Sober times

[ian the worm]

19 minutes ago, themuel said:

My fun levels haven’t been altered at all. 

Agreed. And many people don’t actually know I’m sober when I’m “on it”. They hate it when I drive home after “that drunk dancing”. 

[Boris]

I respect those that do it- although I don't share the motivation. I do admit that I tend to have to ask other people which bands I saw etc. and the years quickly get blurred together. At least now with Google tracking I can see when I get home which stage I was at and when. In fact lat time my mate knew more about who I saw than I did- and he wasn't at the festival ?

[drunk pumpkin]

I’ve done 10 years and the last few have all been sober. 

Ive take my daughters with me and have a great time each time. 

Going with friends this year and am a bit afraid that when I don’t want to drink right through  day they may get annoyed!

 

[Crazyfool01]

since 2002 I think my alcohol consumption has decreased year on year , and around 2010 I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes so it not so easy to manage the blood sugar levels with alcohol and the different types causing it to fluctuate lots and the obvious other different exercise patterns that the festival involves .. so I cant get totally inebriated like I probably did in my younger days ... I go at a steady pace these days and I  also have a new device that I can track my blood sugars with by scanning a patch on my arm with my phone so this year it should be lots easier ... anyway Im going slightly off topic but fortunately dont really suffer too badly from hangovers at Glastonbury must be just getting up and about that does it and causes me to forget about it 

[king_oxymoron]

It's good to read so many positive reports of sober Glastonbury.

 

ive not had a drink since October and though I do plan to drink at the G (I'm a 'holiday drinker') now, I know I can't go anywhere near as hard. Stupid as it sounds, it has been worrying me whether it's not going to be as good as a result. It's good to read it won't.

 

i have been planning to take the non alcohol Rekorderlig cans to drink for the most part, so I feel like I still have a can in hand and for the most part won't notice the difference besides not being found in a gutter somewhere! 

[sime]

I have never been a regular drinker. At Glastonbury I like to have a couple of cans of beer a day, usually timed with certain performances just to add something extra to the moment but am always sober (occasionally a bit tipsy).

In some ways I realise that I am missing out on some festival 'cheer'. But I always feel so overwhelmed by the amount of things to see and do that this alone gives me a real buzz. One which lasts the whole 5 days.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Respect to all the sober lads, but a genuine query. 

How does it work in a rounds system with a bunch who're boozing away and you're on the softs?

[ian the worm]

8 minutes ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

Respect to all the sober lads, but a genuine query. 

How does it work in a rounds system with a bunch who're boozing away and you're on the softs?

You pay more than you receive if you stick to the rounds.

To be honest, I normally drive everyone to a gig and back and get the initial round. Then they just get pissed and bring me water. It works for us. 

[Spindles]

I never actually stopped drinking and I'll still drink if the occasion fits, but my days of drinking to excess or ending up in a dirty mess are well gone.  I have the occasional drink or 3 at Glastonbury but mostly just smoke a joint now and then and spend at least 75% of my time sober.  If I don't, alcohol kicks my arse and turns me into a complete dick, no one wants that idiot around, least of all me.

[donshakey]

1 hour ago, drunk pumpkin said:

I’ve done 10 years and the last few have all been sober. 

Ive take my daughters with me and have a great time each time. 

Going with friends this year and am a bit afraid that when I don’t want to drink right through  day they may get annoyed!

 

But you're called drunk pumpkin?!

[CaledonianGonzo]

11 minutes ago, ian the worm said:

You pay more than you receive if you stick to the rounds.

To be honest, I normally drive everyone to a gig and back and get the initial round. Then they just get pissed and bring me water. It works for us. 

Soberers. Generous *and* all gonna be the designated drivers.

Wish I knew some.

[philipsteak]

24 minutes ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

Respect to all the sober lads, but a genuine query. 

How does it work in a rounds system with a bunch who're boozing away and you're on the softs?

I don't join the rounds. If someone's going to the bar and asks, I might ask them for a soda water, or just normal water. Trying not to drink soft drinks now too. Was drinking far too much of them after stopping alcohol. Moderation not being one of my strong points. 

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

My Glastonbury days are probably over now, but in all the Glastonbury's that I've been to I was only sober for one night. Before turning up to the festival that year, I'd spent two years sober and one and a half years without a ciggie. On the first night of the festival that year I took mushrooms, and didn't have a drink or a fag. I then woke up at around 8am the next day (Thursday) and thought 'fuck it'I'm having a beer and a fag, so I did. I then cracked on with it and didn't go back to bed until the Friday evening (when U2 were coming on). So, that one Wednesday night is the only one that I have spent sober in 20+ Glastonbury's. 

