Since Poppy moved out a week ago I’ve been living on my own. The pluses to this are that my night support workers now have a proper bed and some private space, and I have more space generally, which has made moving around a bit easier.…

This is my fourth year writing this blog, and right from the start one subject’s been notably absent – romance. There’s a lot of love – the love and care of my family and friends runs through pretty much every post.…

Tomorrow evening Bruce Willis will be taking to the big screen for the fifth time as maverick ‘Die Hard’ cop John McClane. John always finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time – at which point everything around him tends to blow up.…

The other day I wrote about the amazing time I’d had on Saturday night. What I didn’t mention was how frustrating it’d been getting ready. I don’t wear make up most of the time, but I wanted to put a bit on to go out dancing.…

I spent much of yesterday sitting on my bed, not because I was tired but because I was home alone. Poppy’s moved out and it was my first day living by myself. Whenever I’m at home on my own I always stay in one soft place and don’t move around, so that if I have a ‘ticcing fit’ I’m as safe as possible.…

It’s 3:30am. I’m sitting in bed, and while my ears are buzzing my mind is calm. I’ve just got in from a dance, and though it’s late I’m nowhere near ready to sleep. I feel compelled to write about tonight, just as I felt driven to dance by bashment tunes.…

Until last night I’d never been frightened of aubergines. Now though, just hearing the word sends a shiver down my spine. So what’s changed?

Last night Poppy and I went out for dinner and on the way home I started having a ‘ticcing fit’.…

It’s unusual for me to be able to talk during a ‘ticcing fit’ let alone come out with any complex vocal tics. But on rare occasions a stream of elaborate tics on an apparently random subject will ensue.

Tonight at Leftwing Idiot’s I started to fit, and out of the blue I started ticcing about the importance of chutney in the lives of sheepdogs.…

I’ve described how my tics tend to overreact during tense or exciting moments in films. While this is often funny it does make for quite a hair-raising experience for whoever’s watching with me.

This evening Poppy and I watched a particularly gripping episode of period costume drama, Downton Abbey.…

I went to work on Saturday so I’ve got today off to make up for it, but because it’s Monday and everybody’s at work or busy, finding someone to support me has proved problematic, especially because I can’t afford to pay someone from an agency for a full day.…