The new year celebrations mean different things to different people. Some of us are celebrating our first new year at Rothera. Others are celebrating their second or even third new year here.
Some are on their final countdown to go home, whilst others have another new year or two to go before we can go home again.
Two important things happened here over the new year.
First; over the course of a few days, my beautifully nurtured Intrepid Antarctic Explorer-style beard gradually disappeared, much to everyone's amusement.
The beard morphed through several stages before it's final demise. Every two days my colleagues were treated to the sight of a different Tony Mac. The "looks" included:the "Lemmy from Motorhead" look;
the "old bloke from Orange County Choppers" look;
the "Fred Dibnah" look;
and a seriously dodgy "Adolph Hitler" look.
And, no...I'm not gonna show you the photos!!!
The other "big" event was the New Year's Eve party. The house band played two cracking sets to a warm and appreciative crowd. That we managed to put together such a good show was quite remarkable considering the limited time that we had for rehearsals, what with key band members spending quite some time out in the field, working, and others missing practice time due to their workload on base.
The gig was played in the mechanics workshop, which was converted into the best pub in Antarctica in just one day. So many people gave up their free time to help. Among them were;Jonny Mech (diamond geezer) cleared his garage of everything likely to be interfered with, and co-ordinated the transformation;
Dr Matt (thoroughly nice bloke) and Amber (a beaker) hand-painted both sides of the pub sign;
Shaun and Chris (chippies) built a brilliant stage from scratch;
Graham (sparky) and James (field GA) sorted out the stage
lighting (I helped there, too);
Stabber Jack (mechanic) sorted out the all-important cooling system for the beer (a JCB bucket filled with ice...brilliant!);Riet (base GA) sorted the PA and sound system;
and Roger (field GA) set up all the amps.
The party went on all night. Lots of beer was drunk and everyone had a great time.
The next day there were the inevitable fragile-looking people wandering around. Some had a longer lie-in than others, but lots of assistance was valiantly offered to help transform Ye Olde Twigg And Giggleberries back into the mechanics workshop once again.
With the festive jovialities over for another year, base life returned to normal.
After clearing the mech shed I took a stroll down to the south end of the base.
I sat down at the wharf to clear my head and admire the view across Ryder Bay.
I was watching some petrels and cormorants perform aerial ballet when I heard a loud WHOOSH!!!
I turned and looked. A minke whale had surfaced just ten feet away! My first proper sighting of a whale! By the time I got my camera ready to shoot the whale had gone, so no photos, I'm afraid. But next time...
The snow is finally starting to thaw. The base is starting to look like a Siberian quarry; not like the Antarctic at all! All the loose rock and gravel is starting to show through the rapidly diminishing snow-drifts, the view is returning to snow-covered windows and I haven't dug snow for weeks!!!
Finally, by popular request, another penguin video.
My mate Paul (the generator mechanic) and I were enjoying a quiet beer down by the wharf, hoping to see another whale, when Ruby, my favourite Adelie penguin, came wandering over to us. She introduced us to her new boyfriend (ssshhh...don't tell her mum).
The boyfriend was reluctant to come too close, but Ruby was happy to strut around and squawk for a while.
Paul only arrived on base just before Christmas. This was the closest he had been to a penguin, and he loved
it.Ruby and her new beau finally wandered off home leaving the two of us grinning like schoolboys.
I love penguins. They're brilliant!
