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Being alone on Christmas Day – it’s agonising. You don’t get to eat Pompeii-roasted turkey or watery sprouts. Or gorge on Quality Street and hate yourself for three hours afterwards. Or scrub carbonised gravy off a blackened roasting pan while everyone else is watching 'Call the Midwife'. Or be polite to the old folks while they ask you to explain again what Pinterest is. (‘It’s nothing to do with that awful playwright, is it?’)
Okay, I’m overdoing it. Christmas can be fun even if you do spend it with your family. But some people, for whatever reason, don’t want to do the whole Crimbo thing. And it doesn’t mean that they’re saddos, scrooges, or sociopaths.
If you’re a non-Yuletider, there’s something going on at Ceviche Old Street that might appeal. They call it Casa Abierta, Spanish for open house, and the idea is that everyone brings their own dish – to serve a minimum of four – and then everyone shares communally. You’ll pay £5 to get in, and you can buy drinks and snacks from the restaurant. (Note: no BYO booze.) All profits go to St. Mungo's, the homelessness charity that provides accommodation and support to over 25,000 people a year. Sounds like fun, and in a good cause.
You can book your place at the festive table at cevicheuk.com. Details of the playlist are yet to be announced, but we have a feeling that Mariah Carey will be disappointed.