Scott Base Celebrates Mid-Winter’s Eve

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28619, 23 June 1958, Page 7

Scott Base Celebrates Mid-Winter’s Eve

(New Zealand Press Association)

SCOTT BASE, June 22

There was a lively party at Scott Base to mark mid-winter’s eve. In the gaily-decorated mess room, the New Zealanders and their guests from the nearby American base sang and danced to the Scott Base skiffle group. The orchestra consisted of a harmonica, a guitar, three washboards, a flute, an accordion, and a form of bass fiddle manufactured from a tea chest. The weather was fine with a clear sky, little wind, and a temperature of 48 degrees below zero.

Presents were distributed and mid-winter greetings were received from all parts of the world, including one from Sir Vivian Fuchs.

The highlight of the day was a dinner prepared by the base’s cook, Maurice Speary, of Palmerston North. The menu was puree of pea soup, roast lamb and mint

sauce, roast turkey, baked and boiled potatoes, green peas, cauliflower and white sauce, steamed ginger pudding, fruit salad, jelly and cream, ice cream, coffee and liqueurs. The dinner was a formal occasion, with the men wearing their best civilian clothing in lieu of dinner jackets. The toast list included toasts to Her Majesty, the International Geophysical Year, sweethearts and wives, and friends overseas.