I remember my Grandparents very lovingly - My Grandad died when I was 7 unfortunately but the memories I have of him was that he taught me to ride a bike, he took me to school when I was 5 taking me on my bike and then coming to pick me up when possible when he was not at work ( he was a Bus Inspector). My Nan was very close to me, I lived with my Nan & Grandad from birth until I started secondary school at 11 as my mum and dad purchased a house out of the area of my school which I was attending, my Grandad had died and so they thought it best if I were to stay to keep my Nan company until I needed to change schools. I was very very close to my Nan, she was my best friend, we had lots of reading me bedtime stories, letting me have lots of friends round for tea, games of ball up the wall and just great fun, shopping trips, laughs, she was my best friend - even on my wedding day - having a laugh whilst nails being painted and getting fed with a sandwich - everything seemed so funny and loving when she was around. Sadly she passed away quite a number of years ago now when my children were 8 and 12. But I still think of her with loving memories and feel she is watching over me.
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I only knew my maternal Grandmother who was from the East End of London. One of my memories is that she used to spread the News of the World on the table on a Sunday evening in place of a tablecloth then as it became stained would peel a layer off every day until the next week. Recycling before her time , she also used to hold a loaf of bread under her arm when cutting it into slices.
my gran taught me how to knit 
My granny and I were very close and we spent most Saturdays making doll' s clothes and cakes together. The best thing was breakfast. Granny didn't have much money, so my mother used to wrap 2 slices of bacon in greaseproof paper and tuck them into my doll' s pram with 2 sachets of Nescafe - the most sophisticated thing ever! I was then allowed to go round the corner to Granny' s little bungalow all by myself, where she would be waiting on the doorstep to give me a hug.
Sadly I only knew my maternal grandmother and she was quite elderly when I was born. I do remember her bringing me little gifts though one being a lilac poplin apron - I loved it!
I loved my grandmother telling me stories about the three babies she had all at once! Yes in 1913! One of these triplets, who all safely survived, was my mother. I kept asking questions such as how she could feed three at once, and how could she fit them in a pram.....etc. She told me the stories over and over again, how I enjoyed hearing about these naughty girls ???
leave a memory of your own grandparents on this thread. . . . when we went to see our Grandma it was in the days of 'children should be seen and not heard', but she was lovely. l remember her getting out her 'button box' and l would have a couple of happy hours sorting them out, threading them onto strings of cotton . . . . oh the joys of pre-internet childhood
I remember my old Granfer, as we called him sitting hudddled next to a coal fire, he had a white cat called Snowball and the house was very homely. I remember him sitting there with the cat on the table. That was the last memory of him in that house because the Council slapped a compulsary purchase act on it and Granny and Granfer were moved into a block of flats with central heating and with no animals allowed. Sadly he didn't last more than a year or two there and I think the cat was put to sleep. I know his missed the cat and he definately missed his coal fire.
My Irish Granny would take us all out to pick blackberries with Grandad Joe on Sundays and me and my sisters would all come home exhausted. But Granny would carry on preparing a giant tray of the most delicious blackberry and apple pie with custard for dinner - all 8 of us! We watched her every move knowing what was to be served later at the big old wooden table (which now sits in my kitchen too). Lovely memories. xx
My grandmother brought me up after my mother died (when I was a baby) from a brain tumour. Unfortunately now our neighbours 20 year old son is fighting the same battle my mother fought and lost. I'm seeing the pain his poor mother is going through and it's breaking my heart as it is making me so aware of what my poor grandma went through. Even though her heart must have been broken in two my Grandma gave me so much love and a fantastic childhood. I owe her everything.
All my grandparents had died before I was 5 so can't really remember them at all. I thought this was a shame and hoped my parents would be good grandparents to my children but this did not happen until great grand children came along. Luckily my husband's parents made up for it.
No memories just a big hole
My widowed maternal grandmother lived with us until I was 3. I can vaguely remember taking her a 'cup of tea' each morning in my tiny red plastic tea set. One morning my Mum said Nana didn't want tea any more; she had died during the night.
I saw a lot of my paternal grandparents. Grandma was, in retrospect, quite a simple woman who was probably on the verge of dementia. She always had a dish of 'bonbons' which she thrust under my nose on arrival, having told me to stop sucking my thumb and get my hair cut!
