This was later on diluted still more, and sometimes replaced by a drink made from a pea-soup-like packing from the Bovril sledging rations.

For midwinter's day celebrations, a mixture of one teaspoonful of methylated spirit in a pint of hot water, flavoured with a little ginger and sugar, served to remind some of cock- tails and Veuve Cliquot.
At breakfast each had a piece of seal or half a penguin breast.
Luncheon consisted of one biscuit on three days a week, nut-food on Thursdays, bits of blubber, from which most of the oil had been extracted for the lamps, on two days a week, and nothing on the remaining day.

On this day breakfast consisted of a half-strength sledging ration.

Supper was almost invariably seal and penguin, cut up very finely and fried with a little seal blubber.
There were occasionally very welcome variations from this menu.

Some paddies--a little white bird not unlike a pigeon--were snared with a loop of string, and fried, with one water-sodden biscuit, for lunch.
Enough barley and peas for one meal all round of each had been saved, and when this was issued it was a day of great celebration.