Author Topic: A warm welcome to Eric Hardy (Read 9183 times)

ideasguy · « **on:** March 01, 2009, 11:30:25 AM »

Hello again, and welcome to the forum Eric.
I'm delighted you have joined us here.

By way of introduction, Eric is a Bank Genie user, and in our exchange of emails Eric tells me he only began using a computer when he retired in 1992. As you all well know, I'm full of admiration for our "champions" who have the bravery to tackle such a beast -having managed to get through their working days without them!

Eric and has been experiencing some problems with his computer, trying to reload software to XP.
If you wish to explain those problems here, Eric, perhaps someone can help. We have an active section on the forum for dealing with computer "issues"

I hope you enjoy it here Eric. Please feel free to chat about anything and everything!

NightHawk · « **Reply #1 on:** March 01, 2009, 11:42:05 AM »

Hello and welcome Eric.

I wholeheartedly echo what George has said.

Our Forum is a very friendly place and full of very knowledgeable people, who are always willing to help in whatever way they can.

Have fun.

ideasguy · « **Reply #2 on:** March 01, 2009, 11:44:15 AM »

Just received another email from Eric.
Eric has a very nice garden!!
Mind you, he has a whole team of people to help him (tee hee)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/erichardyuk/180821535/in/set-72157594186256751/
I'm in stitches!

NightHawk · « **Reply #3 on:** March 01, 2009, 11:49:11 AM »

Excellent piece of artwork there Eric.

I see we have another budding graphics artist in our midst.

You'll be cloning your garden next to show it the size of a small continent.

Good bit of fun Eric.

Laurie.

Eric Hardy · « **Reply #4 on:** March 01, 2009, 11:57:37 AM »

Thank you all for your really warm welcome. I spend a lot of time on Flickr too, as you can see. Thanks! Now I will go a little bit quiet because I am busy getting to grips with the Bank Genie, but I will be back soon.
Eric

barryl · « **Reply #5 on:** March 02, 2009, 11:23:57 AM »

Hi Eric. As I said in my email to you I am offering my help to resolve your problems with QUicken and XP and eventually to help you convert.

Eric Hardy · « **Reply #6 on:** March 02, 2009, 11:48:56 AM »

You invite me to tell you a bit about myself.

I was born in 1926 in a small market town called Barnard Castle in Teesdale, which is in the North of England. I spent all my formative years there (my parents lived there all their lives). After three years in the army I went to the Bartlett School of Architecture in London where I met my future wife Anthea. After qualifying in 1951 we got married and have had over 57 years of very happy married life. I moved to south of England after our marriage and have stayed in our present home in the Chilterns, Buckinghamshire for the last 53 years. I retired from my architectural practice in 1992. We are both very keen on our garden but are finding increasingly difficult to keep under control.
We have three sons and seven grandchildren. Our middle son Mark married a Canadian girl (whom he met at Medical School in London). He lived in Ottawa from 1979 with his wife and three sons but has recently moved to Calgary. We visit them frequently.

Eric

Eric Hardy · « **Reply #7 on:** March 02, 2009, 11:54:31 AM »

Oh, and a question. I would put a little picture in my profile but haven't worked out to do it. I tried an URL from my Flickr site but that didn't work. Any tips plese?

NightHawk · « **Reply #8 on:** March 02, 2009, 12:04:28 PM »

Eric, you need to specify the image file extension - it should be a gif, so you should have filename.gif. (Obviously replace filename with your image name.)

I've checked your profile link and it is missing.

Laurie.

Eric Hardy · « **Reply #9 on:** March 03, 2009, 07:42:34 AM »

Thanks Laurie, Unfortunately I haven't got round to Gif files, unfortunately. I seem to be stuck on jpegs like this one http://www.flickr.com/photos/erichardyuk/190301827/in/set-72157594186256751/
Eric

NightHawk · « **Reply #10 on:** March 03, 2009, 08:05:10 AM »

It shouldn't be a problem for you Eric, considering what you've already accomplished in Photoshop.

Get the image you want to use and open it in Photoshop.

Resize it to the required size for the Forum Profile photo - which is 65 pixels x 65 pixels.

Then Save As, and select the GIF format.

Give it a try and see how you get on.

Laurie.

