I’m Margaret and 7 years ago my life wasn’t worth living. I was drinking myself to death. I drank a bottle of vodka every day and I only left the house to buy more.

I had to stop working when I was in my 50s because I had such a bad back. At first, doctors couldn’t find anything wrong, so I didn’t get much help with the pain. That’s when I started to drink – it helped to numb it. But it also ruined my life. Imagine spending every day in your house, lying in bed watching TV and just drinking. That’s all I did.

I didn’t know my neighbours, I didn’t have any friends, I hardly saw my family.

Today everything has changed and I have the Thistle Foundation to thank. That’s why I want to raise £10,000 to say thank you to Thistle and to raise funds so that other people like me who need help can get it. 

Thistle helped me to become a trained Tai Chi leader and now I lead a class of over 30 people twice a week. When I first started leading Tai Chi I was so anxious about standing up in front of people – and there were only a few people in the class back then! It’s also helped my back lots – it turns out I have three twists in my spine – it’s a really great form of gentle exercise.

On the 28th June I’m going to stand up and lead a Tai Chi class in Princes St Gardens in Edinburgh for Thistle. Hundreds of people will be there. I hope you can come too!

I also hope you’ll consider supporting me to take on this challenge! All of the funds will go to Thistle and it will help people like me.   

If you haven’t heard of Thistle before, it’s a charity based in Craigmillar, Edinburgh, where I live. People from all over Edinburgh go there – you don’t need to have a specific illness or condition – it’s here for everyone. Everything they do is free – you can join a lifestyle course or get one-to-one counselling depending on what you need.

Thistle is the only place I’ve ever been where I felt safe and could open up about what was going on in my life. If I hadn’t come to Thistle I’m not sure if I’d be alive today.