Not going out? It’s cost me a fortune

THE Bank of England calculates that households fortunate enough to have stayed in employment have saved up a mind-blowing £125 billion over the past year. How come we’re not one of them, I wonder?

After all, with no restaurants, cinemas, theatre, travel, dinner parties or hairdressing, what have we been spending our money on? Yet that doesn’t seem to have made a jot of difference to our bank statements. I fear we must have eaten our way through it.

Certainly my email inbox is filled with temptations. ‘Panettone bread and butter pudding’ lures us in – a message from Alistair Little, the Notting Hill and Soho restaurateur who now delivers his delicious meals to the door.

Next up is Ruth Rogers at the River Cafe with gnocchi all a romana, roast turbot and pannacotta with champagne rhubarb. More restaurateurs and chefs pile in every day suggesting scrumptious deliveries to tempt us.

Now and again we succumb and treat ourselves, but more usually it’s another night on the homecooked sausages and baked potato.

But l i ke travel and property porn, just gazing at and dreaming about the gastronomic possibilities is entertainment in itself. Imagine how wonderful it will be to experience not just the food but the restaurants again.