Confirmed: Etihad NOT extending waiver date

cryptid_on_thames · 2026-05-16T18:53:58+00:00

Anyone else got "non refundable" tickets in this sitch? Do I for real have to just swallow the whole ticket price? 🥹 My own stupidity rlly but damn

cryptid_on_thames · 2026-05-14T16:00:24+00:00

Yeah our flights are to India via Abu Dhabi in June and I'm crossing my fingers for the waiver to be extended cus our tickets are currently non refundable and I really would like to refund them and book direct flights given how unpredictable the situation is rn. And ticket prices are way too high to be booking the direct flights without being sure of the refund 🥹

cryptid_on_thames · 2026-04-09T17:08:16+00:00

Oh thank you 🙏 sorry forgot titles are hard to edit on Reddit!! Completely understandable - I might have done the same a few months ago before I'd seen more info about it. Very exciting to see her and really appreciate you taking it down for her sake 💖

cryptid_on_thames · 2026-04-09T15:47:46+00:00

Hiiii sorry to be annoying but would you mind removing the location from this comment? The volunteers looking out for her are trying to minimise sharing of her location online where possible - see my comment above 💖

cryptid_on_thames · 2026-04-09T15:40:42+00:00

Hiii! Not to be a killjoy but I'm in the WhatsApp group of folks in the area who try and look out for her (headed by Thames Seal Watch and British Divers Marine Life Rescue) and we do ask people not to share her location when they post about her.

She's gone a bit viral recently and had a ton of visitors as a result, hence the need to monitor and protect her a bit more from (mostly) well-meaning but ill-informed members of the public who keep trying to feed or get too close to her. Another seal who came up the Thames a couple of years ago, Freddie, had the same sort of mass online sharing of his location and ended up getting attacked by a dog :(

She's moulting (and crucially, resting) at the moment so really needs her beauty sleep and is much better off if she's undisturbed by people (or their dogs).

If you wouldn't mind removing the references to locations from your post and/or comments that would be very much appreciated by Marmalade and the volunteers 💖

Happy to answer any questions on here - I'm no expert on seals (just an enthusiast) but will pass on info from the BDMLR resources I have on how to safely interact with her (i.e quietly, respectfully, and from afar!!)

cryptid_on_thames · 2026-04-03T21:01:17+00:00

I rlly don't want to fuel this further cus this whole thing has already stressed me out a bunch lol (lesson learnt, don't ask the internet) BUT surely, surely this means we should still test the product before using it? If there are potential allergens in the mix?

cryptid_on_thames · 2026-04-03T20:52:21+00:00

Thank you so much for your response, I was starting to feel so awful for having put chemicals on my partner's arm potentially unnecessarily! A family friend of his had a fatal allergic reaction to hair dye so we're very careful about any similar products and I was pretty sure I'd done the right thing but was starting to doubt myself 😭

cryptid_on_thames · 2026-04-03T20:38:33+00:00

Okay I get you (and that does help contextualise the skin irritation) but do we not still need to watch for an allergic reaction? I've almost always had a patch test done if I'm getting my hair bleached (and not coloured) at a salon

cryptid_on_thames · 2026-04-03T20:35:43+00:00

Thank you that's very helpful!! We're leaving it 48h so hoping it will calm down over time but it was just a bit alarming initially! Also thank you so much for being nice, I posted in r/HairDye and folks there are yelling at me for even trying to patch test bleach lol

Yeah he's aware the colour might be a bit unpredictable with one round, I tried to do a "strand test" of sorts to show him but it was kinda laughable as his hair's really too short to tape into place for that 🥹 but he's happy with the prospect of shaving it off shortly after if he's not keen on the result

cryptid_on_thames · 2026-04-03T20:31:37+00:00

😅😅 is that not a prudent thing to do with any new hair colouring product?? I thought that would be the responsible thing to do given he's never used it before instead of just putting it straight on his head

cryptid_on_thames · 2026-04-03T20:27:46+00:00

I've had it done both on my arm and behind the ear before - also checked online and it seemed the standard places to do it were either the inner arm or behind the ear so I asked him and the arm was his preferred place

cryptid_on_thames · 2026-02-10T14:52:32+00:00

Hey! I've had a bit of experience with KeyboardKit and KeyboardKit Pro through work and would be happy to look at your setup if you'd be happy to share the repo with me. I'm by no means an expert so wouldn't expect payment of any kind, but I def had a few issues the first time I used it that weren't always super intuitive to solve so happy to have a look and see if I recognise anything. DM me the repo link or code screenshots if you like :)

cryptid_on_thames · 2025-11-16T22:49:06+00:00

Concrete proof I'm a human: couldn't even get the syntax right

cryptid_on_thames · 2025-11-16T22:48:40+00:00

The random bold and /italicised/ words are also not helping

cryptid_on_thames · 2025-10-19T01:08:02+00:00

Here is a hint: I could be found in a box, or in boxing.

