I, Matthew Goodsell, hereby declare my intention to give up alcohol. Well, maybe not completely – I’m too partial to a good real ale to do that – but I have decided to adopt a new attitude to alcohol. Instead of drinking a beer or two every night, just because I felt like it, I think from now on I will drink only when the occasion arises, such as at parties, or when one is at bond exhibitions where drinking martinis is obligatory. That way drinks remain special – you appreciate it more. I decided this on Saturday, when it finally sank in that my absences were linked to my alcohol intake. To be honest, my parents had been hinting at that for years, when an online friend of mine showed me this. My absences have been playing a lot on my mind recently; it’s not that I think they’re getting worse, just more irritating. Time, therefore, to take action: more vitamins, less booze. Besides, there is more to life than beer, and I think this way I will get more to life with Lyn. The beer-swilling days of my life, a remnant of university, are now over, and I already feel better for it.