[MUSIC PLAYING] NARRATOR: It's the nation's favorite antiques experts-- I think I found something.

Pretty good, yeah.

NARRATOR: --behind the wheel of a classic car-- [HORN HONKS] Oh, stop it.

NARRATOR: --and a goal-- to scour Britain for antiques.

[HUMMING] I think it's brilliant.

NARRATOR: The aim?

To make the biggest profit at auction.

[GAVEL BANGS] But it's no mean feat.

You're some man.

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

Oh!

NARRATOR: Will it be the high road to glory-- Yeah, baby!

NARRATOR: --or the slow road to disaster?

[GEARS GRINDING] - Oh!

Oh.

NARRATOR: This is the "Antiques Road Trip."

[MUSIC PLAYING] Steady on.

[MUSIC PLAYING] Good day, everyone.

[MUSIC PLAYING] Today's road trip connoisseurs are Izzie Balmer and Charlie Ross, back for another antiques misadventure.

This is fantastic countryside.

It's lovely.

But the road is getting narrower and narrower and narrower.

Can you make it any narrower?

We might disappear.

NARRATOR: Don't worry.

You'll be fine in this trusty old 1968 Triumph 2000.

[MUSIC PLAYING] [GEARS GRINDING] Oh, no!

Oh.

Hand brake on!

It is on.

NARRATOR: Oh, dear-- spoke too soon, eh?

Oh.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed-- help!

NARRATOR: Hello, girls.

Can you help us keep "moo-ving" along?

Now put it into first gear.

Ease the clutch off and release the hand brake.

Oh!

NARRATOR: Thank goodness for that instructor.

Hey, Charlie, what are you going to do on this next buying spree?

Oh, lose more money, I'd imagine.

I mean, nothing changes in my life.

Be resilient, you know, when you're as incompetent as I am.

NARRATOR: Don't be so hard on yourself, Charlie.

[COINS CLATTER] You still have a few pennies over 194 pounds in your piggy.

[GAVEL BANGS] But Izzie's way out in front, with just over 300 pounds to play with-- nice.

I don't know.

I've got about 190-something pounds left.

Why don't I give it to you?

And then what?

Well, then you buy things for me.

Oh, for you?

Then it might be a closer competition.

That's very trustworthy of you that you think I will buy good quality items for you.

Of course you would.

Why don't you give me your 300 pounds and I'll go shopping for you?

NARRATOR: You'll try anything, Roscoe, you rascal.

[MUSIC PLAYING] Our antiquers are on a countryside quest starting in the Cotswolds before going into Wales, and then along the South Coast for their final auction in historic Battle.

[COIN FLIPS] [MUSIC PLAYING] I prefer to be driven.

Have you got a chauffeur?

Yes.

Oh, yes.

He's called James-- James Braxton.

He's a lovely man.

Drive on, James.

NARRATOR: And don't spare the horses.

[CHUCKLES] For this, the second leg of our trip, will end at auction in Dorking.

But the fun begins in Gloucester.

[MUSIC PLAYING] Let's crack on, shall we?

Car parked-- time to head into the shops on foot.

IZZIE BALMER: Oh, my goodness, me!

Like that.

Skip with me.

Skip with me.

NARRATOR: Get with me.

Good Lord.

There's not an antique-- oh, what have you done?

Oh, dear.

Are you all right?

Which leg?

[LAUGHS] Can't take her anywhere.

NARRATOR: Come on, Fred and Ginger.

Charlie and Izzie will be sharing a shop this morning-- stand by-- a visit to Gloucester Antiques Centre.

Very nice-- [MUSIC PLAYING] --the shop with a huge range of antiques and collectibles.

[MUSIC PLAYING] Oi.

On your feet, soldier.

[MUSIC PLAYING] This is cutting edge.

Do you like this?

Well-- NARRATOR: All aboard!

Am I now a fashion guru?

No.

NARRATOR: Quit the shimmy shammying and find some antiques.

[MUSIC PLAYING] Look-- a piece of French furniture.

Walnut front, anyway-- single drawer side table.

It's priced at 40 pounds.

It's actually really a writing table.

Because it's got an inset tooled leather top.

And it's 19th century.

And there's just a squeak.

And I sense a profit coming on.

Izzie, watch out.

NARRATOR: Looks like someone needs a lift.

[ELEVATOR DING] Izzie?

[LAUGHS] How are you?

I'm Charlie.

What on Earth are you doing?

Playing Doctor Who.

NARRATOR: He's the Time Lord of antiques.

[SYNTHPOP MUSIC] Well, what I like about this is quality-- quality, quality, quality.

It's Edwardian, 1920.

And it's what we call, if you're being posh, Sheraton Revival, darling.

So it goes right back to the 1790s Sheraton period.

It's a set of wall-hanging shelves with a glass-fronted cabinet-- so part display, part functional.

And it would go in a modern house, you know?

It's crisp.

It's sharp.

And it's not too fancy.

