24-06-2025
I wasn't sure I would make it – but other jobs were too boring
To be honest, the Antarctic sounded the more fun of the two. It was March on Svalbard and the locals hadn't seen the sun since September. Living in eternal darkness is not an easy gig. No wonder depression can be a thing there.
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It's even worse, you imagine, if you work in a mine, which was the case for one of the men Bullens spoke to.
He admitted there have been times in his three years working on the archipelago when he hasn't felt safe. But that, he added, was also part of the appeal of the job.
And it was dangerous. There have been accidents. A friend of his had died. 'I had a period where I actually packed my bags every evening before I went to work. Or morning. I put my essentials in there because if my relatives were going to pick it up it would be at least easy to bring, because I was not sure if I would make it out alive."
But what else could he do, he said? 'A lot of jobs would be way too boring for me.'
That said, mining is a way of life that is coming to an end, even on Svalbard. 'We're all a bunch of proud last coal miners in Norway, all 60 of us," he admitted. "The last standing … or crawling.'
Svalbard itself is changing. The Arctic is warming twice as fast as anywhere else on the planet, Bullens pointed out. The mining might have had something to do with that, of course.
The Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast was a much jollier affair. First broadcast in 1955, it's a chance for the families of those living in the research stations to send their best wishes to their loved ones at the darkest time of year at the South Pole. They are then broadcast to the staff during a day of festivities which also includes a screening of the horror movie The Thing in which - appropriately enough - an alien monster terrorises an Antarctic base.
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At one point Matthews spoke to Eloise Saville, a carpenter at the Rothera station. Saville is also a marathon runner. She still trains while she is in the Antarctic.
'It's quite good running here, you know,' Saville suggested. 'We've got a runway and, now it's not the flying season, you can just run around the runway past penguins. Usually have a little break at the end and have a look at a humpback which is always there. The backdrop for your runs here are insane.'
But what made this programme such a joy (and really rather moving) was just the chance to hear all the family messages to loved ones at the other end of the world. Here were Scottish accents, Irish accents, Scouse accents, Devon accents, (as well as the odd dog bark and cat meow), full of love and pride. The result could warm the Weddell Sea.
Birthday greetings to Times Radio. It is five years old this weekend. It launched itself, you might remember, with an interview with the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson, which is proof, at least, that some things are better now than then.
Boris Johnson on Times Radio (Image: Richard Pohle)
There are things I am still not keen on about the station. I tuned in on Monday afternoon hoping to hear Stephen Sackur, the latest transfer from the BBC. I got a bloviating Andrew Neil instead. Urrgh.
But Kate McCann and Stig Abell on the morning show are as good as anything on the BBC (and better than some). Not that they don't get me shouting at the radio from time to time. On Tuesday McCann was at the Hague for the NATO summit, suggesting to the Norwegian Defence Minister maybe it was time that Norway got itself some nuclear bombs. Yeah, that's exactly what we need right now. More nukes.
Meanwhile, Abell was in the studio with former Tory leader William Hague and former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale debating the issues of the day. Both benefited from not having to follow party lines these days.
'William, you are a wishy-washy Tory,' Abell suggested to Hague at one point.
'I'll take that as a compliment,' Hague replied.
Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick would have been bealing at the very suggestion.
Listen Out For:
Composer of the Week, Radio 3, Monday to Friday, 4pm. Glastonbury and Wimbledon are set to dominate the airwaves in the coming days, but if neither suits you can always retreat to Radio 3 which is featuring Erik Satie as its composer of the week. As an added bonus the Sunday Feature (Radio 3, Sunday, 7.15pm) sees Jude Rogers explore the influence the French composer had on ambient and electronic music in the 20th century.
