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

I don't know what to do.

(HONKS HORN) VO: ..with £200 each, a classic car, and a goal: to scour Britain for antiques.

What a little diamond.

VO: The aim - to make the biggest profit at auction, but it's no mean feat.

Back in the game.

Charlie!

VO: There'll be worthy winners and valiant losers.

Oh!

VO: So, will it be the high road to glory or the slow road to disaster?

Oh!

VO: This is the Antiques Road Trip.

VO: Yeah.

VO: It's the third leg of the road trip for old hand Philip Serrell and fellow tripper Natasha Raskin.

PHIL: I'm living the dream.

NATASHA: Why are you living the dream?

It's a lovely day, I've got a lovely girl, lovely car and I'm going out spending money, buying antiques.

VO: You lucky man.

Veteran auctioneer Philip may be a dab hand at selling from the rostrum but he's still working on his bargaining technique.

Could you do 70 the two?

No.

VO: Oh.

His competitive companion is smart Scot Natasha.

She loves old paintings and contemporary fashion and also having a laugh.

I was thinking that together that would be quite a nice look!

VO: Our dueling duo had set off in a 1957 Porsche with £200 each.

And the auction score so far is one apiece.

VO: However, Philip's coffers have dwindled to £166.96.

Poor chap.

VO: Natasha has a few pounds more in her handbag - £173.12.

It's all to play for.

Brighten up.

NATASHA: I'm in good spirits, Phil.

PHIL: Why's that?

NATASHA: Not cuz I'm in the company of someone so wonderful as yourself.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Not only that.

Because I've actually edged in front.

Oh I know, I know.

I don't know if you've done the maths, but... PHIL: My goal now is to try and get to Friday solvent.

VO: Philip and Natasha started their 900 mile drive in Pembrokeshire.

Their journey will see them travel through the home counties, down to the south coast, before ending up in Salisbury, Wiltshire.

The third stretch sets off in St Albans and winds down towards an auction in leafy Chiswick, west London.

VO: St Albans is named after Britain's first Christian martyr, executed by the Romans in the third century.

It's also home to Natasha's first shop of this trip.

NATASHA: I will see you... PHIL: Have a good day, lovely.

..soon.

Thank you so much.

PHIL: See you later.

Right.

Bye.

VO: A keen Natasha gets straight to it.

OK, there's quite a lot of stuff here that's very modern, super modern.

I don't know if it's really what we're looking for.

Very antiquey.

I think I'm going to look for something a bit more... a bit more age to it, I don't know.

Maybe a bit more interest, a bit more quirk.

Stuff like this is really weird.

I love this.

Is it a little bit morbid to like dead butterflies?

I mean it is a bit gruesome, because they're furry and you can get a close look at them and they just look a little bit crusty now.

VO: Quite.

Step away, Natasha.

VO: What's she onto now?

Some Scottish-looking brooches perhaps.

Dealer Dee is on hand to help.

Go, Dee.

The best thing for me has got to be that citrine.

That's just a beauty, isn't it?

Would you mind terribly if we take a closer look?

DEE: No, not at all.

Purely because it's a bit of a whopper.

NATASHA: It's obviously not in gold.

Right, OK, so we can see that now.

So it's just a metal that has been gilded, right?

I mean, I like the fact that it's exactly what you would wear for sort of Highland dress.

But maybe you could wear that in a more modern way.

Oh absolutely.

Do you reckon?

Yes, yes.

Would you wear that?

Maybe pair it with these here?

I was thinking that together that would be quite a nice look?

DEE: Good night out.

NATASHA: Right, stick that back.

What do you think?

I'm going to make an offer for it.

OK. NATASHA: If that's OK with you.

DEE: Yes.

It's £12 ticket, what if I say eight?

Ten?

Could we make it single figures and go nine?

OK. NATASHA: Do you reckon?

DEE: Yes.

NATASHA: Quite happy with that?

DEE: Yes.

Oh, Dee.

I'd like to shake on that because I think it's really cool.

And I think for a genuine citrine in a nice decorative mount, you can't really go wrong at nine quid.

No.

VO: Deal done, Dee.

But, Natasha spied another potential purchase when she first arrived.

So we drove in here, and the first thing I saw was this lovely Belfast sink, but it's really big.

VO: Looks really heavy too.

I don't think I can shift it.

Right, between us, Dee.

Girl power!

Right so if we have a little look at the basin, it looks to be in pretty good order actually.

I don't see any scary bits.

No, there's no cracks.

VO: Dee's asking £40 for the old sink, but think carefully, Natasha, you don't want your profits going down the ol' plughole.

What if I said to you I'd like to buy it from you at £20?

30?

What if I said to you 28?

But do you still get something out of that?

Yes.

VO: She's managing very well so far on limited means.

