Richey Edwards

That fucking shitey "putting on a show" song.

I have started my first clinical placement of Second Year already. It does not seem that long ago that I finished my last clinical placement of First Year. My placement is with the liaison team who assess people who are already in a hospital ward and make recommendations based on their mental health and presentation to best support them in the hospital and when they leave. It appears to be less "hands on" than my previous placements because they refer people to the appropriate services rather than delivering such interventions themselves, but the team are very nice and I am interested to learn about this kind of service and get some experience of performing assessments.

Margaret Thatcher and Osama Bin Laden are still alive and living in Argentina.

One of those is my actual surname.

Unconfirmed rumours that Gerrard has been SACKED.

Boris lining up a cheeky return.

Yeah, that's the right thing to do. It was a blip - learn from it and move forward. Show me an alcoholic that has never had a blip. We've all had them. I never did the 12 steps, but I have made amends with people I had wronged in my own way. I also learned about myself and what makes me tick. I did not need AA to do that. I know I am what people in A.A. would consider a "dry drunk" because I am abstinent outside of A.A., but the "quality" of my sobriety is the best I have ever had. I would not change it. A.A. works for some people and I'm glad it does. I am not one of them though - I found a way that works for me. I have stolen a few of their sayings though and still use them occasionally. I am glad you find the social aspect of A.A. to be beneficial, because it can be very difficult to find sober company. Most of my leisure activities are solitary activities because the majority of people my age (early 30s) drink to socialise.

Literally anytime I cannot sleep, I end up going down some sort of Wikipedia rabbithole. Apparently there is some wacky theory that Barack Obama is a demon.

That's a familiar story for me. Every "1 or 2 drinks" turned into a drinking session for me, because I could never stop. I would drink until I was sick or until I passed out. During my first period of sobriety I went to a lot of AA meetings and after two years I became disillusioned and unhappy within it and ended up drinking again. The prayer and higher power thing never sat well with me, but I stuck it out for two years because I did not know that other ways were possible. Plus I could be a horrible b*****d when I was drinking and felt I had to pay a penance for it. It took me nearly eight years to stop for a substantial period of time again. At the start of this period of sobriety, I did briefly return to AA but stopped after a few weeks and have done it mostly by myself this time. Absolutely key to my sobriety is that I have never forgotten why I stopped drinking. I ended up in some very dangerous situations. I hated the person I was. I used to be someone who would not be invited to events because I would get drunk and behave like a p***k. My own family used to be ashamed of me because of the states I would get in. I was someone who could not be relied on. Now I am no longer any of those things. I have become someone my family are proud of. I know you're gutted - I would be too - but the fact you are starting your sobriety again so soon is a positive. I am glad you didn't take eight years to start sobriety again like I did. Good luck and be kind to yourself. Feel free to message if you want.

I am also a recovering alcoholic with five and a half years soberiety. I lapsed many, many times before this current period of sobriety. I often fell into the trap of thinking that I could only have one, and it took me a long time to realise that I cannot drink at all. I hated the person I had become through drinking. I was a pathetic and empty shell of myself. It took me to get to that point to stop. Lapsing is part of the process, so don't beat yourself up too much about it. I used to go to AA meetings and did not agree with the catastrophising and shame about lapsing that was common place in the meetings I attended. Lapses do happen and can happen after any period of time. It's the nature of our condition. Lapsing does not mean you have failed. It's a learning experience. I wish you well, and hope you manage to stop again. Take care.

Sorry, I thought this was the Reasons to be Cheerful thread. I'm actually into that. Where do you live? Just in case I'm ever far from home and need a shite.

Defending like that is a risky strategy by Aston Villa IMO, and I am not sure it will work in big games.

Don't invite her back then.

He's an absolute p***k and his music is shite.

Who are u

Looking for a prematch rock, paper, scissors showdown. Message me privately.

Pros - It lets you see how much money you're burning through to avoid freezing to death. Cons - It lets you see how much money you're burning through to avoid freezing to death.

The democratic route yielded poor results so I decided to call her @P and B Official Hamster.

Am I invited or just @P and B Official Hamster?

Who's bringing the swastika?

Yep. All the matches, all the goals, all of the performances that are etched into our memories forever as fans of our football club - these men made them happen.

Fine. I am beginning to regret telling you the WiFi password.

The soup is shite. Not one of my best efforts. You are welcome to that full pot if you want it.

Why don't you like badgers?

Last night was quite funny.