The first focus of my researches was the name ‘thyroid’, which comes from a particular style of ancient Grecian shield.

‘Pill’ is a consideration of the the pale pink carbimazole tablets i once took to calm my thyroid down. They were tiny, sweet things which left a dusty residue on the inside of the bottle, which I’d often lick from my fingers.

The pills are made from pink fondant, such as used in peppermint cremes. While my thyroid was at its absolute peak I pretty much existed on chocolate, sugar and sweets – and when I had it treated developed a taste for energy drinks.