Shortly before my emergency pacemaker operation at the end of March, I had a meeting with a couple of my colleagues to talk about what should happen to our company if I didn’t survive the procedure. This conversation was a lot to take on at that time, specially as it came so soon after Liz’s death, but it felt necessary, and the result was a set of principles that I hoped would ensure that the spirit of what we’d created remained healthy and strong if I didn’t make it.…

Fifteen years ago, I co-founded Touretteshero as a creative response to the increasing impact that my tics were having on my life. I also started writing this blog. Over the years I’ve tackled some tricky topics, both personal and political. I’ve found the words to describe my changing mobility, reflect on the impact of increasing pain, talk about the emotional impact of hate crime and most recently, detail the risky heart surgery I had in March.…

Content Warning: Description of death and hate crimes

Fifteen years ago when I tentatively started writing this blog, unsure of what I had to say or how I wanted to say it, there were a handful of people whose gentle support, tireless encouragement, interest and love gave me the confidence to keep going and to write about complex, nuanced experiences with care and honesty.…

The current Government won the election and took office on the 5th July. On the same day, the new Health Secretary declared the NHS to be ‘broken’. He said it faced the biggest crisis in its history and could not be fixed overnight.…

Tourettes is a surreal condition to live with – anything can become a tic, including stuff I’m not even conscious of knowing. For example, I had no idea that Keith Duffy is allergic to peanuts or what a marmoset is until my tics started talking about them.…

In April 2023 Touretteshero became an Arts Council England (ACE) National Portfolio Organisation (NPO). This means we get funding for the next few years to support our creative activities. It also means we’re able to grow our team, making loads of exciting projects possible.…

I’ve never written an online dating profile. I did start one once but found the mix of expectation, self-promotion, and the pressure to be funny overwhelming. So, I abandoned the idea. But I’m also finding writing this post, which has some similar qualities, quite daunting.…

So that’s another year done! In just a few hours we’ll say goodbye to 2023 and welcome in the New Year. For the Touretteshero team, 2023’s been a year of contrasts. We’ve had incredible moments of joy, making and touring new work and becoming an Arts Council England (ACE) National Portfolio Organisation (NPO), and Biscuitland was nominated for a BAFTA!…

I’ve had a new tic for the last few weeks. It’s frequent and consistent and leading to lots of conversations, some intense, some interesting, and some challenging.

This new tic is: “Long live Palestine, long live Gaza.”

This is a tic.…

I’m tired, in a deep kind of way. On its own this might not seem noteworthy because I experience fatigue and energy-related barriers every day. But this tiredness is different because although my body is physically drained, my mind, heart and spirit are energised in new and joyful ways.…