09/01/2012 Inside Out East Midlands

Hello, tonight Inside Out is at Columba Park in Nottinghamshire.

Coming up in the next half-hour, Britain's boozy habits cost us

millions, but could you give up alcohol for a whole month? I've got

to find something to replace the booze with. Also tonight,

celebrating in style, but there's a hefty price-tag for the traditional

Asian wedding. There isn't something as a cheap Asian wedding,

they just get insaner and insaner. And in loving memory of a fallen

soldier, the family determined to bring his adopted dog home from

Afghanistan. With the surprising stories from where you live, I'm

Marie Ashby, and this is Inside Out We Brits are the biggest boozers in

the world. Binge drinking costs our country billions in alcohol-fuelled

crime and serious illnesses. How many of us realise we have a

problem in the first place, and how many of us can kick the habit of we

want to? We decided to put that to the test, and asked radio presenter

Ed Stagg to go cold turkey for the whole month of December. How did he

go cold turkey in the most sociable month of the year?

It's Saturday night and I'm out to us on my mates in Leicester. I love

a good drink as much as the next person, but could I survive without

the alcohol? I've been asked to give up booze for a month to find

out. I need to reconnect with who I was when alcohol wasn't such a big

thing in my life. What will I discover about my relationship with

booze? If you can learn to drink, you can learn to drink differently.

What is the real cost to society? One person in 16 is in hospital

because of alcohol. It is an extraordinary statistic, really.

hope that giving up alcohol for a month will help me find the answers.

Ed Stagg, BBC Radio Nottingham. This is me at my day job, well it's

a night job really. It about 7:05pm. When I get home, I really want to

drink to help me unwind. I get that it's a crutch, but how will I cope

without it? There's a week to go before I give up the booze. Medics

at the QMC have agreed to run some tests are me. I understand a lot of

it is about liver function, and how my liver may have been damaged by

what I have been doing to it. They are taking bloods which they are

going to test for various things. We have just taken some blood

samples, we are going to send him down to the lab for analysis.

will be coming back here in a month for another set of tests. Will not

drinking affect my health in any way? Before I start this experiment,

I want to know how much I'm drinking. I have come to the

alcohol advisory service, APAS, to find out. I list my drinking habits,

a couple of cans of export strength lager each week, at the weekend a

few bottles of lager and some gin and tonics. Most of the people I

see are much further down the line than you, but when we start teasing

it out, and looking back at their history, often, at some point in

their lives they have been drinking in the way that you are now. It's

not long before I discover that I'm drinking 41 units per week. I

wonder how many other people actually realise how much they are

drinking? The government's recommended limit for men is 21

units per week, that's eight pints of export strength lager, or two

bottles of wine. For women, its 14, that's five and a half pints of

export strength lager, or one and a There's one more day before I give

up, but I'm not the only one. Across the country, reporters for

all 11 Inside Out programmes are doing the same. Time for one last

pint, and the inevitable competitive banter. I've heard that

when you don't drink you're like wallpaper. Hi yeah, come and sit

down. I'm scared already, looking at that. So, Ed, what I'm going to

show you his what you are going to look like in 10 years' time if you

carry on drinking. Are you ready? Not necessarily, but let's have a

look. Seriously, looking at that, I'm absolutely mortified. The night

goes on, and I drink way too much. This is day one of not drinking. To

be honest, my feelings at the moment, long may it continue. Why

do I do it to myself, why do I drink so much? The sad thing is,

I'm not alone, we are a nation of boozers, and that's taking its toll

on the NHS. I've come to the QMC to meet Dr Steve Ryder to find out how

bad things have got. He's a liver expert. So what kind of cases do

you see? Half the people on this ward are here because of liver

failure. Alcohol has caused many of the things. Dr Ryder has been at

this unit for nearly 20 years. have probably seen about a

threefold increase of people dying of liver disease in Nottingham in

that time. It's not people in their eighties, the average age is people

in the fifties. If we see that drinking continue, it will be

people in their forties. It is a huge waste of life. Nationally,

that costs the NHS �2.7 billion a year. It's not just our health.

Police say it is the cause of most violent crime, including murder, in

the Midlands. You think that would be enough to keep me focused on not

drinking. Within days of not drinking, I'm feeling the pull of

the booze again. I really want to drink now. This is exactly what

happens, I've got this kind of deep feeling that I want to go out, and

I want to have a good time. Thanks to some support from Fiona, my urge

for a drink does subside. I managed to get there for another week, and

the good news is that I feel healthier and more focused. I want

to share what I'm learning with listeners on BBC Nottingham's mid-

morning radio programme. I came into this thinking that I would

give up drinking for a month, and I would feel fantastic, but what it

has made me evaluate is what I was using drinking for. When we are at

home nobody is watching you drinking, when you go to the

supermarket and you buy a really cheap alcohol, you can wallop

through that, the supermarkets are not be the turn around adn stop you.

