No 10. Goose barnacles & the plastisphere
In the past, goose barnacles attached mainly to driftwood. Now though, I find them on everything from plastic bottles, fishing gear and toothbrushes to disposable lighters and flip flops. Plastic…
No 9. Buttons (17th – 21st century)
The regularity of circles always draws my eye. So whether mudlarking or beachcombing, I often find buttons: in shallow Thames pools or wedged side-on between stones, amongst the estuary shingle…
No 8. Plastic nature
Against strandline seaweed, the green of plastic plants catches the eye. Perhaps most poignant are those left high on shore after gales, particularly on deserted storm beaches. Here, over weeks…
No 7. Toothbrushes: bone & plastic
In Europe, the toothbrush remained a luxury until the late 18th century. The most expensive had badger-hair bristles and handles made from ivory, mother-of-pearl and silver. Yet despite a steep…
Plastic army man found on a Cornish beach
No 6. Gradual breakdown of the flotsam army
Over the years I’ve found a lot of plastic army men on beaches. Most are left on the strandline at high tide, often amongst the swathes of plastic that litter…
No 5. Sugar moulds, cowries & slavery
‘Having crossed London on the Tube wearing wellies (which always gets a few glances), I walked into Wapping through cavernous streets overshadowed by luxury warehouse conversions. When I reached the…
No 4. Fèves: a plastic wise man & a fish
The plastic figure below is one of the Bible's three wise men. I found it on the south coast of Cornwall, in a strandline tangle of seaweed and plastic left…
No 3. Light bulbs & the Phoebus cartel
‘We headed towards Warden Point – which is no longer a point – and the strange, unstable landscape felt almost immediately remote. On exposure to air, London clay weathers to…
No 2. Action Man body parts (1966-73)
This hand is around 50 years old and washed up on a Cornish beach during the February storms. As the strongest gales of Storm Ciara coincided with high spring tides,…
Bone and plastic combs, 17th-21st century
No 1. Bone & plastic combs (17th-21st Century)
Combs have been a favourite shore find of mine for years. I like that they’re ordinary, personal objects, as well as one of our oldest tools. The earliest known comb…