evidence: Sir–A thought to help us through these difficult times: Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. [...] Not until trouble and heartache and sorrow came into my own life could I fully comprehend the words of Ian McLaren: "Let us be kind, one to another, for most of us are fighting a hard battle." [...] "Be pitiful, for every man is fighting a hard battle," was the tender Christmas message sent by Ian Maclaren to the readers of The British Weekly.