Favourite memories with your grandparents

I really should preview my messages. Should read 'Hardly knew my paternal grandmother '

I never met any of mine. They were in Ireland. I have no idea of their names.

Romping through the sand dunes collecting dewberries so Gran could make dewberry pie and custard. My grandparent's house was the only place I ever had dewberry pie.

Really Kate1949? I would be so curious.
It was my lack of knowledge about some of my forebears that set me off on a lifelong interest in Genealogy.

I maybe didn't meet them but I can admire their courage and fortitude.
My Irish grandfather in particular.

My mother's parents lived 3 storeys up in a building in Willesden, opposite the Spotted Dog pub. Mum would drop my brother and I off there and go to work. We'd walked up some very dark stairs to the front door. Once inside we walked passed the 'posh' room, where only visitors were allowed to go. Then up again to the bathroom and scullery/kitchen. In the scullery there was a rubbish chute and we would drop bottles etc down it and listen to them clang their way down to the bins at the back of the building. In the posh room there was a wind up gramophone on which we used to play old 78s. We'd spend hours doing this. Fondly remembered place now all knocked down and part of a supermarket car park.

I had both my nans, but my maternal nan I really loved.

She lived 6 doors away, next to my godparents, and I always felt she was a bit of a rebel.

She was very funny, and quite glamorous, and I used to love staying the night with her.

I knew all my grandparents, though have only vague memories of my paternal grandfather - very tall, very strict - because he died when I was six. His wife, my grann, I remember well. She was Irish, white haired and a little bit scary. I didn’t feel very close to her. Although they lived fairly near we didn’t see them very often. My father did not get on very well with his parents, who had been furious when he got married instead of looking after them as they aged.

My mother’s parents I remember very well. We often went to stay with them in Knott End-on-Sea, where they had retired. To me and my brother it was a magical place. Grandma made wonderful suet puddings stuffed with plums. Later when she developed cancer she and my grandfather came to live with us.I was about 8 when they came, 14 when my grandfather died. He had been head of a Church of England school, and was a fine tenor singer. I also loved to sing around the house, and he called me “the Upton nightingale”. My most appreciative audience ever!

My maternal grandfather died before I was born. He sired 11 children then died and left poor granny to bring them up. She was lovely with coiled up black hair secured with combs. She was blind but knitted all the time, even mixed colours which we threaded for her in orange beehive shaped wool holders. She died when I was 6.

Paternal grandparents were around until I was in my mid twenties. Granddad was a morose man, having fought in the Somme and was never the same not surprisingly. He was a carter taking pottery and Burton’s beer from the Grand Union Canal barges at Camden lock. He housed his horse and cart in the stables there, now part of the trendy market. Granny was a real character, a true North Londoner with that clipped fast way of speaking. She worked as a post woman in WW1 but lost her job when the men returned so worked in the rag trade in Fitzrovia thereafter. She refused to use the underground so went everywhere by bus from her home in Chalk Farm. She used to take me to all the junk shops (now arty antique emporiums) on the bridge over the canal. Her bedroom had a vast mahogany chest of drawers where she kept her ‘treasures’. These were bits of jewelry, silks, all sorts. I have her collection of hat pins with pearl, amethyst and gold tops. She and my mother did not get on but I adored her. When I went to live in Africa she told the world I lived in Rosydesha - she was a real Mrs Malaprop.

I was 8 years old when my mam’s mam died so I never really knew her. She lived with us because of her dementia and it was hard on mam and dad. My dad’s parents lived over 200 miles away and I only saw then once per year when we visited. Never had a close relationship. I don’t see my 4 grand kids as often as I would like. I am estranged from my daughter for the past 9 plus years and only see her two beautiful daughters through their dad, her ex. My son’s 2 kids are always too busy. Life is hard.

I have such lovely lovely memories of my Granny and Grampa, (maternal) and my Grandma, (paternal). My mum and I lived with her parents and I was the first and only grandchild for almost 5 years. We lived with my mums parents from age 3 to when my mum remarried my lovely adopted Dad when I was 6 years old. His dear Mother was so lovely and just treated me from the get go as another grandchild, I have lovely memories of playing with my new cousins in her lovely huge garden and staying overnight. Sadly for us all she passed away very suddenly whilst I was still in primary school from a huge stroke.

My other grandparents passed away within 1 year of each other when I was 15.

I missed them and loved them all enormously.

