Latest news with #EarlofSandwich
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Tesco's birthday cake sandwich launch divides opinion on social media
Tesco has launched a birthday cake sandwich, complete with strawberry jam, soft cheese, vanilla frosting and sprinkles – but the candle isn't included. The limited-edition sandwich, between slices of brioche-style white bread, contains 31.g of sugar – 35% of an adult's recommended daily intake – and will be on sale for £3 at 1,000 stores for four weeks. Videos of people trying out the sandwich have attracted tens of thousands of views on TikTok over the past 24 hours. Some Tesco customers expressed scepticism on Reddit. 'Birthday cake is not a flavour,' one said. 'It's not like everyone has the exact same cake for their birthday.' Another suggested that creating a birthday cake sandwich should be a criminal offence. 'The Earl of Sandwich did not intend this to happen,' one Reddit user wrote. 'Bet he's rolling in his grave.' The fourth Earl of Sandwich is said to have invented the sandwich in 1762 when he asked for a serving of roast beef to be placed between two slices of bread so that he did not have to leave the table where he was playing cards. Tesco said the 'soiree sandwich' was being released to mark the 30th anniversary of the Clubcard. TikTok users have suggested it reminds them of a jam sandwich. 'It tastes like that, but with a bit of cream,' one said. 'If you love a jam sandwich, it's literally that – but elevated,' said another. 'This is way better than I thought it would be.' It follows the release in June by Marks & Spencer of a strawberry and cream sandwich, nicknamed the 'strawberry sando'. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Inspired by the craze for Japanese fruit sandos, the M&S version went viral on social media, and the sandwich chain Subway then released its own version. Nutritional information for Tesco's sandwich shows that it contains 515 calories with 8.4g saturated fat: 42% of an adult's recommended daily intake. Despite being a 'dessert sandwich', it can be part of the Tesco meal deal for £4, alongside a drink and snack. Tesco's brand manager, Violaine Barthe, said: 'With 3.1 million sandwiches sold in Tesco each year, sandwiches make up a big proportion of Clubcard purchases and so there was only one way to celebrate Clubcard turning 30. 'The birthday cake Sandwich is a celebration not to be missed and we can't wait to hear the nation's feedback.'
Yahoo
02-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Merging AI and Quantum Computing: Here's the Stock to Watch
Key Points With its cutting-edge GPUs, Nvidia is a formidable force in the AI industry. Collaborating with quantum computer developers and Japanese researchers, Nvidia is applying its AI capabilities to advance quantum computing. While Nvidia stock seems pricey, it's a no-brainer option for investors seeking both AI and quantum computing exposure. 10 stocks we like better than Nvidia › Bread is great. Meat -- or the vegetarian filling of your choice -- is great, too. But it was the Earl of Sandwich who married the two in the 1700s to create the sandwich as we know it. The race to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing doesn't require the ingenuity of an English nobleman. Today, tech leaders are racing to incorporate the two technologies to revolutionize computing abilities. While Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) is often recognized as an AI industry stalwart, the company is also helping to advance quantum computing, making it a smart choice for those interested in gaining simultaneous exposure to the two burgeoning industries. The company for all AI seasons It's hard to overestimate Nvidia's position as an AI leader, since it has a hand in the varying niches of the AI field. Nvidia AI Foundry, for example, offers customers an end-to-end platform and service for constructing custom generative AI models, including large language models and AI chatbots. Additionally, Nvidia AI Enterprise provides a cloud-native suite of software tools, libraries, and frameworks. Nvidia's graphic processing units (GPUs) provide the backbone for its AI proficiency. The company's latest GPU architecture, Nvidia Blackwell, is in high demand from data centers, where AI computing occurs. Earlier in July, hyperscaler CoreWeave announced that it was "the first cloud provider to deliver this groundbreaking GPU architecture for AI, graphics, and high-performance computing workloads." Like CoreWeave, hyperscaler peer Nebius is rolling out availability to Blackwell architecture to customers, and the company is, unsurprisingly, extremely enthusiastic. In June, Nebius announced that the Blackwell architecture was now available to customers in Europe. With respect to the United States, Nebius is developing a data center in New Jersey that the company plans on singularly dedicating to Nvidia Blackwell-architecture GPUs. Making the quantum leap Unlike companies such as IonQ and Rigetti Computing, which are building actual quantum computers, Nvidia is taking a different -- though necessary -- tack to advancing the nascent field. For one, Nvidia is building a research center in Boston that will