Meanwhile...

I'm trying to give up drinking at the moment, and to be honest, I'm finding it pretty hard going.

After the abject failure which was my attempt at FebFast, I realised I actually had a fairly significant problem with alcohol, so consequently three weeks ago I enlisted professional help by consulting the Turning Point Drug & Alcohol Centre in Gertrude Street, Fitzroy.

After my first meeting with a GP there, and regular home visits from a nurse, things started well: my first week of trying not to drink I had four days off the grog - at least a 10 year record - and the following week I was alcohol-free for six days: a personal best, given that I started drinking at about 13, when my parents introduced the idea of half a glass of wine at dinner in an attempt to convey the concept of sensible drinking (I think the plan backfired - it probably hard-wired a liking for booze into my adolescent brain, and as a concept would certainly be frowned upon today).

I also managed not to drink under some fairly trying circumstances, such as my farewell drinks from Melbourne Fringe a couple of weeks ago (I've resigned from the Board after eight years, three of them as Chair), which I was pretty bloody happy with, all things considered. Who knew mineral water could be so satisfying a substitute? And I've certainly drastically reduced my alcohol intake.

Equally pleasing, I lost 2.5 kilos by the end of the second week, which was especially encouraging: I weighed myself a couple of days before my non-drinking attempt began and discovered to my horror that I weighed 100.6 kg - the most I've ever weighed, that I know of. I used to weigh about 85 kg the last time I properly checked - which was, admittedly, about eight years ago.

This week, unfortunately, I've fallen back into some bad habits - a glass of wine at lunchtime, a bottle of wine finished by the evening, with a few ciders as a post-dinner chaser - which means I've only had a couple of alcohol free days this week. I've put some weight back on as well.

So, from tomorrow the plan is to go back to total abstinence from alcohol, at least for a couple of months; a plan which will be helped by having my first regular appointment with a drug and alcohol counsellor on Friday. It's not going to be easy, I know, but I hope I can do it.

Wish me luck.