When I was having lunch just now, I ticced and stabbed myself in the tit with a fork. I’m so pleased I always use plastic cutlery – it would’ve been infinitely more painful and embarrassing if I didn’t.

It’s not clear at this stage what another four years of Barak Obama’s presidency means for the US or the rest of the world, but it’s reasonable to assume that it’ll be better than four years of Romney. From this side of the pond it feels like Obama’s the lesser of two evils – people living in fear of drone strikes in Pakistan might disagree – so I for one am breathing a sigh of relief.…

If my tics get over-excited about anything, it’s lists. I don’t know what it is about them, but given the slightest opportunity to reel off an array of thoughts and ideas, my tics take over and chaos ensues.

This can cause trouble when I’m genuinely trying to make a list of things at work or to give directions to someone, but for me, it’s one of the most hilarious and unexpected features of having Tourettes.…

I frequently lose my speech when I have a ‘ticcing fit’, and when this happens I usually communicate by blinking – one blink for ‘Yes’, two blinks for ‘No’ and multiple blinks for ‘Ask a different question.’ It’s not a brilliantly reliable method of communication given how much I tic-blink anyway.…

Every day I tweet a new verbal tic on Twitter, and every day I end up spending far too long deciding which one to choose. Fortunately my mischievous friend @ticbot doesn’t suffer from the same indecision as me.

Trying to make my outburst specific to the day is always a lengthy task and it’s one Leftwing Idiot finds quite irritating whenever he’s with me when I’m choosing.…

For reasons best known to my unusual neurology, every time I hear my phone beep to tell me I’ve got a new message I automatically say, “Fuck a sheep!”

Having Tourettes is an unpredictable business, and tics come and go, getting better or worse over time.…

Back in July I spent several days with a charming Australian film crew for a piece they were doing about Tourettes. Doing things for TV can be quite daunting, but the Channel 7 team were friendly, relaxed and happy to share the funny side of my tics.…

Anyone who’s spent any time with Poppy when she’s reading a newspaper knows how much she enjoys reading out horoscopes to anyone who’ll listen. Yesterday was Leftwing Idiot’s turn and he was complaining about the quality of the prediction for him.…

Over the last few years as my tics have become increasingly obvious to other people, I’ve found myself on the receiving end of a lot of well-meaning advice about what I should do to help myself. Suggestions have ranged from taking various illegal substances to sniffing shoes, via experimental dentistry and acupuncture.…

A few weeks ago I got a tweet from Casey B saying:

‘Love the blog, and the whole TH package. It is a shame there is no audio of the lamppost tics. 🙂 Take care.’
@caseybcyberloss 16th September 2012

So the other evening, after successfully catching my most recent spontaneous musical outburst, Leftwing Idiot kept the recorder on so we could share this touching, if slightly one sided, conversation between myself and the lamp-post outside my window as I drifted off to sleep.…