Feats that leave you on top of the world

BACK in 1953, I was in my last year at junior school. the country was awash with red, white and blue bunting and banners everywhere in preparation for the Coronation of our Queen. Every morning, we would gather in the school hall for morning assembly. After hymns and prayers, the teacher would spend 15 minutes pointing to a huge graph of Mount Everest, showing us day by day how far up — and how close to the top — a team of climbers was getting to become the first ever to reach the summit. I watched the climbers’ progress intently. On the day of the Coronation, we did not have a television so I couldn’t watch it, but we had a street party, and that was great. Everest was conquered that day, but

apparently the news was held back so as not to overshadow the Coronation celebrations. When I heard about it the next day, I was so excited and I couldn’t wait to get to school to see our graph with a flag on the top of it. Edmund Hillary and tenzing Norgay’s names were everywhere — what an achievement! Now it is all so unbelievable that, just in my lifetime, so many people have made it to the summit, even queuing to get to the top. the mountain hasn’t shrunk; obviously breathing equipment and clothes have improved, but let’s not take away the fact of what an incredible task it is to conquer Everest, because it really is the top of the world, whether you’re the first or two thousand and first. My young grandson has just cycled from Land’s End to John O’Groats and, though thousands and thousands have done it before him, the distance is just the same — so well done, Luke! Rosemary Beer, Sandwich, Kent.