at was not enough. he worked hard, harder than anyone i know. that was the true alchemy. he started with nothing... but his tools, his talents, and his efforts. and he created cochrane & son. he put that sign up-- "& son"-- before i was born. he had faith that life would go as he planned. while i show it who is master? yes. come on, do it. bash that. watch your eyes. ( clanging ) ma'am... he is a man man, isn't he? if, by that, you mean mr. cochrane is manly,

yes, he has a certain presence about him. men are better when they're men. aren't they, ma'am? there is an advantage to a woman's eye when a man has a certain... potency about him, yes. do you like men who are men, ma'am? i am a woman. do you like mr. cochrane, ma'am? minnie, i think this conversation has gone far enough. sometimes you forget the bounds of your station. but don't you think he would want a new wife, ma'am? minnie, that is enough. mr. cochrane is still grieving his loss. you must not think such things, and you must certainly never mention such insensitivities. keep to your place, girl. yes, ma'am.

miss lane. mr. steerforth. i wish to send a telegram. that is what we are here for, sir. but first i wish to ascertain that you can be trusted in this matter. sir, i am employed by her majesty the queen. she seems to trust me. i have signed the pledge before our squire, and he seemed to find me honorable enough. i noticed that you have mr. cochrane in your employ. and i am glad of it. he is a fine craftsman. i sincerely hope you do not have cause to regret your generosity. of course, if you would prefer to travel over to inglestone, i can assure you the post office there is without blemish. these are vital matters of banking business.

and they will be treated with the same respect that is shown to a message sent from a housemaid telling her mother she will soon be home. that is... utmost respect. that will be three and sixpence, please. as soon as you receive a reply, i can be found at the golden lion. good day to you, sir. ma'am, did you notice how he kept his hat on and how baggy his trousers were? and he had cold eyes. unhumanly eyes. i seen 'em myself. what did mr. steerforth say? oh, ma'am, he had such a voice-- horrid as an undertaker. oh, undertaker? did i say "undertaker"? i didn't mean "undertaker". minnie. i would never say "undertaker" to you.

for we all know it was an undertaker who cast you aside so cruelly. ( sobbing ) mr. pontefract must've hurt your sister terrible, miss pearl. minnie, leave now, and do not return until you can manage your tongue. yes, ma'am. please tell your sister i will never say "undertaker" again. ( sobbing ) minnie...go. ( water pouring ) but, ma'am, when miss ruby went to pontefract, she was happy ever after. she was. but if her undertaker was in love with her, then how could it stop? human frailty. what is that? we all want life to be simple, relationships to be enchanted. then along comes human frailty, and... before we know it, all is lost.

ma'am, where does human frailty come from? who knows? the past. the darkest corners of the human soul. it simply creeps up on us. minnie, is there any water in that kettle? i--i did-- i did pour it in there. i don't know where it's gone. what are you all doing here? those candleford thieves robbed young edmund. candleford must answer for the doing of it. we know that cabbage patterson ain't minded to do much, so we thought we might ask about who might've seen something, perhaps heard a tale of who might be spending too much. we just want to find the money, that's all. perhaps put a notice in the post office explaining that it's a man's wages, and his family needs it. that's a good idea, queenie. alfie, i have a question for you. how many hours in a day? 24.

so, how many hours is 1 1/2 days? it's 39, because i asked miss lane this morning. so, that's 39 since i last kissed you. no, since you kissed me. minnie, there's more to this world than romance and kisses. and 39-- i know there is. there's human frailty. is that what you have? human what? it creeps up on us, and all is lost. emma, i spoke to the constable myself first thing this morning, and there is no news, i'm afraid. i ain't come to see the constable. i'm here to sign the postal order you cashed. oh, yes. of course. where is it? thomas... i left a postal order here. all postal orders, ma'am, are dispatched daily, as per headquarters' commandments, as per i always do.

but this one was not signed. that is not possible, miss lane. all postal orders are signed as they are cashed. this one was an exception, under my own personal instructions. you have sent it off? oh, heavens. unsigned? i have never known such reckless disregard. will you be in terrible trouble, dorcas? i am the cause of this. thomas: headquarters are notorious unforgiving in all manners of transgression. the post office is the guardian of vast sums of money, so every outpost must be impeccably innocent. it is a mistake, no more. i volunteered to cash the postal order. i am responsible.

