I’ve no idea how this ended up in my recommendations and I've less idea why I started watching it, but boy I'm glad I did. So much fascinating stuff, real stuff that real people used. Some of the pottery was staggeringly interesting, and how does a bullet break into pieces but all the pieces remained in the same place. However it happened it was a big piece of lead to hit anyone with. An absolutely fascinating video, made all the more fascinating by an expert who seems to have a true empathy with those who went before.
One of the things that I find most fascinating about your videos is the combination of random chance (in terms of what you will find) and the complete delight that you take in what you do. The mixture is delightful, and it appeals to my appreciation of history and everyday life. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us.
Ha ha! I was just thinking - Nicola could make a random Thames necklace, adding found beads after each mud larking adventure, and then you said the same thing 😂❤ Each bead or couple of beads you add would be decided by the river, designed by river. You could get some plain beads and use them to space out each addition. That way you could see how many beads you had found on each mud lark. Ooooooo, I’m so envious, I have so many ideas for assembling finds. I just love watching your discoveries and hearing about any history you uncover in your research etc. ❤ I LOVE it, thanks for sharing your videos. So appreciated. 🙂🐿❤️🌈
You know when a passing interest turns into a passion when you start googling "Mudlark ,Nicola White , Thames Mud,Ceramic shards"and you see it as another branch of Archeology and History and your heart sings when UTube suggests Nicola might be of interest .....and it is .Thank you Nicola you're a delight
How cool that a spoon from my home town ended up in London! I currently live only one block away from where the Genesee Hospital School of Nursing had been located. I am also on track to becoming a nurse myself! I watch your videos to relax for a few minutes in between by crazy work and school schedule. Thank you for posting such fascinating finds!
I believe the heart-shaped fossil is a sea urchin! So cool! Thank you so much for your lovely videos, Nicola -- they have been a source of calm and distraction during these tricky times. Love from a Canadian healthcare worker.
Bottle digger tip- soak bottle with dish soap, pour a small amt. of dry rice inside half full of water/ plug bottle, and shake until clean inside. Rice won't hurt the bottle, and cleans a treat.
I would like to say something,after watching yet another enchanting video. So,you film yourself showing all of these marvels. And your fingernails are beautifully painted all glittery,which is lovely. BUT. Beware the glitter. Glitter is literally ready made microplastic. It ends up in the waterways that we cherish so much. The fish ingest,the waterfowl ingest,and eventually,we ingest. Your hands are a thing of beauty,because they are the hands of an ARTIST. They need no embellishment. They are beautiful the way they are. They speak to us,the observers of art,the sharing of an experience. 🥰
WOW! I'm from Rochester, NY! Genesee Hospital was torn down in the 1990's, I think. I got stitched up there once. Huge mudlarking fan and your videos are my favorite. 🙂
Your fascination with that spider really shows your amazing curiosity for even the smallest things. I love your videos, really relaxing and refreshing.
I want to thank you for your videos. I'm an American and my teaching work has taken made from Germany to Singapore and Mexico City to Quebec. However, I never got to the British Isles. Watching your videos I feel as though I'm getting a very personal look at part of London.
Beautiful, Nicola. That bottle is exquisite, as is the pipe bowl. As for the pottery with ‘tr’ on it, I think you’ve found the coat of arms of the Triffids, judging by the foliage! Merry Christmas, and may your new year be filled with intact clay pipes of rare design.
thanhs, this is what youtube is for , lovely vodeos . im a metal detectorist in germany, i know its not allowed on the thames but you do your hobby for the love of the history and not for profit, great.
Keep feeding your crow and he may bring you some treasure. They can be quit friendly and protective once they have adopted you. Hove a wonderful and safe holiday season.
My jackdaws have so far, brought me; - a lot of little twigs, one at the time, always placed in the spot where the piece of bread was - a lot of feathers, same story, always one - a screw with two bolts on it - Half of a wallnut-shell - A plastic nerfgun-arrow - And yesterday (23-5-2020) a piece of folded aluminiumfoil :)
Hello Nicola, i love you, and your videos. Because of you i start to mudlarking in river Tejo (Lisbon). Soon i give pictures to what i found! Nice christmas to you and to your family!
Nicola that red bead you found could be from fishing tackle, they use a lot of multi faceted red needs in the industry. I really liked it when you changed to Pink Wellies, I have watched other mudlarker videos and way off in the background I could see an indistinct figure, with pink boots on. Your look is famous. Love your show beautiful Mudlarker, keep bringing up the history!!
Thanks for another good video, enjoying the editing. I’m convinced the BBC needs to give you your own show. Have a holly jolly Christmas from Michigan!
