IHAVE waited the entire month to write this column hoping and praying that my resolve wouldn't break and that I'd go the distance to complete in full the challenge I set myself five weeks ago.

And with only one day to go I feel I can now confidently do a Julie Andrews and sing from the mountain tops as the hills (and my drinks cabinet) are about to become, once again, very much alive people because I, Michelle Helen Catherine McManus took the Sober October challenge by the scruff of the neck and said "here you" and won.

Yes, a tad dramatic I know but for a self confessed party girl like moi this was quite a mountain to climb.

I decided back in September that after an amazing year of working at the likes of the Commonwealth Games live events and a month of partying in Edinburgh during the festival I should probably give my liver a well earned rest. Let's face it, I'm not getting any younger and the hangovers are most certainly getting longer.

I had no idea if I would actually see it through but October was as good a month as any to give it a bash as I was working most weekends which gave me a fighting chance due to that fact I'd be driving to and from these events anyway.

But I didn't foresee how much I'd miss having a glass of wine with the girls midweek or when I'd had a particularly bad day.

For example, I came home last Saturday very excited because I'd had my flat painted and couldn't wait to see the results, only to discover that the guy in Homebase had given me Rich Havana 5 not the Rich Havana 4 shade I asked for.

And instead of my kitchen being a place you'd always want to eat tapas and drink sangria in due to its beautiful terracotta tones, it is instead a room that when entered would come up and slap you right across the chops shouting 'You know when you've been Tangoed.'

Now I know it's not really the done thing and I would always advocate for people to drink respon-sibly but I'm not ashamed to say drinking alcohol is a very sociable thing for me and because I only do it when I'm not working, it's a way for me to unwind and relax.

However, I decided that giving up for a few weeks especially in the lead up to Christmas wouldn't hurt and the charity campaign Sober October looked like the perfect solution.

It also meant I had an opportunity to raise money for one of the charities I volunteer for called HCPT.

It's an amazing organisation that I've been involved with for 18 years taking sick and vulnerable children on holiday to Lourdes for a week at Easter.

For some of these children they have never been away on holiday due to the nature of their illness or their social circumstances and for those parents who are full-time, round-the-clock carers it offers a chance of much-needed respite.

We once took a beautiful 17-year-old girl on holiday who had a very serious illness which resulted in her being paralysed from the neck down and her parents had been her full-time carers since birth. I couldn't believe they hadn't so much as been to the cinema together during that time as they were understandably reluctant to leave their daughter with anyone else due to her care needs.

After months of visiting their home for visits and allowing them to get to know us as a charity and feel comfortable especially after meeting with our group nurse, they agreed to let us take their daughter on holiday.

She was an amazing girl whose mind was as sharp as a tack with only her body sadly failing her.

I will never forget the look on her face when we took the children on an excursion to the beach.

We carried her down to the sand and lay out there with her while the other children played around us building sandcastles and she just smiled and giggled the whole time.

It broke my heart a few years later when she passed away but I'm so proud that because of this wonderful charity we had an opportunity to give her a fantastic week away on holiday with her friends just like most teenagers do at some point.

I'm delighted I've managed to complete this little mini challenge for such an amazing charity and I have to say I'd do it all again if it meant raising more money for this outstanding cause.

Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart to all those who have already donated and for those of you who may still wish to donate, please let me say thank you in advance.

You have no idea how much your donation will affect and change the lives of so many deserving children and adults.

To donate please text MCMA49 and the amount you wish to donate ie £2 to 70070.

Thank you.

HAPPY Birthday to Christian Fivey - your first birthday as a grandmother to gorgeous little Michael this year. I hope you have a wonderful day and that you are spoiled rotten.