the skua hat story

I came down to Antarctica without a hat this year. My intention was to pick one up in Christchurch from the nice man who sells hats in City Square; except, they only set up their stands on the weekend and I was not there on a weekend.

So, for a couple of days, I zipped my parka up to the top and pulled my real fox fur around my face, but it's difficult to hear and see in those things, so I ventured to find a hat.

My roommate, Char, noticed some yarn in Skua. Skua is a scavenger bird down here that will relentlessly take any bit of food that happens to be outside. So, our station "Goodwill" is called Skua. People drop off things they don't want, and anyone can pick up things they can make use of. In any case, I went to check out the yarn in Skua and thought it was perfect for a colorful new hat. Thanks to my crochet skills, I had this hat whipped up in no time.

Hats down here help people identify you. Everyone looks the same in a big red parka, but if you have a distinguishing hat, people can identify you before they read the name on the parka pocket.