Gransnet forums

Ask a gran

Do you remember odd details from long ago?

(85 Posts)
kircubbin2000 Wed 01-Oct-25 15:59:01

I woke up this morning thinking for some reason about a cat my neighbour had 50 years ago. I could not remember it's name and it has annoyed me all day.Eventually I went through the alphabet and at last I got it! TRIXIE!

Lovetopaint037 Wed 01-Oct-25 16:13:23

Oh! Yes. Usually in then middle of the night and then I can’t sleep.

Babs03 Wed 01-Oct-25 16:23:37

Oh yes. Was trying to remember the name of neighbours of ours 50+ years ago the other night. Was Hickey. But took forever to get there.

CariadAgain Wed 01-Oct-25 16:29:12

Considering my memories are pretty non-existent until mid-teenage I remembered the hospital my mother had me in back in the 1950s - ie Derriford in Plymouth (was wondering whether I could ask the hospital what time I was born - for horoscope purposes - but I don't suppose they've kept those records all these years).

I remember the first time I realised my mother was an awful cook and I must have been about 5 years old when mince was part of the meal she gave me and my reaction to it was "It's awful....I've got a bad cook for a mother....I'll have to eat it though #sighs".

Allira Wed 01-Oct-25 17:17:49

CariadAgain

Considering my memories are pretty non-existent until mid-teenage I remembered the hospital my mother had me in back in the 1950s - ie Derriford in Plymouth (was wondering whether I could ask the hospital what time I was born - for horoscope purposes - but I don't suppose they've kept those records all these years).

I remember the first time I realised my mother was an awful cook and I must have been about 5 years old when mince was part of the meal she gave me and my reaction to it was "It's awful....I've got a bad cook for a mother....I'll have to eat it though #sighs".

It won't have been Derriford Hospital, CarisdAgain as it wasn't built in the 1950s.

Could it have been Freedom Fields Hospital? Or Greenbank Hospital?

For a while Flete House was used as a maternity hospital after wartime bombings rendered some hospitals unusable. It closed in 1958. I only knew about that because MIL told me, she had her second child there.

Homestead62 Wed 01-Oct-25 17:59:18

Sometimes memories will come into my head for no reason. I will end up thinking about my schooldays or people I used to know way back.

fancythat Wed 01-Oct-25 18:01:23

Odd details are about the only things I do remember.
My memory is shocking.

CariadAgain Wed 01-Oct-25 18:12:02

Allira

CariadAgain

Considering my memories are pretty non-existent until mid-teenage I remembered the hospital my mother had me in back in the 1950s - ie Derriford in Plymouth (was wondering whether I could ask the hospital what time I was born - for horoscope purposes - but I don't suppose they've kept those records all these years).

I remember the first time I realised my mother was an awful cook and I must have been about 5 years old when mince was part of the meal she gave me and my reaction to it was "It's awful....I've got a bad cook for a mother....I'll have to eat it though #sighs".

It won't have been Derriford Hospital, CarisdAgain as it wasn't built in the 1950s.

Could it have been Freedom Fields Hospital? Or Greenbank Hospital?

For a while Flete House was used as a maternity hospital after wartime bombings rendered some hospitals unusable. It closed in 1958. I only knew about that because MIL told me, she had her second child there.

Could have sworn my mother told me it was Derriford Hospital. I looked at the photos and thought "It looks like it was built in the 1950s". Maybe it was something else she was referring to then?

I know she certainly had me in hospital and it was Plymouth. My mother being my mother - I recall her comment of "There was two wards that they put women in then - and they obviously sorted you out as to which one you belonged in - as they put me in the correct one for me". LOL - by which, knowing my mother as I did, she meant "They put the 'rougher' women in the other ward...".

I knew what my mother was like in that respect...

So I remember they put her in the ward she felt was appropriate for her. She was in for a week and no-one who knew me saw me for the first few days. She was always "real size 8"/tiny and I was her first child and she would never talk about things like that (having been brought up by a woman two generations older than her - her grandmother in the event as I realised). So she was too ill to see me, my great-grandmother didnt want to come and see me and my father was armed forces (so I imagine he was somewhere he couldnt come and see me). The other thing I remember is her telling me "You have the exact same birthmark as your father and it's at the exact same place" and so the doctors said to her "It's a million to one chance she (me) could be anyone else's other than your husbands". Guess I was doing my own little bit of making sure the staff didn't muddle me up with anyone else's baby whilst they were the ones having to look after me.....

CariadAgain Wed 01-Oct-25 18:25:11

Allira,
Just asked Chat GPT and it thinks Flete House is a likely one generally. But it said there was a Royal Naval Hospital at Stonehouse in Plymouth that could be used by naval personnel - so my father would have been entitled to have his wife use that one and, knowing my mother (as she was the one "military" minded more than he was) = I think it might well have been that one.