edmund? come and sit with me. look at me. head up. come on, look at your ma. edmund, i cannot bear doubting my own son. especially in a matter such as this. i push the thought of it away. just the possibility of it pains me. but the uncertainty keeps returning. so, i must put it to rest. you would not lie to me. i know it. you would not put your family

through such torment. would you? it was an accident. i'm sorry, ma. ( sighs ) tell me what happened. ( bell tolling ) you're setting out early this morning, miss lane. whenever i have unpleasant business to do... i try to go to it before resistance sets in. and yet i see that you are hesitating. oh. am i so obvious? it's true, mr. cochrane. i am full of trepidation. my wish to go to headquarters

and admit to an unsigned postal order before they even discover it. yet i fear if there is a fuss about this, if this business of the robbery comes to light in oxford, then mr. timmins will learn of his family's plight, and...they do not wish that to happen. then wait. wait for what? headquarters might not be as diligent as you suppose. the unsigned order might not be noticed. but i will be covering over a wrong, and that does not sit easily with my conscience. you knew that the mere bending of procedures was the morally proper thing to do. why must such a well-meant kindness gnaw so fiercely at your conscience now? i take it you have an answer to your own question? i suspect that everyone at headquarters knows what an honorable and trustworthy postmistress dorcas lane is. you will not need to prove your innocence to them. it is as though you must prove it to yourself,

as though you must punish yourself for the good which you have done. shall i stand down the horse? please. yes. thank you, mr. cochrane. gabriel, please. gabriel. and... may i thank you for showing such kindness to my son? especially given your loss. i know how it feels to believe that all hope of a family is gone. alfie. i cannot fathom it. mrs. herring has walked right past my door without asking for the rent. i bought you some potatoes, emma.

nothing fills a belly like them. alf arless, what have you done? your rent is paid, emma. at least, some of the arrears is. where can you find the money to pay my rent? you can hardly afford your own. oh, lordy. you've given her your own rent money, haven't you? mrs. herring has allowed me to have some arrears. at least you have some time before robert can send more. i will not let you! bread, emma. twister's fetching coals. i can't let you. the likes of robbers and ne'er-do-wells ain't gonna see good folk brought down by their greed and selfishness. that's kind of you. i'm grateful. thank you. human frailty? alfie has it. it crept up on him. he snapped at me and he looked at me sorely. you have to help me stop it, queenie,

or all will be lost. what has put such ideas into your head, girl? miss lane said folks in love can be overtook, then hearts is broke, and return to sender. oh, you know such things, queenie. what should i say or do or-- should i see him more? or should i see him less? should i declare how much love him, or will that make things worse? child, hold hard. courtships are full of snapping and sore looks. it don't mean that love is lost. no, alfie has human frailty. i saw it. i'm gonna lose him. well, now, as it happens, i do have a remedy for human frailty. you get alfie to drink some of this. i knew you would save me, queenie. oh. that weren't nothin' but a drop of leftover mead.

i know it. you know it. she don't know it. some folks got neither logic nor reason nor sense nor sanity. ( window opens ) who goes there?! queenie: no one goes there. twister, come to bed. you'll wake the whole hamlet with your "who goes there". ( twig snaps ) who goes there?! twister! you can't stand out here all night. what are you thinking? if they can rob a boy chap on the lane, who knows what they might do? there ain't a home that's safe unguarded. i have tried telling him, emma. but he has it fixed in his mind there is danger lurking. his whole body is infected with the fear of it. i ain't afraid. them robbers only need so much as peep from the shadows,

i'll pike their bellies wide open. please! it's raining. can't you go back to bed? i can't bear the thought of fear keeping you from your sleep. who goes there?! it's only me, twister. god, there ain't a dog that'll get so much a minute's sleep tonight. alfie: emma! shh! i thought i might take my shovel to your garden tomorrow after work. edmund will tend the garden while his pa is away. well, i'm only offering. i don't want your help! none of you. why can't you leave us be? it's only what neighbors do, emma. we don't need your kindness. we are timmins. we will outlive these difficulties by our own means. let us be. do you hear me? let us alone. mr. steerforth, you asked me

to deliver your telegram as soon as it arrived. are you aware of what is in here? it is written in my own hand. how could i not be? have you told mr. cochrane that i intend to put his property up for auction? apart from the fact that i am bound by post office regulations, i have learned, at some cost, that it does not always pay to interfere in the affairs of others. he will know soon enough, i suppose. i know what you think of me, miss lane-- that i'm a cruel, heartless moneylender, cunning and devious to the core. a loan was provided to mr. cochrane

