bob | Reading

After the past few times of being shouted at on the foreshore, I decided to go somewhere quieter - Wapping. Low tide wasn't until 17:15 so I had a whole day to fill first. I walked from Blackfriars to St Katharine Dock and as I walked past the HMS Belfast decided to jump aboard! I quite enjoyed it, having never visited it before. I also popped in to Southwark Cathedral and saw the latest mudlarking case.

When I got to Wapping, I apologised to photographers as I got in the way of their shots as they were blocking the stairs onto the foreshore. Later on there were a few other people mudlarking, but no-one shouted at me this time!

I walked from the New Crane Stairs to Wapping pier and then overshot the stairs, and panicked that I had read the tide times wrong and that the water had engulfed them. (I hadn't, just walked past them.) The stairs with no lower steps started gushing water so I had to jump the stream there.

Finds weren’t plentiful and I didn't stay until low tide as I was cold and the light was fading.

I did find a nice sherd with a child holding a sprig of something though. I also like the sherd with a tree on it.

Also, what I initially thought was part of a glass bottle turned out to be a glass Exide battery case! It would have contained acid for a battery and is likely to be from the 1930s to 1950s. It may have looked like this originally: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/156007794819

A piece of coral was an interesting find. Coral isn’t native to the Thames, so it’s likely it was used as ballast on a ship, transported from warmer waters, such as the Carribean.

The “warranted ironstone” sherd is again likely to be from John Edwards. https://www.thepotteries.org/allpotters/374.htm

A piece of mochaware.

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

squirmelia

I continued my walk along the river from Vauxhall. First I visited Effra Island and Effra Quay and saw the toilet sculptures. There was a slipway, which I walked down and there was a good view of the lions. I will have to go back sometime when the tide is further out.

Along this way, the benches have swan heads instead of sphinxes on them.

I detoured to the Newport Gallery to see the Triple Trouble: Fairey, Hirst and Invader exhibition.

I then continued along the river and detoured when I got near Leake Street and walked through the graffiti tunnel and then to Tokyo Bagel for curry pan and a matcha strawberry vanilla crown.

I put on my wellies and headed down to the foreshore outside Gabriel’s Wharf and then waited until the tide was out enough to walk along to outside the National Theatre. No jumping gates this time!

The first thing I found was a squirrel ornament, which I first thought was a gargoyle or a devil.

I also found a large button and a friendship bracelet.

I picked up a phone case that said “C’est la vie since 2022” and “Have a nice day” on it, but left it. I also saw a second phone case, but that one was just black.

I also left a welly.

The foreshore was busy with mudlarks and children and tourists.

A person standing on the bank shouted at me, “mudlark!”

I spoke to another mudlark and asked what they'd found and they showed me a really long pipe stem and I showed them my squirrel.

Things I’ve identified:

1. A sherd from the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths! It shows their coat of arms on it, and says “Justitia Virtutum Regina” on it, which means “Justice is the queen of virtues.” The sherd has a leopard face visible in the corner of the shield.

I found what the coat of arms would have originally looked like:
https://www.alamy.com/the-worshipful-company-of-goldsmiths-coat-of-arms-on-a-plate-an-old-illustration-of-their-coat-of-arms-image554210895.html

The Goldsmiths’ Hall, on Foster Lane, near St Paul’s, only dates back to 1835, but the site has been home to the Goldsmiths’ Company since 1339.

2. A John Edwards sherd. https://www.thepotteries.org/allpotters/374.htm

John Edwards were a Stoke-on-Trent potter, from 1847 - 1900.

3. Dunn, Bennett & Co unchippable sherd. https://thepotteries.org/allpotters/363.htm

A Stoke-on-Trent potter, in Burslem, from 1876 - 1983.They made all kinds of exciting pottery, from plates for the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand to Mumbles Railway & Pier Company plates to canteen ware for the government.

