A while ago I shared some ticced horoscopes that’d emerged while I’d been chatting about star signs with Poppy and Leftwing Idiot. Lots of people have been enjoying them, and one friend, Gemma, suggested we make them into YouTube videos.

So that’s how I found myself sitting between a gold Moon Frog and a Dream Catcher, wearing a specially made shawl in traditional Touretteshero colours, singing spontaneously about Libras as snow fluttered down outside the window.…

It’s bitterly cold again. The temperature’s really dropped and snow’s been floating down intermittently all day.

I’ve been outside all day on a trip with the children from work to visit another adventure playground. But although I’ve been exposed to the elements, I’ve not been cold.…

Poppy was back at the castle this evening for her weekly turn as my overnight support worker. Shortly before we headed to our beds I had a “ticcing fit.” As is often the case I lost my speech, but this time not completely.…

The other day I wrote about the practical challenges of going to the loo with my unpredictable mobility. There’s an additional factor I didn’t mention that makes this even harder at work: metal grab rails.

This might quite reasonably surprise you – grab rails are there to make things easier.…

Yesterday I wrote about the amazing meals my friends and support workers have been preparing for me. Tonight, hanging out with Zoë, I ticced, “Let’s cook with biscuits and sheep.” My tics then went on to describe how you’d do this.…

My arm tics make it hard for me to prepare meals safely. Before Poppy lived at the castle I used to rely on the microwave and supermarket ready meals to fill me up. While we lived together she used to make delicious dinners for us to share, so in the last couple of years I’ve got used to a much better quality of dinner.…

I’ve described many times the difficulties I have with standing up. My tics mean my knees bend uncontrollably so that I suddenly drop to the floor. This poses many challenges.

One of these (that I’m sure I haven’t written about before) is the logistical challenge of trying to pull my trousers up after having a wee.…

Since Poppy moved out a week ago I’ve been living on my own. The pluses to this are that my night support workers now have a proper bed and some private space, and I have more space generally, which has made moving around a bit easier.…

I’ve described many times how even the slightest emotion can trigger an entirely disproportionate reaction in my body. This happens when I’m happy and excited, during films for example, or even when I simply roll my r’s. The reaction is instant and uncontrollable and can lead me to throw myself across the room, bite my arm, and screech.…

This is my fourth year writing this blog, and right from the start one subject’s been notably absent – romance. There’s a lot of love – the love and care of my family and friends runs through pretty much every post.…