Departures

It's Friday. Or so I'm informed.

The last cargo left Amderma with day-shift so we spent our time putting the last of the out-going waste on Shackleton. Work done, it was time to kick the bodyclock round the dial once more. Going onto nights is easy, but coming off is like coming off smack (I would imagine - think of the Crawling Baby scene in Trainspotting...).

After peaceful sleep and queue-less meals, part of me was dreading returning to the hustle and bustle of Halley. Fears were relieved as I climbed down from the Snowcat and caught up with Dean, Tamsin and others based on site over the last few weeks. But lunchtime, with 100 people in a canteen designed for 40 was too much for my overtired mind to take, so I went to bed.

A few hours later I emerged to bid fair-well to part of the gang I've worked and played with for the last year. Searching hard for familiar faces in a sea of strangers, Alex, Chris, Tom walked down a corridor of handshakes, pulled on their coats and were gone.