Merry Christmas to you and yours! The crow is a sacred animal to Cherokee and Native American Indians. Wise, mischievous and jovial, a true wise bird . You have a great protector there in friend crow. Love the tall blue glass bottle too. Very pretty. And the spider is keeping your windows clean of flying insects. Love his cross design on his back.
I agree with Genesee Hospital. I worked their and we had a display of historic items in lobby. Sadly the hospital has been closed for a long time now. I live in Rochester New York and was fascinated with the connection this is my 5th video watched have been total Geeki ! Thank You. Hope you continue putting out content . went to your art studio link no items .
Your videos are so relaxing but exciting at the same time. I hope the crow brings you gifts. They are quite smart and attracted to shiny objects, so please keep feeding him. Merry Christmas!
The beads are wonderful - especially the heart-shaped one - really hope that you do make a necklace from your collection of beads. The fossil is so unique and looks like a mushroom. So many nice little Christmas presents offered to you by the Thames. Happy Holidays and may the new year bring you many more amazing finds!
I live near the beginning of the Genesee River. Starts in Gold Pennsylvania flows North to Rochester. ..Genesee is an Seneca Iroquois word meaning The beautiful valley .I have done a little mudlarking and kayaking on the Genesee River. Another interesting fact the village of Wellsville used to be The village of Genesee. Bp.moved in changed the name from Genesee to Wellsville due to the Petroleum they made there .There's still a Genesee village tho just south of Wellsville N.Y. in the border town Genesee P.A.. ..this is my home &).I have seen the beginning of the Genesee it starts in Gold P.A. goes north to Rochester I have seen the end it's huge river. ..Congratulations on your finds ...&).Happy Holidays. ..
USA HERE: Nicola, again a very nice video which excites me and also calms me at the same time. Merry Christmas and may your New Year be a peaceful and beautiful year. 🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲
I lived in London in the late 90's and would have been mud larking every day if I was up on the history of the Thames. Love your finds and art you create with the bits and pieces. please keep making these videos!!!
.577-.450, For the Martini rifle of Zulu War fame. The case was for .577 Snider conversions, but necked down for a .450 bullet, of course if the bullet does measure larger than .450 in diameter, 11.5mm, then it may be for the Snider, .577 or just about 14.5mm diameter.... This is why I want to mail you the book by Ian Hogg about ammunition, once I get another copy. It is complicated...but the .577 Snider is 1860s-1870s and the .450 Martini round is 1870s-1880s... both used the same case, but different bullets. Compare it to your Snider round, i know you found one. You mention the "Christmas Shopping Madness".... I haven't left home since going grocery shopping Friday , an Amazon delivery truck wrecked in my yard that night, hit by another truck.... "Madness" is an understatement! Great video! :) And Merry Christmas everyone!
Merry Christmas Nicola. Thank you for lovely contribution to my life. I love your vids and look forward to each new one. I live in Australia and am envious how you can find such old relics with such ease. Hope you have a great New Year. P.S. I could listen to your gentle voice for hours.
Yay, another lark before Christmas! Such a beautiful pipe, a wonderful find! I, also, love that you threw the love token back into the river, what a lovely heart you have! I hope you and those you cherish have a very Merry Christmas, my friend! Hugs all the way from Michigan!! ~Jen
Nicola, Thank you for all you do and all the hard work you put into it,From going out in the London weather to the editorial and amazing finds, all fantastic. I wish you an your loved one and everyone that follows you a Happy and Very Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas And Happy New Year!!!.when you found the bullet there's a coin under the cable and a fancy white heart there too!!, thanks for story's!!!
