Five Loaves and Two Fishes - Star Cluster: Book 1: Adventure and Discovery - Newearth

By Dennis Rowlings

In the not-too-distant future a small band of colleagues set out on a trek across the Himalayas.
All goes well and our band of adventurers begin to knit together as a team enjoying meeting new people and activities such as white-water rafting, mountaineering, and skiing. It is while participating in these activities that a disaster strikes that almost brings the trek to a fatal end saved by the intervention of monks who possess a mystifying cure.
After a near miraculous recovery of the injured group member the band go in search of the source of the monks’ cure after biochemistry analysis reveals enigmas, this leads them to the discovery of a portal to someplace not of earth. The group decide to conceal their findings choosing to abandon one adventure to that of exploring this new world. They soon discover that the planet is one of a twin that orbits a star, part of a small cluster which they call ‘The Five Loaves and Two Fishes’. The planet no longer has animal life which became extinct sometime in the past due to a snowball period in the planet’s history. They decide to front their project by creating a seed bank to enable them to introduce earth biological species to Newearth.
One enigma after another has to be overcome requiring new members to be added to the team until suspicion is aroused and a diplomatic deal has to be made. This grants the team freedom to further expand the scientific expedition until its numbers exceed ten thousand. During this time the team leader is seduced by an Indian host and their relationship becomes a focal point. However, conflict between India and Islamic terrorists result in a catastrophic nuclear explosion in the high atmosphere, the effect of which is to rapidly bring about the closure of the portal trapping the exploration teams on Newearth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Mar 1, 2024
• ISBN: 9781398404106

Dennis Rowlings

Dennis Rowlings is a retired science and technology, including IT, teacher who served RN Radio electronics apprenticeship before leaving early to pursue ‘A’ levels and first degree in computer science. He has been married for 38 years and has a son and a daughter, both of whom are now adults. A practising Christian, Dennis spends most of his time now keeping fit, painting and watching quiz programs on television.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Looking Over the Hill

It was a typical English early spring day, that is dull, overcast and with the threat of rain in the air yet with the tantalising possibility that the sun could break through at any time and scatter rainbows across the sky. From an open window you could hear the rustle of soft new leaves lightly blowing in the cool wind and the occasional bird whistling, calling for a mate. Beyond this natural symphony, you could just make out the sound of heavy traffic from a not-too-distant busy street, full with the hustle and bustle of shoppers and people going about their daily business.

The smell of the room however belied this a little being part of an old but well-made stone building with darkly varnished wooden beams dipped in time. The burnished beams stood out against an almost white plaster ceiling that had grown dull and could do with a little paint or white wash to restore its original colouring or lack of it. A little below the level of the beams was a plaster coving, ornate in its style showing along its length miniature etchings of coats of arms which, in the past would have had some significance in relation to earlier incumbents of the room or possible patriarchs but like some of the detail their meaning had been lost by succeeding generations.

The room formed part of the lecturer’s rest area at Cambridge University and had the appearance that it had never changed since the day that it was first built many centuries before.

All along the sides of the walls were files containing memory devices from paper documents, computer disks, DVDs, to memory sticks but even more striking were the number of well-used books stacked along the shelves. With his back to these sat a young man in his mid to late twenties. He was wearing a slightly ruffled, collarless light grey suit, yellow sweat shirt and was sitting on an old wooden swivel chair with deep red leather upholstery that looked as if it had seen better days. It was evident that his mind was elsewhere as he looked intently over some geographical maps while thoughtfully stroking his moustache and goatee beard.

He was slightly startled when, unexpectedly from behind, a friendly but rustic male voice rang out, ‘Hello Garth, what have you got there?’

Gareth, as that was his proper name, although British had a slightly Latin complexion looked up from the maps and replied in a fairly northern yet academic accent (you know the type of accent that makes you feel comfortable, having warmth and a strength of its own). ‘Oh, hi John, simply planning a vacation; now that my Ph.D. is complete and I can have a well-earned rest.’

John, who had just come in to the shared office area, was an American from Philadelphia slightly younger and taller than Garth but not as well built and just under two metres in height had similarly completed a Ph.D. Garth and John had first met when doing a first degree at Harvard in the USA, Gareth was a late 1st year student (21yrs old) doing biology and was lucky to have got into Harvard, John on the other hand had come straight from college with glowing results in all areas and had chosen geology, this was in part due to his uncle, who was in the Petro-Chem industry, as his field of study.

Despite these differences both Garth and John had become the best of friends due to both having a number of common interests, for example, playing computer strategy games, progressive rock music, amateur wrestling, oh and chess which they could spend hours lost to the world in; a forte that was fast losing ground in the 21st century.

