Though science might take front and centre stage quite often in Svalbard, art certainly plays some interesting roles up here. There are long-standing artists residency programmes (for both Longyearbyen and Ny Alesund) and expedition trips (like The Arctic Circle or Cape Farewell) specifically for artists and art-science collaborations, which have attracted many to these shores,… Read More
Since I just received a weather warning for Aberystwyth, (looks like it’s storms and hide tide time again, brace yourselves those at home!) this post I wrote earlier seems all the more apt. After Monday’s wet and mild weather things have been getting steadily colder and we’ve had a bit of snow fall, it all… Read More
For once, I’m not talking about environmental regulations, though I very well could be, given the multitude of boundaries lurking on the map, but not visible in the landscape, but that’s another story… No, today I stepped over a fear and re-arranged my own values in doing so. To most people it would look like… Read More
Ice spike boot attachments: a fiver well spent! I never thought I’d say that kind of phrase! After the -23 clear skies of Saturday, the blizzard and white out yesterday. Today, we have a new challenge: standing upright and going in the direction intended. It’s warmer here than in Oslo at +3 degrees, and raining.… Read More
Weather warning issued with dramatic looking wind map! More of a snow-storm day really. The forecast storm has not dissappointed. All tours are off today. The building has a rattle every now and then. In the spirit of a snow day though, I did venture out for a very quick walk to see what it… Read More
Today’s forecast was good and the clouds lifted, revealing just how light it gets around midday now. So, given it looks to be a pretty stormy day tomorrow I thought I would make the most of the still conditions, don some ski trousers, get toasty and go for a proper round-town trek. One of… Read More
Oslo airport, first thing I saw through departures! Well, when I left last summer, I wrote that I didn’t know if I would be coming back to Svalbard, I really didn’t. It seems that the conviction and numbers of people that told me to come back in winter/spring, combined with some diligent budgeting (and understanding… Read More
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