Tag: alcoholics anonymous

Boomtown Fair

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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

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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.

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Stop Drinking, Become a Cliche

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I’ve ingested a metric fucktonne of information about quitting drinking. I’ve read blogs and books, I’ve watched documentaries and I’ve spoken to people. Throughout my research there appears to be two things that 75% of successful quitters do:

  1. They start running
  2. They start writing Continue reading →

Huel

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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…

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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 →

Vodka & VHS

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I’ve had a cool weekend of movies. On Friday night I finally saw Rogue One (holy shit it was basically a Star Wars junkie’s wet dream), then on Saturday we saw My Neighbour Totoro at Prince Charles Cinema in London’s Leicester Square – the undisputed greatest cinema I have ever been to (check out their amazing cult movie listings – https://princecharlescinema.com). On Sunday, after totally knackering myself with a 21k run, I had the flat to myself. I did what any proper bloke would do (no I didn’t have a wank you sadist) – I slammed on my favourite 80’s martial arts movie No Retreat No Surrender. Continue reading →

How To Grab 2017 By The Balls

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I didn’t touch a single drop of booze in 2016. It’s probably the first time I’ve done an entire year sober since about 1996 – and I have learned a LOT.

One of the biggest things I learned is that there is an immense amount of truth in the well known proverb ‘great oaks from little acorns grow’. Put simply – you just need to focus on making small changes. Over time these small changes will lead to big results, and it’s with this in mind that I reckon I can confidently offer the best goddamn advice I’ve ever felt able to impart. Tried and tested.

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Life Is A Shitty Pizza

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…or at least, life is a shitty pizza when you can’t control your drinking. When you stop drinking – life is a really awesome pizza.

I’m evidently not the best at coming up with analogies. Allow me to explain…

When you are a problem drinker, your life will always have a proportion of chaos. This chaos manifests itself as blackouts, missed appointments, problems at work, bad decisions, unnecessary arguments, bad relationships, and money worries. In a world of chaos you’re probably going to make a pretty shitty pizza. Your base will be a stupid shape, you’ll forget ingredients (you idiot), and you’ll probably get the passata all down your trousers. You’ll settle for bad quality toppings, like beans and processed ham from a packet. All of these small parts, pulled together in chaos, will finally produce a totally shitty pizza. Continue reading →