FANS of BBC TV’s Antiques Roadshow regular Marc Allum seized the opportunity to meet their hero in person, when he gave a talk organised by Haslemere Bookshop and hosted by Hemingways wine bar.
The venue was packed for the event at which guest could also buy copies of the 2015 edition of Allum’s Antiques Almanac and get them signed by the author.
“This was our first ‘big name’ event and the first visit by someone who is not a local,” bookshop manager Sue Adsett said. “It was also the first time we have held an event at Hemingways and it worked very well. Stuart was very enthusiastic and laid on a really good buffet.
“Marc is such a nice chap and he gave a marvellous talk – it was really inspirational.
“We all came away thinking we would like to collect more things.
“His knowledge is so broad.
“He ends up on the show with all the items the other experts don’t have a clue about.
“He brought along some items which were passed around and he talked about. Marc told us to be very careful of a flint used for skinning animals in the old days.
“He asked us how old we thought it was and we said thousands of years. Then Marc told us it was a forgery to show us how easy it is to fake items and sell them for a huge amount of money.
“We also handled a bit of a genuine meteorite that had hit Earth then gone back into space and come back again.”
• Children’s illustrator Arthur Robins will be at Haslemere Bookshop on Saturday, December 5, signing copies of Skimbleshanks The Railway Cat, the latest in his series inspired by T S Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.