Garth, who had turned around looked up from his desk and continued, ‘I feel I could do with a change of scenery what with research, part time lecturing and managing ESMAS, some would think Dad might have been financially more supporting through my student years. What with the lottery win he had almost twelve years ago and subsequent returns from some shrewd investments; but oh no whenever you mentioned money to him his typical response was, you don’t get a free ticket in life, and I started work when I was barely 12 years old.’

John smiled and thought to himself, Unusual for Garth to be in a grumpy mood. In an effort to brighten up the conversation John rejoined with a smile, ‘I’d heard you British were controlled by the weather but I haven’t seen you as the type, what’s brought this on? You’re usually commenting that you were glad that your Pop always insisted that you take responsibility for your own life.’

‘Oh, nothing really, I guess it’s as I’ve said, I simply need to relax and get away from it all, let my hair down a bit,’ replied Garth.

Still the activities had complimented each other. ESMAS (Environmentally Sustainable Mixed Agricultural Systems) was a small company initially just dealing through the Internet with ‘GM organic arable seed’ distribution from North America to Europe and Asia. Garth had set this up so as to achieve a degree of independence and the venture made it possible for him to pay his own way through college and later university, even if with discreet financial support from his dad, Demmis. ESMAS turned out to be reasonably successful and it was on the back of this that Harvard had accepted Garth.

This had the secondary benefit that he was able to apply what he was learning to practical applications a big advantage over those who just had theory to base their understanding on. The part time lecturing as part of his PhD included special interest groups that had enabled him to make contacts; leading to contracts for ESMAS and helped to push him to the fore in a commercial area that could often be very difficult to get recognition in.

John – a little unsure, said, ‘You’re surely not thinking of selling or winding up ESMAS.’

‘Not quite that rash,’ replied Garth in a more positive note, ‘no, ESMAS is big enough to continue on its own for a little time and anyway, Hassan has been looking after most of the management side for the last six months, while I completed my thesis. He’s more than capable of continuing that for another three or four months and besides we keep in regular contact via the company’s web site.’

Hassan, whose father was Turkish, was originally from the Lebanon and had decided almost six years ago to take advantage of his dual nationality and move to England after Turkey became an associate member of the European Union. A factor in Hassan’s decision were the frequent incursions by Syria (Iran) and Israel into Lebanon and the increasing difficulties his family experienced, as his mother was a Lebanese Christian, from Islamic militants. Hassan had worked with Garth for more than three years in which time they had built up an effective team approach.

As John glanced at the maps on Garth’s desk there was a sudden flash of lightning, then a thunder clap and the splash of pouring rain could be heard as the weather rapidly took a turn for the worse, Garth dried his hands as his arms got wet when he leaned over and closed the nearby window.

‘Four months,’ exclaimed John, ‘that’s some holiday. So, what have these maps got to do with it, planning a round the world tour or something equally adventures?’

‘Nothing so grand,’ remarked Garth, ‘as you know Dad’s got this thing about Asia, as a result of often being taken as Indian or Arabic due to his mixed heritage his mother, my grandmother being Scottish, while his dad was half Greek, half black American. Anyway, he’s often fancied trekking across the lower areas of the Himalayas. He and I were just talking about it last week and I thought that if he was ever going to do it now would be a good time.’

Garth smiled, ‘After all, he’s not getting any younger and I’ve finally attained the goal he always wanted to see me achieve. You wouldn’t fancy coming along. I hear that there are some interesting cave and mineral sites in that area of the world some of which have not yet been messed up by man’s intervention.’

Giving a considering expression John replied, ‘The idea sounds great Garth, just the sort of thing that I would expect you to be keen on, a chance to find some new plants I’m sure but three to four months, I’d have to give that some thought and anyway what about Rebecca have you discussed this with her?’

Garth looked at a smiling 3D digital photograph on his desk, Rebecca was Garth’s fiancée and three years his junior, she worked as a librarian in the university, they had been going out together since he returned to the UK. She was one of the reasons Garth had chosen to do his Ph.D. at Cambridge rather than Oxford, that and the fact that John had already chosen Cambridge, due to its reputation in the States and as he and Garth had become such good friends during their first degree it’s seemed a creditable choice.

Rebecca was a very attractive, slightly conservative blonde with long hair held in a bun. She was tallish, for an English female, being 1.7 metres and of slight to medium build. She wore reading glasses, regardless of the fact that she didn’t really need them having overcome a slight sight impediment she had as a child, but she felt comfortable in them and looked exactly like the classic young female librarian, which fitted in well with the heritage culture of Cambridge.

With a smile Garth replied, ‘That’s something I will have to approach with some care, perhaps later this evening. Anyway, I have to go I have a class of first year undergraduates in half an hour and I want to photocopy some handouts.’ He switched the photograph off before leaving the room.

