Doc Martin pub seeks manager comfortable with crowds
It may be the perfect job for fans of Doc Martin — tending bar at the idyllic pub in Cornwall made famous by the prickly physician in the beloved British comedy-drama. But anyone who takes up the offer to run The Golden Lion, which overlooks Port Isaac, where the show is filmed, will need to be comfortable with a summer influx of fellow fans.
Part of the St. Austell Brewery estate in southwest England, the bar is familiar to millions of viewers of the TV series starring Martin Clunes, and for scenes filmed for the 2019 rom-com Fisherman's Friends. It will also feature in the film's sequel next year. That means a lot of starstruck fans showing up at the door — or “very large seasonal uplift,” as the brewery put it. “Being set in such a desirable location means the pub experiences significant seasonal demand over the summer,” a spokesperson said of the tenancy.
Swedish peak is shrinking
Talk about shrinkage: Sweden's once-highest peak has unceremoniously lost two metres of height because of melting ice caused by rising global temperatures. Researchers at Stockholm University say the Kebnekaise south mountain in the Lapland region, north of the Arctic Circle, has shrunk to 2,094.6 metres in the space of a year. In 2010 its elevation was measured at more than 2,100 metres and it was Sweden's tallest peak until 2019, when retreating snow and ice caused it to begin receding.
Scientists said the latest reading is the lowest height recorded since measurements began in the 1940s. Kebnekaise's north peak, where there is no glacier, is now the tallest in the country, the National newspaper reported. The university said: “The decrease in the peak and the changed appearance of the drift can mainly be explained by rising air temperatures but also changing wind conditions, which affect where the snow accumulates in the winter.” According to Sweden's national weather agency, 2018 was the hottest summer on record, while this June saw the hottest temperature ever notched in the northernmost Arctic Lapland region of Finland. The Kebnekaise massif is part of the Scandes mountain range that stretches over large parts of northern Sweden and Norway.
Scotch club has key to whisky lovers' hearts
Forget the liquor cabinet: Deep-pocketed whisky connoisseurs can now lock up their favourite tipple in the legendary Balmoral bar in Scotland, all carefully guarded by specially trained ambassadors. The new Scotch Club, a collaboration between the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh and the Macallan distillery, is offering a personalized “membership experience” to whisky lovers around the world. The elite club offers “bottle residence” in one of the sought-after, personally engraved whisky keeps that mark the entrance to Balmoral's bar, known as Scotch. In a statement, the hotel, part of the Rocco Forte chain, said: “Keeping the amber nectar under lock and key, the Balmoral's expert whisky ambassadors will offer Scotch Club members a whisky concierge service ensuring each visit to the world-renowned whisky bar is bespoke and memorable.” Club members will be able to partake of their favourite dram in a “flawless vessel,” a glass created by French crystal-maker Lalique. Annual dues start at roughly $1,500, and only 12 members will be selected in the first round this summer, with a waiting list for the remaining 23 to be released later this year. Cameron Ewen, whisky ambassador and manager of the Scotch bar, said: “Together with the Macallan we have created a unique membership experience in an iconic Scottish location.”