As James Murphy stood in the beautiful sunshine with glaciers “sparkling” in the icy landscape, it was not just seals and Shackleton on his mind.
Although the “pristine environment” looked untouched, the Aberdeenshire resident said he was aware a lot had indeed changed.
Mr Murphy returned from the long-desired Antarctica expedition following in Shackleton’s footsteps this month.
However, it was not just photos and cute cuddly toy penguins that he brought home.
Seeing the dramatic changes brought to one of the “living, breathing lungs of the planet”, the 68-year-old said he felt a need to do more to avert the climate crisis.
‘You stand there and think, we have done this’
Mr Murphy set off on the three-week-long expedition last month. Through the trip, he also helped to raise over £4,000 for a new school minibus for his grandson’s school.
In his weeks there, he played his pipes in tribute at the grave of one of his admired heroes Ernest Shackleton, saw incredible wildlife and icy scenery.
On the boat holding over 100 passengers, they were also given lectures on what was surrounding them.
One of the issues that stood out was the changes to the glaciers over the years.
He said: “When it’s explained to you, the changes that have occurred over time, you can see how we can’t continue in the way we’re going at the moment without change.
“You can see how that impact is going up substantially and you stand there and think, we have done this.
“If we’ve done this we should be doing a lot more to undo it.”
Coming home to Old Deer, Mr Murphy said he was inspired to do more to help make more people aware of the climate change impact.
“It’s not about giving money, it’s about giving time and pressure as well.
“It is about our effort and that’s something we can all do irrespective of who we are.
“A bit like cutting down the rainforest, if we don’t preserve it as it is, the weather that we have will change because of it.”
Raising awareness around autism
Throughout the trip, he carried a flag designed by a pupil from his grandson, Harry Logie’s, school, the Anna Ritchie School.
Taking photos with the flag for the kids in front of ice bergs and crowds of emperor penguins, he said he garnered a lot of interest.
“They got me up to do a bit of a talk about it, what is was and why I was doing it,” he said.
“Everybody that I talked to was impressed by the cause.
“I would talk openly about my grandson’s autism – it’s not something to be hidden – and how the school has done so much to help improve things.
“It’s been an incredible transformation and as a group of people they’re inspirational.”
While the children enjoyed the photos of seals and penguins, he said they were not so impressed by the ice bergs.
Mr Murphy admitted he was also impressed by the king penguins in particular who were very curious and “had no fear of man at all”.
Although he said Harry was a bit disappointed to find a toy penguin when Mr Murphy met him at the airport.
He added: “He thought he’d been short changed…When I got to the airport he was looking around to see where the penguin was.”
Conversation