Gareth, John, Rebecca and Jacky had agreed to meet at the Café Rosebud at 7:30 pm that evening. Not knowing exactly how Rebecca may respond, Garth planned to raise the possibly sensitive subject of going on the trek later when they were both alone.

******

It was still drizzly outside, so John and Jacky waited for Garth in the foyer of the Café Rosebud, which despite its name was in reality a rather quaint old-fashioned English restaurant typical of this part of the country. John was talking with the headwaiter arranging a table for four when a small group deep in bright conversation matching their clothing brushed by them.

As the group shook their coats and umbrellas, one of them called out with a smile, ‘Hi Jacky, out on your own tonight?’

Just as Jacky was about to respond, John turned round and Angela who had spoken, added in a sultry voice, ‘Oh, hi Johnny,’ Angela always called John, Johnny, ‘I didn’t recognise you there with your back turned. I should have guessed after all there are not many tall ginger haired men in Cambridge.’

Before John could reply Jacky answered a little curtly, ‘Hi Angela. John and I are just waiting on some friends.’ Jacky was always ill at ease when Angela was around John as it was a well-known fact that Angela had always had a crush on him despite the fact that she was about 8yrs older than him. The group moved on and Angela called back, smiling, ‘I will see you young people later,’ at that moment Gareth and Rebecca arrived and the four of them were shown to their table by the headwaiter.

Just as they were finishing the main course a blond curly headed cheerful male figure approached them, ‘Hello Garth, Angela has just told me that she had seen John and Jacky in the foyer, so I figured you would be along soon.’

There was a bout of handshaking, ‘What’s this John has been telling me about an expedition to the Himalayas that you’re thinking of?’ Garth gave Rebecca a diffident look as, as yet, he hadn’t discussed it with her, and a more tetchy look at John.

‘Otto, it’s nice to see you but so far there is nothing definite I haven’t even discussed it with Rebecca as yet. I wouldn’t have thought it was something you would be greatly interested in, not exactly what you would call hard science.’

Otto was a physicist already of some reputation, whose interests ranged from new materials, quantum mechanics to astronomy. He and Garth’s father got on very well; as Demmis had a keen interest in the sciences in general, being a qualified and experienced science and maths teacher specialising in physics (although that was some years ago).

Demmis although much older enjoyed Otto’s company due to Otto’s depth of knowledge and willingness to get involved at any time in scientific discussion. On a more practical note, Otto had been involved in the development of Suzuki and Hondas’ super-efficient fuel cell systems, now being used in Japanese cars the only waste product of which was distilled water.

Otto was born and grew up in Sweden but one of his grandmothers was from Japan, partly as a result of this Otto as well as being a leading physicist was quite the linguist and in addition to five European languages, could speak Japanese and Cantonese.

‘I don’t know, the Himalayas have many interesting mysteries and sights, at night with clear skies, it can be a bit of an astronomer’s dream and besides I would enjoy the change of scenery for a time to refresh the old brain cells. If you do consider going ahead with it any time in the near future, I would seriously consider it if invited. Anyway, I’d better go now Angela and her friends are having a birthday party and I’m the guest of honour.’

As Otto walked back to the group John smiled slightly and said to Garth, ‘Sorry, I had only mentioned it in passing, you know what Otto is like in engaging people in chat and I didn’t expect to see him here this evening.’

‘Hm,’ Garth looked at Rebecca and considered what to say next he felt ill at ease at the news being released before he had conferred with her, ‘I was going to discuss the idea with you when we were alone, love, but I suppose the cat is out of the bag now. It’s only a possibility.’

The discussion went on over the evening, Garth illustrated to Rebecca using some rough drawings on table napkins about arranging the possible trek across the foot hills and lower mountains of the Himalayas, perhaps by a group of 9 or 10 supported by a number of local Sherpas from that region to act as guides. Gareth went on to say that he felt sure he could talk his dad into covering most of the cost provided those invited were willing to make a contribution.

John could see that Rebecca wasn’t totally sold on the idea and in an effort to overcome his quite innocent earlier error of judgment commented, ‘I’m sure Jacky would love to come along too, after all there are some very interesting historical sites on route.’

Garth and Rebecca eyes smiled at each other as from the expression on Jacky’s face it was evident that John similarly had not previously talked about this with her. Jacky, who had recently completed a Master’s Degree in history replied, ‘Thank you John, but I haven’t been asked if or when I am I will first have to check that’s it’s practical for me to do so.’

While seeing the humour of the situation Garth appreciated how John was feeling and wanting to persuade Rebecca, quickly added, ‘No problem, Jacky; I would be more than happy to have you come, nice to see that John seems to have made up his mind.’

Smiling, he continued, ‘At least you would add significantly to the interest of the journey from a historical perspective,’ continuing with a supporting look towards John, ‘And hopefully prevent John from embarrassing himself, too often.’

