VO: It's the nation's favorite antiques experts...

I don't know what to do.

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: Now you'd think our experts at least would be au fait with the rules of the Antiques Road Trip.

I really ought to, you know, buy something that might make a profit.

There's a thought.

VO: It certainly is.

Although in truth, Paul Laidlaw's grasped the nettle this week.

Is it expensive?

Ooh, no.

VO: While Christina Trevanion's been badly stung.

Aargh!

CHRISTINA: Have I won anything this week?

You've won my respect.

VO: So losing 4-0 and over £600 adrift, Christina sets out on the final leg with mixed feelings.

There is the part of me that is going to miss you, just so lovely to be with.

And then there is the part of me that is not going to miss being hammered at every single auction that we go to.

VO: Yeah.

VO: Christina has so far managed to shrink her £200 stake to just £145.90.

VO: While Paul, who began with the same sum.

Has done very much the opposite.

Starting our final leg with £750.96 at his disposal.

CHRISTINA: Beep beep.

How do we honk?

PAUL: I've not sussed honking yet.

Where's honking?

PAUL: Honk!

Honk!

VO: Press harder.

VO: Our trip began in Clare in Suffolk, before careering around the heart of England, and then heading north, to end up at a Cheshire auction in Northwich.

Today the HMC Mark IV starts out in the Staffordshire city of Lichfield, and motors towards that date with destiny, in the aforementioned Northwich.

VO: Now if our two rummagers do ever look up whilst in Lichfield, they'll be rewarded with a sight of the only medieval English cathedral boasting three spires.

How's that?

VO: But first things first, and they're in this one together.

CHRISTINA: This is my last chance to impress you.

PAUL: You don't need to try.

CHRISTINA: Oh!

I think I do.

VO: Yeah, really, she does.

CHRISTINA: Here we are.

Lichfield Antiques Centre.

Ah, good morning.

DEALER: Ah, good morning.

CHRISTINA Hi.

Hello, hi.

PAUL: Hello.

CHRISTINA: Who are you?

DEALER: I'm Paul.

Paul, oh Paul.

I've got my Pauls.

PAUL: That's a name I won't forget for once.

I love it.

Now, hang on a second, your OCD says that you have to go clockwise?

DEALER: Yes.

OK, see you later.

VO: Not really.

He's just very particular.

Could always count his profits to calm down though.

These two do face very different problems.

I do have to be very tactical, don't I, this time, very tactical.

If I'm to regain a shred of dignity whatsoever.

VO: So not spend much then.

Whether I have got 200 or £700 to spend, my outlook is the same.

I kid you not.

VO: We'll see.

Now what's first out of the cabinets, then?

CHRISTINA: Isn't that lovely?

Black Forest wares are really really popular at the moment.

You know, the carved animals, you know those wonderful bear and mother groups.

The term Black Forest carving actually originated in Switzerland in the early 1800s and they weren't overly fashionable, but in the last sort of 10 and 15 years they have gone massively fashionable and are achieving some really fantastic prices at auction.

That is fab.

I like that.

How much is on that?

DEALER: That has got 45.

45?

And is there any flexibility on price on that?

DEALER: I could do that for 40.

VO: Mm.

Got anything cheaper?

CHRISTINA: See, I love these.

Little Rolls Royce condiments.

They are so, so sweet.

You just can't mistake that Rolls Royce logo, can you?

And my father, bless him, I grew up with lots of Rolls Royce memorabilia around our house, because my dad was an apprentice to Rolls Royce in Crewe in the 1960s and 70s.

VO: Much cheaper.

£10 for those.

It really does bring back a lot of childhood memories for me.

Which is worrying, because am I buying them with my heart?

Probably, yes.

But I think there is quite a healthy collectors' club for Rolls Royce memorabilia.

VO: Oh, yeah.

Good point.

Especially as the auction's online.

Now that's very Paul.

See what I mean?

PAUL: So, I spy what looks like a mid 20th century Bakelite cased office wall clock.

Made by Smiths.

Big manufacturer of such clocks.

But what is odd about that clock, that's not a 12 hour sweep.

That is a 20 minute sweep.

So, what on earth am I looking at?

I don't know is the answer.

Until... Look at the price tag.

It tells us "very rare" - but get that, "World War II RAF dark room 20 minute clock used when developing photographs taken over enemy territory".

VO: So not only is it a sort of clock but militaria too!

Two of his favorite boxes ticked.

Apparently it's got an alarm feature as well.

Oh no, what have I done?

VO: Blimey!

PAUL: I suspect to some collector this is a good buy at £85.

Now, my fear is it's so obscure and so utterly useless that it's maybe not such a bargain as we might think.

VO: There's only one way to find out Paul.

VO: Meanwhile Christina's about to turn on the charm.

Watch this.

CHRISTINA: Chris?

It's beautiful, isn't it?

Well, I mean, obviously, apart from the damage, and you know, it's very broken, isn't it, and you know, pretty ugly.

You don't really wanna keep it, do you?

Can we say 25?

Is that alright?

You're a legend.

He said 25's fine.

Brilliant, Chris, you're an angel.

Thank you so much.

Have a lovely day.

VO: Good price.

