Wine Club: a bin-end bonanza from Mr Wheeler

Mrs Ray can be so sneaky. I thought that Dry January was all about spousal solidarity and mutual encouragement; she thought it was all about catching me out. It kicked off when she busted me sucking dry the liqueur chocolates I’d squirrelled away at Christmas and had come to rely upon. I said they didn’t count; she said I was an idiot. ‘Do grow up!’ she wailed.

As a result, Dry January is now deemed to have started on 6 January. Still, sobriety has its rewards, and I can plan this year’s drinking with a clear head. I’ve rotated the stock in the cobwebbed cupboard under the stairs that serves as our cellar and will be certain to plug the resultant gaps with this bin-end bonanza from Mr Wheeler. They, too, are clearing out their cellars to make way for new purchases and there are real bargains here. But when they’re gone, they’re gone.