She would only go out with military people and he would have come out years before his daughter (me) got to teenage if it hadnt been for her.

Thisismyname1953 Wed 01-Oct-25 18:33:20

When I was in the choir in grammar school we learned to sing the Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear. For some reason this afternoon it came into my head and I have been singing it for the past hour . I could remember most of it but had to check up on the bit about eating with a runciple spoon. Whatever one of those is 😂

Magenta8 Wed 01-Oct-25 18:48:27

I can remember singing "All things bright and beautiful" in the school hall at junior school which always smelt of plasticine.

MayBee70 Wed 01-Oct-25 19:08:02

Thisismyname1953

When I was in the choir in grammar school we learned to sing the Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear. For some reason this afternoon it came into my head and I have been singing it for the past hour . I could remember most of it but had to check up on the bit about eating with a runciple spoon. Whatever one of those is 😂

I only found out last week that someone I knew nearly thirty years ago died recently. Sadly he was relatively young and it has saddened me greatly. When I looked at his funeral service ( which he would have chosen himself) they read out The Owl and the Pussycat. It was so ‘him’ sad.

Allira Wed 01-Oct-25 22:54:53

CariadAgain

Allira

CariadAgain

Considering my memories are pretty non-existent until mid-teenage I remembered the hospital my mother had me in back in the 1950s - ie Derriford in Plymouth (was wondering whether I could ask the hospital what time I was born - for horoscope purposes - but I don't suppose they've kept those records all these years).

I remember the first time I realised my mother was an awful cook and I must have been about 5 years old when mince was part of the meal she gave me and my reaction to it was "It's awful....I've got a bad cook for a mother....I'll have to eat it though #sighs".

It won't have been Derriford Hospital, CarisdAgain as it wasn't built in the 1950s.

Could it have been Freedom Fields Hospital? Or Greenbank Hospital?

For a while Flete House was used as a maternity hospital after wartime bombings rendered some hospitals unusable. It closed in 1958. I only knew about that because MIL told me, she had her second child there.

Could have sworn my mother told me it was Derriford Hospital. I looked at the photos and thought "It looks like it was built in the 1950s". Maybe it was something else she was referring to then?

I know she certainly had me in hospital and it was Plymouth. My mother being my mother - I recall her comment of "There was two wards that they put women in then - and they obviously sorted you out as to which one you belonged in - as they put me in the correct one for me". LOL - by which, knowing my mother as I did, she meant "They put the 'rougher' women in the other ward...".

I knew what my mother was like in that respect...

So I remember they put her in the ward she felt was appropriate for her. She was in for a week and no-one who knew me saw me for the first few days. She was always "real size 8"/tiny and I was her first child and she would never talk about things like that (having been brought up by a woman two generations older than her - her grandmother in the event as I realised). So she was too ill to see me, my great-grandmother didnt want to come and see me and my father was armed forces (so I imagine he was somewhere he couldnt come and see me). The other thing I remember is her telling me "You have the exact same birthmark as your father and it's at the exact same place" and so the doctors said to her "It's a million to one chance she (me) could be anyone else's other than your husbands". Guess I was doing my own little bit of making sure the staff didn't muddle me up with anyone else's baby whilst they were the ones having to look after me.....

I worked for the Area Health Authority in the late 1960s and Derriford Hospital was in the planning stages then. It opened in early 1980s I think, but we'd moved by then.
One of my DC was born at Freedom Fields but because I opted to stay in for just 24 hours they put me in my own room. I could hear laughter from the ward the other new Mums were on because they were staying in for eight days.
I was miserable!

Rosiebee Thu 02-Oct-25 14:21:00

Someone on the radio recently mentioned a Welsh hymn that I remember singing at school as a child - in Welsh. I spent the whole day with this lovely hymn going round in my head. How has my brain retained this for what must be nearly 60 years without me sadly even being able to speak Welsh. I won't have heard it since school as I moved to college in England at the age of 18 and have lived here ever since.

Dizzyribs Thu 02-Oct-25 14:24:47

@kircubbin You’ve raised a memory for me! I haven’t thought about Mrs D’s cat for well over 60 years! He was called Mr Thomas. Not a very friendly cat unfortunately,

CariadAgain Thu 02-Oct-25 14:41:25

Dizzyribs

@kircubbin You’ve raised a memory for me! I haven’t thought about Mrs D’s cat for well over 60 years! He was called Mr Thomas. Not a very friendly cat unfortunately,

You've reminded me of a stint decades back where I had a live-in job in a College.