Now what about the Rolls Royce of condiments?

Or something like that.

DEALER: OK, thank you.

He said eight.

Eight?

Can I phone, can I speak to him?

Ian, right, come on Ian.

Come on, give us the double whammy.

DEALER: Hi Ian.

Christina would like to talk to you.

Thank you.

Hi, Ian, how are you?

I do like them but I'm thinking more sort of like a fiver, really, would probably be more my budget.

What's your thoughts?

You're an angel.

Thank you so much.

So, we'll say £5.

I know.

You're gonna go to Heaven, darling, I promise.

VO: £30 in total and she's managing very well so far, on limited means.

VO: But what about Old Moneybags?

PAUL: My problem with it is it ain't a clock.

No.

You cannae hang that up on your kitchen wall or your office wall and enjoy it.

It's a...

It's redundant.

Mm-hm.

Cuz it's a timer.

Sure.

Sure.

And you cannae even use it to cook your eggs.

PAUL: Is there any way that price could be worked on?

DEALER: Ah, yes.

Yes, we could do something.

I'd love to buy it for 30 quid, something like that.

DEALER: I'll see what he says.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's all I can ask.

I suspect it might be a step too far.

VO: So while our Paul carries on looking, shopkeeper Paul takes to the phones.

Looks like there may be something else to consider too.

This is uber sexy.

VO: Yeah, some WMF.

Whose is this stuff?

Ah, it's mine and Madeleine's, so ah... Really, so I'm now talking to the organ grinder?

Yeah, yeah.

This is better.

VO: He bought some different WMF earlier in the week.

Did well too.

I bought the christening set, did I not, so you're experts on W rttembergische Metallwarenfabrik, which rolls of the tongue, of course.

Ja?

VO: Ja, sehr gut!

'Very interesting' to say the least.

PAUL: It's slightly scary, to be honest with you.

So we have got this little...

It's got to be a whirlpool.

It would be unfair to say it's an eddy, it's stronger than that, and there's this wee kid caught up in it, and looking somewhat terrified, because there's a Komodo dragon coming at it.

Um, it's a bizarre concoction, it really is.

But as such it's a joy.

VO: Quite.

The ticket price is £275.

Plus shopkeeper Paul has managed to get a £50 price for the clock.

So is our Paul about to splash some of that cash?

I'd like 250 for it.

Don't put it away.

I fear I must.

PAUL: Seriously, it's £120 worth to me.

DEALER: Ah.

That's harsh.

Harsh.

If you make it 180.

It's too strong for me.

DEALER: I think the very best I could do, ooh, and it hurts me, is 150.

PAUL: I still think it's too much of a gamble for me.

DEALER: 130.

Ooh.

Come on, for £10!

You're right, you're right, you're right.

VO: That's 130, plus 50 for the clock.

You can almost hear the cogs whirring.

I'm ahead of the game.

I can take a loss.

Good man.

VO: And he said his pile of cash wouldn't change him.

Eh, right, I'll follow you and settle my debts.

DEALER: Thank you very much.

PAUL: Pleasure.

Next time.

VO: Now Dr Samuel Johnson was born in Lichfield, and memorably described it as "a city of philosophers".

He almost certainly had one particular resident in mind and Christina's come to find out about Erasmus Darwin.

CHRISTINA: Hello.

TONY: Christina.

You must be Tony.

I am Tony.

How lovely to meet you.

Welcome to Darwin House.

CHRISTINA: Shall we have a little look round?

TONY: I think we should.

CHRISTINA: Thank you.

VO: This house was once the home of one of Britain's greatest polymaths.

A highly successful physician who was also a scientist, a poet and a naturalist.

Darwin's work had a huge influence on his much more famous relative.

CHRISTINA: Explain to me about Erasmus Darwin, because I've heard of Charles.

I mean, Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury, which is my sort of home town.

Oh, right?

But I've not heard of Erasmus before.

TONY: Erasmus was Charles's grandfather... CHRISTINA: Right.

TONY: And we have set the house in 1770, because it was when he began to talk about evolution.

CHRISTINA: In 1770?

TONY: In 1770.

Erasmus was talking about evolution?

He was.

Yes.

I thought that it was Darwin that was doing evolution in sort of 1850.

Charles had to get the idea somewhere.

Really?

VO: Erasmus Darwin would go on to publish poetry that expressed his theories about the origins of life.

Controversial stuff in the late 18th century.

But it all began with his fascination with botany.

That picture there was painted in 1756 I think, or thereabouts, and is of a great bindweed, which is something you see in our hedgerows.

Yeah, I think of it as a quintessentially English or British...

Absolutely.

But in the middle of the flower... Yeah?

TONY: ..there is a stripy beetle, which only occurs in the Caribbean.

Darwin was posed the question how can there be a great bindweed in the Caribbean and in England.

Yeah?

TONY: And normally what you would have said at that stage was well God created one for the Caribbean and one for us.

CHRISTINA: Mm-hm.

TONY: What Darwin concluded was it had developed in the Caribbean and it had also developed in England.

Mm.

Now, that is a tremendous conclusion to come to.

Couple that with some fossils... CHRISTINA: Mm?

