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!

Whoops!

MUSIC: "Country House" by Blur VO: We're nearing the end of our antiques extravaganza with seasoned trippers Natasha Raskin Sharp and James Braxton, VO: both raring to go.

JAMES (JB): Now, how are you finding the car this morning, Natasha?

NATASHA (NS): A bit tricky.

I don't know.

I think she had a late night.

JB: I think you're driving very well.

We've only had two near-death experiences.

That's good, isn't it, for me?

That's fantastic.

It's good, isn't it?

I'll write in my diary, "Cheated death twice today."

NS: Thumbs up.

(THEY CHUCKLE) VO: You just be careful with that Porsche 911 of yours.

You still need it to get through Oxfordshire.

There were no pranks last time out... Ah!

VO: ..with James going for the weird and wonderful.

Dog cocking its leg.

It's quite amusing, isn't it?

VO: And Natasha?

Half price.

Delightful.

VO: Well, she found her inner haggler.

It's what I came here to do, right?

To haggle.

£30 opens the bidding.

VO: And when it came to the auction, it was first class all the way with a clean sweep of profits for both of them.

Forget the tea.

I think it's straight to a bottle of champagne, don't you?

Yes!

Yes.

I loved that.

James, look at the sun.

It's shining on us.

It is shining... What a performance.

It was like going into a casino.

I went into a casino and I said, "I'll put it all on Royal Worcester."

(THEY CHUCKLE) VO: And her numbers sure came up.

Natasha started on £200 and, after a spell in the doldrums, she's back in the black on £254.62.

VO: But James is the current high roller.

He started on the same amount and has now amassed a pot of £350.10.

VO: But it's not over yet.

Natasha, I got the feeling you've got slightly more competitive.

I can feel the gentle sort of hot breath and gnashing of teeth at my ankles...

I thought it was all over.

..terrier-like.

It's not over till it's over.

JB: It is.

What was that?

Do that again?

Grr.

VO: Down, boy!

This journey began way back west in Devon and we're ticking off a lot of counties as we head into Oxfordshire, eventually.

(GEARS CRUNCH) JB: Oh, hello.

Sorry, that was... Oh, is it another seamless gear change, Natasha?

NS: (CHUCKLES) VO: Lordy.

NS: If you can't find it, grind it.

VO: Our final auction viewing will take place on the outskirts of Oxford.

But let's make a start in Bicester.

VO: And it's James up to bat first, having being dropped off at Robinson's Antiques.

Inside, there's a lovely mix of proper old things, all carefully laid out by owner Ian.

Loving your work, Ian.

There'll definitely be something for an eagle-eyed expert in here.

Hello.

Oh, there's a cameraman.

VO: Hey, you're supposed to pretend he's not there.

Ha-ha!

Let's put some of your recently acquired cash to work.

We've got a pair of very handsome vases up here.

They're European of some sort.

Let's have a look.

There's a mark here.

I think they're very late 19th century, maybe possibly early 20th century.

And they're just a decorative pair of vases.

Great shape, aren't they, these baluster high-shouldered vases?

It's big and showy, isn't it?

And we've got a beehive here, so we know it's from Vienna, in fact, from Austria.

Big, handsome fellows, those.

VO: And they're a matching pair, which is good.

Again, nice marks.

Nicely decorated.

But they are...

They are all transferred.

They're transfer-decorated.

So there's quite a lot of mechanical processes to this.

But the thing going in their favor is they're totally intact.

They're a good size and they have their lids.

VO: But no price tag.

Shame there isn't more handicraft to them.

No, it's a good start.

VO: It is.

And just a few miles down the road, Natasha is about to get under way, too.

She's rocked up to the city of dreaming spires itself - Oxford - and she's headed for the high street.

Ah.

Antiques On High.

VO: That'll be the place.

In you go.

Hello.

VO: Lots of cabinets packed with lovely things.

Given her current financials, she might actually be able to afford some today.

Although she's still getting the hang of this in-profit lark.

I think I'm too used to looking for low-end items.

I can spend a little bit more money.

VO: Exactly.

Time to be bold and decisive.

Right, come on, what are you buying?

What are you actually buying?

What are you buying?

VO: Looks like this may take a while.

Back over in Bicester, with those big old vases on the table, James is back on the hunt.

This is quite fun.

This is a silhouette.

I would say it's sort of mid 19th century, Victorian.

He looks rather an entitled young man here, doesn't he?

VO: Made by cutting out the profile of the subject in black paper.

Huh, cheaper than having a picture painted, like that bloke there.

