Old letters from Rosie Hardman
Date: 01/05/99, 15:39
Dear Paul
Found your website today - thank you for remembering me! I have, of course retired now - but I still keep a check on things through the web. I haven't got a website yet - but intend to try and get one up and running in the not so distant future. Please pass on this email address to anyone who might be interested! R.Ixer@btinternet.com
Cheers,
Rosie
Date: 05/05/99, 00:24
Dear Rosie
Really and truly gobsmacked to get a mail from you! We still talk about you and have wondered what you are doing. In fact, I have just come back from the club. Wizz Jones was the guest.
I have just been told off for sending emails at this time of night - but for you I must make this exception!! :-)
Pam and Alan are still running the club in the new, excellent venue.
Please let us know what has been happening and I will print the message out and show it to all those who remember you. I could even put the text on the website because I am sure there are lots of others who would like to hear about you.
Out of interest, how did you find the site?
Best Wishes
(a longer message next time 'cos it is bed-time now!!!)
Paul
Date: 05/05/99, 13:48
Re: Rosie - the last 7 years......
Dear Paul,
Well....... there I was, trawling round the web, the way you do..... and
suddenly I came upon your site...... I'd followed a whole load of hot links
and to be honest I can't remember where I had just come from! What matters
is - I found you!
Although I retired nearly seven years ago (God, doesn't time fly!) I still
look around at what's happening round the folk scene on the web - and over
the past year I've picked up on a couple of versions of my songs ('Andrew'
and 'England') that have been recorded in Canada and New Zealand
respectively. The people recording them were trying to find me on the web
and couldn't - and I've been thinking of trying
to sort out a website ever since (Rob and I don't have any webspace on our
email server tarriff though at the moment). Also - Plant Life records found
a box of my last album (The Weakness of Eve) on the shelves (wrongly
labelled with another artiste on the box) and gave them to me to sell - but
I've no outlet for them - another reason for wanting to get onto the web. I
have been thinking of making a compilation CD from my albums later in the
year too and I want to see if there is any interest around for that. When I
found your site I was searching the web for possible bulletin boards or
similar that I could put some details on.
Up to a couple of years ago I was making my living just teaching
swimming..... then our lives changed when Rob bought a computer (he is now a
lecturer at Birmingham University, Edgbaston). I took to
it like a duck to water and ended up going to college and doing a basic
course in spreadsheets, databases, word processing, computer art, charts &
graphs and desktop publishing - all of which I passed. Then I went on to
RSA - Desktop Publishing, Intermediate and Advanced Grade (I take this in
June). I also started working for Rob two days per week - doing all the
computer work for his university job. Then I started making pop-up greetings
cards, specially designed for individual people - which went down a storm -
and then last year I started designing business stationery for firms. Not
long ago I started doing some computer art - which is coming on reasonably
well and this has now netted me another surprise result - yesterday I was
approached by a prestigious safari company to see if I'm interested in
designing a brochure for them which, if it comes off, will be a joy to do.
So I more or less live on the computer - though I do still teach swimming
three days per week for two and a half
hours a day. I teach adults - one-to-one in the water - which is great
because it acts as a physio session for my back and leg (arthritis) - and I
get paid for it! Recreation-wise - Rob & I also own a timeshare in West
Africa (in The Gambia) that we go to twice a year and co-own a villa in St.
Lucia - but we're probably selling that soon. We've spent a lot of time -
particularly in the past 10 years - travelling - specially to Africa on
safari. Kenya is my big passion - we've done 11 safaris there. The last two
summers we had trips to Zimbabwe (97) and Botswana/Zimbabwe/South Africa.
This summer we are off to Africa for 2 weeks - to the Pilanesberg National
Park.
I do get approached occasionally to do a gig even now - but believe it or
not - since I gave up the scene 7 years ago I have only played the guitar
twice. The last time I took it out of its case I found that, after 20
minutes, my fingertips were raw - like a beginner! Actually I couldn't go
back to performing now anyway since the arthritis has caught up with me (at
54 that's not surprising.....) and I doubt I could actually stand long
enough to do a gig - let alone do all the travelling.
If anyone on the scene wants to say hello they can email me at
R.Ixer@btinternet.com and if you have any email addresses for any performers
on the folk scene please let me have them as there are one or two people we
would love to contact. Feel free to print this out - show it/give it to
anyone - or post it on your website - I should be extremely grateful if you
would! Also - if there is anyone out there who has the address of Pam
Wilkins of Portsmouth Folk Club - PLEASE send it - I have lost her present
address and want to contact her.
[SEE FOOTNOTE]
That's about all for this spasm - I hope it fills you in on one or two
details!
All the best - Rosie
[SUBSEQUENT TO THIS LETTER - Pam has been found]
To: "R.Ixer", INTERNET:R.Ixer@btinternet.com
Date: 08/05/99, 05:05
Re: You are on the Dartford Folk Club website
Dear Rosie
Thanks for letting us know what you have been doing for the last seven years. I
have copied everything as written, onto my website. If there is anything more
you would like put on, I still have a few kilobytes of room left. As you may
have noticed, I have very few graphics and pictures which are the items that
take up all the space.
