What are your childhood memories of your grandparents' house?

The long washing line, with the wooden stick to support it.

Eating raspberries straight from the plants.

Pink and yellow paving slabs.

Lumpy mash, which I used to hide in my pocket.

Other Grandparents (flat in northern spain) - cigar smoke, feeling very tired and confused by the change of culture and language, the lovely smell of my Grandma.

I think I remember the smells best.

Coronation Street
Corned beef sandwiches
TCP
metal fire guard on the gas fire
Tomato plants in the greenhouse
Outside toilet
Old Spice

Lost three grandparents before I learned to speak. But my only surviving grandfather was a peach. I remember evenings at his house listening to trains hoot (it was near a train station), eating nuts and singing at the top of our voices. He was into am-dram and very insistent on voice throwing techniques. There were four of us cousins, and we would sing and watch cricket and catch caterpillars off his trees.
Lost him last year, bless his soul.

Aw, this is a lovely thread.

I only had one set of gp, the others died long before I was born. But I don't really remember the ones I did have either, which is a shame.

The brass orb at the bottom of the bannister.
The black and white floor tiles.
The cupboard full of home made preserves; french beans, gherkins, plums in syrup, cherries in syrup, blackberry jam.
The outhouse's ceiling from which dozens of wicker baskets were hanging, being made to choose one to go and collect something from the garden.
Peas and violets in the vegetable garden. A rickety green wooden garden folly.
Hens, horrid little legs. Lovely, lovely rabbits.
Church bells tolling.
An interesting attic.
The sound of the kitchen range being cleaned up early in the morning.
Thick, embroided linen on the bed; 'M' and 'P'. Hot water bottle: a glass bottle filled with hot water, wrapped in a towel.
The sour smell of apples in a cool, dark room.
Spending hours in a top bedroom, window opened, sat on a bed reading 'Jour de France', Les Petites Filles Modeles and Heidi, surrounded by Claude Francois posters.

My gran's washing machine with a mangle atop.

The mulberry tree.

The writing desk full of alcoholic miniatures.

Porridge boiling until it had volcanoes.

Sugar sandwiches.

Tim cups in the bath.

Planting pansies.

Rides in the garden basket.

I often see, smell and hear things that remind me of her.

Toasting bread or crumpets on a fork in front of an open coal fire.
Listening to the radio together in the evenings.
Fetching Granma the local evening paper from the corner shop.
Sunday teatime: Salmon salad, tinned fruit and cream, cake or flapjacks.
Sunday roasts: beef or pork or lamb cut so thinly with sharpened knife'
Jars of bottled fruit in the under stairs cupboard, along with string, rubber bands, saved wrapping paper....
Apples wrapped in tissue and kept under her bed.
Getting into bed with Granma every morning, and also looking into the cupboard full of my mum's old toys in her bedroom...fascinating.
Virol and cod liver oil every day.
Shelling peas and broad beans in the kitchen.
Watching her make blackberry and apple or plum jam.
Topping and tailing gooseberries from the garden.

I miss my Granma so much. She was the kindest and strongest woman I know. The family owe her so much.

The sound of the doorbell.
The dining table leg that had been used as a scratching post by 40 years worth of cats.
The patchwork style Wilton carpet that I used as a town and streets for my toy cars, the same as my outlaws still have and DS plays in the same way.
The brass model of Burns cottage, now on my shelf.
The bottle of Teachers that Gran would have a medicinal nip from every night.
Keiller butterscotch that I loved and the barley sugars that I didn't.
The black plastic loo seat that was wonky and would nip the back of my legs when getting off.
Izal loo roll.

Ginger ale or Mellow Birds to drink. My gran's fruit cake that was soggy in the middle. Tea at 4.30pm - sandwiches and cake, or stewed fruit. Sometimes a little piece of meat or fish with some tiny potatoes and peas.

The toilet being half outside in the front porch - freezing. With a proper pull chain.

Grandad helping me wash before bed and dobbing talcum powder on my nose, forehead, chin and cheeks after, just for fun. Then brushing my hair 100 times, like a princess.

Getting into bed with crisp sheets and eiderdown - very warm due to electric blanket, don't think there was central heating though. Being scared of the big wardrobe in the corner and not getting to sleep for ages. It was a very loving house but I was always scared to go to sleep/be upstairs on my own.

DDad's parents

Bowl of jelly babies on top of the telly.
Counting his collection of 5ps
Books to choose from in the parlour.
TOasting our own bread on the fire in the parlour.
Steak, chips and cauliflower.

DMum's parents

The strawberries he grew.

Racing up and down the garden path playing with sisters and nephews
Playing under the dining room table imagining it to be all manner of things.

Lettuce sandwiches on Brown bread.

At my Granny and Grandad's:

Staying over and being allowed a TABLESPOON of honey at breakfast (not on toast or anything) because my Granny did it everyday. It was 'good' for you
Being allowed to watch Brookside (wasn't allowed to watch soaps at home)
The mini forest of plants in the 'best lounge'
Gorgeous hall slate tiles and other period features
Green bathroom suite
They always decorated their xmas tree in red, including lights, it looked liked the devils tree
Salt on celery and sugar on tomatoes
Ice cream floats and knickerbockerglories
Spam, crab paste and sliced boiled egg for Sunday teatime
Softening the butted before tea (I have never had butter that spread so well since)
Doing the Bella crossword
Them belting out out of tune Songs of Praise
Their owl collection
When they took their teeth out at night and I would forget in the morning and get a shock
Rooms full of old interesting stuff
Yardleys lavender everywhere
The ancient probable fire risk coffee machine in their bedroom
One of those fibre optic things under a dome from when they were the height of fashion
Pot of imperial mints
The pin cushion

Bloody everything, I loved them dearly and miss them so much.

