Saturday Morning

Saturday Morning - 30th November

Time is just flying by here in Antarctica. It is already the end of November - terrifying! It is hard to believe that is a month since Andrew, Helen, Tudor, Bertie, Dave and I set off from Ushuaia. So much has happened since then and yet it still feels like this adventure is only just beginning...

This morning really feels like a Saturday morning here at Port Lockroy. It has been quite chilled as we have no ship visits and it is snowing heavily outside. The snow feels magical but wilder than anywhere else in the world. We still have a lot of snow cover here on Goudier Island, which means that some of the penguins remain waiting to nest. It is a weird time as others now have 2 eggs - including one of our characters! I was lucky enough to see a penguin lay an egg yesterday and saw "our" penguin eggs within minutes of them being laid too! It just reminds me of how privileged I am to be able to witness these things. I just hope I do the filming justice so I can share as many of these magical moments with you all as possible. The skuas and sheathbills are very active now - they really pester the incubating penguins. I am torn between admiration for their intelligence and perseverance and the sadness at the stress it places on penguins. I realise it is part of nature and from a scientific perspective seeing the whole process is fascinating. I do feel protective of the penguins though and (not so) secretly root for them in any battles!

Google (other great internet search engines are available)

Thank you for all your offers to help with my lack of internet and thus ability to look things up. Generally the things I would look up are somewhat embarrassing, such as who the American Chris Evans is (I'm sure I know but can't place as can only think of our own lovely one from Radio 2). It's good to have work things out for yourself more and not depend on the internet for things anyway (not at all said through gritted teeth) - my mum would say "character-building..."

The sound of music

I would like to know what the title of "How do you like your eggs in the morning?" song is... Can you guess who and what we've been talking about?! Both Jane and I are big fans of Chris Evans' Breakfast Show on Radio 2 (other amazing DJs, shows and stations are also available) and have been trying to find Candyman and the song aforementioned on our generic music players!

We have our own unique soundtrack here with the breeze that creates a different sound every direction it blows, penguin calls (from an endearing honk to the chilling skua alert and cat-like hisses), terns flying overhead and even the occasional kelp gull cry (could be in Paignton-esque). The best sound is the silence. On a still evening, this silence fills the air and seems to come from the mountains and snow itself. Nobody wants to break it. Even the penguins respect it. It stirs the soul and feels you with peace. It always seem to occur when the mountains and sea look their best too - the pastel colours that I will never be able to recreate or describe. If I could have one thing forever, it would be those moments.

However, there are times when music is needed, even with this soundtrack enveloping us. It's funny how evocative a music track can be. We all have songs that mean something to us and it often isn't until you are in a place or situation like this that you learn what they are and why. We have started thinking about our own Port Lockroy version of Desert Island Disks, which I may share with you all one day...