What's All This? No Drink?!

they changed the name of Sober Saturdays to ''The Red Monkey Tea PArty'' its great night!!

heres the link, www.facebook.com/theredmonkeyteaparty

It must be about 2years now since I put this forum up about not drinking. Since then I went back on the drink as like so many others I found on the weekends there was nothing else to do. Clubs/pubs the same old all the time but it was the only way for me to get out and socialise which is sad really.

Now nearly all of my friends are married and have kids so my social life is gone really. Im not bothered about drinking, especially clubbing as the older im getting I want for different things. I love a few glasses of wine with food and good chat, maybe go see a band etc but ive nobody to do these things with so what I did was join Yoga and Cookery classes during the week so im kept busy and when the weekend comes around im not so bothered about not going out and I do alot of things on my own but it would be nice to meet people who like doing different things as it seems to be very rare in Dublin :-)

gypsygirl wrote: »

Hi guys
I too am off the booze and have started joining various clubs, (knitting, creativity classes, etc) my 30yr old nephew is also off the booze and staying with myself and my hubby, problem is, he has very little confidence and we can't seem to find anything to occupy his time, I'm scared that if we can't build him up and get him some non-drinking activities the booze will reclaim him, we live in the Dublin 24 area but still most things for blokes seem to revolve around Pubs etc, anyone got any tips on how to help him? Thanks

It depends on what your nephew is in to. There are football teams, astroparks have 5-aside leagues, pitch & putt, go-karting, tennis, badminton, table tennis, snooker, pool, photographic clubs + many others. These have been suggested by my (drinker) son for your nephew. Other than the karting all the rest are in D24. Unfortunately at some stage when people get together they tend to go to the pub after a group meeting which is the main problem. There are lots of evening courses from September. Depends whether he is sporty or academic or into art, check out the library for groups and workshops. I don't know if you have any interest in church activities, like choirs - they usually are booze free, or at least, they ought to be! There really should be non-drinking groups in every area and they should have a high profile. I think sometimes non-drinkers are made to feel almost ashamed of their sobriety!! Hope your nephew finds something interesting soon.

Just for the record, I don't drink. I tried it in my teens, decades ago, didn't take to it, but always found it difficult to socialise because everyone went to the pub and I didn't enjoy that very much, but I go to evening courses and I have a few interests and hobbies and they keep me sane.

24 Broken Amps wrote: »

hey iv recently giving up alcohol 4 months now, and I saw this the other day looks class, www.facebook.com/sobersaturdays

Can't see this anymore - anyone know where its gone?

I think for us non-drinkers the first step is to accept yourself, and then hopefully those around you will also come to accept you. I get involved in church activities and there is never any alcohol involved in the clubs and groups, sometimes at social gathering there may be a little wine on offer but never offered to those driving so that works for me very well.

Years ago in one of my jobs my boss used to say he couldn't do business with anyone who didn't drink, those were the bad old days. There are a lot of people who don't drink these days but unfortunately it is the drinkers who try to make us feel bad about ourselves. You need guts to face that shower at times but just keep it up and eventually they'll stop about slagging you off. Don't be a pushover for them!