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Report transcript in: Les speaks about the easy access and cost of alcohol
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Les speaks about the easy access and cost of alcohol
Please Report the Errrors?
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.
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