A historic Scottish distillery has hailed the debut of its immersive theatre experience featuring Outlander and Taggart actors.

Charting the distillery history from its origin story to the present day, the actors brought “more than two centuries of whisky-making history to life” as part of the event.

Bladnoch, one of Scotland’s oldest working distilleries aimed to “transport guests back in time to be met by some of the most notable characters from bygone days at the distillery” with the event on the banks of the River Bladnoch.

Created by actress and voice artist Debora Weston, whose film credits include Patriot Games, Thunderbirds, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the script for Bladnoch Tasting Notes follows the story of brothers John and Thomas McClelland, who founded Bladnoch Distillery in 1817 when they were first granted a license to distil whisky on Bladnoch Farm, near Wigtown in Dumfries & Galloway.

Bladnoch Tasting Notes is brought to life through the talents of professional actors Mark Rannoch, Bladnoch’s global brand ambassador, whose stage and screen credits include the global hit TV series, Outlander, and Mark Kydd, best known for his roles in Clique and Taggart.

For nearly a century, successive generations of McClelland family grew and modernised the distillery. At its peak, the site an annual production of 230,000 litres of alcohol, which it said cemented Bladnoch Distillery’s status as “Queen of the Lowlands”.

Bladnoch Tasting Notes leads guests through the distillery’s history to the modern day featuring Bladnoch’s revival in recent years by current owner David Prior, who purchased Bladnoch Distillery in 2015 and is described as the first Australian businessman to own a Scotch whisky distillery.

SPFL announce record turnover with extra payments to clubs made

 

The Scottish Professional Football League has announced a record turnover of £44.3 million in their newly-published annual accounts.

The SPFL’s latest figures show that turnover has risen by £2.4 million, up 6 percent from last year’s previous record high of £41.9 million.

They say the deal is largely driven by the league’s new Sky Sports TV deal, as well as revenue growth from the SPFL’s other domestic and overseas broadcasting agreements. It’s good news for the clubs too with payments to them increasing to £33.7 million, which is up £2 million from last year. Total group distributions to clubs have reached £37.9 million, up £2.1 million from last year.

Scottish shops see increased footfall with more customers visiting

 

Scottish shops  saw a 'steady if unspectacular growth' in visits from customers over the last month, according to new figures.

The latest Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC)-Sensormatic data shows footfall increased 0.7% in September year-on-year, though this was below the UK average rise of 3.3%.

However retail experts cautioned an increase in customer browsing does not necessarily mean shoppers will buy more.

They urged Chancellor Rachel Reeves to inject some “much-needed confidence” back into the economy in her upcoming Budget to encourage shoppers to spend.

Analyst tips JD Wetherspoon tipped to 'soak up market share'

 

JD Wetherspoon has resumed dividend payments for the first time since the pandemic, as analysts hailed the resilience of the company’s performance amid tough conditions in the hospitality industry.

The pub giant, which has around 800 outlets across the UK, beat market expectations by posting a 73.5% rise in profit before tax to £73.9m, on an operating margin up to 6.9% from 5.6%, for the 52 weeks ended July 28. Like-for-like sales climbed by 7.6%, with revenue up by 5.7% to £2.035 billion, and growth has continued into the current period, the firm announced, with sales up 4.9% in the nine weeks to September 29.

City watchers said Wetherspoon is performing well in a sector which continues to face significant inflation, chiefly on wages, utility costs and repairs, highlighting the company’s ability to keep prices affordable for cash-conscious consumers.