NARRATOR: The Edwardian shelves are already reduced from 95 to 60 pounds.

But can a quick call to owner Dean get a better price?

The Edwardian thing-- did you say 40 quid?

DEAN (ON PHONE): Yeah.

- Yeah, lovely.

OK. NARRATOR: And what about the writing table?

DEAN (ON PHONE): [INAUDIBLE] 20 pounds.

Oh, you're talking my language here.

NARRATOR: Right-- prices quoted for individual items-- - Lee?

- Yep?

I really like-- NARRATOR: --but what can be done if both are purchased?

Do you think if we squeezed them another tenner-- LEE: I'm sure.

CHARLIE ROSS: She seems a top man to me.

- Yes, absolutely.

- 50 pounds.

You're the best.

Wonderful.

No worries.

NARRATOR: That's 30 pounds for the 19th century French writing table and 20 for the Edwardian shelves, with just short of 125 pounds left to spend.

Lordy, don't put you back out now, Charlie.

And no more skipping.

[MUSIC PLAYING] Back inside, how is Izzie getting on?

Oh, this is absolutely gorgeous.

This is 100% my cup of tea.

It's an Edwardian necklace.

And it's in a style that we call Belle Époque.

I just love the elegance of something like this.

I love the Edwardian period.

They were so glamorous.

They were so elegant.

Think Rose off the Titanic wearing something as fabulous as this.

NARRATOR: The necklace is ticketed at 35 pounds.

These stones are a little bit sparkly.

And I'm hoping that there's something else.

NARRATOR: Loop out-- eyes in.

IZZIE BALMER: I can't say for sure.

But (WHISPERS) I think they might be diamonds.

So without a diamond tester, the only way to know for sure is looking at the girdle.

Because a diamond is the only stone that has what is called a bruted girdle.

And it's by polishing a diamond against another diamond.

And you get this sort of matte, slightly dimpled, slightly rough finish.

If they're diamonds, that would suggest that it's set in platinum, not in silver.

And then we come to this stone at the bottom.

It's got a very, very vibrant pink color.

I'm not sure without taking a closer look at it.

So there's lots of questions going on here.

And I just don't have the answers to them.

I'm not a gambling person.

But I'm going to take it on this one and hope that it pays off.

NARRATOR: Let's hope these potential diamonds become your best friend, girl.

Lee, what can you do on the price?

Very best on this one would be 25.

Do you know what?

I am not going to argue with that.

Because that seems very fair.

Thank you very much.

You're very welcome.

[INAUDIBLE] 40.

NARRATOR: Marvelous-- first sparkly sale in the bag.

You now have 276 pounds left to spend.

Thank you.

[MUSIC PLAYING] NARRATOR: Now, where's the other fella got to?

Aha, there he is.

Look-- in a field.

Charlie's detoured to the Riverside town of Tewkesbury.

[MUSIC PLAYING] He's donned his welly boots to take a step back in time to hear why these rivers were vital to the global eel population-- and the wealth of our country.

But for centuries, man's interference with our waterways has seen a progressive decline of the eel-- or its juvenile, the elver.

[MUSIC PLAYING] Andrew Kerr, founder of the local Sustainable Eel Group, is meeting Charlie to share all.

CHARLIE ROSS: I have to say at this point, I'm not a great fan of the slippery, slimy eel, or elver.

But it's your job to convert me, I think.

ANDREW KERR: One thing we've lost is our connection with the eel, hence we think of it as slippery and black and of the night.

CHARLIE ROSS: Yeah.

But if you get back 1,000 years, you couldn't survive a winter in this country without eating eel.

Nobody was more than half a mile from a pond, a river, a brook.

And they trapped and ate eel.

It was such a big game.

But in 1086, at the time of the Norman conquest and the Doomsday Book, you have all these records of people paying taxes-- CHARLIE ROSS: No!

- --in eel.

CHARLIE ROSS: Because they were so valuable?

They were so valuable.

Is it still legal for me to pay my tax in eels?

Try it on.

[BOTH LAUGHING] NARRATOR: The eel finds its ways into our waters via an incredible journey across 3,000 miles following the currents from the Sargasso Sea near the Bermuda Triangle to northern Europe and into our rivers, including the Severn.

[MUSIC PLAYING] But our interference with the waterways has depleted the important eel stock, from constructing weirs to slow the flow of rivers to mills that use the power of fast-moving water.

CHARLIE ROSS: So this is one of many mills, isn't it?

Yeah, indeed.

The mill goes right back to 1150 or something like that.

CHARLIE ROSS: Yeah.

ANDREW KERR: So they've been using the waterpower for a very long time here.

And you're talking about mills not just in this country.

Yeah.

You're talking about mills across the whole of Europe.

Yeah.

Because you have to recognize that it's one eel population.

It's not separate countries' eel populations.

It's one for the entire range.

Yes.

ANDREW KERR: So gradually, what happened was, more and more and more mills and buildings and obstructions were developed.

So the eel didn't decline suddenly.

