This week at Mawson: 27 April 2018

Anzac Day at Mawson

We had a perfect morning at Mawson this year for our Anzac Day dawn service — clear skies and not too much wind made for a beautiful pre-dawn sky. We also have the bonus of dawn being almost 9:00am now, so no one had to get up too early! After a traditional service, it was back to the Red Shed to warm up with a huge brunch put on by Donna and helpers, before heading off to a very clean dieso’s workshop for games including darts, mini-basketball, hacky sack and the annual two-up bonanza. Helen and Pat were the big winners after a high-stakes game (but as we were only using play money, tempers stayed even and no one will be in trouble at home for losing their pay). Due to the joys of the new internet service, we were able to watch the AFL Anzac Day game before a delicious BBQ dinner at the workshop completed the day’s feasting. Then, as a worthwhile reminder to all of us of what this day commemorates (and to educate our resident Irishman Cormac), we rounded out the day with a screening of ‘Gallipoli’ in the cinema. 

Intrepid?

Over the weekend, four intrepid expeditioners ventured off station on the first recreational trip for the 2018 Mawson crew. The ‘interwebs’ define intrepid as resolutely fearless, dauntless, brave, courageous and bold. That all that sounds heroic but the reality of today’s Antarctica is somewhat different.

Resolutely fearless now means using a communal sleeping bag without using your sleeping bag liner. Dauntless means not eating enough cheese, thus you will expect to experience the outhouse. Brave is now trusting your personal wastewater receptacle has enough volume left to handle your pre-bedtime evacuation. Courageous means trusting the least qualified expeditioner to cook everyone’s food. Bold means allowing every embarrassing photo to appear on insta-snap-twit-face, or whatever thing the kids are into now days, for the world to see.

Your job is to guess which expeditioner goes with which definition. Hint, some expeditioners managed more than one! Also, is expeditioner a real word?

Linc Mainsbridge