TONY: ..which Josiah Wedgwood sent to Darwin and Darwin said well I really don't understand them.

What are fish doing in the middle of mountains?

It was the great age of Enlightenment and they were working things out.

And they were daring to actually get rid of conventions of the past, as it were... And challenge them.

And challenge them, if necessary.

TONY: Add to those two things the fact that he noticed the competition between animals, so putting all this together he really came up with survival of the fittest.

But I thought it was his grandson that was credited with that.

He was credited with it, but it is there, look, "organic life beneath the shoreless waves was born and nurs'd in ocean's pearly caves.

First forms minute, unseen by spheric glass, Move on the muds, or pierce the watery mass; These, as successive generations bloom, New powers acquire and larger limbs assume."

CHRISTINA: Hm.

TONY: "Whence countless groups of vegetation spring, And breathing realms of fin and feet and wing."

That is it.

Yeah.

That's evolution.

Absolutely.

VO: But as well as inspiring his grandson's work, Erasmus was also a prolific inventor.

Although he never actually registered a patent, his incredible mind was forever supplying solutions to the problems of his time.

This is his steering mechanism, which he developed for carriages and his solution was a differential, so the wheels turn at different angles by putting in this bar here.

Right, this...

This axle behind?

And that is exactly how cars are still steered today, more or less.

VO: All Darwin's inventions were scrupulously recorded in his 'commonplace' book.

It's no wonder that he's sometimes described as a British Leonardo Da Vinci.

CHRISTINA: So, is this all his, all his experiments?

These are all his sketches and... CHRISTINA: He's not overly good at drawing people, is he?

No.

VO: Yeah, well he might not have managed a Mona Lisa, but he did have some very good ideas.

Like this copying machine.

CHRISTINA: Hey, that's not too bad, is it?

Yeah.

VO: Some like a mechanical bird, far ahead of their time, and others very practical.

CHRISTINA: A flushing loo?

TONY: Can you imagine a flushing loo?

So, he shoved a pipe down through two layers of clay into the lower porous rock, chalk or whatever, and up comes a spurt of water, so that gave him his running water, OK?

He then fed that into a cistern and when you got up from the loo and put the seat down, that released the valve so the thing flushed.

And when you closed the door of the closet, the valve went back and it filled up again.

So, it was a real flushing loo, long before Crapper and people like that.

VO: So the next time you think of Charles Darwin, also remember this Lichfield doctor.

VO: But Paul meanwhile, has taken our route north... VO: ..towards Cheshire and Sandbach.

VO: Famous for its Saxon crosses, and also the Foden dynasty of British truck and bus makers.

So perhaps now a place of pilgrimage for classic truck aficionados.

Hello there.

John?

Yes.

Paul.

Pleased to meet you.

Pleased to meet you.

PAUL: This is big, isn't it?

VO: Yep, several floors Paul.

So let the perusal commence.

But don't forget that John might have just the item!

JOHN: There we go.

It's one of the things that was sold on the last flight of Concorde and it's a port label.

In its original Concorde box.

PAUL: Yeah, I see.

Cannot argue with that.

JOHN: And I think the small tab on the back has actually got the Concorde logo on as well.

PAUL: Says Concorde, yeah.

What are you asking for that, out of interest?

Well, I've got 45 on it, but I can do you a good price on it.

PAUL: Do me a good price on that, John.

How does 25 sound?

PAUL: It sounds exceedingly tempting.

Can we have a look at the old ones as well?

VO: Ah so he spotted those earlier.

It's all coming together rather nicely.

PAUL: These are the ones I saw before.

Pretty generic.

Regency type, plated.

I think they're timelessly elegant, those.

I'm a big advocate of these things.

What would be the deal on the Concorde one and those?

JOHN: Concorde was 25.

10 quid.

£2.50 each.

PAUL: That's cheap, isn't it?

PAUL: The Concorde gives it a bit of something else.

On their own nobody would look, but you've got that antiquity with modernity, PAUL: 30 quid?

Reckon?

JOHN: Yeah.

PAUL: Good man.

Easy as that.

VO: Not quite supersonic, but not far off.

You get two pair of 19th century old Sheffield plate decanter labels, and then to sex up that little period lot, you get the Concorde thing.

Concorde memorabilia, em, has - wait for it - taken off.

VO: Boom boom!

Teetotalers could get a look in too though.

PAUL: The vogue for this type of insulated earthenware tea ware peaks in the late 1940s.

The big brand name is Kosy Kraft, spelt with Ks.

Clearly what you have got here is a chromium plated jacket and that's lined in an insulating material, or some of them were.

Let's have a wee look-see.

Yeah, see it?

And here's the earthenware teapot.

So, it just keeps the tea warmer for longer, with this Moderne or art deco feel to it, very geometric.

Not uncommon, but, in good condition, and complete with rather jazzy sugar basin and milk jug, then I would say less common.

Nice.

Condition's alright.

Value - not a lot.

Ten years ago it was worth £40.

Today you might struggle to get that under the hammer.

You'd use that, absolutely you would.

Get the bunting out, some coronation chicken sandwiches and your Kosy Kraft type art deco tea service.

It's a great thing.