It progressively declined for a century or two.

NARRATOR: Historically, monarchs have seen the eel as a valuable commodity and attempted to improve their numbers.

King John declared in the Magna Carta the removal of all fish weirs.

Henry VIII and Elizabeth I imposed elver protection laws.

And King Charles II introduced fines for those fishing elvers.

But the laws didn't prevent the numbers from steadily diminishing.

When the Victorians led the incredible Industrial Revolution and harnessed waterpower for agriculture, for energy, for transport, and so on, they had no idea of the consequences of what they were going to do.

And one of the consequences is migratory fish have been smashed.

And the eel is just the worst example of that crisis.

Now, we're doing a lot about it.

Here we are on the river Severn, where there's a 25 million pound program going on, led by the Severn Rivers Trust.

And each of the big weirs are being made passable for salmon, for sea trout, for eels and elvers.

Now I'm a bit more au fait with what's going on here.

I need to be part of your conservation project, don't I?

You do.

Let's go and clean an eel pass.

Love to.

[MUSIC PLAYING] NARRATOR: The creation of eel passes help the migrating fish negotiate manmade structures in the rivers, allowing eels and industry to survive side by side.

CHARLIE ROSS: Right, so I've got a job to do here, and that's to help you, Andrew.

And what do we need to do when I'm not falling in?

ANDREW KERR: CHARLIE ROSS: Marvelous.

Right.

Now this is the bit I want you to concentrate on.

Because this is a specialist eel pass that's got overgrown.

CHARLIE ROSS: Yeah.

ANDREW KERR: And we've got to clear the front and the back.

CHARLIE ROSS: Now, Andrew, one thing-- I haven't actually seen an eel.

Am I likely to see one?

Well, the eels move at night for security and safety reasons.

Really?

So this eel pass functioning-- Yeah?

--you would see one, or several of them, at night.

[MUSIC PLAYING] The water's beginning to flow.

CHARLIE ROSS: Yeah, I can see it.

ANDREW KERR: That will work now.

CHARLIE ROSS: That's fantastic.

ANDREW KERR: That will work.

And thank you.

[INTERPOSING VOICES] That's so educational.

And may I say, I am now the friend of the eel.

ANDREW KERR: [LAUGHS] [MUSIC PLAYING] [WATER FLOWING] NARRATOR: While Charlie's drying himself off, how's Izzie feeling?

I'm so excited about that necklace.

I've still got tingles in my stomach.

The more I look at it, the more I'm convinced that it's diamonds.

I just think it's a good thing.

NARRATOR: It sure is.

Izzie's next stop is Winchcombe-- [MUSIC PLAYING] --at the aptly named Winchcombe Antiques Centre-- [MUSIC PLAYING] --with bargains galore spread over 2 floors and Izzie has just over 276 pounds to spend.

[MUSIC PLAYING] IZZIE BALMER: A pair of World War I medals-- so you've got your victory medal and your war medal.

What you get on World War I medals is the name engraved around the edge.

And sometimes, these can be re-struck, which does devalue the medal.

And you also want to make sure that they're a matching pair rather than just two that have been put together.

So these say, "176395, GNR, AV, Paul, RA"-- so that would be Royal Artillery.

NARRATOR: Brilliant.

And what's the book that accompanies them?

IZZIE BALMER: Here, we're holding a story.

We've got his diaries, which are absolutely tiny-- so a little pocket diary, I guess.

I'm hoping that on the 11th of November 1918, there's an entry.

And there is-- "Armistice with Germany"-- something something-- "hostilities cease."

So on the 11th, we've got an entry there referencing that the war came to an end.

For my own peace of mind, I'm going to walk around, have a look what else there is.

It's a definite maybe.

And chances are I'll probably be back.

NARRATOR: Yeah.

You have to find out the price, too.

IZZIE BALMER: He's a bit of fun, isn't he?

It's a wooden hippopotamus letter opener.

NARRATOR: (SARCASTICALLY) Yeah, he's a happy hippo-- looks like ebony.

He's just fun.

I like animals.

I like hippos.

I love novelty items.

The market loves novelty items.

And I can't say I've seen a hippo before.

He's priced at 28 pounds, which isn't bad at all.

I actually can't believe I'm being this decisive.

And I'm deciding pretty much on the spur of the moment to buy something.

NARRATOR: Snap decisions, eh?

Unlike you, Izzie.

Anything else in the cabinet?

IZZIE BALMER: He's rather lovely.

Fashion sausage dogs-- they're super popular at the moment, really on trend.

He looks like he's cast.

NARRATOR: From bronze.

And he's cute.

I'm going to buy a letter opener.

I'm going to buy a Dachshund.

And I'm going to take a punt.

I'm going to go and get the war diaries with the medals.

NARRATOR: Wise move.

Let's get a price.

Dealer Richard, incoming.

RICHARD: On the hippo, 24 is the best we could offer.

That's OK.

I'll take that, yeah.

Thank you.

