by Carol Holden
They walk to the bottom of the garden with their arms entwined and look out at the lake, they see the two of them walking back home from the other side, chatting happily and laughing loudly at something one of them had said.
“I’m sure they will be pleased.” David says as he smiles happily down at Sarah.
The scene is set to tell the returning adventurers their plans. Sarah and David go to the kitchen and proceed to make an afternoon tea for Charlie and Simon when they return. Sarah feels a little nervous but David reassures her that his dad will be really pleased because David, who is very close to Charlie, has already told him about his feelings for Sarah, to Charlie’s great delight.
“Had a good afternoon you two?” David asks as he beams his attractive smile at the two of them.
“Great” says Charlie lifting Simon from his shoulders. “We have seen lots of birds and even a few squirrels and we have had a lot of laughs haven’t we Simon?”
“Yes we have mummy.” Cries Simon as he runs into Sarah’s open arms. They hug and Charlie and David join in a group hug and they finish up all laughing gloriously.
“May we tell you two our secret?” David says. “Your mummy would like us to be a family and she has promised to marry me if we have your approval, yours and Charlie‘s, what do you say?”
“Yes” The two of them shout.
They all four have another joint hug laughing and crying with their joyful emotion.
“This has been a great day.” Charlie says as he grins when he tickles Simon who is shrieking with laughter. “We shall have to celebrate, I’ll take us all out for a
meal tomorrow.”
Part 2
Chapter 24
Simon
I have just received my “A” level results and I can now apply for a place at Bristol University. I am so excited but I shall miss my family. Anne, my young sister, is the blight of my life, nicking my C.D’s and sometimes my tee shirts to wear over her swimsuit when sitting by our pool in the garden. The pool was fitted three years ago when we had a really hot summer. Anne is now a teenager and although still childlike she can be very assertive and mischievous.
My dad agrees with me that I should go away to university in order to become
Independent. My mum wants me to go to Manchester so she can keep me in the fold. Charlie thinks I should choose for myself. I love Charlie because he is such a great guy and we have always had a close relationship. He took Anne and myself on trips in the school holidays to Alton Towers, Martin Mere or the coast. He would get us in his car and off we would go. He was the one who persuaded the parents to have the swimming pool build in the garden overlooking the lake. He encouraged us to bring our friends to swim with us during the weekends and holidays.
“Simon.” He calls. “We will have to celebrate your excellent results. We’ll have a party and a B.B.Q. by the pool for all your friends and Anne may bring her best friend, Molly, before you go to meet Mark on your way to your trek in the Himalayas.”
The party was lovely, all my friends and extended family came. The day was warm and sunny and when we became hot and sweaty, we jumped into the pool to cool off.
It is now 1992 and Mark is now 36 years old, he has travelled the world for his job and enjoyed it so much he has not been able to settle down. He has had a few relationships, but nothing heart stopping, and he has friends on every continent.
Mark is a civil engineer and his assignment is in Nepal. He has to build bridges around Kathmandu. He has received his instructions and has to go quickly, when the construction firm he works for contacts him with the details of the job. He is excited by the fact that he will be in his beloved mountains again. He remembers the time when he had a summer before university, he visited his aunt Sarah there, when she was teaching in the little school, up the mountain of Annapurna, He has been to the mountains many times, on projects for his firm, since that time.
His assignment was to contact the large firm of Whinney and Fellows whose Far Eastern head office is in Kathmandu. His work was on the eastern side of Nepal near to Mount Everest, this gave Mark a thrill because his ambition is to climb Mount Everest sometime in the near future. When he has completed the work on the bridge he is building over a ravine. This bridge will be of great use to the people in the villages, surrounding the ravine. It should take many miles off the journeys that the locals have to make to go to the markets in the vicinity of their homes. He has assembled a crew of local workers and one of them has very good English, so that Mark is able to communicate his wishes to his workers.
Mark settles in a small room in a house in the nearest village to his project and gets on with the job in hand. He finds the local people very pleasant and although he has difficulty communicating with them, he gets shy smiles from the women and children, and a good day’s work from their men folk.
He is friendly with the English speaking one called Genghis who has been a guide on the various mountains around the Himalayas. They sometimes have a drink together in the little local bar and café that lies along the road a little way from the project.
“I love this part of the world.” Mark says as he remembers his time trekking.