John, although very bright did on a rare occasion and particularly when trying to remedy a situation or embarrassed spoke without thinking. Garth went on to say, ‘In actual fact, I was hoping you would come not only for your knowledge of history of the area but also to prevent Rebecca, if she chooses to come, from possibly being the only female on the expedition.’

As they left the Café Rosebud the rain had stopped and they continued to discuss the practicalities of such a long venture, At least the weather would be more reliable, John thought to himself.

******

Jacky who was financially independent due to an inheritance from her great-aunt fortunately had not taken up a post as yet leaving her free to accept or reject the idea. Over the next two to three weeks, the girls accepted Garth’s invitation, subject to a few conditions and the idea gradually changed from mere discussion to more of a definite plan, though not without one or two obstacles and changes.

For one, Demmis insisted that if he was going to be the principle financial backer of the expedition, then Andrew a friend of the family who had already led a number of expeditions, should be requested to come along as the team leader due to his experience. ‘Besides this will take some of the burden of responsibility from you and enable you to enjoy the expedition all the more,’ he suggested to Garth.

Demmis always had a way of making any choice he made seem to be for the better of whoever the choice was being made for and possibly would have made a good politician if he had entered that field when younger. Garth while acknowledging the significant benefits of the request only agreed to it provided it was still recognised as his expedition, and anyway there were many practical aspects that Garth would prefer to let someone else look after.

During the next bridge night (local English card game played usually by four people and requiring some degree of skill) Andrew, who had only been back in England a few months after spending eight weeks clambering about the Andes in Peru was invited to lead the team. For a few minutes it looked as if he may not accept, as he took out a well-used pipe stuffed it with fresh tobacco, didn’t even bother to light it sat and sucked on it for a few moments, after a wry glance at Demmis, which made it obvious that they had discussed it between them beforehand, in turn insisted that a medical doctor was required as a member of the team.

After some discussion it was agreed to invite Francesca the daughter of a business colleague of Demmis and, as Garth, a Cambridge graduate who had recently completed a research program into medicine and microbiology. A further member, Joanne a genius with communication equipment was also agreed on. Thus, after obtaining confirmations the final team consisted of Gareth, Rebecca, John, Jacky, Otto; who Demmis felt they could not leave out, Jenna, Garth’s younger sister, who would be very helpful in arranging transit documentation in particular for the equipment and materials that would be required during the trek etc. and getting through the regional customs requirements being a Commercial Lawyer, Tony – Jenna’s boyfriend, who like Otto, was a bit of a linguistics expert which would be advantageous in trading with the local Sherpa and besides Tony also happened to be a pretty good mechanic, Andrew, Francesca, Joanne and Demmis in all a team of eleven.

Prior to starting out on the expedition Andrew arranged a two-week preparation trip to the Scottish Highlands so as develop the right group—team structure and give him some measure of confidence that the group could cope both physically and mentally. ‘Even the strongest can throw in the towel under challenging conditions,’ Andrew commented to Demmis as they set off.

And besides, as they were both aware, some of the expedition route planned offered more than geological difficulties. All but Jenna and Rebecca were able to participate in this training venture. Janice, the wife of Demmis i.e., Gareth’s mother, also travelled to Scotland with the group as this would be one of the last opportunities, she would have to spend quality time with Demmis and Gareth, before their departure to Islamabad.

Amongst the skills they all had to become competent in, was how to read five figure maps and use geo-positioning equipment, another was how to re-hydrate dehydrated rations using water from melted snow as this would significantly reduce the volume of the supplies they would have to carry with them. Tony, with one of his cheeky expressions commented that the meat tasted like old leather boots to which Joanne smilingly added, ‘And I bet it doesn’t do anything for the complexion either.’

This also gave Francesca the opportunity to monitor and make a record of their biological measurements, that is, things like changes in heartbeat and blood pressure while under stress or extended exertion. She was particularly concerned with Gareth’s dad, Demmis who was the eldest of the group but even at the worst of times, he had always been keen on keeping fit. It was just over three years ago that he took up micro-light flying after some teasing by a friend of his who was a member of a club in Kent about having reached 50 years of age and in addition, Demmis regularly took part in events such as the Great North Run, held in Newcastle a city in the north-east of England and the London Marathon.

Francesca also went over the various health risks associated with many of the countries that they would be passing through and the need for inoculations, if not already received. She also repeatedly went over some of the emergency first-aid and resuscitation methods, recovery position and more.

