Roses are red, we like Becks Blue, Tryers to be Dryers push on through. 2019 will be our Valentine.

[Frouby]

Thread 4 for support, tips, tricks and friendship as we reduce our alcohol intake even more. For anyone who wants to reduce, stop, moderate or even just track their drinking.

Absolutely no judgement, just support. Everyone welcome.

Previous threads somewhere but am rubbish at clicky links.

Old tryers and new dryers, welcome to our thread. The one that starts in February and will see us all hit our goals as we move forwards.

Oh yes. Hipsterdom. We have a fair amount of that going on too. I like where I live because it's on the edge of three quite different neighbourhoods and I can do upper middle class bubble, proper urban grit or craft beer hipster depending on what mood takes me.

Oh and it's an interesting political hub. We Milliband does my park run, and Jeremy Corbyn is often in the park too (his constituency is just the other side of it). I keep hoping to witness some historic showdown.

Frouby Titchmarsh, I hope parents' evening goes ok. Bless your DS.

Flossie, I am so glad you had a good weekend away. You deserve it a thousand times over. xx

Canshop, I also saw that blasted thread (funny how many of us did!) I read it and felt like a great big depressive alcoholic failure. Then I tried to remember that it probably just brought out the Virtuous Crew (the thimbleful of sherry at Christmas types) and the In Denial Brigade (the ones who drink as much as I do, but tell themselves that it's far less, because one mahoosive G&T is only one unit. That sort of thing).

Not sure there's anything very middle class creative or hipsterish about where I live. Lots of doctors and lawyers and dentists and yummy mummies. Not quite sure how I fit in. A lot of people round here would be scared of creativity (and very scared of a Milliband or a Corbyn).

NC4, your yard sounds fab. Reminds me that I need to do something with my gardenette. It has been neglected due to there being so much to do with the house, and because the DC always seem to be around as their holidays never overlap.

Glad to hear news, Anglaise. You remain my inspiration!

Longest, I hope your day with DM doesn't knock you off the AF path...

Jeremy Corbyn loves my city. He reels it out as a model for other places to follow. We’ve got a massively socialist council which gets lots of column inches in the Guardian.
It’s funny, because it’s the last place you’d expect to find hipsters, and it’s still only small pockets, but it’s got its own groove going on.

That sounds rather fab, Longest. I think the only groove going on round here is otherwise known as a rut.

Hmm well I live in Momentum's own borough. Socialist utopia it is not (yet?).

I bore in about it because I’m really proud of where I live, but this is a great read which sums up where I am, and how we roll round here:

www.beer52.com/ferment/article/448/preston-beer-revival

You’re all Talking very deeply about society...and I’mJust sat her NEEDING WINE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Longest - I think you are right in not paying attention to other people’s habits. I’m always comparing myself and usually find myself wanting. I console myself with the thought that they probably have a vice of some sort but really what others do should not affect me at all!

Frouby - good luck with parents’ evening. It’s ridiculous to put any pressure on a 5 year old - they need to learn at their own pace.

Thanks for your kind words Anglaise. The dog walk certainly did help.

Dionysa - you are right about the other thread attacting the smug ‘only an inch of wine at a wedding’ One poster told the OP that on 20 units a week she must feel constantly squiffy! I think I’ll stick with this thread 😅

Bottle of AF wine chilling in fridge - going to have to get used to the taste of it again!!

Evening all

I live between Sheffield, Barnsley and Rotherham. I love where I live to be honest. We live on a new build estate, quite a big one that was built on reclaimed pit land. We have a nature reserve up the road, a lake down the road and run parallel to the trans pennine trail 2 minutes away.

It's a traditional labour area given the ex mining. With the odd UKip tosser thrown in but lots of hipsters, a micropub in the village and lots of real ale festivals. 2 miles down the road there is an old estate with a 'Big House' (Wentworth) and it's very rural olde worlde. Dd goes to school with dcs from farming stock, teachers dcs, a showbiz celebrities dd, dcs from the council estate and normal wc folk like us so it's pretty diverse.

I absolutely love it. We are urban in one direction and very rural in the other.

Not dry here. Woodchip Dave phoned earlier and we have been humping woodchip in the rain for 2 hours. I didn't get a photo of ds with his wheelbarrow as I forgot but I did get one with his rake.

Aw it sounds nice NC4. Did you grow up there too? It's actually not very far from where I grew up but I have shamefully never been.

I like where I live in many ways, though it's a bit love/hate like family, where I am allowed to slag it off but no one else is. I like the attitude of tolerance and acceptance, the cosy terraces and green spaces. I am less a fan of the air quality, crime, fly tipping and homelessness. I often think life almost anywhere else would be less stressful, but I feel more at home here than I ever did growing up and I am scared to turn my back on that, and to deprive my DC of the positive sides of it. I haven't even read that thread, but I have read many like it on different topics and it makes me scared of accidentally moving to a neighbourhood full of people like that - all curtain twitching and moral judgment, whereas I know where I stand with my benignly disinterested neighbours.

