The Brave Babes Battle Bus - Braving The Wine Witch & Her Alcohol Free Autumn

[Mouseface]

Hello

I’m Mouse one of the Brave Babes who ride on this wonderful Bus, called Gerald, along with all the Opal Fruits wrappers and of course Barry The squid.

We all have a wise variety of life experiences and experiences with alcohol too. We’re not admirers of hang overs and we certainly don’t do judgey pants!

We’re here to ride along with you, when life is pants but also when it’s not as well and you my want to celebrate that bit too much!

So find a seat and come take a ride. I’ll link the previous and also the very first link and the reason we’re all here.

*Mouse

God, I just read back. So many errors . I don’t actually love you clarice and flowers although I am sure you are very nice.....

I am SO nice, Beaches, honestly, whatever pseudonym I'm using! (Unless you work for EE or O2 - had spectacular raging meltdown trying to swap my kids' mobile phone contracts yesterday.) Went to work launch after frustrating day and honestly, despite weeks of abstinence which I found easy, I was so tempted once I'd actually had a drink to keep going until the bar was dry. Fortunately could only stay an hour and had to take DD and her friend to a concert which reined me in so had a couple of mouthfuls of champagne, a craft beer and a cider. But as we've discussed, it seems so unfair that weeks of good behaviour count for nothing when the party season approaches and it is back to square one . I almost wish they'd make it illegal like smoking in public, then I wouldn't have to navigate temptation!

Hey Hope - I so agree: it is so unfair that all our good behaviour counts for nothing. Totally with you on that. Shame it doesn't work the other way round and all our vices/bad behaviour don't matter either.

Spanna - any news? Hope you're ok, babe.

Waves to all. Disappears to make depressing green smoothie full of Virtuous Things which won't taste nearly as nice even as my mother's cooking sherry

Sorry, Hope meant to say - well done for stopping and for avoiding temptation. That is super impressive.

Competition for smock of smug is fierce! I cant compete at the moment am having a glass of wine in a very nice hotel up North after a day of meetings and some soldier ogling. Contemplating a second glass but it lrobably costs about £6 a glass in here..
Why is it that when I am out I can have a civilised glass or two no problem, but at home I can neck the whole bottle?

Competition for smock of smug is fierce! I cant compete at the moment am having a glass of wine in a very nice hotel up North after a day of meetings and some soldier ogling. Contemplating a second glass but it lrobably costs about £6 a glass in here..
Why is it that when I am out I can have a civilised glass or two no problem, but at home I can neck the whole bottle?

Ma your life sounds so glamorous, I quite fancy a bit of soldier ogling and a nice hotel. I agree that I am far more likely to drink more in the comfort of the sofa than when I am out - concerned about people thinking I drink too much probably. If only they knew

small I am not convinced about the virtuous green smoothie, keep imagining liquidized brussel sprouts sick face

hope I know you are nice lovely, super duper nice . Wouldn’t it be a different world if alcohol was banned like cigarettes, no adverts, hardly any tv appearances of drinking, no wine lists or bars. Temptation would definitely be reduced.

Thanks Small but ill-deserved praise as I challenge anyone to drink around my DD. She is extremely judgemental very sensible. I call her Saffy from Ab Fab. Which rather makes me Edina. Oh dear.

beaches my life has been hard graft and shit for years. Its only recently I feel ive got a job which finally has given me some fun and freedom...and I still go home to an old flat with a leaking roof and broken kitchen floor and a dh who has no desire to do anthing other than drink beer and watch football. My job is my escape from reality. Although I now have a 3 hour drive to Inverness cross country with snow forecast.....wish me luck

Safe journey ma I've just seen the weather warnings for Inverness.

I feel utterly shit today and, if I could go out and drink, I would.
This is my 24th day in here and, in that time, I have been outside for precisely 5 hours and then my leave was stopped after the wine incident and I have been back on 1-1 since last Friday when one of the sadist nurses said that he caught me trying to take an overdose which I absolutely wasn’t. This was the day after the ward round when I was told that the next step would be to have some leave at home during the day/evening so why the hell would I jeopardise that by taking an OD? And, if I was going to kill myself, I wouldn’t have returned to the ward, I would have just taken myself off somewhere.
I was then put on level 4 observation which, according to the ward policy, is for patients who are acutely actively suicidal or at high risk of absconding of which I am neither.
This seemed to be done for no other reason other than that I had an argument with the nurse who said that I took an overdose.
All the permanent staff who I generally get on with, believe me and are interpreting this arm’s length thing very loosely.
However, I have had agency nurses who take it completely literally and have obviously had it handed over to them that I’m a massively high suicide risk and have insisted on trying to come into the toilet with me and, last night, one them said that she had to sit right next to my bed when I was trying to sleep until one of the permanent staff had a quiet word with her and said that it was fine to ‘only’ sit right outside the door with the door open. Every time I get up and walk the 2 yards to the tea/coffee making area, my minder gets up and follows me even though they can see me perfectly well from where they are. I’ve had nearly a week of this now and it’s beginning to drive me insane. Sorry for TMI but I haven’t been able to ‘open my bowels’ for a week because the door has to be left ajar.
Quite a few of the nurses have been quite apologetic but keep telling me that only the Consultant can take me off the 1-1. She was here on Monday but didn’t have time to see me and then wasn’t here on Tuesday or Wednesday.
She is here today but in ward round all day but my primary nurse has said she will have a word with her and see if she can get me back a bit of privacy. This place is actively making me feel worse. I finished my detox 2 weeks ago. I have had no treatment about the alcohol since then. I literally spend the whole day going from my bedroom to the lounge and back, staring at the clock and counting the hours until bedtime.
My section expires in 12 days time. My keyworker from the drug and alcohol clinic is coming to the ward round tomorrow and I’m going to ask him to make a case that it would actually be far more useful to me to be given daily leave or discharged so that I can attend the clinic rather than pacing around like a caged animal and watching crap tv.
I have told DH that there is a ward round tomorrow and I will let him know the time.
DD has not responded to any of my completely innocuous texts eg asking how school’s going, telling her I miss her, asking if she wants to visit etc.
My mum phoned ‘D’H and asked if they could come up one evening and take the DC out for something to eat as they haven’t seen them for a while. ‘D’H replies that it wasn’t convenient and that the older 2 didn’t want to see them. My dad is really not well and his GC are his main pleasure in life.
He seems to be taking This scattergun approach - punishing me but happy to use the DC and my DPs as collateral damage.
I don’t think I’ve ever felt so angry in my life.
Or lonely.
Sorry, this is a very ‘me’ post but I feel so helpless and desperate right now.
I think about all of you on here a lot.

