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I’d count the hours between drinks, then in sobriety I started counting the days since my sobriety date. I never thought I’d last 30 days in rehab, then I never thought I’d last the first week out of rehab, but a day at a time and a meeting every day I did.
My little Sobriety Calculator now puts me just over the 2750 day mark, a day at a time. I only comment this minor personal milestone as I would never have thought it would have been possible and I’m grateful I got to see the second half of my twenties and am rapidly progressing through the first few years of my 30’s. (Does time get quicker the older you get?)
None of it would have been possible without the love I have and continue to be shown in the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Happy New Year to the Internet and Recovery peeps, this must have been the quietest Christmas Holiday I’ve ever had and I must say that the break has been much needed. Contrast that to last years Christmas Ghana trip, for my brothers wedding, it has certainly been less eventful and far colder but good all the same.

Passing on a message that was given me in my early days which was to be careful post holiday period. Particularly after my first few Christmases in recovery I found, having had my defences up against the excesses of the period around me, January was quite a comedown. There also seems a higher than normal rate of relapse after Christmas, so I will, as usual, up my meetings for a bit and get back into a regular routine.

Keep Safe and Happy.

Considering I landed up in AA just to stop the pain and fear that ruled my life in active adiction, recovery just continues to amaze with those things that are truly beyond any of my wildest dreams.
It’s seen me zooming around Manhatten in a helicopter, eating lobster under Sydney Harbour bridge and seeing elephants in the wild in Ghana.

Yesterday I had the joy of floating over the Sussex English coutryside in a Hotair balloon. Such stillness and peace flying with the wind thousands of feet high.

I’ve always kept an lazy eye on the AA/recovery related sites out there particually those in the UK. The Electronic Communications Team at GSO is York have been doing some great work on the official UK AA site adding some great stuff for both the public but also members of the Fellowship, including forums/doc repositories and even an online shop for conference approved material.

The advent of addicts blogging recovery still leaves me unsure as to whether it’s a good thing or not to be bearing fragile souls to the internet, that’s not just a recovery thing though rather the nature of blogging, but there are some really great recovery blogs out there.
Check out sober chick who’s gratitude for recovery and life is a good reminder to me of its importance when my head is disapearing up my arse.

Phils Recovery Shed has evolved into a great unofficial UK AA site, with an emphasis on Fellowship/Community, Phil has done a supurb job of putting together a very slick recovery site with a growing Forum at its heart with over 80 members.

After 3 1/2 weeks off the fags a weekend back on em after a minor car crash set me off smoking again, justified in my addictive head as a way to control the anger and self pity, thank god no one was hurt and the thought of a drink is far away in moments like that today. Reset the smoking clock and back to 24hrs,

Happy 5th birthday to Mark H, top night Saturday celebrating and a visit my first ever Drag Cabaret at Rubyz in the court of Dame Kitty Glitter, an hilarious evenings entertainment.

And as a minor aside “Total Eclipse of the Heart” as never seen before, especially love that drumming.