strictly for the purpose of improving his business. how did he spend it? on his wife. champagne in paris, the most expensive clothes emporiums rome could offer, sampling the finest food of venice. there was a reason for this. i don't doubt that you know it. his testimony to the bank was that he wanted the money for his business. he also claimed that was how he spent the borrowed funds. he jeopardized his own enterprise. can you not pity the man? he has my pity. i recognize his distress. my own wife died. and it took its toll. but then i turned my attention to my duties and my responsibilities. i imagine that you have suffered loss, miss lane. did you let it ruin you? it did not drive you to--

the bank cannot place its trust in a man of unsound mind. the foundry has a future. gabriel cochrane does not. you are a sterling example to us all, mr. cochrane. if one of us can be bullied by the coupon-clippers, then we are all at risk. you are daily in our prayers, sir. if you could pass on the nature of my predicament to your customers, your neighbors, i would be in your debt. we are by your side, sir. we are your foot soldiers, as you champion the moral cause of the wronged. ma'am. i would like to withdraw my savings. all of it? i understand, laura. leave the book with me. ( knock on door ) miss lane. it seems that i have offended you.

did i overstep the mark? i would not wish to take for granted your kindness. can i tempt you to try some smoked salmon, mr. cochrane? it comes all the way from scotland. i have a terrible weakness for indulgences. i have to be careful not to overdo it. what is it, dorcas? what is troubling you? i delivered a message to mr. steerforth today, and he told me that the signs will be going up this morning. your home and business are to be auctioned. when? immediately. his haste only proves his guilt. he is determined to allow me no time to mount a case against him. that is not all that steerforth told you. ma'am, i have a remedy for human frailty.

mrs. turrill has a cure for everything. minnie...go up and make my bed. i've already made up your bed today, ma'am. then go and make it up again. may i ask what you intend to do? if there is to be an auction, then i will turn it to my advantage. i will encourage everyone hereabouts to attend, and i will use it as a platform to expose steerforth as the crook that he is. you believe that i am wrong to do so? ( door opens ) i am not sure that it is wise or helpful for me to have an opinion. but you do. i can see it in your face. ( knock on door ) miss lane? can you come into the post office, please? surely whatever it is can wait, laura. miss ruby's received another letter. miss lane... i cannot bear it one more day. i must divest myself. i have broken his heart

into a thousand little pieces. i wanted... to be grateful, but... i would find fault where there was none, punish him with stinging looks, cut him off for days. but there must have been a reason-- if you missed your home. perhaps if you had come for a visit. no, i knew that if i came back here at all, i would not have returned. and so i felt trapped. i saw his face... crushed by every blow i inflicted upon him. it made me shrink from him all the more. you cannot make yourself love someone. i did want... to love him. perhaps your behavior towards mr. dallas was because you could not bear to admit it, even to yourself.

miss lane... there are times when i feel you know me better than i know myself. i cannot begin to tell you how much i appreciate your willingness-- to meddle? ( laughs ) and i cannot begin to tell you how you have helped me, miss ruby. why not open the letter? i cannot face his suffering. but you already torment yourself with it every day. isn't it time you let him have his day? mm. ( sighs ) i came home because... i so longed for the comfort i know best. i will open it with my sister. of course.

oh, daniel, dear boy. you work too hard. what you need is to soak your feet and soothe your brow. pearl, i've been waiting-- can it wait, dear ruby? as you can see, i'm ensconced. suet, daniel? or pearl's pearl barley broth? hmm, suet. i knew it! ( laughter ) let us continue our discussion while i chop the kidneys. it matters not. nothing so very important. not at all. i shan't take it. i don't want my daughter's savings. it makes no sense. i can't bear the kindness, do you hear me?

it's too much. all of it! i don't deserve-- i mean, i don't want folks to-- edmund was not robbed. you knew that. oh, laura. ( sighs ) the boy had a pocketful of money, and it went to his head. ( sighs ) he said he felt like a man. the kind of a giddy feeling that the sight of money can give you. he lost his bearings. went into the inn, two beers, came home through the woods. by the time he reached the lane, he realized the money was no longer in his pocket.

