Latest news with #Schoon
Edinburgh Live
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- Edinburgh Live
Antiques Roadshow guest has six-word response to ‘rust bucket' bicycle's staggering price tag
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info WARNING: This article contains spoilers from Antiques Roadshow. An Antiques Roadshow guest couldn't help but chuckle when he discovered the true value of his old bicycle. Expert Adam Schoon was on hand at the Newcastle Civic Centre to meet with guests to film another exciting episode of the iconic BBC daytime series. Presented with an old bicycle, Schoon stated: 'I'm a really keen mountain biker, I'm used to carbon fibre, Kevlar, aluminium, and you bring me a rust bucket. Where did you get your rust bucket?' The guest shared: 'I got it from a house clearance shop in North Shields, luckily. It was lying at the back of the shop beside this old sofa and I just saw it lying there and I had a feeling that was going to be worth a bit of money. 'So what I did was, I did a little bit of research on the internet and I discovered there was one in America that was worth quite a bit of money. 'I thought 'right, how am I going to get this on the tube?' So I went and picked a few other items in the shop like lights and things like that, and I made the guy an offer of £300 for the whole lot. Overall, it cost about £200.' (Image: BBC) The bike's owner then shared that it had just one handle at the time of purchase before adding a second handle. Schoon said: 'Just getting down to brass tacks, the bike is made of two things, wood and iron. Original handle there and this one was an old -' 'An old file handle', the guest, who works as an engineer, clarified. 'So what I did was I drilled the end, carved it a bit and varnished it.' The expert queried: 'And the seat looks a bit later, did you add that on?' before the guest remarked: 'No it was covered in an old piece of cloth actually and it was stapled on the bottom. I rather liked the wood so I filled the wood worm holes in and cleaned it up and varnished it as well.' Schoon then admitted: Well when I first saw it, I really didn't know if it was a fake or whether it was real. 'Let's have a quick look just here and here. Two rivets which you can see are handmade, this is a hand-wrought bicycle. It's got tyres made of iron. This was before pneumatic, pump-up tyres.' Schoon continued: 'Now originally, if this is right, it would have had a leather seat. Obviously just a little bit of token comfort. You're sat basically on a spring and that's it. What must have charmed you was the fact it's for a child.' 'Yes, I haven't seen anything like it before. It's quite fascinating," the guest said. (Image: BBC) But when the expert asked if he would let his own child 'loose on a bike like this today', he laughed: 'Absolutely not!' 'I think you've got the feeling that it is actually a period one from the 1880s and it is indeed an American one', the expert said. 'They call them high wheelers and in fact the men who used to ride penny-farthings as we used to call them, were called wheel men or wheeler men.' He then concluded: 'It owes you the equivalent of £200. In this condition, it's clearly worth £2,000.' Upon hearing this figure, the guest's voice cracked as he exclaimed 'What?' and laughed. 'You have done well', Schoon said. Still beaming from ear to ear, the guest added: Goodness. Knock me over with a feather, goodness me. £2,000.' He shook his head as the expert praised: 'Yes, so you had a very good eye, good for you.' Unable to stop smiling, the owner added: 'Incredible.' Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Chicago Tribune
29-03-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Porter County election board gets update on equipment damage from burst pipe
Last month's flood that hit the Porter County Elections & Registration Office has left the staff high and dry, still homeless until repairs are completed. Some of the election machinery has been damaged, too. A burst water pipe caused an estimated $1 million in damage, not including the election equipment. The county Election Board heard an update Thursday about the damage. Porter County Clerk Jessica Bailey said 203 of the ballot-marking devices failed, although 100 are still functional. Fewer than five of the tabulation machines are damaged, but the boxes that housed them haven't fared as well. Two of the electronic poll books aren't functional. One had water raining on it from the burst water pipe, Elections & Registration Director Sundae Schoon said. Election Board President Paul Rausch asked if the insurance payment would be pro-rated based on the age of the equipment. The insurance company has yet to determine how much it will pay as it continues to process the claim, Schoon said. The vendor for that equipment has assured that it can replace what's damaged, Schoon said. Porter resident Jennifer Klug asked whether President Donald Trump's recent executive order regarding election equipment and procedures will mean replacing the existing equipment. 'I vote all the time,' Klug said, and didn't want a disruption. The vendor has assured that the replacement equipment will be fully compliant with any mandates in accordance with Trump's executive order, and the existing equipment's software can be updated easily, Bailey said. As the office is being put back together, the county plans to implement recommendations by the federal Cyber Infrastructure Security Agency to both secure the equipment and protect staff and voters' privacy. That includes preventing visitors from seeing information on workers' computer monitors. The extensive damage caused by the broken water pipe included soaking drywall several feet up from the floor, Schoon said. Until the office is put back together, staff members are working in temporary accommodations elsewhere. Some equipment for the E911 dispatch operation also housed in the building was damaged, but calls continued to go through using backup equipment. The Election Board also levied a series of fines for delinquent campaign finance reports, formally adopting findings of fact from last week. Fined were campaign committees for Tyler Brock, $150; Barb Domer, $300; Victoria Gresham, $250; John McGraw, $150; Lance Raphael, $1,000; Anthony Wire, $1,000; and Hannah Trueblood, $300.