This is more a portrait miniature and this one's on paper and this has color and this is a painterly affair.

I would associate this with a sort of early 19th century foppish young man, isn't he?

VO: A bit rude, James.

As there's no price on either of those, we'd better have a word.

JB: Ian?

IAN: Hi, James.

Hi.

Now, I've had a good old rootle round the shop and I've come across a couple of items here.

I've got the Vienna vases.

I rather like those.

Now, would £60 buy them?

How about 65?

65?

Yeah, I can do 65.

That's really kind.

And I've also got a silhouette and a miniature.

OK. Rather like those.

Now, would £40 buy those?

Yeah, I can do that for you.

Yeah.

OK, you've gone and got yourself a deal.

Look at that.

VO: As have you, James.

105 all in.

245 still in hand.

That's great.

VO: And after they've been bubble-wrapped, those vases will follow on later.

Over in Oxford, I think we might finally be onto something.

This is lovely.

A beautiful stoneware flagon.

It's that gorgeous salt glaze.

Built to last.

My favorite part, actually, is this little section with the trailing leaves, which almost look like love hearts.

But it's this color palette that screams Doulton Lambeth.

So Royal Doulton, when you see Royal Doulton, you're in the 20th century.

Doulton Lambeth, we are in the 19th century.

In fact, handily, there in the mark - 1882.

It's a flagon for alcohol and I did just spot, when I was looking at the handle there, an "R".

So it's rum.

VO: For a very posh pirate.

£75 is the price on that.

Just because I've never bought it before and I love it so, I think I might have a haggle.

VO: Well, let's see if you can scare up a dealer then.

Oh, Lord!

Natasha!

Hello, lovely to see you.

That was so cruel.

You were deep in thought there.

I was, yes, very deep in thought.

Yes.

Stay calm.

I have seen a bit of Doulton Lambeth.

Art nouveau, cuboid flagon.

Oh, in the first cabinet around the corner?

Yeah.

I was going to haggle and then I just thought, well, Vince seems friendly, so I might as well just ask for your best price.

Eh, £30.

How would that sound?

Och, you're having me on.

No, no, you can have it for 30.

Are you sure?

Yeah, yeah.

30.

Don't ask me again!

VO: Quick!

Pay the man before he changes his mind.

That qualifies for a... Yeah, absolutely.

Thank you.

Ding dong!

OK, I'll go grab it.

Vince... Alright.

..you're definitely sure?

I'm sure.

VO: That leaves her with just under £225.

What a deal!

VO: A rum deal, you might call it.

Ha!

VO: Now, James has also landed in Oxford amongst the hallowed institutions of academia.

He's come to find out about an Oxford man who, despite his lack of learning, became a noted scientist and celebrated pioneer of a particular form of travel.

He's come to the former Church of St Peter-in-the-East to meet biographer Richard O Smith.

Hello, you must be Richard?

Hello, James.

Pleased to meet you.

Good to meet you.

And why are we here?

We're here because this place bookends the life of James Sadler.

He was baptized and buried in the church behind me.

He was, remarkably, the very first Englishman ever to fly.

Wow!

VO: Born in 1753 to a humble family, Sadler worked as a pastry chef in their bakery on the nearby high street.

No one knows why, with no formal education, he began to experiment with hot air balloons.

But the inspiration may have come from seeing his pastry rise in the heat of the oven.

Sadler had the fortune to hook up with someone called William Windham.

Now, Windham happened to be a student and fellow almost next door to the pastry shop where Sadler worked.

So we can surmise that he was a cake-eating patron of Sadler's.

Almost certainly, Windham helped with the finances, because balloons were shockingly expensive.

VO: Of course, it was the French Montgolfier brothers who first achieved manned flight, beating Sadler by a matter of months in 1783.

But he was the first to work out the science.

Whilst the Frenchmen believed smoke caused their balloon to rise, Sadler's test flights proved that it was hot air that provided the lift.

So we were ready for the very first manned flight.

And I can show you the exact location where the historic first flight happened.

JB: Oh, lead on.

RICHARD: Yes.

VO: Early on the morning of October the 4th, 1784, Sadler brought his self-built aircraft here to Christ Church Meadow.

With only a local journalist present to record the event, Sadler took to the skies.

RICHARD: And he floated gradually and silently and became the very first person ever to look down upon Oxford.

How big was the balloon that enabled him to do that?

The balloon was about 160 feet in diameter, so pretty huge.

The balloon would have been made out of silk, which, of course, was a very expensive, precious commodity.

Yeah.

And it would have had varnished resin on it.

