Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Security op for royals in Pakistan
Ulster man, 26, on assignment to remote Antarctic outpost
A NORTHERN Ireland man is to take charge of the UK’S most southerly post office – where he’ll get to keep 2,000 penguins company.
Port Lockroy is a windswept and snow-clad island the size of a football pitch off an Antarctic peninsula which stretches northwards towards South America.
The UK Antarctic Heritage Trust chose Kit Adams and other team members to work in sub-zero temperatures, with no mains electricity or running water.
The post office handles around 80,000 postcards a year and is busy with tourists from cruise ships which stop there.
It also receives requests for stamps from people around the world.
Mr Adams, 26, from Newcastle, Co Down, said: “Polar places are something which I am passionate about.
“It is such a unique environment to live and spend such a prolonged period of time in.
“Very few people get to go and even less get to spend such a significant period of time being part of the environment and being able to impart snippets of knowledge.”
The island was originally set up in a secret British military operation and later converted into a museum and post office.
It is home to around 2,000 gentoo penguins and hosts tourists from cruise ships during the southern hemisphere’s summer months.
The posting will involve working at the shop and museum, monitoring the penguins and lecturing on the cruise ships. When he arrives later this year Mr Adams expects to find a lot of sea ice and the area covered in snow.
He said: “We may have to dig out the buildings, though the sea ice will decrease and the snow will melt.”
The temperature will be well below zero on occasion once wind chill is factored in.
Glare from the snow will be a major issue and will require protective sun glasses.
By the end of the summer season most of the snow will have melted.
In preparation for the posting Mr Adams received a lecture from a “penguinologist”, a type of ornithologist. He has learned about the birds’ life cycles, and how to conduct surveys on the animals.
Part of the role will be ensuring the penguins are not interfered with by visitors.
The geographer has always been interested in mountaineering, growing up at the foot of the Mournes. He added: “When there was snow on the mountains they became even more appealing.”
Part of his geography degree involved conducting research on avalanching in Scottish mountains.
He has also previously been to the Arctic – to the northern Norway mainland, Svalbard island and Greenland. THE Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be protected by around 1,000 police officers when they begin a five-day visit to Pakistan today.
The huge security operation comes despite the trip being designed to dispel the country’s image as a haven for terrorists.
William and Kate will be the first high-profile royals to visit for 13 years, as they aim to shore up relations with the government now led by ex-cricket legend Imran Khan.
Along with the Prime Minister, the Cambridges will also meet president Arif Alvi.
A spokesman said: “The tour will largely focus on Pakistan as it is today – a dynamic, aspirational and forward-looking nation.”