National Grandparents Day: Memories of my grandparents – from epic roast dinners to chocolate on tap

They have such a great bond, and I love seeing them create memories and little traditions together (although I fear for my parents’ bank balance with their regular trips to coffee shops with my kids!).

I thought this thought would lead nicely to a column reminiscing about my own grandparents, and then I realised Sunday just gone was National Grandparents Day and I knew it was meant to be.

Sadly, all my grandparents are no longer with us so it’s wonderful to have such strong memories of them.

On my maternal grandparents’ side, one of the most abiding memories is their house. With its cuckoo clock that was hourly appointment viewing, its mesmerising liquid barometer, untold knick-knacks in every room, a funny little telephone seat in the hallway, and most bizarrely of all to me, an outside toilet. It was an endless cave of wonders.

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The dining-room-come-office housed my nan’s bureau, another treasure trove of goodies, while the dining room table often played host to the typewriter – a source of fascination for me, particularly when my nan let me type up some of the minutes from my grandad’s British Legion meetings (correction paper at the ready!).

Heading into the kitchen, my favourite memories there are of my nan cooking a roast. She used to let me scoop out the centre of a cantaloupe for their sherry-filled melon starter. Then, after coating the roast potatoes using the perpetually topped-up lard stored in the fridge, my grandad would be called in to ceremonially cut the roast chicken with his electric carving knife. And if we hung around until Sunday evenings, the Heinz Toast Toppers would be cracked out the cupboard – happy times!

Onto the lounge, where the large flip-down drinks cabinet housed glasses of all shapes and sizes to be filled with an array of weird and wonderful spirits. I loved it when my grandad would let me serve him vibrant green crème de menthe or sweet-smelling Cointreau in a little handled glass. Said cabinet also housed fizzy drinks delivered by the milkman – cherryade that turned your mouth bright pink was a particular favourite – and a plastic tub filled with pick ’n’ mix mini chocolate bars from the late, great Woolworths. These chocolate bars were seemingly available on tap, in quantities far exceeding what my parents would have deemed acceptable, and way past my usual bedtime – good ol’ grandparents!

Nan and grandad are also where I got my love of murder mysteries from. Evening viewing at their house involved Bergerac, Columbo, Murder She Wrote and more. Perhaps not the ideal pre-bedtime viewing for a child coupled with a stomach full of sugary treats, but I loved how grown up watching such adult-themed shows made me feel. Plus, you just can’t go wrong with a little bit of Jessica Fletcher.

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What also made nan and grandad’s house so much fun was that they were early adopters of what was then cable TV. A dedicated children’s channel? Absolutely mind-blowing. And I was strangely addicted to the adverts they screened for car paint repair kits (anyone remember those?!).

As TV addicts, they were also fond of video recording. They had two video recorders, one upstairs and one downstairs, and I would follow my nan around the house as she meticulously programmed them to record all their favourite shows each day.

If I’d stayed overnight, I’d watch one of them in bed with my nan in the morning. Cagney and Lacey was one of my favourites, especially when my grandad would bring us both a cup of tea and give me free rein over the biscuit tin (chocolate Rich Teas were always my first pick).

In the bathroom, I’d always find comfort in the smell of my grandad’s Brut cologne, and I’d love it when my nan (a true royalist) proudly showed me her calendars of the Queen on display throughout the house.

Not as fun, but a staple of any visit to nan and grandad’s was having to wait on the doorstep while they located their cat. Chloe, and then later Suzie, were not allowed to go outside due to them living on a busy blind bend, which meant they had to be put in the lounge before the front door was opened lest the cat make a bolt towards dangerous traffic.

I can still vividly hear my nan calling out ‘one minute’ as said feline was bundled behind a closed door. Behind that closed door I can almost imagine the Yakety Sax song playing as the process happened.

Speaking of hearing their voices, my grandad was surely part of the last generation that said their phone number when they answered the phone. Every call made to their house which my grandad answered was met with the repeating of the very number I had just dialled. It makes me smile to think of it, and I can still remember their landline number because of it!

On my dad’s side of the family, my paternal grandparents lived in Scotland.

It meant I didn’t get to see them nearly as much, but I still have very fond memories of my gran and grandad.

They would often come down to stay with us at Christmas time, where they would be fond of cheese and crackers for breakfast, which always seemed baffling to cornflakes-loving me.

Both had a fierce intellect, and in particular my gran loved to do a crossword. It was mind-boggling to me how she managed to complete them – they looked then, and still do now, so terrifyingly difficult!

My grandad was an affable man, who made friends wherever he went. A Catholic, he made sure to attend services at the Catholic church near our house whenever he was staying with us. And despite not being part of the usual congregation, he always seemed to make friends and people would just seem to know his name. I loved this about him.

I could go on and on, but safe to say I have plenty of brilliant memories. So Happy Grandparents Day to all the fabulous nans and grandads out there.