Pioneers come in all shapes and sizes. And from all walks of life. They tend to have one thing in common. A force that drives them to distraction. Curiosity.
They all search for answers. Sometimes they succeed. Somtimes they fail. But when they fail, they don’t let that deter them from trying again.
Today is wet. Very wet. Definitely the wettest day of the trip. But that doesn’t deter Mr & Mrs S. We’ve the right transport and the right clothing. As someone wise once said “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing”.
We take advantage of a nearby Tesco. Leave Beastie singing in the rain. We squelch the half a mile or so to the Tay-side Discovery Museum, Dundee. Now the permanent home of RRS Discovery. after being built here at the beginning of the 20thC. It became the first ship to be specially commissioned as a scientific study vessel, then later carried out duties during WWI.
Its first Antarctic expedition lasting over two years, carried none other than Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton.
The exhibition relates in full, the story of that historic voyage. Actual black and white stills with video footage create an almost unimaginable memoir of the incredible challenges all on board had to face.
For an overseas voyage of this magnitude the ship had to be loaded to the hilt with provisions. When the hull was full, wooden containers occupied most of the deck space. The extra weight had to be constantly managed during the voyage to maintain stability when running the high seas.
Just a fraction of what they loaded on board
Naturally, the captain’s table was always fitted out for fine dining.
A practical solution for accessing the table
