The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has made us miss a lot of things over these past 12 weeks, and for many of us, the pub is at the very top of that list.
With pubs currently shut nationwide, building back garden bars during lockdown seems to be bit of a trend at the moment. People have been creating their own drinking dens and what began as a humorous little time-killing exercise, has evolved into a competitive, professional-looking practice.
There’s been some seriously impressive attempts, hasn’t there?
Last month, we shared the story of a man who missed the pub that much, he spent days building his own ‘Furlough Arms’ in his back garden and people were quite rightly blown away.
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If you thought it couldn’t get much better than that, and trust us, we honestly didn’t think it could either, now there’s a couple right on our doorstep might who might very well have just called this competition off.
We have definitely found the winner here.
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Introducing – ‘The Drunken Crab’.
Octavia Chic
The Drunken Crab was a specially commissioned project for the Crabtree family and was built by a the husband and wife duo from an interiors/furniture painting business, Octavia Chic, based in Wigan.
Photos showcasing this absolute masterpiece of construction were shared to the Octavia Chic Facebook group yesterday evening and have since gone viral.
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The post reads: “My husband and I have had a very busy few week’s working on our favourite project to date.”
“The Drunken Crab – built, painted and interior designed for the Crabtree family who are loving having their own pub in the garden”.
The post has since gone on to amass well over 16K interactions, 21K shares and 42K comments from people heaping a deserved amount of praise on the company for their seriously impressive work.
We just knew we couldn’t be the only ones with our jaws on the floor here.
Octavia ChicOctavia ChicOctavia Chic
Please can we come for a pint at The Drunken Crab when all this blows over?
If you’re impressed by this, and quite frankly how could you not be, then make sure to head on over and show Octavia Chic some love on Facebook here.
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Nathan Aspinall clinches fourth European title despite ‘homesick’ confession
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester-born and raised darts player Nathan Aspinall clinched another European trophy over the bank holiday weekend, despite a very honest and vulnerable admission about the pressures of the professional circuit.
The Stockport darting star managed an 8-5 victory over Dutchman Danny Noppert in the final of the German Darts Grand Prix, making it his fourth PDC Euro title.
Having claimed a trio of them in 2025, Aspinall‘s prolific presence on the continent only continues to grow, but truth be told, it’s far from his favourite part of the lifestyle.
Speaking ahead of the final – and following multiple delays in transit – he said: “I don’t want to travel — I just want to be at home with my family at the moment.”
ASPINALL WINS THE TITLE IN MUNICH 🐍
What a finish to win the final 🔥
Nathan Aspinall takes out a classy 128 checkout to claim the Elten Safety Shoes German Darts Grand Prix with an 8-5 triumph over Danny Noppert 🙌#ET4pic.twitter.com/v4xHljyr46
Prior to the match against the world no. 11, ‘The Asp’ confessed to DartsNews that he feels “very flat” at present, adding, “I’m not enjoying playing darts at the moment.”
After also wrestling with passport queues and airports misplacing luggage before he could even make it to the tournament in Germany in the first place, it’s been far from a smooth EU Tour for him so far
The 34-year-old and his wife, Kirsty, have two children, Brooke and Milly Mai, with Aspinall writing on an Instagram story: “should have spent Easter with the kids.”
Nevertheless, the local lad mustered up the motivation – noting that the on-stage buzz definitely helps – to make his way into the final and finish with a not-too-shabby 128 checkout.
Having been “working on things in the background” and even walking out to his new entrance song (‘Lose Yourself by Eminem), we’re hoping he’ll soon be fully snapped out of his funk and back to enjoying the sport.
Thankfully, it seems like the result has definitely helped go some way towards that, with his reaction in the post-match pressers suggesting an upturn in both confidence and mood.
Speaking after the win, he went on to add: “I’m trying to find that love for the game again and Munich, you’ve given] me the love again. I enjoyed my darts today!”
Featured Images — Sandro Halank (via Wikimedia Commons)
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One of the world’s tiniest antelopes has been born at Chester Zoo and it’s no bigger than a tin of beans
Emily Sergeant
One of the world’s tiniest antelopes has been born at Chester Zoo, and she’s barely taller than a tin of baked beans.
The little Kirk’s dik-dik fawn – who zookeepers have decided to name Dotty – was born weighing just a few hundred grams, and even when she’s fully grown, she won’t be a great deal bigger either, as it’s predicted she’ll reach just 40cm tall, making her one of the smallest antelopes on the planet.
Dotty was born back in mid-February, and she has now begun taking her first steps.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Kirk’s dik-dik, it’s a species often found in the scrublands and mountainous regions of Kenya, Tanzania, and Namibia in Africa.
They take their name from the sharp, high-pitched ‘dik-dik’ alarm call they make when startled and as they dart for cover.
These adorable little creatures use their elongated, flexible noses to pluck leaves directly from branches – a unique feature found only in dik-diks – and they mark their territory using scent glands beneath their eyes and between their toes.
In what carers at Chester Zoo are describing as a ‘heartwarming twist’, little Dotty is actually being raised with the help of a surrogate father.
This is because Dotty’s biological dad passed away of old age shortly before her birth, and now a new male dik-dik named Dan – who arrived from a zoo in Cumbria in February – has gently stepped into the role alongside mum Chrissy.
This is Dotty the dik-dik – one of the world’s tiniest antelopes / Credit: Chester Zoo
“Dik-diks are naturally very shy animals, so for the first couple of weeks Chrissy’s tiny fawn has been tucked away in a quiet, cosy den, with mum popping back to feed and check on her,” explained Megan Carpenter, who is the Assistant Team Manager of Small Mammals at Chester Zoo.
“Now though, she’s beginning to find her feet and we’re seeing those lovely first steps as she heads out on her first little outdoor adventures.
“In a lovely addition to the story, we’ve also welcomed a new male dik-dik, Dan, as part of the European conservation breeding programme.
Emily Sergeant -
12th June 2020 
