Tonight I went to see Shakira at the O2 Arena with Laura, Emma and her sister Lucy. The venue has a policy of removing the tops from all bottles inside the venue. They do this to make them less likely to hurt someone if they get thrown.…

I’ve been relaxing after yesterday’s event and the many hectic weeks of planning that led up to it. The party’s left me feeling exceptionally happy and I’ve been reflecting on the many fantastic things that happened and the great conversations I had.…

I’ve mentioned a number of times before how I’m not very good at keeping secrets, and how this often means I tell people what they’re getting as gifts long before it’s time to give them.

Today the problem’s got even worse because Poppy’s told me what she’s got Leftwing Idiot for Christmas.…

9:00am – Fat Sister and I are heading back to London. While we’re getting ready she tells me that when she woke up this morning I was ticcing in my sleep, saying the usual things but more gently. This makes me laugh because it’s exactly what Leftwing Idiot described a while ago.…

7:30am – Fat sister comes and wakes me up. I have 30 minutes to get ready to leave for a Hen Do in Manchester.

8:00am – We’re off. I’d warned Fat Sister I’d be struggling on the icy pavements and would need her help.…

The pavements are very slippery with all the compacted snow we’ve been having, and this makes it difficult for me to get about because of my tics. There were no cabs either, so I worked from home. I did venture out this evening on the short walk to Leftwing Idiot’s.…

It’s the first of December and the countdown to Christmas has begun, so naturally I’m thinking about Easter. The reason for this is that today is the day Leftwing Idiot’s 4.5kg Easter egg reaches its ‘sell by’ date.

The egg appeared a couple of years ago in a petrol station in Peckham just as the recession was kicking in.…

This evening I asked Leftwing Idiot to pass me a pen. He didn’t think I’d be able to make my hand take it from him safely, and asked me repeatedly, “Are you sure you’re ready to take this?” I said that I was.…

About a month ago I mentioned that I’d started Christmas shopping and was worried about letting slip what I’d got for people.

With just a month to go I’d been doing really well. But then at lunchtime Leftwing Idiot asked me what I wanted for Christmas, and before I had a chance to answer I ticced, “I’ve bought you Big Foot.”…

I was late meeting a volunteer at work this evening so I didn’t think twice about taking my normal route through the park. But it was very dark and quiet and I felt a bit freaked out, so I called Laura.…