Report
Most people arrived on Friday evening and started the weekend with a meal in the
restaurant and a few drinks in the bar. The event got properly under way after
breakfast on Saturday, with a full programme of talks. After a welcome from the
Z70 chairman, Gordon Devine, we had a video message from the Director of BAS,
Dame Professor Jane Francis. At the afternoon smoko, the Z70 celebration cakes,
which had been made by Rosy Smith, were cut by David Harrison and Jess
Walkup. Significantly, David wintered with the original Royal Society IGY
expedition in 1957 and 1958, while Jess was the base commander in 2016, the last
year there was a wintering party.
We then vacated the meeting room, for it to be prepared for the banquet, and
repaired to the bar, where, over a few drinks, many stories were told and
acquaintances renewed.
Then it was time for an excellent dinner, preceded by Grace, said by Moira
Jenkins, and followed by after-dinner toasts and speeches, with Tony Wincott as
Master of Ceremonies. The Loyal Toast, proposed by John Dudeney, was followed
by the Silent Taost (to those who did not returm) proposed by John Fry, and
a toast to "Halley Research Staion" by Roger Daynes. The after-dinner speaker
was Ken Lax, who entertained the audience in his usual inimitable style.
Sunday was more relaxed, with a leisurely breakfast and a film "The Way South",
made in 1973 by Dr John Dawson. A presentation on the British Antarctic Oral
History Project unfortunately had to be abandoned because the technology could
not be persuaded to work. Before people dispersed to various parts of the country,
and indeed the world, it was resolved that there should be a Z75 in 2031, as
some of the more elderly participants wondered whether they would still be around
in 10 years time.
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