Les's story--Support to stop alcohol

Great. So, thank you for doing that. That's really good. So where, where are you, where are you from originally? I come from Stockport from Cheadle Heath, um, but I've lived all over Greater Manchester and then I met my wife

32 years ago and we set up home in Binnington and uh we've been together ever since. Oh yeah, we've had our ups and downs, a lot more downs than ups to be perfectly honest, um I. I've had a drink problem for a long, long time, and it come to a head about 3 years ago

Um I was uh. I like the word functioning alcoholic. I kept the job down for I kept one job for 30, 32 years, um, and uh

I had my drinking. From More or less everybody apart from the close. The close friends I used to go drinking with like and uh I lost that job through the drink

And then I got another job. And uh. After I retired, I started drinking more and more heavily, and it got to the point that my wife said that's enough

And uh we saw help. We went to the doctors. The doctors referred me to the SA team, which is um

A drugs and alcohol based health team and they referred me to Sirtech House at tailgate and through them through the counselling and through a detox what I had, um, I've now been clean free of alcohol for 20 months. And yeah, it's all thanks to. Syrtec

I, I've got to say that, um, I think my problem was my drink problem escalated when I stopped work because I'd spent the last near 50 years working and I worked my drinking round my work if, if that, that sounds. And because I had, since I finished work, I had no structure in my life. So then I started volunteering at Surtech and I volunteered 3 days a week at Surtech now

I also facilitate a banter and booze group in Binnington and. Um, Two groups as well in Bennington um to Stockport Drugs and alcohol, which is um. Associated with Certi House and one with Marie O'Malley from Stockport Health

And I also, I don't know, I don't know how I can fit it all in in one week. I also, I'm a volunteer for H UK. I'm a defender for H UK so I, I go and visit, um, um

A mature lady, shall we say, um, who doesn't have many visitors, so I visit her for a couple of hours every week, so my life, to be honest now, and. My life has never been better. Um, my home life, we just celebrated 30 years of marriage with my wife

Um, we've, we've never been happier now, because I've got something to do, because I've always worked. When you suddenly stop work, it's an awful long day to fill that day in, uh, because my wife still works, so she'd go out at 7:30 in the morning. And I wouldn't have nobody to speak to till 56 o'clock at night

So that's where the, the real heavy drinking come into it, like, you know. But now, um, I'm here there and everywhere doing, doing these groups, volunteering up at Certech house and I, I, I love that. Um, that's say 3 days a week, 4 hours a day

And honestly, my life's never been better. It really.