integrate its Nvidia GB200 Grace Blackwell superchip (providing advanced AI computing) with quantum computing hardware. The result will be accelerated quantum supercomputing that Nvidia says "will help solve quantum computing's most challenging problems, ranging from qubit noise to transforming experimental quantum processors into practical devices." A qubit is the basic unit of information in quantum computing. Providing 2,020 of its H100 GPUs interconnected by its Quantum-2 InfiniBand networking platform to Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Nvidia is also playing a pivotal role in facilitating progress at the ABC1-Q, the world's largest research supercomputer dedicated to quantum computing. In addition, the system is integrated with Nvidia CUDA-Q, an open-source hybrid computing platform that assists hardware and software to conduct enormous quantum computing applications. Speaking to the collaboration between Nvidia and the AIST, Tim Costa, Nvidia's senior director of computer-aided engineering, quantum and CUDA-X, was quoted as saying: Seamlessly coupling quantum hardware with AI supercomputing will accelerate realizing the promise of quantum computing for all. Nvidia's collaboration with AIST will catalyze progress in areas like quantum error correction and applications development -- crucial for building useful, accelerated quantum supercomputers. Is Nvidia a no-brainer buy today for AI and quantum computing exposure? There are several AI leaders and a handful of quantum computing pioneers, however, Nvidia is one of the very few companies developing technologies for both tech fields. This makes it an obvious consideration for those interested in a single investment that provides exposure to both corners of the tech industry. Taking a quick look at the stock's valuation, investors may conclude that shares are pricey now, trading at roughly 56 times trailing earnings. It's important to recognize, though, that Nvidia's position as a semiconductor and AI powerhouse has led to it commanding a higher valuation -- it's five-year average trailing P/E is 70. Therefore, investors shouldn't dismiss the stock as unattractively valued. And though there may be bumps in the road as these two fields mature, Nvidia is an excellent choice for investors looking to be in position to prosper from the growth of AI and quantum computing. Should you invest $1,000 in Nvidia right now? Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Nvidia wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $625,254!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,090,257!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,036% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 181% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 29, 2025 Scott Levine has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends Nebius Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Merging AI and Quantum Computing: Here's the Stock to Watch was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
Globe and Mail
01-08-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Merging AI and Quantum Computing: Here's the Stock to Watch
Key Points With its cutting-edge GPUs, Nvidia is a formidable force in the AI industry. Collaborating with quantum computer developers and Japanese researchers, Nvidia is applying its AI capabilities to advance quantum computing. While Nvidia stock seems pricey, it's a no-brainer option for investors seeking both AI and quantum computing exposure. 10 stocks we like better than Nvidia › Bread is great. Meat -- or the vegetarian filling of your choice -- is great, too. But it was the Earl of Sandwich who married the two in the 1700s to create the sandwich as we know it. The race to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing doesn't require the ingenuity of an English nobleman. Today, tech leaders are racing to incorporate the two technologies to revolutionize computing abilities. While Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) is often recognized as an AI industry stalwart, the company is also helping to advance quantum computing, making it a smart choice for those interested in gaining simultaneous exposure to the two burgeoning industries. The company for all AI seasons It's hard to overestimate Nvidia's position as an AI leader, since it has a hand in the varying niches of the AI field. Nvidia AI Foundry, for example, offers customers an end-to-end platform and service for constructing custom generative AI models, including large language models and AI chatbots. Additionally, Nvidia AI Enterprise provides a cloud-native suite of software tools, libraries, and frameworks. Nvidia's graphic processing units (GPUs) provide the backbone for its AI proficiency. The company's latest GPU architecture, Nvidia Blackwell, is in high demand from data centers, where AI computing occurs. Earlier in July, hyperscaler CoreWeave announced that it was "the first cloud provider to deliver this groundbreaking GPU architecture for AI, graphics, and high-performance computing workloads." Like CoreWeave, hyperscaler peer Nebius is rolling out availability to Blackwell architecture to customers, and the company is, unsurprisingly, extremely