AFTER driving through the beautiful countryside of the Cotswolds on a visit to a farmhouse, I pulled in to the entrance and flanking the drive was a series of staddle stones.

As I pulled up next to the property a young, well-dressed gentleman appeared at the front door and introduced himself. As we walked in he explained that it was his father's farm, and that, unfortunately, he had died. I asked him if he was also in farming (it's not unusual for families to pass a farm down the generations), but his generation had skipped the fields and gone into the Silicone Valleys.

Unfortunately no green foliage grows there, just chips of unusual sizes.

We walked through the kitchen, and opposite an Aga which had seen countless Christmas dinners stood a Georgian oak 30-hour long case clock, which dated from the 1760s.

It was not long ago that clocks of this style were of no commercial value. Everybody wanted the 8-day long cases, but this is no longer the case.

In the hallway stood a very large Dower chest which was an exceptional colour and a good size. Many homes could not accommodate this piece normally they are far too large. In today's market this should go for between £8001000.

There was a hole in the ceiling where a shotgun had gone off in the hall and it had never been repaired. The owner said it was an interesting talking point.

He offered me a cup of tea in a huge mug and we wandered around the property looking at the remaining pieces. Most of the items were functional but of little commercial value. As we walked out to the barns there was an early, circa 1690, William and Mary chest of drawers being used as a toolbox, one of the earliest toolboxes I have ever seen. The handles unfortunately were pieces of rope but, even so, at auction it should fetch between £1800 and £2000.

The photo (above) is a watercolour by the artist Margaret Murray Cooksley which dates from 1891. It is of a female sitting on a leopardskin rug. Cooksley was a London painter and specialised in Middle Eastern subjects, especially Egyptian scenes.

She exhibited at the Royal Academy and was a member of the New Watercolour Society, which is now the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours. This should fetch in excess of £800.

The next call was to a lovely couple in Milton Keynes. This was to view some memorabilia from the Second World War which belonged to a distant relative. This turned out to be a number of medals including a Military Cross which is worth in excess of £400, and a series of letters from the then Princess Alice.

These are not only valuable, but are priceless to the relatives of this brave man. As far as I am concerned, if it weren't for the sacrifice and bravery of his generation I would not be here today.