(People who know me will not be surprised to know that this is a re-read. I once had a summer job at the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge, where everyone went for a 'smoko' instead of a coffee break and I met someone whose job it was to turn penguins upside down to make them vomit).

Anyway, I had forgotten the extent to which the opening chapters are like 'The men took great heart from the amusing antics of the funny little penguins. We shot fifteen and they made a fine dinner.' Things have certainly changed....