An alcohol-free life

Hello again, dear friends, and a very happy New Year to you! Well, as I said in my last post, I owe you an explanation for not having posted for so long – it was because I wasn’t well at all, in fact I was very ill.

For years now, I’d been having too much cider, too much wine, and latterly too many whisky sodas; my liver didn’t give me any signs of illness, though, and I hardly ever got drunk, so I thought I was all right. Until the rest of my body started malfunctioning… Before and during our summer holiday, I felt rather weak, my bones were aching and I couldn’t walk very far; also, chronic diarrhoea and occasional vomiting set in. I could guess, of course, what was the reason for that, and so I decided after the holidays to cut down drastically on my alcohol consumption.

And then my body really went haywire: I hardly had the strength to get up and walk to the toilet, my appetite was gone, my legs and my belly started swelling – and then I collapsed and was taken to the hospital where I was put on oxygen and a salt drip, and as the doctors told me in their usual tactful way, I had cirrhosis of the liver and for a while it was touch and go.

They held me in hospital for almost three weeks, and I can assure you, dear friends, an NHS hospital is HELL. Yes, the nurses tried hard, but the place, like all state hospitals, is hopelessly understaffed and chaos reigns, let alone the noise and permanent bright light that keeps you from getting any sleep. Most of all, though, I was so depressed to be away from my dearest darling husband for so long, except for the short visiting hours – all I wanted was to be home with him again…

At last they released me, of course with the strict orders never to touch a drop of alcohol again – no need to stress that, I wasn’t going to, I was just glad I was still alive. It took some time, though, to recover: I had to learn to walk again, I could hardly sleep with all the pains in my body, and I had to go back there to have more fluid removed from my belly with a needle. But with the loving care of my darling Ian, I got over all that and started to enjoy my new life – my appetite was coming back, I remembered my love for Coca-Cola and lemonade, I enjoyed our chats and our TV evenings, and my Mum was coming to visit too! We had a great time together, she cooked us scrumptious and very nutritious meals, and when she left three weeks later I almost felt healthy again.

Despite the fact that now another one of my eye infections was setting in, which sent me back to the hospital (as an outpatient this time, thank goodness) on a weekly basis, I really started enjoying my new life – we celebrated Halloween as always, with brand-new sheets, fancy dress, movies, popcorn and lots of fun,

and then it was time to prepare for Christmas, and after years and years at last I got around to practice my keyboard playing again!

We had a lovely, romantic Christmas, just the two of us, complete with duck and of course lots of Coke and ginger ale.

But then came the time for my big day of the year: New Year’s Eve. And who doesn’t think of champagne and cocktails immediately in connection with that great end-of-the-year party? Mixing cocktails and long drinks has always been a hobby of mine, and it’s almost impossible to imagine a New Year’s Eve without it. But then, you don’t have to, as I soon realised when I looked at the alternatives for alcoholic drinks: a whole culture has developed around the art of mixing alcohol free mocktails!

There are loads of books with recipes, and of course the internet is full of them as well – simply google ‘alcohol-free drinks’, and a whole world of stylishly named mocktails will come up, from classics like the Shirley Temple and the Roy Rogers to modern inventions like the lava flow! And, of course, as well as specially made alcohol free wines, beers and spirits, you can use a lot of 0% alcohol ingredients you know from mixing with alcohol as well: colas, lemonades, juices, and the good old deliciously sweet grenadine.

So, we actually had the best New Year’s Eve party ever, without a drop of alcohol – lots of fun and music, confetti bombs and paper streamers, a brand-new dress, a brand-new year, and a brand-new life!

Of course I’m not telling you all to stop drinking, dear friends; a lot of people, like my darling Ian, are perfectly capable of controlling their alcohol intake, enjoying responsibly as they say. But if you feel you should do something about it before you end up in hospital like I did – how about giving it a try, you’ll see it’s not as difficult as you perhaps fear, especially if you consult some self-help books or even a counsellor, and living without booze is much more fun than you think! And I must say that, except for my horrendous arthritis (which is, of course, also party a result of too much drink), I physically feel much better and fitter now as well; I’ve even taken up chair yoga and pajama pilates to get back into shape!

We’ve also started going to the pub again – sure, why not? All pubs offer a wide range of alcohol free drinks, from fizzy to juice to coffee and tea, so not drinking doesn’t mean you can’t meet your friends and neighbours!

Well, those are my news and my thoughts for the New Year, dear friends – with or without drink, have a wonderful, happy and most of all healthy 2025!