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UK Training
Met training in Cambourne
Climbing masts in Taunton
Abseiling in Derbyshire
First aid in Derriford
Fire training
The Voyage South
Crossing to America
Montevideo
The Falklands
Sub- Antarctic Islands
The Brunt Iceshelf
Halley Research Station
Living on an ice shelf
Summer
Winter
Recording the weather
Holidays
Winter |
The sun sets at the end of May and doesn't rise again until mid-August. This is when people start to go a bit bonkers. When it's dark 24 hours a day it's hard to sleep and you get feelings of lethargy and paranoia.
To help keep focussed and sane we organised lots of events and parties. On Mondays evenings we listened to the BBC radio play of the Lord of the Rings for an hour, on Tuesdays I took Spanish lessons. Wednesdays was film night. Sometimes we played radio darts with other bases like with the South Africans at SANAE. We had a murder mystery evening and a "beach party" with palms, net ball and surfing! (You need a lot of imagination at Halley).
Because there are no shops we all made presents for eachother. At mid-winter (June 21st) we had a big party and everyone made a present for everyone else. The picture shows some of the presents people made. I knitted the large cushion.
"home-made", mid-winter presents
Getting a good night's sleep
For the two years that I was at Halley the Doctors, John and Lil were
researching shift work. The scientists were interested in seeing how melatonin
- the hormone that regulates sleep patterns - is effected when you switch
from a day shift to a night shift.
To take part in the experiment we had to eat a specified meal, donate urine and blood, fill in a diet diary and sometimes sit in front of a light box. The light box was supposed to mimic daylight and make you feel more alert.
As a result of this research BAS are planning to install brighter lights at Halley base to try and increase light levels and decrease winter drowsiness.
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