RICHARD: For the little Dachshund, 35, I should think, is probably the very best.

I'm in a decisive mood.

Why not?

And then, this is the one that I don't know what it's priced at.

RICHARD: I know that's 150.

IZZIE BALMER: What could it be?

RICHARD: Very best I think he'll do is 130.

130?

I'm going to get all three.

NARRATOR: That's 189 pounds very wisely spent, I think.

And Izzie still has 87 pounds left to play with.

Anyone for some in-car karaoke?

(SINGING) I am the very model of a modern major general.

I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral.

I know the kings of England.

And I quote the fights historical from marathon to Waterloo in order categorical.

NARRATOR: He's quite Pinafore, isn't he?

[INAUDIBLE] (SINGING) vegetable, animal, and mineral.

I am the very model of a modern major general.

(SPEAKING) You like that?

I do.

It's not bad, is it?

Not bad at all.

For an old man.

NARRATOR: I don't know.

Nighty night, you two.

[MUSIC PLAYING] Good morning.

[MUSIC PLAYING] Are we all feeling energized and ready to go?

How was breakfast?

Marvelous.

Do you know what I had?

- No.

- Have a guess.

- Toast?

No.

Croissants?

Prunes!

Do you know how many I had?

Three?

- Six!

- Six?

Why?

Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man.

Six prunes.

I'm a poor man.

I have never heard of that.

I suppose it just sums up my age, really, doesn't it?

You're not quite ancient NARRATOR: I don't know-- the youth of today, tut tut.

How was your day yesterday?

Oh, I had such a great day.

In other words, you've bought another load of things with huge profits!

Well, I saw this necklace-- paste set, silver clasp.

And so you presume the rest of it was paste.

Well, I looked at it.

And I thought-- It's not diamonds?

Well, Charlie, I think they might be.

No!

Yes.

Oh, no.

Look, we were in the same shop.

I know I was.

But I don't look in jewelry cabinets.

That's for jewelry experts.

I look at lumps of old, unsaleable wood.

Gosh, I love these road trips.

Plenty of time for profits, Charlie.

That's it.

That's it.

NARRATOR: Anyway, besides the glittering Edwardian necklace-- This is 100% my cup of tea.

NARRATOR: --yesterday, Izzie splashed out 240 pounds on a hippo letter opener, a bronze Dachshund-- He's rather lovely.

NARRATOR: --and a job lot of World War I medals and accompanying diary.

She still has a few pennies over 87 pounds to spend-- whereas Charlie boy spent only 50 pounds on some Edwardian mahogany wall shelves and a 19th century French walnut writing table, as you do-- Oh, you're talking my language here.

NARRATOR: --leaving his kitty in rude health.

I've got about 145-ish-- something like that.

You've got more than me.

I know I have.

You've got more than me.

You've bought things that are going to make a fortune.

You bought half of the Kimberley diamond mines-- for thruppence.

NARRATOR: I wouldn't put it past her.

After dropping off Izzie, Charlie's made his way to the tiny Oxfordshire hamlet of Thrupp.

[MUSIC PLAYING] His next shop is the Antiques Emporium at Griffin Mill.

Oh, don't mind us, dealer Sarah.

CHARLIE ROSS: Hello.

NARRATOR: Just read on, girl.

SARAH: Hello.

You look very relaxed.

SARAH: I am relaxed.

- I'm Charlie.

- Hello, Charlie.

Nice to meet you.

And you.

Sarah, how much is your fire engine?

SARAH: 6 and 1/2.

CHARLIE ROSS: 6 and 1/2?

I've got to make a bit more profit before I can afford that.

NARRATOR: Just a little.

[MUSIC PLAYING] Charlie should be right at home amongst this vast array of furniture and furnishings.

Steady as she goes.

Well, what have you found?

A wonderful mid-18th century chair here-- in fruitwood, not mahogany.

Drop-in seat-- and I would expect, if you lift the seat out, to find a numbering on the back rail here.

There we are-- VIIII.

This is chair number 9 of a set.

Cabinetmakers weren't Latin scholars.

But they used to put Roman numerals on the back of their chairs.

So instead of nine-- which, of course, would be "IX"-- you'll find "VIIII"-- and variations of that.

NARRATOR: Complete sets of up to 16 chairs are a rare find today.

They're usually split as they pass down through a family.

And who has room for 16, eh?

CHARLIE ROSS: So where are the other chairs?

A set of those would, even today, be extremely valuable.

And no price on it.

Having said that, nothing in here has got a price on.

There's a beautiful pair of Edwardian chairs, but arguably French.

NARRATOR: They look like a pair of mahogany salon chairs, meaning "sitting room" in French.

Slight damage to the caning.

But I think they're beautiful-- absolutely beautiful.

And I would buy those if they were very cheap.

Carry on buying furniture, Ross.

No, just give Izzie a chance.

NARRATOR: That's the spirit, man!

Sarah can you get the owner of the chairs on the blower?

I've got Charlie Ross here who would like to talk to you.

