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One Word Sunday

Puggy Booth

Now there’s a name to go by. A tough Georgian bare knuckle pugilist, or a renown Victorian cricketer known for stubbornly occupying his crease perhaps? Well the answer is neither and in fact the name goes to an artist of great repute. The name was not one given at birth and in fact was not…

Not a Scooby

Last week I went for a wander along the Thames Path from Westferry DLR station to Tower Bridge. This took me through the areas of Limehouse, Shadwell and Wapping. When I got to Shadwell I squeezed myself through the small alleyway known as Pelican Stairs which leads down to the foreshaw to take a few…

In the beginning was the word

And the word was “Doves“. I was skimming through a book that I was given for Christmas, the excellent A Field Guide to Larking by Lara Maiklem. I’d wanted this book as it’s packed with loads of information regarding a new hobby I’m starting, that of Mudlarking on the banks of the river Thames. I…

Mudlarking

I’m actually writing this piece on the train home from London. Today’s date has been highlighted in my diary for several weeks and the anticipation has been steadily building as the days passed, for today I have been down on the Thames foreshore “Mudlarking” A Mudlark is someone who scavenges in river mud for items of value, a term…

Fancy a dip in the Thames?

Although the river is a lot cleaner today than in previous years, the stretch that flows through the environs of Central London is not immediately the first place you’d think of for swimming. The completion of Sir Joseph Bazalgette’s London sewer system in 1870 meant that the quality of water in the River Thames was…

All Washed Up

Sadly, on average around thirty corpses are fished out of the River Thames each year. However, this is a dramatically reduced number when compared to the 19th century. The amount of traffic and industry that took place on the river would have contributed to this number by accident alone, and there is evidence that people…

Left High and Dry

I was recently looking through a collection of paintings by the 18th century artist Canaletto. Some of views of London took my interest, but one in particular, titled The Thames At Westminster. What grabbed my attention was the tower that dominates the skyline on the bank. Looking closely to get my bearings I could see…