Memories of my grandmother

I love these stories about grandparents, especially as so many of us are grandparents ourselves now. When I was little there were two sets of grandparents. My mother's parents lived in a large and lovely flat overlooking the sea. My father's parents lived in a large but quite forbidding house in the country. My maternal grandparents were magical and my little sister and I adored staying with them. We had Cox's apples and tea in bed in the mornings, then porridge which had been simmering on the stove all night and then there would be hours spent on the beach before returning for lunch or tea or supper and having luxurious hot baths and fantastic bedtime stories. Life at the paternal grandparents' house was a bit scary however. Grandfather was a typical Victorian and was unable to show any emotion and Grandmother was very strict and there were all sorts of rules we had to try to remember e.g. sit up straight (I now tell my grandchildren to do likewise!), eat everything on your plate, do not make personal remarks etc. etc. But after my paternal grandmother was widowed she seemed to soften and we spent many happy hours in her studio (she was an artist) messing about with paints. I am so glad I knew all my grandparents and that I learnt at an early age to love and respect the older generation. My sister and I were very lucky.

I never knew any of my grandparents. Bad in one way, as I have no memories, only stories that my parents told me about them.
However, good in another way as I can behave how I like with my grandchildren as I have no preconceived ideas about how grandparents are supposed to behave.

I have already described my crabbit grandmother but a couple of stories pass down from my mum came to mind. Granny was left with 7 children to bring up alone and one night when she was just going to bed she suddenly wondered where the bairn could be . He was number 7 and was found at the bottom of the garden fast asleep . The bairn is now 98 .There was a son at the start and at the end of the line and my poor aunt who was the oldest girl was forbidden to go and be a nurse as she wanted because she was needed to help her mother at home despite having a full time hard job. Her younger sister were luckier and two became nurses.
One day one of the sister swallowed a needle . The remedy administered by her mother was a plate of really thick porridge . She came to no harm .
I always picture granny with these metal hair curlers dangling from her head though she would never leave the house without her hat.She did have her standards.