4. “husian EC1” glass shard

In EC1, there’s a street called “Carthusian Street”. It’s near to the Charterhouse and the Barbican. There’s a pub there called the Sutton Arms, which has been there since at least 1825, so this piece of glass may have been part of a bottle that came from there?

5. Carbon rod for an arc lamp. It says “marke” on it.

6. More pieces of the Aster flower design from Express Dairies.

7. Nephew sherd

I think this one is probably “James Green & Nephew” and that it would have said “London & Stoke” and “Willow pattern” on it.

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

squirmelia

I climbed over the locked gate, as it was getting dark and the tide was coming in. It then started raining when I was on the foreshore. Holding my torch, my umbrella, and my finds bag while poking at things proved a bit difficult, so I ended up not staying that long. I also seemed to have some girls shouting at me - apparently I was holding my umbrella wrongly? Or something like that. But it's hard to hold an umbrella when you're holding so much else and bending over a lot to look at things. Not a fun time on the foreshore really.

I picked up a pipe and a couple of pieces of pottery in desperation, to make it feel like getting wet and getting shouted at and climbing over gates was worthwhile. I found an octopus!

Climbing back over the gate I find a bit more difficult, I am not very flexible, and the gate is wet so I got even more wet.

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

anais_pf posting in

thefridayfive

These questions were originally suggested by

heartovmidnight.

1. What's your favourite TV network?

2. If you could create your own channel, what would it be?

3. What TV show did you watch as a child, that you wish they would bring back?

4. What show have you always hated, and wonder why they ever made such a dumb show?

5. What TV show's seasons would you buy on DVD?

Copy and paste to your own journal, then reply to this post with a link to your answers. If your journal is private or friends-only, you can post your full answers in the comments below.

If you'd like to suggest questions for a future Friday Five, then do so on DreamWidth or LiveJournal. Old sets that were used have been deleted, so we encourage you to suggest some more!

lnr

Yesterday I turned 50, which feels like it should be a bit of a milestone, but in reality has just been an excuse for a lot of cake.

We went away as a family at Halloween, as it was the end of half term and meant we could get a slightly longer weekend away. Three days in a collection of cabins in the Forest of Dean, with Forest Holidays. We nominally had a halloween party on Friday night and a birthday party on Saturday but it was kind of hard to tell which bits were party (having an age range from 7 to 73 makes for rather varied party requirements) but there was cake and fizz and cocktails, and we did an outdoor puzzle game with the kids, and Mike and dad joined me in trying axe throwing, and we had a nice walk through the forest down to the river Wye with a very sulky Matthew and generally had a good time :)

Yesterday I decided not to take the day off work, and instead took in cake to share in the morning, and took my immediate colleagues to the pub at lunchtime (though they wouldn't let me pay for drinks). We had pizza and fizz and more cake for tea, and a generally chilled out and lovely day. Matthew has an inset day on Friday, so Mike's taking the day off too, and we'll go out for a visit to the Botanic Gardens and lunch at Browns. And I've invited some friends round in the morning to help eat up cake, instead of meeting them at a coffee shop (which is my usual Friday routine).

I suggested to Mobbsy and David that we should do a celebration of 150 years between us, given what a good party we had for our joint 90th, but I never did get round to throwing a party this time. We shall try and make it out to the pub next Wednesday evening instead. And next Friday our little coffee gang will be going our to the village annual wine tasting/dinner - organised by the twinning association. And then I think I'll be more or less done with birthday celebrations for the year. Thanks so much to everyone who found me elsewhere on social media (or text message, or card) to say Happy Birthday, it's been very much appreciated!

nanila

When the conference finished in Nicosia, I took the opportunity to give myself a day and night in Larnaka, which is on the beach on the southern side of Cyprus. It's a popular holiday destination for Western Europeans wanting some winter sun, although because it's more northerly than, say, the Canary Islands, it tends to be a bit quieter, especially outside the school holidays.

