SOME Brits are guaranteed a white Christmas but they’ll have to go to work after having their mince pies.
British Antarctic Survey staff on the polar continent will be making the most of the 24 hours of daylight they get on the big day.
Nearly 300 researchers, engineers, crew, and support staff are spread on bases across the frozen continent.
Aurelia Reichardt is the leader of Rothera Research Station which is found on the frozen Adelaide Island.
She said the staff there continue to celebrate the important tradition of Christmas and will eat mince pies like if they were at home.
Aurelia said: “Working in Antarctica can be isolating, away from family and life at home, so having a festive atmosphere on station helps people feel connected.
“It also helps us build a stronger community by sharing and exchanging traditions.
“Celebrations and switching off from the everyday of work life here on station does wonders for everyone’s mental well being.”
Some 150 people will come together to celebrate Christmas at Rothera and enjoy Christmas movies, mince pie making, and gingerbread decorating.
There will also be hot competition in the frozen desert for the annual Christmas Door Competition.
Staff will fashion wreaths from recycled rubbish, and origami stars and penguins are made out of old paper to decorate the doors.
But, some will have to continue their normal work – even on the special day.
A meteorological balloon will be launched, marine divers will head into the bay to collect specimens, and, if the weather’s good, the pilots will fly to deploy or collect researchers and their teams from the deep field.
During summer, the population of the base swells as it is warm enough for people to do more work.
The Rothera team is even bigger this Christmas as builders are working on a new 100+ room building to house all the operations functions.
The Discovery Building is due for completion and handover in early 2025.
Professor Tina van de Flierdt, an isotope geochemist at Imperial College London, is heading to Antarctica this year to collect ice cores.
She said if you don’t want to get cold you need to practise peeing in a bottle.
Tina told The Times: “It is cosy in the tent but it’s really annoying when you wake up in the middle of the night.”
Tina said that having Christmas with colleagues in such a beautiful but isolated location brought them together.
She said: “Last year we had an amazing cook, an Australian lady who normally worked on cruise ships for rich people.
“We had mince pies for Christmas and five different types of cookies.”
Meanwhile, a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) volunteer is set to run the post office in Antarctica.
Lou Hoskin, crew member at Plymouth Lifeboat Station is working with the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT) to maintain the shop at the bottom of the world.
The five-strong team she overseas will be stationed at Base A, Port Lockroy, and will also look after a gift shop and museum.
She said: “UKAHT look after a number of buildings on the continent, including Station A on Port Lockroy.
“It was built as part of the Second World War effort but abandoned and fell into a state of disrepair.”
They’ll handle thousands of postcards sent from Port Lockroy and welcome visitors from cruise ships.
They’ll also monitor the gentoo penguins, approximately 1,000 of which live on the island.
This will involve counting nests, eggs and chicks in an effort to protect the colony.
By Hope Brotherton, travel reporter
FORMER teacher Sue Girard will spend Christmas Day camping with her friend in Herefordshire – and it’ll be cheaper than being at home.
Nicknamed MadGrani by her four grandchildren, Sue, 69, will be spending Christmas Day camping in her renovated van, Mogwai, with her three rescue dogs Elsie, Gwladys and Teddy.
After a family holiday to Turkey earlier this year, Sue opted to ditch a traditional Christmas at home with her children and grandchildren for a brand-new experience, camping on Christmas Day.
She told The Sun: “It was amazing, but I think that week, I thought, right, this year I want to have my Christmas on my own”.
Sue and her friend will be staying at a rural campsite on the edge of the Breacon Beacons National Park, which she booked through the camping website Pitch Up.
She added: “Usually, I don’t camp on Christmas Day but I’m always a year-round camper, irrespective of the weather.
“I usually camp in a field with minimal facilities with a tap and a chemical disposal unit – that’s my favorite type of camping.
“But when I planned this camping break in the middle of the night, I thought, right, if it’s rainy, we need somewhere where we can have a pleasant time indoors, so I had a look for a campsite with a pub”.
