Smiths Auctions are holding their final sale of the year on November 13-14 starting at 10am. With the fully illustrated catalogue online having nearly four thousand images, it is easy to do a bit of window shopping at home if you don’t have the time to pop out to the saleroom itself. In fact bidding live online enables hundreds of buyers from both near and far to join in with the auctions - without even leaving the house!

This month, once Smiths staff uploaded the catalogue, they found a bit of spare time for some social media fun. Assistant manager Chris Budding has been working hard to develop Smiths Facebook page and, since he loves a bit of drama, he is only too delighted to play a leading role in many of their popular videos. Sometimes the content is serious, but this week Chris bought in his fabulous green furry Grinch costume and was filmed misbehaving all around the saleroom.

Getting fully into character The Grinch is seen sneaking about stealing a picture, honking all the car horns, playing on the furniture and saying hello to a large leather covered giraffe. Finally after trying on some jewellery, dancing about and scratching his bottom, he kicks a large box outside and slams the door shut behind him! The result is hilarious and has, of course, been incredibly popular - with over one thousand views in less than twenty four hours!

As soon as the November sale is over, and even before the postage team have finished sending out hundreds of parcels, Smiths valuers will start work again taking in items for their very popular New Year Sale on January 2-3. With the catalogue online all over Christmas it attracts a larger than usual number of bidders, and it is always one of the most successful sales of the year.

The winter months are of course a time when people tend to spend their days indoors planning their interiors and making adjustments to their furnishings. In addition many people might have received Christmas money and are looking to buy themselves a treat. Others might simply find a bit of spare time, after all the celebrations are over, to invest in their hobbies and collections. For all the above reasons, and also because there are fewer auctions over this period, Smiths are keen to put together a really fantastic selection of good quality antiques and collectables to satisfy the strong demand.

Entries of silver, jewellery, ceramics, glass, furniture, pictures and collectables are all invited from November 19 to December 6 by appointment. The sale also includes a specialist section for Postcards and Advertising Collectables. For those of you who might wonder what this latter term might cover it includes a wide variety of items from shop counter display cabinets to enamel signs and pre-war packaging.

Some of these items, such as advertising tins, bottle openers, ceramics and a variety of small disposable items can be of relatively low value - but some can be surprisingly rare and valuable. Examples of items which have been sold for relatively high sums include any sort of sign written shop display item, enamel signs, old vending machines and posters.

Coin entries are also now invited for Smiths specialist coin sale in February. For further information or an appointment please telephone 01531 821776 or visit www.smithsnewentauctions.co.uk