As I gaze out from my balcony across the beautiful village of Cotignac, Provence, I feel the soft glow from my glass of rosé and become light-headed. 

I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be. Or anything else I’d rather drink – because nothing beats a crisp, cool glass of wine in the holiday sunshine, does it?

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending how you look at it, the trip to France in early July set the tone for the rest of summer.

I am lucky to have enjoyed a fair few holidays over the past few months, but it inevitably meant a lot of alcohol.

Alongside the rosé, there were copious cocktails at an all-inclusive week in Turks & Caicos in the Caribbean, where no one seemed to think anything of ordering a banana daiquiri at the swim-up bar at 11am. I must have got through at least four or five most days.

Then there was the Salcombe gin during a mini-break in Watergate Bay, Cornwall, and a weekend of cider at the Camp Kindling festival in Kent.

Whichever way you look at it – and for me it’s mostly been through the bottom of a glass – there’s no getting away from the fact this summer has been more than usually booze-fuelled, especially since, between our eldest finishing his GCSEs and our youngest leaving primary school, there has been plenty to celebrate.

From last September to this March, Georgina stopped drinking from Monday to Thursday and explored no-booze alternatives including the Pentire – a gin-like botanical – which, served with ice and a slice, tastes almost as good as the real thing

Which is all well and good… except for when it comes to my waistline and the stern verdict of the scales.

You see, before the school holidays started, and as I joyfully described in Inspire in March this year, I had cut down considerably on the wine and G&Ts, from around two to three bottles of wine a week to just one – and lost around a stone and a half (21lb) as a result.

From last September to this March, I stopped drinking from Monday to Thursday and explored no-booze alternatives including the Pentire – a gin-like botanical – which, served with ice and a slice, tastes almost as good as the real thing.

I also developed a penchant for a zesty, long glass of Mother Root, a spicy ginger switchel, which I combined with a light tonic or soda. Delicious. At 47, I mostly did it for health reasons and to help ease my perimenopause (despite being on HRT, my symptom list included anxiety and insomnia).

As the semi-sober weeks went by, I was thrilled to see another welcome side-effect – my weight dropping below 10st for the first time in several years. Yet now, after two months of drinking liberally again, I’ve put on half a stone and most of it has gone straight to my tummy.

During the summer, Georgina fell off her weekday wagon. She got back into the habit of the 6 o’clock G&T in her Cotswolds garden, often followed by a glass of Whispering Angel rosé or lush sancerre

Last week, I dug out a pair of jeans for the first time in months and they felt too tight and uncomfortable. I need to stop this slide into comfy elasticated joggers from The White Company.

The fact is, during the summer, I well and truly fell off my weekday wagon. At home, I got back into the habit of the 6 o’clock G&T in my Cotswolds garden, often followed by a glass of Whispering Angel rosé or lush sancerre. It was my treat to myself for being the family’s cook, cleaner and chauffeur.

I was never drunk. Even if I didn’t have to get up early for the school run, I knew more than a couple of glasses would trigger my insomnia, or – worse – dreaded next-day ‘hangxiety’.

But I love that warm, calm feeling I get from the first few sips, and I certainly over-indulged. On holiday, the hangxiety seemed to magically disappear. At our Beaches resort in Turks and Caicos, I was surrounded by well-heeled Americans knocking back the Tito’s vodka and Mudslinger cocktails.

While my 11-year-old daughter, who isn’t usually allowed fizzy drinks at home, tucked into the Shirley Temples and slushies at the pool bar, I hit the cocktails and enjoyed wine with lunch and an evening G&T before dinner, with more wine, of course.

I dread to think how many units I consumed that week, yet because I spaced it out and often had a sneaky disco nap after lunch, I never felt particularly inebriated.

And I know I won’t be alone in having over-imbibed this summer, but now it’s over, I definitely need to get back on those ‘low-or-no’ options.

I walk my labradors for several miles every day and always try to eat plenty of fruit and veg and take the right supplements – so it’s my weakness for wine that affects my waistline most of all.

I’ve started gently this month with a few dry nights a week – but I’ll be cutting out the booze completely during ‘Sober October’.

Will it help to return the scales to where they were before my booze-filled summer? Watch this space. I’ll let you know how I get on.