24 years of boozing…

So, no blog about kicking the booze is complete without ‘the drinking story’ post so here is mine.

I didn’t grow up in a drinking environment in fact far from it, my Dad would drink perhaps once a month at the local pub quiz and my mum would have one small wine most evenings. However from my very first experience of booze I knew it was the thing for me. I also knew I drank differently to most people I knew.

I don’t remember the first time I tried alcohol but I do remember the first time I got pissed. I was 15 and a couple of mates and I had just played a gig at a barbecue at the primary school my mum taught at (god knows what we played, I’m sure the standard must have been mediocre at best!!). When we finished we thought it would be a great idea to buy a couple of bottles of really cheap cider to celebrate. Fast forward a couple of hours, my dad came to pick us up. I was so drunk I couldn’t talk and my mate tried to get out of my dads car before it had stopped and had his foot run over!! I then woke up in the middle of the night in a bed full of vomit… being a good intentioned lad I decided I’d better sort it out so ripped the sheet off sending the cold sick all over my room (my mum later told me she had to clean it of the ceiling!!).

Until heading off to music college age at 18 my habits of drinking and smoking weed gradually increased. Even at this age I knew that I was different, I could not just have one. If I had a pint I would have to keep drinking and usually drinking quickly until I was battered.

I moved to Manchester at 18 to study music it was here where I discovered just how ingrained boozing is in the music industry. I also realised that I was good at playing really hard and still getting up to work hard. As I started to work professionally at the end of my fourth year I realised I was a pretty good fit for the industry I was moving into. I remember my first professional work was depping with a ballet orchestra. The first day was two shows, I turned up an hour early to conscientiously look through the part but instead was taken straight to the pub for a couple of pints! First show over it was time for dinner, this was a curry with numerous pints and bottles of wine shared between the section. Then back into the pit for the second show not forgetting the quick one in the interval. This was probably a 10 pint day. Now, work is not always like this but it’s certainly not unusual. Not great for someone who has no alcohol off switch!!!

Since then nothing much has really changed, I’ve had several drinks pretty much everyday for the last 20 years with a few periods of abstinence. These tend to be linked to some kind running event. I’ve realised if you say you’re running a marathon this gives you excellent cover for not drinking for 3 months!!

My plan is to tell people I’m having a year off booze. This is a bit of a lie because in my head I’m stopping for good. (I’ll explain at a later date why I can’t really just tell everyone I’ve quit for good).

So 80 days in and everything is great. In fact it’s better than great!

If anyone is reading this, thank! It would be great to hear from you in the comments section.