Comments on: Mud God’s Discoveries 3 https://spitalfieldslife.com/2011/03/18/mud-gods-discoveries-3/ In the midst of life I woke to find myself living in an old house beside Brick Lane in the East End of London Thu, 24 Oct 2013 16:38:43 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 By: gioconda https://spitalfieldslife.com/2011/03/18/mud-gods-discoveries-3/#comment-197525 Thu, 24 Oct 2013 16:38:43 +0000 http://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=26533#comment-197525 I have come late to Spitalfields Life, but I must say I share Vicky’s misgivings entirely, especially when Steve says to always pick up a coconut, because it is filled with precious objects. It stands to reason that the high value of the offering is commensurate with the importance of the prayer; thus, to learn that a mudlark had intercepted the offering would be a grave disappointment. Perhaps the illness of a child is at stake, or the safety of a loved one.

The Thames is not the Ganges, but the displaced people who worshiped by their home waters hope the same gods abide. The Thames may only view such offerings as trash, and Steve is rendering a service by cleaning it up. Perhaps there is a Hindu or Buddhist temple willing to accept the offerings in the spirit in which they were made. Steve could complete his service by bringing the offerings there.

]]> By: Vicky https://spitalfieldslife.com/2011/03/18/mud-gods-discoveries-3/#comment-21858 Sat, 09 Jul 2011 06:44:05 +0000 http://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=26533#comment-21858 I must say that this is where mudlarking makes me feel very uneasy. Removing items which have been discarded, the detritus of life, is one thing, but removing items thrown in by lovers or by people who have Faith seems wrong. It feels a bit like taking from cemeteries, or from the Ganges. I think the opening line ‘For many people the Thames is a sacred river’ tells us to leave them where they belong.

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