Glasgow woman who drank bottle of vodka daily in retirement boredom turns life around

The 56-year-old began drinking after leaving her job of 34 years at Glasgow City Council to take early retirement.

With no routine in place after leaving a job she had worked in since she was 16, the woman, who we are calling Margaret to protect her anonymity, has told her story in a bid to show others in a similar position that there is a way out.

“It was total boredom, having absolutely nothing to do and for some bizarre reason I just started drinking,” explained the mum-of-two.

She continued: “I had worked for the city council for 34 years from when I was 16 and I took early retirement because a package came round, and I thought right, I will go for this.

“The first year I took my family on holiday, paid off my mortgage and I got a lot of work done in my house. By the time the second year came, there was nothing to do.

“I had put my name down for a couple of volunteering roles with charities but nobody ever got back and I tried to get part-time work.

“I still had my youngest daughter, who was at secondary school. I was up in the morning to get her ready and out to school. Then that was it, there was nothing.

“There is only so many times you can clean your house. I had the cleanest house in the city and my washings were all done. So I just started drinking vodka, during the day in the morning after she had gone to school.”

Drinking vodka after her daughter left for school became a routine for Margaret which lasted for months.

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She, however, did not let appearances slip which made it more difficult for her to recognise that her behaviour could lead to problems.

She said: “I would sit in my kitchen, listening to radio, having a drink while reading the paper and magazines. Lunchtime I would go to bed and sleep for a couple of hours so that when my daughter came in from school everything was fine.

“Quite a lot of the time I would get the vodka while I was doing my shopping at Asda. It didn’t look so bad then, because I had all my shopping and then a couple of bottles of vodka. I wasn’t going into a shop, and coming out with vodka and nothing else.

“Even as it got worse. I would buy a bottle of vodka with something else so it looked part of the shopping.”

She added: “I was a house drinker but I wasn’t getting drunk outside. I have the same neighbours and they probably would never know that I had issue with alcohol.”

Margaret, however, realised things had to change when the constant abuse of alcohol began to take its toll on her health.

She said: "I lost so much weight because I was not eating due to drinking alcohol. A lot of times I was being really sick so I suppose that added to the weight loss as well.

"Then I had injuries. I ended up in hospital through alcohol."

She added: "I ended up in Royal four times in three months and that was through alcohol.

"I fell and broke my right ankle. A week or so later I feel again and broke my left ankle.

"The last time I was in the hospital, I came out and told myself that was it."

Margaret sought help from her GP who referred her to the local addiction team. They told her about the charity Addaction, and after becoming involved with them, Margaret volunteered to become a befriender with the programme Drink Wise, Age Well which focuses on offering support to over 50s.

Now Margaret has created a new routine and life to focus her energies on. She volunteers up to six times a week and she helps others tackle problematic drinking.

Drink Wise Age Well does not require participants to remain abstinence but Margaret has stayed clear of alcohol, instead offering her volunteer services for the last four years.

She said: "I love getting up in the morning it gives you such a good purpose helping other people. It is priceless and I love it.

"Sometimes I think I am quite glad I had a problem with alcohol because this has come out of it. But at the same time I am not glad I had a problem with alcohol because it is horrific."

She added: "Volunteers like me are needed to spread the word and keep this service going. I was the first volunteer and now we have over 10."

What Margaret's volunteer role involves:

MARGARET is one of the millions of volunteers who will be celebrated this week across the country.

For Volunteers Week takes place from June 1 to 7 and highlights how important it is to have people like Margaret in our communities - and of course to say thank you to them for their hard work.

Once Margaret completed her one year support programme with the charity Addaction, volunteering was naturally something she fell into.

Margaret has worked as a volunteer for the over 50s programme Live Wise, Age Well and helps other over 50s deal with problematic drinking.

Described as a veteran by the team at the organisation, Margaret has helped develop some of the resources used by workers including the Drink Wise, Age Well programme which is a six-week course to help strength coping strategies and improve well-being for those who need help to manage their drinking.

Margaret now also leads Mutual Aid Programme meeting sessions, which is a safe and secure environment where people aged 50 plus can share their stories and challenges.

The groups then work together to arrive at a solution.

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How you can volunteer...

DRINK Wise, Age Well have been hosting activities at Maryhill Burgh Halls this week in a bid to encourage new volunteers to come onboard.

Anyone can volunteer and you can find out more tomorrow at 11am at the volunteer recruitment session. The session will be followed by a BBQ at noon.

Graeme Callander, Drink Wise, Age Well Glasgow Locality Manager, said, “Our service users often emerge from their recovery with a passion to help others facing similar issues and their ‘lived experience’ makes them uniquely qualified to provide support.

"We now have more than 50 volunteers working with us in Glasgow. It’s a perfect example of the volunteering virtuous circle in action. Volunteering is not only a fun and fulfilling way for older adults - who are maybe feeling lonely - to spend their time, but giving something back to their local communities is also good for their own well-being.

Contact Drink Wise, Age Well

For more information on the programme or to volunteer, visit Drink Wise, Age Well's official website via https://drinkwiseagewell.org.uk/

You can also call the Glasgow office on 0800 304 7690.

Friday's volunteer event takes place at 11am in Maryhill Burgh Halls, 10-24 Gairbraid Avenue, Glasgow, G20 8YE.

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