Tourettes Awareness Challenge Day 10: Salford – Leeds – Sheffield – Wakefield – Bradford

Day 10: Salford – Leeds – Sheffield – Wakefield – Bradford We just can’t believe this is our last night. We have arrived in Preston after another busy and successful day, and tomorrow morning we shall be loading up the Tourettesmobile for the last time. We have really got into some smooth routines – Liz and Donna do Facebook, Twitter and most of the driving (though Jac did a lot today), Jac is photographer and blogger, and Eileen is the navigator and holder of the all-important yellow file with the details of where, when and who. Remember “Give us a P please Bob?” – Well it’s “Give us a P please Eileen” – P for Postcode for the satnav. This morning we started in Salford, where we were joined in the sunshine by Clare Woodall with Joe and Tilly and Jackie Blundell with Reece. While we were waiting for City Mayor Ian Stewart, we had a chance to catch up over a cuppa in the Members Room. We also had the opportunity of an in-depth chat with Councillor Margaret Morris, Assistant Mayor for Health & Wellbeing. Cllr Morris gave us some great pointers on ensuring that Tourettes is considered in both local health strategies and NHS commissioning.

The Mayor welcomed us all to Salford, and before the press photoshoot said a few words to thank us for making the Council think about Tourettes for the first time, and for providing good quality information for that purpose. He undertook to disseminate that information and to issue a press release. After hugs goodbye, we set off for Leeds, where, following a few turns around the frustrating one way system, we met Executive Board Member Councillor Adam Ogilvie on the steps of City Hall.

We were also joined for the remainder of the day by Joe Wallace. The local press had sent a photographer to take some shots to go with the Council’s press release, so we are hopeful that our short but sweet visit will appear in the paper. Cllr Ogilvie agreed to pass our information pack to the appropriate senior officers. Joe squeezed into the back of the Tourettesmobile with Liz and Donna – and we headed for Sheffield, where we were given special permission to park right in front of the Town Hall for half an hour. We managed to have a loo break (you may have seen photos on Facebook of Donna and Liz in the double ladies loo in Yates’s Wine Bar!) and grab a sandwich from Greggs before meeting in the rather grand Reception Hall with the Lord Mayor Vickie Priestley and Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families, Councillor Jackie Drayton . The Lord Mayor and Councillors from Sheffield were very keen to support us and ensure that our information pack is disseminated electronically. They also undertook to issue a press release with a photograph to the Sheffield media.

They were delighted to meet Joe and hear first-hand about living with Tourette Syndrome and some of the issues that local authorities need to consider. They were also horrified to discover as we were leaving after slightly more than half an hour’s discussions that the Tourettesmobile had been slapped with a parking fine outside the Town Hall – and said they’d sort it straight away. Thank you Sheffield … Next stop Wakefield. On Tuesday we had been saddened to learn from our contact in Wakefield that the Mayor had died very suddenly on Monday night. Our meeting with Cabinet Member Councillor Olivia Rowley and Director of Children’s Services Mr John Wilson was therefore appropriately low key.

We sat on comfortable chairs in County Hall Reception and talked through some of the challenges faced by people with TS. As it happened, we’d just had a call from our friend Paul in Northumberland, who has been tweeting and updating our blog for us every day during the Challenge. This afternoon Paul had attempted to go shopping but had had to return home after ten minutes because he was being followed in town by an idiot. A timely illustration of one of the major difficulties of community life for people with Tourettes. We were all delighted that Joe made a great contribution to the discussions and, without meaning this in any patronising way, we were very proud of his confidence and self-possession in the meeting. Our final stop of the day was in Bradford. The City Council had arranged to lower the bollards for us at the entrance to City Park, so we could park next to the Lord Mayor for an informal outdoor press conference and photo shoot.

We were delighted that three local reporters had turned up, and we were pleased to answer questions and pose for photographs with the Lord Mayor in front of the incredibly gothic old Town Hall. Despite the biting wind. We have been so fortunate with the weather over the last ten days – it has been sunny every day of the Challenge and we’ve not been caught once by rain – but now we can tell we’re “up North” and Autumn is here. We were joined in City Park by Joe’s Mum Lisa, and by Frances Tiller and her lovely daughter Emily. The Lord Mayor was dashing off to his next appointment, so we hopped back into the Tourettesmobile and left our last engagement of the day. Quick decision – let’s stay in Bradford for a curry!

