‘Alcohol almost killed me – now I celebrate sobriety in the most unlikely of places’

Brothers Dave and Stephen Crawley said attending Cheltenham Festival – where this year almost 400,000 pints of Guinness were drunk – was, for them, a celebration of sobriety
Two decades ago, just before Christmas, Dave Crawley thought his life was about to end as he lay in a hospital bed.

Suffering severe liver damage after years of alcohol abuse, his parents gave him some rosary beads, and a chaplain at The Princess Royal Hospital in Telford read him the last rites.

However, despite doctors’ fears, Dave managed a remarkable recovery; a turnaround he puts down to Catholic faith and, later, the support of his brother, Stephen.

With the help of his brother, Dave was finally able to give up drinking and get his life back on track, and now works as a mentor helping others.

To mark his recovery every year, the brothers celebrate in, perhaps, the surprising surroundings of Cheltenham Festival, where this year almost 400,000 pints of Guinness were drunk, many of them in the Best Mate Enclosure, where the pair got tickets for Gold Cup Day.

“The drinking [at Cheltenham] doesn’t bother us at all, not in the slightest.

It’s just funny when you see them all getting overly carried away.

At the start of the day, people look all so smart, then at the end they’re in a right mess.

The brothers bonded while Dave was in rehab in Weston-super-Mare after being discharged from hospital.

Stephen said: “I went down there to meet some of the people looking after David.

We had a game of badminton and he was getting well enough to beat me, but I persisted he stay in there to continue receiving help, even when he wanted to go.

“It took resilience and faith, and finally he was able to come out, when he started supporting my business [called Telad] in mentoring other men.”
When Stephen, who had his own problems with drinking, organised a Christmas party in 2006, the pair made a vow never to drink again, and went to Cheltenham for the first time the following year.

“We’ve had plenty of chocolates and doughnuts over our time coming here, but never a drink.” said Stephen.

“Some people might think it’s mad, but it’s funny really.”
The pair, who are both from the West Midlands and now run their consultancy companies, ended the festival with a winning bet on a horse – Johnny’s Jury – in memory of their father, who Dave said instigated his baptism.

“The horse won,” said Dave.

“It was such a special moment as it brought us back to why we were here.”
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