hapter 10: Helsinki and Ecstasy

Although eight o'clock was the proposed meeting time, everyone was up and about before half past seven to watch the ship docking at Helsinki. As they emerged from below decks, it was clear that this was to be a sunny, but quite cold day. Unusually, they observed the docking activities from the pool deck, before making their way along the next deck up towards the bow of the ship. By the time they reached the forward lift lobby, it was time for breakfast. This time, as they had an hour available, they enjoyed full fried breakfasts. Grace, this time located the black pudding and all the rest of the components that make up a 'Full Monty'.

"We'll have to expend a lot of energy when we return to Bristol." said Grace, as the little group left the restaurant for the designated meeting place for their excursion, "I'm sure I've put on some weight during the cruise. After all, we've been having three good meals every day. Against that, we haven't been snacking between them."

"That's true." said JJ, "Although we have been doing a lot of walking every day. We've also been dancing nearly every evening."

They left the ship and boarded a coach for the very short journey to the jetty where their tour boat was waiting. During the 90-minute cruise, the guide pointed out places of interest around the archipelago. He also mentioned the icebreakers that were in their Summer parking places. He also mentioned in passing that the Marco Polo had reinforced bows and was able to power through up to six inches of sea ice.

"It would appear to be quite a versatile ship." said JJ, "But I suppose that was necessary for a ship based in what used to be Leningrad."

"Yes," said David, "These waters must freeze up for at least some of the Winter."

"Hence the icebreakers." said JJ.

Their archepelago cruise over, the boat returned to the jetty. Surprisingly, the sky was still cloudless. The rest of Helsinki didn't disappoint. Grace was particularly impressed by one of the main squares with the cathedral at the top of a flight of steps. Their final visit before returning to ship was to the Sibelius Park, where there was a conspicuous memorial to Finland's most famous composer. It comprised a stainless steel head of the composer and about a thousand pipes.

"When you played me some of your classical collection," said Grace, "You didn't play anything by Sibelius. Why was that?"

"There wasn't enough time for me to play everything." said JJ, "Perhaps I can rectify that if we have another session. The very first classical piece I ever remember hearing was by him. I learned later that it was called 'En Saga'."

"That's quite an unusual piece to have as your first memory." said Grace, "I would have thought you'd have remembered something like a Strauss waltz, or 'Land of Hope and Glory'. What was so memorable about it?"

"I suppose, the way he used repeated phrases, ostinato rhythms and pedal points." said JJ, "I suppose the repetition just got into my brain."

"A bit like 'Tubular Bells'?" queried Grace.

"Yes, I suppose so." said JJ, "Mike Oldfield did exactly the same kind of thing. I guess that's what made that album so riveting. Once it starts, you have to listen right to the end."

After they had spent a little more time contemplating the Sibelius memorial, the coach returned them to the ship in time for a latish buffet lunch in Marco's restaurant and the afternoon's continuation of the series of 'drugs' talks.

The afternoon's talk covered the history of amphetamines and other stimulants. It was titled "From Benzedrine to Ecstasy and Beyond". The speaker, after mentioning that this family of drugs was discovered in 1887, went on at some length about the medical effects and the conditions it was used to treat. JJ was quite surprised to learn that a stimulant would be used to treat ADHD in children. He did, however, stress that the doses used pharmaceutically were lower than those taken by recreational users but this was fairly normal. Once he had covered the medicinal uses of the basic range of amphetamines, he went on to outline the history of 'recreational' use of these drugs. He mentioned the use of pills known as 'Purple Hearts ', which were neither purple nor heart shaped. They were popular in the 1950s and 1960s. The speaker pointed out that the main character in the film 'Quadrophenia' took them and suffered a psychotic attack as a consequence. The talk continued with a history of the use of MDMA firstly for medical purposes, then as 'Ecstasy', a recreational drug. The speaker went on to mention that Ecstasy often contained other stimulants other than MDMA. Since it was an illegal drug and only available from criminal sources, it was frequently cut with other even more toxic substances. Some deaths have ensued as a result. The talk ended with a discussion about crystal meth and other more recent developments. The point was made very strongly that drugs that were made illegal were then controlled by the criminal fraternity, who had little regard for the safety of their 'customers'. JJ was particularly interested in this talk as several of his peers at Roundview, including Effy, had used Ecstasy and some of its variants, He himself had been prescribed amphetamines from time to time. The speaker concluded by mentioning that the next talk would be about opium and its many derivatives including heroin.

"That was enlightening." said JJ, as they left the lounge where the talk had taken place, "I didn't realise that MDMA had been around for so long, or that it had pharmaceutical uses, but I guess most amphetamines had clinical origins."

"Yes," said David, "I was surprised at the complaints they were prescribed for. The next talk should be interesting because it covers a family of drugs, one of which is available over any pharmacy counter."

"And one that's been in use for 7,000 years." said JJ, "Did you know that people used to chew willow bark to ease a headache?"

"I guess it contains salicylic acid." said David. "Derived from the scientific name, Salix, for the willow family."

After a stroll round the deck, during which they discussed the lecture they had just heard, David, Sonia, Grace, Edward, Celia and JJ adjourned to the Captain's Club for a pre-dinner drink. JJ suddenly had a thought about the late evening.

"If this clear weather lasts for another few hours," said JJ, "Would you like to see another part of the night sky after the show?"

"Of course!" said Grace, "That would be so lovely for two reasons."

