Rothera life is a mix of deep seated traditions, and a calendar shaped by the ever changing community that inhabits it.  It is both routine and opportunity. 

DASH 18 – our group travelling south together- arrived on Burns night which is a big night in the calendar considering the Scottish population on base.  It comprised a sit down meal of what other than Haggis, Neeps and Tatties, poetry, jokes, kilts and a ceidlh.  Instead of Ladies and Gentlemen, our caller referred to us as Adelies and Gentoo (penguins) and led us on all of the classic dances. 

My favourite day of the week may be Wednesday. The Aquarium in the Bonner lab is open for cold dips. Seawater, ranging from 0.9-1.4 degrees is pumped into tanks to allow the marine biologists to study the animals they collect. Two are kept free for the most strange specimens of all- the Rothera local. 5 mins is the allocated maximum time the doctor will allow you to stay in the plunge.. making 5 minutes the target time.  The first two minutes sting as you lose all feeling and beyond that you’re on the home straight to the sauna. The sauna is a makeshift deal inside a shipping container, sometimes heated to such heats that you need to bring your own ice in with you. It’s a good job food is plentiful, as once complete the appetite sky rockets! 

Climbing is another favourite. The small climbing wall has no set boulder routes and invites imagination, which we took to interpret by collaborating to build a route move by move, testing endurance and memory! Certain nights are climbing club nights where the ropes are put up and the competitive spirit and enthusiasm builds. 

Crafting is similarly well endorsed. The well stocked craft room holds everything you could imagine to inspire a project. Katie and I organise a weekly ‘sip and craft’ for Saturday pre dinners where we make snacks and themed mocktails to coax others into a dose of organised fun! In a continent devoid of fresh veg, I’ve also embarked on a solo project to bring vegetables to the kitchen! I promise it’s biosecurity friendly! 

The carpentry shed is another great spot to hang out. The friendly chippies assign an evening most weeks to help you with your project, or teach you how to use the machinery. My projects are still in progress, but include a weaving loom and a penguin, for which I have got to use the lathe, band saw and the affectionately named ‘noise box’ wood planer.

A Rothera tradition is Folk night which marks the end of the field season, with remotely based staff returning to Rothera. This year it coincided with Valentine’s Day. It was hosted in the boat shed. A makeshift stage and bar were constructed, and the talented musicians performed a plethora of music to keep us all entertained. 

Another star studded night in the calendar is the Rothera Summer Film Festival. Entries comprising funny films of up to 10 minutes are enjoyed by an eager crowd, packed in the big tv room. In jokes and Antarctic humour carefully curated into short films aiming to secure the vote of the  spectators. No department was safe from the ridicule! 

Almost every goodbye warrants marking – each plane north takes a mix of field guides, straggly bearded winters or medical team swapping Goodbyes.  During the flying season the planes go in and out regularly moving people. At the end of Feb, the field season ends and the planes prepare to head north to their summer (northern hemisphere) home in Canada. The station population was close to 140 after the planes departed, when days later the ship Noosfera was due to collect 37 people including the last of the previous seasons wintering team.  In celebration and commiseration, we had an increase in the alcohol limit to a 4 drink night. Come Monday, when we waved away a quarter of station, we realised there was no more changeover of staff until May. No longer a ‘next DASH out.’ Suddenly the dining hall was quieter, there were less dishes to wash, and less people at the bar. We move into the next chapter, the march towards winter!