麻豆约拍

On this day in 1958 Sir Edmund Hillary the New Zealander, who over five years earlier had听 with Sherpa Tenzing conquered Everest, arrived at the South Pole. His team was the only the third听to get there over land, but they had the advantages over Amundsen and Scott for Hillary travelled by tractor.

Hillary was part of a British Trans Antarctic expedition led by the geologist Sir Vivian Fuchs The venture was hailed as a great success and I made a tiny, a very tiny, you might even say miniscule contribution to its success. I helped to buy a mitten - a single mitten - which I hope kept some intrepid explorer鈥檚 hand warm

It was a privately funded expedition and appeals for support were made to all sorts of institutions and organisations, including the Primary School I attended at the time. And it was decided that our class would buy a mitten - among the cheapest items on a long list of necessary equipment needed. I suppose someone reckoned that our assorted threepenny听 bits and sixpences might just stretch to getting one

To be truthful, I鈥檇 forgotten all about the mitten until I recently came across a reference to the Expedition. I suppose that鈥檚 the way with so many small things, they disappear from memory. But much of our lives is made up of tiny bits - done by us done for us. For over the course of my life others have helped me in a multitude of ways given me a hand when I鈥榲e had car trouble offered me directions when I was lost, even pointed out that my cap had blown off.. None of them may have radically changed the course of my life but they are not banal or without importance. So we pray in the words of the prophet Zechariah

Lord, help us not to despise the day of small things. Amen

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