The creative juices have been flowing here at Casey over the past week with the 48hr Antarctic Film Festival kicking off in the Odeon on Thursday night, featuring our very own movie stars (including Joel, Brownie, Rich, Luc and Dan) who will no doubt be propelled into the international spotlight once the judging is over.
A selection of films were screened including those from Neumayer, McMurdo, Rothera, Halley, SANAE, Scott and Mawson. Of course Casey was the feature film of the night and definitely had all the makings of a Hollywood blockbuster. Drinks and nibbles were provided and served by our very own head barman, Bob, who did a smashing job. Well done to all involved and Dom for his creative direction.
 Head barman, Bob, explains the best way to drink Cointreau to fellow connoisseurs Cyril and Leighton |
|  Bob introduces the films |
|  The stars of the show, Joel and Brownie |
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Meanwhile, Casey's very own garage band, the Comfy Chairs has finally reached international stardom with their live tour of the old American base, Wilkes. Although the crowds were somewhat smaller than anticipated, the band did manage to record their first live album, Which Way to Wichita. They even had a few hardcore fans who travelled on foot to visit them to provide nourishment and moral support.
 The Comfy's depart Casey |
|  Hang on Dom, they want us to play where?!... |
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 The boys light up |
|  Wired for sound |
|  The final encore |
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As usual, our resident photographer Tod has been out taking interesting snaps around station, this time of our very own anti-UFO laser that only fires up when we get diamond dust or snow crystals and that seems to have been successful in scoring a direct hit this time…
 Strange lights in the sky… |
On the weekend, Brad, Heleen and Richard travelled to Robbos on a Jolly, while Tod and Bob walked across the newly opened sea ice to the Mitchell peninsula for a bit of a poke around.
While it appears that everyone is on an extended holiday, we have in fact been busy, with all scheduled work programs going to plan. Wayne and Simon have been up in the Tank House installing new potable water circulating pumps including giving them a new lick of paint.
 Wayne gives the pipes a facelift |
|  Craig installs his GPS antenna bracket |
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Meanwhile, Craig has been working on improving the ventilation in the workshop toilets and also working on the Red Shed humidifiers and running a new pipe work in the workshops to the tea urn. Recently, Simon and Craig also completed the installing a glycol header tank in the Ops Building and a new GPS antenna for the lads in Comms.
And if you look carefully, you can find Brownie these days poking his head up through the piles of pots and dishes in the kitchen, as well as working on creating enclosures for safety signs and repairing door seals around station.
Michael has been working with the diesos, preparing for our much anticipated fuel transfer that will most likely occur next week, while Luc has been busy repairing one of the Hagglunds with a broken fan belt and machining new bearings for the idle gears. Garry and Cyril have been testing the Gen Van in preparation for Wilkins, while Cyril has been programming the new VESDA fire detection system in the science building.
Finally, here are some snaps of the recent fog and ice crystals that we got at Casey on a very cold and calm Tuesday – the first fog seen since we arrived in November last year
 Ice crystals on blizz line |
|  Our own crystal ball |
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 Powerhouse in fog at sunrise |
|  The fog clears |
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Bye for now, from the Casey crew.