i have deceived every one of those whose only wish was to stand by me. i've no more than stolen their money, and their food, and their coals. whatever shall i do? i found a scrap of brass. i hope you don't mind. it will make quite a sound. it is beautiful. my father used to get me to make them when i was a boy, practice my skills. and what has inspired you to make one now? most people believe that a bell is a religious instrument to call the congregation. my family have made many bells for farmers. they would stand over the barn to call the workers from the fields. but the first bells--

the very first bells-- they were to ward off evil spirits. the bell is a weapon. i take it, then, that you are intent on using this weapon. i shall be heard. gabriel... what can be gained by disrupting the auction? i realize my cause is lost. i have no case in law. if i cannot regain what has been taken from me, than steerforth shall at least be publicly disgraced. gabriel. i plead with you to consider. i have nothing more to lose. but your good name, your reputation. the bank has taken away your position and your home. if you go through with this, you will be throwing away your whole life. ( screams ) my life... is gone.

gabriel, why did your business collapse? what happened to the money that the bank loaned to you? you are not angry at mr. steerforth. you are angry at yourself. you are hell bent on ruin. why? ( ringing bell ) gabriel! you spent the money on your wife. that is understandable. please listen to me! ( dogs barking ) your wife-- that is the real loss. that is what you want to rail against. your wife is gone. and you cannot have her back. ( ringing ) why can you not admit that?!

( dogs barking ) ma, he's gone. mr. cochrane is gone. ( overlapping chatter ) gentlemen, thank you for coming today. please take as long as you need to examine the premises. we will begin only when you are ready.

it was as though i was possessed by my own shadow. my thinking was not my own. i knew only one thing--blame. blame steerforth, blame the bank, blame the brutal fall of fate. it was as though this thinking had a life of its own. the only relief from this torment of rage was... vengeance. i was unreachable. i know that now. but you stepped back from the precipice.

perhaps at heart you always wanted to survive, to recover. for all your clanging of the bell, some part of you heard a human plea. i am grateful for your intervention, dorcas. but your words were not what pulled me back from self-ruin. it was coming back here, seeing my home. it was as though my wife spoke to me, soothing me, telling me to live, to surrender. none of this matters. all that endures... is my love for liza. your dedication to love is... most moving, mr. cochrane. gabriel. what--

what will you do now? i need employment. and i can think of no better place to begin my life again than the candleford forge. will you have me? ( laughs ) laura: human frailty, the locals claimed, could make the best of us do things that were out of character. however well-intentioned, we might deceive our neighbors, and we might deceive our family. emma: my darling robert, thank you for the money you've sent. it has lifted our spirits here in the end house. we are truly grateful, and appreciate the sacrifice you are making for us.

laura: gabriel cochrane came to candleford to start a new life. but the ghosts of his old life were not with him yet. kind friends, the time has come for our candleford poetry competition. daniel says almost every girl in the county is writing feverishly. everyone knows laura timmins will walk away with the prize. you're gonna win because daniel loves you. all i have heard you talking of this past week is winning. where is the poetry in that? miss lane, certain of your staff have been noticed indulging in uncalled-for intimacies. there is something untoward about that man, and i intend to unravel him.

this isn't the kind of backdrop you usually expect from the antiques roadshow, but a hundred years ago, construction began here on a ship that even today is remembered as one of the most tragic episodes in our history. and it all started here. welcome to the roadshow in belfast. ♪

it's often forgotten that belfast was once the home of a major shipbuilding industry. between 1909 and 1911, two giants were under construction right here-- the olympic, and her sister ship, the titanic. 3,000 men were employed in the titanic's construction, and an incredible 3 million rivets were used to hold the steel plates together. it was before the days of health and safety, and the work was often dangerous, resulting in over 200 accidents and 8 deaths. the titanic has left her footprint now-- cast in history. it was in these offices that thomas andrews, chief designer of harland and wolff, conceived the idea of the titanic-- the largest passenger cruise liner in the world.

