It’s been a good week here at Mawson with survival and field travel training continuing, some in much better weather than others. I was lucky enough to have a windless night on the plateau and even got some sleep, but the group earlier had a nasty old night lying in their chip packets contemplating how far it was back to station and if they could cut and run (no one did). Clearly a major part of the exercise is to teach us that we never really want to put ourselves in a situation where we need to bivvy out!
As we have a resident Irishman at Mawson, Cormac Cullen, St Patrick’s Day was a major event on our social calendar (and we learnt that one should never abbreviate it to St Pat’s Day — not the done thing in Ireland apparently!). Chef Donna went all out with an Irish meal featuring soda bread, beef and guinness pie and irish stew, with dessert a sea of green coloured sweets including a fabulous themed cake. The green hairspray got a workout and it was the first foray into the costume store for many. Some shall, no doubt, become more familiar with the contents of that space than others as the year progresses…
For those that have the tenacity to stay up late, there have been some great auroras. Personally, as the days are getting shorter quickly, I’m waiting to catch them on the way home from the office!
Esther, Station Leader
