Midwinter's Week Round-Up

This week's vital statistics

• Rows of sock knitted: 54
• Exciting boxes of presents received: 1
• Rows of sock frogged back: 54
• Horizontal bungee rope challenges run: 3
• Rows of sock re-knitted: 43
• Amount of paracetamol taken to fix neck after bungee run: Lots

This week has nominally been a 'week off' for most of base. Since the weather doesn't take a week off, we've still been doing met obs and balloon launches, and fixing things that break, but most normal work has been suspended.

Midwinter's Day and the Winter Olympics have been covered in earlier posts, so this is just a round-up of what else has happened this week.

I wanted to get a blog and online photos sorted by the end of the week, and have accomplished the blog (evidently), but online photos are taking a bit more work, partly due to the slow internet, and partly because knitting is so much more interesting than faffing around online.

I've started the Pomatomus socks from Knitty, but despite knitting to gauge, it wouldn't fit over my ankle. I ripped it back and started again on bigger needles and it feels much better - more elastic - and the pattern is showing more. I won't finish a sock this week (my original aim), but they are at least on the needles, and can be returned to when I get fed up with my blanket.

As it has largely been dark and windy, I've watched a lot of 'Harry Potter' and 'Northern Exposure' while knitting. On Thursday, Geek-Boy and I were on cooking duty, so made Chunky Chicken Stew (a.k.a. Left-Over Surprise) and chunky wholemeal rolls. It was all eaten, so I assume it was okay.

On Friday we went skiing on the Ramp, which is the bit of glacier opposite base and offers the steepest skiing available. It was pretty icy in places but we had fun playing on the slalom course that was used for the Winter Olympics until the wind became too strong for it to be any fun any more. In the evening we had a bar crawl around various bars that people had set up around base. We went 'Under The Sea' in the marine sciences laboratory, to the 'Texas Penitentiary' for orally administered 'lethal injections' and of course the horizontal bungee-run provided by the GAs.

This involves wearing a skidoo helmet and boiler suit, then being anchored to the far end of the corridor with a large bungee cord. One then runs down the corridor in an attempt at reaching the drinks lined up at the end. First available is water, then lemonade, lager, John Smith's, Guinness and a final prize of Pisco. I don't think anyone reached the Pisco, but many good attempts were made. Sadly, being fast-moving and in the dark, it was hard to photograph.

Saturday evening was the debut performance of this year's winter band, 'Snow Rhythm'. They played a good set, and it was all the more impressive as several members had never played before the band formed. It was also one of the GA's birthdays, so out came the obligatory themed cake and everyone finished the week on a sugar high.