I picked a hotel on the beach, and was pleasantly surprised to receive an upgrade to a sea view room with a balcony on arrival. It was too early for me to check in when I arrived, so I went to have lunch on the patio and do a bit of work. I cooled off with a small glass of the local beer (Keo). Then I had a long walk along the beachfront promenade, looking for cats.

[Cat eventually located]

As soon as I could access my room, I went up and had a shower, applied sun cream, and went for a swim. Even at 3 PM it had started to cool off significantly - sunset was at 4:45 PM - so I was alone in the pool, and indeed poolside. I did a bunch of slow, lazy laps and got out to soak up the last of the rays. I also popped down to the beach to poke my toes into the sea.

I got changed and went for another stroll, this time in the opposite direction, to enjoy the sunset. The promenade ran for several kilometres in both directions from the hotel, and when it petered out, the compacted sand on the beach made walking easy.

[Big sky, fiery clouds]

[Palm tree silhouettes]

[Night falls]

By the time night had fallen, I was pleasantly worn out. I went to the bar, thought about sitting there, and then remembered I had a balcony. So instead, I ordered a negroni and took it up to my room. I chatted to the family. I listened to the howling of the cats. Everything went very quiet around 8:30 PM. It was too early to go to bed, tempting though it was, so I did some writing with old episodes of “House” on in the background before turning in. I set my alarm so I wouldn't miss the sunrise, which was at 6:13 AM.

[Sunrise from the balcony]

Very glad I didn't miss the sunrise.

[The sun emerges]

I made myself a small strong espresso and changed for breakfast. I turned up as soon as it opened (07:00) and sat outside to eat. I got chatting to another solo woman traveller, who recommended a walking holiday in northern Cyprus to me the next time I had time to myself (“probably not for the children at this stage, my dear”). She supposed I could bring the husband if I really wanted, but in her opinion I'd enjoy it more on my own. I couldn't laugh. She genuinely meant that.

[Breakfast!]

Still chuckling, I went upstairs to change into something less roasting and had another walk toward the east, the direction I thought gave me the best chance of finding some shells. The beach was mostly claggy sand and pebbles, but I did spot a few.

[Meow.]

I changed into my costume when I got back and went down to the sea for a swim. The tide was out and it was possible to walk nearly all the way to the breakwater without being deeper than my chest. I'm not tall. I walked out, had a little paddle around looking at the fish in the crystal clear water, and swam back to the promenade. I sat on a sunbed and enjoyed drying off in the breeze and the sun. Then I went to the pool. Again there was no one in it because it hadn't warmed up yet, so I had a long, slightly more vigorous swim and then sunned myself again.

I knew it must be getting close to checkout time so I went up to shower and attempt to prevent my hair turning into straw after all the soakings. I mostly succeeded, and was pleased I'd succeeded in not getting burnt either.

I chatted with the family, who were eating a late breakfast of dippy eggs. Keiki was excited about his rugby match. Humuhumu was being a teenage potato. Nevertheless we had a nice chat until was time for me to head downstairs, have lunch, and start the long journey home.

I caught the sunset in the airport, sprinting across the terminal to take a photo before boarding the plane.

Due to various delays, I didn’t arrive home until well after midnight, so technically Monday morning. Nevertheless I had to get up six hour later and go to work. Astro here accurately reflects the amount of sympathy I got from the family about this.

[Astro at home amongst the carnivorous plants and prickly cacti]

squirmelia

A lunchtime lark, but it was rainy and the tide was up.

Finds:

1. Plastic leaves
2. Westerwald stoneware
3. What I thought was an intricate button but when I got it home, found that it was actually a filter, perhaps for treating sewage.
4. I quite like the big blue and white piece and wonder what it was part of.

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

anais_pf posting in

thefridayfive

These questions were originally suggested by

alysonl.

1. What's one of the nicest things a friend has ever done for you?

2. What's one of the nicest things a stranger has ever done for you?

3. What is a trait in another person that you instantly admire, and that draws you to them?

4. What is a trait in another person that instantly repels you, and prevents you from forming a close relationship with them?

