It’s been seven days; 168 hours (not that I’m counting, much) – and I can proudly confirm that no alcohol has touched my lips. I mean, really, it’s not a very long time, but I was fortunate (or, considering the result, unfortunate) enough to go along to the Rugby World Cup England vs Australia match on Saturday with some very kind people who provided a day’s worth of free champagne.
For anyone who’s been plied with the lure of free alcohol, it’s very difficult to turn down – especially when those around you suggest “Just have a bit and then do an extra day in November” – it’s fair enough, but as it was only day 3, I didn’t think I should break so quickly. Instead, I found a number of ways to make the ordeal less painful:
- Drink out of a fancy glass. As a new ‘thing’, a plastic bottle of champagne and plastic flutes can now be taken into the stands at Twickenham – not wanting to miss out on the whole experience, I took a champagne flute for myself, but filled it with Diet Coke. I was so engrossed while the match was on, I could honestly have been drinking anything…
- Don’t go for anything too sweet. We met for some food in a nearby pub before the match, where I stuck to lime & soda – it looks and tastes more ‘grown-up’ than a sugary soft drink, meaning you don’t feel like you’re missing out so much.
- Don’t let being sober cut your night short. There’s no reason why you can’t stay out late, just because everyone else is drunker than you are. Enjoy having silly slurry chats safe in the knowledge that you can blurt out pretty much any stupid thing you like, because it probably won’t be remembered.
- Remember the benefits. After a few hours on the fizz, few of my group looked like they were going to be up for much the following morning. But I woke up fog-free and went off to the gym…
Bring on the rest of the Go Sober challenge. You can find out more, and sponsor me (if the mood strikes) here – it’s all to raise money and awareness for Macmillan Cancer Support.
Take The Lunge 