One of the joys of the season that has just passed is to have a quiet drink with friends.

Although officially retired, I met up with some of the gang before Christmas for a seasonal gathering, dinner and a drink.

I couldn’t drink much: I was driving, but that didn’t stop my enjoyment of the event.

What I didn’t expect was that would be my last drop for… well, will someone please tell me when?

I should have been warned. The receptionist at my surgery had said the doctor wanted to see me.

“Well?” he said when I walked in. “Well,” I retorted.

He didn’t hold back.

“You’ve got diabetes,” he said.

OK. The weight had been going on. The nurse had weighed me in just short of 18 stone.

But then I have been heavy for decades. It’s not overweight, it’s living a good life.

The trouble is I have got lazy, and along with eating well, I have avoided hurrying anywhere, running any time, and exercising at any opportunity.

I have successfully done that since my teens.

I’m now on medication that reacts violently to alcohol.

I’ve got a string of medical appointments in the offing, all designed to get me back on a level footing.

I’ve had a great time eating things I love, drinking things I enjoy and sitting in front of the telly while Britain’s Olympians covered themselves in glory.

Now I have got to get out, in the cold and the frost, and start walking around a bit.

Yesterday I found my way to Bredhurst’s tiny church and set off to explore the local woods.

It’s the start of my exercise for health regime.

I have to say Bredhurst Hurst is a revelation. (Hurst, by the way, is Saxon for a wooded hill – and that is precisely what Bredhurst Hurst is.)

The volunteers who have been battling with the litter, the overgrowth and the disappearance of pathways have done a marvellous job. I shall have to go there again... probably in the next few days.

Anyway, I have set myself a couple of targets.

One is to exercise each day.

I’ve been on the foot treadle this morning. It’s a sort of primitive torture machine.

This afternoon (rain permitting) I shall go for a tramp around Medway.

The other target is to lose four stone in weight. I shall then review the options.

Pity I’ve got to go down this course.

But at least the malt whiskies are ready for my return from this period of pain.