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Published: March 7th 2007
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Up on the rooooof!
Us boys hard at work fixing the roof into position. ok, well it was a sunday so we werent working too hard. Welcome back to my little world ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls.
You will be pleased to know that I have emerged from the correct end of a small bout of depression during which time I had my man flu and felt like I just couldn’t walk. Anyway, things are looking up a great deal now and since my last update no end of cool, fun events have been happening here. It’s a wonder any work gets under way with all these end of season frivolities taking place around base.
First of all, I must add that the season is slowly coming to a close now and people are wrapping up their science kit and getting ready for the 10’000 mile journey home. For the rest of us however, life goes on and our first big event was “Folk Night”.
This was held one Saturday evening and involved various acts of comedy, singing, copious amounts of drinking, some more singing and also the odd poem of Antarctic deerskin sleeping bags and travelling platypus. Basically a fun filled evening allowing for the ritual humiliation of most on base followed by a very funny version of Blind Date with a great impersonation of
Orcas off the wharf
Check out the calf jumping out alonside her mother Cilla Black, closely followed with the base band playing the night away.
The big game was played the following Mon evening. Morrison contractors versus the rest of the base at a good old game of footy on the runway apron. A very hotly contested game of football played on the gravel, which took a few casualties after tumbles during very fair, not, tackles. Can you believe the game went the course with 11 players still on each team yet not a single goal scored? 0-0. Everyone fancied extra time or penalties yet the ref had frozen solid so we had to knock it on the head!! Fair point I suppose.
I also managed to have a trip down into one of the crevasses near the base for a little ice climbing and picture snapping. A truly magical place, which resembled Santa’s Grotto or Superman’s lair. After an abseil into the crevasse we climbed through and over ice bridges, always minding your head for the stunning ice formations that hang above you while enjoying a lovely stroll 20 metres inside the glacier.
I also wangled a place this last weekend for the ridge walk alongside the base. After much pleading
Footy!!!
Not the best of piccies however i just wanted to show the backdrop really. Not many parks near me with a mountain range surrounding it! with the guides over the last few months they finally relented and allowed me to tag on while traversing Reptile Ridge. A 2/3 Km climb along the shear ridge snow and ice routes. The views from the top were absolutely stunning, and it was either me being really unfit after the climb to the top, or the view was actually breathtaking! I will go with the second one there. You could clearly see all of the surrounding mountain ranges, including those of the peninsular spreading further South down the continent. Stunning.
Saturday was quite the eventful day as well with one of the outgoing wintering staff organising a big party in the boatshed. This was held after the volleyball tournament (which my team, mucking fuddled, obviously won!) and BBQ, which was laid on by the outgoing flight teams who are all on their way back this week to England via Canada. No more flights in or out of the base, only the ship left to get us out of here now in 6 weeks time. Lets hope that nothing goes wrong with that timetable!
As I mentioned before, the party in the boatshed was held in true chill out manor,
Its Blind Date!!
With your friendly (manly) host, Drew the Field GA. aptly named, “Café del Boatshed” in honour of the rather cool Ibiza hangout Café del Mar. Anyway, after copious amounts of alcohol was downed, including some fantastic vodka jellies and an amazing personal stash of vodkas and red bull, the doors to the shed were opened to the rather frigid blow of an Antarctic Southerly wind, accompanied by the truly amazing site of sunset over Jenny Island. Once again a truly magical moment followed with the full eclipse of the moon later on in the evening. Which, I must add, I only saw because I had to pop outside for a call of nature later in the evening! An absolutely brilliant night once more and a very big pat on the back for all involved in organising the day’s events.
So, back to reality and off to work. Again. 5 full days off work in 5 months is beginning to take its toll and the mornings are beginning to take an awful lot of effort to pull myself away from my rather warm bed and out into the relentless chill of the beginnings of what will be total darkness for the wintering team.
However, everybody is pulling together and trying
Gratuitous Antarctic female shot
After 5 months down here things are starting to get desperate! all we can in the 6 weeks remaining to get the building pushed on as far as possible so we can close it up for the winter season where it will have to be able to withstand temps as low as minus 30 with winds blowing at a ridiculous rate.
The roof is fully complete now with all the flashings in place, so now it’s onto the walls and the underneath of the building. Loads of work still to do and its hard to see where we are going to find all the time, yet the bosses have agreed that completion wont happen till next season so things are just being prioritised so we can attack the most needed jobs.
So, that’s it for this update, I think I have waffled on enough about all my boring tales. Why don’t a few of you reading this drop me a note to say hello or leave a message in my shout box, its always good to hear from everybody back in the real world.
Till next time…….
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Stephen Paul
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Shedding Boats
More great pictures here! The last sunset one is phenomenal-should be in the front!! :)