And White and Mackay company which now owns the McKinley brand is waiting for a sample with hopes of recreating the famous blend.

The alcohol was removed from the ice by the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust, which had initially believed there were only two crates. However three crates of whisky and two crates of brandy have been recovered abandoned in the hut the team used on their daring expedition in 1907 -1909.

Had Shackleton and his team reached the South Pole he would have been the first person to reach it ahead of Amundsen who finally reached it in 1917.

For whisky-lovers it’s a chance to hopefully enjoy a long-lost blend IF the master blenders at Whyte and Mackay manage to recreate the blend.  Here’s a toast to Ernest Shackelton, he’s back in the news a hundred years later with the discovery of “Shackleton’s Whisky” as it is being called now! Cheers!

Fish and chips is also serous business in the country and there are 11,500 chippies in the UK and the competition conducted by Seafish Organisation to crown the best of them annually is no less than 22 years old now! If you’re new to UK, you now know how important fish and chips is in the British Isles.

The owner of the winning shop is Giovanni Fionda a Scot with an Italian lineage says, “To win this competition as a first time entrant is a dream come true. It’s the best thing to have happened to us in our professional life and has made all the hard work worth it. We’ve worked in the fish and chips business for many years and it’s always been great fun.”

As a business, fish and chips shops are thriving well as the economic downturn gives the fast food an added value for money advantage and 183m portions of fish and chips were sold 2009 alone! Atlantic Fast Food has seen such an increase in customers after the win with customers from as far and wide as Australia and Ireland dropping in for a bite.

Scotland’s previous winners include  Anstruther Fish Bar in Fife and the Townhead Cafe in Biggar, so if you’re on a visit to Scotland make sure you pop into any of these award-winning shops and you’ll know what the craze is all about!

Mussels are less expensive than oysters and the past two years have seen restaurants all over Scotland opting more for mussels. Mussels may not have the high price-tag that oysters have but they do contain a lot of minerals like magnesium, copper, iodine, iron, selenium, and zinc all great for your libido.

Scottish mussels are also of the best quality say the experts and if you have a romantic dinner planned chances are that you’ll be ordering moules marinières over other expensive oyster dishes. Using your hands and feeding one another can be just what you need this Valentine’s Day.

So if you’re in restaurants in Edinburgh or Glasgow or for that matter anywhere in Scotland in the next two weeks don’t forget to have a plate of mussels cooked in white wine and garlic.

Yes, skiing is at its best in the ski resorts of Scotland now with people not minding to spend Hogmanay in parking lots to get to the top of the slope first. News reports have even gone on to claim that the ski resorts in Scotland are even better than the ones in the Alps.

The weather is perfect for skiing and more snow is on its way with all 7 Scottish resorts having a couple of thousand visitors a day. Brits are sensibly deciding on Scotland compared to the pricey ones in the Alps this year. Domestic tourism is defintely on a rise ever since the recession hit hard.

Blue skies and tonnes of snow await you on the slopes of Scotland, what are you waiting for?

Expect disruption in transport and power is the grim warning from the MET department.  The BBC reported the following:

Inverness airport in the Scottish Highlands was closed because of bad weather, while train services to and from Glasgow were also affected.

Warnings of heavy snow are in place for Grampian and Highlands and Eilean Siar.

Ice bound pavement have been a cause of worry as authorities have not been able to handle this problem. The Scotsman had this to say…

Tyndrum in Stirlingshire was the coldest place in Scotland early yesterday morning, with the mercury dropping to –16°C, while at Tulloch Bridge in the Highlands it was –14°C.

Inverness shivered at –8°C and at Glasgow Airport temperatures dropped to –4°C. In Dumfries and Galloway, the A75 was closed between Stranraer and Newton Stewart because of treacherous, icy conditions.

Let’s hope the blizzards stop and things look up in time for Hogmanay 2010.

The strike is planned in protest to proposed pay and job cuts that BA is planning to ease its pension deficit of £3.7 billion which is likely to more than double to £8 billion this year. Unite union’s 13000 cabin crew are expected to join the strike even though they are paid double that of other airlines like Virgin.

Thousands of passengers who travel between London and Scotland are likely to be affected as they have to catch connecting British Airways flights. However flights between Edinburgh and Glasgow and London City airport will be among the few BA services unaffected as they are run by the subsidiary, BA CityFlyer.

If you’re travelling to Scotland all you can hope this late in the month is that the Unite calls off the strike or find connecting flights on other airlines. East Scotland is expecting a white Christmas this year as snowfall begins here.

The five-day Hogmanay is likely to bring in tourists by the plane-loads and the street party is one to be experienced. Hogmanay is indeed a great time to visit Scotland. Auld lang Sange is sung loudly and Princes Street becomes one giant party.

Glasgow’s George Square is getting ready for Hogmanay fireowrks music and a large free party where all can join in. So, if you’re planning a visit to Scotland let it be for the Hogmanay - nothing like going into the new decade with the fun revellers of Edinburgh’s Princes Street. Make sure you cover up well and take swigs out of a hip  flask to brave the cold – it is THE best New Year Party in the world!

Loch Ness and the Great Glen have both been aiming to get UNESCO World Heritage recognition and they have deliberately kept Nessie out of this bid. Nessie and its myth aside , this is to create awareness of the area which in turn will  bring about £25 million to the economy and hundreds of jobs to Scotland.

The Loch Ness monster is no longer a monster in that sense of the word as filmmakers take creative liberties. From a monster in the 1935 film to a friendly kelpie or water horse in 2007, Nessie has been packaged into numerous avatars on celluloid. Films made over the years including Bollywood horrors were examined and shown at the Glasgow Film Theatre and the National Library of Scotland (NLS) as part of Unesco’s World Day for Audiovisual Heritage.

Water horse or monster, Nessie is still what will draw in the crowds. Stare at the deep waters of the loch and you can’t help but see or think you’ve seen a dark shape move in the waters. In the times we are in, we all long for magic and fantastic tales and sometimes need to believe in a friendly, misjudged monster. And it’s good for business!

“Greycationers” as they are being dubbed by the media hold the key to give a fillip to the flagging recession hit travel industry. Domestic travel and short haul travel have been on the rise this year thanks to these adventure buffs.

These adventure fiends are not looking for tour operators and organised tour but prefer road trips, trekking trips and even marathon trips. It’s all about being fit and being able to afford adventure. A whopping £175 billion at their disposal collectively, can you blame them?

The over fifty are tech-savvy, adventure-hungry and looking to travel and its no wonder that travel operators are now making tailor-made tours to suit their braveheart ideas 2-3 times a year!

Scotland too is having its share of these baby boomer tourists and you’re sure to see them soon all over the highlands and lochs.