Wednesday, April 06, 2022
Piercabulary: 50 new words inspired by standing at the end of Erith Town Pier
anglerwharf: an industrial jetty mostly repurposed for fishing
bexleyness: a feeling of liminal isolation
boredwalk: not the most exciting promenade
buoyholes: gaps where lifebelts used to be before they were vandalised
chunkybench: form of 90s civic street furniture designed for resilience rather than aesthetic value
cityblock: not being able to see the skyscrapers in the heart of the city because they're all hidden, for example behind silos, cranes and a large incinerator
dampladder: a set of precipitous rungs exposed twice a day
deadplaque: a few words inscribed in memory of someone who loved this spot, for example Dad who did all his fishing here
doombeach: an expanse of tidal sludge, inaccessible except to birdlife
erithgrey: a shade of bleached beige
exbuffer: the end of a disused railway
featurebelt: on a dull day in a tidal estuary the thin horizontal strip of interest between grey skies and grey waters
floodsteps: annoying up-and-over staircase installed for the sole purpose of keeping out water levels that hardly ever happen
foiledtree: a sapling that's attempted to grow somewhere unwelcoming so won't be getting any bigger, for example at the tip of a pier
gallowbeacon: a form of navigational signal where access to the upper light is via a cylindrical ladder that unfortunately resembles a gibbet
greyspan: an almost entirely colourless panorama
grimsquint: realising you can see something unpleasant in the distance, for example Purfleet
gullstellation: a group of white seabirds bobbing in formation on the waves
jettyenvy: wishing you were walking down Erith's narrow wooden causeway instead
lewdscrawl: adolescent graffiti comprising musings on sexuality and line drawings of genitalia
lonesitter: someone who locates a bench in a deliberately isolated location and lingers there
lorrycade: a steady stream of trucks, for example serving a distant freight depot
muckscaping: the reshaping of landfill into scenic heaps for future leisure use
mudlapping: the unattractive alternative to waves on sand
murkwater: an uninviting brown shade of sediment in an estuary
openbreeze: wind that's noticeably stronger once you get away from all obstructions, for example at the tip of a pier
pillarweed: a form of seaweed capable of clinging to the concrete supports of a pier
pylonmarch: the thin strip within which electricity is carried across a landscape
ripplewash: a brief period of heavy wavefall after a large seagoing vessel has passed by
rustfloat: a Thames barge that'll never sail again
scrapclaw: the chief tool at a breakers yard (see also scraphammer)
seatrekker: a cargo ship with a long voyage ahead
shoreflats: 20th century apartments built to take advantage of an estuary view, even when such view is drably underwhelming
shoreflatsplus: premium apartments built to take advantage of an estuary view, none of which exist in Erith
slateocumulus: a particularly grey type of cloud
sludgegullies: shifting muddy creeks revealed at low tide
sololunch: taking one's sandwiches as far away from one's colleagues as possible to enjoy half an hour of peace
squawkonautics: aerial display by noisy seagulls
starebackers: people who look back at you looking them, for example when stood at the tip of a pier
throughtrain: a rail service you can see passing but cannot board anywhere in the vicinity
tipregret: a feeling of disappointment on walking all the way to end of something only to wonder why you did
tollspan: river crossing requiring a fee to be paid, for example the Queen Elizabeth Bridge
trolleyooze: mud from which a supermarket shopping cart will never be recovered
unattraction: something which could draw in tourists but doesn't, for example the longest pier in London
untidybin: litter receptacle whose top has blown off and/or whose bag is missing
upandback: constitutional walk to the end of something and back purely for the sake of a bit of exercise
uptide: incoming waters (see also downtide)
wastescape: estuarine panorama that's almost entirely devoted to recycling, scrappage and landfill
whirlbine: three-bladed windmill for the generation of electricity
yachtflock: group of sailing vessels moored offshore from a marina
<< click for Newer posts
click for Older Posts >>
click to return to the main page
