We may not make much any more, which is why we are currently agonising over daring call China an enemy; whereas for Kipling and his 'great game' everyone was to be considered an enemy to one extent or another. They had moral certainty, we don't.
But the vestiges of British expeditionary vision still feature amongst the global DNA. What links this drone footage of the ascent of Everest with the spirit we once could muster? Well the British effectively invented mountaineering as an endeavour when they went climbing Alps for fun at a time most people were using them for herding, or else a scenic back-drop.
In an echo of the Titanic loss twelve years prior, Mallory would be freeze-dried on Chomolungma ~ which sounds like the band that sang 'Tubthumping' but isn't ~ but less than thirty years later a British expedition was the first to conquer the peak that itself still conquers so many.
The last member of the 1953 team ~ a Sherpa who went most of the way there, all the more remarkable given he did the heavy-lifting ~ died this week at ninety-two.
There used to be a personal history on DJI's website that is I suspect is long gone, but described how its founder grew up on Hong Kong infused with British culture not the least of which was Led Zeppelin... prior growing the firm to the world's foremost drone developer across the water in Shenzen.
Some among my co-pilots were also from Hong Kong, a place where people were less ashamed to be British than the British themselves; from 1997 on they had to choose between a Chinese and a British passport, as they could not hold both.
There is no doubt in my mind that had in this instance the British passport been chosen, then we would not be watching a drone climb the world's highest mountain.
There's a time for handing over the baton to a more self-confident people, but it's nice to sit in armchairs watching and remembering how one way or another, we're all connected.*
* Check out how to nullify your ego with my box-set in store, including signed photo of me!
