I've been asked (I'll admit only by one person but still) to pop up the transcript of my Spectrum Sinema performance from The Edinburgh Fringe last week - the actual gig was edited for timing reasons/my rambling ways so it was fairly short 'n' snappy which was unusual for me but it seemed to go down OK. I mean there were no walk-outs but I did make a man visibly uncomfortable with the sheer Autistic intensity of my love for the films of 1982. This has been a dream of mine for years if I'm honest. Which I always am obviously seeing as Autistics are incapable of lying. Probably. Anyway, rather than share the short 'live' presentation I've decided instead to post the current work in progress long version of it. You see I'm planning writing (or maybe even performing) the whole thing - and more - at some point so see this as a taster. Regular readers may recognize some bits from previous posts but you've got to start somewhere and if recycling jokes...

“Drawing a good figure doesn’t make you a good artist. I can name you ten men, right off the bat, who draw better than I do. But I don’t think their work gets as much response as mine. I can’t think of a better man to draw Dick Tracy than Chester Gould, who certainly is no match for Leonardo Da Vinci. But Chester Gould told the story of Dick Tracy. He told the story of Dick Tracy the way it should have been told. No other guy could have done it. It’s not in the draftsmanship, it’s in the man. Like I say, a tool is dead. A brush is a dead object. It’s in the man. If you want to do, you do it. If you think a man draws the type of hands that you want to draw, steal ‘em. Take those hands. The only thing I can say is: Caniff was my teacher, Alex Raymond was my teacher, even the guy who drew Toonerville Trolley was my teacher. Whatever he had stimulated me in some way. And I think that’s all you need. You need that stimulation. Stimulation to make you an individual. And the draftsmanship, h...

  As an aside (and for anyone interested) Paul Wady has invited me to do 'a wee turn' on the final day of his fantastic Edinburgh Festival show....so expect some cinematic eccentricities as I delve into the terrifying true tales of my sinematic spectrum life! By the way I am in no way at all nervous. No sir.  

 Just to lighten the mood a wee bit after the mentalism and madness of the last few weeks, here's wishing the Seventh Doctor himself - Sylvester McCoy - a happy 80th birthday!

  The Summer Special issue of Autitude is here ! (Illustrated & curated by me) this issue showcases the amazing work that has been sent in by our contributors throughout 2023.  Don't miss out, read and download this special edition here it's just what The Doctor ordered!  

  Well 3 days into the new term and I think I managed to upset the escort this morning (which is pretty good going for me). Taxi (according to official letter) is due between 8:00-8:30.   Arrives this morning at 9.   I jokingly say "I thought you'd forgotten us!" whilst smiling.   Escort (frowny/grumpy face) "I've had to travel from the other side of the city!"   Me taking this as a sign she made need help planning explains how when I was working in London (or nearer) I use timetables/watches/etc to assure I'm on time and how useful these skills/tools can be.   Luckily I was trying to have some humorous 'bants' instead of pointing out that transport rules only allow a 3 minute waiting time for the taxi, if you're over that it drives off and is cancelled and how I was confused that this rule about time-keeping doesn't go both ways or is maybe even a wee bit relaxed.   Only I did.   Sometimes I forget that non-Autistic folk struggle in soc...

The phrase Neurodivergent is trending on 'the Twitter' and it always confuses me.....I mean in this house 4 out of 5 of us are Autistic, so the Neurotypical member of the family is actually the Neurodivergent one.....  

    Been a really hard few days trying to process everything regarding that incident in Leeds this week where an Autistic teen was brutally (yes really) harassed and manhandled by the police for the heinous crime of being a wee bit tipsy and saying a police officer "looked like her lesbian nana" and how it feels as an Autistic parent. A group of children, including Autistic ones in a lovely Mental Deficiency Institution (1956).       Over 60 years since the first medical mention of Autism in the UK and here's where we are.  I really don't have the words, we're seen as absolutely nothing to the majority of folk.   Absolutely not a lesbian grandmother on Thursday.   Seriously it's fucking terrifying - A says she's a lesbian and gets really excited if she sees what she thinks is another lesbian when we're out as she feels like she's 'seen' or belongs... E does that (very Autistic) thing of calling everyone 'she' (me, Ro, Paul McCartne...

Autistic child speaks.  West Yorkshire police response: Hope you're proud of yourselves. 

Can't believe it's 6 years since the Glasgow refugee/asylum seekers installation was unveiled at the St Enoch Centre...   ...now thanks to the shortsightedness of Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Life and the Scottish Government, projects like this, the Glasgow City Mission 'Can You See Me?' and the Castlemilk Parish Men's Group project (among others) will cease to exist...   Fantastic community resources like The Open Museum and Glasgow Museums Resource Centre , organizations that have done more than anyone else in Glasgow to consistently deliver on the city councils 2018 promise to invest in Autism friendly activities and to make the museum environment a more inclusive place for everyone will be lost and all in the (short sighted) name of cost cutting. And it's not just from the viewpoint of an Autistic museum visitor - in a professional capacity The Open Museum is probably THE most Autistic aware/friendly organisation I've ever had the pleasure to work w...