Short Story Of Addiction

I've never written before,well not on this scale,at least! I don't know what gave me the urge to tell my story,possibly the fact that I am currently out of work and a bit bored. Maybe this is my new job.....writing? That will be up to you good people out there if you buy my book!
First and foremost,let's make one thing clear! I am not an alcoholic! Experts in the medical profession will disagree due to the copious amounts which I have put away over the years, but with me it it not an addiction. I don't NEED alcohol.....I just love it! I can go for weeks or months without a drink, and it doesn't bother me. Tobacco, on the other hand, I am totally addicted to! I cannot be without a cigarette, so I know what addiction is! I was addicted to amphetamine

On one occasion we got the train to Aberdeen in order to catch the Shetland ferry. I had worked night shift the previous night and was exhausted by the time we arrived at the ferry port. I cannot sleep in planes, trains or automobiles! The plan was to get a reclining seat on the ferry, have a few drinks and snooze through the overnight crossing. To my dismay, there was a horde of screaming rugrats who had different ideas, so we had a drink instead! An announcement came over the P.A.system stating that if anyone still required a berth then a few were available, so we decided to pay the extra and get a room for the overnight crossing. We headed for the purser's office, booked a cabin, and settled down for the night. The cabin was deep in the belly of the ship, and you could hear the groans of the hull plates as we made the pretty rough crossing, but once I got used to the noise I was at last drifting away......but not for long! I was rudely awakened by a prolonged banging on the door, and now I am not happy! I pulled on my jeans and opened the door and was confronted by a sight that haunts me to this day! The crew, apparently, employed prostitutes to keep them occupied during the crossing, and they must have checked the ships manifest to find out which berths were empty that night, only, on this occasion I had taken a late cabin.....and messed up his plans!

August 1989 to be exact! By this time my marriage was over, (not through drink!) and I was living in Campbeltown at the bottom of the Mull of Kintyre, where the mist rolls in from the sea. I was working in a plastics factory where they injection-moulded model aircraft. Oh, the irony, from real planes to toy planes! The hours were long and the work I found quite difficult, for little reward! Time to move on, I thought....but to what? I was reading the 'Sun' newspaper on my teabreak when I spotted an advert in the situations vacant column. "Aircraft fitters required, long contract." it read! Nothing to lose, it had to be worth a phone call and so I dialled the number, ( no mobile phones in those days!) " Hello, Freedom Engineering", the nice lady answered. She proceeded to tell me that the contract was in Belfast. Up went my eyebrows! The troubles were still ongoing then. I didn't know what to say. I asked her to ring me back in an hour while I considered