Today started earlier than I’d have liked. It was 4:00am when I woke up having a ‘ticcing fit’. I was face down, in a sleeping bag, unable to move or make much noise. All I could manage was a weird little bark and I was fairly sure this wouldn’t be enough to wake Lottie, but fortunately after a few minutes she came to my rescue.…

Just over a week ago a new toothbrush arrived at the castle. This one didn’t belong to a new support worker – it was for me. And for a variety of reasons (excuses) it’s taken me a while to get round to using it.…

My support worker Sophie lives in Cuba for half the year, to escape the winter here, and comes home for the summer. This year her boyfriend Lazaro’s come with her. They’ve been staying at the castle for the last few days and it’s been lovely getting to know him.…

This morning I was sitting down minding my own business when an entire ticced poem suddenly burst out. I quickly pressed record on my phone and managed to capture this:

You’re cold, you’re wet, you’re dark,
You’re the end of a song and the beginning of a dream.…

A few weeks ago I wrote about a strange and repetitive version of Kumbaya my tics came up with. Well, they’ve been at it again, and this version’s a bit more – how can I way put it? – groiny!

Boing, boing, boing, my groin,
Boing, boing, boing.…

A few days ago an image turned up on wall of the castle that could very easily have been an illustration of a tic. It wasn’t though, and with King Russell prompting me like a royal Roy Walker from Catchphrase, I finally concluded it was very likely to be ‘Desert Island Dicks’.…

I’m not going to work this week, and I’m glad to say it’s not because I’m ill or checking myself into a day centre post-election! No, this week I’m at the Royal Court Theatre as part of a writing group, hanging out with some very talented poets, playwrights and performers, and learning from Mark Ravenhill, who wrote Shopping and Fucking and The Cut.…

Most of what I write about in this blog relates directly to my experience of life with Tourettes. Today though, I want to talk about something of a more spooky nature altogether. It’s about some mysterious goings on in my bathroom, and I’m hoping it won’t become a recurring theme in the blog!…

This evening a new vocal tic burst onto the scene and has carried on for several hours so far. The last time I remember a tic arriving in such a flurry was “hedgehog”, a few years ago. Any new vocal tics tend to creep in gradually, gently embedding themselves in my repertoire.…

I’m sure you’re probably all manifestoed out by now. The recent political events have been intense, and what happens now the campaigning circus has left town remains to be seen. Sadly I expect we’re all in for a very bumpy ride.…