“Have you been here before?” Geng asks, who is called that short for Genghis.
“When I was a student, my friends and I had a long trek around the area of Kathmandu before we went to university.” Mark replies.
Some of the men arrive for a drink and a chat and they smile at Mark, trying to include him in their conversations, Geng interprets and the laughter rises as they begin to understand each other. Mark loves this part of the job and he begins to feel at home with these gentle men that give him a good day’s work and then include him in their leisure time. If he didn’t mix with them in his leisure time, he would be very lonely, here in this remote area of the mountains.
“My father was a Ghurkha soldier with the British Army.” Says Geng. “That is why I have some knowledge of the English language.”
“I’m really grateful for that or I would be in a hell of a mess in my situation.” Mark replies, laughing and catching Geng’s eye with his usual twinkle and good humour.
The conversation goes on to the work in hand, then to the private lives of some of the workers, with lots of laughter and innuendo about their girlfriends and the girls they would like to be their girlfriends.
Life is hard in the mountains and the people have a lifespan much less than they have in the West and Mark hopes the work that is going on in this area of the world will give its people a better chance in the future.
He works hard and gives his time of long hours to the project in hand, getting to know his neighbours in the village where he stays, and befriending his co-workers and their families. He is soon accepted and he loves the people of the mountains. They include him in their festival of light and he enjoys the hospitality of the village people, it reminds him of his time on Sarah’s mountain, when he was a young lad.
It is August 1992 and Simon has received his “A” level results. He has been accepted at Bristol University as a medical student and he and his three friends have decided to spend their time before university by trekking in Nepal.
He has received a letter from his favourite person, Mark.
Dear Simon,
I congratulate you on your spectacular “A” level results and your university place at Bristol. Thanks for your letter, received today, and of course I will meet you and your friends in Kathmandu on the 25th June and we will be able to spend some time together.
I spent some time before university trekking and if I can help you to choose some good treks I will.
See you soon,
Love Mark
The time of Simon’s arrival is here and Mark has left his foreman in charge of the project, because he decides to have a few days with his nephew and his friends.
He meets the group at the airport in Kathmandu and takes them to a cheap hotel that he has found before their arrival. He knows that the place
is clean and that they will be able to afford the price.
Simon is so pleased to see Mark that he rushes over and hugs his cousin in front of his friends as he introduces them all.
“This is Pete.” He says as he pushes a red haired lad in his wake. “He wants to be a surgeon when he qualifies.” Simon tells Mark.
“Pleased to meet you at last after hearing such a lot about you from Simon.” He says.
“Meet Luke and this is Ben” Simon introduces his other friends. The five of them get into Mark’s four by four and he takes them to their accommodation where they unpack and have a shower to refresh them after their long flight.
Mark has also a room along side them and he waits for them to emerge into the small seating place in the reception area.
“Come on lads.” He says as they arrive looking so much better and smelling of shaving lotion and toothpaste and all of them smiling happily.
“Let’s find a place to eat; I’m sure that you are all starving.” Says Mark as he leads them on to the street and into a small restaurant.
“The food is basic but I think that you will enjoy it.” Says Mark as they find a large table and settle around it. They order five beers and then the food. When it arrives they are surprised at how good it is. Mark has been to Kathmandu many times when he has worked in Nepal and has found the best places to eat. They have a few beers and the lads joke and laugh and Mark remembers the times he and his friends were like this, and he feels a bit older than he generally does.
The next morning the friends are keen to see the mountains. Kathmandu is in a basin and there is always smog falling into the valley, so Mark takes them out of Kathmandu and up towards the Eastern side, where he is working on his project. Simon pleads to be able to see where his cousin is working, and where he is staying. He tells them that to do that they will have to move on, and stay in less pleasant accommodation, as the roadside places are much better than they used to be, but are not yet up to even student standards. The lads agree that they are happy to see the place where Mark and his men are working, that they may then take a trek in that area.
It’s a long day’s drive to the village where Mark stays so after they have packed up their things at the hotel, and paid their dues, they set out for the mountains.
Simon is so in love with mountains, he can’t believe how beautiful they are and the white tops shining in the sunshine overwhelms him
They stop at a wayside “café” and enjoy a quiet half hour sat in the warm sunshine whilst they drink coffee and eat a sandwich before starting out again on the rough mountain roads.
“What do you want to do Simon when you have your degree?” Asks Mark.
