What I Am Going To Do On My Summer Holidays

Here's a quick run-down of potentially dangerous occasions for drinking that are coming up over the next few weeks.

This is more of a shopping list than a blog post. If I can successfully navigate these I will head into September feeling very happy with myself.

• I'm going to the UK on Tuesday for a job interview. I'm getting three trains, and I will have lots of time to kill. Something about trains and train stations seems to give a license to drink. I won't do it. I'm going to be hanging around an unfamiliar city, on my own, tired and stressed. I'm not going to drink. I'm going to be getting the train back the following day. I'm going to tired, strsssed, lonely and (I'm not going to get this job) demoralised. Not going to drink, though.

• Early next week, I have a guest coming, and old flame and her child. I have never not got drunk with this woman. I'm not doing it this time (and if there's a chance of sex, it'll have to be sober sex). This is a challenge. Check back here next week and if you can say that you succeeded on this point, you are a hero.

• A few days after that, my child is going away with her mother. I'll be hot, lonely and bored, a lethal combination. I need to walk the dog, go for a run, do some writing and swimming. This will be a dangerous time.

• A week after that, I'm flying to Dublin. Stress! Airports! Arriving back to the melancholy of my empty childhood home, repository of lots of booze! Argh. This may be the riskiest bit. If I can report back here and say I avoided taking a sup of wine, then yes I am a hero, but the childhood home is always risky and staying sober for one night is not enough. I need to plan wholesome trips to swim in the sea, go for walks, visit friends, make evening plans that require me to drive. This is a tough one. Be cool.

• Then there's a wedding. I'm less anxious about this, but it will still require presence of mind to stay sober for the entire thing. It helps that I'll have to drive to my accommodation, and also thart I have been to a couple of weddings and stayed sober before. Still, no room for complacency.

• There's going to be a bit of shuttling back and forth of my child and it's a danger-point for me when I hand her back to her mother. Last summer I had two days-long relapses that were connected to this, so be careful.

• Was thinking of having a party of some kind. Think that'll be OK. If I have successfully negotiated all the stuff I've mentioned I think this won't be too hard. No room for complacency, however....

• I'm flying to France towards the end of August. I'll be with my sister, her son, and my daughter, so I don't think there'll be pints in the airport or sneaky whiskeys. When we get to the house in France, there's a big cabinet full of booze, which I'll need to be careful of, but again, I think if i can make it that far without drop, it should be OK.

• Then the train back from France. Tell me how it goes...

So that's then summer. I'll try to keep this post live so I can check in and report my progress as we go down through the list.

Wish me luck. OK, good luck.