I’m lying by the pool with the Spanish sun soaking into my body. Fran and I arrived in Mallorca yesterday and we’re here for a week of total rest – writing blog posts is the only work-related activity permitted and even that’s carefully supervised by Fran to make sure I don’t overdo it.…

A few weeks ago I went to speak at a National Trust event in Derby, which turned out to be a really interesting experience. Unexpectedly I also got to indulge one of my biggest passions – talking about wheelchairs.

The event was for National Trust employees from all over the UK.…

I’ve been in bed for about five minutes and my body’s just starting to relax, with my incredibly soft duvet wrapped around me. But just before I slid into bed I had an unexpectedly emotional moment.

I’d been feeling quite sore so I decided to have a bath before bed.…

The Internet’s full of distractions, from cute cat videos to nostalgic quizzes.

Last night I saw an alternative pain scale that made me laugh – someone had used works of art to replace the usual 1-10 of pain.

I liked this but despite being an artist myself I couldn’t fully relate to all the images, so I created my own alternative version… with stars of ‘80s and ‘90s cartoons!…

Last year Leftwing Idiot bought me some lavender spray to help me sleep.

My overnight support workers often spray some on my bed as I settle down to sleep and I often refer to them then as my Lavender Fairies.

Last night was a bad night for me – kept awake by pain I struggled to sleep.…

I studied drawing at art college and really got into mapping the world around me in various ways. I was particularly interested in how objects, people and spaces connect.

I’ve been in a lot of pain today so I’ve stayed in bed and taken it very easy.…

A few days ago I had a visit from my occupational therapist (OT) and a surveyor from my local Council. They’d come to discuss making my bathroom safer and more accessible.

The surveyor was late and while we waited I quizzed my OT about how other disabled people had made their kitchens more accessible.…

Because of the chronic pain I’m experiencing, which I’ve written about a lot recently, I’m under the care of my local pain clinic and my GP, and I’ve got a range of medications to help me manage the pain.

There are regular medications that I take every day and others that I only take when the pain’s really intense.…

It wouldn’t take a very detailed reading of this blog to discover that I haven’t been very well for the last few months. I’ve been adjusting to life with chronic pain, nausea and fatigue. It doesn’t sound like fun, and there’ve definitely been times when it’s felt miserable and lonely.…

My Gran loved all sorts of sayings, like, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water”, “Let the dog see the rabbit” or “A watched pot never boils.”

But she particularly loved sky-based sayings: “There’s enough blue sky to make a pair of sailor’s trousers” or “Red sky at night, shepherds’ delight, red sky in the morning, shepherds’ warning” (which I still consider a reliable weather forecast).…