Keep on the sunny side
Robert Falcon Scott’s 1912 expedition to the South Pole departed for Antarctica from Christchurch, New Zealand. The expedition was a complete, unmitigated disaster. They were beaten to the pole by the Norwegians and the entire team succumbed to the cold in a tent during the return journey. Actually, one of the party, Capt. Oates, famously preferred to die outside the tent.
A statue of Scott was erected in his honour beside the Avon River in Christchurch. It bears an inscription taken from his diary, written as he was freezing to death:
I DO NOT REGRET THIS JOURNEY WHICH SHOWS THAT ENGLISHMEN CAN ENDURE HARDSHIPS HELP ONE ANOTHER AND MEET DEATH WITH AS GREAT FORTITUDE AS EVER IN THE PAST
Given that attitude, I’m not surprised Oates decided to spend his last hours alone in the snow. I’m not at all convinced that it was a self-sacrificial decision, as it is commonly portrayed.
Morbid detail: the statue was sculpted by Scott’s widow.
Beef vindaloo for lunch. Hot.
