Old Fashioned
My living memory would probably take me back to the age of five so I guess that it’s a slight exaggeration but you get the idea. When I was around six my brother and I found Mum & Dad’s collection of miniatures which we decided to sample and get into trouble doing so but that was the exception rather than the rule and would not be repeated for a good few years.
Since I was about 15 years old I’ve been a drinker, not an alcoholic, not even a regular drinker but I’ve certainly seen a few binges in my time. Sure in the late 80’s (when I was 15 or 16 years old) I indulged in some “Old Country” cider from the off licence and since then I’ve drunk a few types of beers. The only shorts I’ve had, and I’m talking about spirit measures not those hideous blue things I wore on sports days, was a “Red Witch”, a blend of Pernod, Vodka, Blackcurrant Cordial and cider on my 20th birthday and then a Famous Grouse on my wedding day. That’s the truth, I’ve not had any other spirits ever, not even in nightclubs when I tended to move onto lemonade or bottled lager.
Black Velvet
In recent years I’ve mostly stayed on Guinness due to it’s fairly consistent quality, bottled lager when it’s been hot or the odd pint of Bitter. That’s it, I don’t drink cider, I don’t drink wine, spirits, liqueurs, shots or any other sorts of alcoholic beverages you’d care to mention. Boring, I know, but since the Red Witch incident on my 20th birthday and losing a few hours vomiting on my feet in the Park Lane nightclub toilets I’ve not really felt like sampling everything that row of optics offers.
In 2013 I was drinking as per usual, no increase or decrease in the pattern from previous years but at the end of that year I decided I was going to challenge myself to a year with no alcohol, none at all. To my mind it was either none at all or not worth bothering with.
Fuzzy Navel
This challenge is slightly better than the 2011 challenge to harvest my own belly button fluff for twelve months to see how much was actually produced, that’s a story for another blog post if anyone is interested. I stuck to that challenge for the whole year and thought that I could do the no drinking thing easily. For those interested in the challenge for 2012, that was to do an open mic appearance with my guitar and sing too. That didn’t come about due to being a yellow belly. (that mean’s chicken, not referring back to the navel lint stuff)
So on the 31st December 2013 I was to have my last beer for twelve months, it was a can of Guinness poorly poured into a Guinness glass and was the preparation for New Years Eve. After midnight, and for the remainder of 2014 I had not another drop.
Mickey Slim
No real reason other than the afore mentioned challenge. Obviously there would be other benefits like not having a hangover, losing weight and being able to drive everywhere.
There were a few people who suggested that I do it for sponsorship and make some money for a charity and if I’d been a raging alcoholic who’d decided to stop for a year then yes I can see the challenge, but I wasn’t a big drinker before. I also feel awkward asking people for sponsorship more than once or twice a year too. No, this was more for my benefit than anyone else.
Woo Woo
Did I lose weight? Nope, if anything my weight has gone up (which leads onto my 2015 challenge) so this lack of lager, Guinness and bitter had no huge effect. I also put down some of my weight gain to soft drinks that substituted the alcoholic beverages and a serious lack of exercise due to not unicycling or mountain biking throughout the year.
Did I drive everywhere? Yep, I didn’t have to pay for a single taxi all year. When I went out to the pub shooting bell target or out with mates or colleagues I was always able to drive home safe in the knowledge that I wasn’t putting anyone’s life in danger. (Not that I drink-drove before)
Also a good thing for the ability to drive worry free is that I get calls from my parents, who are both disabled, at all sorts of hours and in the past I’ve struggled to get to their house to help them out as I’d had a drink in the evening prior to the call.
Hangovers? Nope, I never lost any days due to vomiting and massive headaches. Usually a night out drinking on a Friday would inevitably mean that Saturday would be a complete washout and that my family wouldn’t see me until I arose late in the day, still looking grey and feeling rubbish. The Sunday would also have been marred by this “illness”, these weekends were not missed by me or my family.
As a result, when I did go out I could have a few lemonades/orange squash/Becks Blue and still feel tip top the day after. This is probably the biggest benefit I found of the whole experiment.
Cost Benefit? Not exactly quantified but I think there was a definite saving made in not buying two boxes of cans or 5 bottles of Spitfire because they were on special offer in the supermarket every time I went in there. Prior to 2014 I would see one of these offers and think it to be worth a punt, then sit there in an evening and have a can or bottle. I didn’t need a drink, I might have well been drinking water for the enjoyment I got out of it, then off out to buy some more beer.
Even when I was out in a pub or club the drinks were much cheaper than if I’d been drinking beers. A pint of beer probably costs between £3 and £3.50 in town where a pint of lemonade or coke/pepsi was around £2.50-£3.00. I know that this price for the soft drinks is actually extortionate considering the ingredients but it’s still cheaper. When I stopped drinking the lemonade and coke regularly and moved onto orange squash with tap water the prices fell further, although still overpriced, I was getting a pint of squash for free or up to £1.
Other benefits? After a drink or two I tend to snore really loudly when I’m in bed and while I know I’ve not stopped making the atrocious noise whilst asleep I feel that there has been less and it’s been less disruptive to my better half.
Enjoying my evenings more was also a huge win as I tend to get more sensible as I get more drunk. Not to the point of paranoia, violence or anywhere near but definitely concerned about my own behaviour and that of people around me. As a result of that lost time when I was 20 I don’t like not being in control so after a few drinks I make sure that no-one is getting into trouble, pushing their luck with bouncers, or how I’m going to get home safely. This need to be in control inhibits me later on in the evening whereas when I’m not drinking I don’t have an issue with control as I know I’m relatively safe and have a good giggle. People who know me might sometimes think I’m not inhibited enough when I’ve been out and remained sober.
Last Word
So as we go into the new year 2015, will I have a sherbet or two? Probably not. I think that stopping the evenings of casual drinking or binge drinking at the weekends will only benefit me and my family in the long run. I’ve seen first hand what alcohol can do to people and families and wouldn’t want to wish it on anyone else, and while I know that you can drink in moderation without any negative impact on health and welfare I feel that it doesn’t make much difference if I’m drinking Vimto cordial, orange squash, non-alcoholic, beer, lager or stout when I’m socialising, if anything the fruity drinks probably taste nicer than the beers. As you’re drinking your next pint of beer ask yourself if it really tastes as lush as you think or would a J2O taste just as nice?
It’s not difficult for me to ask for orange squash in a pub now as I’ve got used to it, I don’t get embarrassed or feel the need to explain the purpose of such soft behaviour. After all, there must be millions of people who can’t drink due to allergies, recovering alcoholics or designated drivers that don’t need to justify their reasons and don’t get quizzed by the bar staff.
I shall abstain from alcohol for the foreseeable future, but I reserve the right to a pint when I feel like one. I just wonder how long I can go on without a beer, now I’ve done a year I think I can do it for a lot longer.
You’ll be pleased to know though that I didn’t continue with the navel lint collection, that was just a little bit weird…
If you’ve any questions about the contents of this post, feel free to comment and I’ll get back to you.
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