I appreciate your videos so much because you include lovely shots of the area you are in, and vignettes of history of the pieces you find, I find myself quite relaxed after watching one. Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Great finds along the river Nicola. Very nice gesture throwing the pendent back in the river. May you and your family have a very Merry Christmas 🎄🎁 As always please be safe. 😊
It’s so relaxing and educational watching your videos. I recently stumbled across you and have now added mudlarking on the Thames to my bucket list. It’s just so fascinating all that history at your feet. It’s still Christmas here but Boxing Day for you so I wish you a happy Boxing Day and hope you had a good Christmas
Dear Nicola. Your video files are utterly delightful both with regard to content and presentation and the most significant accidental discovery I have made to date on UA-cam. The .450 'Martini' cartridge is an interesting example of ballistic history. 'Schneider' conversions were a concession to expedience at a time when infantry rifles were transitioning from muzzle-loaders initiated by individually fitted percussion caps which incidentally were invented by a Clergyman whom I believe was named Alexander Forsythe, to paper or metal cartridges. Schneider conversions involved a relatively crude hinged breech block being fitted to the chamber end of rifles that were formerly muzzle loading. It is said that Forsythe wished to avoid the flash of a breech-lock startling ducks he habitually hunted. As a consequence he applied his creative mind to a solution employing small copper cups containing a volatile substance known as 'fulminate' consisting of a metal, usually mercury, dissolved in an acid to form a crystalline compound which is particularly sensitive to impacts. Fitting the ignition source or 'percussion' cap to the base of cartridges instead of to a small nipple on the breech of a firearm greatly facilitated both speed for reloading as well as reliability and accuracy in the case of rifles. The Martini action is a falling block design that is superior in every way to Schneider conversions not least because it automatically ejects spent cartridge cases and was readily adopted by the British military. Initially, 'Martini' cartridges were made of thin, presumably hand-rolled brass sheet with a base of Bakelite plastic and the latter feature was used to retain the percussion cap or 'primer' in the base of the cartridge at it's centre instead of on a nipple affixed to the breech of a firearm. Rolled brass Martini cartridges were disposed of after use and normally wrapped in greased paper to help avoid contamination by moisture of the black powder propellant they contained. The early rolled brass cartridges were crudely made and soldiers are said to have developed a habit of rolling any which could not initially be made to enter the chamber of their rifles under foot until they became uniform enough to do so. As you might imagine in an age when Cavalry and bayonet charges were a common martial practise rigid brass cases such as the one you found were a quantum leap in efficiency for expediting barbaric violence. Not least from the point of view of soldiers to whom the speed with which they could load and discharge their rifles was often a distinction between either survival or a particularly gruesome death. An additional advantage of rigid brass cartridge cases is that they can be re-used whereas those made of rolled brass sheet or foil could not. As an interesting footnote, the greased paper wrapping on rolled brass Martini cartridges was sealed with a twist at either end and soldiers are said to have removed the wrapping from individual cartridges prior to insertion in their rifles by tearing it off with their teeth. One legend claims that a canny strategist who was opposing religious insurgents armed with old Martini rifles circulated a rumour that the protective paper the cartridges were wrapped in was treated with pig fat which is detestable to muslims and that, is said to have been the end of the conflict. With regard to the projectile becoming separated from the cartridge case, the projectiles are only held in place by firmly compressing or 'crimping' the soft, malleable brass of the case to a groove in the projectile known as a 'cannelure'. If immersed in water, particularly if it is briny, for sufficient time lead will begin to corrode and acquires a layer of oxide which is relatively fragile, this process probably resulted in a reduction to the diameter of the projectile or 'bullet' sufficient to enable it to fall free from the brass case.
That basket pipe was beautiful, I lived down St. John’s terrace when I was a kid on plumstead common, my dad was taking a walk down and we found a lovely clay pipe in the frog of the brick I often wonder did he put it down and forget and build over it or did he leave it to be discovered again either way it’s a lovely memory and I still have the pipe in my display cabinet. Thanks for all the videos 😊
So happy to get a Christmas gift of a mudlark with you Nichola! The basket weave pipe is my absolute favorite! It's just stunning workmanship! Merry Christmas to you and a very happy new year!
Lovely finds and very interesting mudlark - thanks for letting us tag along - indeed lovely to escape the commercial madness of the Festive Season!! Peace, Health & Happiness & countless happy mudlarks throughout the New Year, Nicola, Merry Christmas! 🕸🥂☃🐾✨🎅
Your videos are so soothing. I wish we could touch the items we find and see a brief history on them. Merry Christmas and may you find an intact onion jar next year! ( or the Holy Grail, your choice. 😊 )
Your bullet reminds me of the old British 454 paper patch bullets that the Americans used on there Sharp Buffalo rifle. Also in the video your Boot you were showing made me want to fill it with soil and fill it with a trailing flower and park in the garden
A Very Happy Christmas to You as well Nicola! Each find you show makes imagination wonder about those people and their lives and stories. And by the way, your selection of music is alway delightful, Thank You for this. Throwing that copper message back into the river was a fine thing. Returning that token of Love back to where it was intended to be. It is a Heart feeling in knowing what something was intended for. I would have done the same. And in my looking in old dumps and places for old bottles I found that some fine lead shot with some soapy water is great for cleaning the inside of bottles. That's half the fun isn't it, in cleaning and restoring? Thanks once again for a wonderful Christmas mudlarking adventure I very much enjoyed on this Christmas Eve. Love, Peace and Light! DaveyJO in Pa.