enthusiastic. In June, Nebius announced that the Blackwell architecture was now available to customers in Europe. With respect to the United States, Nebius is developing a data center in New Jersey that the company plans on singularly dedicating to Nvidia Blackwell-architecture GPUs. Making the quantum leap Unlike companies such as IonQ and Rigetti Computing, which are building actual quantum computers, Nvidia is taking a different -- though necessary -- tack to advancing the nascent field. For one, Nvidia is building a research center in Boston that will integrate its Nvidia GB200 Grace Blackwell superchip (providing advanced AI computing) with quantum computing hardware. The result will be accelerated quantum supercomputing that Nvidia says "will help solve quantum computing's most challenging problems, ranging from qubit noise to transforming experimental quantum processors into practical devices." A qubit is the basic unit of information in quantum computing. Providing 2,020 of its H100 GPUs interconnected by its Quantum-2 InfiniBand networking platform to Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Nvidia is also playing a pivotal role in facilitating progress at the ABC1-Q, the world's largest research supercomputer dedicated to quantum computing. In addition, the system is integrated with Nvidia CUDA-Q, an open-source hybrid computing platform that assists hardware and software to conduct enormous quantum computing applications. Speaking to the collaboration between Nvidia and the AIST, Tim Costa, Nvidia's senior director of computer-aided engineering, quantum and CUDA-X, was quoted as saying: Seamlessly coupling quantum hardware with AI supercomputing will accelerate realizing the promise of quantum computing for all. Nvidia's collaboration with AIST will catalyze progress in areas like quantum error correction and applications development -- crucial for building useful, accelerated quantum supercomputers. Is Nvidia a no-brainer buy today for AI and quantum computing exposure? There are several AI leaders and a handful of quantum computing pioneers, however, Nvidia is one of the very few companies developing technologies for both tech fields. This makes it an obvious consideration for those interested in a single investment that provides exposure to both corners of the tech industry. Taking a quick look at the stock's valuation, investors may conclude that shares are pricey now, trading at roughly 56 times trailing earnings. It's important to recognize, though, that Nvidia's position as a semiconductor and AI powerhouse has led to it commanding a higher valuation -- it's five-year average trailing P/E is 70. Therefore, investors shouldn't dismiss the stock as unattractively valued. And though there may be bumps in the road as these two fields mature, Nvidia is an excellent choice for investors looking to be in position to prosper from the growth of AI and quantum computing. Should you invest $1,000 in Nvidia right now? Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Nvidia wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $625,254!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,090,257!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,036% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 181% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 29, 2025
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mapperton Estate offering free activities for children this summer
The Mapperton Estate is offering free activities for children this summer. The estate, located near Beaminster, will host themed activities every week for six weeks. Children can participate in activities such as woodland trails, storytelling, sketching wildlife, scavenger hunts, and historical explorations. The activities will run from Sunday, July 27 to Thursday, September 4. The fun kicks off with Art Week (Sunday, July 27 - Thursday, July 31), where children can sketch flowers, creatures and hidden corners of the estate's grounds. They can also contribute to the Summer Bunting Gallery for a chance to win a family season pass, chosen by the Earl and Countess of Sandwich. READ: Jane Austen-themed activities at Dorset Museum this summer Scavenger Week (Sunday, August 3 - Thursday, August 7) will have young explorers collecting natural treasures to build twig people or fairy homes. Mystery Week (Sunday, August 10 - Thursday, August 14) will turn children into detectives, solving clues to find out who stole Percy the tortoise. There are ten animal suspects hidden around the grounds of the Coach House café, and the first to solve the mystery will receive a prize. Nature Bingo Week (Sunday, August 17 - Thursday, August 21) will include a wildlife adventure. Children can collect sightings of bees, butterflies, and birds on a bingo card to earn a Mapperton Wildlings sticker. There will also be themed games back at the Coach House. READ: 'Mini Glastonbury' to return to Dorset this summer Story Week (Sunday, August 24 - Thursday, August 28) will feature storytelling sessions with local children's author and illustrator Lynda Stewart, followed by an opportunity for children to write or draw Mapperton-inspired tales. Finally, History Week (Sunday, August 31 - Thursday, September 4) will invite young time-travellers to discover Mapperton's past through postcards from the 4th Earl of Sandwich. They will complete fun challenges and post a message back through time in the Mapperton Time Box. Julie Montagu, Countess of Sandwich, said: "Mapperton is full of stories and nature to discover, and we are delighted to offer a creative and fun summer adventure for children and their families to enjoy." The Coach House Café will be open for refreshments during the activities. READ: Creative activities for children across Dorset this summer Children under the age of 16 can enter Mapperton House, Gardens & Wildlands free with any adult entry ticket or membership. No booking is required. Families visiting for any three out of the six summer weeks will receive a free visit to see Father Christmas at Mapperton this winter. For more information, visit the Mapperton website.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Earl and Countess of Sandwich: We could teach the National Trust a thing or two
At Mapperton House, a Jacobean manor in west Dorset, Luke Montagu, 12th Earl of Sandwich and his American wife, Julie, Countess of Sandwich, are engaging in the most un-British of behaviour: asking for money. They've set up a camera on a tripod in the mustard-painted library, a light-filled room with a grand piano and mullion windows overlooking the walled garden, and are filming themselves launching a YouTube crowdfunder. The Earl, 55, in an untucked pink shirt and grey trousers, lifts two threadbare manuscripts from one of the bookcases and passes them to the Countess, 51, who is also casually dressed in a striped top, blonde hair tied in a messy bun. She places them carefully onto a cushion on a table. 'I had no idea that they're the Fourth Earl's handwritten journals from his Grand Tour,' she excitedly tells viewers. 'We're going to get them restored, so we're starting a fundraiser – I've found an expert to resew and rebind them in an 18th-century way.' The Montagus hope to raise £3,000 – and given the success of their previous crowdfunding requests, they should smash this target in a few weeks. When one of their eagle figurines, which have adorned the pillars at the front of the house for 300 years, fell off its perch last year, they quickly raised £23,000 to get them restored. Donors also paid £18,500 for the archive room to be overhauled with scanners, archive supplies and a fireproof safe. Then there are the family Coronation robes, which have been conserved at the Royal School of Needlework thanks to a £1,500 crowdfunder; and the 18th-century Peacock Tapestries, which are being restored by celebrated conservator Emma Telford, after £20,000 of donations. Last year alone, the estate raised £70,000 for restoration from online benefactors gifting up to £1,500 at a time. Donors come across the Earl and Countess on Mapperton Live, the couple's YouTube channel, which documents the highs and lows of running the house, five farms and 1,900 acres of pasture and woodlands. In return for their gift, they receive a certificate for making the project happen and – depending on the level of their contribution – a postcard of the project, a limited edition print and their name on a plaque on the estate. The Earl, however, who inherited the estate in February this year on the death of his father, John Montagu, 11th Earl of Sandwich, admits that he finds asking for money deeply uncomfortable. 'I don't do it. I pass it over to Julie,' he says. 'Americans don't have any awkwardness about it.' 'I love it,' the Countess confirms. 'Fundraising is a skill. You have to have created a community in order to do it, and you have to keep reminding them how much you appreciate what they do.' Today, all stately home owners face running and restoration costs so high that innovation is vital just to keep afloat. Hosting music festivals, corporate shoots or film crews (often all three) has become the norm. But on my trip to Mapperton, it became clear the Montagus have happened upon something unique: a paying audience that doesn't need to visit the house. At least not in person. Rather, the couple are letting a growing online audience in on the secrets of their world. It's working. As well as generous donors who want to be involved in restoration projects, the Earl and Countess have amassed more than 500 fee-paying super fans who pay between $5 (£4) and $500 (£368) per month for exclusive videos, handwritten thank you cards, free visits to the house and discounts on stays on the estate. That's bolstered by the advertising revenue that Mapperton Live channel raises on YouTube (its most popular video, featuring the Countess in a swimsuit and bath hat taking a dip in the vast and decrepit 18th-century swimming pool, has garnered 1.6 million views). And while new online fans don't have to visit the house, many inevitably do. These days, more than 10 per cent of Mapperton's 15,000 annual in-person visitors, who pay £20 to visit the house and gardens, have heard about the estate on YouTube, with some followers flying across the Atlantic to see it in real life. Twice a year, the Montagus welcome 12 guests for an exclusive five-night stay at the estate: this