From my bedroom window I can see three majestic trees, their silhouettes looming large in my familiar and treasured view. Right now it’s the very end of dusk and they’ve almost vanished into the darkness.

But while they might be out of sight, they’re certainly not out of mind because my tics have unexpectedly gone on a tree-based rant:

“Expert-trees or Board of Trust Trees?…

I’ve written a lot about the view from my bedroom window. Yesterday evening at dusk I rolled into my room to grab something but I was stopped in my tracks by a beautiful sight.

The sky was huge with the fading sun spreading across the building.…

It’s been a very sunny day, and this morning was particularly warm and glorious.

Fat Sister, King Russell and their two-year-old daughter Bean came over first thing and we sat in the garden enjoying the weather and the prospect of the bank holiday weekend stretching out before us.…

Plastic straws have been banned in the UK. This has been on the cards for months but the new legislation was announced only a few days ago. There’s a medical exemption for ill or disabled people who require them, and thankfully no one will have to prove a need for them.…

It feels as if my body’s gone on strike. Or maybe more than that, it’s as if it’s engaged in some sort of direct action against me.

Since January I’ve been swimming at my local hydrotherapy pool on most days. Also, at the start of the year I had some improvements made to my wheelchair to make it more comfortable.…

For the last few years I’ve been struggling with feeling sick a lot and there was a long period when I used be sick every time I ate anything. A few months ago a dietician at my local hospital put me on a very restricted diet to try and work out whether there are particular foods that are causing the problem.…

This morning I woke up in a leisurely way, opened my blind and let the light from the grey day fill my room. I felt much more cheerful than I had when I went to sleep last night, and I greeted the lamppost enthusiastically.…

I feel really sad.
A deep churning sadness.
A very familiar and crushing mix of shame, frustration and exhaustion.

It’s a mix of feelings I can’t remember ever not being present. Experience tells me these feelings won’t last with the intensity I’m feeling them right now, but neither will they ever fully go away.…

Having Tourettes means I’m sensitive to certain sounds. Some noises are uncomfortable for me to hear and make me overreact. There are others that I find really exciting, which make my tics go wild.

One such noise is the sound of people rolling their ‘r’s!…

A couple of years ago I got a great tip from another disabled artist: he told me that he often stays in Holiday Inns because they can often provide the accommodation for essential support workers free of charge.

This is amazing because before I knew this, every trip cost at least double what it would if I was non-disabled and didn’t require 24-hour support.…