I’ve just got back from visiting Poppy in her lovely new house. She made a delicious dinner and while it was cooking we sat and chatted with her new housemates in their cosy kitchen.

As usual my tics were mostly about hedgehogs and biscuits, but they suddenly turned their attention to the plant that was sitting on the table.…

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.…

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.…

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.…

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.…

I spent much of yesterday sitting on my bed, not because I was tired but because I was home alone. Poppy’s moved out and it was my first day living by myself. Whenever I’m at home on my own I always stay in one soft place and don’t move around, so that if I have a ‘ticcing fit’ I’m as safe as possible.…

It’s 3:30am. I’m sitting in bed, and while my ears are buzzing my mind is calm. I’ve just got in from a dance, and though it’s late I’m nowhere near ready to sleep. I feel compelled to write about tonight, just as I felt driven to dance by bashment tunes.…