From this week on the foreshore, my first Thames cannon ball eroding out of the mud between some concretion and an ancient timber. I’ve found muskets & canister shot, but never one of these. Known as a ‘falconet’ cannon ball because it was fired from a falconet, a fairly light, manoeuvrable gun 1/

Office for the day. One of the best views #Mudlark #RiverThames

This is excellent. But most excellent of all is the part where Patten talks about "Mr Farage" and rhymes his name with 'manage'.

Claude Francis Barry’s paintings of WW1 are amongst the most accomplished of his works, with his images of searchlights across London being the most evocative - here (1918) he used small concentrated dots of colour to create an atmospheric haze of light.

Those queueing up wanting to take a mallet to the BBC this morning might like to pause and think ‘be careful what you wish for.’ It’s not perfect, of course not, mistakes have been made but it’s still a jewel in the crown. TV, wide range of radio output and a huge bank of programmes on iPlayer.

Olli and Taylor have a gig this Thursday as part of the EFG London Jazz Festival. Lunchtime. Free. Do come! efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk/events/gsmd-...

Sherd from a porcelain saucer found on the Thames Foreshore yesterday. Tree root giving off heavy Edvard Munch ‘The Scream’ vibes 😱 #mudlark

Leo Villareal: Coding Light is an expansive monograph of work by Illuminated River's acclaimed artist Leo Villareal, which is published today. https://www.phaidon.com/products/leo-villareal-coding-light

Bonfire Night can be very unnerving for both our pets (and folk suffering with PTSD/CPTSD). Classic FM will be helping us out with their annual ‘Pet Classics.’ Soothing music to help ease their minds away from all the scary stuff. Tune in from 5pm to 9pm. www.classicfm.com/music-news/p...

On 5th Nov in Britain we remember the Gunpowder Plot, an attempt to blow up Parliament & assassinate King James I. Some years ago while mudlarking I found a James I copper alloy coin weight for a half crown of the 2nd coinage (1612-1619) which might never have happened if Fawkes & Co had succeeded.

The country that produced the novels of Georges Perec has fallen to this level

From last week’s exceptionally low tide at Twickenham Riverside during this year’s Draw-Off. The Thames is still tidal here (up to Teddington Lock) and there are days when it looks like someone has pulled the plug. On Wednesday afternoon I walked across to Eel Pie island & the boatyard. Wonderful.

Huge thanks to everyone who has donated and shared so far. ICYMI I’m gearing up to take a series of walks in solidarity with refugees and asylum seekers and to raise money for Gloucestershire Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers. You can sponsor me here: www.stewardship.org.uk/pages/cotswo...

Wise words from the wonderful Roger Allam “Art and music, drama – these are the things we do best. And we don’t kill each other in our millions over it.”

It’s Hallowe’en. So here’s an eerie late 18thC boathouse, only fully visible once a year during the annual Richmond Draw-Off, when the PLA opens Richmond Lock to carry out repairs, and causing amazing low tides. I went in and of course a pigeon immediately flew out & nearly got trapped in my hair 😱

Re the last repost & explanation, I am fascinated by these Hindu offerings in the Thames. More spotted at Twickenham Riverside during the annual Draw-Off yesterday. Mostly little terracotta offerings pots. Unless they’re plastic (not good for wildlife) I usually leave them where they are #mudlark

It’s a ritual known as Ganpati (another name for Ganesha) Visarjan. The deity’s statue is symbolically immersed in water, normally by someone who’s done a fast, at the end of Ganesh Chaturthi festival, which was a few weeks back. Very common in India, never heard of anyone doing it in London.

I wrote a piece about London music halls for The Times ahead of an exhibition at The London Archive. @victorianlondon.bsky.social was among the contributors. www.thetimes.com/uk/london/ar...

Right to Roam campaigners call for access to all England’s rivers Our local groups are organising 9 river trespasses in November to highlight how inadequate & unworkable the government’s pledge of a mere 9 river walks is: www.standard.co.uk/news/politic...

Ganesh/Ganesha, the Elephant God, found at low tide on the Thames Foreshore. Remover of obstacles, God of wisdom and new beginnings. Someone has placed this in the river as an offering, the Thames symbolically replacing the Ganges for London’s Hindu community. Made from ceramic, I left him in peace.

Crow Stone, London Stone and an Estuary Airport. History on the Thames estuary explored at alondoninheritance.com/the-thames/c...

The annual Richmond Draw-Off has begun when the PLA opens Richmond Lock and Weir in order to carry out vital repairs, resulting in very low tides which make it look as if someone has pulled the plug on the river. A great opportunity to mudlark (NB permit needed) & stroll underneath the old bridge.