little has changed. it's easy to imagine thomas andrews walking through these doors... into the main entrance hall... past reception... and down the stairs. many of the features found in these offices bear a remarkable resemblance to those on the ship-- like these. and finally, through to the drawing office, where the designers and technicians of the titanic would've been scrutinizing the details and drawings of the ship. amazing to think that it happened just here. today, the roadshow is based

in the very birthplace of the titanic-- the now-redundant drawing offices where thomas andrews first conceived the design. i'm hoping we might see some hidden treasures from the ship. let's see what we unearth. so, what we've got here are two rather interesting dublin 8-day longcase clock movements. yeah. they've obviously been sitting around for a long time, because they're very much in the rough. where have they been? they've been in an attic for the last 20 or 30 years. and they're obviously something you're rather fond of and hope to restore one day. yeah, i'd like to restore them at-- at some stage, alright. at some stage. do you have any cases for them or not? no, unfortunately, i have no cases for them. i would suggest to you that, uh, there's very little point in doing anything on the restoration side until you have a case, because... in all honesty, you're going to spend many hundreds of pounds on each of these... yeah. um, and so, my evaluation might rather disappoint you.

i don't actually reckon these in the current state at more than, say, a couple of hundred pounds each. okay. tell me, what else have you got? i brought this little clock here. little tiffany & co. clock. little tiffany clock. was that in the same attic as the two longcase movements? no, that was in-- on top of a fireplace. on a mantle. it's been there as long as i can remember. well, it's a slightly different animal than the two longcase movements, isn't it? yeah. gosh. it is absolutely charming. um, as indeed you say, signed tiffany. swiss-made, so the movement would've been made, obviously, in switzerland, and the case looks to me to be very, very french, and there's a tiny little mark i can just see there, which is the french silver mark. now, let me just see if there's any other marks anywhere. oh, hang on, have you noticed all these marks along this bottom edge?

no, i didn't notice them. right, um... they're london import marks for 1909. whoa. so... we tend to think of tiffany as being a new york retailer, yeah. but of course, at that stage, they also had a shop in regent street. number 221. and with the import marks through london, the case, which would've been made in france, has come in to be retailed by tiffany of london, not new york. the clock is absolutely charming. this-- some would say magenta, some might call it plum-- enamel against a very, very nice machine-turned ground, and the whole thing decorated with little floral swags, and a border of white enamel, as well. so, you were disappointed with my evaluation on the longcase movements. yes. what do you reckon that? i don't know. i wouldn't.

i wouldn't have an idea of what it would be worth. well, if you popped that into auction now, i think that's gonna make between £5,000 and 6,000. ( chuckles ) that's brilliant. so, does that sort of swing some roundabouts? yes, definitely. great. that's absolutely brilliant. thanks very much. not at all. it's a lovely, lovely thing. well, i suppose you might expect this-- "come to belfast and you'll find a bell." indeed. and where does this one come from? this one, i think, comes from china-- possibly india. my grandfather was a doctor on board ship, and, uh, he brought this bell back from his travels-- probably in the 1920s. you say he brought it back from his travels. it's not the sort of thing you put in your suitcase with the souvenirs, is it? not really. it's massive. it is, and it's very heavy. and where does it live in your house? it actually sits on our balcony. out-- outside. yeah, i hope it's a strong balcony. i hope so, too. it's an amazingly weighty object.

i mean, even if we forget the evaluation in terms of an antique, i'm afraid to say that bronze-- because it's made of bronze-- is becoming a more and more desirable commodity even as a melt value. really? so, it's-- it's a substantial bit of bronze. it is amazing how many people went to the far east and brought back a bell. it seems to be, you know, the trophy to bring back. but you haven't actually mentioned the country from which this really comes. well, i'm not sure. my grandfather was in both india and china, so i'm really not sure. it doesn't come from either. it comes from japan. oh, really? oh, that's interesting. japanese bells basically are the same shape as chinese bells, but they're slightly more enclosed, but they have their origins way, way back in the chinese bronze age. that's where they can all be traced back to, but this is a very traditional japanese temple bell. and bells are magical instruments. it certainly is. they dispel clouds, they raise the spirits. right. because when we strike it--

i borrowed one of the hammers from our crew here-- when we strike it, what do we hear? ( loud ringing ) ( chuckles ) now, how many notes are there? my goodness, i don't know. there's "buuumm..." uh-huh. and then there's a third above-- "da-daaaa..." can still hear that. and then there's a fifth. and then, above the octave, there are lots and lots of notes hanging on in there. there are about 30 notes coming off this bell. my goodness. and then, the bottom note, the hum note, which is-- ( low ) "oooohh..." these are magical, magical instruments. this would've lived in a monastery. it would've played an important part in buddhistic life. it's inscribed with the date that it was commissioned, by whom it was commissioned, how much it weighs, and the name of the monastery. now, the shape is absolutely typical. it doesn't change for several hundreds of years, so it's very difficult to date this object purely on its appearance.

