THANK you for all your letters and e-mails with regards to your local mementoes. There has certainly been an interesting array of examples ranging, as one would expect, from our local porcelain heritage, old postcards of local scenes, books and newspaper cuttings on prominent people and events in the area, to the more bizarre - notably the item pictured right.

The owner tells me it came out of the Fownes Glove Factory but I have simply have no idea of the purpose of it - have any of you?

It measures some 12 inches in length, with a wooden handle and five radiating metal fingers', the turn of an ingeniously designed rod with variable screw threads adjusting the spaces in between in differing ratios to one another at the same time. It is stamped BOUCART A PARIS 21 FG. ST. Jacque 152. Do please write in with your suggestions.

I SOMETIMES NEED A PHRASE BOOK WHEN I'M ON TVYou do the number of television programmes that I do and travelling becomes an occupational hazard. Recently life has been rather hectic and I have been travelling the length of the country, driving from Penzance in Cornwall to Hartlepool in Northumberland, and have planned to do so on two more occasions in the coming weeks.

The people are warm and welcoming wherever we go but I must admit the local dialects can sometimes be a stumbling block.

A "bootiful part" in Cornwall turned out to be a lovely 19th century vase whilst a "canny cheer" in Northumberland ended up being a pretty inlaid Edwardian chair.

I'll be writing the Flog It! phrase book next.

WHY THEY HUFF ON SILVERWe all know that hallmarks identify a piece of silver by place of assay - where the stamp was applied - date and maker.

And clearly, in simple terms, a hallmark will identify a piece of silver from a plated piece.

The problem comes when, in years gone by, less scrupulous individuals have sort to improve' a piece by cutting the hallmark from a small piece by a good maker and beating it into a larger piece.

When wandering around salerooms you will often see people huffing' on a piece of silver. The breath will accentuate a shadow on the silver that will have been formed from later work.