A bit of base life

It is easy to continue writing about the wildlife here, filling posts with photos. However, there is a lot more to daily life here than just admiring the nearest penguin. I'm going to talk a bit about the 'boring bit', which may highlight how different remote island living is.

We are here to collect data and 'do science', yet this is only possible if we have support. Ian does the technical side of this, which varies from ensuring we have clean water to drink (collected from the roof into tanks, which then undergoes several stages of filtration before going into the usable water tank, or collected from the streams if rainfall is reduced) and that the generators continue to power the base, to helping repair science equipment and building a new BBQ. As there are only 7 of us this summer, and 4 this coming winter, we all have to take on additional responsibilities to ensure the smooth running of base life and consequently science output.

I've taken on responsibility for our communications and IT systems. There is always someone in the UK to reply to my emails or pick up a call from our satellite phone if everything goes wrong, but it's my job to understand how things work on our end, so I can replace something or twiddle with a switch if needed, and troubleshoot any hardware or software issues. This has involved in the last few days, going up into the satellite dish dome to see what components are currently in use for our indent, install a new UPS battery back-up for our MET weather station computer, help to reset an email password, and join-in with the complaining that a piece of software just won't work how it should. I'm also the lab manager, and trained to export 'dangerous goods' by sea, such as samples in ethanol, and empty aerosol and paint cans. The others on base are in charge of medical supplies and giving medical attention in lieu of a base doctor (although we do liaise with doctors on other bases or in the UK) , and writing monthly and annual reports on the science conducted on Bird Island.

Unlike other bases, we don't have a chef, and have less regular ship calls. We've had one ship since November, when the Pharos came for a few hours to drop Princess Anne off, along with a few fresh vegetables. We've rationed most of the food we received in November so we have some luxuries left for winter. This does mean that we haven't had any cheddar or pineapple juice for awhile, and won't do until after mid-April (when winter starts). It's amazing how much a reduced cheese range can affect cooking. We have become adept at looking at recipes and adapting it for what we do have, with the finished dish bearing little resemblance to the original, apart from having undergone cooking in the same fashion and still being very tasty. We take turns to cook for everyone, and some nights are dictated by tradition as to what should be served. This routine is great, and gives us something to look forward to at the end of a long day of fieldwork. Here follows our nightly routine:

Monday: A meeting after dinner to discuss plans for the coming week, and is a chance for people to ask for help with their fieldwork, or to ask people to refill the milk jug instead of leaving 1mm in the bottom.
Tuesday: Either a training night, or someone will present previous work, or show photos of an adventure they had prior to BI. If neither of these occurs, a few episodes of a tv boxset are often put on.
Wednesday: Film night. The cook makes a normal meal, with the addition of film treats (a cake, popcorn or ice cream) to munch on whilst watching the chefs choice of film.
Thursday: The same as Tuesday.
Friday: Chip night. Any meal with chips, often a chip shop night with onion rings and deep fried goodness.
Saturday: A three course meal. We dress either in respectable clothes, or in fancy dress requested by the chef, who also may choose a game for everyone to play after dinner. Earlier in the summer we did a murder mystery night, and this week we're dressing up as wizards and witches from Harry Potter. Sunday: Film night with film treats, normally preceded by a roast.

The office

On the left is the station leaders office, the door to the right goes to the boot room (where all our outdoor gear is stored, in a lovely warm room), and the corridor continues on to the living room, kitchen, bathrooms and bedrooms.

Each midwinter, photos are taken of winterers and framed. These photos go back to 1993.

Our patriotic living room / dining room, with Jerry modelling the art of drinking tea.

The view from our living room window at the start of summer, with the beach covered in big male fur seals.

A fully equipped kitchen where all the creative tasty meals are made.

Mine and Tims room. After last call (April), there will be enough rooms for us to have our own.

Half of the dry food store, with the all important jaffa cakes.

At the start of the season we had struggled to fit anymore cheese in the freezer. Sadly that is no longer the case.

A lot of high quality meat.