VO: I think the thing that might be brewing up around here is a deal.

Never mind your sherry and your port, how's about a nice cup of chai?

PAUL: Don't know how much it's gonna cost me, cuz I had hopes that it was gonna be 15 quid or thereabouts.

But then I noticed the pricetag on that and I can't believe you're selling them individually, given that they're a pair, and there's no price on the pot.

That came in from one house.

Right?

That came in from another house.

No?

And then that?

And then that came in recently, so that's why I put them together.

Man alive.

JOHN: So, if you're interested in the whole lot... PAUL: Bear in mind that I thought it was 15 quid to start with.

PAUL: Can it be near that, or are we a million miles off?

JOHN: For the three pieces, £20.

It's a deal.

No point in being silly.

Spot on.

VO: So £50 for that little lot.

Now how about a solo singalong?

Jerusalem.

You've got such a beautiful voice, come on.

You haven't heard it.

Sing with me, sing with me.

Till we have built... No.

VO: Night night you two.

VO: If honest endeavor has got you nowhere, there's always barefaced lies.

I found the holy grail of the antiques world.

Oh, go on.

CHRISTINA: What's with the laughter?

PAUL: What?

C: Next auction there's you, there's me, there's a whisker.

Woah, woah, woah.

I... What's this, mind games?

VO: We can definitely rule out any holy grails, but she did acquire a salt and pepper set and a Black Forest tray yesterday.

How was he persuaded, even on the phone?

VO: Those set her back a mere £30.

Leaving £115 for today's purchases.

VO: While Paul parted with a fairly impressive £230 for some WMF, a tea set, some decanter labels and an RAF timepiece.

VO: He's still got over £500 left!

Good man.

VO: Later, they'll be making for an auction in Northwich Cheshire.

But the next stop is in Manchester.

VO: The world's first industrial city, once dubbed 'Cottonopolis'.

Manchester has more than its fair share of landmarks and showers.

Antiques aplenty too.

CHRISTINA: Good morning.

DEALER: Good morning.

CHRISTINA: Hello, hi.

DEALER: Christina?

CHRISTINA: Christina, yes.

What's your name, sir?

John.

John.

John.

Lovely to meet you, John.

Same here, yes.

Thank you for having me.

My goodness.

This all looks very brown.

VO: She knows a furniture specialist when she walks into one.

Some lovely stuff in here, by the way.

But can Christina afford as much as a leg of it?

I need to be a bit clever about this, cuz I've got a lot of ground to catch up.

VO: You could always throw yourself on John's mercy!

How much have you got?

Not very much.

About, roughly?

Ballpark figure.

CHRISTINA: I've still got potentially three things to buy.

I'm hoping to spend about £20 on each one.

Oh, John.

No, you're not gonna do any good here.

Really?

Nothing for £20?

It's all I can show you is the door.

The door?

Can I buy the door?

VO: Yeah.

It's been done, believe me.

CHRISTINA: Oh, what's this?

That's nice.

JOHN: Open to offers.

VO: Definitely not furniture anyway.

No price.

CHRISTINA: It's beautiful isn't it?

So, this is Japanese shibayama work isn't it?

It is, yes.

CHRISTINA: Cuz normally they say that these panels come out of pieces of furniture, don't they?

Shibayama cabinets, yeah.

Yeah, and they have those sort of big cabinet doors and this possibly was one of the pieces of the cabinet.

But they've obviously inlaid it into what looks like a photograph album.

The leaves have come detached.

That's beautiful, so we've got painted silk leaves in here which are depicting sort of traditional scenes, and these figures on here.

Somebody looks like he's James Bond on there.

My goodness, who's that?

Elizabeth?

VO: Well wasn't John Wayne's real name Marion?

CHRISTINA: I mean, lacquer work is incredibly time consuming to do, isn't it?

It's layer upon layer upon layer.

Very expensive to do, yes.

CHRISTINA: Yeah.

It would've taken someone an awfully long time to build up all these little intricate layers and produce this what would have been one - once upon a time - a really rather beautiful picture.

So, I mean, potentially the album is fairly beyond repair, isn't it?

JOHN: Yeah.

CHRISTINA: Is there any flexibility with my £20 budget on that?

I doubt it very much.

Oh, go on, John.

Have a think about it.

VO: John's still keen to show her yet more furniture, but cash remains the issue.

JOHN: This is not the bargain basement.

I have to be honest, I do love the furniture but I do really like that album.

JOHN: Right, well you can buy it.

CHRISTINA: Can I buy it for 20?

It's yours.

Really?

You can have it for 20, as long as the next time you come you don't come.

Send somebody not as experienced as you.

Are you banning me?

VO: Hey.

He's joking Christina.

Or at least I think he is.

20 of the Great British pounds.

VO: Still somehow managing to eke it out.

You're a legend.

And I promise never, ever to come back.

Fine, fine.

VO: Another thing for which Manchester's justly famous, is political thought.

The Cooperative movement started close by, and the Communist manifesto was begun in the city.

Paul's off to find out about the struggle for women's suffrage at the former home of the Pankhurst family.

Hi, is it Rachel?

RACHEL: Paul.

