Mudlarking: Lost and Found on the River Thames

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Mudlarking: Lost and Found on the River Thames

Mudlarking: Lost and Found on the River Thames

RRP: £99
Price: £9.9
£9.9 FREE Shipping

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Description

Mudlarking is not all about the physical objects you find on the river, however. Anderson speaks poetically of the joys of being on the foreshore. “I instantly forget any anxieties or problems that I have for the few hours or so that I'm down by the river,” she said. “Even if I don't find much that day, I love the peace the river brings – the wildlife, birds, boats going past, the sounds, the way the light reflects on the water, the changing landscape on whatever part of the Thames foreshore I happen to be mudlarking on that day. Even on a cold, windy or wet weather day, it’s very invigorating.” Lara speaks also of moment of the find. The care and preservation of artefacts. The best light and intensity of the search and how without that moments scan, hesitation, acquired skills objects might forever remain undiscovered or be shattered by one’s next step. While these tours are a great introduction to communal mudlarking, most mudlarks are solitary creatures and can often be found on their own, staring at the stones beneath their feet. More advanced ‘mudlark’ permits can also be obtained, however, these are only available to the members of the Society of Thames Mudlarks. In summary, I adored learning more about the history of the River Thames, I was gripped by every item the author discovered and researched but I could happily have done without the memoir aspect with no sense of loss at all.

However she makes mention several times throughout the book that she won't share specific locations. By omitting them the reader can join the dots on their own (or not), but openly stating she won't share the locations made her seem arrogant in my view.I loved the respect and connection she feels to the people whose lost possessions she finds - often, history books take a callous approach to the people they talk about, as if their misfortunes and often cruel lives and deaths were unimportant or a matter for sport just because they have been dead for a long time, and it always sits wrong with me. Pretty much everything that humans have made used and thrown away will be here forever. Often these possessions have ended up in middens and now we bury vast quantities of our unwanted stuff in the ground in dumps. If you know where to look these relics from a time long gone can be found, especially along the foreshore of the tidal Thames. I had no idea the construction of the old bridge slowed the water to such an extent the river froze over in harsh winters. I knew about the festivities that took place when the Thames froze over in the 1600s but wasn't aware that it doesn't do so now because these obstructions were removed when the old bridge was demolished.

It is a real pleasure to read. In all these endeavours and historical asides she reveals more of herself and her journey into collecting things the river offers.A lyrical and evocative narrative history of London and its people, told through objects found on the banks of the Thames by the city's most prominent mudlark



  • Fruugo ID: 258392218-563234582
  • EAN: 764486781913
  • Sold by: Fruugo

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