Little Minx

DD happily refers to DGD as a little minx, and I agree with her!

I asked DD about the little minx thing yesterday. She uses it and has never heard of the derogatory term and was surprised at your DS's reaction and shabby treatment towards his Mum.

Oh yes Mishap....I DO remember that one.

"Keep your 'and on your 'a'penny" was one of my gran's - an exhortation relating to going out with a boy!

HollyDaze, Luckily my Grandma's comments were really just amusing, if a little unexpectedly coarse. Those old fashioned judgemental quips you mention could do a lot of damage, though I am not sure they were ever really meant to be.
My father, a very unpleasant bigoted man used to come out with some nasty racial stereotypical things that thankfully I slowly began to recognise for what they were. I do think they coloured my judgement as a young woman, but I think years and experience has undone most of the damage.

HildaW - my Nan used to come out with comments that would leave a young me baffled (although I knew they were't complimentary). She used to say, about perfume, that it was 'one stink to hide another' and that put me off wearing perfume for years! Another she would say is 'they are all kippers and curtains' - I would go home and my parents would have to explain what she meant!

^ Imagine your errant DS being woken up by a massed choir of GNetters lustily singing all these old songs outside his bedroom at the crack of dawn!^

My dear Grandma (never Granny) used to amuse us - she was always well dressed - all corseted up with her hair tightly curled, face powder and pearls. However I distinctly remember her commenting on my brother's very tatty cotton shorts (we used to wear clothes to death back in those days). 'I see you are a member of the R.A.C.' she said to him. He was about 6 (I was a very grown up 8), 'what do you mean Grandma?'
we both queried. 'You are members of the ragged arse club' she stated flatly. We were greatly amused that such a proper lady had such language tucked away. It was used very sparingly and to great effect. She knew we would never repeat it as staying with her over the summer holidays was a real delight for us...we would not jeopardise that.
She allowed us great freedom to play for as long as we wanted, to go swimming whatever the weather, to eat clotted cream with just about anything and to just 'be'. Unlike home where our existence was pretty dreary thanks to a very miserable dictatorial father.

Heartening, Thistledoo, how your sad opener has turned the corner and revived some happy memories, hopefully for you as well. Imagine your errant DS being woken up by a massed choir of GNetters lustily singing all these old songs outside his bedroom at the crack of dawn!

Remember it well, sang it at Brownies and Guides. How sad that this descriptive word has been hijacked.

I am desperate to join this thread and like others have strayed off the main thread but am worried because I cannot recall the spelling of the `bird` any here goes (it is of course politically incorrect)

Cukooborough sits in the old gum tree
Merry, merry king of the bush is he
Sing cukooborough, sing cukooborough
How GAY your life must be

To my memory an old Brownie or Guiding song

There were rats, rats, rats as big as cats.....we nearly always do go off the point, hildajenni.

We seem to have gone rather off the point here. I agree with many others that language has changed and different emphasis is put on certain words and phrases these days. Take wicked for instance. In my day it meant bad or very naughty, nowadays if something is wicked it's really good eg. "It was a wicked film, Granny".

there were beans beans as big as submarines in the stores in the stores.

Another odd thing about memory, HD, is that often the memory of a visual image is stronger than a written one - hence the common difficulty of associating names with faces. I understand that is because the visual memory apparatus is a much older and refined part of the the brain. However, in this thread just a few snatched words from old songs were enough to trigger a whole host of associated memories from various people. It's a very interesting subject, indeed.

There was jam, jam, mixed up with the ham in the quartermaster's stores. Can't remember any more. Perhaps as well.

It is strange isn't it papaoscar - all it takes is a word, phrase, sound or image and kickstart a long-forgotten memory; one of the lovely things about forums and their varied members.

Memory is a very strange thing indeed,HD, and makes me wonder what else is waiting to be triggered by GN. Hope its pleasant!

papaoscar

Anything that makes you smile at old memories with fondness, has to be a good thing

Oh, Sir Jasper, do not touch me
Oh, Sir Jasper, do not touch me
Oh, sir Jasper, do not touch me
As they lay between the lily-white sheets
With nothing on at all

Oh, Sir Jasper, do not touch...

Oh, Sir Jasper, do not...

Oh, Sir Jasper, do...

Oh, Sir Jasper...

Oh, Sir...

Oh...

Reading this thread may not have been a good thing after all!

There were Grans, Grans, drinking out of cans
In the stores, in the stores
There were flies, flies, as big as custard pies
In the regimental stores

My eyes are dim, I cannot see
I have not brought my specs with me
I've flushed 'em down the lavertree
Flushed 'em down the lav-er-tree...

See what you've done now, HollyDaze, bringing back all these memories. Well done!

Rosesarered - you have reminded me that Ivan Stravinsky Skavar was a character in a long comic song called Addul the Bul-Bul Amir which we used to sing after rugby with great ribaldry and no political correctness at all. According to t'internet it was written in 1877 by Percy French and turned into a Disney cartoon in 1941. You can hear renditions of it on YouTube and it has brought back many, many happy memories of sharing a large steaming bath with the chaps after the match, together with lumps of mud, blood, grass, plasters, and liniment before, glowing and pink, repairing to the club-house for enormous pasties, many foaming tankards and a good old knees-up. Those were the days, indeed. Many thanks for bringing memories of them back!

rosesarered and Elegran - nice to see that others remember those songs. The only bit I can remember is 'my eyes are dim I cannot see, I have not brought my specs with me, I have - not - brought - my - specs - with - me'. Yes, happy memories of happy days

Rats, rats, big as bloomin' cats, in the store, in the store . . .