Lisa, Joe and Joe’s dad Steve led the way to the International restaurant, where we enjoyed a lovely early evening meal and a chat. It did help to warm us up! After saying our goodbyes Liz drove us across the dark and windy moors – well, along the M62 anyway - into Lancashire, where we are overnighting. Tonight in the hotel we have been looking forward to home and back over the days of our Challenge. Tomorrow, the last day, we shall be driving due North, visiting the three cities of Preston, Lancaster and Carlisle before turning the Tourettesmobile East and heading home.

Tourettes Awareness Challenge Day 09: Derby – Stoke on Trent – Chester – Liverpool – Manchester

Day 09: Derby – Stoke on Trent – Chester – Liverpool – Manchester Well, we were up bright and early and raring to go again. Everyone has been asking us if we’re tired yet. We think it’s adrenaline that’s keeping us going, and great pleasure at the reception we are getting from the local authorities. First stop today was Derby. We stopped at Derby County’s football ground for a Greggs breakfast and Donna’s fix of Starbucks latte. Easy parking right next to the lovely old market square, and we crossed the road to the Town Hall to meet Cabinet Member Cllr Mark Tittley and Head of Comms Dal Guram.

Also joining us were a local reporter and photographer. Incredible timing as just as they arrived, a young man on a bike dressed in an Asda uniform rode past us laughing, swearing and yelling abuse, and then a group of workmen came past pointing and smirking. Unsurprisingly the reporter’s first question to Cllr Tittley was: “These ladies have been in the city for five minutes and have already been abused twice. Do you have any comments?” Tough one. But a great opportunity to raise awareness. Derby City Council had already issued a press release before our visit, and now had the chance to get the message out for a second time that Tourettes is no joke. Cllr Tittley apologised to us, but we explained that this was just a fraction of what many people with TS experience on a regular basis. Back to the car and off to Stoke. In the car Donna took the opportunity to ring the manager in Derby Asda, and we think that there may well be a staff awareness session taking place there sometime very soon. We were welcomed into the gorgeous Mayoral Parlour in Stoke on Trent by the Lord Mayor and her Consort who introduced themselves as Sheila and Barry.

They were genuinely interested in finding out more about TS, having done their homework, and said “Tell us what you need us to do.” So positive. They agreed to dissemination of the information pack and a press release for greater public awareness, and we left – with a little souvenir bag - after a quick drink, and hugs all round. With the strange experience of seeing a big Dalek in a field en route, we headed for Chester, once again in glorious sunshine. We have been so fortunate with the weather during this Challenge. It’s been amazing. In Chester the Lord Mayor was waiting for us in the Castle Car Park with Kathy Singleton, Head of Adult Services (Health & Disability) and Daphne Jones from Children & Young People’s Services.

And a photographer from the local newspaper. We enjoyed brief discussions with the Lord Mayor, who, resplendent in purple suit with matching purple hair, was off to another engagement soon afterwards – and a more detailed chat with the Cabinet Member and officers. The City Council’s press release had already been prepared in advanced, and so we look forward to yet more public awareness. Today we’ve been sent links to a range of websites and newspaper articles across the country following our visit – and we were particularly impressed with York’s full page feature on Sam Findlay. Well done Sam! We arrived in Liverpool slightly ahead of schedule, so there was time for a little shopping for essentials and a loo break. In the grand Town Hall reception room our visit was promoted on the electronic notice board, and soon the friendly and flamboyant Lord Mayor Gary came to greet us and give us a quick tour of the main rooms. We were delighted that Lisa, Neil and Josh Rudge and “Tick” Nick joined us for the tour and meeting.

We saw the Hillsborough clock – stopped at six minutes past three – and Eileen was sorry to have just a very quick glimpse of the extremely interesting room commemorating the thirteen and a half thousand from Liverpool Fallen in the Great War. The Lord Mayor offered us biscuits home made in the Town Hall, as he asked us all about Tourettes and how the City Council could do more. Photographs were taken for a press release. Rush hour, for us and everyone else, as we headed for Manchester’s enormous Town Hall – twin of the Palace of Westminster. We were late – almost half an hour – but the Lord Mayor had waited for us, as had Cabinet Member Cllr Khan and the Director of Children and Young People’s Services and Jane Lemon from the Press Office.

