Seven days without alcohol. Seven days. That’s almost a month.

The seven days don’t include yesterday. I was so stressed out by the ban I needed a drink. I decide it fits in better with my calendar if I have a big drink tonight and go sober from tomorrow. I popped over to Mr and Mrs Z our local friendly off-licensees to pick up some bottles of Leffe. I take the front four bottles from the shelf. Mrs Z was serving. I could see a tiny bit of Mr Z’s knee sticking out from behind the chewing gum rack where he must have been slumped in a chair. He’d probably been quality-controlling some of his stock. Mrs Z’s a lovely lady who sounds a bit like the kid in “The Shining” doing the red rum number.

“Just these four please”

“redrum-redrum-redrum-three pounds change-redrum-redrum-redrum-goodnight”

“G’night”.

I return to the flat and start knocking them back like there is no tomorrow whilst writing yesterday’s blog moaning about not being allowed to drink. 5 minutes later R comes back from her evening job and is glad to see I’ve got some beers in, but we realise there is not enough for both of us so R goes over to the offy to get herself some and I decide my four aren’t enough for the both of me so I follow on a minute later. R comes out of the offy clutching her beers as I go in to get mine. The front row of bottles had mysteriously regenerated themselves (had Mr Z really sprung up from behind the counter and replenished the shelves since my last visit?).

“redrum-redrum-redrum?”

“Ha-ha…yes having ourselves a little party. G’night”

Return to the flat converse animatedly with R for thirty minutes slugging beer all the while then my brain short-circuits and I zonk out completely.

I didn’t feel too good this morning. However something positive came out of all this silliness. Another entry had been added to my “first time since stopping smoking list”. It was the first time I had got mindlessly drunk on the flimsiest of excuses and not had a cigarette. At no point can I remember even thinking about a cigarette. Progress of a kind I guess.

Definitely sober tonight though. The Long March begins.

Quitometer ---2w 2d 11:35 smoke-free, 417 cigs not smoked, £48.37 saved, 1d 10:45 life saved