I think that's it.

I think two items at Alley Cat's and I'm done.

VO: Meanwhile, Philip's taken to the road and travelled to Hertford.

In 1712, this county town saw the last person to be convicted for witchcraft in England.

Ha!

Philip's heading for his first shop and meeting owner Bonnie, who may bewitch him.

Now, you've got some things in here, haven't you?

What's your specialty?

Jewelry.

PHIL: Jewelry.

BONNIE: Yeah.

So have you got any really good bits of jewelry you can show me?

BONNIE: I do.

PHIL: Really?

Come along.

Things are looking up, aren't they?

VO: Don't get ahead of yourself, Philip.

BONNIE: My favorite piece... PHIL: Yeah.

..Is this opal and diamond ring.

Uh-huh.

I think that might be out of my price bracket.

VO: Yes, I think you might be right.

PHIL: Is that opal or topaz?

BONNIE: That's opal.

How do you tell the difference?

BONNIE: I'll show you a topaz.

PHIL: OK.

There's a very big difference.

They look the same to me.

VO: Yeah, call yourself an expert?

Topaz are transparent and quite a bright blue.

Oh right.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

BONNIE: Opals can vary in color.

PHIL: There you are, look you can see, it's quite, almost iridescent in a way.

Yeah.

Whereas that's a clear color, isn't it?

BONNIE: That's correct.

You see, I've learned something there.

I think I'm about to learn something else as well.

So how much is that?

Please.

This is £180.

Right.

And how much is that?

This is £950.

Right, I think I'm just going to have a quick look round and I'll be with you in a moment, Bonnie.

Thank you for that.

VO: That ring is nearly six times Philip's budget.

Perhaps Bonnie has some cheaper stock?

These are cool things aren't they?

These sort of stork thread pullers or whatever they are.

BONNIE: They're ribbon pullers.

How does that work then?

Well, in the old days...

In the old days!

I was there.

I was there.

Yeah, go on.

They knitted babies' garments rather than mass produced them and they were always adorned with ribbons and things and to try and get the ribbons through the holes in the booties or bonnets... PHIL: They pulled that through.

It was quite difficult.

You've got another one here.

I do.

PHIL: So that's silver.

It is.

And what's this made from?

Silver plate.

That's £95 and how much was the other one?

It's £250.

OK, fine.

You haven't got any chairs anywhere, have you?

PHIL: I just... BONNIE: Sit down?

No, no, I just...

I've come over a bit faint.

(CLEARS THROAT) Right.

Has he really?

VO: He's fine.

You don't know how low he'll stoop.

Steady, Bonnie.

Winding me up.

No, steady, Bonnie.

You nearly knocked me over, then, Bonnie.

VO: Philip puts the expensive ribbon puller back in the cabinet and the cheaper pair to one side to think about.

I love that.

This is a... this is a desk seal that would've sat on a gentleman's desk and you've got an agate ball that's held by this claw, bird's claw, and then you've got his seal here, so this would have been sat on the desk and when he wrote to someone he would've got his sealing wax out, sealed the letter or the envelope with his seal and then to give it his own personal seal, as the wax was hot you just dunk that in there and off it came but these are quite collectable and that's quite fun.

VO: The ticket price is £65.

But will Bonnie the blonde bombshell be kind to Philip?

Being as it's you, and I'd like you to do well.

Things are looking up.

Yeah?

If you took both of them... Yeah.

I would do them for 80.

VO: Very generous, Bonnie.

That's £70 knocked off.

PHIL: Could you do 70 the two?

BONNIE: No.

(SNORTS) That... That wasn't even... VO: She's not so keen on you now, Phil.

Would you just like to pull that knife?

Just in the middle of my shoulder blades, I think there's a sharp object sticking out at the minute.

Just there.

That's my girl!

VO: Philip may have met his match here.

But, Bonnie's not one to miss out on a sale.

Oh no.

She offers a second Victorian seal to make up a job lot.

Is there a deal to be sealed?

PHIL: Can I give you £80 for that lot?

And I can't go any more, honestly.

Yes, go on then.

PHIL: You sure?

BONNIE: Yeah.

That's fine.

You happy with that?

Honestly?

I'm not really happy but I'll accept that.

You're an angel, thank you very much.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Thank you very much indeed.

VO: Philip seems very happy.

£35 for the two seals, and the ribbon puller for £45.

PHIL: Cheers now.

BONNIE: Bye!

VO: Natasha's made her way to central London to find out more about a British institution that played a vital role in winning the First World War.

The British Postal Museum and Archive is home to two and a half miles of vaults charting the history of the general post office, the forerunner to our modern postal service.

At the start of the war, a quarter of a million people were working for the GPO, making it the largest single employer of labor in the world.