PAUL: Pleased to meet you.

Morning, welcome to the Pankhurst Centre.

Get me out of this Manchester weather.

Come on in.

VO: Votes for women had been a political topic since the early part of the 19th century, but it wasn't until 1903 when Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters founded the Women's Social and Political Union that the fight began in earnest.

RACHEL: The Pankhurst family lived here from 1898 to 1907, and it is down in the parlor here where the first meeting of the suffragettes was actually held.

VO: The family moved to 62 Nelson Street after the sudden death of Emmeline's barrister husband Richard Pankhurst.

PAUL: So, what did Emmeline do then?

Well, she took on work as a registrar of births and deaths.

She wasn't allowed to be a registrar of marriages because she was a woman.

Obviously bereft from having lost her husband, her soulmate, she turned her attention to politics.

So, was this a popular issue at the time?

I mean, is it well supported?

There was a lot of support for and against and I think maybe one of the surprising things is the amount of anti-campaigning, but actually led by women.

PAUL: What?!

And actually one of the main anti-suffrage campaigners and protagonists was Queen Victoria.

PAUL: No?

RACHEL: And she described it as a mad, wicked folly.

VO: They have several examples here of the propaganda put out by those who agreed with the queen, including this handkerchief.

PAUL: Is that a typo?

RACHEL: No, no, no, not at all.

That's actually from 1881, so... PAUL: Was this predictive... RACHEL: Yeah.

PAUL: ..of what the world would be like in 1981 if you... RACHEL: Yes.

Yes.

PAUL: Right.

If we give, if we give women the vote, what next?

PAUL: Right.

RACHEL: So we'll have women furling a sail.

We couldn't possibly have that.

They'll be footmen, they'll be scientists, they'll be athletes.

PAUL: Right.

Worse, that men will be holding the baby.

PAUL: Ludicrous!

RACHEL: They'll be doing the laundry, and of course this was highly, highly effective for the anti-suffrage movement, because people would look at this and they would believe this propaganda.

And this would be frightening to them?

This would be terrifying.

Can you imagine women doing all these jobs?

VO: But what those against hadn't reckoned on, was the WSPU.

Because Pankhurst's suffragettes, with their motto 'deeds not words', would deliver a much tougher, more publicity savvy campaign.

RACHEL: Women chaining themselves to railings... PAUL: Yes, stuff we've all heard of, yes.

RACHEL: Arson, putting stones through windows, and that is what set them aside from the suffragists before them, this new breed, this new breed of woman who was prepared to act militantly in order to get their voice heard.

VO: The harsh treatment the suffragettes received from the authorities, made Emmeline and her daughter Christabel even more determined to fight on.

But soon there were splits in both the movement and the family.

RACHEL: There were, in her mind, two ways of doing things.

That was her way, or no way and it did not matter whether you were a friend, just a member or even family.

And Sylvia and Adela felt so strongly against the militancy and they did have fairly major fallouts with their mum.

And these did end up with splits in the family that were unable to be healed.

And I mean arguably it needed someone who had such strength of feeling and such passion to be able to drive through what she did.

VO: Votes for women finally became a reality, thanks to acts passed in 1918 and 1928.

The brave, but slightly dysfunctional, Pankhursts are justly remembered for their huge role in that.

But perhaps one daughter's due a bit more credit.

RACHEL: I think everyone has heard of Emmeline, but if you ask a diehard suffragette fan who is your favorite there is no question Sylvia will be at the top of the pile, because she was just so broadly a woman's campaigner in general.

She wasn't just concerned with a woman's right to vote, she was more concerned with the lives of working class women and poorer women and probably without question she is the one that made the most difference on broader women's issues.

PAUL: I see, yeah.

Wonderful.

What a family.

VO: Now back in the car and singing back towards Cheshire.

CHRISTINA: Come on Laidlaw.

One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you.

Dong, dong, dong, dong, dong... VO: The trip's almost complete.

VO: Just time for one more shop, in Congleton.

VO: They used to call it Beartown.

A reference to the baiting which was apparently quite popular in the 17th century.

Not any more though.

CHRISTINA: Goodness me.

Let's hope antiques are waterproof.

PAUL: Come on you, race you.

VO: Although a shared shop can sometimes get a bit tasty!

CHRISTINA: Oof, that's a bit drier.

Right.

PAUL: Antiques that way.

CHRISTINA: I'll go that way.

PAUL: Antiques that way.

CHRISTINA: OK. Bye.

PAUL: Adios.

VO: Hasta la vista.

But just what will their final buys be?

Serendipity.

That's what it is, serendipity.

VO: Well let's hope so.

Is he a bit too wacky for Northwich?

Who knows.

VO: I dare you to find out!

What about Paul?

Oh, hello there.

Are you officialdom here?

I'm Kate, pleased to meet you.

VO: There are around 50 shopkeepers represented here.

Most of them of course, not actually present.

PAUL: There are certain dealers that you feel an affinity with even in their absence, because you get what they get.

This one's working for me.

VO: Do tell, Paul.

A lawn tennis measure.

Clearly a Victorian specimen.

But look at this.

There is a representation of a tennis court with the lines spelt out and the dimensions provided, just in case you forget where to chalk that boundary line.