Cue for a group of us were sitting there watching a mini play being put on in a huge lounge there with two doors. It was supposed to be serious - and the main actor concerned was putting on a big "it's serious....I'm dying...collapsing gradually" thing - as someone's huge cat was getting more and more curious and closely following the "dying" actor as they staggered from one door to the next. Totally ruined a mood that was meant to be sombre - as I think we were all focused on the cat looking more and more curious. That's a memory from over 50 years ago....

Aely Thu 02-Oct-25 14:56:26

kircubbin2000

I woke up this morning thinking for some reason about a cat my neighbour had 50 years ago. I could not remember it's name and it has annoyed me all day.Eventually I went through the alphabet and at last I got it! TRIXIE!

I found myself doing that (going through the alphabet) quite recently when my seldom seen brother unexpectedly turned up on my doorstep one day. Luckily, his name begins with an A, so I got there before any embarassment ocurred. Names come and go with me.

However there is one retrospectively embarassing event which suddenly surfaced a few years ago when a friend was talking about sailing.

Now I wish I could forget it. I must have been about 3 years old, on holiday in, I think, the Swanage area. My father took me along to the Sailing Club where he had temporary holiday membership and was showing me off to his new sailing buddies. For some reason I announced "My Daddie has a Willie!" I didn't understand the laughter and remarks which ensued then of course. Unfortunately though, once remembered, never more to be forgotten.

Kate1949 Thu 02-Oct-25 15:04:29

This thread has reassured me! I have all sorts of random things pop into my head from childhood.

cookiemonster66 Thu 02-Oct-25 15:07:58

I remember my phone number 44834 because we had it drummed into us as a kid in case of emergencies along with a 10p coin. I could not even tell you what my landline tel no is now and I have lived here 6 yrs!

Aveline Thu 02-Oct-25 15:09:38

I remember my granddad's car registration number PSG 770. It was a Wolseley in Champagne beige. Really really useless information to clog my brain up with.

Crossstitchfan Thu 02-Oct-25 15:15:41

Back in the 60s, if you shopped at the Co-op you got Co-op dividend and were issued with a reference number. Mine was 11628! Still remember it after all this time!

Crossstitchfan Thu 02-Oct-25 15:23:51

Allira

CariadAgain

Considering my memories are pretty non-existent until mid-teenage I remembered the hospital my mother had me in back in the 1950s - ie Derriford in Plymouth (was wondering whether I could ask the hospital what time I was born - for horoscope purposes - but I don't suppose they've kept those records all these years).

I remember the first time I realised my mother was an awful cook and I must have been about 5 years old when mince was part of the meal she gave me and my reaction to it was "It's awful....I've got a bad cook for a mother....I'll have to eat it though #sighs".

It won't have been Derriford Hospital, CarisdAgain as it wasn't built in the 1950s.

Could it have been Freedom Fields Hospital? Or Greenbank Hospital?

For a while Flete House was used as a maternity hospital after wartime bombings rendered some hospitals unusable. It closed in 1958. I only knew about that because MIL told me, she had her second child there.

I was born in Flete House in 1945. I remember my mother telling me it was owned by a Lord Mildmay. We left Plymouth in 1948 when I was three, and I don’t remember any of it.

Betony Thu 02-Oct-25 15:33:19

Last week I sang to the family the whole two verses of a 1950s advertisement jingle for Lucky Strike cigarettes sung each week on a TV show the USA, where we lived when I was a kid. I realise I can remember the jingle for Colgate toothpaste, too. Obviously the important stuff sticks with me!

Allira Thu 02-Oct-25 15:41:11

Crossstitchfan

Allira

CariadAgain

Considering my memories are pretty non-existent until mid-teenage I remembered the hospital my mother had me in back in the 1950s - ie Derriford in Plymouth (was wondering whether I could ask the hospital what time I was born - for horoscope purposes - but I don't suppose they've kept those records all these years).

I remember the first time I realised my mother was an awful cook and I must have been about 5 years old when mince was part of the meal she gave me and my reaction to it was "It's awful....I've got a bad cook for a mother....I'll have to eat it though #sighs".

It won't have been Derriford Hospital, CarisdAgain as it wasn't built in the 1950s.

Could it have been Freedom Fields Hospital? Or Greenbank Hospital?

For a while Flete House was used as a maternity hospital after wartime bombings rendered some hospitals unusable. It closed in 1958. I only knew about that because MIL told me, she had her second child there.

I was born in Flete House in 1945. I remember my mother telling me it was owned by a Lord Mildmay. We left Plymouth in 1948 when I was three, and I don’t remember any of it.

It was some distance from Plymouth, I think, was it near Modbury?

Allira Thu 02-Oct-25 15:44:35

I can remember the registration of my first car from 60 years ago - but none since!