One of the more testing activities Andrew had arranged was a brief but intense training course on white water rafting and kayaking ran by a friend of his who was a level 5 BCU coach and IRF (International Rafting Federation) approved trainer named Duncan McDonald. Janice decided to stay with the support vehicles during most of this period and did some shopping in Perth. Duncan drove them up in a minibus to the river Tummel and had arranged all the gear they would need, that is wetsuits, helmets, gloves, proper boots and socks as well as buoyancy aids. The female team members took the whole thing with the appropriate level of seriousness but Otto and John who had both done this sort of thing before started to clown about a bit.

Observing this Duncan decided as a result to start with a full safety brief ending with, ‘The maist important thing ta remember is that the river has nay respect for anywan who dares ta travel own it who hisnay goat respect fur it’s twists and moods. Nay matter how experienced they think they ur.’

He then split the group into two and after spending the first morning taking them through some grade two and three rapids and becoming confident in their ability to handle these, he let the teams have greater freedom on the rapids they were choosing. Andrew, who was in charge of the second inflatable rubber craft was beginning to brag a little about his expertise and offered Duncan an engaging challenge that he could train his sub-group to be able to take the level four and even five drops first. With a little reluctance and only after Andrew made the wager that the loser buys the first round of drinks that evening and after Andrew accepted the condition that Duncan would decide when they were ready to take some of these drops, which could be six metres or more, was this agreed to.

Duncan insisted that Garth come in his group and that to be fair, after training Garth and not himself, as he would not be there to hold their hand on the expedition, would guide his craft through the level five drops as this would be of benefit if/when they went rafting in the Himalayas. Despite a few mishaps such as when one of the inflatable’s almost capsized, losing two spare paddles before being righted, oh and the girl’s hair being totally ruined, no one was seriously hurt other than a few scratches and bruises; not only physical but also to Andrew’s ego as needless to say, under some excellent coaching from Duncan, Garth got through the more serious part of the course first. Nonetheless, Andrew was quite happy to buy the drinks after dinner and they were able to relax after cramming a week’s rafting course into a couple of days’ training.

At the end of the two weeks, Francesca was able to give them all, including Demmis, a clean bill of health. Garth’s leadership skills had also quickly developed in a manner that complimented Andrew’s which would be important in the months ahead, as team work, as Andrew was fond of repeating, was the key to a successful expedition. During this period, Jenna, after being provided with a comprehensive list of requirements, arranged the procurement of these in addition to the legal papers for the transit of the materials that would be necessary on the expedition. She hadn’t missed out in the fun altogether as she had joined the group at the start of the second week.

Rebecca almost had to call off at the last minute from joining the team on the trek due to difficulties in gaining permission for a three-month, as she termed it, sabbatical; as normally she had to give the university at least one month’s notice prior to taking time off but once potential benefits to the university were identified, as she ostensibly would go as a Cambridge representative, the board of university governors agreed provided it was taken as part of her annual holidays and the remaining time would be seen as unpaid leave.

******

The plan was to fly to Islamabad by standard airlines and then hire a private aircraft to take them to the foot of the Himalayas at the edge of the Zaskar Mountains. The aircraft would also be used to ferry supplies to key points along the root and to the starting point of the river Brahmaputra, the penultimate point of the expedition on the eastern edge of the Himalayas. This would take them through Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bhutan. A pilot had already been arranged an old colleague of Andrew’s from as far back as his student days, Imran.

Both had been keen athletes and Imran had represented Pakistan in the All-Asia games in the decathlon. Imran’s mother had come from a high caste Indian family, as a result, Imran, although winning numerous medals including silver over a period of four years for Pakistan had never been fully accepted by his father’s family due the frequent conflicts between the two countries and besides, Imran had chosen to reject both Muslim and Hindu faiths and considered himself as a follower of Buddhism.

Partly as a result of this he had taken up flying, preferring to be in the company of real foreigners, as he put it. Besides, Imran had been on previous expeditions with Andrew and they had got out of some tricky situations together and therefore he could be relied upon in the event of any similar circumstances.

Chapter 2

A Flower from Istanbul

The group of eleven, along with friends and family arranged to meet together the day before the flight to Istanbul at a small but suitably located hotel just outside of Luton, England, not far from one of the world’s busiest airports. Istanbul would be the expedition’s only stop of point before flying to Islamabad. Just as Andrew and Ruth were getting out of the taxi, an old woman gave out a cry just in time for him to grab the lead of a dog that had ran after a cat and was about to race in front of busy traffic. As he handed the lead to the relieved woman, Ruth gave an approving smile.

It had been almost seven weeks since Garth had first discussed the idea of the expedition with John, back in the lecturers’ common room at Cambridge, in that time rather a lot had been achieved in the way of preparations both of those who would be taking part and the materials, supplies and equipment that would be necessary. Andrew, Otto, Demmis, Janice and Ruth, Andrew’s on-off long-time girlfriend were the first to arrive at the hotel.