Absolutely...

I think that's such a good thing.

It's priced up at £65, but I'll defy you to find me another one.

It may only be worth tens of pounds, but that's not a measure of its rarity, it's a measure of the demand.

How many people do you know need a vintage tennis court measure?

You like that, Kate, don't you?

I love it.

It's a good thing isn't it?

PAUL: Is this dealer in the building or contactable?

KATE: We'll see if we can give them a ring.

PAUL: Track them down.

I'd be really interested to see if there's a trade price on that.

KATE: Yep.

VO: Sounds like advantage Paul already.

Good to see Christina's put that clown down.

Anything else?

What have we got in here?

Oh, my goodness!

CHRISTINA: Electro-Medical Supplies, London.

Good lord!

DEALER: Actually works, that.

CHRISTINA: Does it?

Is this yours, sir?

VO: Well done Christina.

You've found yourself a real live dealer.

With a distinctly medical bent too.

This is a tonsillectomy... Oh.

..instrument.

It's flat, and there's a slit in it and they hook it in your tonsil, pull the trigger.

Yeah.

VO: Actually that probably is too wacky for Northwich.

But Eric has more.

ERIC: That's for making pills with.

CHRISTINA: Oh, that's cool, can I see that?

ERIC: Quite heavy.

Watch, it's heavy.

CHRISTINA: That's amazing.

So, is that for making... That's for grading... ERIC: They made, they made up their own tablets, yeah.

For a pharmacist.

CHRISTINA: Ah, there's a plate in there.

ERIC: That'll tell you the sizes.

And they must have made them in there.

I don't know how it works.

CHRISTINA: What on earth do you do with that?

So how much have you got on that, Eric?

Tenner.

VO: That's Christina's kind of price.

CHRISTINA: Eric, I'm loving your company.

VO: Now how's Paul's rummage progressing?

PAUL: Can't resist a bit of trench art.

This is the business end of a First World War artillery shell.

Yeah?

A big bullet, you know what I'm talking about.

You see the shell cases all over the place.

This is the bit that governs when your shell explodes.

Well, it makes a handy little paperweight.

It's been mounted on vulcanite.

That's vulcanized rubber.

But for whatever reason, somebody thought that a piece of mass produced brass - these were turned out in their millions - was worth preserving.

How about I'm sitting in my trench, scared witless, and there's a bang.

I does that and I hear this thud next to me.

And this thing lands a few inches from where I was... from where I'm standing.

D'you know what I'd do?

I'd go "Holy Moses" and I'd keep that and there's just a possibility that it was kept for that sort of reason.

That's the way these things work, believe me.

VO: The ticket price for a bit of history is £25.

But while Kate calls the dealer about that and the tennis court tape, Christina ponders on.

CHRISTINA: Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!

What'm I gonna buy?

What'm I gonna buy?

What'm I gonna buy?

ERIC: Trumpet?

Clarinet?

CHRISTINA: No, no.

ERIC: Bongo drums?

CHRISTINA: No.

VO: Teeny tiny violin perhaps?

Relax!

The pill making frame was cheap and I'm sure that Eric can supply something else.

CHRISTINA: It's a fire screen.

ERIC: I think it's nice.

VO: The ticket price is £18.

CHRISTINA: I love arts and crafts stuff and people just aren't buying it.

It was really in vogue when they had the arts and crafts exhibition at the V&A, and now it's gone out of vogue.

There are still collectors for it.

And it's fairly cheap.

Give me a pound and you can take it out the way.

Really?

ERIC: Seriously.

CHRISTINA: £10 for that?

ERIC: Pound for that.

What about £10 for the two?

ERIC: Yeah, OK. Really?

ERIC: Seriously, you can have the two.

Eric.

I love you.

See you again.

VO: What's Paul's news then?

Got some prices on those two pieces there.

Tape measure, £45, or artillery fuse, First World War, £15.

It's a no brainer, isn't it?

Gonna go for the... fuse.

Why Laidlaw?

You see those all over the place.

Well, there's something I didn't let on when I was talking in front of the lovely Kate there, because, I mean, you've got to keep some of your powder dry, have you not?

VO: Well, quite.

PAUL: There were no numbers on there.

You didn't see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

There were Arabic characters.

That is a Turkish fuse, fired, almost certainly, at Anzac or British troops at Gallipoli.

That's where these things turn up.

I love that and there are collectors out there that get it.

VO: Let's hope that tin hats outnumber tennis types at the auction.

PAUL: All of £15.

KATE: Thank you very much.

PAUL: Wonderful.

Thank you very much.

KATE: Thank you.

PAUL: Absolute joy.

VO: Time to have a peek at what they'll be carting to the auction.

Christina parted with just £60 for a fire screen, some Rolls Royce condiments, a bone inlaid photo album, a pill making frame and a Black Forest tray.

VO: While Paul spent £245 on some clockwork militaria, some WMF, a Kosy Kraft tea service, an artillery fuse and some decanter labels.

VO: So what did they make of each other's buys?

Christina's pair of Rolls Royce salt and pepper combination, I get the sentiment.

Frankly, I love them.

£5 paid.

