Thursday, October 20, 2011

Antarctica, Scott and Shackleton

Hiya again

I'm skiving off packing for my impending move back to Oban – yes, as of Mon 24 Oct 2011 I'll be back in the great wee town on Scotland's west coast that many dub the Seafood Capital of Scotland. :)

Today, though, I want to draw your attention to a video clip presenting what I think is "The Journey South", a touring exhibition of photographs from the Scott expedition to Antarctica a hundred years ago.
Sadly, the BBC clip states neither dates nor places of this exhibition but I have done some research and find that a Scott Centenary Show has been running in Sydney, Australia:
http://www.scott100.org/events/1846/
There it says that "Scott’s Last Expedition [ran] at the Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney from June - October 2011" – although I've been unable to find anything via the museum link, which doesn't have a search function, either!
The Centenary Show will further run at the Natural History Museum, London from January - September 2012, and at the Canterbury Museum, Christchurch, New Zealand from November 2012 - June 2013 – although, again, that particular website doesn't say anything about this show!




Ever since I read Jenny Diski's fascinating autobiographical novel, Skating to Antarctica (Granta/Virago, London, 1997), I've been fascinated with and have read a few other books on the subject.
Among them
- Beryl Bainbridge's historical novel, The Birthday Boys (Gerald Duckworth & Co, 1991)
- Francis Spufford's study, I May Be Some Time: Ice and the English Imagination (Granta?, 1996)
- Diana Preston's excellent book, A First Rate Tragedy: Captain Scott's Antarctic Expeditions. (Constable & Co, London, 1997).
Shackleton's expedition, which was also beset by adverse conditions, ranks so much more highly in my own book as he managed to get everyone home safely.


Finally, take a look here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/gallery/2009/feb/20/captain-scott-antarctica-photography

No comments: