Never mind the frosty meteorological and economic climate - partners at a firm in Barnard Castle, County Durham, have good reason to be full of festive cheer. Clearing out some furniture, the family-run practice found it had what antique expert and TV presenter David Dickinson would call ‘a real bobby dazzler’. A tired old mahogany desk that had been in the office for 80 years turned out to be the work of master cabinet-maker Thomas Chippendale, and went under the hammer for a cool £84,000. So if things are a bit quiet in the run-up to Christmas, why not have a rummage around, see what you come up with, and let us know what treasures you find. Distressed Ikea bookshelves do not count, but Obiter’s friend in the trade says that original MFI pieces may soon be of historical interest.