We had very useful discussions about potential action, and they agreed to follow up with dissemination of information to front-line staff, press release, and lots of sharing and tweeting on Facebook and Twitter.

We were very impressed with the Mayor’s chain of office and it’s 365 diamonds. Bling and a half. We also enjoyed our whistlestop tour of City Hall as we made our way to the loos. Apparently it was used as Westminster for filming of the Meryl Streep film about Margaret Thatcher, as well as many others. It was starting to get dark, and we made our way to the local hospital to visit our friend Georgie who is very unwell with her TS at the moment. Georgie bravely underwent Deep Brain Stimulation earlier this year, which sadly has not worked for her. It was lovely to be able to go and see her, and have an hour to chat and tell her our stories. Afterwards, too tired to go out for dinner, we made our way across the city to our hotel, where we ate lots of junk – pizza slices, cup-a-soup, biscuits etc – to keep body and soul together. And early to bed.

Tourettes Awareness Challenge Day 08: Wolverhampton – Lichfield – Birmingham – Coventry – Leicester – Nottingham

Day 08: Wolverhampton – Lichfield – Birmingham – Coventry – Leicester – Nottingham What a cracking day! In anticipation of problems keeping to schedule, we arrived early in Wolverhampton, parking the Tourettesmobile in our reserved spot in the Members Car Park. Our hosts ushered us to a meeting room, where we had time for a cuppa and a quick breakfast butty before Cllr Elias Mattu, Cabinet Member for Leisure & Communities, and Kathy Roper, Head of Commissioning, joined us at ten.

We had an excellent discussion, and Cllr Mattu and Kathy agreed not only to disseminate our information to City Council staff and to issue a press release about our visit, but also to ensure that on June 7th next year the City will mark European Tourettes Awareness Day. We were delighted. We all enjoyed our debate about commissioning of services for people with complex and multiple conditions, and we felt we’d really got the message across about Tourettes. On the way back to the Nissan, we had a photoshoot in front of the statue of Lady Wulfrun, after whom Wolverhampton is named. You learn something new every day. We were all excited about going to Lichfield for quite a few reasons. As well as meeting the Mayor in his Parlour in Donegal House, we were to be joined by Julie Collier from Tourettes Action and by Tourettes family Tracey and Dominic Barkhouse and new baby Ashleigh.

The Mayor told us that Lichfield was the home town of famous Touretter and author of the first dictionary, Dr Samuel Johnson. We had a very interesting chat with the Mayor, who is also a District Councillor. He undertook to issue a press release and photograph about our visit, and also asked if it would be possible for a meeting of the District Council to receive a presentation about Tourettes. Once again, genuine interest and a commitment to take action. Fantastic. After taking turns holding baby Ashleigh, hugs all round, and a photoshoot, we left Lichfield reluctantly, and with City pins from the Mayor – and some very welcome sandwiches from Julie. On to Birmingham. Following a Groundhog Day-style run around the City’s one-way system (bad Satnav lady!), we finally made it into Victoria Square, where the City Council had kindly reserved a space for us. Once again we were meeting friends. Catherine Mosey and Hannah Prentice were in the Square waiting and waving when we arrived, and after a refreshing cuppa in the office, we met with Dr Adrian Phillips, Director of Public Health, Cllr Steve Bedser, Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, and Stephen Hughes, Chief Executive.

A top turnout from Birmingham, and we were made to feel very welcome indeed. The Birmingham Post had also sent out a photographer, and the Council’s Media Team Leader was on hand to ensure that everything went smoothly. Hannah, who has TS, is already known to the City Council for making a difference to the lives of people in the City with disabilities, and she had a long chat with Cllr Bedser. Catherine squeezed into the Tourettesmobile with us on the short drive to Coventry, where we were met by Cllr Steve Thomas, Chair of Health Scrutiny, Darrenn O’Shaunnessey, the Communications Manager and Carol Shanley.

The Council representatives were really pleased to meet us and especially keen to talk further to Catherine, and to have the information about the West Midlands Support Group in the Information Pack.