With so much booze available, no wonder it causes problems. The

biggest group to suffer are women. Two per cent of female deaths are

caused by alcohol. That's one in 50. That could have been Jenny, she

used to drink at home. My life was normal, I was one of the girls, and

it was fine to drink. In her Thirties things began to change,

the stress of raising children, and running her hairdressing business

began to take its toll. I could not concentrate on anything, apart from

wandering where I could hide empty bottles, or the box of wine. I knew

that if I did not stop, and the doctor told me that I could be dead

in six months. With the help of APAS, Jenny has not touched a drop

of alcohol for four years now. It's been three weeks of not drinking,

and when my first big test is coming up. I'm going home for

Christmas, will I get through it without a drink? At least I can be

sure my mum will support me, or not. Thanks for your support. Are you

sure I can't have one? That so good. To your health. This non-drinking

is starting to grate on me now. I feel the social pressure to have a

drink. I'm feeling like a real outcast. My mum and my brother have

gone next door to have some Boxing Day drinks. It would not usually

bother me, that I don't fancy going, but I don't know it is because of I

don't want to stand there and have to explain why are not drinking.

It's been a month since my last drink, I survived Christmas. How's

my body coped with non drinking? Your pulse has gone down from 81 to

56. Your weight has gone up are about three kilograms. That'll be

all the mince pies I ate. My liver has not changed, it is too early to

see a difference. I've only got four hours to go outside and have

my first drink. There's a lot of pressure. I can feel it. Should not

have a drink, should I have a drink? I am going to have a drink,

I can't wait. I did it! A month of no booze. My first drink, it could

I've learned a lot about my relationship to alcohol, and also

how unhealthy it was. It's been very difficult to give it up, but a

real eye-opener for me. I met people who have had their lives

damaged by alcohol, and see how much it is costing society. I know

I need to reassess my relationship with alcohol, so we've agreed to

see each other less. Gang called the action mind on the

number. Now, Columba Park is one of many

lovely locations in the region where you can tie the knot, and

lots of happy couples have said their vows right here in the glass

house. There have been some pretty big Asian weddings in the grounds,

too. We have been examining a multi-million-pound industry which

has been bucking the trend in recent times, and plays a big part

Once upon a time the extravagance of an Asian wedding could be

measured by the flamboyance of the flowers, how things have changed.

From lavish venues, guest lists in the high hundreds. The cost of an

Asian wedding is thought to be 40 grand, that's twice the amount of

the traditional English wedding. So with the glamour of Bollywood,

British celebrity culture, and increased spending power, welcome

to the world of the Asian weddings, Two years of planning, and lots of

it, it is just endless, endless planning. You kind of get pressured

into it, don't you? We actually wanted something really simple.

How's it turned out? Quite extravagant. Each bride wants to

look better than the last bride. Sometimes the hair goes bigger and

bigger. Sometimes the skirt trail goes bigger and bigger. Yes,

there's so much competition. Inside Out has been invited to two

weddings, but to begin I'm visiting the Midlands, and one of the

biggest Asian wedding shows in the region, in Leicester. So Rani,

you're big day's in March, what the process been like, the

preparations? Is been non-stop. It's getting better now. We've got

to the end where everything's booked up, but has been pretty

manic. The spending is huge, what is it about Asian weddings that is

different to a Western wedding? things you're looking for as a

bride? Everything you look for is completely bling. I'm not someone

who's become a Bridezilla, as of yet! There's a few things I wanted

to do, and I have kept to that. It's about keeping everyone happy,

but keeping yourself happy at the same time. What you think about the

amount of money that spent on Asian weddings? I think it's terrible, it

really is. It's not going to an intimate wedding, it's going to

cater for everyone else. I think with Asian weddings, it's

traditional, isn't it? It's trying to please the grandparents, and

everyone else, they've got expectations of what it should be

like. You've gotta do what the family wants, really. Not the

reaction that I was expecting. The expectations are very high. For

those who have never been to an Asian wedding, they can be massive

events, lasting up to five days, up to 1000 guests. The average budget

is thought to be 40,000, but some can go up to the cost of a family

home. Seema and Mikesh from Leicester have been saving very

hard, and today is their big day. It's a feeling of mixed emotions,

happiness, excitement, nervous, anxious, I can't wait to see him.

