‘Why would you give up drink for Lent in the middle of a pandemic?” my friend asked me when I told her my plans. Almost 40 days later the answer has become abundantly clear. I got more back than I gave up. Perhaps at first it seemed counterintuitive to be giving something up at a time when we had already lost so much. Did it make sense to introduce yet another privation into my life in the middle of lockdown number three? The truth is I was fed up with drink. Like many people, the occasional drink at the weekend had crept up to several nights during the week. Even if it was only one or two, I found myself craving the time in the evening when the work and the home-schooling could be put aside and I could relax. Opening a bottle and pouring became synonymous with relaxation; they went hand in hand. Until they didn’t.