What would my Granny think of OS?

dianadors

My Grandma and Grandad had a pulley over the fire. I used to think that the bed casters had come through the ceiling!! My Great Grandad lived with them until he died (aged 95). His favorite meal (because he had no teeth) was "Milk Pobs" White bread with sugar and hot milk in a basin. I used to eat this with him - I havnt had this in 37 years!

balmaiden

what wonderful stories of our Grandparents.Two things stand out for me, one, how happy our Grandparents seemed to be with their lot, where everyone was the same and nobody was striving for the new "must haves". They just lived there lives and loved their families what a lesson.

Secondly how special Grandparents are. I have three Grandchildren myself and if I can be half as special to them as my Gran was to me I will be very happy.

Heres to my beloved Gran who died at 90 and would have been 103 this month.

lynzpower

balmaiden wrote: »

what wonderful stories of our Grandparents.Two things stand out for me, one, how happy our Grandparents seemed to be with their lot, where everyone was the same and nobody was striving for the new "must haves". They just lived there lives and loved their families what a lesson.

Secondly how special Grandparents are. I have three Grandchildren myself and if I can be half as special to them as my Gran was to me I will be very happy.

Heres to my beloved Gran who died at 90 and would have been 103 this month.

Couldnt agree more, this has reminded me to phone my grandma & grandad later, I havent spoke to them in ages. Saying that they HATE the phone, ( another newfangled article!) so it might just be a hi-bye conversation, but Ill call and find out they are safe & well and that I love em

jovichick123

Well I'm sat here at work.... skiving lol

My Nan was the most o/s person I've ever met and probably the person who taught me the most! When my son was born, she advised me every step of the way through pregnancy and for the months after... She taught me to cook, iron, clean... she was the best (she passed away Nov 05 after suffering for over 6 months with lung cancer and multiple tumours). Anyway before I end up in tears, she was also the first person to tell me that if I 'looked after the pennies, the pounds would take care of themselves'. She lived her life on that motto and as a result led a wide and varied life (she was able to travel, have a nice home etc). I'm 26 now, and I just hope that she can (somehow?!?) see the ways in which I am taking her methods to heart - I think she'd be pleased!!

Sarah x

poppie,s_dream

that is called a rack when my bro was working in an old house recently they were modernising it he found an old rack dismantled it and inserted it in his garage, all the kids, mine, his and neighbours kids just stood and gawped at it but it's been a godsend to my sis-in-law who uses it all the time for drying especially bedding. i've told him if he ever gets rid of it i want it but he won't part with it.
Talking of old times my nan used to put milk and butter on the cellar steps it lasted for days and my fave tea when i visited was real bacon with dip and mashed potatoes with the dip drizzled on mmmm you don't get the same dip nowadays.

Linda32

This thread is great, I really don't know wether to laugh or cry.

I only really remember one Gran, I can only assume she did cook from scratch but in my memory wasn't really able. She never had a TV only a radio and then only listerned to a few programs.

I remember not so long ago I had Gardeners Question Time on in the car and my Mum said "your gran used to listern to this" :T

I'm sure I remember a twin tub and a spinner but deffently not a washing machine.

OH is only 2 years older than me, but his parents are older than mine, his Mum oftern tells me that when they moved into their first council house, whilst she was still at school they had an inside cold tap. Pure luxury, it meant they could wash their hair inside rather than the soft water tub, (assume thats the water butt) :eek:

THIRZAH

I can remember my Grandma doing her washing in a copper and putting it through a mangle-this must have been in the late 1950s. Later on she did get a twin-tub.

My mother and grandma used to argue about using a "blue-bag" for whites- Mum said it wasn't necessary as didn't get the whites any cleaner but grandma disagreed.

Grandma-and Grandad-never wasted anything. Grandad's father died in 1913 leaving a widow and 4 children under 10. They had to leave their tied cottage and really struggled.They ate rabbits and even blackbirds at times.Grandad couldn't bear to see food wasted. He would eat any leftover veg up cold rather than bin them.If Grandma had pastry left from a pie she would roll it out into a square and bake it with the pie. Then she would serve it with stewed fruit the next day.

Grandma would cut up old cotton dresses to make aprons. She would unravel jumpers and knit them up into something else.She always made jam -from home grown fruit of course-pickles and cakes although she did buy bread from the bakers.

They saved things like old envelopes, tobacco tins and cotton reels in a drawer for us children to play with.

For a treat on Sundays they would sometimes go for a drive and take a picnic tea.I doubt if they wasted a penny in their entire lives.

lambanana

THIRZAH wrote: »

She would unravel jumpers and knit them up into something else.

my mum still does that and she's only 53! in fairness she's knitting jumpers, hats and blankets for a charity who don't care what colour as long as the stuff is warm so buying jumpers in charity shops is cheaper than buying new wool.

Agapanthus

My eldest is now 29 and my youngest 24. They all used terry nappies, because, believe it or not, the disposable ones in those days leaked, whereas a well folded terry nappy in plastic pants didn't! I had at least four different ways of folding terry nappies, depending on the size of the baby.

My husband's family have a holiday house in rural France, where the electricity supply was only upgraded sufficiently to run a washing machine in 2001. All those holidays I washed out terry nappies - and everything else - by hand! It took a while before we even got a spindrier.

I had a career as one of the first female engineers, but I've now taken early retirement and love to make soup and bread and sew clothes again. Haven't had the time to do any of that for years.

My mum, who is in her late eighties, can remember when the milkman came round the streets (in London) and you had to take your own jug out to get it filled up. Now that's a change.

Psykicpup

dolly_day_dream wrote: »

It has taken a while but people are now getting to realise what some of us have known for ages - material possessions do not make you happy. Creating by our own hands is very thereputic.

I was born in the 50s and during the 70s was convinced that I would not be pigeon holed into a 'womans role' in life. I would go out and have a career and make my partner share with the housework.:rotfl: We know that back then that rarely worked in practice.

Where is the happiness in rushing from place to place trying to please employer, spouse and family? Over 25 years ago I was trying to do that and decided - no I am going to become liberated in the proper sense. I gave up my part time job which meant that I only saw my family for half the day. My children were babies and needed me at home with them. I had listened to the people who had said that women shouldn't be trapped in the home and should be allowed to go out and have their own lives. That may well have worked for some but I knew that it wasn't working for me - why should I conform to what they thought I should be doing?

I had to use every trick that I knew to save money to be able to do it (I wish this site was around then cos I have learnt loads from it!) but I managed to stay at home untill my youngest was 6 and I felt that then we were ready as a family for me to work outside the home. I am now very happily established in my chosen career of teaching and I wouldn't change it for the world and I know that for me I did it the right way round.

I appreciate that this is not an option for everyone. But I would urge everyone to think what is best for them not what 'society' is saying that people ought to do. If you are working because the money buys you extra possessions consider what you could do with the extra time you could have instead. Time is perhaps the most precious comodity of all. I know that I see the difference at school between those children whose parents spend time with them and those who just spend money on them.

Sorry I'll get down from my soapbox now and get my coat:o

p
only get your coat on the way to the poll