In the past, I've been out for drinks straight from work. I haven't eaten dinner and started drinking at 5:00pm and by 9:00pm I'm completely drunk. I find it's always worse when you say to yourself "I'm only going to stay for one or two drinks". That never happens!
Working in the City means you often partake in social drinks after work. It's an opportunity to relax and unwind after a long day in the office. It's a chance to chat to your colleagues in a more informal environment. And it's a chance to gossip and have fun.
But when you keep ordering "another bottle of wine" (which I still class as the devils poison) you very quickly feel tipsy. It always seems like you drink wine after work. Not because we're all sophisticated wine connoisseur's but it's because it's usually cheaper (and easier) to order a bottle of Sauvignon than it is to take orders of spirits and mixers.
I always say to myself that I will have a big lunch to help absorb the alcohol but when you eat at mid day and your drinking 5-6 hours later, the foods gone.
One of the biggest problems with social drinking is the peer pressure to drink more. You want to keep up with everyone but you must realise everyone has different limits when it comes to alcohol. I know some people who can have one drink, and feel completely tipsy whilst other can have 4/5 drinks and still seem fine.
I've started to drink water in between drinks. Yes some people may laugh at me but I'd much rather that than be vomiting the next day.
As I said before I wasn't always so careful. I remember one night when I walked to the train station to find I had missed the last train, I then decided to buy a McDonalds and when I was walking along the street (trying to order an Uber) someone trod on the back of my shoe and broke it.
This was a complete accident however because I was drunk (and clearly not thinking!) I decided to throw my McDonalds at him (yes I started on a huge dude!) and as he was also drunk he came at me. Thankfully a lovely man was close by and decided to step in and calm the situation.
He helped me order an Uber and get me home whilst I was crying my eyes out and walking around with one shoe. Luckily another nice girl gave me a sock to wear so I wasn't walking around London completely bare foot.
Thinking back to that evening, things could have gone so differently. The man I decided to assault with my Big Mac (a complete waste of a perfectly good McDonalds) could have easily hurt me. Or the man who helped me get a taxi could have robbed my phone or even worse got in the taxi with me and followed me home.
It sends shivers down my spine thinking of what could have gone wrong. Luckily I've learnt from this and now I simply don't allow myself to get so drunk. Even if I know how I'm getting home, I still don't allow myself to lose control whilst out in London. I live too far away and so many things could go wrong.
What's prompted me to write this post is the silly young girl we saw last night near Fenchurch Street station. I was walking back from a lovely dinner with my best friend and we heard a girl should "go away and get off me". We saw a young man very close to the girl so we decided we had to go over and see if she was ok.
Clearly she was incredibly drunk as she was slurring her words and she had somehow even managed to throw her watch on the floor (I put it in her coat pocket and I hope she kept it safe). The man said he was her boyfriend but they had obviously had an argument as she was really upset.
We managed to talk to them both calmly but the girl didn't want us to help. After speaking to the man, we felt more comfortable that he was trying to help her. During us talking to the couple, two men came over and said they had been watching them for a while and they believe the man is trying to help.
This poor girl was in such a state. She slid down and sat in a pile of liquid (which we're pretty sure was her own urine) and was clearly very distressed. We had to leave her as she kept saying she was fine and she didn't want us there. But for the rest of the night, and still today, I'm thinking about her and I hope she got home safely.
We all want to let our hair down and have fun, especially as it's Christmas but the risks associated with drinking too much are really not worth it. I'm not saying don't go out and have fun but I'm just saying be sensible.
I want to share some tips on how to drink aware and stay safe. These are not new ideas and I'm sure you're aware of them but like anything it's good to refresh things sometimes.
1. As I said before eat before dinking. This will soak up the alcohol and lessen the hangover the next day. But it doesn't mean you can drink more because you ate more!!
2. Check the alcohol percentage. If you know you're out drinking for a while then perhaps drink light beers or single units. Avoid drinking doubles, wines and shots.
3. Drink a few soft drinks. If you're usually drinking spirits and it's your round then buy just a soft drink. Not only is your round cheaper, you're also controlling what you're drinking and can save face with others.
4. Have a plan of how much you're going to drink. If you know after 5 drinks that you're a drunken mess then don't go for that 6th drink. It's all too quick going from feeling fine to going out in the fresh air and you're head spinning.
5. Most importantly plan your journey home. This is critical to plan and don't leave it to chance. If you want to catch the last train then set an alarm on your phone for when you need to leave (and allow plenty of time to get to the station as chances are you may not hear your alarm right away). Or if you're getting a taxi then ensure you have enough money to pay for it.
I also let someone know when I'm going out so they can watch out for my drunken text/calls. This is usually my sister who has to put up with my drunken rambles from the taxi on the way home (and often tears).
I hope you've found this post useful. Like I said, it's nothing new and I'm not trying to be hypocritical or patronising but sometimes it's good to refresh your mind.
Hope you all have a lovely time over Christmas and stay safe.
Love and kisses,
Becky
xxx
