{"id":112572,"date":"2022-01-14T16:00:38","date_gmt":"2022-01-14T16:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/?p=112572"},"modified":"2022-01-13T15:22:29","modified_gmt":"2022-01-13T15:22:29","slug":"mudlarking-and-sneaky-peeks-at-new-deals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/presenters\/debbie-flint\/mudlarking-and-sneaky-peeks-at-new-deals\/","title":{"rendered":"Mudlarking! And sneaky peeks at new deals"},"content":{"rendered":"

I finally found what looks like the most amazingly perfect hobby for me. Those who know me will be aware I have an archaeology A-level, and have always loved all things ancient, especially artefacts. Well as mentioned previously, last week I went on an expedition for my very first session mudlarking!<\/p>\n\"\"\n

You have to get a special license (which I did), invest in a few bits of equipment (trowel, kneepads, bucket, warm gloves et cetera, which I did), and away you go, seeing what the river has washed up at low tide on the Thames foreshore. I follow a very knowledgeable chap called Alan Murphy on social media, (Mudlark_Thames_Mudlark), who posted about our trip and put a video up of his best ever find of the day with me, when he unearthed a genuine 1500s leather shoe, complete with the top part attached to the insole! Oh my goodness, what an amazing day. The thing I love most is the connection with the past, which I\u2019ve always loved – people may know I collect fossils. Well now I collect things like clay pipes, Victorian pins, tiny Thames garnets (dropped during importing and unloading), remnants of maritime war including musket balls, bits of ships, coins, bits of pottery, fossils, animal bones and teeth, (second thoughts, no animal bones or teeth, yuck!) and if I\u2019m lucky, something Roman\u2026<\/p>\n