All the joys of the season, Nicola. A very Merry, Muddy Christmas to you and yours. Put a wee splash of peppermint schnapps in your hot chocolate and enjoy the day. ;-))
Hi Nicola, 2 years ago you did this video and now Christmas 2020 has just been and gone. How ironical l am seeing your video now when Christmas has just gone. I ADORED that little fine aqua bottle. It would make a lovely little bud vase for a single rose. I adore roses too. Lovely video you made, thank you so much, l do appreciate all your behind the scenes and research work that you put into them. Happy New Year Nicola sweetie. Janice from Australia. Xxxx 😎
Nicola, Bother Crow must be your spirit animal, where I come from Bother Crow is the most powerful of the totem animals, wise above all others. You have been blessed with a great protector.
Nicola, a nice recap on your findings. The spider is without doubt a female Diadem Spider and the cross on her back is the give-away. She will get bigger and bigger and then one day she will disappear to a more sheltered place lay her eggs. Fascinating creatures, enjoy her company. Merry Christmas from Cornwall and good hunting for the new year. Roy
Thanks for another fine year mudlarking and taking us along for the ride. Merry Christmas to you and your family and looking forward to a great 2019 with more interesting finds.
The basket weaved pipe was amazing you found today! Wow!! Soooo unique! I have never seen you find a pipe like this yet! ( : It has a decent amount of stem left too! ( : That is funny you found the pottery with TR! You foundy.old pot! Yayyyyyyy! ( : Lol! ( : Those arey initials! ( :
Nicola i go mudlarking in the Boston harbor so cool wen i find a old bottle, or plate fragment, i found a awesome Coca Cola bottle yesterday, but u are lucky on the pipes so cool thanks for the vid o ya your lucky and pretty thats a good combo take care pipe lady.
I so respect the fact you return things that are meant to be returned to the river for whoever it was meant for.
I’ve no idea how this ended up in my recommendations and I've less idea why I started watching it, but boy I'm glad I did.
So much fascinating stuff, real stuff that real people used. Some of the pottery was staggeringly interesting, and how does a bullet break into pieces but all the pieces remained in the same place. However it happened it was a big piece of lead to hit anyone with.
An absolutely fascinating video, made all the more fascinating by an expert who seems to have a true empathy with those who went before.
One of the things that I find most fascinating about your videos is the combination of random chance (in terms of what you will find) and the complete delight that you take in what you do. The mixture is delightful, and it appeals to my appreciation of history and everyday life. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us.
Ha ha!
I was just thinking - Nicola could make a random Thames necklace, adding found beads after each mud larking adventure, and then you said the same thing 😂❤
Each bead or couple of beads you add would be decided by the river, designed by river.
You could get some plain beads and use them to space out each addition. That way you could see how many beads you had found on each mud lark.
Ooooooo, I’m so envious, I have so many ideas for assembling finds. I just love watching your discoveries and hearing about any history you uncover in your research etc.
❤
I LOVE it, thanks for sharing your videos. So appreciated.
🙂🐿❤️🌈
You know when a passing interest turns into a passion when you start googling "Mudlark ,Nicola White , Thames Mud,Ceramic shards"and you see it as another branch of Archeology and History and your heart sings when UTube suggests Nicola might be of interest .....and it is .Thank you Nicola you're a delight
Ah that's so nice Ralph! Thank you
I enjoy these videos, we mudlarks in the USA love 💘 your videos and Happy New Years 😀
How cool that a spoon from my home town ended up in London! I currently live only one block away from where the Genesee Hospital School of Nursing had been located. I am also on track to becoming a nurse myself! I watch your videos to relax for a few minutes in between by crazy work and school schedule. Thank you for posting such fascinating finds!
I believe the heart-shaped fossil is a sea urchin! So cool! Thank you so much for your lovely videos, Nicola -- they have been a source of calm and distraction during these tricky times. Love from a Canadian healthcare worker.
Bottle digger tip- soak bottle with dish soap, pour a small amt. of dry rice inside half full of water/ plug bottle, and shake until clean inside. Rice won't hurt the bottle, and cleans a treat.
Thanks for brightening my day. You may not realize how therapeutic spending time with your videos can be for someone.
I would like to say something,after watching yet another enchanting video.
So,you film yourself showing all of these marvels.
And your fingernails are beautifully painted all glittery,which is lovely.
BUT.
Beware the glitter.
Glitter is literally ready made microplastic.
It ends up in the waterways that we cherish so much.
The fish ingest,the waterfowl ingest,and eventually,we ingest.
