The South Pole, and other poles

I say!

Bit of a gyppy tum earlier this week, so decided to supervise a bit of kitchen hygiene. Got Doviko to spread some boric acid behind the kitchen units - seems to have done the trick already, as there are far less cockroaches.

Only a matter of days to go until the big $20million Twenty20 cricket matches in Antigua. How exciting, but if you have visited this blog recently you'll know that I have been trying to take my mind off cricket for a few days until the series begins, at the Stanford Ground.

For example, I read a book about The Bogd Khan, the eighth Jebtsundamba Khutugtu, who lived in Mongolia in the early twentieth century, in the knowledge that he was unlikely to have either batted or bowled for Mongolia, being blind, overweight and a drunkard, and also knowing that cricket was not a particularly popular sport in that part of the world around that time, due to the complete absence of willow trees from which to make bats, and the national pass-time being horseriding and wrestling.

But then I was at a bit of a loss for something else to read, which would not feature the great game. I considered reading one of Hotboy's novels, but decided that his misplaced showpieces of sesquipedalian vocabulary might be a mite heavy on the literary palette.

So, I decided to read a book about the South Pole. I mean - cricket is rarely played at the South Pole for obvious reasons, the main one being that grass won't grow there, so it's impossible to prepare a decent wicket. Though sitescreens would not be a problem, I imagine.

The book I chose was 'Terra Incognita' by Sara Wheeler, and a wonderful read it is too - I can thoroughly recommend it to you. Sara reaches a state of extreme bliss due to her minimalist surroundings, and the lady can certainly write.

I was enjoying the prospect of a good read without so much as a reference to cricket when, would you believe it, on page 14, I quote "...in our thermals and ate eggs and hash browns while a biochemistry graduate from North Dakota who had recently learned the rules of cricket discoursed upon them at length. It took the rest of the table some time to grasp the basic principles involved. I dealt confidently with all appeals to me as custodian of this British secret; it didn't matter that I too had never understood the rules. Those elysian Sunday afternoons on the edge of sunlit village pitches never seemed to have anything to do with cricket."

Well, I say! Even at the South Pole, they may not play the great game much, but they still talk about it - even amongst chaps from North Dakota. And there's more! On page 175, "...he records that when the ship arrived news from the outside world was conveyed to them in the following order. One: Australia had lost the Test. Two: the Titanic had sunk. Three: the Balkan War had been waged. Four: Scott was spending another year on the ice." Well I say! Good to know that in the old days they had their priorities in the right order.

Here is a quiz question for you - at what temperature will a thermometer read exactly the same figure for both Celsius and Fahrenheit?

Above: MM III at the South Pole

Above: Mrs M at the North Pole

Above: Mrs M heading towards the West Pole

Above: Mrs M on top of the East Pole.

MM III