OK, so it’s not entirely related to Tourettes but I thought I’d share a funny experience I had with Leftwing Idiot at a hospital yesterday. Don’t worry, it wasn’t an emergency – I’d gone in for my pacemaker’s annual check.

We made our way up to the waiting area of the Cardio clinic and found a space to sit, near the giant TV on the wall. The room was packed with people, many of whom were intently watching the screen.

Leftwing Idiot was staring at it too, and I could see he was puzzled. A brief glace at the telly explained why. For some reason the hospital had chosen to leave it on a channel showing an afternoon medical soap opera – and what we found ourselves watching, along with all the other cardio patients, was a man having heart failure in an operating theatre! We sat in stunned silence as the ECG machine started flatlining and beeping furiously.

We both chuckled at how inappropriate and unnerving this was. It felt as bizarre as an airline showing Con Air or Snakes on a Plane during a transatlantic flight. No one else seemed particularly concerned though, even when I started having a ‘ticcing fit’ and had to be escorted out by Leftwing Idiot and one of the nurses.