It's 'Sherpa time' without the mountainTowards the end of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's uncomfortable grilling by MPs last week he complained that preparing for the meeting had taken up a lot of "Sherpa time". I admit to not being that familiar with "Sherpa time", although it has been in informal use for referring to those involved in preparatory work for important meetings, paving the way just like the Sherpa guides for mountaineers in the Himalayas. The reference to Sherpas proved quite timely as Friday marked the 67th anniversary of the most famous Sherpa of all, Tenzing Norgay, standing proudly atop Everest with New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary. Referring to the Everest expedition she told the Guardian recently, "that wasn't a bad story was it?" Hillary and Tenzing were real schoolboy heroes -- anyone who could get us an afternoon off school deserved such an accolade.

Source: Bangkok Post May 30, 2020 21:22 UTC