Aldi is selling portable picnic tables with built-in wine glass holders, and they’re set to hit the legendary middle aisle later this week.
With summer officially here, the sun shining down, and much of the UK set to welcome record-high temperatures over this next week, many of us will be looking to make the most of the warm weather while we can before it inevitably disappears.
And that means a picnic is bound to be on the cards.
As enjoyable as picnics are, they can sometimes end up being a bit of a logistical nightmare, but Aldi’s latest invention looks set to take some of that stress away.
The budget supermarket has made a name for itself over the years thanks to pulling out all the stops when it comes to summer-themed Specialbuys, and now, the retailer has revealed that little portable picnic tables complete with holders for wine bottles and glasses built-in to the table top is the latest addition to the lineup.
According to the product description on the Aldi website, the Kirkton House Picnic Wine Table is a foldable table that features carved slots for suspending a wine bottle and glasses.
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The Kirkton House Picnic Table / Credit: Aldi
It’s light, portable, and said to be “just what your next outdoor adventure needs”.
The best bit? It’ll only set you back just £5.99.
Now available for preorder on the Aldi website, and set to go on sale both online and in-store on from Sunday 17 July, the Kirkton House Picnic Wine Table is designed to help you dine out with style and with ease.
Given how popular Aldi’s summer-themed Specialbuys tend to be at the best of times, and given that this genius invention is set to go on sale during the hottest week of 2022 so far, you can expect it’ll sell out fast and will fly off the shelves, so you’ll need to get in there quick if you’re keen to get your hands on it.
The unsung Manchester pub serving beloved local pints for £3.35 that’s thrived during the World Cup
Danny Jones
Finding a pint for less than £5 in Manchester in 2026 is almost unheard of; combine that with a pub that’s truly levelled up as a go-to for the World Cup this summer, and this increasingly rowdy little corner of Castlefield is well worth writing home about.
We’re talking about The White Lion on Liverpool Road and just around from the city centre’s famous Roman fort, ‘Mamucium’, which has always been among the more reasonable places for a tipple in town and is no stranger to showing the football.
However, after a significant refurb just a few years ago and after gradually growing a refreshed crowd of regulars, the Manc boozer hasn’t just steadily repatronised local punters but rather it seems to have gained a whole new lease of life this summer.
The 2026 World Cup showings, complete with a new outside screen on their sizeable and sunny outdoor terrace, have certainly helped, but when you can get a drink for as little as £3.35 for a pint of Boddies, it’s not hard to see why more and more people are flocking here amid the ongoing cost of living crisis.
Part of us almost thought about trying to still gatekeep this one for ourselves, but the truth is, the place has become so popular over the past few months (at least that’s as long as we’ve noticed a significant increase) that the cat is very much out of the bag and it’s no one’s ‘best-kept secret’ anymore.
Yes, with Boddingtons, a.k.a. the recently reborn ‘Cream of Manchester’, on tap for the same cost as a half-decent coffee these days, not to mention various cheap draught beers and other offers on booze – whether it be shots, the growing Buzzball craze, or just a standard spirit and mixer – it’s a godsend.
We all know how expensive it can be going out for the night at present, but the no-nonsense bar prices and setup overseen by Craft Union, who specialise in community pubs and keeping the beating “heart of high streets and neighbourhoods across the country” alive and well, are nothing short of unsung heroes.
To clarify, we’re not pretending that no one knows about this gaff, far from it, but it does feel like one of those understated and underrated places that doesn’t get anywhere near enough props as it deserves.
Credit: The Manc Group
The private limited company, which operates as a subsidiary of the wider Stonegate Group, may be one of the largest in the UK, but one of the most impressive parts about their work at The White Lion is that it still feels like a local pub made for locals.
Better yet, they’ve also coincidentally filled a whole left by the much-loved Sir Ralph Abercromby: the Manchester United fan favourite and all-round footy pub who sadly lost their bustling beer garden (complete with a hot dog/burger van) amid the major St Michael’s development.
On the upside, what those who used to frequent that venue have somewhat lost as a result of the building works can now be found at the likes of White Lion, as it’s also often filled with Reds throughout the year – they’ve even added a little food hatch of their own in the corner of the shrubbery-lined patio.
And once again, with price points as reasonable as these, they’re not just undercutting most other venues in the vicinity by some distance, but they’re at least trying to do their bit in hopefully redressing the balance when it comes to combatting inflation within the hospitality industry.
Cheap shots, bombs 2-4-£6, and a good pour of Guinness for LESS than a fiver. (Credit: The Manc)
It’s also worth noting that the current landlords are also doing their bit to help minimise spending on gig nights, too.
With Sounds of the City 2026 now wrapped up, they had extra deals on drinks right throughout the duration of the multi-date festival down the road at Castlefield Bowl.
Put simply, they may not be reinventing the wheel here, but if we can’t shout about a place doing its best to keep things affordable while still offering a good time come the weekend or even just to reward yourself after work, we don’t know what is.
Here’s to all those in the food and drink sector fighting the good fight, and let’s hope the tide turns in everyone’s favour very soon.
Salford-born Marvel star Benedict Wong gives inspiring speech after receiving honorary degree
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester’s very own Marvel movie star Benedict Wong gave an inspiring speech to the minds of the future as he accepted an honorary degree from the University of Salford as graduation season ramps up.
The Salfordian ‘Sorcerer Supreme’ from Doctor Strange and Avengers started out in acting during the 1990s, and has gone on to become a hugely recognisable face across multiple generations.
From those who remember him for that hilarious cameo in The IT Crowd and playing Kublai Khan in Netflix’s Marco Polo, or those who know him only as ‘Wong’ (where’d they come up with one?) in the MCU or shining in the mind-bending 3 Body Problem, he’s gone on to have quite the career in the arts.
That being said, the Eccles-born Manchester United fan has never forgotten where he came from, and was recently awarded an honorary degree from Salford Uni, offering a message filled with sage wisdom to students in return. Here’s a short clip:
Wong, both his real name and best-known superhero moniker, began by joking that it’s been a “34-year ‘overnight’ success” before quickly segueing into much more sincere sentiments shortly thereafter.
He insisted that none of the wonderful things that have happened in his personal and professional life could have been possible without “standing on the foundations of where [he] grew up”, a line that saw him visibly choke up a little.
But it didn’t take him long to return to some levity, confessing to his fellow graduates that he knew a member of the teaching staff way back when, revealing that besides days spent at the historic Adelphi Theatre, they shared a pub lock-in at the nearby pub.
‘You can take the bloke out of Salford…’
Most notably, however, his main takeaway that he wanted to impart on the graduates getting ready to go out into the world was to stay hopeful and motivated; once again, he sprinkled in the serious points with little gags like the repeating THAT Coronation Street “London!?” meme for an easy laugh.
He did also go on to echo similar advice in a short interview after the ceremony, including the importance of making mistakes, which he believes is especially key at this kind of young age:
Put in simplest terms, he said that you should take things a day at a time and just start crossing off “coordinates of where you want to go” one by one until you truly realise it.
Being the latest recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Arts by UoS, who took the time to thank his lawyer Bob as well, crediting his faith in looking after people above simply making money.
Big up Bob.
Finally, he concluded things by wishing these aspiring talents and creatives all the best and signing off by adding, “On your marks, get set, go.”
You can see Benedict Wong’s Salford University acceptance speech in full down below, and trust us – if you’re in need of some inspiration, it’s well worth a watch.
Emily Sergeant -
12th July 2022 
