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October 14, 2009

'Very superstitious-'

I'm always pleased to find snippets of information about belief and superstition, particularly contradictions.  Samuel Pepys viewed superstition as 'a foolery', yet whilst trawling his diary for visits to the French Church, I came upon an entry for the 20th of January 1665:

So homeward, in my way buying a hare and taking it home - which arose upon my discourse today with Mr Batten in Westminter-hall - who showed me my mistake, that my hares-foot hath not the joint to it, and assures me he never had his cholique since he carried it about him.  And it is a strange thing how fancy works, for I no sooner almost handled his foot but my belly began to loose and to break wind; and whereas I was in some pain yesterday and t'other day, and in fear of more today, I became very well, and so continue.

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September 20, 2009

Today

As anyone who follows me on Twitter will know, I like mudlarking.  I'm not a metal-detector-anorak-type mudlark, but still.  Living by the Thames is a constant reminder of the fact London is built upon thousands of years of river commerce.  The Thames foreshore (particularly in the City where I am) throws things up all the time, both natural and man made, from centuries of habitation.  Every day I walk my small nuisance of a dog down on the beach of either Bankside or the North Bank and kick about in the debris.  Amongst the broken clay pipes, 20C pottery, 18C nails and things best not picked up, there are sometimes nice little bits and pieces from another age.      

Today's find is a hagstone which, as everybody knows is both good luck and protects a property from witches.  I like this one a lot, because it is pale and freckly (not unlike me) and most stones on the foreshore are black or grey.  Hagstones made an excellent key-ring in the 17C, empowering your lock against the evil crone intent on cursing your household.  They could also be placed on a window-sill or a doorstep to prevent the witch sneaking inside.  Legend has it that looking through the hole of a hagstone reveals deceit and sometimes, pixies.    

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