Who?

I can hear her saying, "Who?"

NARRATOR: Don't laugh, Sarah.

It only encourages him.

OWNER (ON PHONE): Got a Georgian chair in need of some love.

That can be the grand sum of 10 pounds.

10?

OWNER (ON PHONE): Mm-hmm.

I won't hesitate.

I'll have it.

I'll have it.

I'll have it.

What about the other two?

OWNER (ON PHONE): 25 for the pair.

I'll tell you what.

I'll have all three.

I will pay Sarah 35 pounds.

You are a complete angel.

NARRATOR: Great-- good stuff.

CHARLIE ROSS: Made my day-- more unsaleable pieces of furniture.

NARRATOR: You never know at auction, sir.

That's a hearty 109 pounds, 44 pence left for today's final shop.

[MUSIC PLAYING] While Charlie has been enthralled with his campaign for brown furniture, where has Izzie got to?

Well, she's put the brakes on her shopping to pull into Cirencester to learn about a member of this Quaker meeting house-- one who went on to become a pioneering woman who broke with convention.

In the late 1800s, Elizabeth Brown made such a contribution to solar astronomy she is still heralded by scientists today.

Peter Cadogan from the Cotswold Astronomical Society has pulled up a pew to explain more.

What was early life like for Elizabeth Brown?

Well, it's a bit sad, really.

Because her mother died when she was about age 10.

So from then, on she was left looking after her father, making his meals and that sort of thing.

Because men expected to be looked after.

But her father was very interested in lots of scientific subjects, particularly meteorology.

And I think during that time, during her formative years, she must have learnt a lot about science.

[MUSIC PLAYING] NARRATOR: The spiritual values of Quakerism led many to closely observe God's creation in the natural world, especially in the fields of botany, meteorology, and astronomy.

Quakers were barred at the time from attending universities in England, so many were self-taught.

As a female looking to work in the sciences, would she have faced any challenges?

Oh, I'm sure she would.

She would be working on her own.

And you would need a substantial amount of money to buy a telescope in those days.

So it's really only when her father died in 1883 and she came into quite a large inheritance that she was able to start taking astronomy seriously.

So she bought a telescope and started observing the sun.

And she did this because she didn't want to observe stars at night.

It was too cold in Cirencester.

NARRATOR: Elizabeth specialized in sunspots, cooler areas that appear dark on the surface of the sun.

Although sunspots had been studied for centuries to prove that the sun rotated, in the 1800s, scientists like Elizabeth studied these phenomena to prove the sun had a magnetic field.

This was the beginning of even more solar investigation.

This is the sort of telescope that Elizabeth Brown started using.

It's a refractor.

The light comes in down this long tube through an eyepiece.

And it's projected onto a piece of white card.

And what she would have done was look at that white card and draw pictures.

She drew some meticulous drawings, which she had published.

I can show you one.

IZZIE BALMER: Oh, wow!

Really, really complex and detailed drawings that you can see-- IZZIE BALMER: That's incredible.

PETER CADOGAN: --the sunspots have 2 parts.

They have a deep, dark area in the center and a less dark surround.

There's an umbra and a penumbra.

[INTERPOSING VOICES] PETER CADOGAN: --they get bigger.

And the whole thing converges or it expands, and eventually disappears.

But to draw something like this just from a projected image like that takes a great deal of skill.

NARRATOR: Elizabeth's system of how to classify sunspots paved the way to how they're researched today.

Now we know sunspots can cause solar flares, the radiation from which can interfere with Earth's radio transmissions and power grids.

There may be a blackout any minute now.

Can I have a go?

Of course you can.

You can use this controller here-- Yep?

--to move it up and down.

Oh!

NARRATOR: Remember, you should never look directly into a telescope or binoculars when pointing towards the sun.

Move sideways.

You can push it that way.

Oh, OK. NARRATOR: Just like Elizabeth Brown, Peter has a piece of white card at the end of his telescope to observe the sun safely.

IZZIE BALMER: Oh.

PETER CADOGAN: You got it-- perfect.

Yeah, look at that.

Right in the middle.

She'd done these observations from her house.

But then she joined the Liverpool Astronomical Society, where she could publish her results in the society magazine.

And she became the Director of Solar Observation.

And then the Liverpool Astronomical Society became the British Astronomical Association, based now in London.

And she was a founder member of that association.

So she was a very eminent astronomer.

NARRATOR: Elizabeth traveled the globe, studying different aspects of the sun, including observations of solar eclipses.

She published her work.

And this research is still used in the scientific world today.

[MUSIC PLAYING] Someone else who's tripping the light fantastic is our fella, Charlie Ross.

How's the shopping going?

I've still got plenty of money-- 108 pounds or so.

And with any luck, I'll be able to blow a huge hole in that with more furniture.

NARRATOR: Hurray!

Charlie's off to his final shop on today's trip, in the town of Tetbury.

[MUSIC PLAYING] He's come to Trilogie Antiques.