The manpower was needed not only to deliver the mail, but the GPO was also responsible for telecommunications and offered a banking service.

Natasha's host is head of collections, Chris Taft.

So when the war broke out, all this huge number of employees, we're talking a quarter of a million people here who I presume, most of whom were men, must have been taken away to the war efforts?

Yeah, I mean the post office were to supply many thousands of men to the war effort.

VO: By December 1914, nearly 30,000 GPO employees had enlisted.

And many found themselves putting their expert knowledge of the postal service to good use.

With the outbreak of the war, one of the most important things was to maintain the morale of the troops and of the people at home and so postal communication was absolutely essential to that.

VO: The government and the army chiefs knew the delivery of post from home to those serving on the frontline was vital, as it was one of the few comforts and distractions to the men.

The volumes of mail that, by the peak of the war, were being handled by the post office were phenomenal.

You were looking at 12 million letters a week being moved to the western front.

NATASHA: So you're talking billions over the course of the war.

CHRIS: Oh yeah, absolutely.

VO: So efficient was the service, letters took just two to three days to get from the front line to the front door of soldiers' families.

But the postal service wasn't just delivering the mail.

They were reading it too.

Every piece of correspondence to and from the front line was read by an official.

The government claimed censorship prevented intercepted mail revealing military secrets to the enemy, but this wasn't the only reason.

For morale purposes, they didn't want the full horrors of what was going on to get back to affect people's morale, both at home and in the theatres of war.

NATASHA: I mean the things people must've read, it must've been really heartbreaking for the censors to sit there and read these letters and then to effectively have to score them out.

It must've been a really...taken a certain type of person to take on the role of censor.

VO: Yeah, letters deemed to contain inappropriate information were simply destroyed.

Censorship was so time consuming, the field service postcard was introduced to speed things up.

CHRIS: On the front, you would write simply the address of the person to whom it was going, and then on the reverse, there was a kind of multiple choice.

If you wrote anything on the card beyond what was permitted, the card would be destroyed.

NATASHA: Yeah, bold, that's a sort of three line whip.

If anything else is added the post card will be destroyed.

It's awfully impersonal, isn't it?

CHRIS: Very impersonal.

All you're permitted to do is score out that which doesn't apply.

As impersonal as it is, it's actually rather ingenious, and it's... Yeah, it was important.

VO: The archive holds a number of letters from rifleman Harry Brown.

He served under the King's Royal Rifle Corps and fought in the trenches in western France.

The story we hear from Harry Brown is quite an emotional story, actually.

He writes regularly to his mother, but then one of the letters his mother sends is sent back to her, so it's presumed that Harry's been killed.

VO: Quite often, letters would be returned to sender before official news of their loved one's fate had reached them.

It would mean an agonizing wait to find out if they'd been injured, captured or tragically killed.

But eventually she gets a letter back from her son, from Harry Brown, who's been held in a German prisoner of war camp, so now she realizes that he's alive, he's actually wounded, he's been injured, and he was captured but he's alive.

VO: In August 1917, while interned in a prisoner of war camp in Germany, Harry writes to his mother "don't worry about me, I am finished with the war", but sadly, even though Harry survived to see the end of the war, he never made it home.

What then subsequently happened is he takes ill again, this time with an illness rather than an injury, and sadly, just after the war has ended, he dies.

NATASHA: In the camp?

CHRIS: In the camp.

VO: Harry had inflammation of the lungs and was too poorly to make the journey home.

He died just 16 days after the armistice was signed, on 27 November 1918.

NATASHA: Poor Harry Brown.

Gosh, can you imagine what he endured?

That story of Harry Brown is charted through the correspondence, the letters, and that's why the collection is so important, because it charts that social history story.

It's not about the military history, it's about the social history, about what happened to that individual and his family, and the impact on that family.

VO: It's now almost impossible to imagine life on the front line.

Other than to understand what a huge comfort a letter from home would be to the often young and scared but honorable men like Harry.

Thank you so much for showing me around.

I feel like I've learned a lot.

Thank you very much.

You're very welcome.

VO: Philip's made his way to Hemel Hempstead.

VO: His next shop is in the old town district, on a street claimed to be one of the prettiest in Hertfordshire.

Cherry Antiques is run by dealer Scott.

PHIL: Hello.

SCOTT: Hi there.

PHIL: Hi.

Philip.

SCOTT: I'm Scott.

Scott, how are you?

Yeah.

Nice to meet you.

PHIL: This is a sort of place where you think you're going to find something.

Here's hoping.

Yeah.

What I've got to do is start looking now.

Yeah.

VO: Spend that £86 wisely, Philip.

He's onto something though, already.

The silver fox at work.

Those are quite cool.

How much are those?

SCOTT: I'll do you a good price on those.