I think they're worth £30-50.

I love what he's got, I really love what he's got.

The, the, the real creme-de-la-creme for me is the wonderful decanter labels that he bought.

The one thing that I think is a little bit iffy is his WMF bowl.

But frankly, if it makes a loss he's still gonna be ahead of me, so does it really matter?

I may be thrashed in this auction if my gamble on WMF does not pay off.

What was I thinking of?

VO: Mm, there's a few of us thinking that Paul.

CHRISTINA: So, your tray, frankly I do find quite sinister.

I mean, it's bizarre, isn't it?

What's sinister about huge reptiles devouring young children?

Oh, nothing at all.

Nothing whatsoever.

VO: After setting off from the Staffordshire city of Lichfield, our experts are now heading for an auction in Northwich in Cheshire.

PAUL: Our last auction.

Do we have to go?

Do we really?

CHRISTINA: Aw, no, it's been a blast.

VO: The former salt mining center has recently featured on a list of Britain's best places to live, and this has to be one of the best places to auction in Northwich.

Online, and with commission bids.

CHRISTINA: Perfect, well done.

PAUL: For the last time.

CHRISTINA: Oh.

VO: I wonder what auctioneer Peter Critchley makes of our lot's, lots?

The photo album is a very very good quality item.

We've estimated £60-80.

The WMF tray we've had a lot of interest in this online.

It's very unusual.

I've never seen anything like it before from WMF, so we have high hopes of that.

VO: Paul will be excited to hear that news.

But first under the hammer is Christina's bargain firescreen.

What would you reckon?

Do you think you'll make a profit on your pound firescreen?

Probably not.

Behave yourself!

Here's the firescreen now, arts and crafts firescreen.

It looks like some really dodgy nightclub curtains, doesn't it?

AUCTIONEER: Good looking thing.

Start me off at £20.

Start me at £20 on the firescreen.

£20 on the firescreen?

Anything at 20?

I've got 15 here on commission.

Yes!

Get in!

AUCTIONEER: 15 here on commission, look for 18.

£15 then, a commission bid.

No further interest.

It's a gift.

It's a gift for 15 quid.

CHRISTINA: £15.

VO: A few more like that and she'll be in the money.

Very happy with that.

What you need is your biggest spend to make a similar margin.

Deh.

That's what you need.

Is that gonna happen?

Probably not.

VO: Next we have Paul's tickets, with the Concorde one to sex it up!

Let's hope it'll fly.

Fly me to the moon.

Oh.

You're singing.

Did you see that?

You're singing.

Did that for you.

Oh.

Start me at £30 on the labels.

Got a Concorde label, it's worth £30 on its own.

Start me at 20 then.

Start me at 20.

£20 I have.

Yeah, quite rightly so.

25, £20 I have, is there 25?

25.

VO: Aye, aye that leg's on the move!

25 is bid.

Is there 30?

30 is in the room now.

That should've made 50 quid, shouldn't it?

AUCTIONEER: £30 in the room.

PAUL: Oh, I've broken even.

Is there 35 anywhere?

I think it was a bargain.

VO: You can drink to that.

Just.

Oh, the nervous leg.

I'd forgotten about the nervous leg.

You'll miss it, you'll miss it.

VO: What can his Kosy Kraft tea service do?

It's not, you know, pointy, or...

Thanks, girlfriend.

..or war, or... Amazing.

Make tea, not war.

I'm making... Commission interest at 20 only.

Straight in.

AUCTIONEER: 20 only.

I'll start at 20.

Look for 25.

£20 on this item.

Is there 25 anywhere?

PAUL: It's going to wash its face again.

CHRISTINA: Come on, internet.

AUCTIONEER: 30 on commission.

PAUL: Oh no.

Very good.

CHRISTINA: Hey, £30.

Well done.

AUCTIONEER: ..five pounds?

£30 on commission then.

Commission bid, and selling.

No further interest.

£30.

VO: Paul scrapes home again.

VO: Now for another of Christina's bargains.

Her Rolls Royce condiment set.

CHRISTINA: Aren't they lovely?

MAN: Yeah.

WOMAN: Gorgeous.

We used to have the factory round here.

Oh, the factory used to be round here.

Oh, God, there's hundreds of them round here aren't there?

I've got 15 here, is there 18 anywhere?

CHRISTINA: Oh, 15.

AUCTIONEER: 15 is here, 18 at the back of the room.

CHRISTINA: 18.

I have 20.

25?

25.

25 is in the room.

PAUL: Where's the net on this?

CHRISTINA: It's a man bidding, it's a man bidding.

AUCTIONEER: Rolls Royce condiments.

They don't come any posher than this.

Oh.

£30 online.

35?

£30 online.

Is there 35 anywhere?

PAUL: Keep going.

£30 is the online bid, and selling.

CHRISTINA: That's 25...

I think that's the most profit I've ever made on this trip.

PAUL: You are the margin queen today.

VO: She certainly is.

Just the five times on those.

VO: Paul's got high hopes for his Turkish artillery fuse.

Commission interest at 20 only.

20 only I have.

PAUL: 20 only, quite right.

CHRISTINA: What should it make, what should it make?

