We’re back at Battersea Arts Centre for another week, but not with Backstage In Biscuit Land. This time we’re here to work on the very early stages of a new project.

We’re in a room that I’ve not been in before.…

One of the central messages of Backstage In Biscuit Land is that making theatre inclusive makes it better. One example of this is how much a sign language interpreter can add to a show – in our case this is partly because my tics can’t help but involving them in the action.…

Late last night we got back to our hotel after an amazing performance of Backstage in Biscuit Land in Norwich, our biggest audience to date. I was seriously tired but happy too. Innes helped me get to bed and I fell asleep quickly.…

On my way home tonight I noticed something I hadn’t paid much attention to before: lamp-posts.

Obviously that doesn’t mean the lamp-post, the one I can see from my bedroom window, because I pay that one a lot of attention.

But a bit further down the road there’s a gaggle of four lamp-posts.…

Now we’re in December I can feel the world around me getting Christmassy. Poppy’s recently moved in with Leftwing Idiot and they’ve just put their tree up. My mum’s made me an incredible advent calendar which I’m enjoying each morning, and preparations are well under way at work for our big end-of-year party.…

It’s late, I’m exhausted, but I’m happy. Tonight Backstage In Biscuit Land opened at the Barbican’s Pit Theatre. The Barbican Centre has been part of my life since I was tiny. In fact I was born at Bart’s Hospital, which is pretty much in it’s it shadow.…

It’s just after 11pm, I’m sitting in bed, and the lamp-post I can see from my window is glowing warmly. I’m chatting to it periodically as I do most nights. Tonight, though, the conversation has particular significance:

“Lamp-post, were your ears burning as brightly as your bulb?”…

January’s a time for health kicks, but the mid-point of the month is often the moment when resolve starts to flag. This morning my tics were well aware of this when they started quizzing the lamp-post about its wellbeing:

“Lamp-post, have you been to the gym today?”…

When I looked out of my bedroom window earlier I was very surprised to see my old friend (and, sometimes, arch enemy, irritating neighbour or general scapegoat) the Lamp-post glowing faintly.

It was the middle of the day so I did a double take, puzzled as to why his light was on.…

For three years, from when I moved into the castle, I’ve been happily chatting to, advising and teasing the lamp-post I can see from my bedroom window. A year and a day ago I wrote a blog post reflecting on how reassuring I found it that I was still doing this.…