Ask yer Granny!

kiss_me_now9

My Nan, Nana and paternal Grandad are still alive, but my maternal Grandad passed when I was 13... Still miss him terribly. I didn't go to the funeral and it's the one thing I really regret in my life.

He was a wonderful guy, cheeky and full of character! I can still picture him as bright as day. We used to play cards - Rummy and Good Morning Sir! - and he'd always, always cheat. My mum would never play with him but I can remember one Sunday afternoon when there was no sport and nothing else watchable on the telly and we got a 6 hand game going; me, my sister, my parents and my grandparents. Within minutes my Grandad was banned from playing as always for cheating He was the same with monopoly. Thing is, he was the most awful liar ever and it was so obvious and funny when he did cheat!

He was a pilot in the second world war, my Nan still has a picture of him in his uniform on her dresser. He was a very handsome man Mind you, my Nan had supermodel looks when she was younger! My Nan never really speaks about her childhood, though one time we were watching some TV program about the blitz and she came over all teary and we had to turn it off. She was evacuated with her three sisters and brother to a town about 20 miles from where my parents settled; and her sister cycled down one of the steepest hillsides in the area not knowing how steep it was! With regards to superstitions, the only story she's ever told us about her childhood in the blitz of London was this:

One day, the air raid alarm went off, and as usual her mother bundled them all down to a tube station to stay the night. Whilst down there, her sister had a panic attack and insisted they move stations, as she felt something awful was going to happen there. Low and behold, about an hour after they'd settled under a fortified bridge nearby, the tube station suffered a direct hit and about 30 people were killed. As she told us this story she started to cry and mutter about seeing them running from the station she was only 10 at the time. My sister did a little bit of research into it and found a newspaper clipping of the event, but I can't remember where it was.

She's utterly convinced that she's on deaths door but according to any medical source she can pin down long enough, she's the perfect example of health! I fondly remember my Nan sitting me down one christmas eve in their old house (I must have been around 7, as they moved out of there when I turned 10 and it was early on) and forcing me to learn crochet to calm down my childhood christmas excitement unfortunately I'm terrible with handicrafts! Creative things like card making and photography are a doodle and I really enjoy them, hand me a needle and thread and I quiver. My sister is much better at those!

My paternal Nana is quite young, still in her late 60s and definitely not money saving, she's a massive hoarder. She's a lovely lady, would move heaven and earth for you if she thinks you're worth it, but can be a bit over bearing. And she has terrible taste in well... everything. Sits and watches QVC all day and buys !!!! off of it. Sad really as she's disabled and has had a bit of a colourful past with men... it is whispered around the family that my Dads youngest brother may not be my Grandads, and she remarried about four times after him. One died of a heart attack, one had an affair, one divorced her and the other one (the most recent) may or may not be still technically married to her.

At my OHs grandads funeral last week, his Nan was saying about how when she pictures him she still sees the young 20 year old guy she fell in love with, which I thought was lovely.

Red_Doe

My granny, long dead now, was born in the late eighteen hundreds. During world war two, her hubby, my granda, was a pilot shot down over Germany. Because at the time they couldn't recover his body, it was four years before they declared him dead and gave her a war widows pension. Since he was killed after just returning from leave, he'd left her pregnant with her second child (my uncle ) who was stillborn due to the fact that, to look after my dad, and having no relatives who could help, she had to find the only work she could in rural Scotland...working in the tattie fields. I remember saying to her on one of the rare occasions she spoke of it, "That must have been so hard for you" and she just shrugged and said " All you can do it put one foot in front of the other and get on with it." And that typified her attitude to life in general.
Years later, she met and married the man I knew as Grandad. When they were old, he had three heart attacks which left him very ill, during which times she nursed him at home. Upon the fourth and fatal heart attack, he refused to let her call an ambulance, because he'd simply had enough. So she sat by his side as he slipped away and they said their goodbyes. She held his hand and told him how very much she loved him. I can't ever imagine I would have the courage to do the same....
Afterwards, the police gave this old woman hell and she was almost charged with negligence leading to grandad's death. I had to fight on her behalf as she was just in bits over grandad's death. She wasn't charged in the end but oh boy, the stress of those times!
She was never a 'cosy' type of granny...life had been too harsh to her, too many times. But she WAS supremely pragmatic and this is what I learned from her.
She taught me to never give up. That life isn't fair and will often do it's best to kick you in the teeth but you simply NEVER GIVE UP.
She also taught me to be frugal because they had travelled the world, not to the popular tourist destinations but off the beaten track, living with locals in remote areas. Seeing those lifestyles showed them ways of coping with consumerism which wasn't fashionable back in the seventies and eighties. She knew how to ignore consumer pressure and focus on what was NEEDED as opposed to what was simply wanted.
I miss her fiercely to this day, and know she and my grandad would be appalled at the state of Britain now. They had both been through two world wars and more political changes than you could shake a stick at. They firmly believed both wars had been to secure freedom and a better lifestyle for Scotland the whole of Britain. I think she'd be awful sad now so am glad she isn't here to see how much so many of us are struggling.
On the OS side, she taught me to make soup from scratch out of what I had in stock. How to stretch dinners to feed the occasional extra mouth that turns up. How to care for clothes from an age where disposable clothing was considered obscene waste. How to care for my home, not to make it flashy or showy, but to keep it clean, tidy and clutter free. She also taught me how to make (to me) perfect porridge.

