#second winter

27 April 2026

This comes from Tryggve Gran's diary. It was the night they celebrated the Return of the Sun in the miserable Second Winter. They knew their friends were dead, they didn't know how; the weather was constantly atrocious – they needed a party, and even though no one saw the sun (because there was a blizzard, of course) they celebrated its astronomical return with a big bust-up all the same.

Besides, there was a lot of alcohol to put away before the ship returned to take them all home.

Anyway, Gran records:

We acted like a pack of schoolboys who had just been set loose on holiday. Nelson and I danced a 'mixed Cakewalk Fandango.' Wright was the judge of the dance, the last part of which ended as follows: a somersault by Gran knocked Nelson out of the dance, causing the judge, Wright, a paralysis of laughter which resulted in his making acquaintance with the floor of the hut. His hilarity was uncontrollable, and we the artists didn't find it easy to help in this situation. Wright was therefore carried off to bed where he laughed himself to sleep. — The Norwegian with Scott, p.206

After this, Gran, Keohane, Williamson, Nelson, Atkinson and Debenham launched into a sing-song, with the cook Archer joining them after midnight. They kept going until 2.