This is the website of the Harden family

I was born just after the second world war and my parents, Claude Harden and Blanche Goodman, were both Londoners. I lived in Walton-on-Thames Surrey for the first nine years of my life, then Stoke Poges Bucks until I left home to be married. I was educated at Slough Grammar School, Newcastle University and Slough Technical College. I moved into electronics after University and through my long working career I worked on scientific space satellites, the UK's Air Defence System, telecoms (particularly the design of telephone exchanges) and Integrated Circuit (IC) design before running my own electronic design consultancy for many years. During the last few years of my working life I spent time with Dyson and Rotork before finally returning to IC design.

I spent a lot of time ballroom dancing in my late teens and was a huge pop music fan throughout the sixties. I eventually met a lovely girl called Jennie Dyke and we married in 1970.

I retired on my 65th birthday at the end of April 2011

Everything was going well through retirement until early in 2024 when cancer was found in my bladder. They tried to kill it with a serious session of chemo but eventually had to remove the whole bladder (plus prostate) with a long operation in December. After six months into 2025 I was pretty-much back to living a normal life again. Thanks to Luke, my surgeon.

I was born a bit later than Brian because my dad was in the War. I was born in Slough but lived in Iver (Bucks) from the age of three. I was educated at Langley Grammar School and Slough Technical College. I started work as a computer programmer for Johnson & Johnson in Slough in the 1960s, working on the very early commercial computers made by IBM. After getting married I worked for a software consultancy company then STK in Norway.

While bringing up our three children I ran my own children’s clothes shop for a Very Long Time.

I ended my working life with the Alzheimer’s Society and retired, with Brian, at the end of April 2011.

We married in Iver, Bucks, on Jennie's birthday in 1970 and started our married life in Welham Green, Hertfordshire. We got the chance to work in Norway and spent three good years in Oslo from 1971 through 1973. On our return to the UK we moved north to Kirkcaldy, Fife, where we lived for about six years. In 1980 we moved to Appleby, Cumbria where we enjoyed good times for about 18 years. This is where we brought up our children and where they call "home". When our kids left home to go to university it was a long way from our ageing parents so we moved south and settled in Tetbury, Gloucestershire.

After retirement we found we were spending more and more time with the grandchildren and less in Tetbury so in September 2012 we moved to Berkshire.  It's almost like going home because we still have many old school friends living nearby and, apart from the traffic, it's an easier place to live. We are now doing our best to keep each other fit and healthy while trying to "see the world before it's too late!"

Before Covid we maintained our general fitness by walking as much as we could (10,000 steps a day if Jennie had anything to do with it), badminton two or three times a week, and sessions in the gym as often as possible. We are also keen on Zumba, swimming and ballet. Yes, that's ballet! As we are over 60 we are officially Silver Swans.

On 1st August 2020 we celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary.

Up to 2024 we were both enjoying life to the full.  Suddenly our lives changed with the discovery of Brian's bladder cancer. Jennie went through a very difficult and stressful year while the bladder was removed and Brian got back to the real world. We are now living a nearly full life again, realising that we are getting old!

Greta was born in Norway while we were living there.  She started school in Dysart, Fife but spent most of her schooling in Appleby. She did an engineering degree in Leeds then moved "down south" after university and joined Oracle. There she met Spence Nichols, they married in July 2004 and settled in Charvil, near Reading. Spence is a freelance IT man currently working for BMW and Greta works in the head office of Waitrose. They gave us two lovely grandchildren, Rebekah in April 2007, and Ben in June 2009.

They have both worked from home since the beginning of Covid and have changed their house around to give themselves proper offices and decent space for the kids to work in. With four of them working from home they had to seriously improve their broadband!

Rebekah is eighteen and is travelling the world with her friend, Maddie.

She has deferred her university place. Who knows if or when she will come back to it.

Ben is sixteen and is working towards his A-levels. According to his latest Parents Evening, the teachers love him! They say he is doing fairly well although it would help if he could give deeper answers.

He loves sport, especially cricket and is a very useful player in his local team, occasionally playing for the County.

Colin was born in England soon after we returned to the UK from working in Norway. After a brief time in a Scottish nursery he settled in school in Appleby. He went to Sheffield University and while he was there he met Charlotte Cook and they married in 2001. Since Charlie is a Sheffield girl they have settled there. They gave us our first lovely grandchild, Josh, in March 2002 and live in Fulwood, a pleasant Sheffield suburb.

Josh is twenty three.

He enjoys playing and coaching tennis. 

Martin was born in Kirkcaldy, Fife, but spent all his early life in Appleby and thinks of himself as Cumbrian. He went to Chester University where he met Eve Holland and they married in February 2003. Eve is a Yorkshire lass so Sheffield was a good place for them to settle down. Martin is a Woolsack legend, having run it three times and winning it once.  They gave us our fourth grandchild, Bertie, born December 2011 and our fifth, Ted, in January 2019. 

Bertie is fourteen and (according to him), is a sigma alpha male with lots of girl friends. He is mostly happy at school and has made very good progress over the last couple of years. He is very good with numbers, has an amazing vocabulary and is a very quick learner. He is a good swimmer and is an incredibly fast runner. He is seriously into computer games and has taught mimself coding! 

He tolerates his younger brother.

Ted is six and is a normal little boy. He is very social and has many friends.

He enjoys going to school.

He has made a very positive addition to the family.