PHIL: Can you?

SCOTT: Yeah.

VO: Philip's found some 1920s art deco burr walnut chairs.

They're priced at £90 for the four.

Wow.

PHIL: What could you do those for then?

Very, very, very best would be 60.

VO: One to think about.

And while he's thinking... What I'm going to try and do is just see if I can make up a job lot of prints.

How much is that, please?

Couple of pound.

OK.

I think that's quite nice you know.

So how much is that?

Is that another pound or two?

Yes.

VO: Philip's picked out a selection of five prints.

PHIL: Can I bid you?

SCOTT: Yep.

Can I bid you £5 and £45?

SCOTT: Yeah, happy with that.

You're a gentleman, sir.

Thank you very much indeed.

Thank you.

VO: That's a cracking deal on the four chairs.

Philip's got them for half their ticket price.

Scott, you've been very kind to me.

I better pay you.

VO: And he's paid a pound apiece for the five prints.

Let's hope there's a dog lover at the auction.

VO: One day down, one to go for our dueling duo.

Time for a well earned rest all round.

OK, night night, you two.

VO: It's day two of the road trip.

NATASHA: Well let's get down to business here.

I'm six quid in front and I want to keep it that way.

PHIL: I still cannot believe how I didn't come out the last auction another hundred quid up.

NATASHA: Oh, Phil, you need to get over it.

VO: Yesterday, Natasha spent £37 on two items - a Scottish plaid brooch with a large oval citrine, and a big sink.

Leaving her with £136.12.

Philip spent £130 on a folio of prints, four art deco walnut chairs, two Victorian letter stamps and a pair of silver plated ribbon pullers, as you do.

After that spending spree, Philip has £36.96 left to today.

VO: Our pair's next stop is just a few miles from Aylesbury.

VO: Philip's come to Stoke Mandeville sports stadium to find out how a small patch of land behind a hospital became the birthplace of the world's second biggest sporting event.

PHIL: I am so looking forward to this.

I think you're... Really, really looking forward... ..going to be very inspired, Mr Serrell.

Very humbled.

Humbled and inspired.

Very very humbled, very very very humbled.

You take care.

You too, bye.

Have a good one.

Have a really lousy day.

Thanks Phil.

Bye.

PHIL: Bye.

VO: Stoke Mandeville hospital is home to one of the largest and the oldest spinal injuries centers in the world.

It was founded by a neurologist in 1944, who had a radical approach to rehabilitation, and Philip's meeting former hospital patient Martin McElhatton to find out how Dr Ludwig Guttmann's groundbreaking treatment worked.

He introduced a comprehensive medical model of treatment for people coming back from the war with spinal injuries.

In what way exactly was he different to the way everybody else treated spinal injuries?

Well he brought all the knowledge from around the world together into his treatment and he treated the patients really in a fantastic way and they even called him "Poppa", a very affectionate name, of how much they felt about him.

VO: Before Dr Guttmann, unthinkable though it is now, the paralyzed were considered untreatable.

Up until the mid 1940s, eight out of ten spinal injury patients died within three years of paralysis.

However, Dr Guttmann's visionary approach changed the course of thousands of lives.

He made sure they had the right medical care, the right physiotherapy but he also felt that there was something missing in the treatment and he loved sport and he felt that sport would add that dimension of camaraderie and psychological wellbeing for the injured servicemen and women.

VO: This pioneering notion led to the world's first sporting competition for disabled people, the Stoke Mandeville Games.

The brainchild of Dr Guttmann, it took place on the hospital lawns on the very same day as the opening ceremony of the 1948 London Olympics.

How wonderful.

Presumably, this wasn't here then?

MARTIN: No, there was nothing here, just green fields and a car park and the old huts that are behind us.

VO: Fourteen men and two women, all injured military personnel, competed.

Well, initially they did things like archery because the chairs were very big and cumbersome so doing other sports that involved propelling the wheelchair was probably more difficult but athletics was done and they did javelin.

VO: The referees were made up of doctors and nurses.

It was nothing more than a glorified sports day, but Dr Guttmann had started something remarkable.

We had 16 in the first games in 1948 and by 1956 that had grown to 130 competitors, and in London 2012, around 5,000 athletes from all over the world.

VO: The Stoke Mandeville games were the forerunners to the Paralympic Games.

Today, a modern stadium sits alongside the hospital.

PHIL: What would Guttmann have thought of all of this?

I think he'd have been amazed.

I think he'd have been really proud and I think he'd have wanted more.

Because he was a guy who, I think, always wanted to push the boundaries and by pushing those boundaries, he enabled so many men and women around the world to achieve their sporting dreams.

He always had the vision that there would be an Olympics for the paralyzed or a parallel Olympics and that's where the term Paralympics comes from.

