Thursday November 1 - Are you there God? It's me, Will.

My name's Will and I'm a social alcoholic. It's been ten months and 17 hours since my last drink.

Well, the good news is that I'm still on the wagon. The bad news is that - as regular readers may have noticed - I appear to have lost all will to update this blog.

Originally, I thought I'd need the blog to help me get through this alcohol-free year. People like me (show offs) can't just do things with quiet dignity - we need regular pats on the head from an adoring public.

However, as it turns out, writing about my sobriety has become more of a chore than staying off the booze in the first place. The irony is not lost on me. In fact, I'm considering emailing Alanis Morisette.

It's not even like I haven't had things to write about. Life has been pretty exciting, as it goes. There's the new job, for starters, which I'm loving. Then there was the rugby world cup final, which very nearly drove me to drink (not the result - I didn't care about that - but the fact that I watched it in a pub down south where the drinkers actually sang the national anthem . Weird, eh? I nearly had a brandy to quell the shock.

Then there has been the power of the internet. Within just seven days, I had two separate nights out with two old school friends who emailed me out of the blue following a ten-year silence. (Adam Searle and Catherine Kitson, fact fans).

Then there has been the usual relentless cycle of boozy nights in and nights out with my south Liverpool band of brothers.

All of these events were potential blog fodder but, frankly, I just couldn't be arsed.

So what has prompted this brief flurry of activity? Well, at the risk of attaching slightly more importance to this project thank is justified, I think God has yet again stuck his oar in.

Remember back in September, when I was on the verge of quitting, and within minutes God had arranged for a bottle of champagne to be delivered to my front door (I interpreted this as a positive and encouraging sign)?

Well, to shake me from my blog stupor, He has hit me with a triple whammy today.

First off, it's November 1, and the passing of another month always gives a boost.

Secondly, I arrived in work to find not one but two emails from well-wishers, asking if I had finally caved in. Well, I say well-wishers, but it was Chris Fellows and Ben Banyard, possibly just inquiring in the hope that I might actually be more fun over the festive season.

Thirdly, I was called by a woman who has written a book called Beat The Booze, which is being released in January next year. Like me, she was a social drinker who went teetotal when she became sick of the booze merrirgoround. She had no idea I was a fellow teetotaller, and was ringing in a professional capacity. However, I lost no time in telling her about my blog (told you I was a show off), so thought I'd better update just in case she actually reads it. It's a keeping up with the Jones thing, you understand.

Anyway, thanks God. Do me a favour and give me a nudge in December, cos I can feel myself getting bored again.