Out & About August 2017

OA competition

antiques pursuit

Win the chance to join Thomas Plant in a hunt for bargains and raise money for charity

D o you fancy yourself as an antiques expert? Then here’s your chance to test your knowledge in the Great Antiques Pursuit competition. OUT&ABOUT is looking for four enthusiastic teams of two to take part in an exciting antique and collectables hunt. Any profits made will go to the Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice. Thomas Plant and Neil Shuttleworth from Special Auction Services will head up four teams, who will compete with each other to buy antiques in a Bargain Hunt -style competition on Thursday, September 7. The first two teams will go head-to-head at 9.30am, followed by the other teams at 11.30am. The items purchased will be entered into forthcoming auctions and all profits will be donated to the Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice, the local charity that supports children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions. Just as you see on the TV, each team will be given money to make their purchases under the guidance of the experts Thomas and Neil, and the aim is to spend as little as possible in order to achieve the best possible profit at auction. The team whose lots make the most under the hammer wins. Four sets of competition winners will meet Thomas and Neil in Hungerford and spend an hour looking for bargains in the antique shops. The items will then be sold in the Special Auction Services monthly sale in Greenham on Tuesday, November 7. Thomas Plant says: “ Neil and I always look forward to the Great Antiques Pursuit – we love a little competition between ourselves. It is also great to meet some Out&About readers. “We are ambassadors of the Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice and know what a fantastic local charity it is. We are very much looking forward to meeting the lucky teams .”

MEET THE EXPERTS THOMAS PLANT is a regular on BBC’s Bargain Hunt, Flog it! and Antiques Roadtrip, as well as director at SAS, which he has been running with Neil since 2006. He enjoys scour- ing antiques shops for deals and likes nothing more than beating Neil in a competition. NEIL SHUTTLEWORTH is Thomas’ business partner and a director of SAS. He’s a specialist in jewellery, watches, silver, antiques and fine art. He likes to drive a hard bargain, is competitive (especially against Thomas) and as main auctioneer at SAS, he knows what sells.

Once the shopping is over, the teams will get together for a ‘show and tell’. The items will then be taken away to be photographed and catalogued for the auction. On Tuesday, November 7, the teams will meet up again – this time at Special Auction Services for the big day where all the lots will go under the hammer and the winning team will be presented with a bottle of champagne. Any profits realised from the competition lots will be given to the Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice. HOWTO ENTER If you and a partner want to enter the Great Antiques Pursuit competition, and you are available in Hungerford on Thursday, September 7 and at SAS Auctions, Greenham, on Tuesday, November 7, all you have to do is fill in the form below and send it to Great Antiques Pursuit, OUT&ABOUT, Newspaper House, Faraday Road, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2DW. The closing date for entries is Thursday, August 10.

Great Antiques Pursuit entry form

Name ...................................................................................................... Address .................................................................................................. ................................................................................................................ ................................................................................................................ Email ...................................................................................................... Daytime tel. no ....................................................................................... I am available on Thursday, September 7 and Tuesday, November 7

49