The latest happenings in South Georgia by Ruth Fraser

From South Georgia Museum

5 November 2010

I arrived back in South Georgia exactly a week today – and as usual it’s been a whirlwind of activity! I really missed Grytviken while on annual leave and so was very happy to return to a warm welcome from the winterers as our ship arrived alongside. The next day I was straight down to the museum to get my desk set up and stake my claim in the warmest part of the room next to the new radiator! So I’m sitting at my desk now feeling warm and toasty overlooking the bay.

I have a long list of tasks for this season and am ready to start fundraising in earnest. We had the NG Explorer in this week and I had to give my first presentation – a nerve racking task, but well worth the effort. I had seven guests come up to me after the talk and offer to sponsor a hectare! So a good start to our new campaign and hopefully a sign of things to come. The whole museum team enjoyed a fun evening on the ship who kindly invited us all to dinner. I sat with my husband Keiron and a lovely couple who gently quizzed us about the Habitat Restoration Programme and then offered me a wealth of advice on fundraising and marketing.

We now have a few days until our next ship and I’m taking the opportunity to get myself organised and to start prioritising my work. We have a really lovely team this year…some new and some from last year. It was great to welcome Hugh back and to see Tony again after having met up with him in the UK while we were on leave. Lynsey and I have been working on some new displays which should be completed in the next few days (I’m sure Lynsey will tell you all about them). I’m busy commissioning the next articles for our two newsletters and can then apply myself to fundraising initiatives. We have a big task ahead of us to raise £5.5million for the next phase of the rat eradication (If you’d like to be added to the email list for the newsletters, you can email me on ruth.fraser@sght.org and I’ll get you added).

I have managed to take one day off since I arrived and went with the museum team for a walk to Penguin River. It was a beautiful, bright sunny day and we all enjoyed the brisk walk. We were almost at the river when I heard Tony shout “Run!” I looked around and saw an enormous elephant seal doing his best to chase us! It was quite a scary experience – when we got back to the base we were told that he’s been chasing everyone who tried to pass – so I’m not sure what’s upset him! The young elephant seals are now beginning to dip their toes in the water and are very entertaining to watch – they have such big eyes and look very sweet. The older ones are not so cute – particularly the big beach master who sleeps outside my window and snores all night!

We’re all looking forward to a fun and hopefully profitable summer, Liz has worked wonders with the shop and transformed it with a new layout and her own special touches. We’ve also got lots more stock and new items including a lovely range of new fleeces, gifts and jewellery. We’ve also expanded the Made In South Georgia range and have some lovely hand-made items for sale. So do pop into the shop when you visit us!