It’s a week on, and the dust (snow?) has settled, as I reflect on the Midwinter extravaganza of the Mawson 77th ANARE crew!
Anticipation of Midwinter, the biggest event of the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic year, started a couple of months ago with people working on hand-made gifts and discussing plans for the day. A theme that was adopted for the day was Past, Present and Future.
We honoured the past with a lunch in Biscoe, one of the oldest buildings on station. Biscoe was built in the first year of Mawson Station, in 1954, and served as the living and sleeping quarters, mess and kitchen. Today Biscoe is a warm and cosy handout space, that is mainly used for playing music. The team responsible for decorating Biscoe did an amazing job, with flags lining the walls, and bits of old paraphernalia scattered about such as the first station log books and old meteorological instruments. Chef Justin captured the theme by recreating a nourishing menu from a 1912 expedition, albeit substituting penguin for chicken and seal for beef!
Later in the afternoon we dressed in our finest in preparation for dinner and met for some group photos and some general mingling with a glass of bubbles.
The theme for dinner was the Present, and all about celebrating us and our experience in Antarctica. Our station leader Ali gave an inspired speech, and there were many toasts interspersed throughout the evening. Chef Justin wowed us with a twenty-dish banquet, including such delicacies as oysters, quail, roo, tuna, swordfish and even crocodile! In between some of the main courses we had palate-cleansing sorbets made from ancient glacial ice. Throughout dinner we had a screen at one end of the room rolling through a slideshow of tributes and memories, and photos of our friends and families.
After dinner we headed upstairs for the giving of our Midwinter gifts. That was a lot of fun, with us all sitting around in circle and admiring each person’s gift as it was unwrapped. It was quite remarkable to see the amount of effort, skill and creativity that went into the gifts, souvenirs that we will look upon with fond memories.
Then it was across to the dessert buffet, and contemplation of the rest of our season, future seasons, life post-Antarctica, or whatever else the Future theme meant to us individually. The dessert buffet was conveniently located in front of where the instruments were set up, where “Sophie and the Degenerates” proceeded to perform an eclectic set ranging from folk to rock to metal. After the band, the instruments enticed a few others to entertain us with some more songs, to enthusiastic applause.
The rest of the evening was mostly made up of contented conversation, with people gradually drifting off, and some retiring to the cinema to watch a midnight screening of The Thing.
I think it is fair to say that a thoroughly enjoyable day was had by all, in good company. For me, I secretly consider Midwinter an extension of my birthday which is the day before, this year even more so celebrating my 50th. The community on station thoroughly spoilt me and I felt much love. I thank everyone so much for making my day so wonderful and it is a pleasure to be here with you all! I was treated to a Czech-themed dinner, much to the delight of my Czech grandmother. Later in the evening people humoured me with my choice of concert in the bar, I received an amazing handmade gift and card, and not one but three bee sting birthday cakes came out with a bagpipe escort! I was beside myself! And then, station leader Ali and I got to open a large box containing something quite unexpected …
