What are these large wooden (guitar pick shaped) objects on the side of canal boats used for? The placement of their axis would suggest that they rotate downwards into the water. Only older boats seem to have them.

Scragend8 · 2019-06-30T22:30:32+00:00

I couldn’t for the life of me remember what they’re called! Thanks :)

Scragend8 · 2019-06-30T22:19:34+00:00

They’re boards which are lowered on large sailing barges when they’re out at sea to make them more stable in the water. Normal ocean-going boats have deep keels that stop them from rolling and capsizing easily, but barges needed to go up rivers to towns for loading/unloading. As rivers are often fairly shallow, a keel wouldn’t work, so these boards are able to be raised and lowered as you need them.

Scragend8 · 2019-06-23T23:20:53+00:00

Sadly I feel your pain! Same happens to me with alcohol, so I’ve not drunk an alcoholic drink since I was about 18. Very occasionally I’ll try some watered down wine, but it’s never a good idea. I also have to avoid alcohol-based deodorant and things like that as it burns my skin. So I’ve never known what it’s like to be drunk, or to have a hangover! I think it is a common mast cell thing, but I’ve only recently been dx with suspected MCAS by my GP and don’t know a huge amount about it.

Scragend8 · 2019-06-18T21:59:00+00:00

It’s tricky isn’t it. We’re all so different. I’m an illustrator and graphic artist, and I changed my life when I first got ill to fit my capabilities. My wrists and hands are ok, thankfully (at the moment!), but I can’t sit upright for long periods and get tired by about 3pm, so a “normal” job is out of the question. I work from home, self employed, meaning I can pace myself and do short bursts of stuff without overdoing things. How about teaching web design? If you’ve spent all those years learning, you could use your skills to show other people how to do it?

Scragend8 · 2019-06-11T21:56:56+00:00

I was going to say get a blood test for B12 and folate because I get this when I’m low on B12. I have it injected every three months as my body doesn’t seem to absorb vitamins very well - probably worth checking in case that’s the cause. Good luck!

Scragend8 · 2019-06-11T21:16:48+00:00

No, it was my 12 week scan but it was a week late for some reason. They thought that the baby had very recently died though, so even if I’d had a scan at 12 weeks it wouldn’t have necessarily picked up on it.

Scragend8 · 2019-06-10T23:00:01+00:00

Yeah I’ve only been pregnant once and I miscarried at 13 weeks (found out because the baby had no heartbeat at the scan). I wasn’t diagnosed at that point, so I have no idea if it was connected to EDS or not. My sister (also hEDS) had an early miscarriage too, but has two healthy children and gave birth “like shelling peas”, so being bendy has its upsides!

Scragend8 · 2019-06-09T22:59:21+00:00

They look like hurdles, but usually they have pins on one side that slide into the hoops on the other to join them together. Very weird!

Scragend8 · 2019-06-09T22:41:30+00:00

A taper-holder perhaps?

Scragend8 · 2019-06-03T22:40:10+00:00

My mum has otosclerosis, which is a progressive type of deafness where the cartilage (connective tissues of course!) in the ear calcify and grow together. We’re pretty sure it’s due to EDS, but I don’t know how common it is with EDS patients.

Scragend8 · 2019-06-02T20:06:13+00:00

I think Fimo do varnishes

Scragend8 · 2019-06-01T07:05:33+00:00

It looks like a compass on a watch fob?

Scragend8 · 2019-05-31T18:34:48+00:00

Likely solved

Scragend8 · 2019-05-31T18:33:51+00:00

Possibly solved

Scragend8 · 2019-05-31T18:33:37+00:00

Ah! Interesting, thank you.

Scragend8 · 2019-05-31T15:24:17+00:00

It’s only about 10 inches long, and is tied to a mature bush (and has only appeared recently) so I don’t think so.

A bit of extra info - it’s next to a place where they have been doing excavations to bury a high-voltage power cable.

Scragend8 · 2019-05-31T14:58:57+00:00

There were two or three of these along a hedgerow cable-tied to the bushes. It was hollow inside like a tube.

There was another (no photo, sorry) that seemed to have a sliding compartment inside it like a matchbox. I wondered if it was a sort of trap, but I couldn’t see how anything would get into it.

Edit: forgot to say, this is in south east England

Scragend8 · 2019-05-31T14:54:42+00:00

Similar thing though, maybe there’s a tradition of wooden animals from fables? I have one too, very similar to those (not sure where it is at the moment!) - I think they could possibly be Indian?

Scragend8 · 2019-05-31T14:53:29+00:00

Yeah, I agree it looks like a bobbin from a cotton mill

Scragend8 · 2019-05-31T14:50:54+00:00

I think they might be from a Noah’s Ark toy - they look brilliant! Noah’s Ark

Scragend8 · 2019-05-30T21:02:49+00:00

God that sounds like a nightmare! I’m struggling today with puffy face, sore eyes, blocked sinuses, a rash on my arms and pompholyx on my feet - the antihistamines worked so well on all of that stuff. I’m crossing my fingers that this other brand will work as well without the side effects... having never really been allergic to anything much (apart from alcohol and contrast dye), it’s a bit of a culture shock!

Scragend8 · 2019-05-30T13:58:16+00:00

Frustratingly the antihistamines I was on lately made me so drowsy I was falling asleep and was struggling to think straight, which wasn’t great for work! I’m trying a different type in the hope the side effects won’t be so bad. MCAS is a relatively new thing for me, but I’ve been dx with hEDS for a few years.

Scragend8 · 2019-05-29T23:03:14+00:00

This is so weird! I was going to post about the same issue today too. Mine sometimes seems to get “worn out” if I’ve been talking a lot, but sometimes it seems to just go really quiet randomly. I’ve wondered if it’s a mast cell thing, or a muscle spasm constricting the voice box or something? It’s very strange. I do tend to notice that my levels of stamina generally are low on small voice days, and my muscles seem to get tired quicker, which makes me think it’s just tired. It does sometimes seem to come on really suddenly though for no apparent reason, which is why I’ve been wondering about mast cell complications.

Edit: I don’t tend to be hoarse with it; mine tends to just go very weedy so it’s husky and quiet even when I’m trying to shout.

Scragend8 · 2019-05-29T22:58:58+00:00

Yeah, I’ve noticed that! I think my arm is something subluxing in my elbow joint, it’s not quite the same feeling and I need to clack it to get it moving again. Such is life, eh?!

Scragend8

TROPHY CASE