In Birmingham the photographer had got Liz to perch on top of a concrete ball, and the rest of us to pose around her. In Coventry the Telegraph photographer went on better and got us to climb along an old mossy wall opposite the lovely Council House. Liz and Donna elegantly walked along like ballerinas. Jac crawled along the top like a rheumatic black cat, and Eileen did a kind of giant baby bum shuffle. The photo in the paper had better be good! Cllr Thomas was extremely upbeat about doing more for people with TS in Coventry, and between him and Carol they will ensure the information is passed to frontline services. The Council had reserved us a space in the lay-by right in front of the Council House, and after receiving a very welcome gift of fruit, which we scoffed immediately, Cllr Thomas removed the cone in front of our vehicle and waved us on our way to Leicester. Thank you Coventry! Once again in Leicester the Council had made life easy for us by allowing us to park on the pedestrian way right in front of the Town Hall.

The Lord Mayor, Cllr Mustafa Kamal (he’s heard it all before!) had arranged to come out of a meeting to welcome us and have a photoshoot on the Town Hall steps. What you can’t see on the photo is Donna holding his walking stick behind her back, and the lovely bag of cakes he brought for us. The photos will be going to the Leicester Mercury. A short, and very sweet (with icing sugar!) visit, and we were off to Nottingham. We had just been congratulating ourselves on sticking really well to our tight schedule, when we got snarled in the rush hour traffic. Our 5.30 meeting ended up starting at 6 pm, and we were really grateful that the Lord Mayor of Nottingham, Cllr Merlita Bryan, had waited for us, despite having another engagement. Her PA had stayed too – to ensure we all had a much-needed cuppa – and we were joined for another superb meeting by Cllr Alex Norris, Cabinet Member for Health & Wellbeing.

We were also delighted that Professor Georgina Jackson from Nottingham University had been able to come along. By the time we arrived, Prof Jackson had ensured that the Council representatives were fully briefed about Tourette Syndrome, Tourettes Action’s Big Lottery project, and all the work being trialled in schools in the Nottingham area. Great stuff. Cllr Norris agreed to liaise with services in the City to assess what can be done for people with TS, using the information we have provided, and to get back to Tourettes Action with details. Thank you Cllr Norris. As we were leaving the magnificent Council House, we were handed a note and a box of chocolates from the security guard. The note was from Ian and Rachel, Dylan’s mum and dad – to say sorry they had missed us. They had been waiting downstairs – not realising that we were upstairs all the time. We were so disappointed, but we hope they will be pleased with the results of the meeting. It was dark as we made our way on foot back to the car park, calling in at Poundland to replenish our sweetie pot in the car. Only the best for us you know! We were all tired but happy. Six cities and a very full day. And what a day. Full of great people, great discussions – and great hope.

Tourettes Awareness Challenge Day 7 : Gloucester – Oxford – Hereford – Worcester

Day 7: Gloucester – Oxford – Hereford – Worcester One week into our Challenge, and we were all well rested after a very comfortable night in the Holiday Inn, Gloucester. Throughout our travels, hotel staff have been really interested in what we are doing and in finding out more about Tourettes. We have discovered a number who know quite a lot already about the disorder. It’s been great. After lots of driving on Day 6, and in anticipation of a heavy day visiting six cities on Day 8, Day 7 was relatively relaxed, and the sunshine and pretty countryside made it even more so. We had a leisurely start, making a short hop into the city of Gloucester and our meeting point in front of the very ornate Cathedral.

Tourettes Action Trustee Peter Holmes joined us- with the greeting “You’re all mad!” and a big hug. After fifteen minutes hanging around the Cathedral Peter went in search of the Lord Mayor, but Cllr Chris Chatterton finally arrived at 10.20, and we had a nice chat and a quick photo shoot before an equally quick walk back to the Tourettesmobile where Peter waved us off on our journey to Oxford. En route Eileen had a phone call from Penhale Round Pub in Truro. “What have I left behind?” she thought. But in fact she had won a huge chocolate cake in the “Guess the weight of the cake” competition the pub were having. As it was in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital, of course we’d all had a go. A wee bit far to go back for it – though it would have been very welcome with a cuppa! – so Eileen donated it to the next child with disabilities coming into the pub.

