40p    The Piper and the Penguin

 During the expedition's second oceanographic cruise in the Weddell Sea new land was discovered in the south.    At their most southerly point of 74° 1' S, 22° 0' W a northeasterly blizzard drove Scotia into an embayment in the ice shelf where she was beset for seven days. 

 The stamp design shows one of the more light-hearted moments whilst awaiting release during this trying period.   Unsure of how long Scotia might remain in this position, a number of emperor penguins were caught for the pot. Whilst awaiting their destiny, and to test the effect of music on them Piper Gordon Kerr played his pipes to one. It was reported that "neither rousing marches, lively reels, nor melancholy laments seemed to have any effect on these lethargic, phlegmatic birds: there was no excitement, no signs of appreciation or disapproval, only sleepy indifference".  The fact that the bird had to be tethered by a cord to the piper's foot does, however, suggest that escape might have been a priority on the penguin's mind.  Whether to escape its human captors or just the sounds they were making has never been satisfactorily established!

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