Feeding the Seagulls

Cromwell Argus, Volume LXVIII, Issue 3484, 30 August 1937, Page 7

Feeding the Seagulls

WELCOME VISITORS. Clapham Common, two miles southwest of Vauxhall Bridge, three mUes from the Houses of Parliament, was made notorious by the Stinie Morrison case. A quiet, green expanse of land, with here and there a few trees and a pond or two, the Common is divided by roads and lanes, and connects several suburbs.

In "Soccer," local amateur rival clubs fight their clever—and clean — battles on Saturdays and Sundays. And with "admission’’ free, a good attendance Is always a certainty, as theHTis also for the amateur yachting enthusiasts.

Cricket, of course, is also supported in like manner in the summer months, whilst swimming attracts Its performers and "gallery.” But the biggest "draw” of the Common Is the feeding of the seagulls. These birds will, whilst in, flight, catch tit-bits thrown into the air. If such morsels are stale the gulls swoop to the ponds and soften the food In the water.

A local fishmonger brings all his scraps, such as fish-heads, to the Common daily at 2.30 p.m, prompt. Do the gulls know? Go there and listen to their screeching, hungry anticipation ten minutes or so before their benefactor’s arrival!

Dinner-time for the gulls Is as famous to Londoners as is feeding-time at the Zoological Gardens. But the great mystery is:—Why do the seagulls come to this, and Only to this Common, of all the open spaces in London? The food? But there is food everywhere in London for the winged populace.

The sea-water? No; the ponds are fresh-water. The popularity of Clapham Common as a happy hunting-ground for the seagulls Is something that nobody has been able to explain. But the mystery can stay as long as the gulls do!