Oxford City Council had made excellent arrangements for us to park conveniently next to the Town Hall, where Lord Mayor Dee Sinclair was waiting to meet us. We were also joined by Hayley, Richard, Spencer & Lewis, and Dave, Rebecca and Nathan – all local families affected by Tourettes.

Spencer is the star in the recent BBC Inside Out programme about TS. After an excellent meeting with the Lord Mayor, who undertook to disseminate information and issue a press release, we all trooped off to the nearest McDonalds for a bite to eat and a chat. Donna’s family from Oxford also joined us so we were a huge and noisy party. It was fantastic to meet everyone and catch up. After hugs all round and Liz ensuring that the children had autographed our book about Oxford that the Lord Mayor had given us, we drove across to Hereford near the Welsh border. The rolling countryside was superb in the sunshine, and we really enjoyed our visit to Aylstone Park, where we met Mayor Councillor Phil Edwards and his lovely Mayoress.

Councillor Edwards represents the City on the County Council too, so once again we have been guaranteed full dissemination of our Information Packs to staff on the front line, which is very pleasing. The Mayoral party saw us off with waves and thumbs up, as we all-too-soon headed back to Worcester.

We’ve never seen so many swans on a river! We met the Deputy Mayor Paul Denham and his wife, Deputy Mayoress Cllr Lynn Denham on the riverside walk by the Cathedral. Many locals were out enjoying the late afternoon sun – and clearly the swans were used to being very well fed. Mayor Denham gave us some excellent ideas about potential links with Worcester University – a great deal to chew over that evening. Speaking of chewing, discussions in the car on the way to our hotel in Bromsgrove were all about Sunday dinners and what we fancied to eat. On the way we passed another reminder of home – a sign saying “To The North”. That was it. We absolutely HAD to find a pub that served a full Sunday dinner. The Crown in Bromsgrove fitted the bill, and we enjoyed superb beef dinners – and four very delicious and fattening puddings. Clean plates all round. Aah! We were very satisfied indeed with Day 7 – in every possible way. Sunshine, scenery, supporters and Sunday dinners. We are well rested for our big day tomorrow in the large cities of the Midlands.

Tourettes Awareness Challenge . Day 6: Truro – Plymouth – Wells – Bath – Bristol

Day 6: Truro – Plymouth – Wells – Bath – Bristol What an amazing day. The sunshine we woke up to bright and early followed us from Truro up to Gloucester, and, from seaside to countryside, we have enjoyed beautiful scenery and warm welcomes.

To avoid the traffic congestion caused by city-centre roadworks the Mayor and Mayoress of Truro - Cllr John Tamblyn and Sharon Eustice - had thoughtfully suggested meeting at 8.30 am at the cathedral. We were delighted that both the Mayor and Mayoress had both been reading about our progress on our blog, and were keen to be part of our Tourettes Awareness Challenge. They undertook to issue a press release locally, and also liaise with Cornwall County Council, and health and voluntary sector partners to ensure that our information is shared as widely as possible in Truro and throughout the county. We had a great chat. After a quick peek inside the cathedral, and a little incidental awareness-raising, we hopped back into the Tourettesmobile and headed for Plymouth with Donna at the wheel. Soon we had wound our way along the tree-lined country roads of Cornwall and crossed the impressive Tamar Bridge into Devon and Plymouth. We met the Lord Mayor on Plymouth Hoe at Smeaton’s Tower. Only seaside-lover Eileen had known that this is not in fact a tower, but the original Eddystone Lighthouse, rebuilt onto the clifftop lawns, and an iconic symbol of Plymouth. And what an incredible vista.

The sun was shining on the bay, which was full of yachts and all kinds of pleasure craft. The Lord Mayor’s Mace Bearer, Steve, made us all laugh out loud when he lay full length on the wet grass to take the photographs to accompany the press release the Lord Mayor will be issuing on Monday. He also made Jac a happy lady by saying that she was just like Sarah Millican – who is fifteen years younger, three stones lighter and an awful lot richer than Mrs C. After a quick (and “not even a full cup” – quote Eileen) cuppa at Gary Rhodes’s place on the prom, we reluctantly left Plymouth, with Jac and Donna sharing the long drive to Wells. Wells is one of the smallest cities in our Challenge (maybe the smallest?). Set in the Somerset countryside, and with its historic buildings and quaint streets, it is also one of the most beautiful. The Mayor, Cllr Theo Butt Philip, had invited us to his home, the Old Vicarage.

