Once the tide turned we were chased slowly back to the shore and our day was over. Not really, as the Field Trip Leader invited us back to the "Hotel Cavendish" for tea 'n' biscuits. Les's sitting room suddenly became the standing room. The small group from Denmark, even a German plus other lost souls of our club gathered to get warm and chat over a typical English Brew. Les pulled out the trays of his specimens for us to look over!
A
Tray of Otodus, the little ones laying randomly are what we might find
if lucky. Most teeth we find are damaged. These here are as perfect as
they come. (Notice the trays underneath!)
Right: A close-up of two out of the above tray. The ruler is in inches!
Les found another comparable specimen on the Sunday.
Left: From another trayful, the lower grinding tooth plate of an Eagle
Ray! (Myliobatis sp.)
If luck is on your side you might find a single bar!
Right:
Albula eppsi; either the top or bottom crushing palette of this fish.
Seeing trays full of specimens you mistakenly think every fossil is common.
Left:
Phyllodus toliapicus.
(One was found on the Friday by Derrick Glover's son, one of our long distance members all the way from Clitheroe. It was nice to see them again, the last time was Barton many years ago before I was stopped from going on field trips. His lad had grown somewhat!)
Right:
Notidanus serratissimus.
Honestly, the specimens shown here are few and far between!
Perhaps there is something in Les's 'beached whale' method of collecting?
All the teeth pictured here were collected by Les Lanham from this location and available for us to inspect over our tea 'n' biscuits. Many thanks Les it made a great finish to a great trip!
All the above specimens are from the Eocene period about 54 Ma ago. They come from in, or around, the Woolwich & Old Haven Beds of the London Clay exposed on the foreshore in the vicinity of Beltinge, Herne Bay, Kent.
Personal footnote:
Alan and myself arrived at the Cavendish a day earlier on the Friday as guests of mine host (Les). We caught the morning tide on the Friday and were not alone. The beach was crowded with members from other groups. I counted at least nine members of our club. Speaking to Rick Johnson he said he had been there on the Thursday, (Keen? Not half! He was there again on the Saturday. Probably the Sunday too!).
After the Friday tide, we returned to the Cavendish and spent a very convivial time with Les's other guests and club members, Marion 'n' Geoff. I had a great time going through our chairman's extensive mineral collection and what's more I laughed my head off all evening. "A Great Time and Great Company!" Wouldn't have missed it for the world and I don't collect fossils! (RC 5 March 2002)