Ruth was lightly tanned, brown eyes, dark haired (almost jet black) of Jewish origins and about 1.7mtrs tall but looked taller having a shapely but slender figure. Demmis went straight to the reception desk to confirm the bookings and get the keys and room numbers.

‘Iyi gun Biy Abcat,’ the receptionist greeted Demmis after reading his name in the signing in book, ‘Ve senin adres yazmak mutlu etmeh, ve postu sifre.’ Demmis gave the receptionist the type of confused look that made it plain that he hadn’t the foggiest idea of what the man was talking about. Noticing this, the receptionist began speaking English in a distinctly Polish accent, ‘Sorry Mr Abcat, I had mistaken you and your lady friend from your name in the register to be Turkish. I was simply asking for your name and postcode.’

Demmis replied in a pleasant tone, ‘That’s quite alright, it’s a small world these days, and thank you for the compliment but the young lady is with another member of the group,’ and gave the information requested adding, ‘can you arrange for someone to come and assist with the ladies’ luggage?’

After the group chatted for a few minutes two frail looking porters came to take Janice and Ruth’s luggage to their rooms and being a particularly warm day the five of them had some soft ice-cold drinks at the bar and then agreed to meet back in the lounge area in roughly 30 minutes. As they went to their rooms to freshen up and change clothes before the others arrived, Otto and Andrew had a joke over the receptionist’s error. Otto had shaved and changed from the rather formal suit he had been wearing into a black t-shirt and black denims and was just coming out of the lift when Garth, John and Jacky showed up, ‘Hi Garth, your dad has already booked the party in he will be down in a minute, if you just give your names to the receptionist he will give you your keys, oh and don’t be fooled if he speaks to you in Turkish, I think he’s really of Polish or German origins.’

Otto then looked behind for the expected fourth member of the group, ‘Where’s Rebecca?’

‘Oh, she will be along a little later with Francesca and Joanne they just stopped off to buy some female essentials like perfume, lipstick… insect repellent,’ smiled Garth.

About ten minutes later, a white mini cab drew up outside the hotel and Tony and Jenna got out with that look that tells you that something good has happened; it wasn’t until later in the afternoon that we found out that Tony had proposed and after a few moments of teasing and insisting that Tony ask her properly in the time-honoured way by bending the knee, Jenna had accepted. They planned to get married six months after the completion of the expedition.

Over the next couple of hours, the remainder of the expedition group, along with a number of close family members and friends arrived. Some of these had made bookings at a nearby hotel as the summer season, which seemed to get longer each year, was in full swing and hotels around the airport were fully reserved. At tea, Otto explained to Garth about the misunderstanding by the receptionist when Demmis had signed-in; which of course they both found quite humorous, especially the part about Ruth being with Demmis, ‘Though I don’t think Mum would take it so funnily,’ Garth said with a smile.

This led to a round of joke telling after which they had a pint or two, before going for a walk, in what was now an amiably warm afternoon.

That evening, as the expedition group gathered on their own, Andrew went through a routine briefing, for the 101st time or at least that’s how it seemed, joked Tony. This basically was on the lines of what to do if any of a given set of occurrences should occur from snowdrifts to dehydration or hypothermia to one or more members of the team. During the briefing, as relevant, every member of the expedition team addressed those aspects in which they had responsibility for.

Jenna commented, ‘I take it that everyone has brought their passports with them,’ then handed out to each member of the team visas and copies of border passes that they would need on the expedition.

It also allowed Francesca to confirm that everyone had received all the necessary inoculations, though as she commented anyone that hadn’t, simply wouldn’t be going or at least, not for the first few weeks. She also briefly went over both altitude sickness which, even though they weren’t planning to go as high as this normally begins to affect people, she considered was necessary for everyone to know the symptoms, well in advance; and dysentery problems which she expected almost everyone to succumbed too, to some degree, due to changes in water and general hygiene of some of the areas that they would be passing through.

Andrew went over the planned route and identified the key locations where they would pick up supplies and on the rare possibility that any one or more members of the group get separated, would wait for them to rejoin the team. The probability of them getting separated wasn’t expected to be that great, as they all would be carrying videophones which had facilities that would allow them to get visual sightings but many areas along the Himalayas still had poor satellite links.

In addition, there would be experienced Sherpas with them and Joanne would be looking after the main communications equipment. The interest of Otto, Joanne and Tony in the re-briefing was beginning to wane after about an hour and a half. This was noticed by Garth who after a brief visual communication with Andrew decided to bring the session to a close by thanking his father for the financial support he was giving and reminding everyone that although the principal objective of the expedition was one of mental relaxation and fun; there were serious aspects and dangers as well as opportunities for exploration and research to be had.