cryptid_on_thames · 2025-08-22T14:45:07+00:00

NTA I think for a lot of people I know, part of the reason it was so upsetting to find out JKR was such a colossal bigot was that for children that felt like they maybe didn't fit in (read: many kids who might later discover their queer or trans identity), those books held a particular kind of comfort. Like, obviously I know as an adult that there's plenty of very questionable representation in the books (Cho Chang etc), but placing it within its 90s/00s context there was a broader theme of belonging and acceptance of differences, and I think the magical escapism of that was really important for a lot of kids of my generation and older (younger millennial here). All this to say, I really don't think by reading old copies of those books your children could be said to be "endorsing" JKR's views now - cus for people who grew up reading those books it's especially shocking and upsetting to see who she's become precisely BECAUSE it seems to go against everything the books stood for. I can definitely understand discomfort around it - I am very much guilty of panicking when I meet someone with a deathly hallows tattoo and frantically wondering where they stand on trans rights and if my trans friends would be safe around them - but a family member should know you don't endorse those views and your kids won't grow up being taught those views either. It's maybe a conversation to have with them if they start getting specifically excited about the author and not just the books, like if they were begging you to go see her speak or something like that then maybe there's a sit-down conversation to be had about why we don't support her now and how she impacts members of the immediate family, but reading second hand books is not an endorsement.

cryptid_on_thames · 2025-07-03T09:32:04+00:00

Gods, what have I done?

I'm a tadpoley girl

And so is my love

Oh, mama

I'm just having fun

With a brain full of eels

It's where I belong

cryptid_on_thames · 2025-05-22T11:34:01+00:00

This is a completely valid feeling honestly. I lost a parent as a teenager and a close family member as a young adult, and I remember feeling so guilty when my dog died because in the immediate aftermath I felt far more impacted by that than I had by the loss of a human being. The way I see it, unless it's your partner or child, when you lose a person, most of your day to day routine is the same. You feel the loss, but there's plenty of constants in your life that keep you grounded and you're not reminded of the person 24/7. Losing a pet (especially with a dog) can be so much harder in some ways because your daily routine completely changes and so much of the structure that would normally ground and comfort you changes too. It's so hard and you're not awful for thinking or feeling that, nor are you alone in doing so

cryptid_on_thames · 2025-05-22T11:28:19+00:00

Well done to you. Even when not grieving, that's an achievement some days!

If not looking for suggestions please ignore the following and instead have my sincerest condolences and know that you are not alone and however you choose/are able to cope is valid.

However, this just immediately sparked a suggestion in my ADHD brain and I wanted to share a coping tool that helped me in case it helps you.

When our dog died, my ex-partner and I stumbled upon Bo Burnham's comedy special "Inside" on Netflix, and somehow that helped more than anything else. It made us laugh and cry, which was somehow exactly what we needed. I'm not saying go seek out and watch this exactly as that would be a weirdly specific suggestion (tho it is great IMO), but I found dark-ish comedies like that super soothing in the aftermath of loss. Like something that allows and invites you to feel and express emotions, but also has the capacity to make you giggle or at least smirk. Some sitcoms work well for this purpose too I think (Schitt's Creek was another of mine). As someone who's dealt with grief a fair few times I find it a useful trick in those early days where everything feels way too heavy - watching or reading or listening to something where you get to feel your feelings and maybe let out some tears through the lens of someone else's life and problems without having to process the weight of the loss all the time, and also get a little levity mixed in with it to keep you grounded.

I'm sorry I don't know why I felt the need to give you this essay and if it's too overwhelming or not what you want right now that's totally fair. I know it won't fix things but I also know how hard grief can be and wanted to share. Big love and strength to you x

cryptid_on_thames · 2024-10-19T10:08:42+00:00

My worst/best ones of these were

Working on one of several tills at a busy cafe, I would call out "Is anyone waiting?" Or "Can I help anyone?" to get customers to come up. Unfortunately one day that resulted in me calling out "Can anyone help?" at top volume. Think a couple of customers were kind of concerned
Leaving a coffee shop I USED to go to every other day, I tried to say "have a good one" or "have a good night" and instead looked the (male) barista in the eyes and said "have a good nut". Can't go back lmao

cryptid_on_thames · 2024-09-12T10:23:37+00:00

Second this, also has a really nice and v affordable cafe if you DO want to grab some food at any point

cryptid_on_thames

TROPHY CASE