when you look at the text in there, there will be a cyclical date. we would need to look at that quite closely. yes. i'd guess that cyclical date would translate from the mid-19th century. very good. in terms of its antique value, people don't really collect bells. it's just a fantastic decorative object for a large space, yes. so i'm going to say that it's probably somewhere in the region of £3,000 to 5,000. my goodness. that's much more than i thought. that is a lot more. so, we can say, "going, going..." "gong." ( rings ) you've got all three? amazing. yes, yes. isn't that wonderful, i mean, they're practically never complete like that. that's wonderful to see the little pieces that go inside a belleek candelabra. what a splendid piece. do you know anything of its history? nope. i inherited it 4 years ago, but i don't know where it was bought or anything else about it. right, so you're not a collector of belleek. no, i'm not, no. no.

of course, belleek is so closely associated with the white clay found at fermanagh in northern ireland. the factory discovered this wonderful white clay in the 1850s, and realized it would make nice porcelain, and invented a whole new form of ceramic art just using white together. the factory founded-- well, 150 years ago, and it invented the use of porcelain shells. i mean, when you look at these little objects-- somehow, white porcelain-- it feels like a seashell, doesn't it? yes, yes. and you see these examples. but the little liners-- no marks on those. i mean, that's normal on this piece. they didn't bother to mark the little liners. but underneath, it will have the mark, won't it? yes, and i mean, it's such a clear sign of the factory. you've got the tower that stood on the side of lough erne, you've got the harp and the wolfhound, and those are the-- the features that put together

for a local speciality, and what we don't know is the name of the modelers of these. i mean, i think-- i mean, in a way, i'm sure they employed local people. it was very much a local-- families worked there. the didn't bring in great sculptors from abroad. they used irish local clay, local workmen, to create a lovely art form, and i think, um-- what is he holding? um, looking there, he's a cherub candelabra, so he's the cherub, and, uh, i suppose this is a big branch of-- this is coral leading up there, and on the top, we've got, um, well-- sea urchins. they're sea urchins, aren't they? so, those sea urchins forming the nozzles for the candlesticks, and the little liners can sit in there on top, completing the shape. and we've sort of gone into a table centerpiece. yeah. so, you just inherited it? yes. what do you think it's worth? i have no idea. has it been valued in the past? in 1974, it was valued at £125.

all right. a long time ago, but, um, you know-- that was-- that was a fair value then, but of course, today, you've got to be... £3,500 to 4,000. yes? that's very nice. it sums up belleek, it sums up northern ireland, and i love it very much. thank you. so, here i come to belfast, and what do i find? a lot of american objects. mm-hmm. now, how did you come to have them? well, i inherited it when my mother died, and it was all my stepfather's material. these were toys he played with as a child. so, in the 1920s? yeah, 1920s, and these were made-- some by his mother and some by his grandmother, which would take us back into the 19th century, but i don't know which. all i know is, that's probably-- or i was always told that was the oldest, but that was all i know. yes, these are very typical of-- well, all over america,

but particularly from the south. i mean, the last time i saw quilts like this, it was in savannah, georgia. well, this is from south of atlanta in georgia. yeah, i mean, so, these-- these women got together, it was a very social thing, they got together with lots of people in the community, and made lots of-- made quilts. phenomenal hand work in these quilts, i mean, an amazing amount of work. they just look machine-made, but they're obviously not. all hand-made, and you can see that, you know, there's some very old fabric here. like old shirts and all sorts of bits and pieces. exactly, they were made-- they used whatever they had, and the backings-- you know, obviously here from flour sacks, so this was very much utilitarian life in the southern states. these quilts today, um, in the states-- because they're very keen on their folk art there-- are going for around $1,000, so, £500. mm-hmm. but these fascinate me, too, i mean... i think-- i think we all want to see if these work, don't we? so, shall we get the donkey to move?