My mother’s father died just before I was born. He was 25 years older than her mum who was in her late 30s when she had mum. She lived several hundred miles away so we only saw her once a year. I found her difficult to understand as her accent was very northern. My father’s parents (mother and stepfather - his father had died of malaria in Iraq during the war) only lived about 5 miles away. We saw them most Sundays and they always came for Christmas and my birthday. I stayed with them for a week every summer until I was around 10. Dad’s two sisters started having children and we were aware that they took precedence! My two elder children were born on their great grandmother’s birthday. Sadly she only got to see my daughter as she died at the age of only 72. My step grandfather was lovely. He knew all my children and died when my youngest was 2. He had a large orchard which we used to love to run around in. We were only bc allowed to pick up windfall apples to eat as he sold the best fruit to the greengrocer. He also had the most amazing she’d full of treasures. One machine, which he had built himself, polished pebbles which he then made into jewellery. Those were the days.

I was very lucky to have all of my grandparents until well into adulthood, and I even still had all of my great-grandparents when I was young, although my maternal GGF passed away when I was a baby, so I don't remember him.

I have the happiest memories of all of my GPs, each in their own way, they were all very special to me. Day trips out with my paternal GM & my mum, either to the countryside for picnics, or on a coach trip to the seaside. As well as holidays with both GM & GF. And many sleepovers, which I loved!

Maternal GM used to let me get away with anything and everything, so I loved spending time with her! She was such a lovely, cuddly person. She spent a lot of time cooking & baking, and always let me 'help' with it. She used to let me do her hair, with rollers and clips, and she'd get down on the floor 'exercising' with me!

Both of my GFs were lovely too, so very patient and caring, and always made me feel very loved.

I still miss them so much. They were all a very hard act to follow. If I can be half as good a grandparent as they were to me, to my own grandchildren, I think I will have done pretty good job!

These are so lovely. I only had one grandfather rest of the grandparents were .RIP.

I loved him and felt very secure in his house

I wish the ladies on mumsnet would read this post as so many go NC for the flimsiest reasons, thus denying their own children of many joys. I realise some NC are for good reasons.

I absolutely adored my maternal grandparents. I was 25 when my grandad died & 39 when my Nana died. I miss them so much & feel blessed to have had them in my life. My Nana lived to experience the joys of being a great-granny & she showered my children with the same love & affection. My paternal grandparents were not in my life to the same extent but still loved & remembered with affection.

I was so lucky to have 4 grandparents living nearby when growing up. We didn’t have a tv initially so I would go to my grandparents to watch Andy Pandy and the Woodentops. Extended family holidays at caravan parks. Lots of fun and laughter. I remember helping grandad in his allotment and helping Nan make cakes. My other grandad picking me up from school and nanna taking me in for a cream tea as a treat.
Grandad died when I was 17 but all my other 3 grandparents came to my wedding and met my eldest son. My Nan died when I was 41 and is remembered with affection by all her great grandchildren too.

Grammaretto

I only knew one. She was my dad's mum and lived in New Zealand. I lived there too until I was 10. My dad died when I was 5 so both she and my mum were grieving.

Born in 1882, she lived beside the sea in the South Island and I remember staying with her for weeks on end.
She taught us how to cook and to do household tasks. We went to the local school and played with the local children.

She liked womens' magazines and knitting. She painted pictures. She knew most people in the town who were probably related to us!

She was kind to us children but never indulged us. She could be stern if we were quarrelling. She and my mother did not get along well but I don't think I was aware of that at the time.

I loved when she brought out photos of her sisters who had died and told me about them and of her mother's voyage on a sailing ship from England to NZ in 1866.

My last memory is waving a handkerchief from the ship to those on the wharf as we sailed away to England. She died a couple of years after we had left. She must have been 80.

She had another son nearby who was a farmer and his children, my cousins, were much closer to her.

teabagwoman
What wonderful memories of your Grandmother, I hope one day that my GC will have some nice memories to remember me by 🙏
OP
I have many memories of my own , I was close to my Maternal GP’s . As I lived with them during my formative years & called my GM ‘Mum’ as I heard my Uncles & Aunts do .
My GP’s emigrated to NZ when I was 16 in 1969 - I was devastated but continued to be in constant contact with them .
As I was also the eldest GC I was somewhat spoilt .
Jumble Sales, Bingo & Gardening were my GM’s thing 🧡

I spent most of my childhood living abroad, so only visited my grandparents occasionally. Close to where they lived was a garden with gnomes, little bridges and waterfalls. I could stand for hours just looking at it.
Also, a trip to the local fish and chip shop, something I had never encountered before. The family lived in Hull, and not only was there a choice of fish, but it was all fresh off the docks.
My grandmother had a budgie which spoke nursery rhymes and took food out of her mouth.

My maternal grandparents lived in Ireland and had about 35 grandchildren but they made a big fuss of me when we met which was very rarely. As a teenager though my Granny used to write lovely letters to me.

