At the start of December I took part in a showcase of work by artists who’d been supported by the Unlimited programme. It was at the Toynbee Studios and we performed our show Backstage In Biscuit Land which was funded by their research and development award.…

I went swimming the other day with my friend and support worker Zoë. We were gliding along next to each other, chatting as we swam.

All of a sudden I ticced “I had sex with a cat.” Zoë turned towards me and said excitedly, ‘Really?’…

“Your mother was a testicle,
Your father was a bear,
Between them they had a lot of flowing facial hair.”

“Electrical testicle, tearing up the night,
Glowing brighter than a lamp-post in a knight’s 10-denier tights.”

“Imagine playing Tetris with the testis of an ant,
a soundscape made of rhinos and Satsumas for a glove.”

In yesterday’s post, I mentioned a rocky ‘ticcing fit’ I’d had that morning which had involved Kyle giving Will, who was supporting me, a hand. This was because my body was moving with such force I was shifting furniture about, knocking plants over and otherwise re-arranging the foyer of our office.…

I had a really rocky ‘ticcing fit’ earlier today. Will was supporting me, and my work friend Kyle came to help as well. As the fit drew to a close and my speech returned so did my vocal tics (in a confessional mood):

“I haven’t fucked anything today or yesterday, except:”

“A door”
“A horse”
“Strip lighting”
“Some cabling”
“Kettering”
and
“Tenerife’s bins.”…

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.…

We arrived in Scotland as the sun was setting. The snowy mountains we could see from the plane were mesmerising, with pools of bright light on seemingly untouched snow contrasting with patches of dark dense forest. From above, paths cutting confidently through the trees looked easily accessible.…

My friend Zoë’s been one of my support workers for over two years. We know each other really well and I feel happy and safe when I’m with her. I often affectionately call her ‘Zo-bags’ and earlier today this name took on a new meaning.…

At the beginning of last month we launched a competition to find the most popular of my tics. I’ve already got some established favourites myself like, “Replace every chimney in London with a penguin” and “I love it when a bear comes together.”…

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.…