I woke up this morning happy, relaxed, and quite tired. I’d got back to the castle very late last night having spent the evening in Cambridge. I was there because I’d been invited to give the 12th Annual Disability Lecture at St John’s College.…

I’ve tried really hard to not write this post. I’d planned originally to do it in time for the Oscars last weekend but I was laid low with a cold and didn’t have the energy or focus it would’ve needed. When I was better I told myself I’d missed the boat, that I was very busy, and that it’d take a lot of time and thought to get right – so I gave myself permission to forget about it.…

At the end of last week I wrote Access to Tears, a post describing how, after a long and upsetting process, Access to Work (AtW – the scheme that provides support for working disabled people) had decided not to fund the cost of my support worker’s flights and accommodation for a work trip to Canada, and that this meant I wouldn’t be able to take up this paid work.…

It was a relief to close my eyes and go to sleep last night – they were sore and tired from the tears I’d been shedding hours earlier.

This morning I’m in a reflective mood, determined to write about the circumstances that once again left me sitting at work with tears flooding down my cheeks while my non-disabled colleagues got on with what they were doing.…

The accessibility of buses has been in the press a lot recently because of the High Court case about wheelchair spaces and how much responsibility bus companies have for ensuring that wheelchair users always have first claim on them, ahead of people with buggies.…

Four years and 364 days ago I didn’t feel particularly strong or particularly good about myself. Every day for a long time I’d been fighting to ignore something that was very much a part of me, my Tourettes, and I was convinced that it was my own problem and not something I could share with anyone else.…

In the last couple of weeks I’ve been working on a big funding bid at work for our inclusion project. In the process I’ve looked at a lot of research by some great organisations and it got me thinking about all the fantastic groups and services that have helped me and the families I support.…

On Friday, Bunny, Fran, Jolie and I saw an incredible piece of theatre, Hopelessly Devoted, at the Roundhouse in Camden. The play, written by Kate Tempest, is moving, funny and thought-provoking. The characters are brilliantly drawn and the performances totally absorbing – I’m so glad I saw it.…

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.…

This week is Anti-bullying Week so it was very timely that an email popped up from Touretteshero supporter Courtney, proposing a guest blog about bullying. I’m going to hand over to Courtney now so she can share her thoughts and ideas on the subject.…