Friends forever?

Friendship has had a good press this week. Two British climbers were stuck on a ledge 3,500 metres up a mountain in the French Alps. With their mobile phone battery fast running out, they texted a friend in Shrewsbury.

The friend alerted rescuers, but the weather was so bad that the helicopter wasn’t able to rescue them until later the following morning. The Daily Mirror couldn’t resist the opportunity to print an SMS headline, RES Q US, WE R SKRD 2 DEF. Whatever, a story like that brings a new dimension to ‘Phone a friend’.

A couple from Lewisham also experienced the value of friendship. Knowing that they were saving for a house, friends at their wedding paid for them to have a honeymoon in Corfu.

Sadly, the bride was seriously injured in a fall from a hotel balcony and had no money to pay for a medical evacuation back to the UK. Once again friends came to the rescue and raised the £16,000 for the flight.

But of course, there are friends and friends, illustrated by a story typical of a slow news month like August (and seemingly exclusive to the Mail on Sunday and Silentnight beds). Dutch researchers have found that standing 2 feet away from a friend can make you feel up to 2°C warmer, like being under a duvet.

We don’t know whether or not Jonathan and David felt warmer when they were near each other. The research also suggests that David and Saul would have felt colder. Nevertheless, in this week’s readings David and Jonathan model committed friendship, something we all need and value.

Emlyn Williams