Mudlarking 77 - New Year's Eve

[squirmelia]

Unexpectedly, I was let out of work early on New Year's Eve so rushed to the foreshore. My trains had engineering work so I had to go a different route but then got on the wrong train from London Bridge and ended up in Norwood Junction, far from the river.

I did eventually make it to the South Bank though. Security were making people detour around the back of Gabriel’s Wharf so wouldn't let me get down the steps to the foreshore there, so I walked back towards Blackfriars and finally made it down.

It was the last day of the year and as the sun set, I was on the foreshore, staring at the Thames.

I found a cowrie shell, which would have been used for trade, as they're not native to the Thames. This is the third one I've found.

I found a piece of Meakin Sol Ware with a sun logo, probably from around 1918 - 1963.

I found another piece of Express Dairies aster design.

I found a piece of Lovatt & Lovatt, Langley Mill, Notts, which would have been from between 1895 and 1930. I mostly find things from London or the Potteries in Stoke-on-Trent, not so much other places.

I found a piece of a Bovril jar! My second Bovril jar, but sadly this one was not in one piece.

I found a sherd that said "ich" on it. I assumed this must be German, but the Prince of Wales’ motto is "Ich dien" (meaning "I serve"), so it’s likely to be from that, maybe a commemorative plate.



(You need a permit to search or mudlark on the Thames foreshore.)

Comments

[soemand]

How low do you wait for the tide to be?

For obvious reasons, when I’ve sailed on the Thames I’ve coordinated with high tide to get into st. Katherine’s or south dock marina, with a sailboat draft being near 1.8m.

[squirmelia]

The usual rule is to get to the foreshore 2 hours before low tide, as it's safer to be mudlarking as the tide goes out, so I tend to aim for that, if I have time and the tides are in my favour.

But, I find it depends on location. If I'm passing Blackfriars, for example, there's usually some foreshore when it's less than 4m, so sometimes I pop in there on my way home. Near Custom House, it needs to be less than around 2.3m.

A good low tide will be around 0.5m but often they're more like 1m or more, but I feel like this matters in some places more than others.

[soemand]

Interesting, thanks!

[spiralsheep]

You're three cowrie shells up on me and I've looked for them where they actually live! My favourite of this batch is the boat though, because you can't beat a perfectly framed Willow Pattern sherd - classic find.

[squirmelia]

I found a trivia when I was in Wales also. I like the name trivia!

I try not to pick so much Willow pattern up these days, but I couldn't resist this lovely boat. I liked the little fruit piece.

Oh, I found a sherd that Kevan identified as being from Evesham - More your neck of the woods than mine, so wondered if you'd been there? More details in this post: https://squirmelia.dreamwidth.org/630217.html#comments

[spiralsheep]

You're four cowries up on me then! :-)

I'm not keen on Willow pattern in general, and have no childhood nostalgia for it as nobody in my extended family had it, but I do like bird sherds and the boat.

I definitely been to Evesham several times but, oddly, I've never posted about it either on my journal or at flaneurs. Vine Street is the main road so I've walked along it but I don't recall anything memorable.