Author: Mark Carlin

Staying Grounded, Curious, and Present in One of the World’s Great Cities London is one of the world’s most rewarding cities to explore, especially when you’re sober. Beyond the pubs and nightlife, the city reveals itself to those who walk, wander, and pay attention: the curve of a bridge, the shimmer of the Thames, the echo inside a cathedral. For sober travellers, London offers quiet corners, bustling markets, world-class museums, and welcoming communities. This isn’t a guide to “avoiding alcohol”; it’s a guide to experiencing the city fully — grounded, present, and attentive. Whether you’re new to sobriety or have…

Belfast Playwright Explores AA, Mentorship, and Human Imperfection David Ireland’s “The Fifth Step” is a play that understands sobriety not as redemption, but as exposure. Set largely within the framework of Alcoholics Anonymous, it resists easy judgment — neither endorsing nor condemning the programme — and instead turns its attention to something more uncomfortable: what happens when flawed people are given moral authority over one another. Ireland, the Belfast-born playwright long fascinated by faith, guilt, and hypocrisy, brings his sharpest instincts to bear here. AA is not treated as a problem to be solved, but as a human structure —…

No Edits, No Retakes: Witnessing the Spiral from the Stalls Theatre has always loved alcohol. Glasses clink, bottles appear and disappear, and characters loosen their tongues under the warm glow of stage lights. But while drinking has long been a convenient dramatic device, addiction itself has rarely been portrayed with the same honesty. Only in recent decades has theatre begun to move beyond caricature and cautionary tale, toward something far more uncomfortable — and far more truthful. What makes addiction so potent on stage is its immediacy. There is no cinematic buffer, no softening edit, no distance. When a character’s…

For many in recovery, planning a holiday brings a particular set of considerations. Menus may be scanned in advance, local meetings noted, and the social atmosphere weighed carefully — will a destination feel welcoming, or might subtle challenges arise? Traditionally, cruises were often seen as the latter: ships dominated by drinks packages and lively poolside bars, environments that could feel at odds with a life lived clearly. As we enter 2026, travel is evolving alongside the sober lifestyle movement. “Dry Tripping,” a way of travelling that emphasises presence over excess, is steadily gaining traction. At the forefront is The Sober…

For years, cruises carried a reputation that didn’t suit everyone — a sort of floating pub drifting from one sunny port to the next. For those choosing a sober lifestyle or exploring a sober‑curious lifestyle, the idea of stepping aboard felt like walking into a party you’d already decided to leave. Yet as we enter 2026, sober travel adventures and international sober vacations have quietly entered the mainstream. The question is no longer “Will I manage without a drink?” but “Is this the kind of journey that fits the life I’m living now?” For many, modern cruising offers structure, calm,…