year's Grand Historic Tours are sold out, despite costing £8,000 per person. Sourcing relatively small cash gifts from many donors like this is a new tactic. The grandest historic houses – Blenheim Palace, for example – often rely on wealthy individuals to help fund multi-million pound restoration projects. At Mapperton, by contrast, crowdfunding and digital revenues now constitute more than 25 per cent of the estate's annual income. The family has been struggling to get Mapperton out of the red since the Earl's grandfather, Victor Montagu, fell on hard times and downsized to the estate in 1962, having been forced to sell Hitchingbrooke, the family's seat near Cambridge. But the Earl and Countess, who have four children aged from 19 to 26 (the older two from the Countess's previous marriage) believe that if they keep doing what they're doing it's only a matter of time before Mapperton is financially sustainable – which in the world of historic houses is almost unheard of. 'I don't want to jinx it, but by the time we hand it over to the next generation, it should be making money,' the Earl confirms. It's notoriously difficult to gain any kind of following on YouTube, but the Montagus both had a background in media, which helped. The Earl had been running a film school, MetFilm School, which he founded in London before he took over the estate in 2016, and the Countess had TV presenting experience, having been signed up by both the BBC and CNN to be at Windsor Castle for the 2018 wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan (as a divorced American married to an aristocrat, she made an ideal commentator). It's clear as they chat to the camera for their latest crowdfunding video that they're also a winning double act: Julie the headstrong and impressively unsqueamish American Countess who will try her hand at anything, and Luke, the gentle, reserved Earl who is so awestruck by his wife's devotion to his crumbling pile that he loyally supports every one of her projects – with just the right amount of scepticism to build drama. 'You touching that book is almost too terrifying to watch,' he winces, as she flicks through the 4th Earl's journals. She ignores him and keeps flicking, explaining that she's not wearing gloves, as if you can feel the pages, you're less likely to rip them. The Earl begins to read from the journals too: 'He made it as far as Constantinople – and he describes his cavorting, which gets quite racy … He was shipwrecked on the [Sicilian] island of Lampedusa, where he was taken in by a hermit.' The Countess puts up her hand. 'Can I speak? Because you're going on.' The Earl explains, as we sit around the farmhouse table in their kitchen before filming, that viewers like to see the dynamics of their relationship onscreen. They remark on it in the comments beneath each video: 'When Luke sang your praises, it made me cry,' writes one; 'I love how unapologetically American you are,' observes another. The Countess gets emotional sometimes; she once cried on camera when they had a flood. 'She can turn it on. I take a much more British approach,' the Earl says. He has no shame in admitting that these new income streams are mainly down to her. 'The fact is, she's an absolute natural. She has no issue being almost anywhere and putting up the camera and filming. And she also does a lot of the complex stuff on YouTube.' 'I'm obsessed with it,' the Countess agrees. 'I look at all the analytics and make sure I'm up to date with all the techniques.' They met through friends in 2003 at a drinks party in London; she was working for a marketing company, which was setting up offices in the UK. Unlike her husband's grandmother, Alberta Sturges Montagu, 9th Countess of Sandwich, who was one of the gilded American heiresses who came across the Atlantic to be part of the British aristocracy more than a century ago, the Countess says her own upbringing in Chicago was not laced with dreams of castles and blue British blood. On her one visit to London before she met the Earl, Julie Fisher (as she was then) found Britain decidedly unimpressive. 'The food was awful and it was really rainy and cold,' she says. 'People at home talked about the Royal family, particularly Charles and Diana, but I didn't know those titles still passed along until I met Luke.' In fact, it was the Earl who seemed more attracted to the American way of life. Having studied liberal arts in New York at Columbia University and worked there during his 20s, when he returned to the UK in 2003, he was disappointed not to have found an American bride. 'I love the States, I love the energy of the people – it represents something completely different from the environment I'd grown up in. There's something about the energy and the can-do spirit of Americans.' Was he excited for Prince Harry when he, too, found an American wife? 'Their wedding was a period of real optimism, and there was a sense that things were being shaken up and modernised and it's so sad that it hasn't worked out.' The Countess' own experience was very different to that of the Duchess of Sussex, she says, as she was marrying into the aristocracy rather than the Royal family. 