It wasn’t long after this that Tony, Jenna, Otto, and Joanne politely bowed out and went off to join a number of friends and relatives who had come along to wish them well. Some of the closer family members and friends would be going with the team as far as Istanbul. Shortly after, the rest of the expedition group joined them in one of the lounge areas where a small party was being held as a farewell celebration.

At this, Demmis gave a toast to the marital engagement of his daughter Jenna and Tony, and entertainingly added that at least he could trust someone now to fix the car if it was needed. The music was mainly folk music from many parts of the world but principally English, Scottish and Scandinavian; in between there were poetry recitals, the odd joke and some five-minute tales told by Andrew of his previous experiences on expeditions.

It was during this that a bit of a scuffle broke out with some gatecrashers, one of whom fancied himself as a bit of a body builder and fighter; fortunately, Otto, Garth, Andrew and a few friends quickly brought this to a conclusion. To get the party mood restarted, Demmis told his usual stories about Haggi hunts which each time were slightly different from the last to maintain interest and humour and of course were totally fictitious (much like Andrew’s). The tales usually started by, ‘Haggi are the only three-legged mammals on the whole planet and officially as such are a protected species that no one outside of Scotland are supposed to know about them, so please keep this to yourself. There are three sub species the blue and green Haggi from west central Scotland and the red Haggi from the North-east.’

At this point, someone, as there usually is, enquired why the Haggi only had three legs. Demmis duly answered, ‘They have two long and one short so as to maintain their balance in the Scottish mountains on which they roam.’ Just like the Haggi, this tale tended to grow legs, nonetheless, the expedition group had to retire quite early due to the time of the flight the next day. So shortly after eleven, in ones and twos the expedition group slipped off, leaving their well-wishers to enjoy the remainder of the night.

Back in their hotel room Janice stood on the balcony looking out watching an aeroplane as it made its approach to the airport. Demmis aware of how she may be feeling went out and stood beside her. She looked at him, ‘It doesn’t seem like almost 30 years since we were first married, I wonder what the future holds in promise for Jenna and Tony.’

‘Oh, I shouldn’t worry, we haven’t done badly and we didn’t have half the advantages that those two will be starting out with and besides they have the adventure of the expedition before they will settle down,’ replied Demmis.

‘I won’t see either you, Gareth or Jenna after Istanbul for over three months,’ she said with a sigh. Janice was the only one who ever called Gareth by his proper name. This would be the longest time that Demmis and Janice would be apart in the last 30 years the fact was that they had barely been outside of each other’s company for more than a week at any one time in all of those years.

Demmis said, ‘I will miss you but we will see each other over video links and the net, they didn’t have those when we first got married, I know it’s not the same but I hear you are going onto Israel with Ruth after we leave Istanbul for Islamabad.’

‘Yes, Ruth has invited me to meet her parents, apparently, they are Messianic Jews and we plan to visit Bethlehem and Jerusalem. After that, my sisters have asked me if I would like to spend some time at theirs. I haven’t seen either of them for over two years, still it will seem rather strange being away from you all for that length of time.’

They continued to talk for a time on the balcony before a slight breeze caused Janice to give a quick shiver and they decided to come in, as the night was beginning to draw in and it was getting decidedly cooler. After a cup of hot chocolate, they retired to the sound of people still enjoying themselves into the late hours.

In the morning just after 8 o’clock, they all got together at breakfast, Otto while chatting with Garth commented that Demmis had picked rather a nice little hotel, being only two miles from the airport and benefiting from a shuttle bus service. With a hint of satire, Garth jokingly replied, ‘The experience of age can have it benefits… sometimes.’

The breakfast area was half empty due to the late-night revelries of those family and friends who were not going on the Istanbul leg of the flight or had chosen to go on a later flight. Prior to checking out, Tony rang his parents who had been unable to come along to the previous evening’s celebrations to share with them the news about Jenna and his engagement. He sent them some photographs of the group he had taken on his phone during the previous evening events and assured them that he would stay in contact while on the expedition.

Jenna also took the opportunity to speak to Tony’s parents, Silvia and Jacob, whom she had a close friendship with, ‘You may not be with us during the expedition but we will carry both of you in our hearts wherever we are and I will make sure this son of yours behaves himself. As soon as we get back, we will come and visit, take care and God bless.’ With that, they collected their baggage and joined the others on the airport shuttle coach.

Although the coach trip took less than ten minutes on arrival at the airport, when they went to book in, they found that the flight itself would be delayed by over two hours due to industrial action being taken by French air traffic controllers. As a result, they had to pass the time in the airport reception area drinking coffee and reading newspapers. Janice could see that Demmis was thinking about complaining about the delay and advised him not to as it wouldn’t help. Demmis had a habit of complaining whenever things outside of his control did not go exactly to plan; Janice light-heartedly put this down to maturity, uhm!

