A Bristol postmaster is heading back to the penguins at Port Lockroy

The post office at the bottom of the world is opening for another summer, penguins included. BBC News reported that George Clarke, from Bristol, is leaving for his third season as postmaster at Port Lockroy, on Goudier Island. The season runs from late October to March. A team of six shares the island with about 1,000 gentoo penguins.

Clarke sorts the postcards that visitors write. Ships heading north to the Falkland Islands carry the mail on. He is also deputy base commander, so the job includes maintenance and wildlife notes for the British Antarctic Survey. The UK Antarctic Heritage Trust looks after the site. This is the second year of a three-year plan to shore up Bransfield House, the museum, post office, and shop. The work adds roof beams and 30 steel and timber props under the floor so rain and snow do less damage. The team flies to Ushuaia by way of Buenos Aires, then spends four or five days on a ship. The props are a plan in progress. They are not a finished repair.