"Two?" queried JJ, "What are they?"

"Firstly, you said there would be more bright stars." said Grace, smiling, "Also, don't blush, I like spending time alone with you."

"It's a date then." said JJ, "We'll have to wrap up warm, though, it's going to get quite cold this evening."

"In that case, we can snuggle up close, then." said Grace, smiling and winking at JJ.

"That would be nice." said JJ.

Since, for a change, time was not of the essence, they could enjoy a leisurely, waiter service dinner in the Waldorf restaurant. One of the items on the main menu was a lamb curry with fried rice. David remarked that this was unusual, JJ and Grace ordered this and liked it. While it wasn't as good as a genuine Indian restaurant curry, it was still quite good.

"I don't think this quite matches The Raj," said Grace, "But it makes a change from the usual 'English' fare."

"It does." said JJ, "I was in the mood for something spicy."

"I know." said Grace, "I still seem to be able to read your thoughts."

After the dinner, the 'Captain's Club' bar was the venue for after-dinner drinks. JJ and Grace had lagers, while the parents enjoyed various spirits. Since other versions of this cruise had Stockholm as their next port of call, this night's show was a second ABBA evening. It featured some of the well known songs from 'Mamma Mia not included in the previous show as well as a number of lesser known songs from the group's albums.

"ABBA certainly played a wide variety of music." said David, "Quite a few of those songs were new to me. Everyone knows the songs in 'Mamma Mia', but some of their album tracks are almost unknown. The other wonderful thing about ABBA was that every song was different."

After this, the parents made their way to Scott's bar, while Grace and JJ called at their cabins to obtain some warmer clothing. After this, as they had arranged, they headed to the open deck ahead of the bridge.

"You were right." said Grace, "There are a lot more bright stars in this part of the sky."

"Yes." said JJ, "You can see the 'Summer Triangle' now we're sailing Westwards."

"I can see it's a triangle," said Grace, "But why is it called the 'Summer Triangle'. It's Autumn now and it's still high in the sky."

"I believe it was an astronomer who hosted the 'Sky at Night' television programme who called it that." said JJ, "His name was Patrick Moore. Anyway, which of the three stars do you think is the brightest?"

"You're going to tell me I'm wrong," said Grace, "But I think it would be the top right one."

"You are wrong." said JJ, "That one is Vega. It's only twenty-five light years away. The brightest one is Deneb. But it's over two thousand light years away. It's nearly 200,000 times as bright as the sun. Imagine someone shining an ordinary torch from the bow of the ship. Now imagine a searchlight being trained on us from a ship some miles away. The torch would appear brighter. Vega is only forty times as bright as the sun. The third star, at the bottom of the triangle, Altair, is the closest at only sixteen light years away and only ten times as bright as the sun."

"What's that faint mist of light crossing the whole sky?" asked Grace, "I noticed it the last time we were out here at night, but it's a lot brighter in this part of the sky."

"As I mentioned then, that's our own galaxy, the Milky Way." said JJ, "It's brighter in this direction because we're looking more towards the centre. As I mentioned the other night, it's not possible to see the centre from this far North. The closest we can see to the middle of the galaxy is in the South West, over there where the Milky Way reaches the horizon. From this far north, it doesn't seem very bright because there's a lot of atmosphere to look through. Also there's a lot of dust and other opaque matter between the Solar System and the galactic centre. It's a very clear night, so we're seeing it as well as we can. The best place to see towards the centre of the Galaxy is in the middle of Australia, somewhere near Alice Springs, but well away from any lighting. I'd like to go there again sometime. I went there some time ago with mum and dad, but it was December, and the galactic centre was too close to the position of the sun."

"You said it was the light from millions and millions of stars." said Grace, "How many stars are there in our Galaxy?"

"About a hundred billion." said JJ, "They are all different sizes and colours. There are also about a hundred billion galaxies in the known universe."

"That makes us feel very insignificant." said Grace, "Anyway, the cold is beginning to get to me."

"Let's snuggle then." said JJ, wrapping his arms round Grace, and kissing her cheek.

"That felt so good." said Grace, "You're being very affectionate tonight. Incidentally, what is that bright orange 'star' that isn't twinkling?"

"That's the planet Mars." said JJ, "At present, it's just past opposition and, I would guess, just over 50 million miles away. It's only half the size of the Earth and consists almost entirely of desert. It's also quite cold. It doesn't twinkle because it appears larger than the stars. In fact, if you look at it through a telescope it would appear as a disc rather than a point of light."

The couple spent about another half hour contemplating the night sky before going down to Scott's bar to warm up and have a late night drink.

"Hello!" said Edward, "What have you two been up to out on deck?"

"We haven't been 'up to' anything." said Grace, "JJ's been telling me about the Milky Way and the different distances and brightnesses of the stars. He seems to know a lot for someone who isn't an astronomer."

"Did he tell you about the 'Sounds of Silence' dinner?" asked Edward.

"Yes, he did." said Grace, "He says he'd like to go there again, this time in the Australian Winter, so that the centre of the Galaxy is above the horizon at night."

"We'll have to think about that one." said Edward, "I know he loves the night sky, and there's a lot of it you can't see from the UK."

JJ and Grace shed their outdoor clothes and spent the rest of the evening dancing to the music played by the DJ. This time, he didn't play either a Russian waltz or 'Follow You, Follow Me'. After this, at about midnight, they adjourned to their cabins and enjoyed a deep and satisfying night's sleep.