Every work day at Canada Water I’ve walked past an advertising poster for an exhibition at the Queens Gallery at Buckingham Palace. Called, The Heart of the Great Alone: Scott, Shackleton & Antarctic Photography. With only a few days left to go we thought we should go and see it. I’d tried to book a time slot on line this morning, but the page wouldn’t allow me to so we took the risk that we would be able to get in. The Man and I got the train to Victoria station and walked from there along Buckingham Palace Road. We bought our entry tickets, and luck was with us as we were able to go into the exhibit immediately.
http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/exhibitions/HOTGA
The pictures are very evocative of a time when explorers set forth into the unknown. Unlike todays adventurers who have the advantage of knowing what they are getting themselves into. Shackleton’s Polar expedition and subsequent heroic journey to save his men who were stranded on an inhospitable island is still regarded as an incredible feat, even by today’s polar adventurers.
Pictures from the exhibition.
Far right, Mt Erebus.
Below right, a rough ride
Top right, dramatic ice shapes
Bottom right, one of the most iconic images.
http://www.erebus.co.nz/
Mount Erebus featured in many of the pictures. It’s gently sloping sides belying the tragedy that would once more make it the centre of media attention. Well in NZ anyway.
I was standing at the kitchen table looking out the window into the darkened back yard when I heard the news on the radio that contact had been lost with a sight-seeing flight. Each hour that went past increased the chance that something terrible had happened, and then sometime after midnight it was confirmed that wreckage had been sighted.
Almost everyone had some sort of connection with the tragedy. The Man had a close friend who should have been on that flight. His friend had already had one tourist flight there and on returning had immediately booked himself onto he ill-fated flight. But, in the meantime he had been diagnosed with cancer and instead of a flight he was scheduled for some lifesaving surgery. Lifesaving in more ways than one.
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