A couple of nights ago I got a text from my best mate Laura that made me feel hopeful for the world – even though there’s so much to feel miserable about.

With her permission here’s Laura’s text about a conversation with her daughter Ruby, in full:

“So in tonight’s bedtime discussion, Ruby was very concerned about how children who are wheelchair users use a park, particularly a slide.…

I recently got a message that intrigued, excited, and impressed me. It was from Mike, the father of a boy called Oliver. Mike shared a letter Oliver had written to the parents and carers of his schoolmates.

I thought it was brilliant and that other people might benefit from reading it too so I asked if Oliver would be happy to share it.…

While we were touring in North America I was excited to be in touch with a number of theatre academics who are interested in the Relaxed Performance movement. Brilliantly Cameron Hunt McNabb, Assistant Professor of English at Southeastern University in Florida and a specialist in medieval and early modern drama agreed to write a guest post explaining her particular interest.…

My knees have a tough life – I crawl about on them a lot, fall down on them often, and only very occasionally moisturise them. Given this ill treatment it’s surprising how rarely they complain.

Until today! This morning I was acutely aware of a big bruise on my right knee.…

As a child I loved Children’s TV. Among my favourite characters were Mr Bump, Super Ted, and Rachel in Grange Hill (played by Francesca Martinez) and the thing all these characters had in common was that they were identifiably ‘different’: Mr Bump – poorly coordinated, Super Ted – rejected in the opening sequence because ‘they found something wrong with him’ and Rachel ‘wobbly’ as the result of cerebral palsy.…

It’s American Independence Day today and it’s strangely appropriate that I’ve had my personal budget review this morning. My personal budget is the amount of money I get from my Local Authority Social Work team to pay for the support I need at home – and it‘s essential to my independence.…

Proud parents often share photos of their adorable offspring achieving significant milestones.

Earlier today Leftwing Idiot sent me a photo of his beautiful baby geranium that’s just had its first flowers.

Baby G’s the first to grow from seed from Leftwing Idiot’s original plant, and my tics marked the occasion in their usual style:

“Baby geranium, do you want some custard?”…

Fran and I have spent the day de-mudding everything after one of the muckiest Glastonburys on record.

It was my wheelchairs that needed the most attention, with my all-terrain chair almost a solid block of mud. I was anxious to get both of them clean and dry quickly so that none of the delicate parts got damaged.…

This morning we got off to an early start – well early for a festival! At 10am a car arrived to pick Captain Hotknives and me up for our lunchtime performance on the Glade Stage. I was very glad not to have to traipse through the mud to get there.…

During the night the rain battered the tent so hard that several times I felt a fine mist on my skin. But by the time I was properly awake the rain had cleared. I pulled myself out into the grey morning and sat and watched Glastonbury get going.…