mardatha

My mum was a bit like that RD. Had a really hard life and was a really tough person. She was born in 1916 and passed in the 80s. But she didn't have much faith in human nature and she'll probably be nodding grimly at the state of the nation right now
Is very true, all you can do is put one foot in front of the other and keep on truckin eh!

VJsmum

Oh RD i am feeling a little delicate today after a bit of kick in the teeth with something that happened this morning (silly really - someone came and nicked DS bike from the shed) but shook me up, and your post has me in the tears i am not usually given to.

But she's right - your gran, you don't give up. That's why i hear my mum in my head telling me to get on with it.

mardatha

Yes just get on with it pet....but put a couple of mousetraps in the shed where light fingers might be tempted to wander ...;)

Red_Doe

((((((((((((((VJsmum)))))))))))))))))
sorry to hear that lass. It can feel so invasive when thieves strike. Stay tough and don't, as the saying goes, let the !!!!!!s grind you down. (I like Mardatha's idea too )

deb68_2

Oh Rd that was so sad the poor lady lost love of her lifw an they do that to her she must of been such a strong lady,
I maybe wrong in thinking this even though we all stuggle at times i still believe we have it easier than our Grandparents an maybe our parents

I dont find it hard make do an mending I find it harder now i cant see very well in left eye an my moblility crap,an the pain i have most days is beyond, but its a cause of smiling an getting on with it

I was wondering if any of you have eaten Heart,Brain,Tongue :eek:
we did as kids an errrrrrrrrr hated it,didnt help that i had to help cook it, eat it or be hungry my mother would say so i went very hungry lol

would never do that to my boys we used to have Haggis when lived in Scotland parents said it was Mince an i didnt mind that to much
i no now it wasnt Mince, tried our lads with it long time ago an they didnt mind it,havent seen it in shops for years

Ok a bit of advice please is it better to get porridge ready night before or cook it in the morn?I no my nana an nain tolld me when i was young but cant remember what they said

many thanks
deb

Red_Doe

Deb, have eaten all of the above. To be honest if you disguise it with other food...a wee bit of beef or lamb mince, perhaps, or add herbs, spices, what have you, it isn't that bad and sometimes, needs must and we were raised to use as much of a meat animal as we could to make things stretch out.
If you buy porridge oats, you don't need to soak it overnight, oatMEAL though needs to be soaked.
For one person, take a handful of porridge oats, add half water and half milk (about half a pint) and put on a gentle heat, stir occasionally til it thickens and goes "gloopy".
I eat mine without salt (for health's sake) but with a spoonful of honey, sprinkle of cinnamon and dried fruit. Hope this helps.
PS quite liking this thread and do I qualify to be able to answers questions? I am a granny of four now

deb68_2

AHH Many thanks RD
will do that with the porridge,
keep posting its lovely to hear all the stories you have
Im not a grannie yet keep having dreams ds 1 an his gf telling me shes expecting and its a girl
wake up sweating lol
deb

Minihauk

I love this thread too.

deb - with porridge, I cook it in the microwave. Use a large bowl (it bubbles up a lot), a cup full of oats, one of milk and one of water. Whack it on for 5 mins. Perfect, eat some, let the rest cool and portion it out. Just needs heating for a minute or so when you want to use the rest.
I also eat it with fruit and cinnamon - luvverly.