PAUL: Eh, it's worth £30-50.

25 from Cyprus.

Hello, Cyprus.

Cyprus is bidding on it.

It has been defused, Cyprus.

25.

Cyber bidder from Cyprus.

Could they... Could they send that in the post?

£25.

VO: Nice profit there.

Christina's slightly tatty bone inlaid album next.

I'll start the bidding at £35 only.

PAUL: Straight in.

Straight in to a profit.

That's not bad.

40 now?

35 I have on commission.

It's a fabulous album this one.

Beautifully hand painted inside.

PAUL: It's gonna do more than this.

I doubt it.

AUCTIONEER: 35 is the bid.

Surely it's worth more than that.

I will sell.

No reserve item.

£35 the bid.

35 it is.

VO: Another fine profit.

Followed by Paul's RAF time piece.

Start me at £50 on the World War II Bakelite clock.

Start me at 50.

Start me at 30 then.

Start me at 30.

CHRISTINA: Oooh.

PAUL: Hey.

It's not going.

AUCTIONEER: On 30 bid.

30 I have, 30 I have.

CHRISTINA: Come on saleroom.

AUCTIONEER: At 35?

35 now.

35, looking for 40.

35 is the bid on the RAF clock.

PAUL: What?

No further interest?

£35 the bid.

35.

CHRISTINA: Aw.

PAUL: Ee-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay!

VO: A loss for Paul's militaria.

What's going on?

Time for Christina's nice slice of Black Forest.

Start me at £20.

Any interest at 20?

CHRISTINA: It's lovely.

It's very nice.

£10 on the carved Black Forest tray, £10 bid.

10 bid, looking for 12.

CHRISTINA: Oh.

AUCTIONEER: 10 is bid online.

Is there 12?

Surely can't be 10.

Must be more than that.

£10 is bid.

Is there £12?

12, back of the room now, back of the room.

CHRISTINA: Yes!

PAUL: In it.

CHRISTINA: Come on!

15 over there.

15 over there.

D'you want 18?

18.

20?

20.

25?

25?

Yes.

30?

No.

Ooh, go on!

25 in the room.

CHRISTINA: Oh, go on it's nice.

AUCTIONEER: 25 in the room.

25... No threatening customers, please.

£25 in the room and selling.

£25 it is.

VO: I think she thought she was charming them.

Oh well, at least Christina's having a good time.

CHRISTINA: I'm winning.

PAUL: I'm not... CHRISTINA: I'm winning.

CHRISTINA: Is this what it feels like?

VO: Now for Christina's pill making frame.

Start me off at £20 please.

£20?

All you need to start your own drug company.

Who's got £20?

Start me 10?

£10?

CHRISTINA: That doesn't make me very proud.

AUCTIONEER: It's a Victorian pill frame, it's gotta be worth £10 surely.

10 is bid, 10 is bid.

10 is bid there.

Looking for 12.

CHRISTINA: Rightly so.

Pound profit.

I'm happy.

Is there £12 anywhere?

Last chance at 10.

£10 it is.

PAUL: You went out on a pound profit.

CHRISTINA: Yay!

VO: Yep sort of sums up her week.

But she'll win this auction unless Paul makes a huge profit on his disturbing WMF.

CHRISTINA: Here we are.

PAUL: Look at it.

Don't dwell on the subject.

It's lovely.

And I shall start the bidding at £120.

CHRISTINA: Dah-dah.

PAUL: Oh, it's close.

Come on.

AUCTIONEER: ..20.

Looking for 130 now.

It's a very unusual item, this one.

I've got £120, is there 130?

CHRISTINA: Oh, no, come on.

PAUL: It went down.

VO: Certainly did.

Another small loss and Christina triumphs.

PAUL: Christina Trevanion, you've won the last auction.

CHRISTINA: Did I?

PAUL: Well done, you.

CHRISTINA: I won one.

Lost everything else, but... PAUL: Right, get out of here.

VO: Christina started this leg with £145.90 and made, after paying auction costs, a profit £34.30.

Leaving her with a final total of £180.20.

VO: While Paul began with £750.96 and, after paying auction costs, made a loss of £48.20.

So he's lost this battle but won the war, with £702.76.

All profits to Children in Need.

CHRISTINA: Thanks, I think!

Well, well done you and your multimillion pound win.

I'm very impressed.

And I get to drive.

Come on, baby!

VO: Quite a week wasn't it?

CHRISTINA: Put it here, partner.

VO: After an inauspicious start... CHRISTINA: Oh.

I think you've broken it.

VO: It turned out a corker!

PAUL: How do you say no, it's my money.

DEALER: You just said.

CHRISTINA: Hoh, I'm a bit hot.

PAUL: Ta-dah!

CHRISTINA: Well done.

PAUL: Yes!

Yes!

Yes!

CHRISTINA: Aaaaaah!

Woo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooh!

VO: Next on Antiques Road Trip: a magical new expert, Raj Bisram.

Raj: I'm gonna take the silk hanky.

Gone.

VO: An old favorite.

Charles Hanson.

And the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

CHARLES: Isn't it gorgeous?

RAJ: It is.

CHARLES: And you're not bad yourself either.

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