There never seemed to be any reliable news in the mass media, video or newspapers which preferred to propagate their own agendas. The latest craze that was going around, was talking up poor or anomalous weather conditions. This had been the case ever since the tsunami disasters in the Indian Ocean followed by earthquakes and flooding in Pakistan and multiple hurricanes in the American gulf region a number of years ago, oh and the shortage of oil put down to the ever-increasing demands by Chinas growing industrialisation.

‘One good aspect of the increasing demand for oil and gas,’ commented John as he read a headline in the New-Times, ‘is the rising price.’ Both his family and Demmis to a smaller degree had significant investments in these commercial areas.

A bit too smugly Joanne replied, ‘Trust you to think of that angle rather than consideration of the environmental damage that fossil fuels are continuing to contribute towards. Not to mention the Alaskan and Gulf disasters. There are even areas which we may come across in the Himalayas which have been badly affected.’

John was just about to reply when Jacky came across and he decided the better part of valour was to keep quiet and simply smile. Garth took the opportunity to contact Hassan back at ESMAS, as currently there was a ban in using Internet connections during flights due to terrorist threats. Tony, eyebrows twisted in a half smile, said, ‘I knew we should have gone at a different time, every year it’s the same; as soon as you get near the holiday periods the French air traffic controllers decide it’s time to renegotiate their salaries.’

Other than for the delay the flight itself was relatively straightforward, the stop over at Istanbul for 72hours being the only break the team would have before flying to Islamabad, Pakistan. Janice and a few close family and friends went with the expedition as far as Turkey, where they would spend most of the time simply enjoying each other’s company by visiting the many museums.

Janice, with the support of Jacky, had made a small itinerary of places that, according to her, they must see, not that everyone was so inclined but those that didn’t want to were free to spend the three days as they choose. After all Istanbul is one of the oldest and largest cities in the world which was founded as Byzantium as far back as 660BC. Jacky identified that a number of the more interesting museums were in the area referred to as the old city. These included the Sultanahmet or Blue Mosque that was originally built to emulate the Circus Maximus in Rome and was started in 203AD.

As well as Roman figures it has many features from ancient Egyption through time and the Ottoman Empire to the present day. It holds a number of sub-museums including the Hagia Sophia built by the Byzantine emperor Justinian as the church of Holy Wisdom and now a mosque. The Topkapi Palace Museum, which Andrew taking his pipe out of his mouth and a twinkle in his eye pointed out to Garth and Tony, used to be the Sultan’s harem of some 400 rooms. Feeling a little restricted by what he took as a history lesson Otto asked Garth, without expecting an answer, whether it was such a good idea including Jacky in the expedition.

Garth gave a shallow smile and both took the opportunity to leave for a cooling drink. Other museums that they visited in the Sultanahmet included the Istanbul Archaeology Museum and St Hagia Irene. During the visit to the first of these two museums Demmis heard a voice call him and looked round to be greeted by an associate of Garth’s.

‘Oh! Hello Mustafa, how are you, fancy meeting you here.’

‘Salaam, Demmis, I had heard you may be passing through Istanbul.’

Mustafa who looked as if he just walked off a twentieth century screenplay of Turks sported a large curling moustache and fez cap and was slightly portly in figure. To see him you would expect him either to be selling carpets or up to some nefarious business, he was in fact a professor at one of Istanbul’s leading universities and was very keen on the work that ESMAS and thus Gareth were involved in. ‘Has young Mr Abcat finished his Ph.D.? We could always do with young professors at the university.’

‘Yes, he completed it about two months ago; currently we are about to set out on an expedition across the Himalayas and have only stopped over in Istanbul on the way to Islamabad for a couple of days.’

After a few minutes talking about the election that was due in Turkey in a month’s time and the possible influence of the federated Kurdish eastern states that had broken away from Iraq and Syria and now formed a semi-autonomous region of Turkey. Demmis took his leave by identifying that he would have to catch up with Janice and the others.

Later that day Demmis totally forgot to mention to Garth that he had met Mustafa at the museum. While Gareth was quite happy to go along with the itinerary that Jacky, a’hm, his mother had prepared, at the end of the first day on arriving back at the hotel in Istanbul, much to his surprise, Mustafa was waiting for him. ‘Good evening, Garth. I met your father earlier today and by chance, he was speaking with an associate professor working at the Lake Tuz project, which as you know, ESMAS is also working with.’

‘Oh,’ exclaimed Garth, ‘Dad didn’t say.’

‘None of us are getting any younger; I suspect he just forgot to mention it. It happens once you get past fifty.’ (Mustafa was slightly older than Garth’s dad by about four years.) Mustafa went on to say, ‘I have to admit it wasn’t just by chance that I was looking round the museums when I met Demmis, I was actually looking for you. Hassan, during a videophone conversation