Friday 4 September 2015

Childhood Memories of Grandad J.

We're not even half way through the day yet and already it's been quite the day! Feeling a little bit down and low, I started thinking of my grandad and all the lovely memories I have of him, the biggest being his smile, and the dearest being our visits to the park.

When I was a little girl, my grandparents was a big part of my life when I lived with my mum. I remember seeing my grandparents on a near daily basis, and I hold huge and fond memories of those days. Sadly my grandad died when I was eight years old, so as you can imagine, we didn't have much time together.

Pictured is me, pre toddler at my grandparents house.
What I do remember about my grandad though is how much he loved trains, he would talk to me for hours about trains, and tried to get all of his grandchildren into trains, starting with Thomas the Tank Engine. I also hold a memory of my grandad in relation to Tugs, the boats, although I can't remember much about the boats, least not as much as I remember about the trains.

When my grandad died, I was given one possession of his, a video called the Little Boy Lost, a sad movie, one I'm not sure of why I received, but a video I still cherish now at the age of 25. I was too young to understand things properly, but I always knew how special the video was, because it belonged to a very special man who isn't here anymore.

My Grandad would take us grandchildren out to many places, including days out to see the 'real' Thomas and friends at Buckinghamshire. We would go to the seaside, boot sales, and concerts. One thing I remember doing with my grandad one on one was going to the park and to the shop for sweeties. something so small but something so treasured!

My grandad would take me to one of his favourite shops and pick himself a quarter of sweets and let me choose a quarter myself. My grandad would get coconut mushrooms and I'd get toffee bonbons, we would then drive to the park and enjoy our sweets without the others, my grandad would always say to me don't tell nanny and mummy you had sweeties for lunch, I'd reply with a giggle and promise to keep the secret.



As I become of age, and was able to buy my own purchases, I started buying traditional sweets from A Quarter Of because shops nowadays don't sell the traditional sweets like they use too. I remember the plastic or glass containers being stacked behind the shop counter, with weighing scales, ready to be placed into a paper bag.

With times and technology advancing all the time, I'm glad the internet is around for me to still fulfill one of the memories I hold so close of my grandad. Though I can't share the bonbons and coconut mushrooms with him, I always make time to visit his grave with a bag, and before I leave, I always place a mushroom by his headstone, and remind him not to tell anyone we had sweeties for lunch.

Until next time,
Jada x

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