It's your final chance to buy, Charlie.

Make it count.

I bet he buys furniture.

Oh, this is an interesting piece of furniture-- oh, furniture.

NARRATOR: Told you.

Ha!

CHARLIE ROSS: It's got a great scene on the top-- which, of course, is the Great Exhibition of 1851, which was held in Hyde Park.

And this was attended by the great and the good.

And one of the masterminds behind it was Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband.

NARRATOR: The Great Exhibition was the first in a series of fairs that became popular in the 19th century.

The prime motive was for Britain to make clear to the world its role as industrial leader.

An architectural marvel nicknamed the "Crystal Palace" was built to house the exhibition.

And the building was later removed to South London, an area that was renamed Crystal Palace.

Sadly, it was destroyed by fire in 1936.

It's beautifully decorated.

And it's made of papier mache.

At this sort of time, there was a bit of a fad to Japan things.

The Japanese lacquered a lot of things.

And we covered a lot of papier mache, and also some furniture, with a black lacquer, and hence the expression "Japanning."

This is a Japanned table.

It should tilt up-- and, of course, it does.

Let's just turn it 'round.

It's much better like that, as a centerpiece to a room rather than as a table.

Because if you haven't got a glass top on it, you would soon ruin it.

It's got some wear.

But you know, it's 150 years old.

It's.

Not surprising 165 pounds.

I've got about just over 100 [INAUDIBLE] NARRATOR: That's a nice table.

Fingers crossed, eh?

I have got left 109 pounds, 44 pence.

ANDY: OK. Could you offer that?

I'd need to make a call.

OK, thank you.

NARRATOR: While Andy makes his inquiries, it's final shopping time for Izzie, too, in the town of Lechlade.

She's visiting Old Bell Antiques.

With 87 pounds and 6 pence left, the pressure's on to find that all-important last buy.

(WHISPERS) I think I might have found another piece of jewelry sort of priced at costume jewelry.

NARRATOR: (WHISPERS) What?

That's exciting.

Tell us more.

It's a moonstone pendant necklace.

Moonstones were really popular in the Victorian period.

You see all sorts of jewelry being made with it, and also jewelry set in silver.

It wouldn't always be jewelry in gold.

Victorian moonshine jewelry does ever so well at auction.

I mean, you can be talking from a couple of hundred pounds up to a couple of thousand pounds.

And it's when they've got this bluish shimmer to them that they're the most desirable.

They're considered the best quality ones.

And they're certainly the ones that are the most popular at the moment.

But the bit that interests me is the pendant.

So you've got this lovely moonstone in this yellow metal mount.

Now, I can't see any hallmarks on there.

So it's not marked as gold.

But the look of it, the feel of it, the finish of it-- it kind of all looks like 9 karat gold to me.

But (WHISPERS) this is the best bit-- it's at 3 pounds.

3 pounds.

I can't go wrong.

And I cannot wait to see the look on Charlie's face if I tell him I found another piece of jewelry priced at costume.

NARRATOR: Yeah, I'm sure he'll be delighted, love.

[IMITATES CRYING] Back in Tetbury, has he got any word on the Great Exhibition table yet?

Ooh, the tension.

I don't know.

ANDY: [INAUDIBLE] Charlie?

- Yes, sir?

- She'll do it.

Are you sure?

Yeah, you've got a deal.

[INAUDIBLE] NARRATOR: Charlie's spent every last bean on his final lot.

But I predict it'll do well at auction.

It's a lovely thing.

Any road, back in Lechlade, will Izzie really haggle on the 3-pound ticket price?

Here we go.

Your shop is fantastic.

And I feel really rather ashamed to say I would love to buy this, but-- it's only 3 pounds?

You're kidding.

I know.

Best of luck.

NARRATOR: You're not wrong.

With a thrifty transaction, that's the end of today's shopping.

[MUSIC PLAYING] I spy with my little eye something beginning with D. D-- that's cruel.

I'm not even going to guess.

I know exactly what you're going for.

[INAUDIBLE] Diamonds.

NARRATOR: Sleep tight, chaps.

Cock-a-doodle-do, eh?

It's auction day.

A new dawn has broken in Dorking.

Why the big chick on a roundabout?

A breed of chicken is named after the town, that's why.

But will our 2 experts be crowing after today's auction?

Charlie, I can't keep up.

[INAUDIBLE] NARRATOR: Nice new [INAUDIBLE] Izzie.

We're at the end of the latest leg of this trip.

After getting off the blocks in Gloucester, our experts snaked their way to Dorking and a sale at Crow's Auction Gallery.

[MUSIC PLAYING] On this leg, Izzie bought 5 lots for 217 pounds.

I love this little Dachshund.

And little dogs sell really well in sale rooms.

I would like it to be Austrian, by Bergman.

There is no mark on it.

Then, of course, it would be really rather valuable.

Woof!

Woof!

NARRATOR: Down, boy.

Charlie spent all of his cash on 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 pieces of furniture, including that tilt top table.