5. Time to vent: tell us about something rotten someone has done to you.

Copy and paste to your own journal, then reply to this post with a link to your answers. If your journal is private or friends-only, you can post your full answers in the comments below.

squirmelia

On Sunday morning, I went to Putney, as it was somewhere I hadn’t mudlarked before. I tried going down the Brewhouse Slipway, but it was too muddy. I then found the steps next to Putney Bridge, which were also muddy, but there was a handrail to hold onto for the top steps at least, so I made my way down slowly. The foreshore was covered in silt, as the tide must have started receding before the Uber boats started running again.

I made my way around the mud and the streams of water, and got to the river’s edge. I heard bagpipes being played. It was Remembrance Sunday, so I suspected they were coming from the church just above.

Other people on the foreshore included a person metal detecting, and a person who told me that it was muddy the way they came, and I told them that I’d found a Bovril jar.

At one point I was stood between the river and a large stream bit, as if I was on an island, and even though I knew the tide times and knew the water was still going out, I wasn’t sure I felt that safe, so turned around.

I didn’t take home:

1. A pink iPhone, smashed up, no screen, underneath Putney Bridge.

2. Hindu offerings, a collection of them washed up together.

I walked underneath the bridge and then came across some gates that had warning signs that said lights flash and that there could be sewer outfalls without warning. I walked quickly past, lights were not flashing.

Things I found:

1. A plastic frog head. I think it was a real animal to start with, so was glad to find it wasn’t!

2. A bracelet, perhaps?

3. Glass that says “blis” on it. Probably Chablis, but I like to imagine I found "bliss"

4. Glass that was part of an R White’s bottle.

More things:

1. A Bovril jar! Very excited by this one. It’s not one of the oldest types of Bovril jars as it doesn’t have a long neck, but it does have “oz” on it, so it’s certainly not recent.

2. Barrett & Elers bottle fragment

The “B&” were visible on this fragment, but the symbol on it is more of the giveaway - it’s of a vulcanite bottle stopper! The company was registered in 1897 and Henry Barrett invented this type of bottle stopper in 1872.

An advert from 1883: https://boroughphotos.org/lambeth/advert-barrett-elers-london/

–

3. Solo bottle fragment

On the bottom of the bottle it says “Property of Solo B”. The Solo Bottling Company were based at 10 Whitcher Place, NW1. Using 1940s - 1960s OS Maps, it says “Mineral Water Bottling Works” at this address. Whitcher Place does still exist but where this building was located is now UCL student halls.

From a listing of a 1954 receipt on eBay, I've found that Solo Bottling Company were linked to Solo Orchards, who made orange juice and other drinks.

There are various adverts from Solo Orchards, such as “ah! oh! SOLO” from 1948, and eBay also has a beer mat for sparkling orange listed.

Solo Orchards were taken over by Idris in 1960.

So the bottle I found could have contained sparkling orange from Solo Orchards, and is likely to be from the 1940s or 1950s.

1954 receipt:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/167796598399

1948 advert:
https://flic.kr/p/2fFCAWU

Sparkling orange beer mat:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/306036568891

--

After that, I continued along the river, through Wandsworth Park, and past Church Draw Dock (another place to mudlark) and a heron, and onwards, over Battersea Bridge, and past the sphinx benches, and then over Vauxhall Bridge, and I stopped my walk there. I walked about 11 miles that day.

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

vyvyanx

There always seems to be some excitement when I donate blood. The first time, last December, was exciting just because it was new - and also because I felt faint and dizzy afterwards and everyone rushed to look after me. The second time, in July, the session was interrupted when a fire alarm went off and we all had to go out into the car park, which meant that people who'd been in the middle of donating couldn't have their donations used (not me, fortunately). Today, at the end of my third donation, a special alarm went off because the machine hadn't automatically cut off when the target weight was reached, and it took a bit extra :-) The nurses said this hardly ever happens.

