Fuelling body, mind and tanks at Casey.

Casey station, ‘Antarctic Centre of Thespian Excellence’ (part one)

This week’s station news is brought to you by the station doctor, a.k.a. ‘The Doc'.

With daylight down to just two hours a day, and the usual indoor pastimes growing tired, we decided it was time to introduce something novel, something challenging, something dramatic to our lives here at Casey. Last week’s midwinter celebrations were just the occasion we’d been waiting for.

Prone to over-organisation and suffering thespian tendencies, I was the obvious suspect to take on the unwieldy task of cajoling the menfolk of Casey station into a sleek and skilful theatre troupe, capable of staging not one, but two, dramatic productions in the space of a week.

First up was the Casey ‘Beardos'. Billed as a video message for the head office midwinter luncheon, but really just an opportunity to feature some of Casey’s finest facial hair growth, the entirely beard-based recording was a triumph of amateur theatre.

Please enjoy these images and don’t forget to read part II.

The Doc

Station doctor prepares expeditioners for play
Expeditioner dresses up for play, with eyes stuck on to his beard.
The female station doctor is directing a video production where bearded men lie on their backs under a sheet to give the impression their beards have eyes.
A grey bearded expeditioner poses upside down, with fake eyes in his beard.
Bearded male expeditioners filming a fun video with fake eyes in their beards.

Casey station, ‘Antarctic Centre of Thespian Excellence’ (part two)

With the beard film under our belt we upscaled things a little for a full stage production post midwinter dinner. The traditional Cinderella was reworked and retold as ‘Cinderfella', complete with an ‘Evil Station Leader', two ‘Ugly Met Sisters', and a ‘Fairy God Plumber', the 2015 reinterpretation is sure to become a modern day masterpiece.

Read part I in case you missed it.

The Doc

Expeditioners dressed as women rehearse for for the play ‘Cinderella'.
An older, bearded, male expeditioner is dressing up as Cinderella for a play.
Expeditioner as ‘Cinderfella’ mops floor.
Station leader playihng an evil step mother in the play ‘Cinderfella'.
Expeditioners in play entitled Cinderfella, pose as a plumber fairy and title character in front of a projection screen with a large button.
Prince tries golden boot on men dressed as ladies in the play ‘Cinderfella'.
The male cast of ‘Cinderfella’ all in a line, bow to the applause from other expeditioners.

This Friday was brought to you by…

Each fortnight, one of the various Casey work groups hosts a Friday after-work social gathering. It’s generally held in their place of occupation, and is a way for each of us to learn a little bit about what each other does all day.

The bar was set high from the beginning, with ‘Team Comms/Station Leader’ hosting a rather civilised ‘Cocktails in the ANARESAT dome’. From then, each event has included its own highlights: 'Team Aeronautical' took over the 'Hobby Hutt' with landing strip lights, 'Team Met' demonstrated the freezing point of various liquids in the (completely unheated) balloon shed, 'C&N Plumbing' created a tropical spa oasis in the tankhouse, and 'B&C Electrical' built a Jacob’s Ladder in the emergency power house.

Last Friday was my turn in the medical suite, with willing participants having a go at peering in each other’s ears, checking their lung capacities, testing their vision, and having a look at blood cells down a microscope.

The Doc

Expeditioner in a bow tie and tuxedo shirt mixes drinks. His beanie gives him away.
Expeditioner signs weather balloon, others mingle in the background.
Toy diggers made by expeditioners rest atop ice in an esky.
Three male expeditioners enjoy a Friday gathering, sitting on a bench in the tankhouse.
Expeditioner tests his eyesight, while a bearded male expeditioner points to some hazard signs.
Expeditioner uses a medical instrument to peer inside the ear of another.
Expeditioner tests lung capacity on a machine where he is blowing into a tube.
Medical gear on display including hand-held lung capacity tester.

Despite appearances, we actually do a bit of work from time to time

With midwinter celebrations over for another year, the month of June is also time for the Casey station refuelling operation. Casey’s fuel set up is a bit different from the other stations, with our annual diesel supply split between two different fuel farms.

I’m not going to bluff. The finer points of the task were somewhat lost on me, but my lay understanding is that we had used about half of the yearly supply of diesel (the half held in the upper fuel farm which feeds the generators) so we had pump the other half of the supply up the hill from the lower fuel farm.

Once started, the operation ran continuously and like magic, although the diesos would probably argue it’s something to do with long hours of hard work and prior planning, in 22 hours we were back in business again with somewhere a little under half a million litres of diesel moved.

Our success will ensure we can continue enjoying hot showers, delicious food, party lighting, hairdryers — those boys and their hair — and all the other wonderful things that diesel generators allow us.

The Doc

Sunrise over the fuel farm.
Expeditioner oversees refuel at night, and is silhouetted by lights at the station.
Station leader looking over fuel farm.
Female doctor switches levers on fuel tanks, outside in the dark with lights illuminating.
Expeditioner checks fuel levels with a dipstick in full gear, so little of his face is seen.
Lower station fuel tanks sit behind very tall letters spelling out the word ‘Casey'.
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