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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.

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 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 ???

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!

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.

my gran taught me how to knit

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.

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.

I don't remember my grandfathers but both my grandmothers left a lasting impression on me
Paternal grandma lived 6 hours away so we only visited a couple of times a year. She had a parlour with velvet curtains and a wind-up gramophone. She was really tiny and kept lavender water under her pillow. We could find her in the house by following the aroma of lavender. She scuttled about in her old-fashioned kitchen and served crumpets for breakfast every day. Having lived through two wars, she was extremely careful not to waste anything, including food, so she used everything in strict date order. As a result, fresh food always went into the cold cupboard and we were always served the very old canned goods and wrinkled, mouldy produce!
Maternal grandma was local, and very patient with us and she was also a wonderful cook. Each week when she visited she would turn up with a cake tin of sponge or cakes that Mary Berry would have been proud of. Her Christmas pudding with silver threepenny pieces was nothing less than sensational and I regret never asking for her recipe. However, she was also a lifelong smoker and had an awful smoker's cough which was difficult to listen to. Luckily, it put my sisters and me off smoking for life so none of us ever touched cigarettes!

My gran was super-cool - she had an illegitimate daughter (my aunt) in the 1930's & kept her, and she used to tell me stories of how she dealt on the black market during WW2 :-)

I have so many memories as I was lucky enough to be bought up by my grandparents and to this day I think I had the best there ever was or could be.
My favourite memories were firstly going out on deliveries with my grandad in his lorry, we had sausages and sauce sandwiches and everyone at his firm treated me like a princess. Secondly was hand washing my dolls clothes next to my Nan in the kitchen (who was doing our laundry by hand) and then we would both peg the washed clothes on the line outside. For me these were wonderful days. I miss them both ever so much. Now I'm a Nanna and when my grandchildren get bigger I hope to leave them with wonderful happy memories.

My Grandmother lived with us and looked after me whilst Mam and Dad were working.She made the most amazing steamed sponge puddings every day for lunch.They took ages to cook but didn't last long when smothered in custard.

My nanny Jones was a little old lady who wore a hat. I often use to go and stay with her in an old cottage in a small village. she had three taps in the kitchen, hot, cold and drinking wate and the dog drank his water from what we discovered was a really lovely Clarice Bowl. Her bedroom was wallpapered with pictures of the royal family and she didn't like having a bath. Everyone knew her as she would old lady sit for people,and I would go to church with her She use to go to all the different churches and liked the Methodist best because they came and picked her up. Found out after she had died that she was a Quaker!

We moved away from my grandparents when I was 3 to the coast as my father was in the navy, I had 2 older brothers who were closer to them than me as they had spent all the war living in the same village.

What I remember, the pig down the garden we always visited, obviously not the same one, the water pump I could never turn to get water and the smelly bucket toilet I avoided using. Grandad's chair by the range and the smell of his pipe, the wide variety of home made wines brewing in the cupboard. As I got older, my brothers were working so didnt visit with us and I was bored. The conversations they had with my parents about extended family and neighbours which didn't mean anything to me but recently visiting the village I recognised those names in the churchyard.

As we lived so far from all my grandparents I don't remember any attachment for me but my brothers yes. I missed out on having an extended family and envy my husband who spent a lot of time with his grandparents.

I love the other people's stories and wonder at how much they learnt from their grandparents and the good times.

My grandparents weren't very cuddly ( typical of their generation imo) but they were always there when you needed them I remember my maternal grandmother turning up at our house just before Christmas one year, my dad had been off work due to an accident at work and we were really struggling she had got three buses to get to our house and she was laden down with bags of toys food and warm winter clothes for us kids, how she managed it. I don't know mind you I can also remember being at her house and coming over faint think it was when my period was due I was about 14 and she sat me down and made down a glass of brandy in one go it nearly choked me ?
My maternal grandad hardly said two words to his grandchildren but I remember when I used to go to their house he used to say to me your bottles are behind my chair and I would take all the empty beer bottles he'd saved for me back to the off license and get the money for the empties

I can still taste the boiled milk in my granny's tea, was it before refrigeration and boiled milk didn't go off?

My mother was an 'older mother' in the 1950's...her father had died some two years before I was born, as had my fathers mother. My grandma lived with my (widowed) mum and me...she was an invalid and to my shame I used to creep up to her room at mealtimes and if there was any wafer thin bread and butter needing a home, it found one in me! I think that my mum must have believed that my Grandma had a better appetite than was the case!! In fact Grandmas speech had been affected by a series of strokes, so my memories of her are of beautiful kind blue eyes and a halo of white hair, she had a very gentle touch and I did love to sit beside her in bed and look at picture books. I'm sure that prior to her strokes, we must have had good chatty times together, however I was only four and sadly don't recall them. I have photos of me as a young baby, with my Grandpa, but he died when I was barely two, so the photos are the only memory - he looks like he would have been great fun, he had a real twinkle in his eye!

My most special memory of my Grandparents is of a childhood holiday my parents and I took with them to Austria. It was their first time abroad and they loved every minute. They spoilt me rotten and made the trip so magical. They were always so loving and caring and knew how to have fun =)

My grandparents used to save up all their 2 pence and 1 pence pieces for us in a jar. When we got around to their house (my brother and I) had to share them out between us and then we each counted up to see how much money we had.

I have sadly no memories of either grandfather as both died before I was born. But many lovely memories of my grannies who both lived into their nineties. Taught me to knit, sew, cook, bake and garden and the rules and joy of snooker!

My paternal grandfather was just lovely. He told stories of his childhood, he told us how he'd spend his money 'if he won the pools' all on us. He bought us lucky bags every Sunday. He took us out in his taxi cab. Mostly he made us feel special, he made us feel loved. I hope I leave that kind of legacy for my grandchildren.

I was very lucky to have all my grandparents. My dear Nana died when I was 16. We used to gather buttercups in the park and take them back for Nana. She had a china log to put them in and stand it on the windowsill. We used to sit beside my Granny in Church ( my Dad's mother). If we fidgeted she gave us a poke with her finger. We went to Granny and Granddad's house for tea every Saturday afternoon. Granny bought marshmallow wafers as a treat for my sisters and I. Lovely old people, happy memories.

My grand father letting me have the cherry from the top of his cake. We rarely had cakes, so it clearly left a lasting memory!

My maternal grandparents had 12 children. The youngest was only about 10 years older than me but for a long time the one I thought was the youngest uncle was actually a cousin, born illegitimately and brought up by our grandparents, who he called Mam and Dad. The radio was by Grandad's chair, so he controlled what everyone listened to. Grandma loved cyclamen flowers and the plants still remind me of her. She always wore a wrap-around pinafore and sat in her rocking chair by the range, cooking for her family. The umarried ones still lived at home and were all working. However there was always a meal ready for each when they came in at differing times. Grandad was a shepherd and there were 3 outhouses at the back of their house - one a 'privy', one a coal shed and one for his sheepdog.

My paternal grandma was widowed before I was born and had also lost her eldest son during WWII. My mother accompanied her to a commemorative service in Westminster Abbey while she was pregnant with me. She met Winston Churchill there and always claimed I looked just like him when I was born! Grandma was a lovely little lady who looked like the fairy godmother in Disney's original Sleeping Beauty - bibbity bobbity boo . She had many sadnesses throughout her life but always held her head up and smiled.