Your hands are a thing of beauty,because they are the hands of an ARTIST.
They need no embellishment.
They are beautiful the way they are.
They speak to us,the observers of art,the sharing of an experience.
🥰
WOW! I'm from Rochester, NY! Genesee Hospital was torn down in the 1990's, I think. I got stitched up there once. Huge mudlarking fan and your videos are my favorite. 🙂
Your videos are pure gold! I could listen all day
Your fascination with that spider really shows your amazing curiosity for even the smallest things.
I love your videos, really relaxing and refreshing.
Much more pleasant being with you Nicola!
Nice thought about returning the "tag" to the Thames from "Terry" Merry Christmas to you and yours!
I want to thank you for your videos. I'm an American and my teaching work has taken made from Germany to Singapore and Mexico City to Quebec. However, I never got to the British Isles. Watching your videos I feel as though I'm getting a very personal look at part of London.
Beautiful, Nicola. That bottle is exquisite, as is the pipe bowl. As for the pottery with ‘tr’ on it, I think you’ve found the coat of arms of the Triffids, judging by the foliage! Merry Christmas, and may your new year be filled with intact clay pipes of rare design.
thanhs, this is what youtube is for , lovely vodeos . im a metal detectorist in germany, i know its not allowed on the thames but you do your hobby for the love of the history and not for profit, great.
Keep feeding your crow and he may bring you some treasure. They can be quit friendly and protective once they have adopted you. Hove a wonderful and safe holiday season.
true this.. no more searchin.. a murder of crow will lark all ya need! show one where you live and it's like a Amazon drone to your door.
My jackdaws have so far, brought me;
- a lot of little twigs, one at the time, always placed in the spot where the piece of bread was
- a lot of feathers, same story, always one
- a screw with two bolts on it
- Half of a wallnut-shell
- A plastic nerfgun-arrow
- And yesterday (23-5-2020) a piece of folded aluminiumfoil
:)
The basket weave pipe is my favourite that you have shown me since my addiction began. So perfect too. Well done!
Hello Nicola, i love you, and your videos. Because of you i start to mudlarking in river Tejo (Lisbon). Soon i give pictures to what i found! Nice christmas to you and to your family!
Nicola that red bead you found could be from fishing tackle, they use a lot of multi faceted red needs in the industry.
I really liked it when you changed to Pink Wellies, I have watched other mudlarker videos and way off in the background I could see an indistinct figure, with pink boots on. Your look is famous. Love your show beautiful Mudlarker, keep bringing up the history!!
Thanks for another good video, enjoying the editing. I’m convinced the BBC needs to give you your own show. Have a holly jolly Christmas from Michigan!
Don't do it..BBC will ruin it.
What is your shop on Etsy called. I would like to purchase something. Like your fish!
Right?! ( :
A story with every item. Thank you very much for caring.
Just watching - I am living in Poland - good job done by Nicola.
Happy Christmas Nicola. Thank you for the gift of your videos.
Thank you and all the other mud larkers for your great videos.
Have a great Christmas.
enjoyed this adventure, nice finds, still trying to catch up on your older video's, take care Nic
Love the history and humanity in your vlogs xxx you deserve your own TV show with Sci finds xxx Merry Christmas from the Black Country xxx
Merry Christmas to you and yours! The crow is a sacred animal to Cherokee and Native American Indians. Wise, mischievous and jovial, a true wise bird . You have a great protector there in friend crow. Love the tall blue glass bottle too. Very pretty. And the spider is keeping your windows clean of flying insects. Love his cross design on his back.
I agree with Genesee Hospital. I worked their and we had a display of historic items in lobby. Sadly the hospital has been closed for a long time now. I live in Rochester New York and was fascinated with the connection this is my 5th video watched have been total Geeki ! Thank You. Hope you continue putting out content . went to your art studio link no items .
Merry Christmas Nicola, another great adventure mudlarking, fascinating finds👍🏻👏👏🎄🎁🎁🎁💐🇦🇺👍🏻👏💐💐
Your videos are so relaxing but exciting at the same time. I hope the crow brings you gifts. They are quite smart and attracted to shiny objects, so please keep feeding him. Merry Christmas!
The beads are wonderful - especially the heart-shaped one - really hope that you do make a necklace from your collection of beads. The fossil is so unique and looks like a mushroom. So many nice little Christmas presents offered to you by the Thames. Happy Holidays and may the new year bring you many more amazing finds!