We were delighted and honoured to be sitting talking Tourettes, cuppas in hand made by the Mayor himself, on the terrace in his garden. Eileen presented him with his Information Pack,

which he gladly agreed to disseminate, before we had to dash off to stay on schedule – and also to avoid getting sunburn in the blazing sunshine. Yes, really! And so to Bath, in heavy Saturday afternoon traffic. As well as the customary thousands of daytrippers, there was a children’s literary festival taking place in the City, so the city was very full. To avoid having to find parking, we had arranged a very quick photocall on the steps of the Guildhall.

Anneka Rice-style we pulled up in the loading bay and did what must have been the quickest photocall ever with the Chairman of Bath and NE Somerset Council, Cllr Neil Butters, and the Deputy Mayor Cllr Ian Gilchrist. Again, information will be disseminated within the authority and partnerships, a press release will be issued, and we look forward to reading all about it next week. Cllrs Butters and Gilchrist wished us well and waved us on our way.

Our last meeting of the day was in Bristol with Lord Mayor Cllr Faruk Choudhury and Rebeka Cross from the city’s Health Partnership. We were all also excited to be seeing friends Julie and Danny Ryall again, Jake’s mum and dad, who joined us outside City Hall on College Green.

The Lord Mayor was a little late, so it gave us time to catch up with Julie and Danny, and enjoy the surrounding scene, including the cathedral, and hot air balloons drifting in the sky. Students were wading in the fountain to retrieve their football. It seemed like July. Several times in the last week we have all guiltily said that sometimes this Challenge feels more like a holiday! Tonight we overnight in Gloucester, ready for our first meeting of the day tomorrow. This evening Liz and Donna had a PJ night in with a few beers and snacks from Sainsburys while Eileen and Jac visited Eileen’s cousin, who cooked a slap-up meal – and also very kindly washed and dried a dozen of our black Tourettes Action T-shirts and jeans. The Mayors of Lancaster and Carlisle will be relieved. We all got together before bed to have a look through today’s photographs, some of the fantastic press coverage we’ve seen tonight, and to talk about tomorrow’s schedule. We are buzzing. We can’t wait.

Tourettes Awareness Challenge Day 5 – Winchester – Salisbury – Exeter

Day 5 – Winchester – Salisbury – Exeter It’s hard to believe that this time next week we’ll be at home with our families. The time has just flown. We began today in the historic and extremely beautiful city of Winchester where the huge statue of King Alfred looks down the main street. We met our hosts from the City Council at the magnificent Guildhall, which has been preserved on the outside and tastefully converted into a modern conference centre and café on the inside.

We met Lorraine Ronan, Head of Health and Wellbeing, together with the authority’s Heads of Communications and Organizational Development. After the presentation of information and a quick photo shoot below King Alfred, we continued our meeting over delicious bacon butties and a cuppa, and Donna’s cousin and her daughter joined us. It was very hard to leave, as the Council representatives had such a thirst for information. After promises of a press release and digital dissemination, and hugs all round, we left for the nearby city of Salisbury. Julia from Salisbury was standing in the street waiting to direct us to our parking spot right in front of the Guildhall in the Square. We were greeted by the Mayor’s Consort, Councillor Brown, and the Clerk to the Council, as well as the photographer from the local newspaper – and just got inside the Guildhall before the heavens opened with heavy rain. We enjoyed excellent discussions, and were told of the Council’s intention not only to circulate the information digitally within the authority and to Partner organisations, but also the intention to discuss Tourettes at a forthcoming meeting of the Council. We were delighted – and also really pleased to get a look at the old wooden court in the Guildhall, where many found guilty were deported to the colonies or sentenced to death.

Liz drove us on to Exeter, where we met with the Lord Mayor Cllr Rachel Lions – a retired nurse who is quite familiar with Tourette Syndrome. Joining us in the Mayor’s meeting room were Louise Higginbottom and her son Elliott from the Exeter Tourettes Action Support Group, which is in its formative months. The Lord Mayor immediately undertook to circulate the information in the presentation pack, and also to issue a press release and photograph.

