health and safety scenario

Evacuation from an explosion scenario.








help is at hand to immobilise and save the injured people








all happy in the make shift hospital.







well maybe not everyone









All hands to help the injured to the surgery








some have seen better days.

party days

The MELT TANK party...who hasn't been to a melt tank party? Well, when all of the summer staff leave after there hard work and sweat we all relax and enjoy the splendour of the melt tank with a few beers. The melt tank is actually where they shovel the snow for there water in the summer so best not to tell them what we do after they have left....



Not to worry it is thoroghly cleaned out afterwards....how many do you think we can fit in there? we;ll this year there was 13 and most stayed in until the sun went down which of course it didn;t so they made there way home in the early hours





Daves birthday party with a fancy dress 80's theme.

This is where it starts with a button moon showing the directions to other cities in the world, alas none close by, SF far far away.








Costumes, so what do they have on base that typifyes the 80's for me....well it would have to be modern romance







quick change into miami vice, forget the blue hand....








the met babes








the whole gang of winterers with a couple missing of course, can;t get everyone to join in all of the time.

The setting sun

The sun goes down for the first time since i arrived. Its a special moment for all those staying for the winter.

The long days of bright light will get much shorter now the sun has disappeared and with this the temperatures will drop.




Already it is -15C. The sunsets are spectacular in their clarity but this is not one of them.
The sunrises, well one will have to get up early to see them.





The walks to the lab do not get any shorter but they sure help to clear the stomach of any undigested food. I'm getting fitter by the day, i wish i could stop eating all those cream cakes....




A game of pool in the evening to relax. There is also a dart board, many board games and a swimming pool and sauna (joking!!!!). There is a gym with all the usual fitness items and a climbing wall, a small one with just a few holds. A TV, cinema, common room all in one.
A library that would keep a bookworm happy.



The chef picks out some of the food for the next day from the storage area. This has to last for many months or it is ration time for all of us.
It rarely comes to that although we do run short of certain items.





One of many good, clean, fresh antarctic condition days. The snow actually sticks to the teeth in these conditions.

trial camping

A day of training for the camping trip.

ooops..... was that a little too much fuel?









The pyramid tent, all bedded down and ready for occupants. Usually sleeps two at a time and can withstand all that antarctica can throw at it, but can you...





A warm and comfortable place to spend the night.....







The food, the chef, the look of displeasure...manfood, all sealed and ready for hot water, 10 minutes later there you go food, hot and delicious.











Is this really it?????????








The water that is required for the boiling on the otherhand takes alittle longer to boil....don;t put any yellow snow in there please....

the lab

The CASlab.






A lonely place in the clean air sector and a long walk......











Some of the instruments within.









A minor jigsaw puzzle to unwrap.










The mass spectrometer.










The men behind the machine. From L to R. Bob stickel, Greg huey, Steve Sjostedt and Dave tanner.

Halley the station

An aerial from one of the twin otters. The caslab (my work place) can be just about seen on the left of this photograph. It is about one km from the main eating and sleeping quarters (Laws building).








The snow at Halley and the view.







A closer inspection of the setup. Four buildings drewry (summer excess accommodation), Simpson (meteorlogical platform), piggot, (aerial and radar platform), CASlab( chemistry, atmospheric analysis), Laws (home).





Our sleeping accommodation (Laws). Everything is built on metal stilts so that when the snow depth increases each year then the platform can be raised. Very 70's.







A summer BBQ, its only -4 oC. A few warm clothes and we are all happy.

relief from the ship

Arrival at the ice. We are still another 50 km from Halley and so the work begins unloading the ship with the cargo and instruments and then loading with waste etc. This can take upto about 10 days depending on the weather. Shifts of 12 hours begin. A night shift beckons







A snowcat and sledge. The sledge can carry upto 8 tonne and sometimes are pulled 3 at a time.






What can happen??????stuck in the snow, but help is at hand.









The challanger.......








As robert frost would say, a road not taken .......