And so begins the driest of Julys!

Firstly, the wine

So, I have decided to add the photos over the next month with a date stamp to show when the wine was had. There are enough to cover 'Dry July' without having to tempt myself into non-sanctioned drinking this month. Wynns is a well known winery and has a very good reputation; especially as a lot of their wines come from the Coonawarra which is one the homes for good reds. The Banker Shiraz was one of my less than $20 wines and it is one that is extremely good value for money. While young, there was enough body to it to make it great everyday drinking and good to have with some prosciutto, salami...and then continue on to dinner.

As some of you may be aware, I am now in 'Dry July'. For those who may not know what 'Dry July' is, it is a fund-raising event where you give up drinking for the month to raise money for various cancer charities. It has only been five days but I have been so appreciative of those who have donated to my efforts already. However, as most of my posts have been limited to the number of characters, I wanted to expand on some of the reasons why I have decided take up the challenge.

Firstly, there have been a number of people in my life who have been affected in some way by cancer; particularly over recent years. This includes friends and colleagues who have had to deal with the disease themselves. I have also had friends who have had loved ones who have had to deal with cancer and in some cases, have lost them. I wanted to do this to honour them all in some small way. In the end, giving up the drink for a month is a small sacrifice but if it can raise some money along the way, then it makes it even more worthwhile.

As part of Dry July, I also had the chance to nominate a specific charity to raise money for and I decided that I would do this for the McGrath Foundation. And not for the reasons that you may think.

Up until this year, I was probably one of thousands who donated money for the McGrath Foundation; generally in January as part of the Sydney Test Match. I know that for many years now, I would make sure that I had a few gold coins so that I could hand them over as I walked to the SCG, get my pink bandana and wear it for the rest of the day. A process that I repeated for each day that I went and that was pretty much it; I didn't give it much thought after that.

This January, HCL sponsored the McGrath Foundation High Tea on Jane McGrath Day and I had the good fortune to attend. It was there that I heard from Professor Brian Boyle who's wife had recently passed away from breast cancer. He told the story of the great support that one of the McGrath Foundation's Breast Care Nurses gave not only to his wife but his entire family.

As you would expect, it was an extremely emotional story but one that brought home what it really meant for me and thousands of others who dropped coins in those collection buckets around the SCG. Those coins and all the other donations allow families like Professor Boyle's to get the support they need during what is an incredibly hard time. It went from a charity with a famous cricketer's name to one that makes a real and tangible difference to many in the community. I figured I could do something more than the gold coins in January this year.

The timing of Dry July also fits well as I needed a boost for my fitness regime. February this year, I had to go into the room of mirrors and take a good, hard look at myself. My back pain had become worse and I really had to look at exercising, lose a little weight and generally look after myself. I started going to the pool to walk every morning, gave up alcohol for a month to kickstart things and was getting into a good rhythm and it was making an impact...and then the pools closed!

Over the next few months, I tried to walk whenever I could and watched what I ate and drank. Now that the pools have reopened again and I have started to swim regularly, I thought that another month without alcohol wouldn't do me any harm at all. I know that some of you may think that it is a huge undertaking - especially when I do a blog where a key component is about the red wine I drink. Thankfully, I have a few bottles that have already been tasted throughout June to cover the posts this month.

That and it does bring a smile to my face when I think of a mate who would have laughed his head off at the first time I would have told him that I am off the red wine for the month. And just after telling me how crazy I was, he would have opened his wallet and donated to the cause.

So there you have it - my motivations for Dry July. Thanks to those who have donated already; it is very much appreciated. For those that haven't yet, you still have plenty of time to do so.

Just go to http://www.dryjuly.com/users/brett-moorgas I know that times have been extremely tough for many but if you are able to help, it would be appreciated.