helena frith powell

  • Lifestyle
  • Women
  • Beauty
  • France
  • Contact

A sobering revelation

14th July 2009 by Helena 12 Comments  

I have given up drinking. Not in the way I normally give up, for a few hours every New Year, but this will be my ninth alcohol-free evening. It all started when Rupert was told by a personal trainer that he had to stop for a couple of weeks.
“I’ll do it too,” I said, ever the supportive wife.
Nine days later I am, well, hooked. I feel great. I am sleeping better, have lost a kilo and my skin is clearer (less red-faced some might say). It has been a total revelation. I can’t believe I have spent so many years thinking I can’t manage without a drink. Because I can actually manage better.
Having said that I am looking forward to a glass of wine once I get to France. There is a time and a place for everything and the time and the place for a glass of wine is at the hotel by the lake I have been dreaming about for weeks.

madame_butterfly.jpg

Feral update – last night they went to see Madame Butterfly. Olivia loved it, especially the love scene during which she stood up to get a better look. Bea sat through the first act and slept through the rest. They had a great time in Venice and are now in Rimini with estranged aunt and uncle in my grandmother’s old house. I love the idea of them there looking at the view I used to look at when I was just a few years older than them. I am longing to hear what they think of the Italian family.
On Sunday they go to my mother’s so I will get the verdict then but so far the combination of opera and shopping is keeping them occupied. When they’re not asleep that is.
Copyright: Helena Frith Powell 2009


Filed Under: Family, Italy, blog --> Tagged With: revelation, sobering

12 thoughts on A sobering revelation

  • mimi says:
    14th July 2009 at 11:09 pm

    Well done to you! I gave up last year for a few weeks, due to acid stomach, but I didn’t notice any difference. However, when I gave up chocolate, I got the same results as you did with wine! Different people,different poisons.
    I’m really enjoying the tales of “the ferals”.

  • Elena says:
    15th July 2009 at 7:06 am

    Lucky you, Mimi! I just can’t stop loving chocolate…

  • helena says:
    15th July 2009 at 7:12 am

    How amazing, did you eat a lot of chocolate? I can’t imagine that giving up my two pieces of dark chocolate a day will have any effect at all. It was tough last night watching my friends drink champagne followed by red wine but I got through it….Hx

  • Antonia says:
    15th July 2009 at 11:07 am

    When you are relaxing by the lake in France, hearing about the girls’ travels, the wine will taste better than you ever could have imagined

  • Kate says:
    15th July 2009 at 7:42 pm

    I’ve given up dairy on doctor’s advice because of digestive problems and have noticed a great effect on my skin. It’s hardest to forgo cheese. Not sure if I could give up the wine too. And my 2 pieces of the darkest chocolate each evening are absolutely non-negotiable!

  • mimi says:
    15th July 2009 at 9:13 pm

    A bar or two a day. I’d give up alcohol any day before chocolate. I agree with Antonia, you’ll enjoy your wine (or champagne) all the more by the lake for having been off it.

  • Elena says:
    16th July 2009 at 8:54 am

    a bar a day? that definitely rings the bell! how did you manage, Mimi? just a question of common sense and will power? I’d much appreciate if could share your tips:)

  • Paula says:
    17th July 2009 at 4:27 pm

    Sober Song
    by Barton Sutter

    Farewell to the starlight in whiskey,
    So long to the sunshine in beer.
    The booze made me cocky and frisky
    But worried the man in the mirror.

    Good night to the moonlight in brandy,
    Adieu to the warmth of the wine.
    I think I can finally stand me
    Without a glass or a stein.

    Bye-bye to the balm in the vodka,
    Ta-ta to the menthol in gin.
    I’m trying to do what I ought to,
    Rejecting that snake medicine.

    I won’t miss the blackouts and vomit,
    The accidents and regret.
    If I can stay off the rotgut,
    There might be a chance for me yet.

    So so long to God in a bottle,
    To the lies of rum and vermouth.
    Let me slake my thirst with water
    And the sweet, transparent truth.

