While the work of the ship was going forward I made a point of allowing the members of the expedition as much time for rest and recreation as possible. The period spent in the South had proved a trying and wearing one to everybody, and all were in need of a rest and change of exercise. Time also was required for “make and mend,” washing of clothes and attention to personal gear generally, which had been impossible whilst the _Quest_ was the plaything of the heavy southern seas. [Illustration: SOUTH GEORGIA] I sent the men ashore, whenever the opportunity afforded, to walk over the island, play football, or visit the people employed at the station, of whom a number were British, chiefly Shetlanders. There was a football ground behind the station, situated at the foot of a high mountain and overlooked by a glacier; the ground was more remarkable, however, for its romantic position than for the condition of its surface. We received a challenge from the Shetlanders, which I accepted. In so small a company as ours, numbering nineteen all told, it was not easy to raise eleven footballers, for many were Rugby players, and had never played the Association game. However, we succeeded in putting out a side which, after a good game, defeated the Shetlanders by one goal to nil. Anxious for revenge, they challenged us to a return match, and beat us. Unfortunately, the opportunity for a third and decisive game did not occur. I encouraged incidents of this nature, for they provided an entire change from the routine of ship’s work and served to draw the men more closely together on a common level than the routine ship’s work could ever do. Also they gave a new topic for conversation and discussion which lasted for days.