VO: By the time of his next flight just one month later, he had abandoned hot air in favor of hydrogen, the highly volatile gas, which Sadler himself manufactured.

This time, however, a huge crowd gathered to watch.

And it was a successful launch and Sadler managed to fly all the way to Aylesbury before landing safely.

And he was returned by horse and cart, but as soon as he had got to the outskirts of Oxford, the adoring crowds removed the horse and then pulled Sadler around themselves.

He was an established Oxford hero.

These early flights must have been quite dangerous.

When he ascended, he didn't really know where the wind would take him, did he?

Very good point.

Today, you'll only go up in a balloon flight if the weather and atmospheric conditions are perfect.

But in Sadler's day, he advertised the flight weeks, sometimes months, in advance.

And whatever the weather was on that day, he went up.

And he did take off in a gale, a fierce gale in Birmingham.

And he was attempting to reach Lichfield RICHARD: in Staffordshire... JB: Yeah.

..but actually ended up in Boston in Lincolnshire.

That's a long way.

I've been there.

Yeah.

Incredibly, he reached Birmingham to Boston in one hour, 20 minutes, which would have comfortably made him the fastest human in history, albeit involuntarily, by that time.

Wow!

VO: After just two years, Sadler stopped flying.

He was employed as a scientist by the navy, improving the manufacture of cannons and inventing an early steam engine.

But in 1810, after 24 years on terra firma, Sadler's flying career took off again, from here at Corpus Christi College.

By this time, he was 57 years old.

JB: Sadler was a great celebrity of day, a man of science.

Did he find commercial success in the end?

Alas, he didn't.

Sadler managed 50 flights in 40 years, and yet he never managed to have any great financial success.

Having spent a daredevil lifetime taking off in force 8 gales, crashing into hillsides, plopping into seas, how did he die?

Very peacefully in his bed, one night, aged 75.

Fabulous.

That's a nice ending.

VO: After his death, Sadler's name slipped into obscurity, due in no part to academic snobbery over the achievements of this uneducated man.

But nowadays, Oxford is very proud of their own homegrown aeronaut.

VO: Ha.

Elsewhere, our other expert very much has her feet on the ground.

I don't know if I can catch up with James.

He's not known for winning road trips, and neither am I.

So my money's on James.

My money's on James.

VO: How's that for confidence?

She's off to the Oxfordshire village of Tetsworth... ..home of the Swan, an Elizabethan coaching inn turned auction house and antiques center.

Here we go again.

VO: It's a big, sprawling place, this - lots of rooms full of fine items from a multitude of dealers.

Very friendly staff, too.

(GASPS) Lily's a cute girl.

Lily's a wee old lady.

And she apparently has a nose for... a decent bargain.

So, Lily, come with me.

What are you thinking?

Bark if you see something fantastic.

VO: Woof!

I don't think cabinets are Lily's thing.

That's more her cup of tea.

I was really mean to James when he bought a peeing dog in the last leg of our trip.

But it did put me in mind of an artist called Boris O'Klein, who was inclined to etch little dogs relieving themselves.

And here we have one of a series called The Dirty Dogs Of Paris.

Wee dog at the front.

It's good to go.

I love the fact that he's zipping up.

There's nothing to zip up, but he's doing this action of zipping up.

We have the little toy poodle taking its turn.

The rest are waiting, but this... Amazingly, it's a Scottie dog.

This little Scottie dog can't wait.

(CHUCKLES) VO: You know, this used to be such a cultured program.

Anyway, this is one of the original etchings, and you can tell that because there is a plate mark.

We have the artist's name - O'Klein, B O'Klein.

And it's the color that makes all the difference.

That's the touch of the hand.

VO: Yeah.

That's priced at £35.

And we know the subject matter is on trend.

So I'm tempted by Boris O'Klein.

I can't believe I'm saying that.

VO: One grubby possibility.

Anything a bit more salubrious?

I have seen those go under the hammer before.

VO: What's she found?

The sliding case travel clock.

Really tactile little thing.

This looks 1930s.

It's just... ..that... that will sell it.

If you look carefully here, a little stand pops out.

VO: £48 on that.

Is it a goer?

I wonder, at auction, if that's worth five or 50.

VO: Well, there's a surefire way to find out.

Let's have a chat with Joe the dealer.

Hi, Joe.

How are you?

Yeah, not bad.

How are you?

I'm OK, thank you.

I'm OK.

So I like a little traveling clock that slides and is very tactile.

I like a print of some dirty dogs, I think they're known as.

Erm, that's... 48 and 35.

VO: £83 all in.

Do you think it would be possible to do clock and print... for £55?