I am still full of cold which is taking the edge off my fancying wine. DH is feeling ill and depressed though, and is being irritable with the kids, which is killing the mood a bit and making me want to do something to lighten it. Not sure what the answer is though.

I have relatives in Sheffield Frouby, we might visit at Easter (I have yet to tell them this)

I want a cold, Longest, as it might deter me. As it is, I am having wine (half a bottle thus far) as DD is with her delightful father. She is fed up with me because... because... who knows. Because I exist, probably.

Fab photo, Frouby. Bless him.

I am a bit feeble about saying too much about where I live in case XH is reading (I strongly suspect he has done; I quizzed MNHQ and they were reasonably reassuring - but a poster with a name that could only be his, on threads that I was on, has now mysteriously vanished). However, I can say that I have lots of very lovely friends as a result of the school playgrounds here, and tend to avoid the ones who advise me to hire a nanny and a cleaner and have a spa day. Though if they are willing to pay for any of the above, I won't say no.

Lol Dion, I’d totally accept a cleaner and a spa day 😂

I grew up here but lived in Sheffield for three years when I was at uni and had a few years in Liverpool later. I always said I’d never come back because it was really quite shit, for quite a long time, but the last few years it’s turned a massive corner.

I’m dry tonight (Day 2), helped because I’ve promised DS a lift at 10pm.

Humping woodchip with Dave sounds like a Pulp lyric

Dion - id totally accept a nanny and a spa day too!!

It’s so lovely to hear about all of your roots. I live in a remote Cornish village. No shop. Just a little waterside bar that opens three days a week!! It’s 20 mins to civilisation. But I totally love it. I love the tranquility. I think where I live is the only tranquility that’s in my life so I grab every bit of it!! My view is of water..and it’s calming. Without it, I think I’d be sectioned!!

PMSL at 'humping wood chip with Dave'. Just turn Dave into Deborah, and it all makes sense.

Here, I am mightily pissed off to discover that Vermouth - the only thing remaining in my cupboard - is a mere 14%. What is the point? It will just make me fat after half a bottle of decent wine, and won't blot out my existence to any particular effect. FML.

NC4, I am going to start promising lifts to people. This might be the Way Forward. Not in the slightest bit dry now.

The particular acquaintance who said I needed all of the above also said I needed a stylist. She apparently has one. There are several remarks I could make at this point, but they are not entirely charitable, so I won't.

There is much to be said for returning to one's roots, especially post DC (I have, of course, failed to do this, because I am an Epic Failure).

Flossie - crossed posts!

Water is fabulously therapeutic. As is Cornwall in general. I am now imagining it all (I lived there for a while, for those who don't know). The lack of light pollution is just miraculous. We used to look at a sky that was completely empty, save for the stars. DS was a baby then. Gosh, what a long time ago that seems.

I know things are very difficult, but all your DC will thank you for having given them such a lovely place to be. x

I dunno. Where I grew up tickets many boxes on paper but I couldn't go back. I feel lumbering and self conscious there - it's WAG central and I have always been a mess. You have to keep on moving on. Perhaps to Flossie's Cornish idyll. I would love to live by the sea.

Ugh vermouth. My parents used to drink that. I can't stomach it. In fact I don't actually like many drinks. Beer and wine do it for me. Not much else. I hate gin.

Oh, longest. Sadly, Vermouth is the only thing I now have in my cupboard. I am being virtuous, and have not bought anything else. So am reduced to this crap. I might as well admit defeat and buy decent gin.

I couldn't go back to my roots, either. I had the chance, but chickened out. It felt like a retrograde step too far. I'm not sorry, however difficult things are now.

I’m a northern girl but moved down south many years ago. I live on the edge of the New Forest - it’s gorgeous and I love it here. Forest on our doorstep and only 15 minutes to beautiful beaches.

Flossie - I adore Cornwall and having a sea view would be amazing!

Flossie, some of my family is Cornish, I’m very fond of it there. I lived there for a while a long time ago. I'm glad you had such a great weekend.

Dionysa oh fgs at wankbastard reading your posts, tosser and cheeky bitch suggesting a stylist!

Nice to read all these fond posts about where people live.

I’m pleased that I’ve done day 1 AF, its a start. I bought wine today but have deliberately left it in the utility room rather than refrigerate it as I'm not tempted by warm wine.

I also hanker after a sea view. The new forest sounds lovely too though, I like Hotel Terravina there although havent been for a long time.

Ah frouby your ds is very sweet! It’s a nice age 🙂

I'm sorry I haven't been on here in a while !
I'm so sick of my drinking and the way it makes me feel everyday n how fat it's making me I'm doing something drastic to kick start me !
I'm doing the military diet starting today! Xx

Nikita welcome back
Good for you re the military diet. I’ve just googled it as had not heard of it before. Looks good. I can’t do any drastic diet due to being epileptic, but it’s prompted me to log back into MyFitnessPal. It had my weight in there from a few years back. My then normal weight was 2 stone off what I am now..and I was trying to get smaller!! I had to change my current and target weight..talk about a smack in the mouth!!

Dh’s and dd1’s birthday today!! So that’s only going one way isn’t it!!!!

Start tomorrow......