Is 'guesting' a word? Not sure, but never mind. I am delighted to have been asked to be a special guest on the première of The Addiction Show on Friday 29^th March 2013.

Hosted by my fellow Recovery Coach, Shira Goldberg, The Addiction Show is LIVE every Friday, and we'll be talking about addiction, recovery, and everything in between.

Join me for the première this Friday at 7pm GMT / 12 PST / 3pm EST on Google Hangouts, or catch up afterwards on YouTube.

Shira is a great lady, so I'm sure it'll be lots of fun. We'll be talking about how to be happy in recovery.

You can find out more info on this page. Hope to see you soon!

And if you missed it, the replay is here:

Ah, it's all Russell Brand's fault. Fancy him going and writing a blooming great article about addiction, which endeavored to get people to treat addicts with empathy and understanding.

Naturally, I agree wholeheartedly. So, I decided to follow up on my Huffington Post blog, with a an article of my own, backing up the big-haired comedian and sharing my own insights.

However, much to my perpetual bemusement, the moment you start asking people to empathise with addicts, or at least to open their minds to the possibility, the shutters are suddenly pulled down by people who are, I am sure, otherwise intelligent.

Judging by some of the comments, people would rather not consider the possibility that addiction could be some sort of illness or disorder, rendering the sufferer incapable of control or rational thought when it comes to their substance. And yet, that is exactly what it is like.

What I don't get is that people are only too happy to attack addicts and to defend their own opinions, even though they clearly know nothing about addiction, nor have any experience of it. That's like me denying that people really ever suffer from schizophrenia, just because I, myself, do not get delusional thoughts. Well I do, but only around gin. 

The blog post got over 2,000 Facebook likes, and counting, which pleases me greatly, knowing that some people either do understand, or are willing to. Despite that, some of the comments were harsh, heartless and ignorant.

Perhaps saddest of all though is that I wasn't even asking for sympathy for addicts, just a willingness to understand the nature of addition and its core hallmarks, so that we could start to address the problem properly and use effective measures. A call for empathy that clearly led some people to take exactly the opposite approach. If you haven't read the article yet, please do. One more person in the world who is willing to understand makes all the difference to me and my fellow addicts.

 Who would have thought that my Huffington Post blog about how much I hate Christmas would have got me so much media attention? It seems that my unfestive thoughts have hit quite a nerve.

I received calls from two local BBC Radio stations this week to appear on their shows and share why I don't like Christmas and how others can cope if they feel the same.

If you missed either show and want to listen again, you can access the files below. I apologise in advance for the glut of Christmas music in the second one!

Readers of Tesco Magazine should already have picked up on what I'll be doing instead this Christmas. In the November-December issue, they included an interview with me about my work at Crisis.

Yes, every holiday season I will be found helping out at a homeless centre in London. It's for a very good cause and I have a lot of fun doing it!

So if you really hate Christmas, why not join me next year and participate in a project that reflects the true meaning of Christmas. Giving, loving, sharing and gratitude.

And whatever you decide to do this Christmas, I hope you have a good one.

BBC Radio Cumbria 20-12-12

BBC Radio Three Counties 21-12-12

What a delight and an honour it was to be invited to The Living Room in Cardiff to share my story with other recovering addicts. I met some lovely people, not least of all Wynford Ellis Owen, the founder of the project and the Chief Executive of the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Drugs.

It was a wonderful experience to be meeting the man whose book No Room To Live was a turning point in my own recovery from alcoholism. It was a book I connected with during my darkest hours and which prompted me, above all, to lay my pride aside and to ask for more help from people who understood my addiction.

What an amazing moment to be visiting him, and the project, with my own book and my own story of recovery, to help other addicts.

The world of addiction recovery is built upon one addict helping another - and it was a very sweet moment indeed to be completing my part of the circle with other addicts seeking help and support from Wynford's project.

I met some truly amazing people with inspiring stories of their own. Recovery really is an awesome thing and it unlocks the door to some incredible experienes.

No doubt there will be more beautiful moments of connection like this - I look forward to being part of them.