I think cuz you're buying the two bits, I can give you the discount today for them and we can do the deal.

Oh my goodness, that's such a good discount, so thank you very much.

VO: That's £30 for the vest watch and 25 for the mucky mutts.

Just under £170 left.

NS: Thank you.

DEALER: Thank you.

Have a nice evening.

Thanks so much.

VO: Time to regroup and compare notes.

JB: Have you bought well, Natasha?

Oh, Jim, you wouldn't believe it.

Now, were you tough?

Did you haggle?

JB: Did you...?

NS: So tough.

So tough!

Mean, some would say.

What about you?

Embarrassingly so.

NS: (CHUCKLES) VO: Asking nicely isn't really tough haggling, chaps.

Nighty-night.

VO: Morning, all.

It's the last day of buying for our pair of Porsche pals.

You're looking very perky this morning.

Maybe externally perky.

Internally, devastated to be coming to the end of our trip.

I know, last day.

Shall we just do an extra leg?

VO: (CHUCKLES) No can do, I'm afraid.

But this one's not over yet.

Yesterday, James had a busy start, chucking £105 at a pair of big vases and a couple of little portraits... Foppish young man, isn't he?

VO: ..leaving him with £145 and some pennies in his pocket.

Natasha has just under £170 left after buying a vest watch and a fancy flagon.

And one other item that I think James will really appreciate.

You probably know Boris O'Klein.

Oh, yes!

Oh, very famous, isn't it?

And The Dirty Dogs of Paris, Chacun Son Tour - Wait Your Turn.

And look... look at this.

NS: The little... JB: That's a Scottie!

..black Scottie dog.

But he couldn't wait his turn.

He's already having a pee!

JB: (CHUCKLES) NS: Having a pee in the queue.

That is a good omen.

The luck of the wee Scottie.

VO: (GIGGLES) Let's hope someone else spends more than a penny.

Later, their goodies will be making the long trek to auction all the way up to Dumfries in Scotland.

But for now, we're keeping it local in the Oxfordshire village of Chalgrove... ..where, having struck out alone, James seems to have discovered shed heaven.

JB: There we are.

Great.

VO: Advertising itself as a no-frills establishment, Rupert Hitchcox Antiques is a bit of a rummager's paradise - a collection of outbuildings piled high with items from across the ages.

And not a price tag in sight.

It should keep our man entertained for a long while.

I'm always slightly drawn to these.

It's a pot cupboard.

This is something that would have stood by the side of a bed.

They're very useful.

So instead of just having a bedside table, you've got something where you can put items.

And years ago, would have had a chamber pot.

And of course, that's why you had a cupboard door - you want it out of sight.

And it's what is known as pitch pine.

It has this very attractive red-veined grain, and it was used much by the Victorians.

So we haven't got a handle here.

Eh, we've got...slight bit of staining here, some water damage, maybe, but not too bad.

If I could buy at around 50, I might have the opportunity of profit with that.

VO: That's one on the wish list.

Anything else?

I saw this earlier and I rather liked it.

It's incredibly heavy.

I don't quite know what it is.

It's a sort of... We've got a very heavy base there.

We've got a nice gilt-metal socket here.

I think there was a rod or something that went up there, so you could adjust the height of it.

But it's rather nice.

First half of the 19th century, I'd say.

Top quality Victorian, almost Regency.

I like it.

I like it, because it's sensationally made.

It's...it's very heavy.

VO: And that's a big tick in James's book.

I need to take it to Rupert and get it into the light.

Off I go.

VO: And once he's arranged them nicely, let's call in the man himself.

JB: Rupert?

DEALER: Yeah?

I've found two items.

Mm-hm.

A cupboard and this funny table here.

Interesting table base, isn't it?

JB: I've finally worked out what the problem is.

Some kind vandal of yesteryear...

Right.

..has taken a hacksaw to this.

It would have been able to have adjusted... Yeah, yeah, yeah.

..to quite a decent height.

This fellow, it's got a bit of damage on the top, that.

And now I'm looking at a split down on my side.

Have you got a split on that side?

No, no, no.

If you stand this side.

The secret is put it against the wall.

I know!

Yeah.

Rupert, would you take 80 for the two?

Do 100 for the two.

JB: Do 100 for the two?

DEALER: 100 for the two.

I'll give you 100 for the two.

OK.

Thanks very much.

Yeah, definitely.

VO: That's £65 for the pot cupboard and 35 for the tiny table.

Thanks a lot.

Cheers, thank you.

Thanks a lot.

Bye.

