Thanks for the memories
Or should that be ‘Merci pour les souvenirs’; as I sit here looking over the lake from the Chateau that my friends and I are frequenting for the week, reflecting on the past month and all of the fun that has been had completely ‘sans alcool’.
First up was an evening at the races with my family…usually this would be a very tipsy affair with us all (over)enjoying the hospitality and quaffing champagne, but this year my lovely mum and I drank alcohol free beer (my mum is also still doing the challenge, can I hear a WHOOP WHOOP!)
I can confirm that being alcohol free unfortunately doesn’t make you any better at choosing horses, we still lost the money we brought with us, but had fun in the process. I even managed to spread the word about my charity challenge and got a few extra sponsors (thank you Tim & Quilters).
My girlfriends and I went to the National Trust Sunset Concert, this is a yearly jaunt and usually our picnic baskets would be filled to the brim with wine, leading to a drunken evening. Because of this I offered to pick everyone up (a good opportunity to bank some friend points, and to be fair, I probably still owe a few lifts from the past!) Once we’d found our patch and unloaded our baskets however, it became quite clear that everyone had come with a basket full of treats, but this time had left the booze at home. There was one tiny mini bar bottle of wine which was shared around the group (minus me, obviously). How incredibly civilised. This alcohol free malarkey must be catching!?! The music and atmosphere was fantastic and I had a great time dancing around like no one was watching whilst the sun set in front of us.
I really feel like I am starting to embrace my inner child again. Want to get up and dance and not care about judgment? DO IT. Do what brings you joy, in abundance. The main thing is that you are in control of being out of control.
If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands ** claps hands with huge goofy smile spread across her face.**
Next up Wonky Festival. My first alcohol free festival.
Definition of wonky: Lopsided, misaligned or off-centre.
Wonky is certainly what I would have been in the past after a few pre party drinks. This time I was just naturally a bit wonky (all the best people are); I’d been looking forward to this festival since it had been announced, as I was excited about the experience that it promised. Not just a boom, boom music festival with monotonous music but it offered different areas and rooms which had been dressed up in a theme, complete with scary tarot card reader (scarily accurate). I also got to see Mr Ferbrache in his element, ‘doing his thing’ in the dj box, which I always enjoy.
Usually I would have taken Monday off work to recover, but now I don’t have to waste holiday on recovering from hangovers. We had our usual Monday, ‘how was your weekend’ catch up in the office and Louise (my fabulous junior account executive) had also been at the festival. I asked her which room was her favourite and she honesty said that she hadn’t even ventured into any of the rooms, she’d had a few pre-drinks with friends first which meant that she was already wonky before arriving at the festival. Whilst this is absolutely fine and I reserve NO judgement, it just made me realise how happy I was that I’d experienced the whole festival AND remembered it all too. The only bit I didn’t enjoy was being squashed in a mosh pit of people dancing. I now like my space when I am out dancing. Having my feet, repeatedly trodden on whilst inconsiderate drunk people threw their beer on me was not my idea of fun. I told Steve that I wasn’t enjoying it and he happily stepped out of the pit with me. Awww, it must be love….
That leads me nicely onto Mr F and I marking our 5 years married with a celebratory trip to Longueville Manor (my favourite hotel in Jersey). We were a bit rushed as we’d gone straight from work, but soon relaxed into the plush surroundings. They do a lovely selection of non-alcoholic cocktails so I was well catered for. There was a moment when Steve asked me if I was having fun, this honestly made me feel a bit ‘meh’, of course I was having fun; I thought about it and I guess when I used to drink I had an erratic energy, which Steve in turn bounced off of, and although I always took it too far, there was a point where it was fun, for us both. Now I am much more on a level, in general and that’s a change to our dynamic which we have both had to adjust to. I asked Steve whether he missed drunken Jo and he said that he did, but understood that he couldn’t have it both ways, he couldn’t have his cake and eat it. Speaking of eating, we ate 3 courses with an additional cheese course - I’m not drinking, don’t judge, the cheese trolly is to die for!
The next morning, still full from the night before, we rolled ourselves to breakfast, indulging in salmon, eggs and avocado. We slept off our food coma around the pool. That afternoon we popped over to the Ecrehous on Seafari. We’d talked about going for years, so this felt like the perfect excuse. It was magical and a really special way for us to celebrate. We didn’t see dolphins, but we saw a few sea lions sunbathing and enjoyed a romantic picnic for two complete with alcohol free bubbles.
The next day, fresh from the days and nights before, we had an evening celebrating one of my favourite people’s 50th birthdays. He’d made a party pod. He’d designed it, flat pack style and then handcrafted each piece before painstakingly - I mean lovingly - pulling it all together for his nearest and dearests to enjoy. The pod overlooked St.Ouen bay (anyone who knows Jersey, knows what an amazing back drop this is) and as we all bounced around in it until the sunrise, you could feel the love that had gone in to putting the event on, maximum effort. You could also feel the love in the room… Everyone at the party was friendly, smiley and happy - key characteristics that Tim obviously looks for in his friends. DJ’s and bands (dub pistols casually flew over for the party, how rock and roll) were there for our entertainment, pizza projekt lined our bellies and the booze was flowing...I sipped on alcohol free gin and tonic from Marks and Spencer and didn’t feel left out at all. Note to self – Apparently people still fall over when they are alcohol free, I’ve not lost my accident pro title, I tripped on a carpet and cracked my knee on a granite floor, which was the only thing that stopped me from dancing!
I had a short, intense week at work, so was pleased not to have a hangover in the mix to contend with, tiredness alone still took its toile. After all, I didn’t have time for a hangover it was time for the next instalment of fun to begin. Next stop Bristol. We drove to Bath for afternoon tea and the best massage I have ever had in my life before heading to the Cotswolds to celebrate our friend Mel’s wedding. This was not just any wedding, but a festival wedding inspired by Steve & I’s wedding, 5 years ago. The whole event from start to finish was fun. I am a fan of things being relaxed and easy going, so it appealed to me. The vows were funny and reflected what they were like as a couple, the guests were colourful, the food was help yourself and tasty and the music was eclectic and kept us on our feet dancing all day and night. I didn’t once think, I wish I could have a drink to make this day better. At one point one of the people on my table asked why I couldn’t make an exception for this day. I explained that if I made an exception today, there would be lots of other ‘exceptions’ to be made and that kind of defeated the point. Not much of a challenge if you could choose a couple of ‘cheat days throughout the year’.
The morning after the night before, over breakfast, I spoke excitedly about the fantastic Latino band to a group of people, only to be met with sheepish looks of hungover confusion….
“There was a Latino band? They were good? “
SO, thanks for the memories. I want to thank myself for the gift of remembering all of the fun times, especially when maximum effort has gone into creating the memories in the first place, you appreciate them even more.