Labour’s Pincer Movement

A close up photo of the gates of Auschwitz concentration but edited to read 'Work Sets You Free' in English rather than German.

Is it just me or is it feeling a lot like the 1930s all of a sudden? I’m giving myself permission to ask big questions like this in part because I’m not working at the moment. The reason why I’m not doing the job I love is because of the sudden and unexpected cuts to my Access to Work support.…

A Career-Ending Decision?

A photo of Jess Thom, a white, wheelchair using woman looking into the camera with a serious expression. She is wearing a blue and green hoodie, black padded gloves and is pictured in from of a brick wall

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.…

A Change of Pace

A drawing by Jess Thom of a sky at dusk, a haze of blues and gentle pinks. An urban sky line of buildings, trees and a lamppost is just visible at the bottom of the image and the odd bird and cloud drifts past. White text across the image reads - a change of pace.

I started writing this last week, but before I could post it, a load of things happened much faster than expected, so this is an updated version of that draft.

I started by reflecting on something I’d been doing every morning and every evening, for a few weeks, only in the bathroom and only when I was on my own.…

Where My Heart’s At

A drawing of a cheerful, smiling cartoon heart in-front of a colourful network of swirling lines. In the foreground is a pacemaker and bundle of leads no longer needed due to lead-less pacemaker technology.

Content warning: Descriptions of medical procedures and internal anatomy

On Valentine’s Day I wrote about the health issues I’ve been experiencing since the start of the year. To recap, my pacemaker battery box has moved so it’s now in the wrong place, and the leads that run from the box to my heart are blocking a big vein and affecting my blood flow.…

Loving Liz

A photo of Liz, a white woman with short grey hair and light eyes, framed by glasses, she is smiling gently. She's wearing a blue top the colour of the sky on a early summer day.

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.…

Still Cripping The Library

A photo of a colourful stack of children's books, piled up on a wooden floor.

Over the weekend my 7-year-old niece Bean excitedly discussed her World Book Day costume with me. I laughed as my sister said there was absolutely no way Bean could get painted blue for school so she could go as a Nac Mac Feegle (which are characters from her current favourite Terry Pratchett books).…

The Added Complexity of Having a Wiggly Body

Content warning: Descriptions of medical procedures and internal anatomy

Today is Valentine’s Day so it seems appropriate to give you an update on the state of my heart. At the end of last month I wrote about some new and unexpected changes to my health that I’ve been experiencing recently.…

Launching Light Maps: The Next Chapter - Dr Will Renel

This image has a pale yellow background. In the centre large yellow texts reads ’Touretteshero Lights Maps Knowledge Exchange’. Around this text are hand drawn images and back text which show feedback from the event (e.g. ‘Colourful gradients are helpful').

Back in October 2023 I wrote about relaxed performance practice and the importance of developing tools and approaches that support audiences to access art, theatre and live performance. This is particularly relevant to how we communicate the sensory elements of shows – sound, and lighting, etc.…

Pacing Myself - A Health Update

A photo in which a sleeping, black cat takes up the majority of the image. Jess pears over his fluffy, curled up body, wearing a pink hoodie, her blue eyes & a sense of mischief just visible. Colourful, patterned bedding & a hospital style bed are just visible.

It’s a Sunday evening, I’m at home in bed, reflecting on a week that’s taken unexpected turn. Because these developments have implications for the weeks ahead, I’m writing this as an update for my friends, colleagues and collaborators, so you know what’s going on, and why things might need to shift at short notice.…

Young Artist Development Programme 2025 - Beyond Borders

A digital image with a bright orange background and splashes of colour, shapes and lines. Touretteshero's Young Artist Development Programme (YADP) logo is top left - blocky text with shooting stars coming from it. On the right is the logo for the Department of Wonder and Play zine - the other DWP and it is on an envelope, echoing the feel of a governmental department. Along the bottom of the image the title of this years zine sits boldly and proudly reading: Beyond Borders in big black text.

Last year we launched our first zine, The Department for Wonder and Play (the other DWP), as part of the Young Artists Development Programme (YADP). We’re very excited to announce that we’ll be producing volume 2 of the DWP Zine this year, entitled Beyond Borders.