What can you remember about your Grandparent's house?



1. Coal fire, my grandad scraping it out first thing, my Grandad's shed that smelled of oil where he worked on engineering projects, playing with my auntie's old jigsaws and reading her old Beano annuals, shitty 1950's black and white TV with a tuning dial that kept losing the channel, a kitchen so small they kept their bread in the washing machine, getting woken up by woodpigeons at 5am.
2. Gas fire, smog of granda's woodbines, the racing on the TV in the corner, big leather chesterfield (been ours since 1996), playing in the junkpile in the back garden, always hearing the ice cream van chimes (Fellas) but it never seemed to come up the street, the coat cupboard that stank of damp, some daft knitted poodle cosy thing on my nana's perfume bottle that scared me, my nana's baking: home made apple pie with Libby's evaporated milk

😭
 
Grandad's decorating:

Kitchen - wallpaper had fish on it but he couldn't be arsed to take his time going around the cabinets so put it on any way. The fish ended up swimming in all different directions.
Bathroom - initially red-lead paint he'd nicked from the shipyards. Replaced with nursery wallpaper, so you'd be sitting on the bog watching blue and pink elephants marching nose-to-tail.
Living room - saved his embassy fag tokens and bought some cornflour blue paint which he painted everywhere including the ceiling. When he died we found out he couldn't be arsed to move the furniture so had just painted around it!
 
Never knew any of them, both sets died before I was born….or so I thought!!

Turns out my Aunty was actually my Gran and me Mam’s mother not her sister.

It was never openly admitted by her despite my Mam having copies of the adoption paperwork…she was brought up by her Gran, believing she was her Mother.

So, my Grandad is actually a French Canadian Airforce-man

I got an A at GCSE French and fooking love poutine, that now makes sense
:)
 
Thewper1 said:
Never knew any of them, both sets died before I was born….or so I thought!!

Turns out my Aunty was actually my Gran and me Mam’s mother not her sister.

It was never openly admitted by her despite my Mam having copies of the adoption paperwork…she was brought up by her Gran, believing she was her Mother.

So, my Grandad is actually a French Canadian Airforce-man

I got an A at GCSE French and fooking love poutine, that now makes sense
:)
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Trying to work that out 🤔
 
Skylon said:
Did anyone else's?
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Yes.

It's hard to believe, but Sunderland was sectarian in the past and Scottish papers were seen as being wholesome to people of protestant persuasion.

Ironically my grandad's father was catholic and his mother's family were from Ireland, but we were nonetheless staunch protestant.
 
smoker said:
Yes.

It's hard to believe, but Sunderland was sectarian in the past and Scottish papers were seen as being wholesome to people of protestant persuasion.

Ironically my grandad's father was catholic and his mother's family were from Ireland, but we were nonetheless staunch protestant.
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Absolute bollocks, my family are catholic and still bought The Sunday Post
 
Fletch73 said:
Grandad's decorating:

Kitchen - wallpaper had fish on it but he couldn't be arsed to take his time going around the cabinets so put it on any way. The fish ended up swimming in all different directions.
Bathroom - initially red-lead paint he'd nicked from the shipyards. Replaced with nursery wallpaper, so you'd be sitting on the bog watching blue and pink elephants marching nose-to-tail.
Living room - saved his embassy fag tokens and bought some cornflour blue paint which he painted everywhere including the ceiling. When he died we found out he couldn't be arsed to move the furniture so had just painted around it!
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hilarious just spilled the drink laughing .thanks cheered me up no end .:p
:p:p
 
smoker said:
Yes.

It's hard to believe, but Sunderland was sectarian in the past and Scottish papers were seen as being wholesome to people of protestant persuasion.

Ironically my grandad's father was catholic and his mother's family were from Ireland, but we were nonetheless staunch protestant.
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To be honest, my nana and granda weren't one bit religious. The fact they got it for the broons or oor wullie seems much more plausible. Sunderland sectarian. Are you sure?
 
my Grandad died about 30 years ago and I still miss him and my Grandma. Both MLF's hence why I am.
Played cards for sweets and coppers every friday night
Took me for a walk all the time and we used to plait string into knots while we walked which we pulled apart when home
Grandma used to make this spring onion lettuce thing in vinegar that we put on our Sunday dinner....loved it whatever it was
Grandad watched every game of football I played from the age of 5 to 18
Doing wordsearches with him while I was on his knee
Lighting a real fire with him on saturday mornings with scrunched up newspaper and kindling and putting smoke right through the house

Simple things but such good times and memories.
 
Paternal grandparents had a Council house in Ferryhill. Still had an outside toilet and coal shed.

Grandad used to breed rabbits. Took me several years to realise that they were for his dinner rather than pets.

My mam still lives in my maternal grandparents house as they died before I was born and she inherited it. In her 80s now and has never lived anywhere else.
 
Unfortunately all my grandparents died before I was born.

So I do have a couple of questions. Firstly, why does the title just imply one house? Surely with two sets of grandparents there'd be memories of both? Secondly, going from the replies a lot read as a singular set of grandparents. Was it just one set of grandparents that seemed to get house visits rather than the other? Or is it just peoples replies read as singular whilst talking about both sets?
 
Skylon said:
To be honest, my nana and granda weren't one bit religious. The fact they got it for the broons or oor wullie seems much more plausible. Sunderland sectarian. Are you sure?
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That was certainly the story from my dad and uncles. One of my dad's uncles had a catholic wife and nuns and the priest would come round when he was at work and tell her she and the kids were going to hell. It ended with the priest being ambushed, chased down the street and getting a clout by my great uncle and his brothers. Would have been late 40's or early 50's.

There were Orange Lodges in the NE. Cookson's 15 Streets.
 

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