It's absolutely exquisite.

And items from the Great Exhibition always do really, really well.

It's just one of those iconic moments of Victorian history.

I'm not entirely sure that it has that much of a use today, just because you wouldn't want to damage the top.

But as a decorative item, spot on, Charlie.

[INAUDIBLE] How much?

NARRATOR: The man with the gavel is auctioneer Tom Lofts.

What does he make of our experts' buys?

TOM LOFTS: Charlie has made his mission to buy brand furniture on this trip.

That's great.

But I'm still going to struggle with his fruitwood chair.

By far, my favorite lot of the day has to be the World War I medals and the notebooks-- the most poignant lot in the sale.

A lot of interest online, so we're very hopeful that we will get a good result.

NARRATOR: Keeping everything crossed, then, the auction room is all set, with bidders in the room, on the phone, and online.

Come on, you two.

Park your bottoms.

Oh!

Look at this.

This is luxury.

I see you've made me sit in the middle of the 2 joins.

Well, I need the arm, you see, to rest on when I fall asleep during your loss.

[GASPS] NARRATOR: First up is Izzie's miniature bronze Dachshund.

Look!

It looks gorgeous.

Don't sound so surprised.

A 10 pound bid.

10 pounds.

[AUCTIONEER CHANT] Lady bids 20.

Bid 22.

We'd get that at [INAUDIBLE] [AUCTIONEER CHANT] I need more.

The line's 'round for the Dachsie.

I can't watch.

[AUCTIONEER CHANT] 2-8.

I'm not watching.

You're going to have to tell me.

It's fine.

To the room I sell.

[BANGS GAVEL] NARRATOR: You can look now, Izzie.

Sadly, it's a small loss.

I really liked him.

Yeah, but-- Not quite as much as I like you.

But almost.

[AUCTIONEER CHANT] NARRATOR: Now, the first piece of Charlie's furniture-- his 18th century fruitwood chair.

Classic piece of Georgian furniture.

10 pounds?

Bid.

Tenner bit.

10.

10 pounds.

I'm mightily relieved.

Selling at 10 pounds.

[BANGS GAVEL] NARRATOR: It's even Stevens, but lots more to come.

It's 10 pounds.

It's neither here nor there.

NARRATOR: Carrying on her animal theme, Izzie's ebony hippo letter opener is next.

Do you ever feel like a hippo?

How dare you?

20 I've got online.

20 online.

[AUCTIONEER CHANT] bid 22, bid 22.

Well done.

[BANGS GAVEL] 28 bid.

28 pounds.

Interesting.

He goes from 22 to 25 to 28.

He sort of rattles up.

30 pounds online.

30.

[INAUDIBLE] going to be selling at 30.

All done?

[BANGS GAVEL] NARRATOR: Showing its teeth with a small profit.

Yay!

NARRATOR: Next, Charlie's Edwardian mahogany wall shelves.

Wonderful quality.

Oh, look.

Here it is.

[AUCTIONEER CHANT] And now 20.

I've got [INAUDIBLE] Oh.

[AUCTIONEER CHANT] 22, and 5.

25 pounds-- giving it away.

[AUCTIONEER CHANT] 28 pounds, 28 pounds.

[INAUDIBLE] Charlie, what's happening?

It's a horrible dream.

- 28 pounds.

30 pounds.

[AUCTIONEER CHANT] It's OK. All done and selling.

Away we go.

[BANGS GAVEL] NARRATOR: It's wiped its face.

[WHISTLES] I thought I was given those at 30 pounds.

NARRATOR: Now, Izzie's first piece of glitz-- the moonstone pendant.

What about 20 pounds?

It's not a huge profit.

[INAUDIBLE] 3 pounds at 20 pounds, I'd frankly give anything to turn 3 pounds into 20 pounds.

But you're going to do this with your wood.

Yes, I would turn 20 pounds into 3 pounds.

It's the other way 'round, really.

I've got 10, 12, 15, 18 I am bid.

In the money.

Cost 3.

18 pounds, the moonstone.

At 20, bid 20.

Oh, it's that man bidding online again.

I love that man online.

At 22 pounds against you, online.

[AUCTIONEER CHANT] 28 pounds, 28 pounds, 25.

Come on.

- I'm all smiles now, Charlie.

- Brilliant.

[AUCTIONEER CHANT] Magnificent.

[GAVEL BANGS] NARRATOR: Well done.

That is a great profit.

Blimey, you are a genius.

Will Charlie's 19th century walnut writing table deliver success?

It looks really very handsome.

Looks rather smart, doesn't it?

At 15, 18, only 22, 25.

Profit.

[AUCTIONEER CHANT] Bidding, yes?

[AUCTIONEER CHANT] - Ooh!

Yeah!

Profit.

Selling at 30.

Selling at 30?

[BANGS GAVEL] NARRATOR: Huh.

That's Charlie's first profit of the day.

Flying the flag for furniture.

Flying the flag for furniture.