    “Sober Song” by Barton Sutter, from Farewell to

  • helena says:
    17th July 2009 at 5:46 pm

    Brilliant! Am still sober….Hx

  • mimi says:
    18th July 2009 at 7:44 pm

    Elena- mostly will power, and a dairy-free recipe for chocolate truffles.
    I’ve written a bit about it on my blog
    http://mimi-mimis-world.blogspot.com/

    Helena, I hope it’s ok to give my address on your blog, m

  • helena says:
    19th July 2009 at 9:20 am

    Of course Mimi Hx

  • replica watches says:
    28th March 2010 at 5:27 pm

    cheap replica watchesBreitling watch for saleRolex Prince watchesRolex Air King watch for salereplica Gucci watchesreplica Rolex Milgauss watchesTag Heuer watchesRolex Milgauss replica

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Helena Frith Powell was born in Sweden to a Swedish mother and Italian father, but grew up mainly in England. She is the author of eleven books, translated into several languages including Chinese and Russian. She wrote the French Mistress column The Sunday Times about life in France for several years. She is a regular contributor to the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, The Times, Daily Telegraph, Tatler Magazine and Harper’s Bazaar.

Helena has been the editor of four magazines, including M Magazine, a supplement for the Abu Dhabi-based National Newspaper and FIVE, a high-end fashion glossy, also published in Abu Dhabi. Helena was also editor-in-chief of 360 Life, a quarterly glossy magazine published with the Sports 360 Newspaper in Dubai, part of the Chalhoub Group.

Helena contributes regularly to UK-based newspapers and magazines and holds a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Cambridge. She is working on a thriller set in Sweden as well as a novel about the relationship between Virginia Woolf and Katherine Mansfield called Sense of an Echo.

In 2022 her short story The Japanese Gardener came second in the Fish Publishing Short Story Prize. One of her stories was also shortlisted for the Bridport Short Story Prize. When she’s not writing, she works as a headhunter for the media and entertainment industry for the Sucherman Group. 

Helena, who was educated at Durham University, lives in the Languedoc region of France with her husband Rupert and their three children.

Bibliography

More France Please, we’re British; Gibson Square 2004

Two Lipsticks and a Lover 2005; Gibson Square (hardback)

All You Need to be Impossibly French; (US version of above) Penguin 2006

Two Lipsticks and a Lover; Arrow Books (paperback) 2007

Ciao Bella Gibson Square; (hardback) 2006

Ciao Bella Gibson Square; (paperback) 2007

So Chic! (French version of Two Lipsticks) Leduc Editions 2008 (also translated into Chinese, Russian and Thai)

More, More France; Gibson Square 2009

To Hell in High Heels; Arrow Books 2009 (also translated into Polish)

The Viva Mayr Diet; Harper Collins 2009

Love in a Warm Climate; Gibson Square 2011

The Ex-Factor; Gibson Square 2013

Smart Women Don’t Get Wrinkles; Gibson Square 2016

The Arnolfini Marriage; Amazon Kindle December 2016

Smart Women Don’t Get Wrinkles (paperback); Gibson Square spring 2018

The Longest Night; Gibson Square spring 2019

 

 

© 2023 Helena Frith Powell
Website by Web Inclusion
/* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: content-template-for-layout-for-header-and-footer-layout - start */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ .helenaHero .mainTitle h1{ font-size:3em; -webkit-transition: all 0.8s; -moz-transition: all 0.8s; -ms-transition: all 0.8s; -o-transition: all 0.8s; transition: all 0.8s; margin-top:-100%; padding-top:100px; padding-bottom:50px; margin:0; } .scrolled .helenaHero .mainTitle h1{ font-size:1.2em; padding-top:30px; padding-bottom:20px; } /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: content-template-for-layout-for-header-and-footer-layout - end */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: 17hfp_about - start */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ .HFPA-section{ width:100%; background:#eee; } .HFPA-Image{ background-position:center right; background-repeat:no-repeat; height:276px; width:100%; -webkit-filter: grayscale(100%); /* Safari 6.0 - 9.0 */ filter: grayscale(100%); } .HFPA-Text{ padding:20px 10px; } /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: 17hfp_about - end */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: 17footer - start */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ .footIt{ background:#222; padding:20px 10px; } /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: 17footer - end */ /* ----------------------------------------- */