ma sweetheart, I didn’t mean to sound flippant. I know fron years of hopping on and off the bus that your life has been anything but easy. I genuinely couldn’t be happier for you that you have found a decent job where you get some fun and freedom, it has been hard won and well deserved. Safe journey on the roads x

misshoolie my heart breaks for you dealing with everything at the moment. You sound like a caged lioness. This intense attention must be so suffocating, and to be so cut off. You ARE dealing with it though and this time WILL pass, (easy for me to say I know). The fact that you have not drunk is a triumph. Thing of you and sending strength

thinking not thing

mshoolie sending you every warm, loving and compassionate thought. It seems so wrong and uncaring for you to be treated like that. I hope your key worker can help you and advocate on your behalf.

You are probably in our thoughts as much as we are in yours.

Hi Babes
Appeal failed, dive bombed, they upheld everything, they only admitted that it took a little longer than expectedI'm gutted to say the least. I know I've got a strong case for constructive dismissal but I just don't have money saved to enable me to resign immediately to go down this route- having to prove it all, the waiting game and with Christmas around the corner. It's made me feel helpless, I so don't want to be here. My manager played a good interview lied through her teeth which I knew she would. The minutes at my appeal missed out bits that they said and I said - quite relevant bits
Sorry I've been awol just couldn't face posting. Had my tears, now I'm angry. Went for interview yesterday which went really well (only interviewed 5 out of nearly 100) but if I get the job I will have to tell them and they're not likely to offer me the job after that. Just sad

MsHoolies sending you hugs lovely X

spanna, so sorry, I've been in a similar situation in the past and it's shit.
mshoolies, you really are going through hell.
to you both, and to all the babes.

On week 5 of my AF weekdays, it's surprisingly easy so far (can't get complacent) even though 'D'H is trying to persuade me to drink every night. I may try to confuse him by being AF tomorrow too.

Spanna gutted for you, what a fuckity fuck of an outcome. sending lots of love flower x

spanna I’ve gone back and had a quick browse through your posts and I’m genuinely gutted for you. Life can be so unfair

Hey everyone, I'm better touch wood and thank gawd!

Great to see you smallfox and Beaches

Spanna my love I'm so sorry this have turned to shit, I truly am. Things will always be ok in the end but it's getting to that end that's so tough to navigate. Sending you love and strength.

MissHoolie and as for you and your situation, well, it's the stuff of nightmares. I admire your strength and the flashes of grim humour you display. Your husband sounds a prize arsehole.
I can only also send you strength, keep talking here and again hold your nerve until you can too navigate to the end.

Oh boy, so many people going through hell on the thread, I am sorry to read it.
Massive well done though, to the babes who are managing to stay dry or moderate, it's a fantastic achievement.

Ma stay safe on your travels through the storms, I am glad the job is going well.

I'm still keeping an eye on the coming festivities, there is booze in the house for guests and it felt weird buying wine again after so long, it's tucked away and I haven't really thought about it.

Whatever happens after Christmas we have dry January which is where it all began for me (after the thinking about it for months)

I am happy at the thought that ex Mr Lux won't be here to cast his evil over the holidays and I will be able to fully enjoy it rather than get tense once the merriment spills over into nastiness as always happened.

Wishing you all well and I'm always reading but my Snowwhiteyness doesn't seem appropriate when so many are low.
Love to all driers, triers, lurkers and strugglers as always.

beaches you weren't being flippant. my repsonse sounded a bit arsy and I didn't mean it to be...didn't quite come across right.
Today was a nightmare. got half way from aberdeen to Inverness and had to turn back because of the snow. the Cockburn to Tomintoul road is truly terrifying in bad weather. It made me think of Terry Wogan and Mrs McKay and her silver shovel... wish she had been there. I was genuinely terrified at times. then the Sat nav went nuts and I was totally lost in snow filled forests on tiny slippery roads. After a bit of a wobble I pulled myself together and switched off the Sat nav which was sending me in circles and just used the compass.I knew if I kept heading East I would eventually find the coast and my way home. 6 hours driving...am exhausted.
mrshoolie thinking of you
lux glad to hear you are feeling better

and spanna forgot to say how sorry I was to hear your news.

Sounds like a road trip from hell Ma, I am so impressed that you had a compass to hand, what a prepared woman! I am very glad you got home safely x

Lux also pleased you are feeling better and as far as your snowhiteyness goes, I see it like a soft tonic, not inappropriate at all

Sleep tight babes

Spanna am gutted for you and also very annoyed on your behalf. What a load of twunts. Ridiculously unfair.

spanna I'm so sorry about your work situation. I don't know the back story but you have shown me a lot of kindness on here, I dont like that you've been let down. I hope you are ok xx