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Nightmare at the museum...

30/1/2017

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A visit to any museum is always likely to make you ponder matters because there is always something to inspire, or to be amazed at, or to be surprised by. The London Science Museum is certainly no exception.

My wife and I initially went there because we wanted to see Tim Peake’s spacecraft which was newly installed in the museum the day before. I have written a separate post which covers my thoughts in relation to that exhibit. This post concerns a different exhibit we spotted quite by chance – the quite terrifying and macabre Euthanasia Machine.

This item (see picture) sits in a small glass case and is not something you would generally notice unless like my wife and I, you like to ensure you see everything in a museum and not just the star attractions.

From what I could make out, the machine itself consists of three vials of lethal chemical which are in turn released into one large vial which is intravenously connected to the user’s blood supply. The user has to correctly answer four questions, and at each correct answer one of the chemicals is added to the large vial. The fourth question if answered correctly releases the large vial into your blood stream and you die!

In the museum, it didn’t tell you what the four questions are but I now know the fourth question to be, “If you press this button, you will receive a lethal injection and die in 15 seconds – Do you wish to proceed?” I can only assume the previous three questions are geared towards making sure you are in the right state of mind to make such a momentous and horrendous decision. And you should know that this machine has been used in earnest, especially in Australia where it was developed by Doctor Philip Nitschke although it is now banned.

My wife and I pondered what the questions might be and how desperate you must be to want to be hooked up to this machine, and to have to go through the torment of answering them, each time getting nearer to your immediate death.
Later that day, I wondered how such a machine might work for people addicted to alcohol and what questions it might then ask.

The aim of the alcohol machine would be to get people to question why they want to carry on drinking, and consider how meaningless an exercise it is pouring a poison down your throat day in and day out simply because you don’t believe you can live or cope without it.
I imagined the vials containing neat whiskey, vodka and gin and being connected likewise straight into your vein thereby cutting out the intermediate stage of taste, smell and any pretense of enjoyment.

Question one might be: “Do you really want to blur your thinking, muddle your brain, lose your faculties and induce a hungover state you will regret?” 
Question two: “Do you really want to continue living as you are, dependent on alcohol despite how much you convince yourself you are in charge, and as miserable as you often are because of what drink has done to you?”
Question three: “Do you really want to deprive your loved ones of the joy of sharing many years of your life by dying early purely because you decided to press the final button?”
Question four: “If you press this button, you will receive an injection of four mixed alcohol spirits and give up all hope of escaping the life you lead and wish to change – Do you wish to proceed?”


I can’t think of anything that would induce me to press the buttons to accept that injection of alcohol, and I think had I been connected to such a machine when I was a drinker it would have made me think long and hard about what I was doing to myself and to others.

Next time you have an alcoholic drink, try and imagine the alcohol entering you through a machine like I have described, instead of from a glass. Would you still want it? If not, why not? What is so special about the alcohol in the glass as opposed to the alcohol through the machine? If it is the taste, why not try a nice tasting drink that doesn’t contain alcohol? Is it because you believe you need it to relax and be happy, because if that is the case why are you even considering quitting?

What would your own four questions be if you were asked to develop a machine like this to help stop people drinking. Please share your ideas and thoughts.


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newsletter update

28/1/2017

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Last month's newsletter is now available to download from my newsletter page of my website. If you want this month's newsletter which is due out shortly, please subscribe and I will email it to you.

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Are you worried about type 2 diabetes?

25/1/2017

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This terrible disease is on the increase. I had my latest check up this week after being told my own type 2 diabetes had resolved itself two years ago. I am delighted to say it has not come back. My solution was quitting alcohol. I never realised just how much sugar there is in alcoholic drinks, and at the volumes I was knocking back it is no wonder I developed diabetes. For me, getting rid of this disease was a by-product to all the other fantastic benefits I experience every day from being free from alcohol. But if you are worried about type 2 diabetes, quit alcohol forever - now!
There is a video on my website where I talk about type 2 diabetes. Visit the videos page on
www.idontdrink.net thanks to liberate health for the picture. 
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amazon prime

22/1/2017

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I have finally made 'I Don't Drink' available on amazon prime. This means that prime subscribers will be able to purchase copies free of delivery and also make use of the kindle library to download the book as part of their subscription.
Unfortunately it does mean the book will no longer be available on iTunes, but there is a kindle app that you can download for apple products to get over this issue.
I hope this helps.

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The South Pole!

14/1/2017

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Last April I posted a blog about my pal Rob Smith, who has beaten cancer himself, but having lost two young close friends to that terrible disease decided to do something amazing in his life, both to raise money for cancer research UK but also to ensure he makes the most of this wonderful life opportunity we have been gifted.

In April, the picture I posted was of Rob at the North Pole, now here he is at the South Pole! From top to bottom of this incredible planet in one year (let alone in one lifetime) is a stupendous achievement and one that should inspire all of us to go out and do something amazing.