I used to be a bastard for the drink (think up to 4 bottles of red on a work night, and even more at weekends) and also used to suffer from hangovers / existential angst. Then I discovered mephedrone, which somehow saw me drinking far far less than I used to. At this time I also met my now wife,and she introduced me to G & T's. I've never looked back - I can drink as much of that stuff as I like and I never get hangovers or feel the dreaded guilt. Of course all this means is that I will have a premature death, but hey ho.

[crocodiles]

Went to first one in 2016 then 17 and this year . Was already at age where I drink a lot less and not regularly.  Haven't done anything else for a long long time and that was only smoked.  

So I actually drink every day at Glastonbury but stready only 4 or 5 so enjoy it don't get pissed and can enjoy next day . Plus I remember it all .

Plus we are in by 12 to 1 or 2 each night.  

It's age and knowing what you can take if I went to hard next day would be write off 

[ian the worm]

I met a nice couple whilst waiting for LCD to headline in 2016. All of us were in a great spot and really looking forward to their show. They were drinking wine from a box and offered me some which I declined. Cue a short discussion on drinking habits (mainly led by them). 

The lights go down and the most anticipated slot of the weekend begins and the woman suddenly says bye bye and squeezes off out of the crowd. The bloke says she needed more wine and therefore went the the bar. She never did come back and he later told me the queue was too long at the bar so she’d headed back to the tent as they had some there and she’d not be coming back. Basically getting drunk beat watching LCD for her.

I mention this as this was me a few years ago. I missed ALL the best acts I’d planned to see because they all got in the way of my drinking. I simply couldn’t stand still and watch a band if there was an open bar within 250m of me when I’d finished my drink. 

[CaledonianGonzo]

To be fair she sounds like an amateur. Speaking as a committed boozehound, you would generally be sorted and have been to the slasher in advance of a must-see gig.  Granted plans go tits up and you cant anticipate every scenario......but Glastonbury is the easiest festival on the planet to keep topped up at and if you can't manage it it's because you're a general liability.

[MrHew]

I've never really drunk loads at Glastonbury. In my younger days it was a few cans a day and lots of joints. Last 10 years or so it's just been a few ales a day. 

[ian the worm]

14 minutes ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

To be fair she sounds like an amateur. Speaking as a committed boozehound, you would generally be sorted and have been to the slasher in advance of a must-see gig.  Granted plans go tits up and you cant anticipate every scenario......but Glastonbury is the easiest festival on the planet to keep topped up at and if you can't manage it it's because you're a general liability.

Amateur? General liability?  Or alcoholic. 

Well done to everyone that can manage alcohol. Most people can. But for those that can’t, it’s pretty grim. 

[CaledonianGonzo]

That's fair. I was talking in a spirit of levity, and of course it's not always a laughing matter.  My dad's an alkie and keeping him away from it can be a massive pain in the jacksie.

Though I do have to say that the Other Stage is well-supplied with massive bars and I bet they were largely empty come LCD o'clock in 2016.

 

[Hugh Jass]

Mrs Jass was pregnant last time.

I drank for two.

[Madyaker]

I think I could do a sober festival easier than a sober night out in a pub or club. I used to get blackout drunk every day/night at any festival but then I discovered other drugs and realized that they are all far superior to alcohol. I still get drunk at Glasto but usually not really hammered until after dark. 

[anditmakesmesmile]

This will be my first non-drinking Glastonbury. I didn’t stop because I felt drink had become a problem. I stopped for what was going to be a week and just loved being sober too much to want to drink again. So maybe it had been a problem before but I hadn’t recognised it. Anyway I am finding the prospect of not drinking at G quite scary. To the point where I think I might drink. It’s more about having a refreshing beer in the sun on Friday afternoon or a tequila in the SE corner in the early hours of Saturday morning. It’s been over a year and I’ve never even wanted to drink but, Glastonbury...? 

[Avalon_Fields]

I’m looking forward to drinking less this year, it’s a long time since I was a serious drinker, but over the last 15 months I’ve been drinking less than ever, and I know with my body not used to much alcohol it wouldn’t work well at Glastonbury and this prospect I’m finding quite appealing.

Having said that, in the more relaxed circumstances of Bearded Theory I’m intending to drink more than at Glastonbury. Still, nowhere near properly drunk at any time.

 

[anditmakesmesmile]

It would be good if there were some decent alcohol free or 0.5% beers available (ie not Becks Blues, etc). I know they aren’t an option for some who choose not to drink, but I quite like ‘em. 

The problem is they all seem to come in glass bottles, so I can’t even bring some with me. 

[Supernintendo Chalmers]

4 minutes ago, anditmakesmesmile said:

It would be good if there were some decent alcohol free or 0.5% beers available (ie not Becks Blues, etc). I know they aren’t an option for some who choose not to drink, but I quite like ‘em. 

The problem is they all seem to come in glass bottles, so I can’t even bring some with me. 

Erdinger Alcohol Frei 0.5%, Brewdog Nanny State 0.5% and Bavaria 0.0% all come in cans