Lifeboat crewman, butcher's apprentice, copper, farmer, kennel hand & I've probably missed a few along the way ; Eric's a bloke who can turn his hand to pretty much what he fancies.
I recall a conversation with Michelle when she was spending the night with a group of girlfriends. Talk turned to their partners & the girls asked each other 'If you weren't with your partner, which of your friends partners would you choose ?' Each woman went for Eric & it's not hard to know why.
This is a man I once caught unawares, on his knees, air guitar clasped firmly to his loins, thrashing out a rendition of Clash's version of 'Little Donkey'. He had given it his all to entertain his daughters & I rather sneakily stood in total silence at the doorway until he finished. I then said quietly, 'So this is what you lot get up to when Michelle's at work is it ?' I don't think I've ever seen anyone laugh as much.
It's the same man who passed his exams in England to be a barrister & solicitor only to be informed that NZ didn't recognise his qualifications. So he set about taking them again. And again. Until he passed. Hooray.
I recall Eric sitting at the dining room table, concentrating amongst the noises of family life, muttering to himself, 'I don't understand any of what I've just read ... what the hell ... ?' I used to go off to work thanking my lucky stars that I didn't have the dedication Eric had.
This is a man who shoots possums in the nude.
A man who stands with a gooey smile on his face watching piglets cavorting but who will calmly & efficiently slaughter that same piglet and turn it into a link of sausages (the proper twirly, looped up ones & everything.)
A man who turned to me after the fire brigade left after putting out the fire that I started which nearly destroyed his family's home & livelihood & said 'Don't worry - It'll make a great blog entry'
A man whose most oft-used refrain when things get sticky is 'When I was a merchant seaman...' I didn't realise until knowing Eric for a whole year that this was a wind-up & he'd never been a merchant seaman.
A man who loves his Inky-Stinky gundog (who isn't - a gundog that is)
A man who 'can't squat' .
When Eric came to Old Boys last year he drove my car for a couple of days. My insurance company wanted to know what he did for a living. I explained that he worked for the council, assisted with registering dogs, controlling strays, offering advice to errant owners and so on. 'We'll put kennel hand shall we ?' said the pimply school-leaver on the phone. It's typical of Eric that he guffawed uproariously when I told him & now refers to himself in our conversations as a kennel hand.
In one of our rambling conversations (is there any other) Eric once told me that the Diana fountain in Bushy Park had strong ties to his family. Knowing that Eric's folks are comfortable I assumed he meant that they had in some way contributed to the build or sponsored the design. 'How are you linked to it ?' I asked naively. 'We always stand in front of it to have our photos taken' he laughed.
I resolved to get a picture of it next time I visited the park.
My opportunity came last Tuesday on a clear & golden December evening & I got these shots for you Eric.
This first one is the classic calendar shot
But I prefer this one, in which the swans are quite clearly showing what they think of their statue.
Congratulations Eric and well done Michelle for taking on such a busy year to give Eric the time he needed to study. Once again you two have proved your stickability.
Cx
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