Be Excellent To Each Other

Very sad news indeed.

I lost another online friend yesterday; cervical cancer at 40, having only been diagnosed with it eight weeks ago. I guess the only tiny silver lining is that in both cases, goodbyes could be said.

Sad news

Sad news. Pass on our condolences, please Jazzy

Really sad to read this. Deepest sympathies to Hanna and family.

Ah shit, that's such a shame

Please add me to the list of condolences. Is there a collection or anything?

I'm not sure to be honest. I'd spoken to her last week, so knew he wasn't good. But I still wasn't expecting the message this morning. It never crossed my mind to ask, I think I was in a bit of shock. I was just thinking about it though. If there isn't, then maybe we could make a donation to a charity in his name? I dunno. I'll leave it for today, and message her again tomorrow.

Really sorry to hear this

Yep, that would be good. Thanks for the update, even if it is shit news.

Sorry to hear of this.

Really sorry to hear this and I'm really grateful for MrC to share his story and I hope it helped him in someway to talk about it with us.

Please add my condolences to his wife and family when it's the right time to do so.

Ah, shit Condolences to Hanna and the rest of the family from me too - sad times

Very sad to hear this. My thoughts are with Hanna and the family. Awful news.

So sorry to hear this.

I was bummed out to see this, its very sad.

I was going to have a beer tonight as I watched telly but after reading this, I paused and then decided not to. Think I might cut back a bit.

Awful. I’m so sorry. I mentioned to Russell last week that we’d not heard anything from him in a while and I think we both worried but hoped he was just being quiet. Please pass on our condolences.

That's sad news, I'm sorry to hear it

oh no, I'm also very sorry to hear this news

Terrible to hear, love and sympathies to MrC’s family. Lost for words really, even though his condition was severe I just thought he’d improve. Just awful.

Man. Just. Man.

Sucks so hard

RIP Mr C.

Terribly sad news

I just want to echo all the sentiments and comments that others have made. Very sad news indeed.

Horrible news. Rest in Power, MrC.

That's very sad to hear.

I’m sorry to read this. I had a few interactions with MrC and he seemed like a nice guy. I’d often see him on the PlayStation playing Sekiro in recent times and think “I wonder how he’s getting on”. He was last logged in 26 days ago but I can’t see his trophies for some reason. I hope he smashed it. Rest peacefully MrC.

Yeah I remember back in the 360 days my leaderboards always had MrC trouncing me! Only did I ever briefly hold any lead before he started playing a particular arcade game I had.

You have no idea how proud he was of winning song wars, I think it was one of his proudest achievements.

Hey all,

I've just heard off Hanna and she has been able to come on here and see your posts. She wanted to say thank you for the kind words that have been said.

I've also asked about a collection, so will let you know what she says, as I'm sure you can imagine she is a bit busy at the moment with lots to arrange.

I’m very sad to hear about this. Even though it was an inevitability, every time he popped on to say he was still hanging on it felt like it could carry on indefinitely.

Him sharing his story has really helped me with staying off the booze, and I’m grateful to him for that. Please pass on my condolences to his family when you feel it’s appropriate, @goddess Jasmine.

I did pass this on and also asked about a collection.

Hanna mentioned that there isn't one, that all he wanted was for people to learn from his experience.

I don't know if anyone knows of a charity that raises awareness?

I also thought about asking her permission to share his story on social media. Often when it's from someone you know, people can relate to it better.

Does anybody else have any other ideas?

British Liver Trust springs to mind, but I don't know how much work they do for this condition specifically?

https://alcoholchange.org.uk/ ?

Thanks both, I wasn't aware of either of those. I've had a look at both of them, and the change one appears to look more at educating people and raising awareness.

I'm going to suggest a donation to them in MrC's name, what do you think?

They have a Facebook page too that looks like they have lots of good information to share. I'll message Hanna now and ask permission to share Colin's story from the first post of this thread.

I think that is a lovely idea.

Sounds like a great idea, more than happy to contribute.

Brill, does anyone know if there is a 'best' way to go about it? I'm happy to give out my PayPal address and collect the money and make the donation, but if there is a better way I'm open to suggestions.

I've messaged Hanna for permission to share his story too, so I'll let you know what she says.

A JustGiving page, perhaps? Only issue with that is that it's "public" in a sense, but non-BeExers that knew MrC might also want to contribute perhaps? Dunno if Hanna would be OK with it, though.

Hanna has given her permission to share his story, but asked that his name is kept off it for now.

I’m so sorry to hear this news, my love to his family and those who knew him personally.

I’ll put something into a collection.

This feels like an appropriate place…

I’m not a heavy drinker [1] but am a regular one, and we share a bottle of wine or a have a couple of beers three times a week. I’ve not had a long break since, well, forever, so decided to give dry January a go.

Two weeks in and it’s all going fine. Some of the alcohol free beers are really tasty, and it’s been a bit easier than I thought to make the switch which is reassuring.

Anyone else doing the same this year?

[1] Twenty years ago I drank more in the pub with friends, but always tried to avoid hangovers (mostly successfully).

I've been alcohol free since shortly after midnight on new years eve. NA beer makes it a lot easier, to be fair and the selection is much better than it used to be. I've developed a taste for the NA Guinness and the NA Corona isn't half bad

Drinking a Free Damm at the moment. £3.50 for four cans at Morrisons.

Not a dry Jan for me but I’ve not been drinking half as much lately. Had the most sober Christmas in years… which was great really, not a single hangover. I tend to just have a brew at home rather than an alcohol free beer, but the Guinness NA is a good option, better tasting imho than 0% beer.

Good going, you two, by the way.

Been trying to cut down over the past year or so, mostly by attempting to avoid having beer in the house. Not always consistent on this but on the whole I've been keeping to it.
As well as Guinness 0 I really like Drop Bear's Tropical IPA and tend to keep some of that in the fridge.

Doing dry January too, as well as kicking the cigarettes. Found myself drinking increasing amounts to try and feel buzzy or obliterated, but more often felt morose and sad.

Enjoying it so far, feel much less stressed than I often would, and no hangovers is pleasant. Find it strange how tired I continue to feel.

Will be interesting to see what happens at the end of Jan. Really could go either way.

Good luck all you abstainers!

The choice of non-alcoholic beers is so so much better now. I recently had some really nice ones.

Certainly better than the shit available when I was working in a pub, I remember there was only one choice, Caliber (possibly spelled differently).

Well done to everybody drying up over January. It’s good to hear that it’s made easier with the alcohol free beer choice, too. I’ve often wondered about the booming market for those. Do you find that you drink them because you miss the taste of beer, or is it more of a psychological prop so that you don’t miss the ritual of a beer in the evening or when hanging out with friends, etc?

I sometimes have some alcohol free wine, but I only use that for cooking. I’ve thought about trying the 0% Guinness for stews/casseroles, but I don’t think I’d bother drinking it, despite really liking Guinness as a drink. I’ve not had alcohol since Rach’s alcoholic lemons many many cottages ago (and they were a novelty, I hadn’t had alcohol since 2014 before that).

Most of my drinking is the "two or three beers on a friday night" variety, so having a direct replacement for that is nice. I very rarely drink to excess these days, much more of a steady drinker. The last time I went out out, I think I maybe had 5 or 6 pints then just stopped drinking. I just get... full and gassy. Not a pleasent feeling. And the hiccups. Hate them.