The Friendship Book 1986 [antikvár]

Wednesday—January i. JN the air-raid on Coventry on the night of Uth November 1940, only 30 out of 1000 buildings in the city centre were undamaged and many were completely destroyed. Of the old cathedral only the outer walls and the spire remained. But during the rebuilding, the remains of the old cathedral were linked with the new, so that old and new became one entity. Old and New Year surely is a time for linking together in our thoughts, glad memories of the past and great hopes for the future, to make the present really worth living. Thursday—January i. T^HEN the Sherpas of remote Nepal asked Sir Edmund Hillary if he could help them start up a school, he raised the necessary money—some ;L5000—by giving lectures all round the world. Then he went back to Nepal with the money and materials, a journey which involved a walk of 150 miles after leaving the plane. At the end of this trek he cheerfully joined in the actual building of the school, as did most of the community, including the children. Sir Edmund stayed until the work was finished and he was guest of honour at the opening ceremony. Since that first school, 22 others have been built in Nepal. " Climbing Everest was only a stepping stone," he said afterwards. "Building the next hospital and a bridge for the Sherpas was more important than the first footprints on top ot world."