Since last Tuesday we’ve been in Istanbul. I’d been mentally writing this post all week, excited to share one of the few bits of international work we’ve done since the start of the pandemic. But this won’t be the blog post I was planning because just hours after we left, Turkey and Syria were hit by a huge earthquake which has caused massive loss of life and left many more homeless.…

Over the last couple of weeks, the Touretteshero Team has been resting and relaxing, the Christmas holidays being the only time each year that we all stop together. This has given me a chance to think about everything we’ve done together this year.…

“Biscuit” has been one of my regular tics for many years. I don’t know exactly when it started, but by early 2011 I was very biscuity! I once worked out that I tic “biscuit” about 16,000 times a day, so unsurprisingly it’s a word that lots of people strongly associate with me.…

We’ve been interested in technology focused research and practice for a long time. In 2013, Touretteshero collaborated with Dr Tom Mitchell and Dr Joseph Hyde on The Alchemy of Chaos which converted a year of ticcing episodes into music that was presented at a TEDx talk at the Royal Albert Hall.…

After several weeks of nail-biting uncertainty, we found out this morning that our bid to become an Arts Council England NPO was successful!

The process of applying was long and complicated and we had to work hard to make sure our access requirements were met along the way – so the announcement today comes as a huge relief for us all.…

For as long as I can remember, I’ve used drawing to help me explore my surroundings and make sense of the world. When I struggled to learn things in primary school I was encouraged to draw instead of write, and when I don’t understand something it’s to drawing I still always turn.…

I’m sad today. I feel worn out and worn down. I’m frustrated by the physical reality of my body and with how I’m dealing with it. In the last few weeks my energy levels have plummeted for no obvious reason, and they were already pretty low.…

When people think about what it means to require care, especially if it’s 24 hours a day as I do, they often think of it as a ‘worst-case scenario’. For me, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Having a package of support that meets my needs gives me the independence to live and work as I choose.…

I woke up this morning to feelings I haven’t experienced in almost three years. It’s the unique mix of tiredness, contentment, and relief that follows any largescale activity we’ve ever organised. Last night the Touretteshero team held our first big event since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.…

My social media timelines are currently full of posts about the Edinburgh Fringe. It hadn’t been on my radar until recently, because for a Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) artist like me, the risks of COVID are still significant, so watching or making theatre hasn’t yet felt safe.…