Seedlip

2 Comments

Last week I received some samples of Seedlip, which is described on their website as so:

Seedlip is a range of the world’s first distilled non-alcoholic spirits based on the distilled non-alcoholic remedies from The Art of Distillation written in 1651 and now re-purposed to pioneer a new category of drinks to solve the ‘what to drink when you’re not drinking dilemma’.

Back in my drinking days I could have never imagined anything more pointless than alcohol-free versions of classically alcoholic drinks, however I changed my tune on becoming sober, and these days I genuinely enjoy a chilled alcohol-free beer of an evening, and sometimes even alcohol-free wine is alright with a nice meal or whatever. These are drinks that taste nice though, and I don’t recall spirits ever being something I enjoyed the taste of – they just afforded me a quicker route to Spangledville. Maybe, for that reason, I’m not the right person to be reviewing an alcohol-free spirit. It’s probably like asking my dad to review an Insane Clown Posse album. It’s never going to be a glowing review. Continue reading →

Vodkaman – West Yorkshire’s Worst Superhero

7 Comments

A lot of years ago, probably fifteen or so, a mate and I were pre-gaming back at my rented house in Huddersfield ahead of a night out at the town’s premier drinking holes. I lived on my own at that point so having mates around for booze and loud music was a common thing. On that particular night I vaguely remember we were smashing down strong glasses of vodka and coke, whilst listening to Coal Chamber or some other late 90s mosher tuneage.

Continue reading →

Simon Pegg Made Me Punch Cinderella’s Carriage

Leave a comment

Well, sort of. I played a gig a few years back down on the south coast of England. Or was it Wales? I don’t remember the name of the place, but it was when I was living up in Huddersfield and I remember the journey taking six or seven hours. It was in that fuzzy phase at the height of Petrol Bastard‘s hardcore gigging and drinking career – which meant that most weekends found us in a different city, and every weekend found me drunk off my bonce – gig or no gig. Continue reading →

Sobriety Isn’t All Unicorns & Glittery Rainbow Farts

1 Comment

I’m aware that my blog is sometimes sickeningly positive, and even though sobriety has given me a second chance at life – just like life in general: there can be bad times. I’m really keen to keep all of the experiences I write about as unfiltered and as true-to-life as possible, so on that note – here is a little story about what happened to me this weekend, and about how being sober can sometimes (but hardly ever) be the problem rather than the solution. Continue reading →

Boomtown Fair

1 Comment

I found out last week that my ridiculous techno-punk band Petrol Bastard has got a slot at this year’s Boomtown Fair, which is a huge music and arts festival held every year near Winchester, and attended by around 60,000 people. This is very cool – but also brings mixed feelings. Oh the fun I’d be having at Boomtown if I was still drinking… Continue reading →

That Time I Shat Myself In Huddersfield

4 Comments

When you have a drinking problem, you don’t just have a couple of drinks and then stop. That’s kind of what a drinking problem is. This means that whatever your choice of drink is – you are going to drink it in a substantial quantity. Anything taken in huge quantities – even healthy stuff like fruit – is going to have some sort of effect on your stomach. This seems to be especially true with pints of beer – whenever else would you even consider drinking 10 pints of the exact same liquid?? The effects are unlikely to be good. I found this out the hard way.

Continue reading →

Huel

3 Comments

Today’s blog isn’t directly about quitting drinking – although it does sit comfortably in the “something I wouldn’t have bothered trying if I was still drinking” category….

Huel was introduced to me by my band mate Ben (see here for my blog about my musical movements). Whilst my focus for the last year or so has been on losing a bit of weight and getting fit, Ben has been focusing on getting heavier. He’s a pretty hefty lad these days, especially compared to the skinny bastard I first met 10 years ago, but for him it’s not about the image – it’s about how much he can lift in the gym. His target daily calorie intake is around 6000 calories – and using Huel is a good way of controlling this intake, whether you’re looking to gain weight or lose weight. You use a calculator to workout how much you need to maintain / lose / increase your weight. Ben used Huel to increase calorie intake by drinking it between proper meals (and daily ENTIRE jars of peanut butter). His parps are rank. Incidentally he’s now stopped using Huel, as he’s found other options for quicker gains. Continue reading →

Worried You Might Have An Alcohol Problem? Take The Test…

5 Comments

You can spend hours online researching differing views on what defines an alcoholic. This fact alone shows just how muddy the water is. Alcohol affects each of us differently – some people can develop a problem whilst drinking comparably low volumes of booze, whilst others may drink 2 or 3 times that volume and never have a reason to feel concerned. Body mass and gender also play a role, as does mental well being, social standing, and genetics. I think I even read somewhere that people with blue eyes are more pre-disposed to alcoholism! Continue reading →