I never knew who my paternal Grandfather was but my Grandmother was a nasty, selfish woman who took no interest in any of her grandchildren. I do remember she had a teapot shaped like a cottage and she kept a bit of change in there. Once she gave me a threepenny bit coin from there …. Just once.

my maternal grandparents I don't remember

,my paternal grandparents I used to visit. Granddad had a big wooden rocking chair and smoked a pipe. grandma was little with a wrap round pinny on. she always got out a tin of little cakes.. sadly after my parents separated I didn't pop round to see them anymore, I wish I had.

It was only when I got my first greenhouse, in my fifties, planted tomatoes and one day walked in to the most amazing smell, that I was mentally transported to my granddad's greenhouse when I was a toddler. I could close my eyes and visualise my grandad sitting in his rocking chair, next to a raeburn solid fuel stove. I could see his wooden water barrels, brick paths and large raised beds with lots of tomato plants. I know I used to water his plants and then curl up on his knee.

My other grandad lived next door. He used to go to work (his own business) early in the morning. He'd come home at about 10am for a cooked breakfast. If I knocked on his window (about 3 years old) he would open it, lift me in, and share his breakfast with me.

I only knew my paternal Granny, she lived in a cottage by the sea on the south coast about ten miles away, I learnt to swim there. She used to take us cockling on the beach, arranged for us to go sea fishing with her neighbour, eels, flounders and mackerel. The smell of cockles and vinegar, fried eel and soused mackerel, she took us to the woods, anemones and primroses. Her hair was always up, I remember my amazement late one night when we stayed with here, she took her hair down it was right down her back.
She was kind and as the eldest of three children treated me as a grown up.

I spent every Sunday with my maternal grandparents for many years. I loved it. I would arrive mid morning and read my Enid Blyton books for most of the day, have a lovely roast dinner cooked for me and my grandad always brought me a ginger ale back from the pub! We played board games sometimes in the afternoon and then they would walk me home after a sandwich tea. Every week was the same it was special time together. When I stopped going my younger sister went lasted two Sundays and said it was boring!! I have never forgotten those peaceful special Sundays. I now have two small grandchildren who live nearby who love spending time with us. It isn’t every Sunday but random times and memories are being made

I knew both sets of grandparents & they were both local.My memories aren't as much one-to-one as they are of socialising - at my paternal grandparents (smaller family) there were always friends & neighbours on saturday & they used to sing Irish songs & folk songs & knees-up Mother Brown which me & my Gran used to jig about to.They also used their garden a lot & I used to love all sitting round outside as it grew dark, with owls hooting.My other grandparents had 11 children & eventually 26 grandchildren, I was in the "main wave" of grandchildren so we used to all play outside, football & tag & exploring & climbing, & someone was always getting hurt or being told-off but it was great fun. Gran gave a each child Rowntree's fruit pastilles when we left, & each daughter a homegrown cabbage or sprouts or broccolli & the smell of cabbage always reminds me of driving home with the car smelling of cabbage.

I only have lovely memories of my maternal grandparents.They lived very near to us so we visited very often.Grandma was always cooking and baking, se had a horror of what she called ''bought cake'', in he mind people who could not cook were useless!Every Sunday afternoon she would sit n her immaculate front room ,she called it ''the room'', as it was only used on Sundays and Christmas with a cup of tea by the window and watch the neighbours going on their Sunday walks.She and my grandfather would take us to visit their relatives of whom they had many.She died when I was 29 and I still miss her very much.
My grandfather was a lovely man, he would spend lots of time with us playing games after dinner on a Sunday, I remember him teaching me to play cards when I was quite young.Every Christmas he would get given a box of cigars which wee his great indulgence and would spend all Christmas Day smoking them.To this day the smell of cigar smoke takes me back to happy childhood Christmases.I would give anything to see him walk into a room again.He based away suddenly in his sleep at the end of the one hot summer of 1976 when I was 32.
I hardly saw my paternal grandmother because of distance, she lived about 200 miles away but I have fond memories of her when whenever she saw us. She was a character whose voice filled the room, she could talk the hind leg off a donkey.She was a chain smoker and died of pneumonia when I was 17.I have a memory of sitting on a chair in our house holding my newborn sister in one arm, her other hand held a lit cigarette which she kept puffing way on, my sister is now in her mid sixties and in good health.
I hardly knew my paternal grandfather as my grandmother left him when I was toddler.He did not contact any of his family afterwards.
I am now a grandmother and great grandmother and hope my grandchildren and great grandchildren have happy memories of me when I am gone.

I longed for grandparents, but unfortunately they had died long before I was born. My parents were both brought up in children’s homes, but my mum had siblings with her.
I was always so envious of my friend who had both maternal and paternal grandparents.