VO: Dr Guttmann's legacy has helped Martin achieve his sporting dreams too.

Aged 18, he was hit by a lorry and left paralyzed.

He was treated at Stoke Mandeville hospital and had to learn how to adjust to life in a wheelchair.

PHIL: What was your sport, Martin?

Well I played wheelchair basketball in the 1984 Paralympic games, which happened to be here in Stoke Mandeville.

PHIL: So you've pulled your Olympic vest on?

MARTIN: Yes.

PHIL: What did that feel like?

MARTIN: Well it was an inspirational moment and something that you feel hugely honored and proud, to represent the country.

VO: When Dr Guttmann died in 1980, his dream of a Paralympic games being held in parallel with the Olympic Games was still yet to happen.

It wasn't until Seoul in 1988 that both games happened together.

So, Martin, you've got some ephemera here.

Is this all one person's or... No, it's a selection from our archive here at Stoke Mandeville, which tells the story of Dr Guttmann and the Paralympic movement and really about some of the individual athletes who have been inspirational as part of that story.

PHIL: I bet he didn't realize what he was quite creating, did he?

MARTIN: For me personally, if he hadn't done what he did, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to take part in Paralympic sport.

PHIL: And I don't think Dr Guttmann is on his own in being an inspiration, really, you know.

Thank you.

VO: Natasha's motored the Porsche to Tetsworth in Oxfordshire.

VO: She's heading for the Swan Antique Centre with her remaining £136.

Housed in a historic grade 2 listed Elizabethan coaching inn, there are not many prettier places to shop in.

Paul is the man in charge.

I recognize you.

You're very welcome.

Lovely to see you.

Thank you very much.

Look at these surroundings.

You're not slumming it around here, are you?

PAUL: We're certainly not slumming it, no, it's absolutely fantastic but do you know what?

Elizabeth I stayed here, Queen Victoria stayed here, and do you know what, play your cards right, you might be able to stay here.

Who knows!

Oh!

VO: Now, there's an offer.

Maybe see how the shopping goes first, eh?

I think I'm going to work my way to the top and then work my way back down again.

VO: There's plenty of stock, but Natasha needs to focus on finding something in her price range.

OK, I'm going to go this way.

No.

No, that looks like serious oil paintings, I'm going to go this way.

No oil paintings, please.

This is a nice wee room this, I'm going to have more of a look cuz there are trinkety things.

Trinkety things, what I'm after.

VO: She's drawn to a French hand painted pin dish.

And it's porcelain.

It's actually in a little porcelain dish and you can see it's got a little bit of crazing on it, Not really...

It's in nice condition overall.

And this really sweet little stand.

VO: This pretty little dish dates from the late 19th century.

It sports a ticket price of £80.

Just a decorative thing but it's absolutely beautiful.

VO: There certainly won't be two of these at the auction.

But this would be a gamble piece.

Lovely though it is, it's not going to have wide appeal.

It's £80 but I would quite like to get it for half that price, so I reckon if I could maybe push Paul a little.

VO: Good luck with that!

That's a nice thing.

That's French, 19th century, "papillon" - butterfly.

Yeah, what do you reckon?

A symbol of the soul.

A symbol of the soul set free.

What do you reckon?

VO: Natasha was hoping to get this for half the ticket price.

If I knocked you a tenner off.

Hang on a sec, what's it got on it there?

80.

If I said 70.

We could round it down to 70.

NATASHA: Do you know what?

I love the little papillon so for 70 quid should we shake on it?

Let's shake on it.

Merci madame.

Ah!

Merci.

And thank you.

VO: Tres bon.

A deal done for the French hand painted dish.

Make sure you come back now?

I will.

Thank you.

VO: She's made a good impression there.

VO: The next shop for both our road trippers is the picturesque town of Wendover.

VO: Phil has stolen a lead on Natasha, so he's getting first pick at the local antiques center.

Hopefully dealer Mike knows where the bargains can be found.

Have a look in this room.

There's a cabinet full of curiosities.

And lots of bits and bobs.

I like that.

Yes I do like that.

VO: Labeled as a fireman's hose nozzle and priced at £35.

PHIL: And what could that be?

As it's... as it's you.

Yeah.

That old gag.

27.

See as it was me, I was hoping for like 15 or 20.

MIKE: 25 quid.

Is the bottom line.

VO: That's £10 off the asking price and within Philip's remaining budget of £36.96.

VO: Anything else catch your eye?

People think of antiques as being perhaps furniture and porcelain and bits of silver but now, it's old garden implements, it's all this sort of ephemera that relates to our social history in a way and I just love it.

And I love these.

Look at these.

These are fantastic.

Now.

