cybik

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.)

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.)