The Domestic The compensations of lockdown, including gratitude, and home-made kebabs

The lockdown means many people over 70 can no longer go to the shops and many others don’t want to. At times like this, it makes sense to support your local off-licence, which has probably been serving you well for years.

It can also make financial sense; many off-licences are offering free local delivery, but understandably charging for national deliveries.

Still, not everybody has a local off-licence, so here is a list of some of the independent shops and chains that offer a national delivery service, and the prices they charge.

O’Briens (obriendswine.ie) will be familiar to many readers from its chain of excellent offlicences and extensive website. It offers free delivery for orders worth more than €100, and is aiming to have a free click-&-collect service at its stores in Carlow, Cork, Dublin, Kildare, Limerick, Louth, Meath, Waterford, Westmeath and Wicklow.

The long-established Mitchell & Son Wine Merchants (mitchellandson.com) offers nationwide delivery for €6.95; delivery is free if you spend more than €95.

The excellent Corkscrew (thecorkscrew.ie) offers free delivery on orders over €120, while it will deliver anywhere in Ireland from one bottle upwards for €7.50.

Don’t be put off by the name. The Celtic Whiskey Shop (celticwhiskeyshop.com) is great for whiskey, but also has one of the best ranges of spirits in the country, an excellent website, and will deliver anywhere in Ireland for €7.95.

Blackrock Cellar (blackrockcellar.com) is my local off-licence, and consistently wins prizes for the range of wine and beer on offer and the knowledge and service offered by the enthusiastic staff. It has one of the best beer collections in the country, with scores of beer brands from around Ireland and further afield. Delivery is €10 and limited to the Dubin area, although they tell me it will be nationwide within weeks.

Finally, the quirky Station to Station Wine (stationtostationwine) takes its name from one of the best rock albums ever made. It offers an unusual array of wines from around the world, based on punning categories such as Game of Rhones and the CoVin-6 Half Dozen. Free delivery in Dublin on all wine packs, and contactless delivery available also, which allows you to specify whether you want your wine left next to your garage or beside the flower pots.