Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Twitter Ye Not - Mount Everest


Twitter Ye Not - Mount Everest

A regular piece for a certain national newspaper about how figures in history might have twittered or tweeted or whatever, had they the chance, inclination and technology.

On the 29th May 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first men to reach the summit of Mount Everest. News of their historic achievement reached Britain five days later, on the morning of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Of course, if she’d had access to the Twitter feed, she’d have found out sooner.

Here I have shown Hillary (a kiwi, not an Englishman) tweeting the highest tweet on Earth. He has taken off his hat and goggles to reveal his huge quiff. On the other side of the peak stands his guide, the Sherpa Tenzing Norgay. Doing my research for this was an absolute pleasure - both chaps seemed most congenial and always quick to smile.

The Union flag (only truly a Union Jack if on a ship!) is a horrid flag to draw and I have never really liked it much - when I was growing up in the 70s it had a lot of very negative right-wing connotations. To mention nothing of Geri Halliwell's bottom!! Mind you, the St. George's cross isn't much better. The Union flag still contains the St. Patrick's cross yet has no reference to my beloved Wales. Well, Scotland look set now to leave the Union (after 300 unhappy years) so maybe its time for a re-design? (I propose a red dragon pooping on a rose bush).

2 comments:

Clive Hicks-Jenkins said...

Ha! Your rose-pooping dragon is no surprise given that you spent the weekend before last in Wales, where the red dragon rules!!!

Paul Bommer said...

Yes, I have seen the legend Hic Sunt Dracones on many a map of your Welsh hills!