Premiere! Begins tonight at 8pm. FRANCIS DURBRIDGE'S THE DOLL (1975) #JohnFraser #AnoushkaHempel #GeoffreyWhitehead #WilliamRussell #DerekFowlds drama #TPTVsubtitles

Quite possibly the best painting of plum jam ever. (Felu Elias, The Service, 1936)

The Thames Foreshore isn’t just about artefacts, but a whole host of archaeology & ancient features visible at low tide. I have a *thing* about anchors; beautiful heavy things used to moor a vessel to the sea/river bed. Typically with a metal shank, a pair of curved barbed flukes at the other end 1/

These little tools are apple scoops. They date from the 1800s and are made of sheep bone. They were common in apple-growing districts. The marrow has been hollowed out to allow the user to scrape off pieces of apple if they had few teeth and couldn’t afford dentures.

Keep this in mind folks, we must be aware! Another French museum robbery sees 2,000 gold and silver coins stolen When the Maison des Lumières opened Tuesday, workers noticed a smashed display case. The coins were selected with "great expertise" share.google/MRfmMlLrCqUS... #HeritageCrime

Autumn showing off today #VaVaVoom

Finally, a job opens up for Amol Rajan.

Something slightly decadent about nightlarking on the Thames. I always go with friends, the foreshore can be a dangerous place but at night familiar features morph into different shapes and forms. Timbers, bridges, metal posts, mud can be treacherous. London sparkled like a jewel last night 1/

Station Brugge-Sint-Pieters (2024) photograph by Anne Billson

Photo sent to me by a friend of my finds table at our exhibition at Guildhall, City of London. Beads can be difficult to date & I’ve realised that these ones are actually a mix of Roman to post-medieval. I’ve displayed this lot on orange felt, the beads pinned into place with 14th/18thC brass pins.

Hey hey you you Get off of my cloud Today’s most requested song on Amazon Music.

Aberdeenshire this evening from my back garden.

Alastair Sim, born today in Edinburgh in 1900. As Miss Fritton in The Belles Of St Trinians (1954). "In other schools girls are sent out quite unprepared into a merciless world, but when our girls leave here, it is the merciless world which has to be prepared."

Woof, woof, Talbat the dog wants to go for a walk. Bodleian Library MS. Rawl. D. 939; Astrological and ecclesiastical calendar in six pieces; 14th century; England; section 1 recto @bodleian.ox.ac.uk

Born on this day in 1697 in Venice Giovanni Antonio Canal called Canaletto. Four London views. #London

We've coloured in another John Rocque map panel from 1746. For the first time ever, see Georgian Westminster and Lambeth mapped in colour. londonist.substack.com/p/1746-in-co...

V. exciting to see new Marie Antoinette research by @catrionaseth.bsky.social in the news: hugely looking forward to reading the new book about her portraits www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A handful of my Thames-found World War One and World War Two related artefacts. My mudlarking friend Elle Harmer will be including these together with other similar Thames finds in a special cabinet display for Remembrance month this November at Southwark Cathedral 1/

Today's the 959th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings, so obviously I'm reposting my scenes from the Bayeux Tapestry in Playmobil.

Parisian arcades.

The veneration of Books As Objects misses the point entirely. If you're reading a book, turn the corners down, break the spine, spill soup on it. It's your book, go nuts. A pristine, unread book is a tragedy in a way that a beloved, much-read book that looks like the dog's been at it could never be.

Weird guys at Historiska Museet in Lund

Yeah. Not a slab of chocolate but concretion with brown tiles, and definitely has a 1960s interior décor look, if you ask me. The river has forever been used as a dustbin for building rubble, whether Roman or from the modern era #Mudlark #ThamesForeshore

I’m sure they didn’t mean to eliminate the woman in this image.

Last weekend of this year’s pop-up Hands On History/Thames Festival Trust mudlarking exhibitions in the crypt of the stunning St Paul’s Cathedral, London, on a beautiful autumn day. The exhibition will be open for the final day tomorrow, Sunday 12th October, 10-5pm, entry free. Do come!

A Saxon doorway from the south side of the tower of All Saints’ Church at Brixworth in Northamptonshire. Using recycled Roman tiles, the doorway was originally internal and led to a now demolished cell. 📸 My own. #AdoorableThursday #Brixworth #Northamptonshire

This weekend sees the final Hands on History mudlarking exhibition of the autumn’s Totally Thames Festival 2025. Come and meet the Mudlarks within the historic walls of stunning St Paul’s Cathedral, Sat 11th/Sun 12th October, 10-5pm, free entry. Do come! #mudlarks #mudlarking #HandsOnHistory

The Grade 1 listed North Wing of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London reopens after £9.5 million restoration with 2 William Hogarth masterpiece murals available for the public to see for the first time. 👇 BBC News - Hospital's Hogarth opens to public for first time www.bbc.com/news/article...