July 2021 Homily

35! Million or Billion?

Not blessed with great mathematical skills, I do however manage to stay in credit and I do also know the difference between 35 million and 35 billion. Still, I guess it’s an easy mistake to make and, since we are talking money, these are eye-watering amounts that most of us will not have to deal with.

 

 

 

 

 

I have not always hated maths, though. In fact I loved arithmetic at Primary School and used to devour the questions set with alacrity. As the years progressed, so did our delving into areas which seemed to me to have no practical use or relevance to … well to anything really: logarithms, sets, probability, Venn Diagrams etc ad nauseam!

How strange then my love for the programme “More or less” on Radio 4! Perhaps it is because it spends so much time in various ways demonstrating the mantra of “Lies, damn lies and statistics”.  I wonder if we will ever know the truth about the numbers with which we have been fed daily on the virus, the infection rate, the R-number, hospitalisations, deaths etc etc.

Of all the examples I found of the significance of the number 35 billion (or was it million?), it was none of the above that caught my attention. No, it was the fact that the presenter of another programme had, it transpired, misquoted a statistic and said it was 35 million, when actually it should have been 35 billion! Well what of it? It was only an error of 1000 x magnitude! It related as it happens to the number of caterpillars required to feed the infant blue-tit population in a 16-day period in Spring in the UK in an average year. The figure is a staggering 35 billion, not 35 million as the presenter first stated! These tiny offspring depend totally on the sacrifice of the caterpillar, but not only that, upon the ceaseless, selfless efforts of their parents who transport these unfortunate, short-lived creatures to their destiny! Baby blue-tits cannot drink and derive their liquid and protein sustenance from these juicy, fleshy providers, largely consisting of water.

These numbers are truly mind-boggling… and for the most part not understood, or even worse not known about. It seems a small step to me to think of the enormity of some things and the insignificance of others and the way these things are often juxtaposed  on an almost daily basis. It is often a question of where we stand, what we understand and the way we look at things though the spectacles of our own experience, rose-coloured or clear.

This was brought clearly into view a matter of only a few weeks ago when, whilst with my walking companion, we began our training on the first of the three peaks we plan to climb in September, back-to-back. The last time I did the Three Peaks, I was about 16 and the achievement was something of a romp. If I am to complete the 26 miles this time, it will be much more of a struggle with four times the amount of years behind me. On leaving the road for this first training session and beginning the ascent of Whernside, we soon found ourselves at the foot of the awesome pillars of the Ribblehaed Viaduct.

The Ribblehead Viaduct or Batty Moss Viaduct carries the Settle–Carlisle railway across Batty Moss in the Ribble Valley at Ribblehead. The viaduct, built by the Midland Railway, is 28 miles (45 km) north-west of Skipton and 26 miles (42 km) south-east of Kendal. It is a Grade II* listed structure.^[1] It is the longest and the third tallest structure on the Settle–Carlisle line.

The viaduct was designed by John Sydney Crossley, chief engineer of the Midland Railway, who was responsible for the design and construction of all major structures along the line. The viaduct was necessitated by the challenging terrain of the route. Construction began in late 1869. It necessitated a large workforce, up to 2,300 men, most of whom lived in shanty towns set up near its base. Over 100 men lost their lives during its construction. The Settle to Carlisle line was the last main railway in Britain to be constructed primarily with manual labour.

By the end of 1874, the last stone of the structure had been laid; on 1 May 1876, the Settle–Carlisle line was opened for passenger services. During the 1980s, British Rail proposed closing the line. In 1989, after lobbying by the public against closure, it was announced that the line would be retained. Since the 1980s, the viaduct has had multiple repairs and restorations and the lines relaid as a single track. The land underneath and around the viaduct is a scheduled ancient monument; the remains of the construction camp and navvy settlements (Batty Wife Hole, Sebastopol, and Belgravia) are located there.^[2]

By the end of 1874, the last stone of the structure had been laid; on 1 May 1876, the Settle–Carlisle line was opened for passenger services. During the 1980s, British Rail proposed closing the line. In 1989, after lobbying by the public against closure, it was announced that the line would be retained. Since the 1980s, the viaduct has had multiple repairs and restorations and the lines relaid as a single track. The land underneath and around the viaduct is a scheduled ancient monument; the remains of the construction camp and navvy settlements (Batty Wife Hole, Sebastopol, and Belgravia) are located there.^[2]

 From here you can be at the top of Whernside in under two hours. The vista from the summit is stunning and it is possible to make out the now tiny edifice above described. What was once so large and domineering is now belittled by the magnificence of the scenery: man’s great feat of engineering belittled by the awesome beauty of God’s creation!

There is such a feeling of elation when you reach the top of a mountain, but our achievement, particularly that of my partner on this small expedition, though great in itself, bearing in mind his stroke 4 years ago and many other challenges on the way, was dwarfed by what we were immediately to encounter. Amongst the impromptu audience assembled for a mini concert of ‘pipe tunes, were a group of about 8 people, clad in orange “Sense” T -shirts. This was incidentally a charity which we supported through the 1% Appeal at Trinity some years ago. They care for those with visual and hearing impairment and some with neither sight nor hearing. One such was a member of the group who was attempting the Three Peaks on successive days, this being the second. Even the attempt at such a feat is awesome. The descent from Whernside is not straightforward, particularly the first part on leaving the summit. The thought of doing this without sight or hearing and relying only on intuition and the hand-to-hand signing support of a carer is mind-boggling. Such also was the recent swum crossing of the Channel of an acquaintance of mine, Vicky G. She completed this amazing achievement, despite having only one leg!

How can I possibly complain, when I hear of feats of such magnitude? Does this not help us to gain a different kind of appreciation through an alternate perspective and arrive at a purer sense of reality?

Let’s see the world and all that dwell in it for its awesome majesty, unfathomable depth and height, incalculable magnitude and incontrovertible truth.

“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” 

John 1:3

“For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.”

Psalm 95:3-5

Amen !

 

 

Peter Lambert

July 2021