When Leftwing Idiot and I were on our way home from Jamie’s studio in May, where we’d been recording my tics so they could be made into the Touretteshero Theme, we got chatting to a man on the bus about Tourettes and whether the tics could be turned into music.…

A letter arrived this morning to say that I’ve been awarded Disability Living Allowance. DLA is a benefit that helps cover the additional costs of having a disability. I’ll get a backdated payment from when I applied in April and I’ve worked out that this pretty much matches what I’ve spent since then on things to limit the impact of the tics, like gloves and plastic cutlery.…

I’m sporting a new motor tic that’s pretty subtle compared with some of the other movements I make. This new tic involves my wrist suddenly flicking back and up a number of times. This looks a bit like a hyperactive cousin of the royal wave.

I’m always interested in how children react to and understand my tics. I’m very aware when explaining Tourettes that I need to be clear and accurate without worrying or confusing them. This afternoon at work, I spent a lot of time playing with a boy of about three who was visiting the project with his mum and siblings.…

About a month ago I watched a documentary called ‘My Street’. It’s a Cutting Edge film by Sue Bourne about the street in London where she lives and the other people who live there too. One of Sue’s neighbours, Adam, had Tourettes.…

“How do you spell ‘Squirrel’?”

“How do you spell ‘Shot in the bum’?”

The day started badly when I was told to get off a bus for swearing. This particularly upset me because it’s my birthday and I was late for a lunch date with my mum. The day got better as it wore on and ended with a party in a local pub.…

I’m very used to talking to children about my tics and why they happen. Explaining to the children at work is usually straightforward. But there’s another group of children who I don’t know anywhere near as well. These are the children who live in my area and see me coming and going from the lair while they’re playing out.…

I had a captive audience this morning while I travelled to a training session at rush hour. When I reached London Bridge station the staff had closed the barriers to control the flow of passengers to the platforms below. This meant that I spent an uncomfortable fifteen minutes in a big crowd who were all trying to find out who was shouting, “Squirrel.”

Leftwing Idiot and I were hanging out at his flat this evening. The window next to us was open to allow what little breeze there was into the room. I suddenly found myself trying to post my phone out of the window.…