I live near the beginning of the Genesee River. Starts in Gold Pennsylvania flows North to Rochester. ..Genesee is an Seneca Iroquois word meaning The beautiful valley .I have done a little mudlarking and kayaking on the Genesee River. Another interesting fact the village of Wellsville used to be The village of Genesee. Bp.moved in changed the name from Genesee to Wellsville due to the Petroleum they made there .There's still a Genesee village tho just south of Wellsville N.Y. in the border town Genesee P.A.. ..this is my home &).I have seen the beginning of the Genesee it starts in Gold P.A. goes north to Rochester I have seen the end it's huge river. ..Congratulations on your finds ...&).Happy Holidays. ..
Greetings from an American fan! Merry Christmas!
What a beautiful little bottle. Love it!!! I think that round is a 45/70. We shoot them quite often here across the pond.
It's super cool to see you return some things to the river.
USA HERE: Nicola, again a very nice video which excites me and also calms me at the same time. Merry Christmas and may your New Year be a peaceful and beautiful year. 🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲
I lived in London in the late 90's and would have been mud larking every day if I was up on the history of the Thames.
Love your finds and art you create with the bits and pieces.
please keep making these videos!!!
.577-.450, For the Martini rifle of Zulu War fame. The case was for .577 Snider conversions, but necked down for a .450 bullet, of course if the bullet does measure larger than .450 in diameter, 11.5mm, then it may be for the Snider, .577 or just about 14.5mm diameter.... This is why I want to mail you the book by Ian Hogg about ammunition, once I get another copy. It is complicated...but the .577 Snider is 1860s-1870s and the .450 Martini round is 1870s-1880s... both used the same case, but different bullets. Compare it to your Snider round, i know you found one. You mention the "Christmas Shopping Madness".... I haven't left home since going grocery shopping Friday , an Amazon delivery truck wrecked in my yard that night, hit by another truck.... "Madness" is an understatement! Great video! :) And Merry Christmas everyone!
You beat me to it!
I am behind you in this identification.
Beat me to it! My friend hand loads this cartridge for a Martini rifle he restored. An interesting bit of history to find!
travis cochran I've seen surplus Martinis rebarreled for .303, .416 Rigby, .45-70, .30-06, .50-90 and .45-110! Very versatile action!
Not a .45" boxer round, see my response a few posts above.
Loved looking at the beautiful spider web! I love all your videos and how you include the beautiful nature around you, like your friend the crow💕
Merry Christmas Nicola. Thank you for lovely contribution to my life. I love your vids and look forward to each new one. I live in Australia and am envious how you can find such old relics with such ease. Hope you have a great New Year. P.S. I could listen to your gentle voice for hours.
I get so much happiness from your vids. My sis digs in banks and mud for Antiquities too. I have turned her on to your Channel.
Yay, another lark before Christmas! Such a beautiful pipe, a wonderful find! I, also, love that you threw the love token back into the river, what a lovely heart you have! I hope you and those you cherish have a very Merry Christmas, my friend! Hugs all the way from Michigan!! ~Jen
i enjoy all your videos, they are very teaching, and of course its always a pleasure to look at a beautiful woman like you, a true queen
Merry Christmas Nicola thanks for the lovely walks and for including the Christmas spider!
Alanna Penner the Christmas spider is certainly a wonderful surprise! Very good luck I hear.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Thank you for all your lovely videos.
Nicola, Thank you for all you do and all the hard work you put into it,From going out in the London weather to the editorial and amazing finds, all fantastic. I wish you an your loved one and everyone that follows you a Happy and Very Merry Christmas.
The case and bullet you found looks just like a ".577 Snyder" round. Very common military and sporting round for the mid 19th century. Wonderful find.
Happy Christmas to you Nicola, many thanks for the interesting videos of your finds.
merry Christmas and a happy new year to you Nicola and all the Mudlarks and mudlark fans
Hi Nicola, thank for your time and effort and videos and videos. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Diane from Southampton UK
Merry Christmas And Happy New Year!!!.when you found the bullet there's a coin under the cable and a fancy white heart there too!!, thanks for story's!!!
Ok I'm am totally addicted to this channel and want to do this when I visit London again! Greetings from the states!
I appreciate your videos so much because you include lovely shots of the area you are in, and vignettes of history of the pieces you find, I find myself quite relaxed after watching one. Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Captivating fun finds ♥️ History ♥️ Riversides ♥️ & all for throwing it back,that one piece,♥️ from ♥️land Illinois.Merry Merry
Great finds along the river Nicola. Very nice gesture throwing the pendent back in the river. May you and your family have a very Merry Christmas 🎄🎁 As always please be safe. 😊
It’s so relaxing and educational watching your videos. I recently stumbled across you and have now added mudlarking on the Thames to my bucket list. It’s just so fascinating all that history at your feet.