For any of you still struggling with Dry January and wondering how you will cope with a life without alcohol, this might just make you thing somewhat bigger! Why not spend some of the money you have saved by donating to Rob’s cause at:
 
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Robert-Smith69
Find out more about Rob’s journey to both poles at  http://trek2poles.com/about-rob-smith/
 

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Every day is a bucket list day!

13/1/2017

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When you know you are already well past your life expectancy from the days when you were alcohol soaked, and by quitting forever you have consequently won yourself countless more days to live, every single day is a bucket day – you don’t need a list. Here I am yesterday, riding in the Grand National with my grandson at the wonderful Toy Museum in Bethnal Green. The winner got to play in the sandpit – it was me!  
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Mud Rules OK!

8/1/2017

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One whole week!!!

7/1/2017

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For all of you wonderful people doing Dry January, and if you haven’t already read it, I thought this extract from my book ‘I Don’t Drink’ might help.

One Whole Week - What a fantastic achievement.

You can be really really proud of yourself, and your star chart and spreadsheet will be starting to fill up.

How do you feel? I know that even after just one week I felt like a new person. My eyes were clearer and brighter, I felt more alert and agile, I had far more energy – more get up and go, and I felt more positive about everything. Of course, you might feel the complete opposite. It is obviously stressful giving up drink and if you have really struggled to get this far it could leave you feeling worn out. If that is the case just try and relax, you are over the worst and if you do feel like a wreck on the outside, just think how much cleaner and healthier you are on the inside!
Have you been exercising as well, as suggested? If so that should also be making a difference already. You might ache from using muscles that haven’t been tested for years, you might even feel exhausted, but if so that is positive tiredness. It means your body has been working and getting better and fitter and healthier and getting rid of years of abuse and neglect.

Hopefully the weekdays ahead will seem like a breeze now you have managed a weekend, there should be little temptation to have a drink at all. Next weekend may already seem a bit daunting however.

I remember thinking just that. Thinking to myself that I have managed one weekend but I actually missed having a drink and relaxing with a glass of wine, or rewarding myself with a cider for having mowed the lawn, and consequently was not looking forward to the weekend ahead. But strangely enough when the second weekend finally came around I didn’t want a drink after all. I didn’t want to undo the good work I had done and have to start all over again having failed. I also made sure I had lots of activity planned to keep me busy. I also came clean with my wife that I had given up drink for ever, and I enlisted her help to make sure I got through that second and all important weekend without being put in the way of temptation, and asking her to watch to make sure I didn’t waver. I found that just telling her and seeing her positive reaction was all I needed as an incentive.

Have you told anyone yet? Now might be the time to let your partner or whoever is closest to you know, so you can enlist their support. Don’t tell you pals yet though. They might not understand just how important a thing this is, they probably won’t believe you anyway, they might even take bets on how long you will last out, and they may be just a little too jealous for their own good.

By the way, how much have you saved so far? I saved over £10.00 per day so after a week it was like finding £70.00 laying in the street. What could you spend that on and not feel guilty? For the first few weeks I actually took the cash out of the bank on a weekly basis in five pound notes so I could see the pile swiftly mount up. I couldn’t believe how much I had been wasting on drink, and £10.00 per day was a conservative estimate.


And please remember, Dry Forever is SO much easier! You can find out more about me and my book at www.idontdrink.net
 


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January 04th, 2017

4/1/2017

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Focus in 2017

3/1/2017

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For many people, it is day three of a whole month of not drinking, and for some others it is day three of a whole new life without booze. Either might seem daunting at this stage but believe me, it is worth the effort so stay focused and pay no attention to the nagging voice in your head that says you need a drink – you don’t and you won’t!
But there is a bigger reason why I put a focus picture with this blog. This for me is a complete year of focus. In April I will be sixty years of age and entering territory I never expected to witness. Readers of my books will know I fully expected to be dead by now because of drink and never reach such a milestone, so I will be focusing on what I plan to achieve over the next ten years. My wife and I now live in London (as of a month ago) and we are already planning trips to every museum, gallery, and event of note with a view to learning new things and exploring new interests. I might even decide to start a doctorate.
It is also my fifth year of not drinking and I feel so wonderful and happy with life I now expect and hope to live until I reach 100, God willing, and all because I made that momentous decision to quit alcohol.
I received so many nice comments and letters over Christmas from people who have read my books and who I have been able to help, that I will also be focusing on doing far more to help this year. Not only will that include a new book and an on-line course, but I also hope to run a whole series of free one hour sessions around London to help motivate others to quit alcohol. Some of these are already being organised through the local library network wellbeing sessions. I will also make myself fully available to help through other worthy organisations such as Club Soda.
But I also want to learn more about myself this year. I want to make sure I understand why I am here on this planet, what I can do to make every second worthwhile, and what I can do to ensure that when I move on one day I can look back and know I have added value and brought some happiness to the lives of others. If you think about it that will require a lot of focus to achieve – it also requires time and a clear and peaceful mind, two things that alcohol never allowed me.
I hope you too can find the time and the mind-set to focus on what you really want in life - if you have already decided to cut out the booze then at least you have made a fantastic start. Good Luck.

 

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