“Beautifully shot, truly a work of art and love.”
Tom Chivers, author of “London Clay”

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Paul Wyatt was advised not to make Time and Tide with critics dismissing the subject as “a London backwater adjacent to rotting bits of wood in the Thames.” 

 

Yet in October 2025, Historic England scheduled parts of that "backwater" as a National Monument, granting it the same protections as Stonehenge and the Tower of London.

More remarkably still, the foundations of modern global 
communication, including the internet, email, and instant messaging, began on the very site documented in the film.

Central to the story is Nicola White, an artist, mudlark, and online creator unearthing artefacts ranging from a 1970s bracelet to a 17th-century skeleton, Nicola reconnects us with voices embedded deep within this industrial landscape.

 

But as steel and glass towers rise along the water’s edge, she faces the imminent loss of public access to the foreshore.

 

Alongside Nicola, Time and Tide weaves together personal accounts from local artists, working sailors, and maritime historians, each anchoring an authentic connection to a shoreline on the brink of permanent transformation.

After Historic England scheduled the monument, the film was 
updated with Nicola White in early 2026 and premiered to a
sold-out audience, with a Q&A featuring Nicola and Paul Wyatt at London Museum Docklands.

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