Everest, space and the UK: Only the brave?

Not content with having crossed both North and South Poles, veteran adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes has claimed the one record which many of us could have hoped to achieve in the future. He has became the first British pensioner to climb Everest.

Fiennes’ achievement is so much the greater since a previous attempt ended when he had a heart attack. But perhaps he plans to go even further and enter space since he was quoted as saying that Everest is ‘the closest you can get to the moon by walking’.

Also hoping to go into space is Major Timothy Peake, a British helicopter pilot selected to train as an astronaut. For him the adventure is only beginning, as he embarks on several years of training. Ageing David Bowie fans will no doubt be hoping to hear a controller say, ‘Ground control to Major Tim’ at some point in Peake’s mission.

At last the campaign for Ghurkhas to be able to settle in the UK seems to have been won. Leader of the campaign Joanna Lumley described Prime Minister Gordon Brown as a ’brave man who has made today a brave decision on behalf of the bravest of the brave’. Unlike many politicians, she showed magnanimity in victory.

Fiennes, Peake and Lumley all have exceptional gifts. Nevertheless, as we’re reminded in this week’s readings, those with gifts (all of us?) still depend on the support of others. And it’s nice to see that in the resolution of the Ghurkhas’ campaign, both sides finally gave a demonstration of love.

Emlyn Williams