Winter Is Coming....

Rothera feels very different these days. There were over 100 people on base during the peak of the summer. There are only 42 people left here now. The planes went home last week. We won't see them again until next season. On the 18th of March BAS's logistics ship the RRS Ernest Shackleton will visit, bringing the last of our winter supplies. When she departs she'll take with her the last of the summer staff, leaving us hardy souls to face the dark, harsh Antarctic winter alone. As the Shack disappears over the horizon we know that we won't see another human face until October. The challenge of the Antarctic winter was what I signed up for and it's nearly here.
I can't wait....

I've been busy lately getting the base prepared for winter; making sure everything is electrically safe and putting things away before they get covered by snow, so I haven't been getting up to any exciting Antarctic adventures, although we did find time to play another gig at the Twigg and Giggleberries, acclaimed by many to be the best pub in Antarctica. "The Untouchables" as we are now known seem to have fallen into a residency spot at the Twigg, despite tough competition from the Singin' Seals and the Squawkin' Penguins.























It was also a chance to say goodbye to friends who would soon be going home and, of course, such emotional farewells usually seem to include beer and tequila. Well.... we may be many thousands of miles away but we are still allowed to have some fun occasionally, aren't we?










Tequila time......









Whoooaaaaa!!!!!




All the media attention has calmed down now. BAS have had a very good start to the recruitment campaign and I have had my fifteen minutes of fame. There was an article about BAS in The Sunday Times last week (you can read it here) and there are still a couple of trade magazine articles to be published. I enjoyed the attention while it lasted, and it felt good to give something back to BAS, after all, if it wasn't for them I wouldn't be here.



In the absence of any new escapades to tell you about, I'll just post some random photos I've taken in the four months that I've been here.

Here goes.....




The 2008/2009 Tech Services Team. My workmates at Rothera.
There will only be six of us here for winter.














Some pics of me at work.
Well.... it's what I came down here for.





















Hmmmm.......!!











Me hanging out with the boys from the 'hood.





Furries.









Noisy Fur seals outside my bedroom window.









Photo's from my brilliant time down at Fossil Bluff.
















































My good friend George, the Fossil Bluff Skua. He was such a character. We became good friends in my time there.








The snow just opened up and tried to swallow me.
Scary!!!







Amazing blue ice.










The Green Room, where the band rehearse.
















You won't find a better view out of the
lounge window anywhere








Still waters in Hanger Cove.








An iceberg. Hmmm.... don't see too many of those, do we....?







And, finally....

....penguins.

Yayyyyeeeee!!!!



It's a tough life down here, innit???