This week the station has generally enjoyed a period of routine, which combined with a spell of clear weather, has enabled the team to really get on top of quite a bit of work. Perhaps in a last-ditch effort to ensure we kept the calorie intake down before monthly medical check-ups, the Mawson sparkies - Mitch, Scott, and Jimmy - shut down power to the Living Quarters to conduct annual electrical checks and maintenance. As such, there was no cooking, although they did ensure that extension leads kept our 'Catch and Kill' fridge running. This fridge is where all the leftovers from Nick's amazing cooking are saved so we can always grab a filling meal when needed. Unfortunately, though, the coffee machine did have to be shut down, but they did make sure that the zip-boil was still powered. This ensured that there was no mutiny from those of us who can not operate without caffeine!
The clear weather over the weekend saw Jess, Ryan, Alan, and Ben get out onto the ice plateau for a break from station while others spent time working on their Midwinter gifts. The Mawson band also expanded their repertoire from one song to three! (Quality of performance of said songs is by absolutely no means guaranteed!)
Since 2019, the expeditioners of Mawson have been honoured to receive a number of hand-knitted beanies from Australian textile artist Hadley Westwood. These beanies are part of her Mawson Station Hats Art Project, and this year one very special Emperor Penguin-themed hat was donated, leaving the question . . . who would be the lucky recipient!? To avoid disappointment, Hadley has suggested that the hat be auctioned off around Midwinter, with the money raised being donated to a charity of the team's choice. Since over the last couple of weeks, in their own time, seven expeditioners have been participating in the push-up challenge, it was decided that this would be a suitable charity recipient. Our chef, Nick, also put up a dinner in the cinema (or breakfast to the door) of the winner's choice as an additional auction prize. With Ben quickly brushing up on YouTube on how to talk like an auctioneer, the bidding was on. With numbers flying everywhere, the auction ended up raising over $1,500 for charity!! Thank you so much, Hadley - the winner will forever treasure their unique hat as a memory of their time at Mawson.
Finally, the week was rounded out with the final sunset here at Mawson before Midwinter. The weather held out, and we were able to get a great team photo for our Midwinter greeting card - but only just. As I write this, blizz conditions have well and truly set in, and we can just hope that it will pass in time for the Midwinter swim and celebrations next week!
Cat (Mawson SL)
