'I quit drinking alcohol for a month - this is what it did to my body and my mind'

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

As Alexander-Arnold smashed the ball into the top corner, taking England through to the semi finals, the people in the bar around me rose from their seats and let out an almighty roar.

I felt nothing. No, in fact, I felt entirely disconnected from the moment. While my friends around me sunk their fourth or fifth pint of the afternoon, and made their way upstairs for a round of shots, I finished my second non-alcoholic beer and tried to summon some emotion.

The start of summer isn’t usually the time for cutting back on alcohol. Dry January has a ring to it, or at the very least a sense of camaraderie.

Booze-free June does not. READ MORE: I walked 10,000 steps a day for a month - this is what I learned If the start of the year is about reining it in and engaging in a brief spell of abstinence following a boozy festive period punctuated by too many mulled wines at the markets and a hazy recollection of the office Christmas party, summer is about post-work pints in a beer garden, watching the Euros in a fanzone and enjoying happy hour on a sun-soaked beach.