2 2 n d   a u g u s t   2 0 0 8

here  (right click and save as...) 

and also on the music page here.  seem to have been too busy with various things to have updated recently, also ive not taken many photos.  but last week i was out on my fourth and final winter trip during which i got out for a days walking and quite a few days shivering in a tent at -30...  it was quite entertaining though, the constant cycle of getting warm and dry using tilly lamp and primus stove, hangin clothes, hats, gloves etc in the apex of the tent, then putting everything on, doing what needs to be done outside, getting cold and covered in snow and ice.  repeat for 5 days!  we were unlucky with the weather which made for my least productive winter trip but it was still great to get away and do something different for a while - and the satisfaction of reclining in a freshly warmed tent after escaping from a gale, reading a book and sipping on some port - that is second to none!   until next time; 

7 t h   a u g u s t   2 0 0 8   :  a n t a r c t i c   4 8 h r   f i l m   f e s t i v a l 

Last weekend, pretty much the whole base took part in the first antarctic 48hr film festival, organised by the american base at mcmurdo on the ross iceshelf.  on friday night we were told that we had to include the following in the film:  a large cardboard box, an "FNG" (a "new guy"), a bodily noise other than speech, and the line of dialogue "what do you mean you want a day off for mid-winter?!".   then we spent the weekend thinking of an idea, filming it, editing it, and uploading it to the web before midnight on sunday; quite an interesting little project.

2 6 t h   j u l y   2 0 0 8   :  n i g h t   w a t c h 

a stunning sunset we had last week - antarctica at it's best!

right click these links and select "save as..."

rob spraffs on about some guitar or other...! (windows media, 20MB)

limitless.mp3

electric survey.mp3

dramatic string build.mp3

here is the guitar last week just before i attached the back.  it is a bit of a jump from the last photo i posted, but basically all i have done is glued in the kerfings which run around the edges to increase strength and gluing surface area, and put a few vertical struts in which span the gap between the kerfings and give the shell a bit more strength.  it's difficult to see from this photo but i've planed the sides down in a curve from the widest part of the body down to the top block at the right had end so that the body is thinner at the neck end by 15mm.  this is traditional for steel-strnig acoustic guitars and i suppose it must improve the sound in some complicated acoustic way, and delivers more of the sound out of the soundhole.  i took great pleasure in signing my name in the top left - another luthier's tradition which is a nice touch i think.   in theory, this will never be seen again...

1 7 t h   j u l y   2 0 0 8   :  f r o z e n   s e a ! 

a scene typical of a stunning last week of weather - the best since i arrived at rothera over a year and a half ago.  it has been consistently cold, totally calm, and almost clear of cloud except for some patchy fog; rime and hoar frost cover every surface.  above is a dawn shot looking northeast to icebergs in the mist, locked into the fast ice which has been thickening recently all around the base.

...and yesterday, as part of the sea-ice training and testing, a group of three of us went out with ian, one of the GAs, and travelled 2kms north of the base on sea-ice, drilling as we went to test for thickness.  we found that the ice was almost everywhere greater than 30cms thick!  above is a pic looking back towards the base, which you can just see through the gap between the two bergs frozen into the ice.  the moon peeks through a gap in the lefthand berg.

another basewards photo..  on the far right, ian drills the ice to measure it's thickness.

here is a point at which the main ice surface has slowly pulled apart, the exposed water freezing as it comes in contact with the air.  on the longer established ice at the sides, a carpet of hoar frost ice crystals covers everything.  we drilled the newly frozen lead and found it to be already 15cms thick, compared with 35cms either side.

ian mcnab (GA), ian nightingale (comms manager), and me... close to our furthest point out.  reptile ridge is in the background, the base out of the left of the picture.  we are wearing wetsuit-like "boatsuits" to keep us dry if we were to fall through the ice, and the sticks we are carrying are called bog chisels (don't know why) - these are for attacking ice to see how solid it is.  also we have throw lines, emergency clothing, ice axes and a drill, pulled behind on sledges.  i had been looking forward to doing some sea-ice travel since i got here so it was a spectacular event for me to get finally get a taste of it...  hopefully more to come if the weather doesn't do anything silly...

1 4 t h   j u l y   2 0 0 8   :  c a l m ,  c l e a r

1 1 t h   j u l y   2 0 0 8   :  g u i t a r   u p d a t e

9 t h   j u l y   2 0 0 8   :  m o t h e r   o f   p e a r l   o f  s k y

another piece of recently recorded music which will be cleaned up for my soundtrack:

Carrying Stores Ashore.mp3  

(Right Click and Save As...)

7 t h   j u l y   2 0 0 8   :  a   y e a r   o n   f r o m   n u n a t a k . . .

below, a reminder (i'd almost forgotten!) that a year ago today was our old band's first and last appearance on the world stage...  did Live Earth do anything to help improve our attitudes towards our finite resources?  in my opinion (not necessarily shared by others in the band) probably not,  and the price of oil has likely done more already to force us towards the greener ways that we need if we're not going to totally ruin our only planet.  it was interesting to be involved in the project though, very instructive!  anyway, photos are thin on the ground; thin everywhere, so here you go (courtesy of mr. mike mailing i think)...  

also, i have been working on a 50 minute soundtrack to an old (1961-62) film of the pioneering work of BAS at that time in establishing the hut at Fossil Bluff.  Here is a link to one of the pieces of music i have completed so far for the film:

left to right:  matt balmer, tris thorne, me, roger stillwell, ali massey (promo filming earlier in the year)

and below : delightful weather for one of the nunatak photoshoots! 

2 n d    j u l y   2 0 0 8   :  m i d w i n t e r

a northwards panorama from a month ago, a nice almost-sunrise....  pics have been thin on the ground recently but this is a nice one, if a bit out of date...