Blog: Dry January – Michelle

During this month, we’re issuing people’s views and experiences about their Dry January 2016 challenge.

Today, Michelle (scripted Monday 11 January):-

Well I have passed day 10 and a third of the way through – why does everyone on TV seem to be drinking big glasses of cold white wine?

I decided to do Dry January because the big glass of white wine calls to me too frequently. It is too easy to sit down after a hard day and chill with a wine. Undoubtedly too, I could do with losing some weight, and with three lively dogs to walk I certainly need the energy.

In fact it is the dogs that really inspired me. I volunteer with a very small charity called Spanish Stray Dogs UK , who work hard to feed and support over 300 dogs in a Spanish pound as well as find them homes in the UK. The food situation is dire at the moment, so my husband agreed that if I gave up my bottles of wine (conservative estimate two a week!) he would double the amount I would have spent, to give to the dogs.

Now I am no wine snob – cheap and cheerful, but I reckon that is worth £10 a bottle – £20 per week – £80 for the month – that would feed 9 dogs in the pound for a month. So every time the urge comes on me (Saturday evening was tough…) I look at a photo of one of the dogs in the pound and decide their need is certainly much greater than mine.

Only 21 days to go – who knows, I am feeling so much better already I may carry on into February…

Michelle