So, with all items stowed and £145 left, let's say... so long, sheds.

Now, having a hiatus on haggling, Natasha's headed back to Oxford for a spot of culture.

She's come to Trinity College to see a hidden gem that is the quintessence of Restoration period art and architecture.

Her guide is art historian Professor Martin Kemp.

Martin, hi.

Natasha, welcome.

Welcome to Trinity College, the friendliest college in Oxford.

VO: Completed in 1694, the college's chapel is one of the finest examples of the work of sculptor and master carver Grinling Gibbons, also known as the Michelangelo of Wood.

Oh, wow!

MUSIC: "Zadok the Priest" by Handel He was born in 1648.

Both his parents were English and they were living in Rotterdam.

He was clearly apprenticed to a sculptor.

And what would he be carving in Rotterdam?

He'd be carving ornamental details for houses, but, above all, boats.

Galleons at this time, they're incredibly elaborate, so he may have come up as a carver of ships' hulls, basically.

VO: Gibbons came to Britain as a young man in the 1660s at the height of a building boom.

The devastation left by the Great Fire of London and the Civil War, coupled with the restoration of Charles II to the throne, meant many great and ornate buildings were being commissioned.

It was a fertile period for many craftsmen.

But Gibbons's continental style didn't go down too well at first.

MARTIN: One of the problems he had is that his early carvings are religious narratives, which were not really wanted in a Protestant country.

But once they began to look at his carving of nature, then he was really recognized and was taken up and worked at Windsor Castle.

And he became very popular around the country houses.

If you were rebuilding your country house or redecorating it, you got Gibbons and company, so everybody would go, "Oh!

"look at that, that's fantastic."

VO: Gibbons became the King's carver and was also employed by Sir Christopher Wren for his latest project, St Paul's Cathedral.

Through Wren's connections to Trinity College's president, Gibbons was brought in to design this interior, where he produced some of his finest work.

What we see as we look up are two of the four Evangelists.

There's St Luke and St John staring up in a very passionate way to what's happening in the heavens.

And we become aware that the other angels are all looking at something purposefully.

The one up there is looking across at us as we come in.

So all these elements - the painting and so on, and where they are architecturally - are all in conversation, and we are in the middle of this.

VO: As well as venerating God, the carvings in this chapel celebrate Gibbons' royal patron and the return of the monarchy.

And it also gives a nod to the scientific thinking of the day.

We're now seeing what Gibbons is famed for - that's the lime-wood carving.

These are just extraordinary.

Freestanding leaves, pendant fruits, the grapes.

To think that they were carved is... Yeah.

It really does take a moment to process everything that's going on.

All this, what I call greengrocery, is all a reference to the study of nature.

If we think in science of the founding of the Royal Society - the investigation of nature, that was their agenda.

These are naturalistic things.

They're saying, "I'm a poppy" or "I'm a pod of peas" or whatever.

So Gibbons is looking hard at nature in a comparable way.

VO: By the time of his death in 1721, Gibbons had worked for a further four monarchs and had single-handedly changed the look of English carving.

And he's still influencing artists today - like Ben Harms, master carver and restorer of some of Gibbons's work.

NS: Ben, hi.

Oh, hi.

NS: These tools... BEN: Yeah.

..look incredibly specific.

BEN: How about you having a go and trying one of the tools, or two?

Well, I did see this suspiciously unworked piece of lime here.

Yes.

This could be a whole new career for me.

VO: So, after some basic instructions so she doesn't lose a finger, let's have a go at carving a leaf.

BEN: That's it.

Go along the line.

That's it.

That's it.

You're starting to round it over now, you see.

VO: It takes five years to complete an apprenticeship and a lot longer to turn out the quality of Ben's work.

But let's see what the master thinks.

Quite a clean job, considering.

And you've got some of that shape and you've got the curve in here.

Yeah, that's not bad at all.

I'll take that.

I'm chuffed with that.

Yeah.

VO: Meanwhile, our other expert is currently carving his own path to the last shop of the trip.

How's the motor holding up, James?

This car is a tractor masquerading as a very beautiful 911.

It started off very well on this road trip and it's now got rather elderly and it's busily breaking wind the whole time and chugging and wheezing.

VO: Happens to us all, eventually.

VO: He's making his way towards the Oxfordshire town of Wallingford... and another coaching inn turned antiques emporium, the Lamb Arcade.

Oh!

VO: Was that your age showing, old boy?

VO: Home to over 40 dealers selling everything from fine art to furniture, so, with £145 still left, what'll it be, James?

Too much china in here.

VO: Not china, then.

