Goodbye Dry January: Longer Days, I See You

Goodbye, Dry January. The dopamine crash was real.

The Christmas decorations and sparkling lights have vanished, leaving the house looking bare and uninspiring. Next year we might just keep everything up until Candlemas. Why not honour the full 40‑day Christmas season and buy ourselves a little extra joy during the bleakest month.

The cheese drawer, once a festive cornucopia, is no more, making way for kale and turmeric shots.

The utility room, formerly home to cases of champagne, is now bottles of San Pellegrino Limonata Zero, fizzy water, and kombucha—Dry January’s unofficial mascots.

Spontaneous pub dates? Replaced by cozy nights in with vegan curry and a film you’ll probably fall asleep halfway through.

Leisurely holiday mornings? Gone. Back to life, back to reality, back to the Monday–Friday shuffle with weekends spent ferrying everyone to their various activities.

It’s cold, dark, and gloomy. January really did the most. Thank goodness it’s over.

Hello February

To celebrate the end of Dry January, we met friends in Canary Wharf for a family lunch. We landed at Lina Stores, the Italian deli‑restaurant known for fresh pasta and seasonal ingredients. The deli sits on the ground floor of Crossrail Place, with the restaurant upstairs. With its pistachio‑green and white stripes, it has a cheerful retro vibe—though my interior‑designer friend insists the private dining room walls should be knocked down to let in the glorious floor‑to‑ceiling light. Otherwise, the main restaurant is fairly dimmed.

Still, the atmosphere is relaxed and perfect for big gatherings. The kids ordered classic bolognese followed by ice cream. The adults shared grilled shrimp, fried artichokes, and olives before moving on to zucca ravioli, carbonara, lamb ragu, and crab linguine. And yes—we toasted the end of Dry January with a lovely Piedmont red.