Funny you should mention Weakness of Eve. I still collect and play vinyl and
could not resist buying a couple of extra brand new copies of WOE and Stopped
In My Tracks at a bargain price of 3.50 each. I have seen them (and Eagle)
advertised in Record Collector for as much as £10 ! Possibly that may be a way
of selling yours - but try not to flood the market - otherwise mine will go
down in value !!!! :-)
A discography would be an interesting item to put on the site. Do you have one?
[PART OF ORIGINAL TEXT NOT RELATING TO SUBJECT DELETED]
I will take a print of your letter to the club next tuesday - I am sure there
will be a few messages to you.
Best Wishes
Paul
Date: 08/05/99, 08:30
Re: Re Your site
Dear Paul
Just visited the site - brilliant! - Thank you again....... just what I needed!
Love Rosie
Date: 08/05/99, 08:14
Re: Re: Thank you!
Dear Paul
Thank you so much for your email and the trouble you have gone to for me - I
am very grateful.
You did well with the records - someone wrote to me recently to say that
they had seen a copy of Eagle Over Blue Mountain going for £30 at a record
fair - and there is one advertised on the web in an American store at $30.
Over ten years ago I saw copies of a couple of my albums going at over £10
each - so God knows what the going rate is! I sell the new copies for £10
each which would seem to be about right.
You mentioned a discography:
I don't have the numbers in my head but other info is as follows:
Queen of Hearts. Folk Heritage. 1968.
Second Season Came. (with Bob Axford). Leader. 1970.
Firebird. Leader. 1971.
Jerseyburger. Alida Star. 1975
For My Part (Live performance cassette only). Mount Records. 1975.
Eagle Over Blue Mountain. Plant Life. 1978.
Stopped in My Tracks. Plant Life. 1980.
The Man From Brooklyn/Just One Time. (single). Burlington. 1981.
The Weakness of Eve. Plant Life. 1983.
Come to think of it - I probably have some copies of the single tucked away
somewhere too - but not more than about 20 or so.
I'm glad to know the club is still going strong - I had some bloody good
nights at Dartford - one of the most welcoming audiences in the country.
[PART OF ORIGINAL TEXT NOT RELATING TO SUBJECT DELETED]
Thanks for taking printouts to the Club - I hope to have one or two emails!
That's the surprising thing about the Internet - I've stopped wondering
what's going to turn up next!
Talk to you soon,
Love Rosie.
Date: 09/05/99, 13:02
Re: Re: Hardman calling!
Dear Paul
Just a line to let you know that when you next update your site you can
remove my plea for the whereabouts of my friend Pam Wilkins from
Portsmouth - I managed to find her (I finally found a contact - through the
Web of course! (not from your site - but it was only a matter of time I'm
sure) ......someone from SCoFF gave me her address/phone number and I
re-established contact last night......... dontcha just LOVE technology!?)
Love Rosie
Date: 09/05/99, 23:55
Re: Re: Hardman calling!
Dear Rosie
Glad to hear you have heard from your friend. I will put a footnote on the
original letter. I usually do the updates at work during my lunch break and
bring a disc home to download the new pages in the evening.
Yes, the Internet certainly makes the world small. Last year I was waffling
away exchanging e-mails with someone in Brussels who happens to be on the
Fairport and Richard Thompson lists. It turns out that his work colleague
married my "first" girl friend ! Goodness knows what or who else is going to
turn up to haunt me !!!
Best Wishes
Paul
To: Paul Homer
From: "R.Ixer", INTERNET:R.Ixer@btinternet.com
Date: 15/05/99, 08:57
Re: Re: Don't get excited - it's a lousy photo!
Dear Paul
.................. I haven't got a decent electronic pic of me at all at the moment........ and
I look an absolute scruff because I need my hair cutting. However...... the
hairdresser comes on Friday and I DO have a digital camera - albeit not a
very good one...... so with fair weather and a prevailing wind as they
say............I might be able to get one to you next weekend. In fact only pic I have of me at the moment is one taken on safari - which I had
taken mainly to show the kind of vehicle we were travelling in..... there is
very little of me - but that may be a blessing! I shall enclose it with this
email just for your interest - but it's not good enough to use on the web.
Nice picture of the Landcruiser though!!!!!!!! I have tons of jpegs of the
artwork that I do...... I shall send one to show you - my favourite of Gina,
a friend's Persian cat..... but I've always thought that my computer has
enough to cope with (which it does NOT - it crashes more often than the
average stunt-man) without giving it my face to contend with........
Unfortunately, I do not possess a very good scanner
I don't possess a scanner - full stop! It is the one thing I am dying to
get. The trouble is I just don't have a port for it on this computer. We are
getting a new computer soon with lots of lovely USB/parallel ports and so
on....... so I'll be able to get a decent scanner then. At the moment I have
attached a printer that's daisy-chained through an HP Surestore CD writer
and the docking station for my digital camera..... as well as that I need
room for a scanner and a graphics tablet and pen AND a slide scanner for my
husband's work......... Anyway I can, if necessary, scan a photo in at
college on friday - theirs is an old scanner but it does a reasonable job -
but it's finding a photo that's up to date and passable........... but I
will see what I can do - I'll have to teach Rob to use the digital camera.
I'm just so chuffed you want to include a piccy (you masochistic old devil
you!) that I shall have to pull my finger out!
Talk to you soon,
Love Rosie
Back to Rosie Hardman (leader page)
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Created by Paul Homer
23 Feb 2000
05 Apr 2003 - Redirection of web files