Then on the other side, I'm going to leave my family, I'm going to

miss my family tremendously, especially my sisters and my

parents. I'm only down the road, so I won't be too far. It's going to

be a big day? Yes, massive, massive day. Excited and nervous at the

same time. A bit emotional. Just can't wait to see her, really, to

be honest. With guests flying in from all over the world, Seema and

Mikesh are getting married in front of 800 friends and family. Hindu

wedding ceremonies take place under a mundap, a spectacular purpose-

built structure putting the bride and groom at centre-stage. Married

now, I've got my husband, and vice versa. The whole day went perfectly

for me, in terms of my planning. On his side was a bit different.

me, I was running late. I got on to the horse, and realised that the

dol player hadn't arrived. They got the dates mixed up. That made me

panic a bit. And also because I hadn't be on a horse in my life. I

was panicking a bit. And now you're looking for to the honeymoon?

I can't wait. I don't know where we going. Blackpool. Blackpool it is

then. With a wedding as big as there's, maybe the honeymoon is a

compromise. So, with multiple outfits, catering for hundreds of

guests, and gold jewellery a must, back at Leicester's wedding fair,

the issue of budget is on everyone's lips. So, with the

traditional English wedding there is just the one dress, the Asian

wedding is a whole new ball-game. Absolutely. With an Asian wedding,

the minimum is four bridal outfits. It's so beautiful and ornate, but

that must come at a cost? They can be up to �6,000. There are four

dresses, �6,000. Possibly you're not going to wear those dresses

again in your life. It is heavy bridal wear, only for one-time use.

I think in terms of people getting into debt, there is a possibility

people are. They are not holding back. People are taking a little

bit longer in terms of getting married, between engagement and

weddings. That is not normally the way of Asian weddings. I have been

seen couples taking a little bit longer, they are saving up. In

terms of getting into debt, they may be. It is a shame. One thing

that seems to be a must have is a wedding film. Jatinder Vaid from

Derby is beginning to break in to this lucrative market. He has given

up his day job as an IT analyst, he produces Bollywood style wedding

films. Just like the films on the silver screen, his productions are

People have had a three or four-day wedding film. They expect a certain

amount of length, and end product. We have been there for three day

filming. They don't want to see a 30 minute DVD. They want to know

what happened to everything. A typical wedding film, you are

looking at somewhere between three and four hours. Jatinder's filming

takes him all over the world. However, many weddings are hear in

the East Midlands. Jaz and Jay have gone for a Brit-Asian theme for

their Sikh wedding. It is bagpipes and bhangra at a grand stately home

in Northamptonshire. Theirs is undisclosed budget, described as

pretty big. Two years of planning, and lots of it. Just endless,

endless, endless planning. I can't remember any of it, I'm forgetting

There isn't such a thing as a budget in an Indian wedding. They

just get insaner and insaner. The families extend and extend. Every

generation has different ideas of what they want, so it's huge, it's

a big deal. For me, it was my dream wedding. It was a what I envisaged.

You go to so many Indian weddings that you don't want to go to

something again, that's like your own. I think we put the pressure,

and expectations on ourselves to make it a big day. That's what it's

all about, great memories for the bride and groom, and there are

hundreds of guests. In a culture when the wedding season runs

throughout the spring and summer and invites arrive weekly, your

wedding needs to stand out and be something very special, indeed.

lovely thing about Indian families is that when they got children,

they make it their first and foremost to save and put aside what

they know is going to happen. It is something that they dream about,

Finally tonight,the story of a special friendship in extraordinary

circumstances. When paratrooper, Conrad Lewis,

were stationed in Afghanistan, he befriended a wild dog. He named her

Pegasus after the regimental emblem and had always hoped to bring her

back home with him to the Midlands. But tragically, Conrad was killed,

but his family has been working really hard to make sure their

This is the story of a young man's quest to make a difference. A

friendship with a feral dog in a foreign land. And a family's fight

to make sense of a terrible loss, with the help of a mongrel called

For Sandy Lewis, it all began on a winter's day with the ominous sight

of a man in a suit waiting on the doorstep of her home in Claverdon.

Apparently, he had been there most of the day waiting for us to come

home. He just came out with it. He said, "I think you need to sit down.

