We've done it! If you managed a booze-free October, well done, it's over, you can all go back to your drink-fuelled fun and/or depression, depending on your preference. Honestly though, can any of you remember why we did it? What a boring month that was but on the bright side, I am now a kick-ass Scrabbler.

Join us in Queen Vic after work tonight for an 'Octsober Bomb' - pint of lager with your Octsober Badge at the bottom - so we can compare notes and moan about it all.

 

 

Just one more weekend and a bit octsoberists and we will have completed our challenge. Was it easy? Was it boring? Was there a point? All this and more will become clear I'm sure, on Wednesday 2nd Nov whilst nursing our hangovers. Until then -  Be Strong, Be Smug, Be Octsober!

With little over a week to go, we are within sight of the finish line. I think it's fair and healthy that we can start fantasising about our reward.

So what is sitting on the other side of the line waiting for you? Will it be a lovely cool pint of beer with a frothy head to top it off? Will it be a big glass of red wine, full flavoured and warm? A large peaty malt? Maybe a tall gin & tonic, complete with a wedge of lime?

Maybe you've decided that #octsober has been such a success that you'll just keep going, happy in the knowledge that you no longer have the need for boozy nights and the punishment that inevitably follows?

We're nearly there folks. Keep the faith.

 

Personally speaking, #octsober has been far more challenging than I thought it might be. It turns out that it's been too much for many of the people who undertook this challenge. Reports of people failing have been regular. There are still some of us hardcore #octsoberists left though and i just wanted to say good job for sticking with it. The half way point has been passed and we're now on our way back down the mountain. Yep, there are less days left than have already been completed. This is no time to fail. I'm thinking an evening in the pub at the start of November so we can celebrate our achievement(a night of drinking to celebrate not drinking. How very Scottish) Who's with me?

A lively little debate kicked off on twitter this afternoon in relation to is beer with "no more than 0.05%ABV" ok to drink during #octsober.

There were lots of strong feelings going back and forth and questions relating to alcohol used in cooking and various other things we consume. At my last count the voting was 5-5…with one voter even switching from a no to a yes after viewing this link about the beer in question

You see, at EQ, we have a friday tradition by the name of #fridaybeer. We reckoned we could keep this going by purchasing alcohol free beer.

The problem here is that drinks in the UK can be branded as "Alcohol Free" if they contain "no more than 0.05%ABV" so the law reckons it's fair game. We're not sure so we're avoiding it for the time being.

Any further thoughts on this?

Day 2 of #octsober went really well. Faced a big challenge in that I had to go to the pub for a couple of hours. 4 pints of Pepsi later, I was on the mother of all sugar rushes and it's put me off coke in future. so…i'm looking for inspiration and a few other #octsoberists may well be also.

What drinks do you have instead of alcohol when you find yourself in the pub?

All great journeys start somewhere. My one starts in my bed feeling rough from three pints I drank in the pub a whole 24 hours previously...probably the perfect incentive for a month off the booze.

I hope to save some money and lose a bit of weight. There's no way I'm showing you my bank balance, but I am weighing in ten minutes ago at 16st 7lb. That stat floored me almost as much as the beer. I'll update that at the end.

Good luck brave souls. We can do this. Remember, temptation is fleeting, but we will remember this journey forever!

During the 31 days, you will have a lot more time on your hands and probably a bit more cash. Saturday/Sunday mornings wont be lost to a hangover.

What do you plan to do with your time?

 

Yes indeed, the badges have arrived at @eq_design and are available to all #octsoberists (unless our numbers swell to over 40 in which case you'll be out of luck.

Feel free to pop past for one, meet us in person somewhere (not the pub of course) or if you live particularly far away, we can pop one in the post for you.

They're looking particularly shiny and should be worn with pride.

With only today and tomorrow to go until the start of #octsober, I thought it appropriate to put out a roll call to see just how many people will be taking part in this thing.

If you are up for the challenge and arent already listed at the bottom of this page, simply leave a comment on this post. If you want to be able to contribute posts/images etc as well as having your avatar shown down at the bottom of the page under the "Brave souls" heading then sign up for a posterous account and let me know the email address used to sign up with by sending it to stairs@eqdesign.co.uk.

A little known bonus of being part of this booze free marathon is you'll also receive an #octsober pin badge. There may be other goodies to come also, we'll see how this goes. Hurrah!