It’s still Christmas here but Boxing Day for you so I wish you a happy Boxing Day and hope you had a good Christmas
Dear Nicola.
Your video files are utterly delightful both with regard to content and presentation and the most significant accidental discovery I have made to date on UA-cam.
The .450 'Martini' cartridge is an interesting example of ballistic history.
'Schneider' conversions were a concession to expedience at a time when infantry rifles were transitioning from muzzle-loaders initiated by individually fitted percussion caps which incidentally were invented by a Clergyman whom I believe was named Alexander Forsythe, to paper or metal cartridges.
Schneider conversions involved a relatively crude hinged breech block being fitted to the chamber end of rifles that were formerly muzzle loading.
It is said that Forsythe wished to avoid the flash of a breech-lock startling ducks he habitually hunted.
As a consequence he applied his creative mind to a solution employing small copper cups containing a volatile substance known as 'fulminate' consisting of a metal, usually mercury, dissolved in an acid to form a crystalline compound which is particularly sensitive to impacts.
Fitting the ignition source or 'percussion' cap to the base of cartridges instead of to a small nipple on the breech of a firearm greatly facilitated both speed for reloading as well as reliability and accuracy in the case of rifles.
The Martini action is a falling block design that is superior in every way to Schneider conversions not least because it automatically ejects spent cartridge cases and was readily adopted by the British military.
Initially, 'Martini' cartridges were made of thin, presumably hand-rolled brass sheet with a base of Bakelite plastic and the latter feature was used to retain the percussion cap or 'primer' in the base of the cartridge at it's centre instead of on a nipple affixed to the breech of a firearm.
Rolled brass Martini cartridges were disposed of after use and normally wrapped in greased paper to help avoid contamination by moisture of the black powder propellant they contained.
The early rolled brass cartridges were crudely made and soldiers are said to have developed a habit of rolling any which could not initially be made to enter the chamber of their rifles under foot until they became uniform enough to do so.
As you might imagine in an age when Cavalry and bayonet charges were a common martial practise rigid brass cases such as the one you found were a quantum leap in efficiency for expediting barbaric violence.
Not least from the point of view of soldiers to whom the speed with which they could load and discharge their rifles was often a distinction between either survival or a particularly gruesome death.
An additional advantage of rigid brass cartridge cases is that they can be re-used whereas those made of rolled brass sheet or foil could not.
As an interesting footnote, the greased paper wrapping on rolled brass Martini cartridges was sealed with a twist at either end and soldiers are said to have removed the wrapping from individual cartridges prior to insertion in their rifles by tearing it off with their teeth.
One legend claims that a canny strategist who was opposing religious insurgents armed with old Martini rifles circulated a rumour that the protective paper the cartridges were wrapped in was treated with pig fat which is detestable to muslims and that, is said to have been the end of the conflict.
With regard to the projectile becoming separated from the cartridge case, the projectiles are only held in place by firmly compressing or 'crimping' the soft, malleable brass of the case to a groove in the projectile known as a 'cannelure'.
If immersed in water, particularly if it is briny, for sufficient time lead will begin to corrode and acquires a layer of oxide which is relatively fragile, this process probably resulted in a reduction to the diameter of the projectile or 'bullet' sufficient to enable it to fall free from the brass case.
So lovely and relaxing! Thank you Nicola. 💜👏
That basket pipe was beautiful, I lived down St. John’s terrace when I was a kid on plumstead common, my dad was taking a walk down and we found a lovely clay pipe in the frog of the brick I often wonder did he put it down and forget and build over it or did he leave it to be discovered again either way it’s a lovely memory and I still have the pipe in my display cabinet.
Thanks for all the videos 😊
We love your videos. Watching them is like an escape. Thanks, and a Merry Christmas to you.
Thank you for sharing your adventures with us.
And thank you for sharing your beautiful neighborly spider as well.
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas Nicola. You have such a soothing voice.
i sure admire you for all you know and learn..
So happy to get a Christmas gift of a mudlark with you Nichola! The basket weave pipe is my absolute favorite! It's just stunning workmanship!
Merry Christmas to you and a very happy new year!
Lovely finds and very interesting mudlark - thanks for letting us tag along - indeed lovely to escape the commercial madness of the Festive Season!! Peace, Health & Happiness & countless happy mudlarks throughout the New Year, Nicola, Merry Christmas! 🕸🥂☃🐾✨🎅
I love your videos and the history lessons and your love for finding treasure. Thank you for sharing what you do.You are some kind of special.