I've got something to tell you." Conrad was just 22 when he was

killed while fighting in Afghanistan. He'd always been an

adventurous boy and loved the army. Conrad was a very active lad. He

was always in the thick of everything. When he went, we were

obviously nervous and very fearful and even more so because we knew

he'd give it everything he's got, which he did. And of course, it

cost him everything in the end. make life bearable in Afghanistan,

Conrad befriended a dog called Pegasus, named after the Parachute

regiment's flying horse emblem, tattooed in biro on her side. Was

it quite unusual for guys out there to form a relationship with the

dogs? I don't think it is unusual. I think they find it a little piece

of home, that little bit of comfort when you're that far away and maybe

a bit of reality and compassion when actually you're fighting most

days. There was a bond and he brought pictures of her home at

Christmas when he came back on leave. He talked us through those

pictures of the dog at length. Conrad had talked many times about

bringing Peg back home to England and now the family set out to

fulfil his wish. They discovered a charity called Nowzad, named after

a small town in Afghanistan. And with their help, the hunt for Peg

began. She'd disappeared after Conrad's death. Again, those dogs

out of Afghanistan and across the country can be quite difficult.

Sometimes, quite easy, sometimes a short journey in a car, other times

it might be a series of journeys, we have to arrange different

transport if the dog is down in Helmand. They might be in the

provincial capital, Lashkar Gah. Then to Kandahar and actually

coming up to us in northern Afghanistan. From his cramped

cottage, which he shares with three other war zone dogs, Pen

masterminds homecomings of dogs and cats. It can be fraught, dangerous

and complicated because officially the soldiers are forbidden to keep

In Afghanistan, it is a matter of who you know and what you can do

and sometimes you can bribe to get the dogs from one location to

another. The rescue of Peg which involved a Humvee, the Afghan army

and furtive tactics was co- ordinated from the Nowzad base in

Kabul by shelter manager Louise I phoned the soldiers that had

helped us. I said, we'd got her, she's fine, she's healthy. It was

like the weight of the world had come off my shoulders. This is

actually wear Pegasus was being kept and looked after for the month

while she was vaccinated against rabies, distemper, before we sorted

out the paperwork to get her back to the United Kingdom. Peg, the dog

that survived bombs, bullets and a 3,500 mile journey to the UK

eventually arrived at quarantine kennels near Nuneaton. When she

first came in, she was quite shell- shocked. It's a long journey from

Afghanistan. She was very thin and sad. But within a matter of weeks,

she's really come on leaps and bounds and we're really pleased

with her. Peg's six-month wait in quarantine is nearly over and for

the family, that day can't come soon enough. Can I have your paw?

The family visit two or three times a week, always very special times.

She was obviously the only one that knows the true tale of what

happened out there with Conrad. She meant so much to him and it's so

nice to be able to look after something that he can't look after

any more. The wait for Peg's return weighs heavily on all the family.

Tony Lewis walks Fergie, the family's laid back and very relaxed

bulldog to the memorial bench and tree established to honour Conrad.

I think she's our link to Conrad's time in Afghanistan. She is the

deliveryof a promise to him, to at least bring her back and she's

something that we can put our affection, that obviously we had

for Conrad, back into her. Obviously we'll never forget Conrad

and will never stop loving him. We miss him every day but she's a

reminder. The story of Peg has led to a huge spike of interest in

Nowzad. With many more dogs and cats being rescued and re-united,

now the donations are flooding in. People are so generous. They send

us lots of things. We've blankets going out to the shelter in

Afghanistan. We've got a dog food that has been donated. One of the

most important things is drugs for our small clinic that we have in

Afghanistan. Back in Nuneaton, Peg has a very important visitor.

Louise, who's on leave from the shelter in Kabul. This will be the

first time she's seen Peg since the rescue in Afghanistan. She's

absolutely fantastic. Every bit as loving as the day I first met her.

Conrad was the 353rd soldier killed in Afghanistan and the family have

launched a fund raising organisation called 353 to pay

tribute to theirson and what he was The day has finally arrived when

Peg can leave quarantine and move to her new home. There's a feeling

of excitement, anticipation and an It's nice to finally be able to

think Peg's home, she's safe and Now, there's just the half hour car

journey home. No problems for a dog that's been hidden in a bag,

smuggled in a taxi, ferried by helicopter and flown at 30,000 feet.

Just one question, how will Peg and That didn't seem to go down well

originally. Actually, that went pretty well. She wasn't showing any

major signs of aggression. Both tail were wagging. And it wasn't

long before they settled down. But getting along with the cat, called

And our very best wishes to them all. That's it for this week.

Thanks for watching, see you next Monday, bye-bye. Next week, what's

the future when you're over 50 and unemployed? It's not pleasant, not