THE CHALLENGE:

As I am turning the BIG 40 this year, for 40 weeks from the 4 January until the 11 October not A single drop of alcohol will pass this Mama’s lips, and trust me as my friends who came up with the challenge quite rightly said “this is the toughest thing you could personally do” and they are not wrong. I never went that long even when I was pregnant….I still treated myself to the odd glass of red savouring it for 3 hours at a time, so to do this when I’m not is simply utter madness!! I have thrown myself out of planes & off bungee jump cliffs for fun and so for me personally this is THE biggest challenge of my life.

The reason I am going to find this SO hard is because:

My name is Lisa Garner-Morgan, and I love to drink.

I love to drink at:  the end of a very long day working from home with the kids, watching the footie, on the balcony in Puerto Banus after a day in the sun, with friends round the kitchen table, with family reminiscing, in a bar with work mates for “just the one”, and  BIG nights out “on the lash”.

My very fav drink is wine…. I’m talking loving the feel of drinking a very nice glass of Shiraz or Sauvignon Blanc enjoying the flavour & looking forward to the second glass. In fact my favourite time to have a drink is at the end of a madly busy day & pouring a glass whilst I cook the dinner, it makes me instantly relax….I don’t need the bottle just the one, maybe two and I’m happy.

That feeling is what I will miss the most and find the hardest about this challenge……..

SO…….why am I doing this?!

Two reasons:

Nicholas George Glyn Garner & Danny Grimes. Both affected by conditions of the brain and who both mean the absolute world to me.

DANNY: Click here to read more: https://www.justgiving.com/boozefreefor40

DAD

June 2002:  I lost My Beautiful Inspirational Dad, and since that day I have always wanted to do something In Memory of him & to raise awareness of the illness to which we lost him to.  

Dad had a brain aneurysm that made him have a couple of ‘funny turns’ in which he blacked out & woke speaking gibberish, he didn’t take it seriously and he was booked to see the doctor when he fell asleep one night and sadly never opened his eyes again. During the week in the hospital whilst they did tests I kept thinking ‘if we are lucky enough for him to wake up we are going to need some serious help’, and I believe it would have been Headway that we would have turned to. Devastatingly the haemorrhage was in a part of the brain that they were unable to operate on and so there was nothing they could do to save him.

Dad was a fiercely independent person, a force to be reckoned with; he had an amazing sense of humour and an. infectious lust for life. He not only looked after our family with a passion but everyone he knew. He would strive to do anything he could to help anyone and he would have been devastated to be any different to the person he was before he went to sleep.

I adored My Dad, 12 years on I still feel lost without him, he passed away two months after his 60 birthday. It saddens me deeply that he never got to see the children he cherished get married, never had the chance to cuddle his gorgeous grandchildren & he no longer is here to have a sneaky glass of vino with….we loved doing that. We spent a lot of time in each other’s company, working together & just being father & daughter together, I miss the love & laughter of our relationship every single day.

Headway are an amazing charity who help people who do survive aneurysms and tumours get back on their feet and live life again in the best way they can. Not only this but who also give vital support to the families of people who are not so lucky, and helps them through the grieving process and with financial support where they can. This service is invaluable.

I am hoping that doing this & people sharing the symptoms & effects of aneurysms that it may help others who have or know someone who is experiencing similar symptoms to Dad and to be treated before it is too late. To encourage just one person to seek help sooner rather than later would mean the world to me.

Dad would think I was insane doing this challenge but would be cheering me on & encouraging me to “crack on Lise, you mad bugger, you can do it” and so for him, I will.

 DONATING

If you think that what I am undertaking worthy of a lil drink or two you can click on the following link & sponsor me. With Just Giving you can do one off donations OR as this is over a long period of time & I may crumble before the time is up (though I will try with every ounce in my body not to), you can set up a direct debit to pay monthly and to make it a tad more interesting I was thinking of ideas for donations of the following:

Pint of Strongbow £3

Glass of Shiraz: £5

Box of Soave £12.50

Bottle of Sailor Jerry’s £20

And if you are feeling REALLY generous a bottle of Veuve Cliquot £35

Don’t forget to add Gift aid as the government will add on a further 28% to the donation…HAPPY DAYS!!!

Both Dad & Danny have taught me in their own ways that nothing is more important in life than the health & happiness of your loved ones, not a bigger house, nicer car, more holidays….nothing.

And so for any amount you can donate & the encouragement that this will bring me knowing you understand how hard I am going to find this, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.