After a good night's sleep ...

... I felt a bit better. I planned to work on my novel all day before going to the theatre with a friend, but after being awake for only two hours I felt so tired and headachey I just had to go back to bed and lie down for an hour. The hour turned into almost 7 and I got up again at 5pm! I thought that now I don't spend my evenings getting drunk, I wouldn't need to spend the days sleeping it off, but evidently I needed a few extra hours today.

I picked my friend up and we went to the theatre in a nearby town. We were having such a laugh in the car that we missed the turning and twelve miles further down the motorway, she said, 'Shouldn't we be there by now?' We still got there in time, found our seats and sat down just as the curtain went up.

Once upon a time I'd have wanted to get to the theatre really early so that I could have a drink at the bar before the show started, and order drinks for the half-time interval. From about halfway through the first act I'd be fidgetting because I'd need to go to the loo - all the alcohol would have worked its way through me. This time I could enjoy the show without worrying about where the nearest toilet was, and whether my drink would be waiting for me at the interval. When you're only drinking diet coke, it's not such a big deal!

The show was great, a parody on the life of the Bronte sisters, called 'Withering Looks'. We laughed 'til we cried and it was a great evening out.

Sue is one of the few friends who has witnessed a spectacularly bad drinking episode of mine. Most of my heavy drinking was done at home, solo, with no witnesses, but Sue has seen the worst of it - it happened at her house, millenium new year. I'd been drinking heavily before I even got there (her husband came and picked me up) and I proceeded to drink the best part of a bottle of whisky during the evening. By about 10pm all thoughts of staying up to see in the new year had gone - I just wanted to lie down so I went upstairs and fell asleep on the floor in one of the bedrooms. Just before midnight, Sue came to wake me up so that I could wish everyone a happy new year, and have a glass of champagne.

So, along with everyone else at the party, I went out into the street, hugged strangers, wished them happy new year, and went back upstairs to lie down again. The champagne on top of all the whisky, the lack of food to soak it up, and the extremely over-heated bedroom all got too much for me and I decided I had to have some fresh air. I knelt on the bed, opened the window and the fresh air hit me and I threw up out of the window. Once I started I couldn't stop. I could hear everyone downstairs groan in disgust and slam the windows shut. I hoped that no-one had parked their car under the window, because I was still throwing up.

The first thing I heard in the morning was the sound of Sue's husband hosing down the drive. When I could move without being sick again into the basin she'd kindly put there for me in the night, he drove me home, waving aside my apologies.

Sue's kept my secret and never told anyone about that disgusting episode. I am very very lucky she's still my friend and I am very very glad that I will never embarrass myself like that again.