But there's lots more nooks and crannies to explore.

Although it looks like you might have competition.

£169 burning a hole in her pocket.

She's quite nice.

VO: Who's that, then?

We have a beautiful woman who's had her portrait done in profile, in pastel, by... Robin Watt.

VO: That'll be Canadian artist Henry Robertson Watt.

Exhibited at the Royal Academy, don't you know?

1932 is the date, but take off the date... And don't we know it's the '30s, anyway?

Look at her hair, her style.

Finger wave here, which has just been picked out with a light blue pastel tone.

And then this little curl at the nape of her neck.

She's very sophisticated.

She's very en vogue.

VO: She's priced up at £68.

Everything about her is just beautiful.

(SIGHS) I can't believe I might buy a picture!

For one of my final lots.

It's risky.

VO: You have bought one already, remember.

A bit less genteel, though.

Elsewhere, James is in unfamiliar territory - the jewelry cabinets.

JB: I've always had a bit of a weak spot...

I love the funny Scottish pebble jewelry.

VO: Don't let Natasha hear you calling it funny.

In the center here, we've got this Cairngorm - a citrine - a semi precious stone here.

And then we've got this rather nice moss agate.

So this is moss that's captured in Jurassic hard stone.

I think that's rather attractive.

VO: £85 on the ticket.

I'm quite tempted to buy that.

This will be my last purchase and it seems slightly appropriate.

We are going to a Scottish auction.

So actually, to repatriate a bit of their pebble jewelry would certainly make sense.

Anyway, I'll go and have a word with my nice Paula and see what she can do.

VO: Nice Paula, eh?

You smoothie.

DEALER: Hello.

JB: Hello.

Now, I found this rather nice piece of jewelry, Scottish jewelry with the Cairngorm.

Yep.

It's got £85 on it.

OK. Do you think the owner would take £60 for it?

65?

Would that be OK?

JB: 65 would.

Thank you.

DEALER: OK. That's lovely.

That's really kind.

VO: Hey, she's not called Nice Paula for nothing.

And with £80.10 left, his shopping is done.

Last purchase.

Good.

Thanks a lot.

DEALER: Bye.

JB: Bye.

VO: Our Natasha's still hard at it, though.

I think I quite like these.

They're very neoclassical.

They're... not neoclassical in age.

Cast brass, gilt brass... ..and...the casting is actually quite nice.

It's quite over the top, this ribbon, and I like its style.

Then in the center, we have this sort of oval cartouche and... Ah, this could be kind of like a Vestal Virgin or something in the center.

Grinling Gibbons, this is not.

But these are strangely quite in.

VO: £45 the pair.

I think they could do rather well.

Oh no!

Oh no, there's a broken bit!

No!

VO: Yes.

That one's a bit shorter.

Count to 10, Natasha.

No, I think they're still in contention.

If I can knock some good money off them, I think I'd still go for them, actually.

VO: In that case, you'd better have a word with Pat.

Pat, hi.

Hello.

I have seen a pair of wall lamps.

And they're very Regency, very flouncy, a bit OTT.

And a little bit broken.

And upstairs is also a pastel portrait in profile.

of a very pretty art deco lady.

VO: Those all come to £113.

Would you do the two for 60?

60?

No.

So what's your counter?

70?

Would you do 67?

OK. OK. NS: It's OK?

DEALER: Yeah, OK.

Right.

OK, fantastic.

Thank you, Pat.

VO: Or Nice Pat, as she'll be known from now.

Ha.

£25 for the wall lights and 42 for the lady in pastel.

Thank you so much.

I appreciate it greatly.

DEALER: OK. NS: Thank you.

Bye-bye.

DEALER: Bye.

VO: And with just over £102 left, Natasha has shopped her final shop.

Well, I don't want it to be over, but it's pretty much over.

It is.

Well, we've done all the buying.

NS: It's sad, James.

It's sad.

JB: It is sad.

VO: Well, there's one last thing still to do - off to the auction.

Here we go.

Here we go.

Off we hop.

Into the sunset.

VO: But before that, shuteye.

This is it - the last chance to shine.

It's auction viewing day and time to trade the Porsche for some public transport.

Ding ding!

Driver, I think we need to stop.

Ding ding!

Look at... Look at those!

NS: Oh, wow!

This is cool.

JB: A clippie.

What did you say, last one in is the what, ticket collector?

Yeah, I'm the clippie.

Come on, come on, clippie.

VO: After their tour around the South West of England, the last stop on this route is the marvelous Oxford Bus Museum.

