I had resolved last time that I would write up this diary every international day, ie once a fortnight, but the next one was an extra special Equinox one and we took runs every hour instead of every two hours, and on the next one I developed eight films as well as 13 records which kept me very busy. So now it is on six weeks that I must look back and though it has been eventful it is difficult to remember everything; have been so busy that I have kept only the briefest daily note and this often written up several days late.
Brownie and I have all the time been the sole residents at the Base camp though we have had a full spate of visitors. The ionosphere work was going well last time I wrote and it has continued to do so and though we are gradually improving our technique there has been no important change. Setting up the Pole Star spectograph (known as Polaris) took a lot of time as it was not till some weeks after the equinox that it was dark enough at midnight for the pole star to be visible, and Polaris had to be aligned on it. Many times I had to readjust the whole thing each time getting it closer and closer and then there was the ‘declination adjustment’ carried out outside with a theodolite, which we had to do in about 20 degrees of frost, and this, with the snow on round boulders did not make it easy to use the theodolite. However by now Polaris is in position, focussed, and I have taken several photographs with it which appear good, but it is not possible to tell until we get back to England - when it will be too late if they are not good! One only has to hope for the best. This work has to be done at night and I have been up late several times; there should be an automatic device on it to turn it on each hour, but this got broken on the way up - still in any case I would never dare leave it with the skylight in the ionosphere hut open all night.
Aurorae have started now; I spent some time focussing the auroral camera at first and have it in order now, but I have not had much opportunity of photographing them, as unfortunately we have to take special ionosphere runs during auroral storms. The photographs are very disappointing, not that it is the camera’s fault but because no photograph could reproduce a subject of such extraordinary beauty. We have only had the normal coloured ones - light green - but these are often in the form of curtains waving about as if blown by the wind while the whole band moves across the sky.
The meteorological work has gone on - some of the self-registering instruments have given just a little trouble at times and the thermometer for measuring the temperature 5 metres above the surface were broken during a gale, but otherwise all has gone well. We regularly send our reports to Bear Island, and only this morning failed to get through on account of atmospheric conditions. On one occasion after I had been late up with Polaris, Brownie took the early morning readings, but couldn’t get an answer, only to find that it was an hour later than he thought and he had slept through the alarm. It adds interest to the work to send these reports, but it ties us down very much. The Benndorf has given no end of trouble - every day it goes wrong in a new way, but it is a source of a great deal of amusement.
the transmitter
Brownie got his transmitter to England for Sept.15th schedule, but did not hear the post office until the third day and Johnson not at all. The P.O. didn’t seem to be listening or sending, for after Brownie sent a message via Advent Bay to remind the P.O., he heard them and got through without difficulty. On Oct 1 and Oct 15 schedules he got through to P.O. first time, but never Johnson at all. He also communicates ‘by bicycle’ to Advent Bay on Sat. and Sun. evenings, though the schedule has been reduced to Saturday morning only. Recently we have been in communication with Robert on the ice-cap by morse and radio-telephone too.
The weather has been very variable. After snow had fallen in the first week or so of September we thought we would have it till next summer. Temperatures were then between 20℉ and 30℉ or so with either a N.W. or S.W. wind but at the end of September we were occasionally getting readings of 11℉ or !2℉, with snow at times, and 10℉ to 12℉ was the usual temperature up to October 7th. On that day we had a real gale, and it really did feel cold; in the morning I could hardly walk against the wind to take the readings and there were huge waves on the sea with big clouds of spray splashing over the point; the wind averaged 50mph for 5 hours afterwards. The next day the wind was round to S.E. and there was a dead calm on the sea - showing that ice cannot be very far away. By 9th the temperature was above freezing point, where it has remained practically ever since, and except in some drifts all the snow has disappeared. On the 22nd we had a gale from S.E. but at such a high temperature as 33℉ - warmer than in England we hear on the wireless - it did not seem as severe as the last.
