A Picture of 2021
![A colourful digitally drawn image made up of a circle divided into twelve equal slices. The months of the year are written around the outside. January is in the bottom left corner and includes a drawing of David, a smiling black man with one arm slightly raised in an open gesture. Stars stretch out from his hand towards the centre of the circle alongside his name. The start of 2021 was extremely difficult because we lost our friend and colleague David to Covid. Losing David has echoed through the year, but thankfully we were able to come together and celebrate his life in September. February sits above January on the circle. On a background of deep purple, bold lettering spells out YADP, which stands for the Young Artists Development Programme, a pilot programme we launched in February that commissioned ten young disabled artists to explore an idea – you can read about the projects in our guest posts section. This was one of the many our Solidarity Worker Katie brought together. March is bright bule and is the month of PIF, our Practical Intervention Fund, which provided small items for 55 people to improve their individual or family wellbeing. The image shows off some of things we funded: sensory toys, noise cancelling headphones, trampolines and adaptive cutlery as well as weighted blankets and massage mats. For April I drew a red-faced Boris Johnson, flanked by Union Jacks, with a speech bubble coming out of his mouth that reads “Blah, blah, blah, lie, lie, wash your hands”, which to me sums up his leadership. While April saw COVID restrictions begin to lift, for me this wasn’t the case and my life has continued to be very limited in many ways. May’s segment is the cover of The Right Way To Rock a book by children’s author Nat Amoore. I was a sensitivity reader for this story and I loved supporting Nat to craft a joyful authentic character with Tourettes who’s right at the heart of a great adventure. The cover shows a child with a guitar rocking out. June has a bright green background on which is one of the four designs for our Solidarity Stickers which launched that month. The sticker features a blue cloud with a rainbow arcing above it and the text reads: ‘There’s more than one Touretteshero’. July saw the end of the Touretteshero Delivery Service – a small scale delivery round we’d been running across London since the start of the pandemic. We used the Touretteshero van to deliver food to disabled and chronically ill people and elders who were experiencing access and or financial barriers to food and other essentials. There’s a drawing of the van laden with food. The real van doesn’t have wings, but my drawing of it does! August shares a tiny bit of an image I created for a mural to celebrate the Paralympics. You can find the full image and audio description here. The text reads “Together We Rise”, which sums up how I’ve felt about Disability Culture and solidarity this year. September’s slice has a rich yellow background, the logo for our Future Scribers project squiggles across it with a white pen jutting out at jaunty angle. Future Scribers was a creative collaboration between us, our live scriber Amber Anderson, and six disabled illustrators, to explore live scribing – the art of creating visual records of conversations and ideas. In October I got a new power wheel that attaches to the front of my chair. It’s given me new freedoms despite the continuing need to shield from COVID. The image shows me in my bright blue wheelchair with the neat electric wheel attached to the front. I am clearly very pleased with it! In November a process that had started in January and taken up a lot of energy finally came to a successful end when my social care support at home transferred to an NHS personal health budget. This is represented in the image by two interconnected hands which are stretched into the air in mutual support and solidarity. For December I’ve used an early version of the snow globe image that became our Christmas Card. The globe is held up by love, which is represented by hundreds of bright red hearts. Above it, snowflakes made from lateral flow tests float towards the centre of the circle. This is to acknowledge the continued impact that COVID is having on all our lives.](https://www.touretteshero.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/2021-Drawing-286x300.jpg?x60583)
It’s New Year’s Eve, a time when we take stock of the year that’s been and look ahead to the next. Usually, I write a post about everything that’s happened, but this year I decided to represent it as a drawing instead.…
It’s New Year’s Eve, a time when we take stock of the year that’s been and look ahead to the next. Usually, I write a post about everything that’s happened, but this year I decided to represent it as a drawing instead.…
Almost every year since starting Touretteshero we’ve made a funny Christmas video. My favourites include this animation and this royal message. Last year we kept things simple and shared a heartfelt message of solidarity.
When it came to writing this year’s message, I just wanted to say what was on mind – the unchecked COVID-19 infections and the reality that those of us with additional risk factors are being left behind.…
After careful consideration and following some in-depth conversations with the Southbank Centre, we have made the decision to postpone our Summer Reunion weekend which was due to take place from Friday 30 July – Sunday 1 August.
We are deeply concerned about the rising number of COVID cases up and down the country.…
Today is International Wheelchair Day – to me this is like Valentine’s Day, but for wheelchair users and their chairs.
It’s almost ten years since my tics began having a significant impact on my mobility. I’d had an unusual walk for a long time but over the course of 2011 my mobility went from being unpredictable but functional to dangerous and extremely hard work.…
The last year’s been a difficult one for everyone – but it’s presented some particular challenges for disabled people. Here at Touretteshero, the COVID-19 pandemic’s meant we’ve been focusing on providing direct support for our communities, in particular disabled Londoners, and also people with Tourettes and associated conditions across the UK.…
In February last year, we celebrated Touretteshero’s 10th birthday with a big party in Battersea Arts Centre’s Grand Hall. The place was packed with the love and laughter of those who’ve helped us transform Touretteshero from an idea into an organisation with a mission to change the world.…
I woke up this morning, opened my blind and wished the lamp-post a Happy New Year!
Chatting to the lamp-post has been a part of my daily routine ever since I moved into the castle, almost ten years ago. I have no idea why my tics settled on the lamp-post as the recipient of so much attention but our surreal conversations have given me a lot of joy.…
Since we started Touretteshero ten years ago we’ve traditionally shared a funny festive video each year. You can watch the classics here.
This year, though, we wanted to do things slightly differently. Rather than create a playful video aimed at everyone, this year’s message is one made with love and solidarity for disabled people, those who are sick, our elders and our allies.…
A few weeks ago, I drew a treasure map for my niece Bean. It was a way of playing with her, creating memories and feeling connected without getting too close or breaking any lockdown rules. I created some for other children too.…
For me, Tourettes means I have strong oppositional impulses – the automatic urge to do exactly the opposite of what I want to do. This is why I shout ‘I’m over here’ during games of hide and seek,’ why I shout ‘bomb’ in airports, and why 400 Australians in a theatre knew Fat Sister was pregnant before our mum did.…
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