Beach rummaging in Dawlish

It's been a glorious, sunny January day, so this afternoon I was very happy to go rummaging along the beach in Dawlish. The sun sparkled on the waves and picked out some treasures: a large piece of sea-glass, two pebbles with holes in them which I collect for a friend who is somewhat obsessed by holey pebbles, and some nicely-rounded geological samples for me.

I also picked up an alien, which I originally thought was part of an octopus or squid, but actually it's a rather spooky-looking piece of seaweed. I'll let it dry out and keep it - for a while, anyway.

All in all, it was a good day.

Who remembers sixpenny bits?

Sixpenny pieces, did we call them, or sixpenny bits?

I found this little hoard among some of my late mother’s things.

They’re all pre-decimal, of course, so are no longer legal tender. Although Victorian silver sixpences were made almost entirely of silver, these later coins showing the head of George VI are a mix of silver and an alloy of copper and nickel. The silver sixpences from the reign of Elizabeth II contain no silver at all.

But they bring back happy memories of making Christmas puddings and cakes when I was a child, and we didn’t die of metal poisoning or choke to death on any of them. So it’s all good!

What wood is this?

Rummagers are sometimes given little gifts by people who are throwing stuff away, and that is how I came by this bobbin, which I shall now pass on to another collector I know.

The bobbin is probably from a cotton mill in Lancashire, and I'm guessing it's about a hundred years old. It's very well made, strong and sturdy, with brass fittings. It would have been very stressed in use, so it would have had to be able to take lots of strain.

It's quite a chunky piece of wood, about ten inches high. As for what kind of wood it might be - apparently, birch was the favourite with bobbin makers, but ash, hazel and rowan were also used, and they produced big, heavy bobbins, rather like this one. Here is a fascinating link revealing exactly how bobbins were made.

https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/feeding-the-textile-industry-from-coppice-to-bobbin-english-heritage/eQKCkNc2BHCWKA?hl=en

Nowadays, people often restyle bobbins as candlesticks, but I feel this one is work of art in itself, and I know the person who owns it next will appreciate its utilitarian beauty.

Here's an interesting link about the bobbin industry in the Lake District, and suggestions about how to use any bobbins you find, buy or are given. http://blog.english-heritage.org.uk/10-things-to-do-with-wooden-bobbins/

Who was Margaret Morris?

A leisurely walk along the beach in Dawlish a few summers ago resulted in finding what looked like the handle of a broken plastic spoon. But, after cleaning it up, I discovered it was a Victorian (I believe) pen knife, nail scissors and nail file combination - a sweet little manicure set encased in abalone shell or mother-of-pearl.

It must have been on the beach for a while because it's very tarnished, but only slightly rusty. So most of the metal might be silver, perhaps? It’s not hallmarked, though, so I feel this is unlikely.

Who was Margaret Morris? Did she drop her manicure set on the beach a century ago and has it been there ever since? Or did someone else lose it much more recently, and has it never been in the sea at all? Or have the tides sent it backwards and forwards along the entire East Devon coastline?

I don't suppose I'll ever know. But, if there is a descendent of Margaret Morris out there, please get in touch, and I'll be happy to return your ancestor's property.

The joy of rummaging

Welcome to this new blog celebrating the joy of rummaging - on beaches, along the foreshores of rivers, in my own garden, in skips in public places (always with the owner's permission because, even if they've skipped something, it's still their property), in gutters, and even in litter bins.

What is a rummager? It's someone who finds and then collects items that other people have lost or thrown away. So somebody who regularly checks out boot or jumble sales, hoping to snap up bargains, is not a real rummager. This is because a rummager rescues things that have been discarded or lost, and never hands over any money for them.

As an inveterate rummager throughout my long life, over the years I have chanced upon and then collected huge amounts of what other people might dismiss as rubbish - sea-glass, coins no longer in circulation, pebbles, shells, broken pottery, and even plants discarded by workers in municipal parks and gardens (again, always with their permission).

I've still to find anything spectacular made of precious metal, but I live in hope! Of course, if I ever do come across something that looks as if it might be Treasure Trove (this is highly unlikely, because I don't have a metal detector, and I don't actually dig for finds), have monetary or even sentimental value, I'll hand it over to the appropriate authority.

Here are some treasures from my collections of rummagery.

What can you spot?

There's a copper coin from the reign of George II dated 1736, a Victorian silver sixpence (date now illegible, but showing the young Victoria rather than the elderly matriarch she became), an Edward VII copper penny dated 1908, a George V copper penny dated 1917, and an Elizabeth II copper penny dated 1967, all found in my garden.

There's also an Elizabeth II ten new penny piece dated 1975 (this coin was first released into circulation in 1968, before formal decimalisation, and is the same size as the florin or two shilling piece it replaced), and an Elizabeth II decimal halfpenny dated 1982, both found in gutters.

The green and white fragments are sea-glass washed up on various Devon beaches. There's
also a sea-smoothed pebble from Teignmouth, and a pottery bead picked up on Exmouth beach.

Almost all lost or discarded items we chance upon in our daily lives must have their own stories, and I enjoy researching (or sometimes imagining) the stories my rummaged finds might have to tell.