苏格兰的豪华民宿如何便宜住？帮忙管书店吧

Who wouldn't want to stay in the Scottish Lowlands? In a quaint village near a forest? Where the Gulf Stream keeps the climate pleasant, whisky is sipped, and salmon is nibbled?

在苏格兰低地,古老的村庄倚靠森林,峡谷的溪流让人怡然,小口啜饮着威士忌,细细品味鲑鱼,试想谁会不向往待在这里?

An upstairs studio let in Wigtown, you can live this Scottish Dream for just £28 a night. Sounds too good to be true.

在威格敦,一层位于楼上的工作室,你就可以以每晚28欧元的价格,来享受你梦寐以求的苏格兰风情。听起来有点好得不真实。

And it is, in a way. Guests, while afforded the charm and tranquility of rural Scottish life for the same price as half a tank of petrol, are required to play bookkeeper. Yes, those who stay are tasked with running the bookshop downstairs.

事实上,有个条件,除了用相当于半桶汽油的价钱来享受这优美舒适苏格兰乡村生活,你还必须做书店管理员。书店就在住宿的楼下,管理书店就是住客的任务啦。

This won't be for everyone – but for those willing to recommend Harry Potter to visiting kids and ring through a few sales, a remarkably low-cost holiday is possible.

当然不强制每个住客都必须履行,但是对于那些愿意向入住的孩子们推荐哈利波特系列丛书,或者帮忙销售一些书的住客,可以享受额外低的假日住宿花销。

Adrian Turner, director of the Wigtown book festival, said of the idea: “I wouldn’t call it a working holiday. It’s a particular kind of holiday [for people] who don’t feel that running a bookshop is work. "It’s not about cheap labour – it’s about offering people an experience … It’s one of those great fantasies.”

威格顿图书节的总策划,Adrian Turner, 对于这个举措表示,对于那些愿意帮忙管理书店的人来说,这不算是一种假期工作,也不是充当廉价劳动力,他们收获的是一种经历,而且是生平美好经历中最获益匪浅的。

Apparently, locals are inclined to invite guests round to dinner, too. Which helps. As do the pubs about the place, Galloway Forest Park, the nearby coast, and golf – no, nothing to do with Donald Trump.

当地人还喜欢邀请游客共进晚餐。这也会带动当地酒吧,Galloway 森林公园,附近海滩还有高尔夫等产业。当然这样的经营理念不是受特朗普的影响。

Unlike its Welsh equivalent, Wigtown's status was planned – the proliferation of bookshops came following the closure of its creamery and distillery, which were by far the main employers for locals.Books have helped regenerate Wigtown. It's worth mentioning that a new distillery called Bladnoch has opened, though. Everything's fine.

与威尔士不同,威格顿的现状是提前规划的,书店的兴起,导致了大部分当地人从事的乳品业和酒业倒闭。图书业重振了威格顿,还有值得一提的是,一家名叫Bladnoch新的酒厂已经开业。终于,万物并育而不相害了。

The let first came to the limelight back in 2015. It was noticed by the Guardian, naturally. And American couple Lee and Janet Miller, from Massachusetts, who once ran a bookstore, spotted the listing, went, and blogged about the experience.“Today reminded both of us of why we so loved being booksellers. It is of course dealing with books, which we love," they wrote.“But it is also the social interaction. As a bookseller, you are available to the world, and people come by for business and also just to connect."

这家住宿的出名还要从2015年说起,《卫报》首先对其进行报道。一对来自美国马萨诸塞州的夫妇,李和珍妮特,曾经营一家书店,他们看到报道,然后前往,并在博客上分享了他们的体验。“今天我们重燃了作为一个书商的热情,我们喜欢与书打交道。作为一个书商,世界向你敞开,经营书店更加需要互动,人们到这里不光体验做生意,而是成为(书与人、人与人之间的)沟通纽带。”