This year will be my second Xmas since I kicked the booze – and I seem to remember last year wasn’t entirely without struggle. I didn’t cave in and drink, but I had a few near-misses due to being at a family wedding between Xmas and New Year. I was still relatively fresh off the beertrain (toot toot), and my brother was getting married on a huge old posh estate in North Yorkshire. This was an awesome event not only because I got to witness my bro marrying the love of his life – but also because it was my first time seeing my family since I moved down south(ish) a few months prior. Also, there were family members and friends there that I’d not seen in YEARS. It was time for celebrating, partying, and catching-up with old acquaintances. This kind of socialising comes naturally to me after a few beers – but there I was talking to loud, brash, confident uncles – trying to stutter my way through the reasons that I only wanted a diet coke, please. Continue reading →