'Please allow me to introduce myself...'

Of the many things on my to-do list for 2015, a return to the blogosphere is among the simplest to begin and, I hope, maintain. My Livejournal account has lain untouched for at least five years and is best forgotten. The world has moved on since then and so, for a host of reasons, have I.

With a new year comes the next phase of adaptation to a new life, and with that a number of challenges and opportunities. These pages will chronicle my attempts to meet them all head on and serve as a record of my successes and failures. I anticipate plenty of both and look forward to learning from and building on them.

Many of the challenges I refer to would most likely not trouble those of you with functional lower limbs. For a thirtysomething man with cerebral palsy who's been chucked in the deep end and left with no choice but to swim, the daily business of being is a little more complex, but no less rewarding or surprising when I get it right. As a recovering perfectionist, I feel I'm at my best when I thrash out a detailed plan and stick to it. Life doesn't always offer the time or luxury to do that, and I sometimes find myself in situations where I have no option but to think on my feet and make it up as I go along. Both approaches have their merits (stay tuned for a lengthy ramble on the importance of co-operation between the logical left and intuitive right hemispheres of the brain), and the best results often come from a combination of the two.

The main reason for this blog's existence is to help its maker get back into a regular routine of putting words on the page. I was fortunate enough to hear the prolific and inspiring Kate Forsyth speak at the Clare Writers' Festival last November. She talked about the journals she's kept since childhood, and the vital role they played in fuelling her imagination throughout the twenty nine novels she's published so far. Methinks this southpawed scribbler could do a lot worse than follow her example and, in doing so, scoop more than a few stories out of my silly old head and get them onto paper. The subsequent journeys they will take to people's bookshelves or (gasp!) the screens of their e-readers will be far from straightforward, but that's what makes them worthwhile.

Between re-wiring my brain and keeping tabs on all I'd like to achieve in the years ahead, there will also be space here for impassioned rants about the books I like to read, the films and television series I like to watch and the music that's been a soundtrack to my life ever since I can remember. If you know me well, this will come as no surprise. If you don't, strap yourself in and hold tight :).

Also expect a fair bit of stream-of-consciousness waffle about life, the universe and everything. No blog of mine would be complete without it. If we've met in person, you'll know how easy it is to divert me onto such subjects. If not, consider yourselves warned.