Six months into his Teetotally Dry 2018 for us, we’re catching up on how Andrew Whelan is doing.

Has he lapsed in the challenge he set himself to drink no alcohol for the whole 365 days or has he enjoyed his personal challenge to raise £2018 (or more) for CPotential?

“Well, it’s improved my volley no end,” says Andrew. “Instead of sinking into the sofa and watching a movie along with a glass of something, I’ve spent a lot more time playing tennis.”

“It’s been an interesting experience and I feel really good. I’ve lost about a stone in weight and saved some money too.  My wife Lisa has been delighted she has a designated driver on hand when we go out.”

The trickiest time so far was on his company’s away day in Ireland in May, which inevitably involved visiting a few hostelries but Andrew nobly stuck to alcohol-free beer.

And he’s still partial to a glass of elderflower cordial and was delighted to sample some made by the children when he popped in to visit us this week.

They’d made the drink in a Learning for Living cooking class last week – picking the elderflowers from our playground, chopping oranges and lemons and following the recipe (see below).

Andrew said: “Meeting the children and seeing first-hand how CPotential really helps their development makes me more determined than ever to do what I can to support this great charity. I might even go in for a tennis marathon next year!”

Please raise a glass and show your support for Andrew here.