These are for fitting on the hooves of ponies and if you can imagine the 19th century, a country house with a croquet lawn at the front, when it was mowed, there wasn't any cylinder lawn mower or whatever.

Your mower was pulled by a team of ponies or horses.

And you didn't want the horse's hooves to sink in to your lovely beautifully manicured croquet lawn, so the ponies had little booties.

Aren't they cool?

They're also 160 quid.

And why it just confused me a little bit, there's only two there.

I don't know that many two legged ponies.

VO: With the horse shoe back on the shelf, Phil's settled on the hose nozzle.

Time to shout for Mike.

Mike?

Come into my office.

Do have a seat.

Thank you, maybe some wax fruit would be nice.

Absolutely right.

Now, I really like that.

Mm-hm.

I'm not sure actually if it's a fireman's nozzle or whether it's just a big country house type of thing because that ain't going to put out much of a fire really.

And all of this is me working round to the fact that I do want to buy it off you.

But.

I can hear a but.

Yeah, no, no, no, you've been very very kind to me, but 20 quid.

23.

Bottom line.

That won't get us anywhere, that.

The dealer's got two ex wives to keep.

Thank you very much.

VO: Thank goodness he hasn't three divorces.

Even so, that's a generous settlement off the ticket price.

VO: Ooh!

Look.

Natasha's finally arrived in Wendover.

Look out.

NATASHA: Philip Serrell.

What a lovely way to shove it in my face as you stuff your face that I've still got things to buy.

Just you finish that off.

It's rude to speak with your mouth full.

I'm glad you... You've been minding your manners.

But you're awfully cheeky for starting without me.

I'll remember this.

Thanks Phil.

See you in a sec.

This really is very very good, honestly it really is.

VO: Wasting no time, Natasha delves deep to find a bargain or two.

Phil has had a little look, he's had first dibs, so he'll probably have singled out the best thing at the best price and I'll be left with everything else but come on, there's so much stuff in here, I reckon I can find something.

VO: Search and ye shall find.

Dealer Sarah is ready to help.

I saw a really cute thing in here.

It is ridiculously cheap and it's a sweet little thing and I'm guessing that it's not silver but it's a little sewing machine but seeing as I have very little money, things with a £5 price tag are starting to appeal.

SARAH: Appealing to you.

NATASHA: (LAUGHS) NATASHA: Out of the cabinet, it actually looks better in the light.

It looks really sweet.

SARAH: Quite... yeah, I think it's rather sweet.

It's unusual isn't it?

Yeah, cuz it's really well worked.

I mean all the parts are there of the sewing machine.

You've even got the sort of wheel at the back doing all the turning and it's a really cute thing.

VO: Can Natasha get this tiny bracelet charm for a tiny price?

If I were to offer you £3 for it?

How would you feel about that?

I think that'd be fine.

You think you could deal with that?

I think that would be absolutely fine.

Let's shake on three quid.

Yes, absolutely.

VO: Another deal sewn up and for £3, I'd say there's hope of a little profit.

But Natasha isn't finished yet.

Just clocked this and, you know, this is something that's caught my eye for one particular reason.

Because everything about it is quite pretty.

It's lovely.

On a distance, on a shelf, you would just say ah, that's so sweet.

You've got lovely hand painted decoration on this very sort of Bristol blue glass with a nice kind of frilly top and what looks to be the original stopper and let's have wee look, see if we can see the pontil mark.

Yep, it's, you know, it's nicely hand blown.

It's just a good thing.

But what's not particularly pretty is the fact that whoever has taken the time to paint this, they've not done the best job with her sweet little face.

She's got sweet little hands with a pointing finger, dainty little feet, a sweet little waist and a cute little hair cut, and on the face they've just been a wee bit sloppy.

VO: She's right.

The label only indicates this decanter "might" be painted by Mary Gregory, who was an American woman and fine enameler of glass.

The story's told that she was an old lady who painted the children she never had.

Whether this tale is true is questionable but without a doubt, her pieces are very collectible.

But, she was a perfectionist and would certainly never have painted ugly chops like that.

Now, it's got that age old motif written on there, A/F, so sold as found, so there's got to be some damage somewhere.

So see if we can source it.

Yeah there is a little bit of a crack where the handle meets the neck of the decanter.

VO: It has a fair ticket price of £28.

Sarah, of all the lovely things in this shop, I've been attracted to this sort of glistening blue decanter.

Isn't it lovely?

It's a little bit damaged, it's noted on the label.

So I was thinking of making an offer.

It's a wee bit cheeky, but I thought seeing as we've become such good friends, you wouldn't be offended.

It's worth a try.

You would take it in good humor and you wouldn't slap me across the face.

I'm going to offer 18.

SARAH: OK. And see what you can do for me.

VO: Sarah needs to put Natasha's cheeky offer to the dealer selling the decanter.