She also gave us a useful tip for further raising of both awareness and funds – for Tourettes Action Support Groups to contact their local authorities and request to be considered to become a beneficiary of the Mayoral Charity of the Year. After photographs beneath the Peace Tree in the Civic Centre gardens, we bid the Lord Mayor farewell, and went off for a quick bite of lunch in Exeter.

Everyone we met today from the Councils was extremely engaged about Tourettes, and we finished our appointments very heartened. Then we had our “incident of the day” when Liz was confronted by an angry man in a garage, who commented on her driving and – looking at her T-shirt – said he could tell she had Tourettes and shouldn’t be driving a car. Ahem! Red rag to a bull – and, although Liz tried – the poor guy was too far gone for an awareness-raising opportunity. Sadly, dyed-in-the-wool bigot. This evening we are in Truro – and are – geographically – half way through our Challenge. From our start in the North East, we have now reached the South West tip of England. From tomorrow we start working our way back up the western side of the country. Over our fish and chip supper tonight at the Brewers Fayre next door, we reflected on the overwhelming response we have received during the first half of our Challenge.

Day 4 Tourettes Awareness Challenge

Day 4 – Canterbury – Brighton – Chichester – Portsmouth – Southampton Another great day meeting interesting and interested decision-makers in cities along the South coast of England. We set off in bright sunshine from Rochester and the pretty boats on The Medway, with the Tourettesmobile appropriately blaring out Cher’s “not enough love and understanding”. We quickly arrived in the beautiful city of Canterbury.

Walking from the car to our meeting with the Lord Mayor we experienced our first abuse - from a group of young idiots who saw our T-shirts and started swearing and doing mock tics and laughing at their incredible wit. Many Touretters will have had to ensure this sort of abuse and worse all too often. Happily throughout the rest of today we were able to use this event as an example of a minority but still common attitude to Tourettes. You will also be pleased to know that the young men involved were put swiftly in their places by Liz and Donna. The Lord Mayor, and Lady Mayoress welcomed us in the historic Tower House, and were really keen to hear all about our mission. The Lord Mayor was genuinely keen to support us, and in the first instance undertook to spread awareness within the local authority – and also to ensure that a press release was issued after our visit to promote public understanding. Before leaving, with hugs all round, there was great excitement when we were allowed to touch some of the civic hardware. Donna posed with the very grand Mace, made of solid silver and gilt in 1681. As Jac drove out of Canterbury the rain began and stayed with us most of the way to Brighton. We were only able to manage a loo stop en route, but were still twenty minutes late to meet the Mayor of Brighton & Hove at the Indian Gate in the Royal Pavilion Gardens.

Mostly because we had to locate parking and leg it down to our appointment. The Mayor, Cllr Denise Cobb, was waiting for us with Director of Public Health Mr Alistair Hill, and we were delighted to be joined for the presentation and photographs by Eileen’s son Mark and grandson Jamie, and Donna’s cousin Dylan. After an all-too-brief visit, it was back into the car and time for a strategic decision. In liaison with Chichester we agreed that, being ten miles away we had “visited” Chichester. The Mayor, Cllr Alan Chaplin, wished us well, urged us to get cracking on to Portsmouth and to post the Information Pack to him – which he guaranteed to disseminate. Thank you Mayor Chaplin! So we were back on track to Portsmouth. We were amazed at some of the iconic buildings in the city, and were honoured to be meeting the Lord Mayor, Cllr Lynne Stagg on the steps in front of the magnificent Guildhall in the City Square.

More photographs, then Liz drove us through heavy traffic into Southampton for our last visit of the day. We met Cllr Dave Shields, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care, and Carol Valentine, Head of Personalisation and Safeguarding, in the Civic Centre, and had an excellent meeting. Cllr Shields is keen to work with neighbouring local authorities on trying to secure additional support for people with TS, and he did a few quick sums to try to work out the likely level of need for support in the City.

That got us into conversations about heredity and clusters, and once again it was hard to leave when we were really going places in our discussions. Eileen did point out afterwards that it’s always best to leave people wanting more … And so to bed. We all needed to rest and recover from a busy day – and so we did.