Welcome to Gransnet

Tea and cake when I first joined I soon posted on AIBU - I was a brand new gran, wanting to explore some complex emotions... What a mistake and what a baptism of fire! I nearly left straight away. Yes, 'savaged' was the word that comes to mind when I look back. But I do think the tone is kinder now. I guess it is a something of a risk to post anything emotionally honest in a public forum.

Imperfect27 the first thread I ever dipped into nearly put me off for life! I think life can be 'challenging' enough without being savaged (probably too severe a word but my brain isn't properly awake) by complete strangers. I vowed never to post....now I have dipped my toe in. Everyone is entitled to their opinions of course and the written word can convey the wrong impression as we all know, but some of those 'ladies', phew!

Hi there,

I have been local editor in Manchester for a while now whilst working too I could do with some help up here as I can never seem to keep the momentum going, any over 50's from the North want to meet up and see how we can make it better for Manchester?
I also agree with Ana about it not being the name, we just need to keep sharing and caring X

I'm not new to GN, but have had time away and come back again. I first joined about 18 months ago when I first became a nan and my immediate experiences were very mixed - a lot of kind advice, fun chatter, good debate. I wanted / needed to explore what being a gran might mean and I have had many stimulating and fun conversations with people who have challenged and affirmed me - for being ME - not a labelled 'oldie.' However, I also encountered some surprising bickering and some deep unpleasantness from posters who seemed to go out of their way to disrupt threads and be offensive. I was in-between jobs when I joined, got busy again and 'dropped away' in part because of this very negative element.
Fast forward a year. Having rejoined recently, I think the tone is generally a lot pleasanter. I was drawn back by the fun, friendship and sharing and have found my way around in a way that suits me - I make a lot of use of the 'last hour' and 'I'm On' buttons to tailor info to my interests and ability to manage and I tend to avoid contentious threads that get my goat if I have nothing useful to add. I am grateful that GN set up a bereavement forum and can see that this has become a useful space for some. I also enjoy lurking in the doorway of the argey-bargey café and I love the many ways that new members are welcomed. I don't mind Gransnet as a title - this sight has helped me to feel okay about being a nanny/granny / grandma and has introduced me to many wonderful people.

Thank you Shysal. I do wake up still at 6am, but don't usually get up till around 7 now (smile), spend a little time reading!

Your image of Grans vs Nans depends on your memories. I had two Grannys and no Nans.

I don't have any image of a Nan, but one Granny was a feisty ex-orphanage girl whose hair at 75 was still dark (and not in a bun) who wouldn't have been seen dead in a shawl and couldn't knit or sew. She'd had to stick up for herself from an early age and I can't imagine her spending her days smiling sweetly from a rocking chair.

The other had silver hair, no bun there either but in two plaits wound like a crown round her head. She could sew and knit and cook but also had a brain as sharp as a pin. She had raised six children, three of whom went to Uni, but they all said that she was more intelligent than any of them. Her response to being expected to sit in a rocking-chair in a shawl knitting would have been much the same as the other Granny.

Each of them in her own way was the powerhouse of her family.

I owe a lot to both of them - my genes and my attitude to life. So I have no objections to being a granny myself, or to the name Gransnet.

Welcome ladies
I've got to say that the name isn't attractive to me either For a long time I thought it was only for Grannies until I was put right on that score I can see how it fits after Mumsnet but it's is an old sounding name I ve never been a Gran always a Nan I also always had the Gran bun and shawl picture in my head Tea and Cake

Ambergirl my son emigrated to NZ 20 years ago, I don't have the finances to visit often I see them about every five years it's sad but it's their choice and their lives, It is such a long journey and so expensive that I m not sure if I will make another trip and it's far too expensive for four of them to keep coming here very much so that's how it is I don't love them any less and many people have children round the corner that are not in their lives so at least I know my son cares and worries for me we speak every week

Thank you shysal. I will have a look. Will enjoy spending time searching!!

Hello and welcome, NannyJan53 . I have been retired for over 10 years now, but still get up at 5am! I delivered newspapers as a child and continue to be an early waker.
Enjoy your retirement, especially when you buy the caravan.