Time for a quick phonecall.

She said if you make it 20 then you could have it.

NATASHA: Oh!

SARAH: £2 more.

What about if I said 19?

Just for a laugh.

How about 19 for a laugh?

Yeah, you sure?

OK. Great, thanks Chloe.

Thanks very much.

VO: Natasha has haggled hard, getting around a third of the ticket price knocked off the decanter, plus the bracelet charm for £3.

Could these be the lots to give Natasha a big profit?

VO: As this leg of the journey draws to a close, here's a rundown of what Philip and Natasha bought on their travels.

Natasha started the road trip by picking up a Scottish plaid brooch and a large Belfast sink.

As you do.

She also bought a hand painted pin dish, a white metal bracelet charm and a blue glass decanter depicting a Victorian girl.

The five lots cost Natasha £129.

VO: Philip's purchases include a folio of prints, a set of four art deco burr walnut chairs, two Victorian letter seals, a silver plated ribbon puller in the shape of a stork and a 19th century copper and brass nozzle.

All of that lot cost him £153.

What did they think of each other's buys?

NATASHA: Phil's done a great job.

Doesn't matter how poor the condition of those prints is, because they're not foxed, so salvageable and for a fiver, they'll do fine.

I really really love that oval dish.

I think it's pure Victorian but it's such a lovely, lovely thing, and if you can find two people at the auction who really want that and covet it, it could make a lot of money for her.

£45 for four art deco chairs could be all the money.

I'm not sure.

They could make 100, they could make 20.

Such is the story with furniture these days.

So not too sure but I think he's got the balance just right.

He'll do fine with those.

PHIL: The sink, however, there is an exception to every rule.

I think she might just go down the plughole with that.

VO: It's time now to turn those lots into a profit VO: And head to auction in Chiswick in West London.

Found my mecca!

This is my mecca!

VO: Natasha's enjoying her time in the capital already.

I don't think she gets out much.

I think you think this is a fairground ride.

Honestly.

Scream if you want to go faster.

Argh!

VO: Almost there, Philip.

Hold on tight.

High Road Auctions is the venue for today's sale.

Ross Mercer is our auctioneer today.

He knows his stuff.

But what does he think about our items?

My favorite has got to be the art deco chairs.

The last of the good quality furniture.

They're newly upholstered.

They should attract quite a lot of bidders.

One of the items that may struggle is the costume jewelry brooch.

Colored piece of glass looking like a citrine.

But not quite the quality.

VO: As Ross takes to the rostrum - ha!

- our experts take their seats.

PHIL: First up, lovely, is your brooch.

NATASHA: I know.

VO: Our Glasgow girl was quite taken with this brooch.

Hopefully someone in the room is just as keen.

I've got a bid here at £5.

Oh, off to the races.

And £8, bid me 10, 12 now, 15 do I hear?

At 15 now on the telephone, at £15.

Oh, phone bidder.

From Scotland.

ROSS: Last chance, I'm going to sell it mind, to my colleague, on the telephone at £15.

That's alright.

That's... £15.

I'll take that.

VO: A steady start.

First up for Philip, his folio of prints.

Maybe this chap wants to get his paws on dog pictures.

Let's find out.

Arrr!

I've got bids here at £10.

Against you at 10.

15, I'll take, at 15, 20 now, 20 bid on the phone, I'll take five.

25, 30 now.

£30 bid.

With my colleague, left hand side.

At 30.

Last chance, going to sell it now to the telephone at £30.

Well that's remarkable, isn't it?

That is excellent.

Yeah.

Pleased with that.

Very pleased with that.

Very pleased.

VO: Five prints bought for a pound each and turning a £25 profit.

Now that's how to do it.

Next to go under the gavel is Natasha's big Belfast sink.

Just the job for London.

£10 surely for it?

Five I'll take.

It's got to make a pound.

£1 I'm bid.

Two.

Three.

A... A pound?

ROSS: Five.

£5 bid, eight?

10, 12, 15 I have, at £15, 20 bid on the phone.

At £20.

Probably broken a record here somewhere.

At £20.

Hey!

For the sink.

All done?

VO: Bad luck.

First loss of the day but there's still time to claw it all back.

Philip's fire hose nozzle is next.

£10?

It's no money.

£10 bid.

At 10, 12, £12, bid me 14, 14, 16.

OK, it's climbing.

ROSS: 16 bid, 18 now.

20 bid and two.

At £22 I'm bid, the gentleman stood in front of me.

22.

NATASHA: Oh, so close.

Good thing I paid the right price for it.

Any advance now?

£22.

24 may I say?

£24 bid.

NATASHA: Oh, profit.

At £24 then.

At £24.

VO: Sadly after commission is deducted, Philip's going to be a little out of pocket.

