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Job advertisement from Piel Island: Looking for a king

2021-12-22T06:25:21.218Z


Nothing planned for the next ten years? How about becoming king (and innkeeper) on the British island of Piel? In-demand qualification: A "strong passion for isolation and tranquility".


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This could be your new job: Piel.

Photo: Mary Evans Picture Library / picture alliance

Imagine a rectangle: 400 meters long, 500 meters wide. Piel Island, a small island in the British Morecambe Bay, is that big, 20 hectares. It is still an understatement to say: This is not a metropolitan area. Could you imagine working here? There are: a handful of houses, a pub, a ruined castle - and a ferry that only operates in summer. The island belongs to the area of ​​Barrow, an industrial city. After the previous tenant has quit the service, the municipal administration is now looking for someone who wants to manage the traditional »Ship Inn« on the island. They should also be ready to be doused with beer while sitting on a throne (even if that will not be part of the official tender, which is supposed to start in January).

But one after anonther. The island is touted as a »jewel« by the community: the pub has a new kitchen with ambitious chefs and a wide selection of drinks, and there has always been a king on the island (who is also the host of the pub). Of course you live a little isolated here. Well, the ferry comes regularly from April to September, and if not, you can call a certain John. If you want to camp on the island, you pay five pounds, but you have to register in advance. The weather is more for, well, weatherproof people, but the sunsets are supposed to be nice and seals and birds can be seen.

The British newspaper "The Guardian", which like other British media reported on the upcoming job advertisement, quotes the hiking guide John Murphy, who has been leading tourists on a path over the sandbanks to the island for 40 years. Whoever wants the job, he said, has to be very committed. After all, there are no nearby shopping opportunities. "You have to bring dedication and a strong passion for isolation and calm," the paper quotes Murphy, adding "a special personality". On the other hand, the hiking guide raves about the island's beauty: »The view from Piel is quite impressive. I must have slept on every blade of grass on this island, drunk or sober, and I just love it. ”The local Cumbriacrack news site, however, also quotes Sandra Baines,who is responsible for visitor management and culture in the city council: The weather is a disadvantage - and life on the island is not the dream that people might have in mind.

One of the island's main attractions is the ruins of the castle, which monks built in the early 14th century to deter Scottish raiders. Now it is attracting tourists - as is the "Ship Inn", a pub that has been several hundred years under its belt. The next season begins in April. A temporary solution was found last summer, but now the municipality wants to look for a tenant for the restaurant (in personal union king for the island) who wants to commit himself for at least ten years from April.

Its tasks include not only running the inn, but also managing the island - and the willingness to undertake a very idiosyncratic ritual: Those who run the bar are crowned "King of Piel" in a ceremony and must sit on a throne with them Let beer pour over (and also pay for the drinks for the subjects present).

That is the tradition of the island.

Definitely not a job for spoiled princes.

mh

Source: spiegel

All business articles on 2021-12-22

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