'We're in a different league. There would have been more rules and protocols that she had to follow. I've always felt the freedom to be able to do things and perhaps she didn't. Luke and his parents were incredibly warm and welcoming – I never felt excluded. I wasn't ashamed of my nasal accent.' It was an ominous start, though. When, three months after their first meeting, the Earl invited Julie to Mapperton, she had no idea what to expect. 'We hadn't talked about my family or the house very much,' the Earl says. 'That same evening, we got a call saying three wild boars had escaped from the neighbouring farm and needed hunting before they took out some poor unsuspecting walker. So I grabbed my rifle and headed off with Julie to the woods.' The Countess: 'I was holding a light.' Was she okay about blood sports? 'No!' 'I shot three wild boar, including a huge sow weighing 400lb. These animals were lying dead, and we had to get them out. It was going to be absolutely impossible with just the two of us. So I called my parents.' 'They'd just arrived back from holiday,' the Countess continues. 'Julie and my parents' first experience of each other was each holding a paw.' 'We were carrying the animals, and they were like: 'So Julie, where are you from?' And I was like: 'I'm from Chicago.'' The Earl's parents stayed at the helm of the estate until 2016. 'They saved it from ruin,' he says. Even so, 'I knew that when I took over, it would be a financial challenge.' It was in lockdown that the Countess first became involved in the future of the estate, and Mapperton found a new audience. 'We lost all our income in terms of visitors, so we thought perhaps there was an opportunity to replicate tours on the internet,' the Earl explains. 'We'd film my parents taking their usual tours of the house.' With the Countess as presenter, the Earl as producer and Nestor, 19, their youngest son, as sound man, they created their first crowdfunding video. They were touring All Saints, the estate's church, in June 2020, when the Countess first asked the public for donations to repoint the stonework, which was coming apart and donations – mainly from Americans – began to flood in: £1,500 in total. Did the in-laws hide their heads in shame? Not at all, the Countess says. 'We'd read out the donors' names, which they loved,' she explains. 'I'd say, thank you so much, George, from Sacramento, California, who has just given $50 (£42.50) and my mother-in-law would say, 'Fantastic! We'll even take your dimes.' Soon, the Montagus were producing a regular Saturday night show, Mapperton Live, which continues to this day. 'We over-engineered it to begin with,' the Earl says. 'These days, we never do a second take. Your audience buys into you as people – they find they share your values and interests.' Not many followers will have titles and live in a stately home, though. Do they ever get trolled? 'People are mostly incredibly nice, although we used to get some nasty comments,' the Earl says. The Countess is nodding. 'They said, Julie, do you ever comb your hair?' Did she find that hurtful? 'Never. I don't take it personally. Some people find that hard. For me, it's not hard at all.' Does she not feel she has to make an effort for the camera, though? 'Oh my God, no. That's not me. I'd rather spend my time doing something else than putting on make-up and doing my hair.' It all sounds jolly good fun, but the reality is that it's a scary time for historic houses; an effective 20 per cent rate of inheritance tax (IHT) for both farmland and family-owned businesses is going to be disastrous for many, the Earl explains. 'Some will be able to apply for conditional exemption but many will not.' Recent figures from Historic Houses suggest a third of members will have to sell chattels in order to pay IHT liabilities, but this won't always cover the bill. 'It's going to mean that many more are sold. I can tell you that when they get into public hands, their stories are less interesting. They're much more expensive to run. We run this at a fraction of the cost of a National Trust property. We are the right people to be in place,' he says. The Earl and Countess are aware, though, that they cannot focus purely on digital revenue, not least because the next generation might be camera-shy. Yet without the head of steam created by YouTube, they admit the estate would be struggling, largely because Mapperton is an hour and a half from any major city or town. 'We just don't have the population density to get people to come. We've recognised that problem and removed it by saying you don't have to come in person.' Some 62 per cent of their audience are American – as are 99 per cent of their donors. When the Montagus were invited to speak at a conservation society in Alabama last year, they were treated like royalty by fans. 'They all wanted to have their photograph taken with us,' he says. 'We were very impressed by the Royal family at that point. If we had to do that every day, we'd be exhausted. 'This is what historic houses are about – connection,' he continues. 'We're all looking for connection in our lives. It's important that these estates are shared and understood and relevant – that's how they will survive.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
