16th Decr. 1912. 1.45 a.m With joyful feelings we welcomed a calm day; the first for weeks. Immediately we turned our sleeping bags inside out & laid them out in the delightful sunshine Five weeks have lapsed since we were able to do the they underwent this luxury. The hair inside was coated with ice & frozen breath so that they crackled as we turned them. Our socks, finnescue & (indecipherable) were also dried. What a fine day means to us. The surface was better & we made good progress, we were being able to pull on our fleeces, which gave our limbs free play. Our sledge, in striking contrast to our previous progress, seemed to glide over the surface. Starting at 1.30 P.M. we had made 6½ miles by 5 oclock lunch. As it was my turn to make tea & have serve the ration