At my Nan's:

Bad memories here and this should be a happy thread!

Eating rice pudding
Watching Tarzan and lassie on bbc2
My nans Creme cardigan with 'hot cross bun' buttons
Dressing up in all my nans scarves and her telling me I looked like 'Sally gone for a living'
My Grampy had quite a big tv and was so proud of it I remember he used to keep the remote controls in the plastic sleeves that they came in
Eating cornflakes with hot milk
The greenhouse and various vegetables and flowers
Going blackberry picking

I miss them so much

The smell of the wooden fence in the back garden
Picking apples and runner beans
Grandma's music box
Grandad's porridge that he had to stir 100 times
Multicoloured Xmas tree lights
Dodgy 1970s bedding
Helping grandad have a shave
Climbing under the kitchen table when we wanted to get down as we were trapped against the door
Sun loungers
My uncle's old toys
Bathroom soap with a magnet inside that stuck to a little soap holder
Grandad helping me with my maths
Whispered conversations in the dark with my sister on the double mattress on the floor
Wrestling with grandad
Being dangled by the ankles over the loo by my uncle
Going to feed the ducks
Going to visit grandma in her chocolate shop

Duh - backgrounds

Two very different experiences - my mum and dad were from v different backggrounds.

At my grandparents' house in Devon:

The view of Teignmouth and the sea stretched out below us
Granny's retro white Mini with orange seats and no seat belts
The smell of their garage
Banana sandwiches and endless cake. Raspberry jam on toast.
Coronation street theme tune
Eighties' adverts on the TV
Teignmouth pier and the seafront promenade amusements
My db falling into Grandad's pond
Walking in the nearby woods
The smell of roast dinner and the sound of the extractor fan
The sound of the wind and seagulls on top of silence

At my grandparents' house in Cumbria:

The smell of the larder and woodsmoke
The sound of the stream outside
My grandma's massive thick navy boiled wool skirts as she'd play with us on her lap
My grandma's pearls
The smell of lavender water
The scary secondary staircase off the kitchen
The big red Aga
Horses, donkeys, chickens, dogs...
The spooky lampshades in our bedrooms
The numerous bathrooms that all smelled of both lavender and men's soap

As an aside my mat grandfather is still alive and still lives in his home, so I have the old memories overlaid with how it is now. to me it doesn't seem that different, DH thinks it's v run down, but I can't see it .

And the duoble loo roll holder for soft paper (guests) and Izal (unfortunate family). grin

OMG my maternal grandparents used to have that too. How weird! My further misfortune was that at home we had to have Izal all the time (something to do with our dodgy sewerage). Oh the embarrassment of having to explain to guests that unfortunately we just have the horrible scratchy loo paper...

Anyway - paternal gps -coffee beans and a grinder, pigeons (oop North) and imperial leather soap, a succession of small dogs all named after girls comics

Maternal gps - swirly carpet, sliding wooden banister, hydrangeas that were great for hide n seek

My grandma's tortoiseshell hair twist things that she made her bun with, and lots of hairpins and hairnets on her dressing table, all covered with a thin film of talc.

The amazing tomato smell in the tomato greenhouse - have never smelt that intense smell ever again.

The ancient bottle of Aqua Manda in the bathroom cupboard that never, ever got used and was also covered in a thin film of talc.

Antimacassars.

Weevils in the Weetabix.

My grandparents house was totally magical. It had a real hedge maze in the back garden and there was a plum tree and a gooseberry bush which I was fascinated by as they somehow seemed otherworldy.

When I was a child I found everything about their house and garden magical and enchanting. It truly felt like it was of another realm. I vividly remember the smell of their house - a mixture of old perfume and the sort of slightly damp smell some old peoples houses have. My grandma used to keep a bowl full of colourful pills (medicine) on her bedside table and as a child I thought they looked like sweets. There was a room at the far end of the upstairs corridor that always scared me, something about the dark and the length of it. There was also a bedroom that was painted bright yellow and this is the room that made the biggest impression on my memory as I still have the feeling that this room was filled with magic and was like a portal to another dimension. It was filled with sunlight and had the most amazing atmosphere, at least to a 6 year old child.

Ah to be a child again and have a brain that was able to see the magic in things again.

Very ancient wiring: round-pinned sockets, assorted sizes, most of them 2-pin.
Bakelite phone (rented from BT), with dial, and cone around the mouthpiece.
Electric bells in some rooms, with moving stars in the "breakfast room" to show which bell was pressed.
Central heating on ground floor only.
Non-automatic twin tub (went strong for 35 years, appliances were made to last in those days!)

Yes, oldsilver, that Kanugo game. A sort of simplified Scrabble.

Rot-gut homemade wine and being sent off to pick dandelions or elderflowers with which it was made, followed by sinister bubblings and gurglings as it fermented.

Granny togged up in her bee-keepnig outfit, smoking the hives, taking out the combs and extracting the honey. Leftover wax was made into furniture polish. Wonderful smells.