"In mid-December, I went to a Christmas dinner with a group of my colleagues from work – a big roast with all the trimmings. One of them suggested they round the meal off with some port afterwards, and I drank a lot of it. In fact, I drank two bottles of it.
I had a colossal hangover – it lasted two days it was that bad. I could hardly touch food, but more worrying were the severe stomach cramps and sickness that I suffered in the next few days. These became so bad that I went to the doctors and discovered that the diagnosis was a burnt stomach lining.
The prescription was no alcohol, rich food or anything indulgent for the next two weeks. On Christmas Day, my dinner consisted of just turkey breast with some dry bread, and no gravy. I spent New Year's Eve drinking mineral water, so it wasn't a festive period I really want to remember."
I could hardly touch food, but more worrying were the severe stomach cramps and sickness.