oval tray - very bad news.

It always cracks up, so it's not useable, it's only good for display.

VO: So, a bright, optimistic outlook for the sale ahead.

Not.

Philip started today's show with £366.62 and spent £140 on five auction lots.

Jonathan looked at his meager £126.72 and spent a thoroughly heroic £92 on four auction lots.

So, we can safely say that Jonathan really needs his items to fly this day.

Time to sit uncomfortably.

The auction is about to begin.

First to face the bidders is Philip's artists' palette.

Wonderfully displayed here by a fine Manchurian gentleman.

Who'll start me at £20?

10 then?

Thank you 10, I've got there £10, 10, 12, 14, at 16 and 18, fresh bid there.

And 20 and two.

Now at 22, I can come to you now, 24, 26.

28 and 30?

No.

Shakes head.

At £30, I'm selling it at £30.

Yours at £30.

That's a good result.

I'm staggered.

VO: Don't act so surprised - it's a very nice item.

Now, Jonathan's first hopeful, his fishing port engraving, awaits the bidders.

£8, low figure, eight, I'm looking for 10, 10 I've got there, and 12 and 12, at 12 I have and 14, at £14.

16, fresh bid, at 18, at £18 and £20, at £20... Go on, go on, go on.

Who's shouting me?

It is yours at 20, at £20 I have, 20 it's yours.

VO: And from high five to low quality, Philip's unfortunate powder box is up next.

Let's hope nobody notices it's not tortoiseshell.

You may have it in your catalog that it's tortoiseshell - unfortunately, it's not, it's celluloid.

VO: Oh dear.

Cellulite?

£10 I've got there, 12.

14, 16, 18, 20.

22.

Now at 22 I've got there, 22 it is, have you all done?

22.

VO: A rather sad loss for Philip, but let's move swiftly on.

Jonathan's striking strawberry dish is just waiting to bear fruit.

Let's hope no-one spots the missing handles.

Lacking the handles.

Not really noticeable though.

Thank you.

There it is.

And I've got to start it with me at a low start of £20.

Ouch!

At 20, I'm looking for 22, at £20.

22, 24, 26, 28.

And 30, and two.

32, he shakes his head at 32.

34 fresh bid, 36, 38.

And 40 and two.

44, 46.

46 standing in the doorway, 46.

Thought it'd make a little bit more but 46.

So did I. VO: Me too, actually.

At £46.

Sold at 46.

I do think you're unlucky there mate.

I do.

VO: Jonathan's just speechless after that.

But how about Philip?

(HUMS) Next is Philip's euphonium - or is it?

Ah, we've got the tuba now.

There it is.

We checked on the French manufacturers and they were one of the best manufacturers of musical instruments.

You buy it then.

TERRY: It's a tuba.

PS: Is it?

Not a euphonium.

Start me at £30 then.

That is big trouble, JP.

Thank you the voice, £30 and I'm looking for 35.

At £30 and five at the back.

And 40 and five.

No, at 45 I've got at the back there.

At 45, I thought this'd make a lot more money but it hasn't.

I HOPED it would.

At £45, it's going in the back corner.

45 it is.

At least we know it's a tuba now.

VO: That's the spirit and now let's try Jonathan's art-deco tea service - the one that splits in the heat.

Ha!

Good luck!

Start me at 20?

Thank you.

20 I've got there, at £20, 20, I'm looking for 22.

22 thank you, 24.

26, 28 and 30 and two... JP: Don't stop.

TERRY: 34.

JP: Thank you.

36 fresh bid.

At 36, 38.

And 40?

You sure.

One more.

Go on, one more.

I'll take it, 41.

42.

And for your cheek I'm going to take 43 now.

43, thank you.

44.

I'll give you the pound if you go 45, I've got 44 at the back, back in at 45, I'm not going to give YOU the pound.

He's working the room now.

46.

VO: Well, I've never been so gripped by such tiny increments.

Will it go above £46?

47, thank you.

VO: Yes!

48 I've got right in the back and selling at 48.

Yours at 48.

Thank you very much.

Whose was it?

(LAUGHTER) VO: Well done, Jonathan.

Now, let's all cozy eh?

Nice crewel throw and I'm starting it with me at £25 and I'm hoping it's going to make a lot, lot more.

At £25, I have at 25, 30, five, 40, five.

No it's still 45 with my commission buyer.

At 45 if you're all done and it's going at 45.

You're all out, 45.

Very good, Philip.

VO: Very good indeed.

Now, let's see what Bonzo can do for Jonathan.

22, 24, 26.

TERRY: What do you mean, no?

JP: What do you mean, no?

VO: Alright, alright, settle down.

28 fresh bid.

And 30, at 30.

You're all done at £30 and selling.

The boy is back.

VO: He certainly is and how nice, finally this week, to see Jonathan actually making some profits.

So, as today's final lot is offered, who will be victorious and who's for the chop-chop?

Ha!

There they are, very unusual, I think they could be worth quite a lot of money.

Who'll start me at £100?

30 to get on surely.

30 I have.

At £30, I'm looking for five.

35, 40.

At £40, that's not £10 each.

At £40.

42, thank you.

At £42, I think this should a lot, lot more money than this.

Fresh bid 44.

Six.

TERRY: 48 back in.

At 48.

JP: (INHALES SHARPLY) God!

At 48.

Have you all finished at the back at 48?

This could be one of the bargains of the day, £48.

(GAVEL) VO: A paltry profit for Philip, but how's that sad news sitting with Jonathan?

Yes!

I've won an auction.

PS: Have you?

JP: Yes.

You heard it first here, folks.

JP: I think so, I don't know.

PS: Have you?

JP: I think so.

VO: No, really.

Really, you have!

After paying auction costs, Philip's stake of £366.62 made a profit of £15.80, and so his wallet has further inflated to a big bouncy, bulging total of £382.42.

Keep smiling, Phil.

Jonathan began with a sow's ear of £126.72, but he made a fine silk purse of his day - a princely profit of £26.08.

Jonathan faces the world refreshed with £152.80.

Yes!

VO: Better still, he wins the day.

# I'm in the money.

# I'm on the up, Phil.

I've worked it out, right.

We've done about 140 miles, spent 40 hours shopping and between us we've made about 40 quid, it's a pound an hour.

Oh, never mind.

You ain't seen nothing yet, boy.

VO: Ha-ha!

And that's fighting talk!

Next time on the Antiques Road Trip, the chaps head for their final decisive auction in Wilmslow.

Philip goes for broke.

(HIGH NOTE PLAYS) Jonathan goes on a date.

You've got beautiful eyes, you know that?

VO: And they both get going up the road.

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