Wow! Who knew?

I haven't made any earth shattering discoveries of late, except .....


I know that as children we are taught to respect our elders. We see them in a very different way to that of an adult through the naivety of childhood. As we grow, we learn more about them as people and about their lives when they were younger. I find it fascinating, and even now, I learn new things about my Grandparents.

At the beginning of April, I went across to York to visit my Grandad as it was his 90th Birthday and he was having a party. There were relatives there who I hadn't seen since I was a child and found it brilliant to catch up with them. It's strange, isn't it? How we remember people as we last saw them. Now much older, but still the same. Whilst talking to my Grandad, I witnessed something that I hadn't seen before. He was proud of me. That's not to say he hasn't always been, but I hadn't seen it for myself.

I also took the opportunity to visit my Grandma. She had a stroke some time ago now, and has lost her independence and some of her abilities. She may have changed physically, but beneath that exterior, she still has moments where you can see she's still as sharp as a knife. As Lindsay will attest, my Gran always had an air of Hyacinth Bucket from "Keeping Up Appearances" about her. She was from a reasonably well off family, who were people of standing in the Village where she lives. Times change of course, along with circumstance, but she has always retained her well spoken demeanour and the respect of her fellow Villagers.

That weekend, however, she managed to surprise me. Proved to me that she's a dark horse with a rum sense of humour. I'd never seen that side before, nor had I ever heard her use a rude word. I loved it, laughed and joined in the banter (without using any naughty words) which in turn brought a smile to her face. It's a memory that will always stay with me and make me smile whenever I remember it.

I have also learnt, over the years, about my other Grandparents. Anecdotes and things about them. Families are a funny thing aren't they. ;-)

So as my discoveries are about my Grandparents, this week, I thought I would share a limerick with you which I wrote a little while ago, about my maternal Nan, who is sadly no longer with us.


A Unique Woman Called Anne:

There once was a Woman called Anne
The Amblesea Guest House she ran
Practical jokes and food fights
Gave the guests much delight
That waggish Landlady called Anne!

That very same woman called Anne
Was no conventional Mum or Nan
Her eyes waywardly gleamed
Removing her teeth made us scream
Oh, that mischievous Nanna called Anne!


Thanks for reading. ;-) x

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I'm no Scrooge, but .....

I don't know if it's just me, but to me Christmas isn't the same anymore.  Perhaps it's because I've grown up, and lets face it, Christmas is all about the kids isn't it?  Perhaps it is because I now live in Blackpool (where someone commented the other day: "Even Santa has to take Uppers to deliver his presents to Blackpool!")?But yes, when I was a nipper, it was so much better than it is today.  In the run up to Christmas, a 4 x 4 pulling a trailer with a Sleigh on the back, would slowly drive around the village streets, with Father Christmas waving to the Children as he passed by.  His elf's or helpers, would walk alongside handing out sweets.  It also snowed nearly every year over in York. Sat in a Vale, it has some beautiful weather, whereas over here on the west coast, it rains, is always seemingly cloudy, it rains, it blows a gale, it rains and throws it down some more! Not exactly a Festive setting, right?

Of course some things about the Festive Season haven't changed.  The underlying religious message that it supposed to be about the birth of Christ, after all that is where CHRISTmas gets its name.  But coming from a family who weren't the Churchy type (due to over-zealous Priests force-feeding the Catholic message to my Mum as a youngster, and being admonished and punished by said Priests and her Parents for questioning what was being taught because it didn't make sense in places), we never really went to Church, thereby the "good message" of Christmas never particularly figured greatly in our celebrations.  I knew all about it of course, from the teachings at school (I attended the Archbishop of York C of E Junior School in Bishopthorpe, on the outskirts of York, where the Archbishop resides in his Palace. Yes you read that right, PALACE!). Since when do men of the cloth get to live in such grandeur?  Jesus was never that grand!

But getting back to my original point, my childhood was golden, although many would argue that I'm looking at it through rose tinted specs.  We weren't wealthy, had just enough to be comfortable in a simplistic way and when Christmas came around I was lucky to receive a handful of presents, usually consisting of a teddy bear, dolly, wooden bricks, or when a little older things like a Cindy doll, bike (second hand of course) or other smaller toys.  Amusingly, I would also get a small lump of coal in my Stocking, signifying the odd occasion when I had been naughty throughout the year, along with a satsuma and some chocolate coins.  I was brought up with manners and never expected anything, which obviously makes things difficult for people to buy gifts for me to this day. Hee hee. The fact that in this day and age, children are getting a mountain of toys every year makes me despair and feel bemused.  Kids don't NEED that amount of gifts, nor do they need the hugely expensive gifts. Sorry. Looking at it from the other side of the coin, I know it's easy for Parents to get carried away when buying the presents every year, or experience the feeling of guilt when not buying whatever the "in" toy is for that year, but the commercialism in our world right now is making our lives a misery by enforcing the same message that we are failures if we don't get our children that toy.

So, with my rose tinted specs perched firmly on the end of my nose, I thought I would share this with you:


Rosy Christmas:

The Winter draws near once again,
Bringing a chill and a nip in the air,
Frost encrusted ground crunches underfoot,
Natural decorations upon which we stare.
Sparkling and glittering it catches the light,
Crisply shimmering on branches and roofs,
It's too cold to snow, just for now anyway,
The wind holds its breath, nothing moves.
The Sun wraps itself in a blanket of grey,
Hibernating, barely showing its face,
Yet the picturesque scene beheld every year,
Is welcomed with cheer and good grace.
For it can only mean that the Yuletide is come,
Bringing a Season of celebration and Goodwill,
See Children's eyes twinkling with cheeks all aglow,
Anticipation of coming snow and sledging down a hill.
Christmas will come and presents will be left,
Under a tree bedecked with tinsel and bauble,
The lights glimmer softly, a comforting sight,
As a Robin sings a most beautiful warble.
And once the snow comes, in silent display,
Becoming an eiderdown of purest white,
See Snowmen appear, becoming sentinel guards,
Of their child-masters this Festive Season so bright.


Thanks for reading and Merry Christmas Everyone!! I hope you had a good one and that Father Christmas was kind to you. ;-) xxx

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