Thursday, January 26, 2006

My parents appeared on a BBC TV programme called Flog It today. The show was pre-recorded some four months ago so it was hardly a shock but none-the-less it's very odd to see your folks on TV when you're more used to them watching it!

Dad's a bit of an antique collector and so I've always wondered how long it would take him to get onto an antiques and collectibles TV show; I always expect to see him wandering around in the background on BBC's Bargain Hunt while the contestants try to find bargains at some damp antique fayre.

Last year dad heard that 'the TV' was coming to town and so he grabbed my mum and a couple of choice collectibles and went to see how they'd get on. It turned out they had just what the film crew was looking for.

In case you haven't seen Flog It before the idea is that members of the public bring some object or other to one of their valuation days and a select few are chosen to be on TV and have their item sold at auction - basically it's half way between Antiques Roadshow and Bargain Hunt in the evolutionary scale of antique shows.

The whole point of the show is to see how each person's item is going to do at auction. Will Aunt Jane's old teapot turn out to be some rare 17th Century Dutch piece or a 1985 copy from Woolworths? Will Derek and Claire from Bromley discover that their grandmother got shot of her diamond ring back in the 30s and replaced it with a glass copy to fund her gin habit? You know the kind of thing.

Unlike most people on the show Dad's 'treasure' wasn't an heirloom; unless by heirloom you mean 'bought at an antiques fayre about a year ago'. It was one of the reasons the producers wanted to include it. I think they hoped he'd lose some money at auction.

I won't go into all the gory details but despite a lot of smiling from my parents on TV you could see the disappointment on their faces after the item sold for 'slightly' less than dad had bought it for in the first place; but I'm sure the fact that they'll be local celebrities for weeks to come will more than make up for it.

I've got to come to terms with the fact that every few months my dad and mum will appear on my TV unannounced in re-run after re-run after re-run.

Posted by Antz at 7:48 PM | Permalink | | |

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