Eric Hardy · « **Reply #11 on:** March 03, 2009, 11:45:38 AM »

Great Laurie. I now have a picture icon. I seem to be using you as my mentor. As you can see I have taken in all you have taught me

Eric

ideasguy · « **Reply #12 on:** March 03, 2009, 12:48:30 PM »

Yes, you are doing a great job there Laurie! Nice to see the happy couple in your user profile Eric, and looking forward to seeing your photos.
I'm delighted to see we now have an expert in Architecture in our midst.
I have to say I love to see the older building here in Belfast. As for modern designs - well... I for one am not impressed.

NightHawk · « **Reply #13 on:** March 03, 2009, 01:14:18 PM »

Quote from: Eric Hardy on March 03, 2009, 11:45:38 AM

Great Laurie. I now have a picture icon. I seem to be using you as my mentor. As you can see I have taken in all you have taught me
Eric

Glad to be of service Eric.

Laurie.

Eric Hardy · « **Reply #14 on:** March 04, 2009, 12:00:17 PM »

I thought I would like to show you the sort of gardening Anthea and I are interested in. We established this in a decaying orchard 53 years ago. One or two of the trees are quite old and others we have planted. You can see that we do not go in for neat gardening and leave wild areas to give shape to the garden. We like it to look natural but it is surprising how much work there is in leaving it "natural". It is just beginning to get a bit beyond us

We limit our veggies and they are out of sight. Runner beans, tomatoes, courgettes, cucumbers, lettuce, rocket and herbs we usually don't have problems with. Greens and root crops are never very successful and we have lots of pests.

We have roses round the front but the bed is now very old so we have problems now. I will post some questions about this later when I get a moment.

Here are a few pictures to give you the feel of the back garden.

I think I am going to enjoy this forum

Eric H

ideasguy · « **Reply #15 on:** March 04, 2009, 01:03:18 PM »

RE:

Quote

I think I am going to enjoy this forum

I certainly hope you do!

The photos are great Eric, and you have lovely gardens there.

In the first photo, with the house in background:-
What is the pink foliage tree/shrub, dead centre, left of garden and overhanging the lawn.
Is it a Tamarisk by any chance?
Thats it again in the second photo, I think, looking in opposite direction, this time on the right side of the lawn

What are the tall white flowering trees in the last photo?

NightHawk · « **Reply #16 on:** March 04, 2009, 01:14:47 PM »

Excellent photos Eric, and you have a beautiful garden.

I agree that it has that 'natural' look about it. Areas where you can just wander around as if you're out in the wilds and you don't know what's just around the corner, as you can't see all your garden at the same time.

This is the sort of garden Kathy and I like too. Our gardens are quite small in comparison, so we're not able to get that meandering through nature experience.

I also see that George has set you a challenge to identify some of your plants. He's like that - but you'll get used to it.

Although you've joined the Forum as a Bank Genie user, we hope you get actively involved on the 'gardening' side as well. Much as you have done already. Your input and photos are most welcome, and our members will appreciate your good garden fortunes.

Laurie.

Eric Hardy · « **Reply #17 on:** March 04, 2009, 01:36:12 PM »

Thank you George. You are quite right that the pink tree you see is a tamarisk. The white blossom on the last photo is on two very old Bramley Apple trees. The blossom starts out beautifully pink and white but as it ages the pink fades.

Thank you Laurie for your kind remarks.

I should have mentioned that we have quite a bit of soft fruit; blackcurrents, redcurrents, raspberries and gooseberries which hog a lot of space in the freezer but are nice to have. I have never been good with strawberries. Too much like hard work.

Where is a good place to ask a question about our failing rose bed?

Isn't it funny that all this started because I couldn't reload my Quicken to my computer

Eric H

NightHawk · « **Reply #18 on:** March 04, 2009, 02:46:44 PM »

Quote from: Eric Hardy on March 04, 2009, 01:36:12 PM

Where is a good place to ask a question about our failing rose bed?
Eric H

Eric, if you navigate to the following Board - Plants/Help, (or just click on this link - http://www.flowergenie.co.uk/ideas/forum/index.php/board,64.0.html ), then start a new topic there with an appropriate heading, and post your problem.

Quote from: Eric Hardy on March 04, 2009, 01:36:12 PM

Isn't it funny that all this started because I couldn't reload my Quicken to my computer
Eric H

Well, if you hadn't Eric you'd probably never have found such a great bunch of people.

I was interested to read your bio and discover your roots are in Barnard Castle. That's not very far away from us (Middlesbrough) and it's such a beautiful area around there.
Nice to speak with a past 'local'.

