Wednesday 3 June 2015

When the Wine Witch Wins - Part 2

Day 94, and the UK press is filled with tributes to Charles Kennedy, the ex leader of the Liberal Democrat Party, who died 'suddenly and unexpectedly' on Monday at the age of 55.

The cause of Kennedy's death is not yet known, but it is widely assumed to be connected to his struggles with alcoholism and (its associated) depression, and possibly with the fact that Kennedy lost his seat, after nearly thirty years as an MP, in the general election last month.

Kennedy was, by all accounts, an extraordinarily talented politician, and a remarkable human being. He was loved and respected by members of all political parties, not just his own. He was brave and principled - the only party leader who spoke up against the war in Iraq, for example.

But he was bedevilled by the Wine Witch.

(Tallaxo tells me that, for men, it's a demon, not a witch. And he's male. And Kennedy's tipple was, I believe, whisky.)

Here is a link to an article written by Ming Campbell back in 2008 entitled 'How drink destroyed Charles Kennedy'. It describes, for example, how Charles was unable to speak at a meeting with Yasser Arafat in 2001 because he was so hungover.

On Budget Day in March 2004, Kennedy was expected at Prime Minster's Questions. When he didn't appear, Ming went to collect him and was blocked from entering his office by his PA because he had  'a stomach complaint.'

Eventually, in 2006 Charles stood down as leader of the party, citing a need to address his alcoholism as the cause, and his wife left him.

The article makes for uncomfortable reading, as I could imagine exactly what had been going through Kennedy's head at that time. He was a classic 'high functioning alcoholic' who kept everything seemingly under control, until the elevator, with a terrible inevitability, descended lower and lower, and he just couldn't control it anymore.

I can picture him at his desk thinking 'I'll just have one to steady my nerves before the Budget announcement.....perhaps a second will help take the edge off a bit....it's a long session, might need a third....' We've been there. We know the story.

In today's Guardian, Gaby Hinsliff writes: If Charles Kennedy’s death leads one or two to pause before unleashing mob scorn or fury, if it prompts an ounce more compassion for people whose lives might well be more complicated than they look – well, a fine liberal legacy that would be.

Hear, hear, Gaby.

Whether or not Kennedy's death was directly attributable to the whisky demon, it certainly had a massive negative impact on his life. What a waste of monumental talent. It reminds me of a quote that I reproduced in "Why ex-drinkers rock, Part 2" from Abraham Lincoln's Temperance Address:

"I believe, if we take habitual drunkards as a class, their heads and their hearts will bear an advantageous comparison with those of any other class. There seems ever to have been a proneness in the brilliant, and warm-blooded to fall into this vice. The demon of intemperance ever seems to have delighted in sucking the blood of genius and of generosity."

Farewell, Charles Kennedy. And, to all of you, don't let the wine witch (or the whisky demon) claim another victim.

Love SM x

Related Post: When the Wine Witch Wins

12 comments:

  1. Charles Kennedy's death is so, so sad. I've blogged about this too this morning. It's a horrible reminder of that terrible inner voice whatever we call her/him. I draw a lot of hope from you and the many sober bloggers out there not letting it win. Flossie x

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    1. I've just seen your post, Flossie, and posted a similar comment! I imagine that all of us in the sobersphere are a bit rocked by this news... xx

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  2. I was a Charles Kennedy, a very high functioning alcoholic, until I wasn't. I could no longer count on myself for anything, neither could anyone else and that is when I knew I had to turn it around. I couldn't live with myself. Thank God, I was one of the lucky rescued. And I intend to stay that way.

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    1. I was too, Kary May. We are the lucky ones! Welcome xx

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    2. Same here. I was high functioning until I wasn't. Age and years of drinking will do it to anyone. I've been hungover at work. It was an absolutely miserable experience. I simply cannot allow myself to lose my health, my career and my life to a bottle of wine.

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    3. I'm not sure on what scale of functioning I was just functioning was good enough for me ..... enough to get children to school / day care and get to work on time, then do the job as best as poss but don't look too closely cos you'll see the cracks!!!

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  3. So well put. No one wants to end up like that. Behaving irrationally and compulsively. Deluding ourselves that the "one drink" will help. Losing everything to hold on to our bottle. But it happens all the time.
    My heart aches just thinking of it. So much wasted opportunity.

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  4. It's easy to see it in other people isn't it. Have you seen Gwyneth Paltrow's film 'country strong'? I feel for her character so much (I think she's fictional too). Yet the first time I watched it I was no doubt nursing several large glasses of wine. Hypercritical some might say but it really can be that hard to see in ourselves. Does that make sense?! I hate the way Laurel is being portrayed in Emmerdale too. Anyone else feel they have got it wrong? RIP Charles Kennedy x

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    1. I haven't seen that film LNM, so thanks for the tip! x

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  5. Very sad indeed. It makes me wonder if we all have an equal ability to defeat the demon / witch, or if for some, the battle is heavily weighted against them. I guess the witch's power is subjective to each individual and we can never know the answer. x

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    1. My theory is that the closer you get to rock bottom before you quit the harder it is as the witch gets a stronger and stronger hold as time progresses, but I'm not sure if there's any research on that....

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  6. Poor Charles Kennedy :-( I agree that the longer you stay on the elevator the harder it is to get off. It's hard enough to stop at the stage of drinking wine every night but must be a nightmare trying to stop if you drink during the day and especially if you drink spirits. I hope I can stay off as I feel that the WW gets a tighter grip on you each time you get back on and getting an alcohol related illness must be terrifying. Scary xxx

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