ANTARCTICA BLOG – A day in the life of Paul Briggs – steel erector.
Paul (left) with colleague Ross before they embarked on their journey.
Paul is currently in the Falkland Islands before he is transferred to Rothera in Antarctica where he is part of an AJE team working on behalf of client BAM Nuttall. The team will be located in Rothera and will carry out various tasks including erecting steel and installing the cladding on the new ‘Discovery Building’ which will replace the current science and operations building.
Paul is in isolation in a hotel in the Falklands and will send us regular updates of his experience.
“It’s 10.30am and it’s a nice, warm summer’s day. The sun is out and there is a gentle breeze.
“I have just come in from the first of my two, 30 minute ‘playtimes’. My next one is not until 2.30pm.
Here’s a wee run down of my routine at the moment.
“I get up around 4.30am, coffee first then message my wife and lad before they go to work and school. It’s then email and Facebook time until around 7am when I jump in the shower.
“After that it’s time to exercise – in my room! I start with the fitness band, then planks , sit ups , and press ups , and a few other exercises I found in the quarantine book we have been given.
“After that it’s breakfast time where we are given a selection of pastries, porridge or a cooked breakfast, then its rest time until we get to go out.
“We are allowed out for 30 minutes into the grass/dry mud yard. I do a fast stroll. I get to go out with one of the crane drivers, but we have to stay three to four meters apart, so there is not much of a conversation going on. I have been clocking up about 3900 steps in 30mins and my goal is to get to 4000.
“Once back inside, I have another shower, get changed then it’s movie time till 12ish. This is the norm now.
“The windows are all open and you can have a wee chat with the people around you in other rooms via the windows, but it’s a bit weird as you can’t really see them. However, it passes the time until lunch. The food is nice.
Some AJE workers are already in Antarctica aboard the RSS Sir David Attenborough.
“After lunch it’s time for a nap. The sun is blasting through the windows at the moment and it’s hot and you can’t escape it as we are not allowed out until my next exercise slot.
“I have been getting up around 2pm, watch a bit of UK news and then I phone my lad and wife as they are then back from school and work.
“After that, I hit my book for an hour, do some more exercises, head outside for my second spot of fresh air, have another shower, check emails, watch a movie, eat and then sleep! Then I repeat this everyday – there are seven or eight more days to go.
“It’s not too bad, but the limited interaction with the others in the group is quite hard but we are getting through it.”
