iguana | Reading

The tide was already coming in and I had decided I am going to try to collect less and not pick up all the pottery sherds.

People asked if there were steps further on and I told them there were but the tide was coming in so they might not be able to get to them.

I found another square black tile, like the ones I already have.

I found a pipe bowl with a maker’s initials on - AC, my father’s initials. One day I’ll find a pipe bowl with my initials!

My shoes got messy. I am not sure what I stood in but that and the rain and the incoming tide and my ankles hurting meant I didn't stay long on the foreshore that evening.

I did pick up a piece of rather damaged combware and a few other sherds though.

Low tide at Battersea was at 15:12, which meant I had a morning to do other things.

I went to see the Anselm Kiefer Van Gogh exhibition at the White Cube and still regretted not seeing the Finnegan’s Wake exhibition a few years ago. I then went to see the Ugo Rondinone - the rainbow body at Sadie Coles, even though the gallery’s website had said the gallery was closed.

I ate Hong Kong French toast ice-cream and strawberry clotted cream scone ice-cream, spotted a few Invaders, and then headed to the foreshore.

I hadn’t visited the foreshore at Battersea before and got off the bus, and ended up on the foreshore on the north side of Battersea Bridge as opposed to the south side, which I intended! So I guess that was actually Chelsea and not actually Battersea at all. Somehow I hadn't noticed.

Anyway, I walked down the Beaufort Stairs and it was a little muddy, but under Battersea Bridge there were a lot of big pieces of broken pottery. I only picked a few up and resisted the rest.

The foreshore was quite litter filled and seemed like some sewage had washed up there.

I noticed two other people appear on the foreshore, down steps the other side of the bridge, and that seemed less muddy. Those people quickly went away and I was the only person on the foreshore there for most of the time.

I met a man with a stick who asked me if I’d found anything and I told him I’d found a doorbell, and he said he hopes to find a sword one day. He also said I should get a broomstick, so that I can just poke at things and don’t have to bend over all the time.

Although I picked up the doorbell, I didn’t pick up the pregnancy test, the pink balloon nor the walkie talkie, nor the plastic folder with Chinese writing on (I translated it though and found it was about what documents you need for immigration.). I also left the bit of shoe. I didn’t find out if the Thames was pregnant.

I spent time thinking about a story with these things in it. I then thought about what I could do with the doorbell - wire it up and make it play sounds of the Thames when you press it perhaps.

I walked along further and noticed Battersea Power Station on the opposite side of the river.

I found a large piece of a glass torpedo bottle, which may have been from 1840s - 1870s. They were designed so that you had to lie them on their side. Unfortunately I cracked it more while I was cleaning it, which was sad.

There were a lot of shells on the beach, piles and piles of them.

I found a fishing weight, probably recent.

I found three wooden objects- one looks like a fork, the other has letters on it, and the third I am unsure of entirely.

I found a pirate’s legs! They are the legs of a pirate that was in a Kinder Surprise egg in 2008. It would have looked like this: https://en.todocoleccion.net/rubber-pvc-figures/kinder-sorpresa-2008-monster-pirates-donnie-ref-mpg-nv-110~x52490537

I found a fossilised sea urchin! A echinoid! It is possibly about 80 million years old. I am quite excited by this one.

I found a piece of Lego, jagged and broken.

I found a piece of glass that I thought said “Bat” on it, but I now think “Bate”, so perhaps it said “Bateman”.