WITH THE festive season of overindulgence nearly over, some people in Fishguard and Goodwick have made New Year's resolutions to have a lighter, healthier start to 2020.

Each year, around four million people across the UK do their best to abstain from alcohol for the first 31 days of the year, in what's become known as Dry January.

The campaign has proven especially popular with some people in Fishguard and Goodwick, where it became a big part of the Communities Together project that ran in in the twin towns from 2014 to 2017 and brought local people together to work out their own solutions to local alcohol issues.

"Everyone involved in Communities Together agreed that no one likes to be told what to do. So, we focussed on things that people could do for themselves, and one of those things was to have a Dry January," said Marc Mordey, who helped organise the event. "And in January 2020, we'll be giving it another go.

"Dry January isn't about giving up drinking for ever more. It's about taking a pause for thought and maybe resetting the dial on our drinking habits. Many people tell us that taking a month off helps them drink more moderately during the rest of the year."

In order to get the ball rolling Fishguard and Goodwick Rugby Club will be hosting an alcohol-free beer and cider festival, from 5pm to 9pm on Thursday, January 9.

Anyone is welcome to pop in at any point during the evening and all food and drink will be provided free of charge.

Andrew Misell, from Alcohol Change Cymru, the charity behind Dry January, said:

"Back in 2017, as part of the Communities Together project, we organised Wales' first ever alcohol-free beer and cider festival in Fishguard, attracting press coverage across the UK. In 2020, the festival is back…and it's still free of charge.

"If the last time you had alcohol-free beer was sometime in the 1980s, you might have some bad memories of it. But the range and quality has improved massively in the last few years.

"We'll have ale, lager, wheat beer, cider, wine, and maybe a cocktail or two, plus some tasty nosh to keep you going. So, whether or not you want to go dry all through January, we hope you'll come along on January 9 to enjoy a dry night out".