But their items have stayed on the coach all the way up to Dumfries in Scotland, going under the hammer at Thomson Roddick's Scottish Auctions.

With bids on the book and buyers ready in the room, on the phones and out in cyberspace.

£80!

VO: James started with £270 on five auction lots.

Let's see if today's conductor, Sybelle Thomson, thinks any of them are top deck.

The pitch pine Victorian pot cupboard is a nice piece.

Very possibly part of a larger bedroom suite.

We have actually quite a bit of interest in it, so fingers crossed, I think it should do quite well.

VO: Natasha forked out just £152 on her five lots.

Any smashers, Sybelle?

Possibly my favorite lot is the Doulton stoneware ewer.

These are always popular, particularly because of the art-nouveau decoration.

And it's a beautifully made piece of ceramics.

VO: Very good.

Less good is what happened in transit to Natasha's Regency wall lights.

SYBELLE: Unfortunately, these have been damaged.

If they hadn't been damaged, we'd have been estimating them ..at £100 to £200.

VO: What a shame, eh?

But to make it up, Natasha will receive the mid-auction estimate, ie £150, towards her final auction total.

VO: Right, on with the auction proper.

Last auction.

Last auction, at the Oxford Bus Museum.

Now we were quite lucky in that railway museum, weren't we?

Oh, we both were.

Railways, buses.

I think it's a good omen.

VO: Let's find out, shall we?

Beginning with James's big old vases.

And I can start straight in at 20 bid.

20 bid.

NS: (GASPS) No.

SYBELLE: Vases at 20 bid.

22.

25.

Come on.

28.

30.

32.

Five.

NS: Hold on.

SYBELLE: Eight, 45.

Sybelle's in the rhythm here.

I think...I think they seem to be going.

70.

Near me at 70, five.

90.

100.

NS: Oh, she has 100!

JB: Yeah, she's got 100.

120.

NS: (LAUGHS) SYBELLE: Anyone else going on at 120?

At £120.

VO: Well, you can't ask for a better start than that.

Nice.

What were you hoping for?

I really didn't know, but I bought them because they were intact and big.

OK, that's the way to play it.

Yeah.

VO: The first of Natasha's pictures now - the classy and chic 1930s lady.

So it had no title.

But when we sent it off to the auctioneers, I gave it a title.

I called it The Finger Wave.

(CHUCKLES) (WHISPERS) The Finger Wave!

Straight in at 35 bid.

Oh no, I paid 42.

Five.

35.

38.

40.

Two.

Five.

NS: Oh!

SYBELLE: Eight.

50.

Good.

(PANTS SHARPLY) £50, on commission at 50.

New bidder at £85.

I love a new bidder.

Anything else going on?

90.

£90.

£90.

(WHISPERS) The Finger Wave!

Online at 95.

At £95.

VO: It was the wave what won it.

Yes!

I think...

I think that's jammy.

I'm going off you.

I don't think that was jammy.

I think she was worth that.

VO: James's bedside cupboard is next.

Let's hope the bidders go potty!

£100 for it.

100.

50?

Oh no!

The spiral of doom.

50 bid, 50 bid.

50 bid.

50 bid.

60 bid.

65.

Right, that's what you paid.

At £65.

VO: Could have been worse.

Could have been a stinker.

That is called washing the body, isn't it?

Is it?

Or washing the face, isn't it?

NS: (LAUGHS) VO: Silly man.

Next up, Natasha's Dirty Dogs Of Paris, otherwise known as Going, Going, Gone.

Ha!

I remember they were big fixtures in people's loos, weren't they?

Or as you say in Scotland, the lavvy.

The l...

Yes, I would hang this in my lavvy.

In your lavvy.

NS: Any day of the week.

(THEY CHUCKLE) Straight in at 20 bid.

20 bid.

20 bid.

NS: I paid more.

JB: That's your money.

20 bid.

22.

25 in the room.

28.

SYBELLE: 30.

JB: Well done.

Yes!

Yes, yes, yes.

35.

Nice to get that "thir-r-ty".

Thir-r-ty.

Come on, Sybelle.

Seated in the room, 42.

45.

It's between the net and the room.

I love that.

Room bid at £45.

NS: Yes!

thir-r-ty 48.

NS: Oh!

thir-r-ty Fall of the hammer.

50.

£50.

Still in the room at £50.

VO: Who'd have guessed the mucky pup market was so buoyant, eh?

Peeing dogs is the way forward, isn't it?

I'm certainly relieved.

(THEY CHUCKLE) VO: Ooh!

VO: Now, who's in the market for a couple of fops?

James's little portraits.