Grandad was lovely and used to play shops with me in his garden using a small hedge as the counter. When I was packed off to boarding school he wrote to me each term enclosing a 10/- note 'for tuck'. He worked as a stockbroker until he was in his mid 70's until one day he jumped off the bus on his way home, as usual, as it was still moving, and bumped his head - working days over! When he was widowed, he lived with my parents until he died aged 90. He adored my first daughter, the only great grandchild he ever met. I still miss him to this day even though he has been gone for 39 years.
I only knew one grandfather and he was a commercial salesman in habadashery. I always looked forward to his visits because we often received the old samples which included buttons ribbons and even dresses sometimes
My grandparents used to have an open fire. I stayed with them a lot when I was small. My grandmother would sit me at a comfortable distance away from the fire and put my clothes near the fire to warm before I got dressed each morning. It was a lovely feeling being so warm very quickly after putting hot clothes on!
Three of my grandparents had died before I was born and my parents moved in with my maternal grandmother when they married as they both worked nearby. Nan was my carer until I started school. She taught me to make cakes, pastry etc and I would help with the washing, turning the handle of the mangle. (It was the 1950's.) She was in tune with the spirit world as she said she had a woman in white by her side most of the time and this spooked us a lot. She was however completely sane, quite religious and only drank a sherry at Christmas.
I was 7 when my paternal Grandmother died. She was lovely,I remember cooking with her and being told the first thing to do was wash my hands.
My maternal Grandparents owned a corner shop so i was spoilt with comics each week and they had a little overall made for me so I could help (or hinder) in the shop.
I only ever knew my mum's parents as my dad's parents were dead by the time I was old enough to remember anything.
My grandparents had divorced while my mother was still a girl, and my grandfather had remarried. I didn't like my grandmother (who didn't like children), or my step-grandmother (who didn't like anyone) but I adored my grandfather who we children called Gunca. The adults called him Burn.
He smelled of pipe smoke and tweeds, was very masculine and very gentle with a hearty laugh. He ran a teashop and my favourite thing was to go and visit him at work. He would take us to the bakery out back and give us each a Cornish pasty straight out of the oven. To this day a fresh, hot Cornish pasty straight out of the oven will make me think of Gunca.
So many amazing memories of my grandparents but my grandad was a mountain climber in his day so we used to go on the most amazing hill climbs, adventures and walks with them and at the end we would always have a picnic which would be sandwiches made from Grandmas homemade bread that always smelt amazing and tablet for afters!
I only knew one Grandparent, it was my Nan, she was very elderly and lived with us, I used to creep in to her bedroom and go to her book that she was reading and move the bookmark back a few chapters, I would then wait to hear her complain that she had another book that was mis-printed as it kept repeating chapters! she blamed the library and she never discovered it was me!
My (maternal) grandparents lived with us since before my birth, and looking back I can appreciate what a strong woman my grandmother was. Born in 1900 and orphaned at two years old, she was 'nanny-reared' and worked all her life (lying about her age to prevent retiring)...
I remember her strength, work ethic and the time she gave to me (I can say I was 'nanny-reared' to a massive degree). She made the best fish and chips - every Saturday, and double fried the chips before double/triple frying became the 'in thing'and made Welsh Cakes to die for..I used to eat them hot, then suffer for it.
My Gran always gave me a little something when I visited, sometimes an apple and sometimes a tuppenny piece. I remember loads of good times with Gran and Granda but the little gifts were always a thrill.
My Dad was one of 10 children and my grandmother was very much the family matriarch. She was absolutely tiny but everyone was terrified of her. She died when I was young and I only met her on a few occasions but I do think of her sometimes, she must have had an extraordinarily hard life.
My grandfather was the male role model in my life. My father died when I was only 7, and after that I spent most of the holidays staying with Granny & Grandad. My baby sister didn't remember our daddy at all, and Mum could cope with her at home.
Grandad took me for long walks, and made me learn about all sorts of things. He was Scottish, though they lived in Surrey and I'd spend holidays with them when they went back to visit his sister in Scotland. One thing I wil never forget was his insistence that I could catch or kick a ball with both left & right hands or feet. "You have two hands", he would say,"use them both".
My grandfather was a signalman and I can remember hours spent in the signal box taking train numbers and types while my gran had set days for doing her housework i.e. Monday baking Tuesday washing using the copper boiler and washboard
Sadly my mother lost her mum at a very early age and I don't have many memories of her father other than he seemed very gruff. My dad's parents always seemed very busy but I do remember standing on a chair 'helping' my granny to make scones that she sold in their câfé. I was allowed to make one just for me that had extra raisins on the top ?
I love doing the same with my dgs now!
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