I ditched the drink to DATE SOBER

‘I DIDN’T WANT TO WASTE TIME’

Stepping into my local pub, I looked around for the handsome stranger I’d been chatting to online. Spotting Dave, then 36, I smiled nervously, and we both headed to the bar to order a drink. It was September 2018, and just a year earlier, I no doubt would have ordered something strong to quell my nerves, but today, nine months into my challenge to go sober for a year, I ordered a peppermint tea instead. I’d always used alcohol to give me confidence, but today, as the conversation between me and Dave flowed, it turned out to be one of the best dates I’d ever had, Dave