On Saturday we had our last day of first aid. Most of the day was about scenario training played out by actors (from the Casualty Union) we would come upon them as a group and have to react to the situation and figure out what was going on and how to sort out the situation/injury. Each scenario was 7 minutes long and the Dr observing would tell you what you did right or wrong. We also had exams one multiple choice, one basic life support where you gave CPR to a dummy for 2 minutes and one oral exam. The oral exam was where the Dr would give you a scenario and ask you how you would react and hopefully save the person. In the multiple choice I got 90% so 10% of my patients didn’t survive… sorry whom ever you are 🙂

On saturday night a lot of people left right after the course so there was about 40 people left at Girton some (including myself) staying on for the Oil Response Training. Oil Spill Response Limited provided the equipment that we have on base for us to get familiar with it. The course is necessary and the FCO (Foreign Commenwealth Office) requires BAS to carry out the training in order for BAS’s permit to be South to continue. There were a few more powerpoint lectures all very interesting and really pretty awe inspiring when you think of the logistics necessary to get fuel down there, how much fuel is used by the Survey each year etc. I found it amazing that Halley’s fuel is 30 meters underground in a system of flubbers (flexible tanks).

We learnt how to blow up the oil booms to contain fuel or protect an area from oil, install them into place and anchoring techniques. Also how to use the skimmers which remove the oil from the surface and how to build a temporary tank to store oil which we have collected. We also did a desktop exercise where we had charts and plans of the base and were given a scenario of fuel being spilt and had to come up with a plan to contain and clean it up. It was a fun course. Almost everyone on the course went up to Derbyshire for a week of camping however, the base commander didn’t send me up as he said I would learn it all when I got to base. So I am at home in London playing with my nieces and nephew before heading up to Scotland for a week of training on Sunday.