Miscellaneous extracts from Tony’s diary
Tuesday June 22nd Travel to Greenland
Arrive Glasgow 12:30. Airport 17:15 after ride round city (I'd had a lift on a lorry from Derby to
Rutherglen tyre depot; local delivery guys took me out to the airport)
June 23rd
“See Fred (friends father up from Derby on business) at airport who gives me news of my exam
results. Check with airport on arrival of goods from Kodak. Chris arrives, then Richard followed
by others. Two blokes take photographs of us.
Journey great (to Iceland) with good food.
Spend night with Mike in airport. Others go about a mile away outside. See arrival of a few flights:
“Hi Dad”
“Hi son”
“Gee your case is heavy”
Talk to two American girls who tell us about anti American feeling of Icelanders. The Icelanders
just stare at us a they go past. Keflavic is about 50 miles from Reykjavik and is mostly a NATO
base. Girls reckon rooms, cinema etc are bugged...”
Saturday 26th June In Nanortalik, after trip up nearby hill
“Returned to rooms, showered and ate magnificent meal – as much as I wanted and all of it
delicious – prepared by Fatso. I think his appearance is excused.”
Thursday 8th July
“Pete, Bob and Chris completed concrete mixing. I lazed in sun. In the evening one of Bob's
girlfriends visited. She was about 30 – 40 ! She sang to us! Couldn't speak a word of English.”
(By way of clarification, it seems only fair to add here that I recall many, particularly women and children, being fascinated by Bob’s appearance.
He was pointed at in the street with exclamations of “umi, umi, umi” (meaning ‘beard’ I think))
Friday 16 July, at Base Camp
“In the evening I went along the river ...Mike fished.....On our return to camp we discovered that
the other eight were offering coffee to two girls who had walked from Tasiussaq. they were 20
and 27 and both worked in the Hotel Arctic in Narssassuaq, one being a radio operator; they left
about midnight just disappearing into the night. Most strange."
31st July.....
“Chris “I’ve climbed with Gribbon four times. 3 times I’ve been benighted and the other time,
two people fell in a crevasse”........”