Thank you xx
Just love all the blue and white pottery pieces you picked up :)
Great video. Love the history behind the spoon. Jason
Your videos are so soothing. I wish we could touch the items we find and see a brief history on them. Merry Christmas and may you find an intact onion jar next year! ( or the Holy Grail, your choice. 😊 )
I consider your sharing your adventures and finds such a lovely gift...thank you!
Always enjoy your videos. I look forward to the next. Thanks for sharing your experiences. ATB for the coming year. Thanks Nicola.
Your bullet reminds me of the old British 454 paper patch bullets that the Americans used on there Sharp Buffalo rifle. Also in the video your Boot you were showing made me want to fill it with soil and fill it with a trailing flower and park in the garden
Merry Christmass Nicola, you and your video have helped to raise my mood today Thank you so much.
Merry Christmas to you too Scott. Love from London xx
Thanks for feeding the birds, You are about to make a great find, it’s in the stars............
A Very Happy Christmas to You as well Nicola! Each find you show makes imagination wonder about those people and their lives and stories. And by the way, your selection of music is alway delightful, Thank You for this. Throwing that copper message back into the river was a fine thing. Returning that token of Love back to where it was intended to be. It is a Heart feeling in knowing what something was intended for. I would have done the same. And in my looking in old dumps and places for old bottles I found that some fine lead shot with some soapy water is great for cleaning the inside of bottles. That's half the fun isn't it, in cleaning and restoring? Thanks once again for a wonderful Christmas mudlarking adventure I very much enjoyed on this Christmas Eve. Love, Peace and Light! DaveyJO in Pa.
All the joys of the season, Nicola. A very Merry, Muddy Christmas to you and yours. Put a wee splash of peppermint schnapps in your hot chocolate and enjoy the day. ;-))
Hi Nicola, 2 years ago you did this video and now Christmas 2020 has just been and gone. How ironical l am seeing your video now when Christmas has just gone. I ADORED that little fine aqua bottle. It would make a lovely little bud vase for a single rose. I adore roses too. Lovely video you made, thank you so much, l do appreciate all your behind the scenes and research work that you put into them. Happy New Year Nicola sweetie. Janice from Australia. Xxxx 😎
Nicola, Bother Crow must be your spirit animal, where I come from Bother Crow is the most powerful of the totem animals, wise above all others. You have been blessed with a great protector.
Thank you Scott. I would be very happy to have the bother crow as my totem animal!
Another fab episode watching christmas.night hope you have a merry Christmas and a very happy peaceful new year x
I enjoyed your video and really love the pretty blue bottle.
great video ,every find tells a story, have a great Christmas Nicola.
Best wishes to you and your family Nicola - ATB
merry CHRISTMas Nicola i love mudlarking thanx to you
Merry Christmas Nicola and have a great new year.
Thank you for all your videos. Always a pleasure to watch.
Have a Happy Christmas Nicola, thanks for all the great videos you’ve shared with us this year.
I could spend a vacation every day mudlarking and bottle dump searching such fun.
Merry Christmas, Nicola. Thank you for posting your wonderful videos.
Like your posts. Thanks for sharing this hobby. Very similar to picking up arrow points and pot shards from plowed fields here in Tennessee.
Hi Nicola, yes definitely Micraster sea urchin from the Cretaceous period.
Have a wonderful Christmas & a Happy new year.
Nicola, a nice recap on your findings. The spider is without doubt a female Diadem Spider and the cross on her back is the give-away. She will get bigger and bigger and then one day she will disappear to a more sheltered place lay her eggs. Fascinating creatures, enjoy her company.
Merry Christmas from Cornwall and good hunting for the new year.
Roy
Thanks for another fine year mudlarking and taking us along for the ride. Merry Christmas to you and your family and looking forward to a great 2019 with more interesting finds.
My favorite UA-camr. I love your videos so much. Merry Christmas
The basket weaved pipe was amazing you found today! Wow!! Soooo unique! I have never seen you find a pipe like this yet! ( : It has a decent amount of stem left too! ( : That is funny you found the pottery with TR! You foundy.old pot! Yayyyyyyy! ( : Lol! ( : Those arey initials! ( :
That was lovely Nicola. Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas Nicola! Thank you for sharing your adventures.
Another great video adventure along the Thames. Happy Holidays to you and your family Nicola.
Nicola i go mudlarking in the Boston harbor so cool wen i find a old bottle, or plate fragment, i found a awesome Coca Cola bottle yesterday, but u are lucky on the pipes so cool thanks for the vid o ya your lucky and pretty thats a good combo take care pipe lady.