This London pub is giving free Christmas dinner and drinks to anyone who's lonely

For many, Christmas is the best time of year. For most of us, the opportunity to spend time with our families and eat a load of food in the process is one of the highlights of the year. 

If you’re homeless or you don’t have family, however, this isn’t always the case, and Christmas can be an incredibly lonely time. One pub in London, though, is continuing an annual tradition to combat this: offering free Christmas dinners and drinks to anyone alone on Christmas day. 

The Alexandra, a pub in Wimbledon, describes the gesture as “a way of hopefully getting lonely people to have a bloody good day as opposed to an awful one”.

“I’ve been asked by a few people now if we are doing the ‘free meal for anyone who is on their own’ thing on Christmas day this year. The answer is that of course we are, and we’re doing it exactly the same as last year,” the pub’s landlord explained on Facebook.

“There are no tricks, hidden marketing swerves or strings, it’s quite simple. If you are going to be on your own for whatever reason on Christmas Day, come over and we’ll give you a Christmas dinner and pint/glass of wine for free.”

“Free means free, once you’ve eaten it and drank it you can toddle off home if you want, you are not obligated 1% to buy anything at all. We don’t want your email address, it doesn’t matter if you never set foot in the pub again and never came here before, as long as you leave here happier than you would have been if you hadn’t walked in on Christmas Day, we’ve done our bit.”

The pub also encourages people to pass on the details to “anyone who  might be on their own”, as well as popping in to neighbours or relatives who might be spending Christmas alone.

“Have a glass of wine or beer with them and have a laugh,” they say. “You going around might be the highlight of their day. Do something good for somebody this Christmas - it’s kind of the whole point when it comes down to it.” 

Respect to everyone at the Alexandra.