“I’m not sure yet, I may go into general medicine or perhaps be a sports doctor.” Simon replies
“That’s a laugh.” Jokes Luke, who himself is a keen athlete. “Simon can’t play tennis for toffee or even kick a ball at football.”
“Of course I can, just because you sometimes win at tennis doesn’t make you a champion.” Simon laughs.
The kidding goes on with Ben putting his oar in and Pete chuckling at the banter.
Eventually they arrive at Mark’s village, all feeling a little stiff from the long bumpy drive.
“Come on lads, let’s see if I can find you accommodation near to me, perhaps you will have to go into different places, but there may be a hostel for trekkers just a few miles up the mountain. I’ll find Geng and see if he has any idea where you lot can stay.” Mark says.
Mark finds Geng at home as it’s quite late by this time and he reassures them that there is a trekker’s lodge on the next ridge.
Mark takes the lads to the accommodation and they find it to be adequate. They thank him profusely and he hugs them all and wishes them a good long hike, as he arranges to see them before they go back home. They will have to return to Kathmandu by the 20th September, in order to start their degree courses.
Mark returns to his village and retires to bed ready for his work the following day.
Simon and his friends get out their maps and information booklets and begin to plan their extensive trek.
They decide to find a route by which they can work back to Kathmandu. They have travelled approximately two hundred miles east of Kathmandu on the arduous roads, and now they want to trek as far up the mountains as possible, but in a western direction, so that they are in the general direction of their destination for their return home. They have almost three months of a trek and they intend to walk about ten miles a day. That doesn’t sound a lot but it will be on rough ground and as it is uphill a lot of the way it will be hard going and they will have to assemble their tents and camping equipment each night.
Chapter 25
Simon has become a well-loved young man, liked by all his friends, boys and girls alike. He is independent, intelligent with a humorous streak and always is chosen to lead. He loves to read and plays the guitar and loves a party. Pete, his best friend, is sporty, practical and very strong and he is also studying medicine because he wants to become a surgeon.
Luke is a sure, assertive lad who is going to be a chemical engineer. He has a wicked sense of humour, and keeps the banter going even when things get rough. Ben is the shy one, he is gentle but introverted and he keeps his family problems to himself. The four of them have been friends from the beginning of secondary school and have walked and climbed together since they were fifteen, when one or other of their parents would take them to the nearest hill country, and pick them up when they rang to say that they were ready for their lift home.
Simon and his friends begin their trek early in the day when the air is cool. They have breakfast of bread and cheese and they have some milk to give them energy. They have brought some easily carried nuts and chocolate for the middle of the day. They intend to reach their evening stop around six o’clock where they will sleep for the night in a hostel and have their evening meal.
The sky is a brilliant blue and there is a spark of sharpness in the air. The boys are full of enthusiasm as they climb the steep path. The white peaks are far above them as they climb the lower slopes. Ben is not keeping up with the others but they wait for him by sitting on a low wall.
“Come on you slow coach.” Shouts Luke who is impatient to reach the higher slopes.
“I’m looking at the wonderful views.” Replies Ben
“Why don’t you see what’s in front of you?”
The party climb steadily for two hours and then they decide to have a drink and a rest and take in their surroundings that are magnificent. They eat some nuts and their chocolate and then feel ready to continue on their way.
The trek has been pleasant, not too hard but quite invigorating, after another few hours they decide that they will find a lodge for the night, where they will have a proper meal.
‘They study their map and find a trekking lodge about two miles to the west and they make their way towards their goal.
When they climb to the higher slopes they will have to use their tents and camping equipment but they have budgeted for a couple of lodge stops, two on the upward journey and one on the downward one on their way back to Kathmandu. They eat and sleep well at the lodge they have found and they meet a party of French students who are hoping to reach the high slopes very soon as they have to return home in another week. They are full of stories of their trek and the lads have a chat and a drink together before retiring to their rooms. The French boys have climbed up from another direction so they have relevant information and useful details for Simon’s party to take on board.
The four lads share a dormitory but they are soon asleep, as the fresh air has made them tired. They rise early and after a quick breakfast are back on their trek. They continue for the next ten days and they have found a steady pace whereby they can keep up with each other and still tell their jokes and funny stories to keep their spirits up. The terrain is becoming more difficult, there are slippery parts on the rocky surfaces and Ben is finding it harder than th
e others.