Update 2022 – sadly we lost Pickles our black cat before summer 2022. Our remaining lodgers have had some time to adjust and are back at their antics. It’s very strange without our mischief maker in the house, she was quite a character, her favourite game was finding any feathers I had brought home to paint and stealing them. No matter how high / well hidden / out of sight I put them – she would always find them and come strolling through the lounge with my latest find in her mouth, it became quite a game. Gone but definitely not forgotten and always in my heart. This is the first time since I was six years old that I haven’t had a black cat in my life.

Meet our lodgers. These guys hang out with us at Base Camp, they remind me of my early student days way before the PhD – they stay up all hours and sleep all day and generally cause some mayhem. Look out for them on the Field Notes blog.