christmas with 2 sets of grandparents what is fair

No - if you look at her original post, the crossing out extends right to the dashes.

Looking more closely (stronger specs on) I don't see a space between the first dash and the crossed out bit, just a thinner line than the first dash. Does that mean that the crossing-out is not done as heavily as a normal dash?

And do you think we should move this discussion to Pedant's Corner before Jo5 comes in with her usual big yawn of pedantry boredom at us?

BAnanas I think your 'other gran' is heading for trouble. In a few years your DGD is going to really resent so much smothering.

We have three DC and three DGDs. Last Christmas we managed by some fluke to have ALL the family here, including my mother and three assorted dogs, and it was wonderful. Chaotic and wonderful! But this is a rare occurrence. This year it's just Best Beloved and my mother. That's just how it goes. So we're back to having a family 'Do' at Easter instead which is more the norm for us. Bunnies, egg hunts, Easter presents and lots of floral decorations around the house. It's easier to arrange as it's always a four day weekend, the weather is better and the dark days are over.

Thanks all for explaining the dash, space, dash thing. I thought it was one dash. Wondered why it didn't work.

I saw it that the line between the dash and the words was part of the crossing out. If the dashes themselves have been crossed out, that would make them look thicker.

I think you've cracked it.

Whew.

We still don't know how she managed to get that result, though! But enough is enough.....

Thank you janeainsworth for your kind comments, I do my best!

I have two grandkids in Canada and three in Qatar. Managed to get to Qatar in October and will be spending Christmas in Canada this year but if they all continue to live abroad, this will probably be the last time I will see any of them at important times as living on state pension only soon. I will be heartbroken not to see them but we bring them all up to spread their wings and take opportunities where they can so we can hardly complain when they do just that.
Damn!!

rinky and indeed , with my 2 DSs in S hemisphere double damn
bananas - keep smiling. You do indeed sound like a lovely gran and the op number sounds like she is at some point going to hit the crash barriers.

OH DASH !!!!! I certainly gave some of you a lot of work . I think I will DASH off now !!!!!!!

You can tell that it was raining and we did not have anything better to do.

Yes, we're not usually that pernickety!

Hey, I can see some blue sky.

JessM thank you. Time will tell regarding my opposite number I do know that she has produced two very needy and dependent daughters, my grandchild's mother thinks nothing of having up to 20 telephone conversations a days with her. My son had to explain to her that just because my husband and I don't phone our children daily, more like twice weekly, we do actually still love them, as she actually said to him once I don't think your parents love you because they don't phone you that often. She doesn't understand it's not a parents place to micro manage their childrens' lives once they are adults.

Isn't that pathetic, BAnanas! Even my mother wasn't like that, though I did feel more comfortable with 4000 miles between us.

Yes it annodomini it is indeed pathetic, I rang my mother every day when she was a widow and old and frail, but before that it would have been once a week even though we had a close relationship.

BAnanas - I have sussed you. You are Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall whose "Good Granny Guide "I pore over just about daily and my role model !!

gracesmum I wish! Neither of my sons' cook, look or talk like Hugh, or for that matter, have, what I imagine to be his sizable income!

Well you might be glad of the first 3 (although I quite like him now that he has had the occasional haircut!) and shame about the income. But I still think I have outed you!! Maybe you "ghost wrote" the book for her?

ghost wrote her book, my English aint that good gracesmum! I quite like Hugh too, and agree about the haircuts, the 1970s retro hippie thing wasn't a good look. Believe me when I say I'm not Hugh's mum, my boys went to the local comp not Eton, and in spite of my youngest having a good degree, he still occasionally says "fink and firty" for think and thirty, don't think you'd hear Hugh's lovely modulated tones making such ghastly lapses! I haven't read his mater's Good Granny Guide, but will pop into Waterstones and see if I can't have a sneaky look at it. Oh and another thing, I don't have a double barreled surname, or at least I didn't the last time I signed my name! What a lovely overstuffed mouthful Fearnley-Whittingstall is, sounds like something straight out of the 1930s, reminds me of a documentary I was watching about Edward VIII when it was revealed that he nabbed a friend's wife, the friend went by the sublime name of "fruity Metcalfe"

strange, our s on in law had to speak to his mother daily!! If my son rang me daily I would keel over and worry also that he was well!!

I would not want that sort of neediness.

Having said that my daughter and i texted or rang most days, which makes it double poignant wonder who is taking my place??

I am lucky indeed if our son rings us once week and I try not to keep ringing him as they have their own lives and that is as it should be.

Gosh if only we had that worry about which grand parents, as far as our little grand daughters must know there are only one set and sadly not us.

"Fruity" Metcalfe is a reminder of how popular nicknames used to be and how they continued to be used in adult life. I wonder why "Fruity" ?- hope it wasn't because he was smelly? Schoolboys all used to have nicknames didn't they as did teachers. Ours (that I remember) were not particularly inventive, but it was a Scottish High School whereas I expect Fruity Metcalfe and his contemporaries went to Eton! There was Faulky - Mr Faulkner, the physics teacher, Geordie, George somebody an English teacher, Randy, Randal Phillips the German teacher (who had a bit of a predilection for boys it transpired later) Luce or Lucifer was Mr Stirrat, Head of English and for reasons I never understood, Sood - Miss Farrell the Maths teacher. I am sure there were others whom I have forgotten, perhaps just as well.

Fruity Metcalfe sounds like something out of PG Wodehouse. One of my French teachers was Big Bertha and another who never had the pleasure of teaching me was Keyhole Kate (was that the Dandy or the Beano?). Mr Dick the maths teacher was, of course, Moby and my English teacher was Pussy - remember this was in a more innocent age.

I had a girl in my class with the surname of Gally, she was of course referred to as ship's kitchen and a form teacher called Mrs Head was always known as foot, oh how banal it all was! annodomini if your Mr Dick was teaching now he would no doubt be Dickhead! and as for Pussy I don't think we should even go there!

I'm sure "Fruity" went somewhere like Eton, strangely they never seem to be embarrassed by their nicknames at posh schools! However, back at the my son's local comp he had a friend nicknamed "Bomber" something to do with smelly emissions I gather, or which I believe he was quite proud!