Current Mood: bloodless

dancefloorlandmine

Our second time running The 80s Night at the welcoming Friendship A.R.C. and thankfully higher numbers than last time, who seemed to have a good time.

The playlist is below¹ ...

( The 80s Night (1900-2300) )

We're back at the Friendship A.R.C. again next time, but also back on Sundays again, on Sunday 26th April 2026. There's also something else as well, but that's a different matter. And probably requires a new usericon.

¹ Yes, I know that there's a song in there that I shouldn't have played, according to our rules - it snuck in while I was unsupervised, as Kat wasn't up this time.

dancefloorlandmine

The day after watching Mark Steel in Bromley, I took the Windrush line up to Highbury and Islington to the Garage.

I remember a promoter friend who'd booked Utah Saints quite a few years ago recounting the conversation with them, which could be summarised as them saying "You do know that we're DJs, not a band, don't you?", and him replying "Yes, that's why I've booked you."

This night was also an entirely DJ'd night - which meant much less time to rest before sets. When you have bands, there's obviously a certain amount of time required for changeover, usually at the very least swapping out the snare drum and the cymbals on the kit and possibly shifting some amps off stage. When you have DJs, especially using laptops, it's as quick as swapping from one input lead to another¹ or just selecting a different input on the mixer.

Opening was the chap from St. Etienne, doing a very smooth DJ set that built up steadily as one continuous piece of loops and beds. I didn't recognise any actual tracks, but that might have been due to a lack of familiarity.
He was followed by Richard 23 of Front 242, who performed more of a traditional DJ set, moving from track to track, some of which I'm pretty sure I recognised (including Prisencolinensinainciusol by Adriano Celentano (mostly known now as the tune from two different Italian beer adverts at the same time)).
Next up was billed as a film by Jimmy Cauty (formerly known for being part of the KLF) as Towerblock1, but was much more of an audio-visual experience, with the music and the visuals evolving together (and impressively).
And then it was over to Utah Saints, who did their usual, and put out a storming set. Although, being them, it was almost three sets at once, switching between snatches of recognisable tracks overlaid with samples, loops, and other elements to create a single continuous hole. I recognised a number of the ingredients, but they were then morphed and added to in entirely new ways. And it was excellent.

According to my pedometer, if my steps had been actual paces, I would have done about seven miles that night.

¹ On decks, it can be even more seamless, with one DJ cued up on one deck while the other's final track is still playing on the other.

nanila

What’s harder to live without, chocolate or alcohol?

I've frequently given up alcohol for weeks. I've never dared give up chocolate. I might turn into a monster.
Does the colour yellow remind you of anything?

A few things. Drawing the Sun with crayons. The walls of the Camden flat I lived in when I first moved to London. The colour of baby poop (soooo weird).
Who most annoyed you last week?

The Andrew formerly known as Prince. Just go and fade away into obscurity already, although really you should be in prison, you entitled twerp.
Do you have a cutesy romantic nickname for your partner (or previous partners)?

Yes. I'm disinclined to expound on that.
What is your favourite Stephen King movie?

Er, none of them. I can't watch most horror films. They give me nightmares for weeks.

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Page generated Nov. 22nd, 2025 09:17 pm

bob's ramblings

Reading

Mudlarking 65 - a battery and coral

Mudlarking 64 - A squirrel and some gold

Mudlarking 63 - rain, darkness and an octopus

The Friday Five for 21 November 2025: TV Time

Another year older

24 hours in Larnaka

Mudlarking 62 - Leafy

The Friday Five for 14 November 2025

Mudlarking 61 - ah! oh! Bovril

Blood donation

[DJing/Setlist] The 80s Night, Friendship A.R.C., Whitby, Mon 3rd Nov 2025

[Gigs] Utah Saints @ The Garage, Highbury, 18th October

The Friday Five on a Sunday

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