Party girl Meghann Thorp ditches the alcohol this lent – let’s find out how she got on.
Feb23, 2010
Since I can remember my parents have always been passionate about sacrificing their favourite indulgences for lent. To be perfectly honest their dedication never really transferred down the family tree. Forty days and nights was far too long to go without chocolate, takeaways, snacks and all the other foods that I craved most days. This year when my mother mentioned lent there was a long silence down the phone.
Lets go back to the 16th February that is pancake day. Sat in the kitchen with the rest of my fresher housemates I revealed what I would be deprived of for the next six weeks. Their faces were frozen with shock: “You’re giving up alcohol? Is that a joke? You’ll never do that,” was the response.
Day 1 – A student night out
Ok. Realisation sinks in. What the hell am I doing? This is going to be hard, my first day of lent and a night out in Nottingham. First it’s off to Revolution – the home of the six stick vodka shots.
Instead of using some 2-4-1 vouchers I pass them on to my delighted friends and return to the table with a signature diet coke. The upmarket bar stole £2 for a pint of the stuff claiming they didn’t sell half pints. This deed was meant to be a money saving scheme.
“You could have bought two shots for that,” my slightly drunk friend Becky shouted across the bar. Thanks for the reminder.
Next up is Coco Tang an underground bar/club which sells THE most amazing cocktails. Once arriving it was straight to the bar where the girls each bought a drink. Suddenly four refresher cocktails were placed just within my reach. Rather than test something called willpower I headed for a dance which seemed to do the trick.
Looking at the five very drunken course mates, I couldn’t help but feel slightly smug knowing I wouldn’t be the one struggling to wake up for a 9am lecture with a nasty hangover in the morning.
Day 2 – The morning after
Wow, no feeling of ‘where’s the toilet’ after a night out, that must definitely be a first! Just looking at my friends it was clear they weren’t feeling so great. Excellent. Maybe lent wasn’t such a waste of time after all.
Day 3 – Bella Italia
“Table for four please,” I ask the waiter at Bella Italia. Catching up with old friends is a favourite among most people right? Of course it is but what I really want is a glass of wine with my spaghetti cabornara not a diet coke.
Piece of cake, you don’t need alcohol to have a good time I tell myself. The wine is too expensive and nobody else is drinking. Panic over.
Day 4 – Saturday night
A quiet night in with the boyfriend is a very good substitution for a night in town getting drunk. After venturing to the student bar I returned with a diet coke, a chunky kit kat and a pint of Carlsberg.
“Here you go Ben, it’s not fair we should both have to suffer,” I said passing him the pint with puppy dog eyes. Get a grip I thought to myself beer is disgusting. But the thought of not being able to have something makes me want it so much more.
Day 5 – A day on the internet
After googling alcohol related diseases it’s really disturbing to find out how many there are. Liver problems, depression, heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, addiction and mouth cancer are just some of the disadvantages with drinking. Scary thing is that the list went on for much longer. It’s weird though when you’re out and about to have a drink you don’t even consider what your poor body is going through.
Maybe the culture of binge drinking has gone too far but then again why do clubs encourage students to drink so much with their ridiculously cheap drink offers. A double mixer of vodka and coke would cost £1.50 which is the same as the bus fare into town, not very much at all. Next time I go to Coco Tang on a Wednesday that refresher cocktail won’t seem so tempting. The idea of resorting to calling alcoholics anonymous doesn’t sound very appealing.
Day 6 – Monday morning
Possibly the worst day of the week is over, finally. After seven hours of university a nice glass of erm coke is perfect to relax and unwind. It seems since lent has started I rely on the next sugar rush from a variety of different soft drinks, sweets and chocolates. The student union shop has an extremely good selection of pick and mix. Hello strawberry laces.
Day 7 – A week!
My mother would be proud. Week 1 – done (as Gordon Ramsey would say). And I think that I’ve managed to save a grand total of £20 from not going bottoms up. That calls for a celebration. Another pick and mix sounds good.
Lets see if the remaining five weeks of lent will be as successful…
To find out more follow Meghann on twitter @Teggerson
Meghann Thorp
Well done
you will so enjoy and appreciate your first drink. Sounds like you are going to be a porker after 40 days with the sweets and chocolate!