Welcome Ambergirl. There are quite a few threads you could look at and post on that discuss family, e.g., Ask a gran, relationships, AIBU, but things can crop up in other threads, too. It would be worth perusing those that seem of interest to you and take it from there. Have fun searching, and once again, welcome. ?

Hi, I am 63, live in the West Midlands, and retired end of May. I dont get SP until next March though! I have 4 lovely granddaughters aged 13 down to 6. Almost 2 months of retirement now and slowly getting used to the slower pace of life (already wondering how I used to get up at 6am!) Love being able to spend more time with the grandchildren and my 87 year old Mum, and meet up with friends for leisurely lunches. My partner is 66 and still working! Looking forward to next year when he will retire and we are planning to buy a Touring Caravan.

Welcome Ambergirl . There are many Gransnetters in the same position, hope you will find empathy and suggestions on here. You will find that this particular thread doesn't get much attention, but if you want to start a new discussion you will get a great response I am sure. Alternatively searching the forums will bring up several previous threads on the same subject. I hope you will enjoy all that GN has to offer. If you are not careful you will waste spend too much time on here, it can be addictive !

I have literally found this site and signed up right now! Hoping I can find some comfort here! Have a daughter who has emigrated to Aus....They are happy and full of opportunity, but I am bereft.....Lucky enough to be able to visit each year, but it isn't the same, and when she has children I just never imagined being so far from her. My son now lives in London and is doing well. He won't be back to live either. I have 2 children, happy, healthy and doing well in the world, but oh how I miss them. I am about to take early retirement as am lucky to be able to. This will give me more time to travel to Aus, and my job is long hours and very stressful and I need to pull back. I hope to go back a few days here and there when they need relief. I am however feeling "Is this it" What am I going to do with my days. I have always been very busy, so hope I can fill them. My husband is hoping to retire soon and we will travel, but nothing fills that deep seated aching for my children and this oh so empty nest....Any tips out there??

I would not enter any details about my number of DGCs dates of birth etc. It is just another attempt to get info for potential marketing purposes.

Talk about them but keep them anonymous.

GN works as it is. People have seem to lurk on it for a bit and then decide if it's for them or not. I have been on it for 5 yrs now.

Welcome Emmaline . The profile difficulty may not be with you. Some say that a member had no grandchildren in one place and lists the ones they have in another! I am using the desktop site where 'My Gransnet' etc is listed at the bottom of the page. Not sure about the mobile site.

Very interesting forum if only I knew how to put my details on my profile page ... I have 3 children 7 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren! HELP!!

The name is fine by me. Although I'm not a Gran, that hasn't been a problem at all. Such a lot of wide ranging discussions are held on here, not just "grandparent" things - though I hasten to add, there's nothing wrong with those topics either! I find most things on Gransnet interesting.

Posted somehow on the wrong thread - I posted
" Teetime When I was a new editor of a Gransnet Local page I mentioned it at a hobby group I went to - all people of at least 50, most of them much more. The apathetic silence was deafening, apart from one (man) who said "We don't want to hear a lot of people going on about their grandchildren." I told them about all the other things that are discussed but the image of a crowd of old women gossiping was too strong.

I don't think it is easy to change the name of an organisation overnight though. All the paperwork, all the marketing, all the business and journalist connections, all of it are in the name of Gransnet."

'Inspire' doesn't really say anything about the site, does it?

I suppose a few hippies or those looking for inspirational guidance might have a look, but not ordinary women and men over 50, most of whom happen to be grandarents.

If it ain't broke...

A couple of people I know have misheard the name as Grandsnet.
More grandparent than Grandma!

I have to say I have difficulty getting people involved in something called Gransnet when its aimed at the 50 plus profile especially men. Several other groups exists so we would need something that stands out - does it have to be related to anything at all - could it just be a word like Inspire their is already a Baby Boomers on Facebook. I would be up for a change.

I have been here for a couple of years now, and really like the name, so I don't want it changed at all. But knowing me, that's probably the kiss of death

I have been here from the start and am very comfortable with the word Gran, after all that is what I am.

Yes, it's probably purely personal to me. Not helped by the fact that my grandmother was a stern lady who only rated one of her grandchildren much, and that wasn't me....

Gransnet seems to follow on from mumsnet quite nicely