GSO has revamped the national sites Newcomer section. If you think you have a problem with Alcohol this is a good place to start and includes contact number for the AA helpline and email responders.
I particularly like the video they’ve put up to view on-line. Journey to AA - A short Video
ukjohnd.com is in no way affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous and is not representative of AA as a whole, this little site is a personal one and reflects only my own experience of revovery from Alcoholism.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the...
2008-05-27 11:09
Holds true to the original three, films and Lucas does not ruin the legacy as he did star wars. Takes you right back to being a kid again, with one roller-coaster scene after another. Sit back in you seat, turn your brain back to your childhood and enjoy the ride.
0.3
Finally got to see this movie on TV (rare for me to watch films on TV as the ads piss me off) Great performances by Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon both portraying Johnny Cash and June Carter as well as singing their songs. Never been a big fan of country music but the best of any Genre of Music is still great music and right at home in the ipod in my car as my lastfm stats reveal.
0.3
Everyone should see this film before they die. Based on a true story, chronicling three decades starting in the 60's of life growing up in a drug gang filled Rio slum. Some don't make adult hood, some become gang leaders embroiled in an all out gang war and the lead character finds a way out. Fantastically shot and directed, this has to be in my all time top 10 films.
0.3
Incredibly dark humoured independent comedy horror, with an excellent cast of relative newcomers. Tag line: Every Rose has its thorns. A student when subject to male violence discovers she's unique with vagina dentata. The script plays it very low key but shocks when it needs to. Boy's will cross their legs, and Girls recently aggrieved by men will revel in it.
0.3
Great beatles covers, darkly surreal at times and captures what I think the sixties was like. One of the must see films of the year.
0.3
Beautifully shot, well acted, story ran out of steam culminating in a shite ending. 2 1/2 hrs lost.
0.3Last weekend went over to the English Southern National Convention at Brean Sands for the second year running. Never really been a convention person but my good lady keeps getting asked to share at them and loves getting involved in them.
Had a very different experience this year as was looking after the girls for most of it, went swimming for the first time in 16 years (even did it twice in two days) Defiantly getting over any body image issues I may have once had, does help being a darn sight fitter than I ever was and not the emaciated weakling I once was.
Saturday night was the dance and had a fantastic time dancing with my good lady and the youngest of the girls sporting the campest of sparkly Cowboy hats. Everyone we were with had a great time including my 1st sponsee both that evening and also earlier in the day at the fun fair on roller coasters, bumper cars and various other rides.
Doing my Daddy Daycare bit meant I didn’t do too many of the meetings but attended the Spiritual Meeting on the Sunday morning with the girls, there was barley a dry eye in the room of around a thousand as the meeting was dedicated to the memory of Malcolm O who passed away recently and who did a huge amount of Service work for this fellowship and the Southern National Convention. His widow Sheila spoke of his service to AA and how in even the darkest times towards the end was still committed to AA service and this program and also the support that the family of AA gave them.
Malcolm was the warmest and gentlest of men and will be well remembered by the many people his life touched, I will always remember the singing at the spiritual meeting of Josh Grobans “You raise me up” which was also played at Malcolm’s funeral.
Been a busy old summer so far, got a new job within my company which will finally give me something to get my teeth into, this alcoholic gets bored running the same old projects year after year, and their letting me loose running projects in the US get a break for a while from international side.
Just got back from a wonderful week away with my fantastic girlfriend, while we missed the kids while they were staying with their grandmother it was great to get a whole week for just the two of us.
We landed a Belfast and had a little luxury at the MalMaison Belfast and were very impressed with the redevelopment of the city centre, and got to have dinner with an old friend who stuck with me throughout the worst of my drinking and her son.
We then drove down the coastal route to Dublin, I visited there 6 months sober seeing it 8 years sober was a very different experience, re-doing things a little while a part in sobriety gives me a great comparison of how much I’ve changed in sobriety.
Got to make a small amend to my late Irish Grandmother who never saw me sober by lighting a candle and saying a prayer for her in St Patrick’s Cathedral.
Dublin is an amazing city and we’ll certainly be going back, even managed to make a meeting there.
We toured over to Donegal, travelled through the mountains along to the Giants Causeway, staying in a hostel (discovered our days or staying in hostels are over, communal living with hippies and scary German Lesbians not fun), visited the village of “Muff” because we could and got a snap of me pretending to “Dive” by the sign, had a romantic Fish and Chips in Portrush under blankies, then drove along the Antrim coast back to Belfast. Tried unsuccessfully hunting for a meeting on the Falls Road, ended up with a tour of the other side of Belfast with the murals and Flags, a little scary as we did rather out of place driving up and down hunting for the place.
Few of the snaps below and more in the Gallery as ever without the people in keeping with Tradition 11
Weeks away in beautiful places with the lady you love and having a bloody good laugh as we did it, is what this Alcoholics Recovery is for, I wouldn’t have gone through all the crap in the early days if their weren’t rewards like this.
I had the most wonderful day on Thursday 19th, celebrating Eight years of recovery.
Cards, text messages, presents and treats.
I got given a day out being pampered at a relaxation centre in my home town, with Spa, Sauna and a full body massage by my wonderful girlfriend, and then taken out for a great dinner at an Italian Restaurant, great food and a vibrant atmosphere generated by the highly excitable owner and staff.
My girlfriends girls made me cards and I now have the campest pink nodding poodle in the back of my car. I was given every 8 year old boys dream a scaletrix, a space hopper, two lava lamps and a Bagpuss video.
I never thought I’d make 8 days out of rehab let alone 8 years, its been one hell of a roller-coaster ride at times and taken me to places I’d never even have dreamed of when i landed in AA just wanting the crap to stop. I have the most F*cking fantastic life today thanks to AA which I would never have got to see if I hadn’t been willing enough to keep coming back and not pick up a drink a day at a time.
Finally got to have a chill out weekend without driving places or rushing around, stayed in the village I grew up in and also where my AA home group is. Great to get the chance to escape from City life with my Girlfriend and her kids, even got to have my grandmother over for Sunday lunch. The sun even appeared for us and there was a little respite from the torrential rain.
Life doesn’t get much better than this………
Took a ton of pics but my favorites without people in were just from around the garden.
