Frank Skinner is not drinking either

Good morning. It is 7.46am I am on a train from Woking to Southampton. I should be asleep, but the heating isn’t working very well and I am freezing. Not happy. As you can see.

MacBook view of an unhappy passenger

Anyway. Woo. Not drinking. Yeah. I was listening to Richard Bacon on BBC radio 5live yesterday talking about his attempts to do Dry January. He said he lasted until 1 Jan. Then he said he thought he’d try again and lasted until 2 Jan.

The reason he brought this up was because he was talking to Frank Skinner, who is a recovering alcoholic. Richard was concerned his own drinking had reached a worrying level and asked about Frank’s consumption when he was still on the sauce.

Frank told Richard he used to keep a bottle of sherry at his bedside, which he’d have for breakfast, but didn’t really think things had got out of hand until the bottle of sherry became a bottle of Pernod. 

Richard seemed to find this reassuring.

Frank was then asked what it was like doing comedy whilst he was drinking. He said he gave up drinking before he started. 

In fact, he said, that’s the thing about stopping drinking - you end up with a lot of time on your hands. 

He thought he should do something to fill it and gave stand-up a try. 

As a devotee of Frank’s Absolute Radio podcast, I’m glad he did.

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If you haven’t sponsored my own attempts to stay off the booze, please consider doing so. The more you sponsor me, the more it’ll cost me if I crack. It’s a good incentive. Your money will also help some people in very disadvantaged circumstances. We’re at £70 so far. If you can spare a fiver, it would be great to reach £100 by the end of the month.

Thanks again to everyone who has donated so far.