shall we see what he does? okay, we wind him up, and... off he goes. look at that. notice his ears? look at his eyes. do you see how they move? yes. so, here, with his box there, he's probably going to make about £100. but in the states-- for three times that. really? they're much more popular. even without the box. even without the box for this one, because this is a lovely action. it would sell because of its good action. do we get this one going, as well? yeah, this one will knock the donkey flying. let me take the donkey away. look at that. ( chuckles ) this one goes forever. ( laughs ) star performer, that pilot. earlier on, we saw the offices where thomas andrews,

the chief designer of the titanic, drew up the drawings for the ship. he also designed the sister ship of the titanic, the olympic, there, and i'm delighted to see you've brought in this picture. this is the olympic, here. isn't it? yeah, yeah. and you're related to thomas andrews. he's your great uncle, is that right? great uncle. great uncle. do you talk much about your great uncle tommy, as you call him in the family? well, we do, yes, but years ago it wasn't talked about much, 'cause it was all supposed to be such a dreadful thing. in the whole of belfast, it wasn't really talked about. and of course, he was on the ship when it went down. yes, he was. he was with the harland and wolff group that were there to sort of see all the problems, if there are any. and there were-- i think they were almost all lost. all the-- the group-- the group from harland and wolff. and it's an emotional thing for you to talk about, isn't it? i know. what about you? i mean, thomas andrews is your great-great uncle.

have i got that right? it's now getting a bit more distant, but as a child, it was all very recent and raw for us, that we didn't talk about it as a family. and when we went to sunday lunch with our grandparents, it was something that we just didn't talk about. but now, we're recognizing the industrial achievement of the launch of these ships. when belfast contributed a lot to the empire as the second city-- and there's no doubt liverpool and glasgow also contend with that role-- but there's no doubt belfast contributed a lot. and of course, the building of this ship, too-- the olympic. yes, yes. were any of your family at the launch of the titanic? my father was at the launch in 1911 when there were hundreds of wedges-- wooden wedges keeping it on the slipway. the slipway was all greased to make it slide down, and these all had to be knocked out at exactly the right moment. and he, aged about 8-- 7 or 8-- knocked one of the wedges out.

quite a thing for a 7 or 8-year-old to do. yes, yeah. can you imagine, the towering thing above him. yes, and he always remembered that. i bet. i bet he did. i was going to say this is "as good as", but i'm going further. this is actually the best... revival piece of 1900 to 1910 that you would ever wish to see. there isn't anything better. thank you. it is painted on satinwood in the style of angelica kauffmann, this was a revival from 1900 to 1910, and it continued for a while after the first world war. just for a while. and so, we can narrow it down to the first quarter of the 20th century. it-- it is just wonderful. everything about it is good, except-- except-- ( chuckles ) what happened? my son had a felt tip pen, and when he was about 7, decided that he wants that, so he put his mark on it.

( laughs ) well, what happened to him? well, i think the only thing that i could do then was to ask him to do the hundred lines to say "i must not write on the table." and "sorry, dad." aw, look at that. ( chuckles ) well, i'll tell you, whatever i say about that, this is the most magical story. you must never touch that mark, and never lose that. no, no. it's been there. gosh, well, we talk about heirlooms and things, you know, having stories that are beyond price. that is-- that is absolutely priceless. don't ever try and take that off. a) it would be very difficult, and b)-- it adds to it. it does. it does, indeed. it does, indeed. now, so, we've got this wonderful piece of satinwood furniture which is, in style, a copy of the 1780s. 1780s? right. when angelica kauffmann was working and painting on this type of furniture in exactly this classical style. this is perfect 1780, 1785 revival.

okay, so, let's open it up. now, this is quite heavy. yes, indeed. wow, lookit. like aladdin's cave. and there's more, john. okay. if you pull out that side, i'll do this one. look at this. that's clever. wow. look at that. and, of course... it wouldn't be complete... oh... oh! that frightened me. it locks. yes, there's a stop there, huh? gosh. these are all silver. all silver. so, have you looked up the date? i looked up the date, and they were in london, and there's two hallmarks. right. one is 1921 and one's 1922. so, well, they would've been made in the same year, because the date letter changed in london in may. all right. so, if they were halfway through making this collection, then that would be it. well, it's 1922. it's perfect. yes, it's the bit after the first world war,

rather than, let's say, from before. but look at-- there's everything here. there's little nail pickers, and nail files, and glove stretchers, and button hooks, and brushes... well, and a jewelry compartment in here. jewelry in the drawers. again, in through there. wow. it's a london made piece. okay. no question about it. made by one of the great makers. holland & sons or various other people come to mind. this was made for a very, very wealthy family. one thinks of sort of someone like rockefeller, you know? their london apartment. something like that. it's just fascinating, and they never lost a bit, and it has been used, which is charming. so, you know, it would be fine to do a bit more research. if we can find the maker, then we can trace, really, the limited number of clients that they had, and we could probably get a little further with it. that would be very interesting. be nice to do. that would be. so, how did you come by it? my father bought it in dublin 30 years ago in 1978.