Now Natasha's blue decanter, enameled with a face that looks as if it launched a thousand ships.

Will she appeal to any bidders?

£5.

At £5 bid, 10, 15, at 20.

New bidder at 20.

Why?

Five now.

£20, 25.

Oh, good.

Right, OK. £25, £25, lady's bid sitting in the front row, 25.

Thank you.

Well done, well done.

You bought a nice thing.

VO: Oh yes.

Decent profit for Natasha there.

Philip's received some bad news about his next lot.

Do you remember those two seals?

Mm-hm.

There was the bone one and the agate one.

Uh-huh, yeah, they were quite nice.

Yeah, one of them's gone astray.

Oh no, has it been lost?

Yeah, I don't know where.

VO: Philip paid £35 for the two seals.

An insurance valuation for the lot was given at £65.

If the one remaining seal sells for less, Philip will get the insurance valuation, but if it makes more in the sale, Philip's even better off.

£10 I'm bid on the books, at £10, 15 now.

20 may I say, at 20, 25, 30 sir?

30 bid, 35.

Sure?

At £30 stood at the back.

At 30.

Do you know what, it's done alright on its own.

30 quid.

With the gentleman stood at the back of the seating at £30, I can sell it.

VO: So, the gavel's down at £30 and Philip's insurance valuation is £65, which means he's actually made a £30 profit.

Natasha paid just £3 for this bracelet charm.

£5 starts me.

£5 I'm bid.

Eight, 10.

Get in, girl.

Get in.

12 in the center, at 14, £12 I have in the center of the seating.

12, 14, 16, £16 now.

PHIL: Do you know what?

This is really exciting.

You should have bought the whole charm bracelet and chopped them up.

Last chance, going to the gentleman.

At £16.

VO: So, five times what Natasha paid for it.

That really is charming.

Ha!

Next up, Philip's ribbon puller.

£20 starts.

20 bid, 25, 30, five with you sir, at 35.

Straight in now, 40, left hand side at 40.

At £40.

Lady's bid at £40 only.

I'm going to sell them at £40.

Oh, Phil, don't make a loss, don't make a loss.

Last chance, £40.

VO: Yes, it's a loss, but only a small one.

The auctioneer expected Philip's chairs to do well.

Was he right?

We've got bids at £40.

Straight in at 40.

Five now, 45, 50 bid, 55 now, 55, 60.

£60 now bid online.

At 60.

Oh, online.

65, £70 bid now.

Come all this way, sir, 75.

£75 now, 85, still worth it.

£85, at 85, 90 bid.

Come along, at £85 gentleman in the seating, at £85.

This is exciting.

ROSS: Sell it to the gentleman.

You should say thank you to your man behind you.

He's a good chap.

Mm!

VO: Philip's almost doubled his money.

Excellent stuff.

The pressure's on for Natasha, and next up is her gamble buy.

She spent £70 on this little pin dish.

But will it bring big bids?

I've got bids here at £10, bid on the books, at 10.

Take 12 from you.

At £12, bid me 14.

14, 16.

At 16.

Why's he going in twos?

ROSS: At 16.

A minute ago he was moving in fivers.

ROSS: With Rachel, 20 bid.

VO: No, it's not looking good.

£20 with the lady, at 20, in the seating at £20.

Say 25, don't say 22.

Take five from you.

It's a lovely item, mind.

Yeah.

At £20.

Last chance at £20.

I'm going to sell it to the lady at 20.

Oh, that's really horrific.

Oh that's a big, big ouch.

That's sort of physically sore as well as mentally bruising.

VO: Oh Natasha, such a disappointing end.

Bad luck.

Do you know what, lovely?

I think I had a bit of luck there and it's, in auction terms, I think it's two one to me, isn't it?

Onwards and upwards.

Come on, you OK?

Well done.

VO: Natasha started this leg with £173.12.

After paying auction house fees, she's down £50.28.

Oh dear.

As a result, Natasha has £122.84 to start next time.

VO: Philip's stolen the lead, starting with £166.96.

After costs he's up £47.08, leaving Mr Serrell with £214.04 in his kitty to carry forward.

NATASHA: Right, go, go, go, go, go.

Before the bus comes.

Where are we off to, guv'nor?

Well, Brighton, darling.

Brighton.

NATASHA: I'm getting further from home and so are you.

PHIL: Are we going to see the sea?

NATASHA: There's every chance we might.

PHIL: Woo!

NATASHA: Woah!

Let's go to the seaside.

VO: Next time on Antiques Road Trip - as Natasha does her best not to upset the dealers...

I only want to be honest.

Not offensive.

VO: ..Philip's busy offending our ears.

(PLAYS CHOPSTICKS) Don't know any more.

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