NARRATOR: Next, it's Izzie's group lot of World War I medals and diary.

Gunner AV Poole.

Do you know, he was a bit of a rebel.

How do you know?

Well, because privates-- and that's what a gunner would have been-- Yeah?

--privates weren't allowed to keep a diary.

I never knew that.

Only officers were allowed to keep diaries.

Good grief.

Really special lot, this.

With me at 48 online.

50 bid.

And 5.

55 pounds.

Come on.

60 [AUCTIONEER CHANT] [INAUDIBLE] [AUCTIONEER CHANT] 70 pound bid.

70 pounds.

70 pounds.

Oh.

[AUCTIONEER CHANT] Selling at 70.

All done?

[BANGS GAVEL] NARRATOR: Wasn't the day for them-- such a shame.

I feel a bit flat for you.

Rather excited for me, but rather flat.

NARRATOR: Will Charlie's 19th century French salon chairs bring some cheer?

They're pretty.

They're mahogany.

They're cross banded.

They've got little gilt metal rambles on them.

They look fabulous.

They do look fabulous.

10 to me.

10.

[AUCTIONEER CHANT] - [INAUDIBLE] [AUCTIONEER CHANT] Selling 15.

And he's crying.

And selling at 15 pounds.

I'm not.

[AUCTIONEER CHANT] These are tremendous value.

Look [INAUDIBLE] 15 pounds.

[INAUDIBLE] Good man.

[AUCTIONEER CHANT] NARRATOR: Someone's picked up a great bargain.

Oh-- lower and lower.

NARRATOR: Now, will Izzie's Edwardian diamond and sapphire necklace add some sparkle to the sale?

I've got high hopes.

15.

18 only.

18 pounds.

[AUCTIONEER CHANT] with a diamond.

20 [AUCTIONEER CHANT] 25 pounds.

28 bid.

28 pounds.

28 pounds for the diamond?

- [INAUDIBLE] - And here we go.

38 pound.

38 pound.

40 bid.

40 pounds.

Izzie!

It's a profit.

Well, yeah.

TOM LOFTS: [AUCTIONEER CHANT] 45 pounds.

CHARLIE ROSS: He's going at the clappers.

48 bid.

[AUCTIONEER CHANT] 50.

They're exploding into action, all these online-- Well, you are.

[AUCTIONEER CHANT] 60 pound.

[AUCTIONEER CHANT] 65.

65, Izzie!

70 pound.

70.

TOM LOFTS: [AUCTIONEER CHANT] 75 pounds.

80 bid.

- 80!

TOM LOFTS: There we are.

Oh, no.

Izzie wizzy.

85 pounds.

[AUCTIONEER CHANT] 85.

TOM LOFTS: [AUCTIONEER CHANT] 90 pounds.

And nodding here.

[AUCTIONEER CHANT] I've got 95.

[AUCTIONEER CHANT] [INAUDIBLE] Oh, come on.

[INTERPOSING VOICES] [AUCTIONEER CHANT] 95.

Are you sure?

[BANGS GAVEL] NARRATOR: Shining bright like a diamond with that lovely earner.

Yay!

NARRATOR: Charlie's final lot now-- his Great Exhibition table.

Here we go.

It looks fabulous.

I know it does.

I'd almost be tempted to bid on it.

With me, at 25.

No, he's only just starting.

I'm liking this.

32, 35, 38, 40, 45, 50.

Charlie.

55, and 60.

65 and 70.

- Come on.

- 80 bid.

80 bid.

90.

1 bid.

Charlie!

110, 120.

Don't lose it.

Don't lose it.

[INAUDIBLE] Still liking this.

Yes.

At 140.

Come on.

I want 50.

- Oh.

Charlie!

The brown furniture's dead.

But black furniture's right in.

One out online.

60.

170 bid.

[AUCTIONEER CHANT] 180.

[AUCTIONEER CHANT] IZZIE BALMER: Charlie.

TOM LOFTS: 190.

[INTERPOSING VOICES] [AUCTIONEER CHANT] At 220 pounds, [AUCTIONEER CHANT] And away we go.

Out the back.

And away we go.

Sold.

[BANGS GAVEL] Back in the game.

My mood has changed distinctly in the last 10 minutes.

NARRATOR: Ha, ha!

Doubled his money-- well done.

That was a great find.

Let's go and celebrate anyway.

NARRATOR: Slide rules at the ready, I reckon.

Izzie started today with 301 pound, 6 pence in her pig.

After auction costs are taken, she's made a small loss, leaving her with just shy of 290 pounds for next time.

Charlie began with 194 pounds, 44p.

After sale room fees, he walks away with a profit and will stroll into the next leg with just over 250 pounds, narrowing Izzie's lead.

It is close.

[LAUGHS] Close run, [INAUDIBLE] Yes, it was.

Thanks to the Great Exhibition!

What else can we say?

Wonderful.

Lead on.

NARRATOR: Pip, pip.

[MUSIC PLAYING]