I’m saying, “I love cats” a lot at the moment – I mean a ridiculous amount. Every few minutes I announce my adoration of felines, and it’s driving me crazy.

The thing is if I’m honest, I’m not that fussed about cats.…

I’m on a train on the way back from Cardiff. I was performing there yesterday at the Unity, an amazing inclusive arts festival. I’ll write about it in more detail soon, but not going to be the subject of today’s post.…

Back In March eight young creatives with Tourettes from across the country came together for Idea Amplifier a weekend workshop at the Camden Roundhouse in London. They had a mighty task ahead of them – to devise, script and shoot a short film on a subject of their choice.…

A couple of days ago one of my tics took me aback and made me laugh with surprise:

“Scotch egg castle and the exasperated carrot.”

It wasn’t the content of the tic that made me chuckle but the fact that I pronounced ‘castle’ and ‘exasperated’ with a short ‘a’.…

I watched a video last night that made me squeal with delight.

I’ve no idea why, but I find penguins extremely exciting – the mere mention of them ignites my tics. The word ‘penguin’ features a lot in this video even though it isn’t really about penguins at all – it’s about the amazing response of a leopard seal to finding a wildlife photographer (a helpless human) in the ocean.…

I’ve just re-read the post I wrote on New Year’s Eve exactly a year ago and it reminded me what a decidedly rocky start I’d had to 2014. On Boxing Day last year the muscles in my hands unexpectedly and very suddenly seized up.…

I’ve finished work for a bit and at last I’ve got time to attend to all those little jobs that’ve been building up over the last few weeks.

I’ve done a load of filing, pumped up the tyres on my wheelchair and re-organised the bathroom cupboard, and the castle’s had a festive clean.…

I’m sitting on my bed to write this post. To my right I can see the garden bathed in wintry sun. To my left is my wheelchair with the remnants of the fake snow from our Christmas video-shoot last month still clinging to its upholstery.…

I have a long Word document in which I write this blog. I often make notes for future posts and move ideas and dates about in it. For the last week the words 80-Year-Old Stella have been sitting there in bold type waiting for me to find the time to write the post.…

I don’t expect you need me to remind you that Christmas is nearly upon us, but in case my daily #festiveoutburst hasn’t jogged your memory, let me spell it out — there are only 18 days to go until Christmas Day!…