Exclusive Feature Serial on www.thisisUll.com There IS Life After Alcohol - Part 2 By Squirrel

Part1

I met a friends' daughter who was the same age as me - a year older actually - and we instantly fell in love. She was at the point of getting back together with an ex-boyfriend who was a practising alcoholic. I was in the background, just talking to her about the illness etc.

Finally she gave him walking orders - but we didn't actually get together properly until just before I was offered the work abroad. He was livid and would phone up late at night after drinking, giving her abuse over the phone. She showed me a photo of him.

I almost died when I turned up to go abroad and he was there - sitting in reception, waiting to travel as well. The company had called in a couple of agency workers due to illness with regular staff. We shook hands and introduced ourselves. Knowing who he was, I sat at the front of the mini-bus while he sat at the back telling jokes and being jack-the-lad until he fell asleep after a heavy weekend on the drink.

There were only six of us to do the work and it was too late to back down. 'Accept the things I cannot change', was all I could say to myself. He had known my name; that I worked in wood; that I didn't drink. He also knew the town that I came from.

We arrived in the South of France and went for something to eat where six beers were ordered. My head was spinning. Three and a half years of recovery and I was planning to take a drink because of fear that he would realise who I was! The man he saw, in his eyes, take his girlfriend away …. I went to the bar and changed my order to a coke.

When we finally went to our apartments, we were paired off in rooms - lo and behold, I was sharing with him! Apparently they put new boys together to get to know each other. By the time morning came, he had twigged what the crack was. All he could say was' I don't believe it' and walked out, joined the others waiting and started sounding off in the street.

Thank god we were working on different stands. The rest of the week didn't go too bad and I accepted that it was for a week and it would pass. He did vacate the room during the course of the day which was a relief. Lunch was taken on the beach, the weather was warm and most of the time there was a pleasant atmosphere. I could calmly go about my business un-phased, keeping the job in hand at the forefront of my mind.

Evenings were awkward as we all met up in the evening for a meal. But he did pair up with another drinker and disappeared off for the evening and arrived late for work on a couple of occasions. I can't judge his or any ones actions if that's what they want to do, but think 'for the grace of god go I' continued below..

Exclusive Feature Serial on www.thisisUll.com There IS Life After Alcohol - Part 2 continued By Squirrel

I'm still happily working there after two years, and am now travelling round Europe a bit more; mainly, Italy, France. This year has taken me to Holland and Ireland. Both trips were driving.

Dublin had a more European feel than any city in the UK. I suppose Ireland having signed up for the euro even more so. I had my palm read by an American making himself a few euro's on the street.

I know it sounds like impossible odds that these circumstances could happen but they did. Today I work an honest program as part of my recovery, which enables me to deal with life on life's terms and to have faith, whatever that faith may be. In so doing I am told that my life will improve, providing I don't pick up a drink today. It has - and I hope it will continue to do so - a day at a time.

Today I try to look at situations in a spiritual light, try not to be materialistic. I went surfing with a friend last weekend before driving out to Paris.

A nice looking girl got out of her Peugot with a chap and while putting on her wet suit. All she talked about while they were getting ready to surf was how much her car was, how she was earning extra money while she was doing the job she was doing for a month or so and how much her relatives and families houses were worth.

We laughed between us - she would probably be out of breath and drown as soon as she tried to get out through the 4ft of surf that had been breaking that day. Being a smoker, I struggled to get out the back where the waves were first breaking. I can honestly thank god that I don't have to impress today, and could only feel compassion and that one day she might realise that there's more to live for than ' Girls Don't Like Boys They Just Like Cars and Money'.

So, anyone interested in a male with 20 odd years of drinking, 5 years sobriety and 1 years celibacy (worth the time out I'm told!) can try and find me. Gold diggers need not apply. You get me as I am!

Reviews, Books - "A Child Called 'It'" by Dave Pelzer
	By Darren Sant What can I say about this book? Anyone that knows me well would perhaps describe me as a "sentimental bugger". I am therefore surprised that I did not cry buckets of tears after every page of this book. A Child Called 'It' is the first in a trilogy of books. The books are the memoirs of Dave Pelzer. This first book covers Dave's life from ages 4 to 12. Read more...

Music Reviews - still life and Sidewinder play the Welly Club Late Nite Line-up 13th November By Cilla.
	A fabulous live band. Honestly, I feel so privileged to have seen these guys right now. They're tight. They're all connected by an invisible thread. They kind of flow into each other - I guess its what you might call synergie. I've got to say they seem to have it all - even pyrotechnics! Read more...

Reviews, Books - "Cradle Song" by Robert Edric
	By Nick Quantrill Being a bit of sucker for crime fiction, and more pertinently, hard-boiled private investigator stories, I picked up this book purely on the basis it fulfilled the above criteria and is set in Hull. Upon further investigation it turns out this is the first part of a trilogy set on the mean streets of Hull by Booker Prize nominated Robert Edric. Read more...

Places to Visit - Our Samhain Visit to Avebury by Janie Spencer
	Before we start on our journey, let me give you a bit of background on Avebury. It is a beautiful stone circle, so big that you can in fact fit a village inside it, as you can see from this overhead map! As well as being a tourist spot, it is both a home and a gathering Read more...

Food Reviews - Yankeeburger - Hessle Road, Hull
	By Nick Quantrill Hull undoubtedly has many fine places to eat and enjoy different styles of food in pleasant surroundings. When we cut away the often pretentious warbling about contrasting flavours, smells and colours Read more...