Penguins and iceberg-watching: Marking Christmas in Antarctica

How are you spending your Christmas? While galore volition beryllium curled up connected the sofa successful beforehand of a roaring occurrence (or astatine slightest with the cardinal heating on), spare a thought for the hundreds of radical moving successful the Antarctic region, surrounded alternatively by penguins.

Thousands of miles from home, those employed by the Cambridge-based British Antarctic Survey (BAS) are spending the festive play astatine 5 probe stations and connected committee the Harwich-based vessel, the RRS Sir David Attenborough.

Some of them person been sharing their Christmas plans - telling america however they volition beryllium spending the large day.

Derren Fox, 52, is simply a zoological tract adjunct astatine Signy Island Research Station, which is connected 1 of the distant South Orkney Islands, astir 370 miles (600km) from the Antarctic Peninsula.

Originally from Cornwall, helium present "lives connected a yacht conscionable astir anywhere", helium says.

"On Christmas Day I'll caput implicit to Gourlay Peninsula connected the south-east shores of the land to transportation retired the astir regular checks connected the chinstrap and Adelie penguin colonies to show productivity," helium said.

"This volition astir apt beryllium followed by immoderate sledging oregon snowman gathering with immoderate of the different presumption members earlier returning to basal for a accepted Christmas meal, this twelvemonth cooked by our presumption leader, and past astir apt falling dormant successful accepted Christmas benignant successful beforehand of a cheesy festive movie."

The task of rustling up a afloat Christmas meal falls to Signy's presumption leader, Sarah Clark.

The 42-year-old says she has moved astir "my full life... but implicit the past six years I've been surviving successful North Wales, adjacent Beddgelert".

She added: "The Signy contented is for the presumption person to navigator Christmas dinner, truthful that is what I volition beryllium doing - but we are conscionable a tiny squad of 5 astatine the moment," she says.

"We'll person a bully brunch whilst speechmaking the email greetings from each the different Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic stations.

"Then the others volition astir apt caput retired to survey immoderate penguins and bash immoderate sledging and I volition clasp down the fort, marque definite everything is good connected presumption and get the turkey, seed roast and trimmings sorted.

"After meal we'll walk the evening enjoying immoderate games unneurotic including possibly immoderate Christmas darts."

Capt Will Whatley is maestro of the RRS Sir David Attenborough, which is spending the play astatine sea.

The 35-year-old is from Southampton.

"Christmas is successful the mediate of the operational play successful Antarctica truthful it is simply a engaged clip work-wise," helium says.

"It's usually imaginable for america to instrumentality the time off, though immoderate radical volition inactive person to enactment to support the vessel harmless and ticking over.

"For most, Christmas connected committee provides a bully interruption from the engaged Antarctic play and clip to bespeak connected the contrasts betwixt beingness astatine location and our clip spent with our 'work family' successful Antarctica.

"With modern time communications it is ever imaginable to bash a video chat with household and friends backmost location which is precise antithetic from years gone by."

Dr Nisha Mistry is the ship's aesculapian officer.

The 32-year-old from Bradford, says: "This volition beryllium my archetypal clip astatine oversea truthful I'm not excessively definite however the time volition spell - but I'll beryllium doing my accustomed infirmary checks successful the morning.

"Then aboriginal I anticipation to bash my favourite happening - which is going extracurricular to ticker the icebergs."

Aaron Harper is the main navigator connected the Sir David Attenborough.

"This Christmas I volition beryllium working," the chef, from Harwich, Essex, says.

"We'll beryllium feeding 56 radical and we're doing turkey with each the trimmings.

"A bully mode of cooking Brussels sprouts is with dried bacon, tons of brackish and cracked achromatic pepper," helium shared.

Assisting him volition beryllium Nick Greenwood, the elder steward connected the ship.

The 53-year-old, from Grimsby, says: "On Christmas Day I volition beryllium moving connected helping to get the Christmas meal ready.

"When I decorativeness work, I volition person a festive tipple and past backmost to my compartment to ticker a Christmas movie."

Rowan Whittle, 45, is simply a palaeontologist who usually lives successful Cambridge.

However, this year, she is 1 of a tiny squad which has been dropped disconnected by the BAS vessel and volition walk Christmas successful a tent.

"We are being deployed onto King George Island a mates of days earlier Christmas," she says.

"Our squad of three, Saurav Dutta, a geochemist, Andy Moles, a tract usher and myself, volition beryllium camping for 4 weeks hunting for fossils, to effort and recognize however Antarctic seafloor ecosystems evolved.

"As our travel is time-limited we volition request to enactment connected Christmas Day if the upwind allows. We volition either beryllium finishing campy set-up oregon conducting an archetypal survey of the survey area.

"Hopefully we tin decorativeness a spot aboriginal connected Christmas Day to navigator thing bully with our tract rations."