*AS I write this I am just about to jump in my car to drive to the south coast to film the 500th programme of Bargain Hunt.

It doesn't seem like five minutes since I recorded the very first edition in Malvern with the then relatively unheard of David Dickinson.

I only ever thought they would ask me to record the one programme; perhaps they're keeping me on till I get it right.

*Tortoiseshell tea caddies and ivory figures are the staple diet of the antiques trade and salerooms.

While clearing a house on the Cotswolds I came upon a lot that like the caddy and the figure are made from species protected today but were collectable in days gone by - a piece of coral.

They say there's a buyer for everything but I shall be intrigued to see how much it makes and who buys it.