Up to now it has not been necessary to put on specially thick clothes; what I have been wearing all this time is pants and flannel trousers, a shirt, polo jersey, sometimes a thin sleeveless sweater and a lumber jacket. The latter are disappointing as they are not very warm or windproof, but they have pockets and are useful to wear on top and take the wear and the wet. Then balaclavas, gloves according to cold. On the feet we wear komagers these are heel-less boots reaching above the ankle of seal skin - the sole is of the skin of the bearded seal and the upper parts the skin of the storkober (?), I think - and these are made waterproof by painting them with boiling tar and blubber. Inside you stuff senna-grass and then wear one or two pairs of stockings. I suppose they are the most suitable footwear, and at times they seem satisfactory, but they are uncomfortable on all these boulders and are easily bent out of shape. The sheepskins we don only over pyjamas when we sometimes have to fill the Petter with petrol during the night, but now that Brownie has added an extra tank that is no longer necessary.
We usually get up at 6.45a.m. G.M.T. For one period we kept local time which is about 1¼ hours ahead, and got up at 6a.m. to save lighting the lamp in the evening as we are to economise in paraffin, but we gave it up though I liked it much better. Breakfast as soon after bicycling to Bear Island (at 7.30), lunch (usually cold - bully, cheese, bread, or Vita-weat and chocolate etc) and a cooked supper at night - either a tinned meat, or more usually now roast or fried reindeer meat. This is extremely good, very fat, and when roast rather like beef, but when fried it has a fine distinctive taste of its own. We always read at meal times - it may seem unsociable, but is not really so as we are together all the time, and it’s the only form of recreation we have. Since settling down I have read ‘Don Quixote’ (vol 1), ‘ Rise of the Dutch Republic’, The Conquered’, ‘Brazilian Adventure’, ‘Polar Adventure’, ‘Alice in Wonderland’, and now ‘Jane Eyre’.
We usually get the news bulletin either from London National or Droitwich either at 6 or the later one, and also listen to music, and get a good concert anytime either from England or more likely Germany and sometimes from Moscow. But our best friend is Dr John R. Brinkley of the Brinkley Hospital, Del Rio, Texas who broadcasts continuously from Rendusau (?) Mexico, advertising the Brinkley Doctor Book, his substitute for an operation for prostate trouble, and all his competitions by which you can win a first-class house in the finest residential part of Del Rio. We get him at breakfast time.
I’m becoming quite an expert at bread making. At first I did it as usual in a basin but when he was here last time, Dan produced a mixing machine which saves a lot of mess. Sometimes the bread is almost perfect but we all prefer it not quite done and indigestible.
Our regular companions are the puppies, but the base is becoming a hospital for dogs. Annapup still continues to be a nuisance but she is most intelligent and funny at times. She always used to live under the porch and one day at the time when she was growing quickly we heard shrieks; she had got stuck in getting underneath, so we gave her a push and got her in. So then she just turned round and tried to get out and got stuck again so we had to pull her out. Whereupon she turned about and got stuck trying to get back in again in which state we left her, but the noise continued for some time. In the last few days Brownie and I have been for scrambles up some of the screes near the base, and Annapig love to come with us. She is so funny the way she is almost constantly crying as she gets left behind when she gets held up by big rocks but if we wait a bit and don’t help she invariably finds a way round. On the first day she slipped down an ice slope for about 40 ft; poor thing she went head downwards like a sphinx with a look of terror on her face as she gathered speed towards two big boulders, but she wasn’t hurt, and after a bit of encouragement went up again and got ahead of us; she may be a bit spoilt but she is a friendly, plucky and intelligent puppy. Hansigne’s puppies we have named Ionoark, Appleton and Ozonoark Dobson. They are beautiful puppies, but very scared - as bad as their mother. We used to shut up Hansigne and make Ionoark and Ozonoark play with Annadark - Hansigne doesn’t like this and nearly bit Annadark’s head off once. But the puppies enjoy playing, and Hansigne returned to the teams a week or so ago, and the puppies are getting on well. They also seek refuge under the porch now, and the ground is getting so worn that now Annapup can get underneath again. Next arrival was the big dog, Ayo, whose harness was too small and hurt his chest. Then came Upik who was expected to have a family, and Spjaet, who has a bad leg. He has got his winter coat well grown now and looks a fine beast, and is friendly too. It’s nice to have little Upik back for she is always the nicest. The day before yesterday she had a litter of nine little black puppies.
We had excitement one day when Brownie was tarring the komagers, for the tin with the tar in it on the stove leaked and the whole thing caught fire, but he seized the Pyrene and it was out in two seconds - though the volumes of thick smoke drove us out of the house for a long time.
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