Laurie.

ideasguy · « **Reply #19 on:** March 04, 2009, 04:51:57 PM »

I have a Tamarisk in my garden, but it is incredibly slow to grow. Mind you it was in a bed with conifers, and obviously didnt like it. I cut some of the conifers down last year and hauled the 1in "trunk" upright and tied it to the trunk of one of the conifers. (I kept about six ft of the conifer trunk to grow Clematis up it!)
The Tamarisk started to produce growth. I'm hoping for a show this year.

Thats a fine looking specimen you have. How do you rate that plant?

Eric Hardy · « **Reply #20 on:** March 04, 2009, 09:29:53 PM »

Quote from: Kathy & Laurie on March 04, 2009, 02:46:44 PM

Eric, if you navigate to the following Board - Plants/Help, (or just click on this link - http://www.flowergenie.co.uk/ideas/forum/index.php/board,64.0.html ), then start a new topic there with an appropriate heading, and post your problem.

Thanks Laurie for that, I will follow that through when I have a moment. I am just trying to get to grips with this "quote" business. It seems to be working.

Quote

I was interested to read your bio and discover your roots are in Barnard Castle. That's not very far away from us (Middlesbrough) and it's such a beautiful area around there.
Nice to speak with a past 'local'.

I wonder, do you still refer to "Barney"? We still visited regularly until my mother died at the age of 97 in 1996. I still miss Teesdale even though I left it so long ago.

Eric H

Eric Hardy · « **Reply #21 on:** March 04, 2009, 09:42:30 PM »

Quote from: ideasguy on March 04, 2009, 04:51:57 PM

I have a Tamarisk in my garden, but it is incredibly slow to grow. ................Thats a fine looking specimen you have. How do you rate that plant?

Ours is about 35 years old or more. It is very pretty when on bloom but I have to keep cutting it back. It soon makes new growth. One of the problems. and it looks as though you are experiencing it too, it really needs some support. I had to give it a very sturdy stake early on and it still needs some sort of prop. Our neighbour has a very old one and, if I remember correctly, Anthea propagated it from a cutting.

Eric H

ideasguy · « **Reply #22 on:** March 04, 2009, 10:09:55 PM »

I see you've conquered the

Quote

quote

thing Eric!
You are making this techy stuff look like a breeze

Yes, my Tam was leaning on neighbouring plants about this time last year, and needed support. To be honest, I'd given up on it and had forgotten it was there, as it never did anything. I think it has now come of age, and as you have said, a bit of pruning (I cut the whole bent top of it!) seems to have given it a lease of life. I didn't prune until after it had bloomed of course (for its first ever time of significance)
Little side shoots began to appear all up the stem, as you have said, so I'm looking forward to seeing it this summer.
Good to have two greenfingers (or should that be 20 counting the thumbs, or should that be 20 x n with a bit of touching up in Photoshop

) to carry the burden of gardening. Good for Anthea!
Are you both keen on gardening and plants?

NightHawk · « **Reply #23 on:** March 05, 2009, 07:03:33 AM »

Quote from: Eric Hardy on March 04, 2009, 09:29:53 PM

I wonder, do you still refer to "Barney"?
Eric H

That could be a name used just by the locals, as I can't say I have ever heard it referred to as "Barney" elsewhere at any time.

It's been a while since we last passed through there, so I don't know if it's still in use.

Laurie.

Eric Hardy · « **Reply #24 on:** March 05, 2009, 07:38:11 AM »

Quote from: ideasguy on March 04, 2009, 10:09:55 PM

Are you both keen on gardening and plants?

Yes we are, George, but we find it quite difficult now do do what is necessary. We are not too much into Latin names these days either, our memories aren't as good as they were. We have 240 feet of holly hedge and an eight foot high yew hedge right along the north boundary which shelters us from the north wind but is hard to reach. I now get help to cut these twice a year and every now and again a chap called Paul does a bit of the heavy stuff, perhaps two or three times a year. Cutting the grass and strimming are not too much of a problem yet but I can't bend down for long now. A kneeler helps at the edges but you can't use that in the middle of a bed.
Anthea is in charge of all the propagating and nursing of seedlings in the greenhouse. She is a great one for getting cuttings from friends and doing swaps. We keep the seed from the annuals and she keeps tomato seeds , runner beans and squashes to sow again and it works. It goes against the grain to pay a fortune for half a dozen seeds in a pretty paper packet! She is just recovering from a replacement hip operation so at the moment she can't bend at all.
I think this year the garden will probably look a bit wilder still!

Eric H

Author Topic: A warm welcome to Eric Hardy (Read 9183 times)

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