(WHISPERS) I had a silhouette done of me.

No, you didn't!

No you didn't.

At a party.

Did you keep it?

Do you hang it?

Yeah.

That's the coolest thing I've ever heard.

JB: It's in my lavvy.

NS: Is it in your lavvy?

Oh, I love it!

I've got 30 bid.

32.

NS: Oh.

Oh no, oh no.

SYBELLE: 35.

38.

40.

Two.

Five.

Eight.

50.

Go on!

50 bid.

On the screen at 50.

SYBELLE: Anyone else going on?

NS: Oh, keep going.

At £50.

VO: I say, old bean... another modest profit.

It's alright.

You know, they're not everybody's cup of tea, JB: are they, silhouettes?

NS: I think they're... JB: Are they?

NS: ..so cool right now.

Obviously not in Scotland.

No.

No.

VO: Time for Natasha's vest watch with its ever so pleasing sliding action.

I can start straight in at 20 bid.

25.

28.

30.

OK, that's good.

That's good.

Eight.

38.

40.

New bidder.

Ooh!

On the screens at 40.

Anyone else going on?

At £40.

VO: Another profit.

Ticking over quite nicely, isn't she?

Well done.

Small profits welcome.

Oh!

That's good, isn't it?

VO: Now, will this be a Highland homecoming, or coals to Newcastle?

James's Scottish brooch.

£30 for it.

I've got 30 bid.

Five.

40.

Oh, cool.

50.

50 bid.

JB: Go on.

NS: One more.

SYBELLE: Five.

NS: OK, OK. 65.

JB: Keep going.

At £65.

VO: Remember, that's called washing your face, James.

All I can say is you knew exactly what it was worth.

Yeah.

VO: Natasha's last lot of the whole trip - her Doulton Lambeth flagon.

30 bid, 30 bid.

32.

35.

Do you think you'll get 70?

No.

42.

45.

48.

Oh, gosh!

Five.

55.

JB: It's a good price.

NS: It's fast bidding!

60.

Five.

70.

Five.

VO: I think she's VO: on to a winner.

SYBELLE: 90.

JB: Wow!

NS: What?

SYBELLE: Anyone else going on?

SYBELLE: 95.

100.

NS: (EXCLAIMS) SYBELLE: 110.

NS: Why is it 110?!

140.

Why?

Why?

Anyone else going on?

At £140.

VO: What a result, eh?

I think that might have nudged her ahead.

Wow!

That's daft.

That's absolutely daft.

That's a good price, isn't it?

VO: And finally, it all comes down to James's small but perfectly formed table.

Straight in at 35 bid.

35, 35.

38.

40.

Two.

Five.

Eight.

50.

Five.

70.

Five.

80.

Five.

They love it.

They love it.

90.

Five.

Well done, keep going.

100, 100.

Oh, in the room!

In the room.

SYBELLE: 100.

JB: Come on.

Anyone else going on?

At £100.

VO: Another smashing profit.

Makes you want to break into verse, doesn't it?

Well, I've written something, but it's outcome-dependent.

JB: Oh!

NS: So we need to know... JB: So shall we find out?

NS: Yeah.

VO: Ah.

I can certainly oblige.

James started this leg on just over £350 and, for this final showdown, made a very solid profit.

After saleroom costs, his winnings for the week come to £408.10.

Nice work, that man.

But our terrier Natasha, who began with £254 and change, gave him a proper bite on the ankle.

After auction fees, she snatches victory with a stunning £492.12.

And all those super profits go to Children In Need.

Now, poetry, please.

It's done, fini.

Time to head home.

Do you promise you'll call me on the phone.

A win feels good, but forget competition.

I feel a good friendship has arisen.

So let's hop in the Porsche, drive off, plan the next one.

I don't know about you, but I fancy a rerun.

(CHUCKLES) Very good.

That is very good.

I would do it again, would you?

No, I loved it.

Definitely, I'd do it again.

VO: Well, count me in.

It's been an absolute blast.

(HORN HONKS) Does that mark the start of the trip?

VO: In fact, it's inspired me to pen a ditty of my own.

One lass...

I'm defending this area.

VO: ..and one gent, on a road trip they went.

NS: Don't you dare!

VO: And their company?

(BELLS RING) VO: It was sublime.

It's a deal.

Hello.

VO: There was fun, there were frolics... (BELL RINGS) VO: ..and eventually profits... AUCTIONEER: £110.

NS: (SQUEALS) VO: ..but we all had a jolly nice time.

NS: Bravo!

JB: Bravo.

NS: It's nice to be written about.

JB: Yeah.

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