i wonder how much he paid for it. well, i recall somewhere between £4,000 and 5,000. right. that was a lot of money. it would've been in those days. yes. it was a lot of money. a lot of money. as a piece of furniture... complete as it is, it was a pretty good investment. today, on the market... £30,000. £30,000? wow £30,000. thank you very much. that's all right. i'm sure my son henry will be very pleased, and with his mark on it, i think he's gonna have to have it. oh, his mark! i forgot that. we'd better make it £32,000. he will be-- he will be very pleased. excellent. thank you, john. thank you very much. wonderful. a joy to see. where on earth did you get this? um, it's one of a collection of beatrix potter ornaments that i've bought from my mother over the years-- for birthday presents, christmas presents-- saved up my pocket money and bought them for her. so, this was when you were very young? yes, yes.

gosh. and this is, uh-- beatrix potter's figure of the duchess. yes. by beswick, or "bes-wick." i'm never quite sure which of the two it is. so, you just walked into a china store and bought it new off the shelf? yes. fished out your... few pennies that you'd saved up... various ones. from your pocket money. that's it. collected them up-- various birthdays and special occasions. do you know how much you paid for this? i think about 7 and 6 pence. 7 shillings and 6 pence. in old money. in old money. in very old money, yeah. do you realize this is the rarest of the beswick beatrix potter figures? well, i knew it was a bit different to the others, but that's all i know about it, so... you know, it just didn't sell very well. if you're-- um, i suppose it's black. not as colorful. not as popular? and it just wasn't as popular as the other models, so, fewer were sold, and fewer were made, hence the rarity. 7 and 6. yes.

which is about £30 now. £30. yeah. so, £30 to 1,200. good grief. ( laughs ) not bad, is it? though, well, it'll have to go back in a private place in the mantelpiece there. goodness me. well, you were obviously a wise young investor. guess so. i'm amazed. ( both chuckle ) what i like about a good landscape is the way your eye could almost go for a walk into it. yeah, exactly. do you enjoy this at home? oh, yeah. ever since i was a kid, i always found a lot of mystery in this painting. so, how did it come into your life? oh, it was my great uncle's. it's been in the family, i'm sure, for 90 years at least. i don't know before that. my father's 82, and he always remembers it being in their living room. and since i've been about 4, i've always admired it. all right. i always thought there was a great deal of mystery to it, and, uh-- so, i wished one day i could have that.

and when i got the chance to own it, i grabbed it with both hands. so, do you have any idea about the picture, and what it represents, and who the artist is, and all that sort of stuff? i know the artist-- thomas creswick. he's an english artist, uh, born around the early 1800s. i think he died before he was 60. and do you think it is a work by thomas creswick? i hope so, yeah. this is a painting painted in the 1830s, 1840s, and it is indeed by thomas creswick, who is an important-- a very important landscape painter, in his way. and what it shows is a tradition-- a tradition that started in the 18th century that goes absolutely to the heart of the romantic movement. it's the idea of finding a cottage or a dwelling within a wood. thomas gainsborough was the first to do it with his cottage door series of pictures. and then, in the late 18th century, the theme became a little bit more bold, became a little bit more bawdy, and a little bit less romantic, and you got outside the ale-house door with people like george morland.

and then, in the 19th century, another poetic sentiment starts creeping in, and that is sentimentality about ancient architecture. and if you look into the eaves of that house, and you look into the roof, you can see that it's been lovingly done by someone who's aware that the medieval past is disappearing, as well. so, you've got a curious fusion of english-british preoccupations that are manifest in this particularly good example of a 19th-century landscape at the beginning of a period of change in attitudes toward painting generally. here was a man who really knew how to convey realism in nature, but also combined it with more lofty, romantic ideas. so, let me ask you-- do you have any idea of its value? i mean, have you had it valued? no, and i've had it in my ownership and my parents' ownership for just over 30 years,