Day 15: Halfway there

Wednesday 14 October

Fifteen days down; 15 days to go. And guess what: I feel absolutely no different. I wonder how my liver feels? It’s a shame there isn’t a little door I could open and have a peep. Hopefully it’s all snug and well-rested and not bored and irritable due to a lack of work. I have been feeding it lots of coffee, which probably isn’t going down too well with the other organs, but apparently livers love a cup of coffee. According to this (admittedly somewhat ancient) article from the BBC, drinking one to three cups of coffee reduces the risk of alcoholic cirrhosis by 40%; and four or more cups by 80%. I’m not sure what my heart makes of this, but, in the meantime, bring on another pot of after-dinner rich roast.

Today, I had a minor panic about cheating in my sterling efforts to stay booze-free, when I learned Becks Blue is 0.5% alcohol. As waves of horror washed over me (I have endured all this for nothing!) Dave felt I should stay calm and carry on, sending me a link to Drinkaware (hey - look who's just discovered their hyperlink button!), which basically said that 0.5% wasn’t very much. But how much is not much? It’s so hard to find answers sometimes. Then I discovered The Alcohol Free Shop… and, apparently, 0.5% is about the same as what you’d get in a glass of orange juice. This is by far my favourite statistic of the month: I’m definitely not counting 0.5% then. 

Now this is a pretty nifty website for facts and info if you’re doing the not-drinking thing. They’ve got a Manchester-based shop, but you can order all manner of booze-free booze (beer, plonk, fizz, cider) from them online. I am also very tempted by their beer selection packs, and positively bewildered by the choice (having assumed it was Becks Blue or nothing – I never even see Kaliber, which is surely what everyone thinks of if ever they ever think of 0% beer). Krombacher though? Sagres Zero? Super Bock – oh my goodness. Hang about. Stella Artois NA? Oh I do want some of that now… in a lady-glass. Naturally.

Tonight was going to be a quiet night in. The Lodger was away, I had fish cakes from M&S, the sofa beckoned… it was the kind of night where I might pop in the Co-op on the way home and buy a bottle of beer to have with dinner. So I dutifully (and doubtfully) traipsed in there. Sometimes, I don’t know why I bother. I practically had to lie on the floor of the aisle and wave my hand around the dark void that was the bottom shelf. I eventually extracted a six-pack of Carling C2 (2%) and a dusty blue can of 3% ‘Dutch lager’. The Dutch lager can was so suspiciously wordless it made me think of that illegal vodka that gets decanted into plastic squash bottles, sold in dodgy newsagents, and then everyone goes blind and they have to do a Panorama special about it. Well. I’m sure it’s very lovely really, but they really ought to shift it up a shelf. And dust the cans down. Ditto the Carling C2. And, and, and… how about a bit of the ‘no-alcohol’ stuff if that’s not too much to ask? 

Cup of tea with the fishcakes it is then.

Units dodged: Two or three? For a bottle of Cobra or Peroni… you know, one of the whoppers that are probably a bit more than a pint. I can't give an exact figure as it’s surprisingly hard to locate info like this online.