AIBU to ask what you used to do when your grandmas babysat?

[Justcallmelu]

I've just had a chat with a friend and we got to talking about playing cards, and I've just gotten flashbacks to when I was a kid. BOTH of my gambling grandmas used to play cards with me for hours! We'd even gamble for matchsticks!

Of course my mother would come in and we'd have to put everything away like a pair of delinquents, but it was the most fun ever!

Anyone do similar? Just my gambling grandmas?

PS I haven't turned out to have a gambling addiction!
But don't play me at poker

No gambling but we’d play dominoes and card games a lot, also ate shit loads of jelly and ice cream which was far better than the games.

Yes, both grannies used to buy me sweets. One used to buy kinder eggs because I think she personally loved putting the tiny toys together lol, the other one I can't remember, but I do remember my Grandad (only had one Grandad alive while I was young) used to be me either an orange or a red apple.

This was the 70s though where fruit was a treat.

Another gambler here, cards and dominos. Sometimes in the pub

Well I was gambling while my parents were at the pub haha

We had to put on a little show and sing old songs from the war, we loved it!

Cards and crafts with one grandma. She used to help my to sew little projects. I cooked with her too- jam, tray bakes, fruit pies. We also used to look at old photo albums and she’d tell me stories about the pictures.

My other grandma used to buy us loads of chocolate and put the tv on.

My mother didn't like it one bit lol.
I sometimes wonder are we too harsh on GPs. They have a different role. A more naughty and fun role.
Or maybe I just had two renegade grandmothers! Might explain me

My grandma only ever babysat me once. We watched tv. I totally didn’t understand what a grandma was supposed to be like until I saw my own DM with my DS.

Aw SputnikBear you missed out.
Honestly hours of debauchery and we'd hide the evidence before DM came home because she'd go ballistic.

Yes, poker was a favourite and we had the poker mug (with loose change in it).
We also watched Miss World, The Brothers (a 70’s tv show my parents banned) plus The Good Old Days and best of all we always had a sugar mouse bought for us.

I also learned to knit.

Fond memories for me too. My Nan had a penny jar and we would play a game called queenie. She must have told me a thousand times now to play it, but I never remember. Now at the Christmas table she will (after a fair few champagnes) producers the penny jar and want to play queenie. My girls now keep her entertained, they like the thought of winning pennies for turning cards over. Rummy, Chase the ace we're other firm favourites, again all for a few pennies.

Cards and baking :)

My nanna would stay over ever Saturday night so my parents could have a night out. We would sit in the living room prepping all the veg for sunday dinner and watching the wrestling. She had a bit of a booze problem so would nurse the one can of lager left by my parents for her.

One never really babysat.
The other was cards, dominoes and bat n ball - if the weather was ok.

I remember staying at my grandparent's house and the breakfast was always one sided toast done under the gas grill with proper butter, half an orange cut into segments with the skin still on and tea with sugar. It was always brought up to the bedroom for me and my DS on a wooden brown tray. Lots of memories. :)

Aw, for me it was like a freedom away from my mother's strict rules. Both of them were devilish characters.

It's like we were both kids under our mother's watchful eye haha.
Both have passed unfortunately. What a loss to my life.

My maternal Nana picked me up on her way home from bingo on a Friday night. We would walk to hers via the fish shop for a tail end

Her house always smelled of Lurpak. She kept her butter on the table and it seemed to radiate around the whole house.

We would look at picture books of old film stars. I was young when she died. I miss her

My Grandad taught me 21. Used to sit with him watching the horse racing on a Saturday afternoon.
My Nan had us stay one night when my wee brother was born. We were an absolute nightmare and locked her in the larder. Dad says she ended up shutting herself away in the bathroom!!!

My Nan didn't gamble, but she did used to have her treat tin.

She'd bring it out after Brookside & we'd eat chocolate biscuits and drink gallons of tea in front of Blind Date & Barrymore.

My mum chucked the tin out after my Nan died as it was dented, but me & DBro were up in arms! We were prepared to fight each other for it / share custody of it! 😂

Watch snooker, sometimes staying up REALLY late if a big match was on.

Makeovers - poor gran had to sit in the armchair whilst the 4 of us did her up - one on hair, one on make-up, two on manicures (one hand each!). Poor woman!!

It was nan and grandad. He'd do the washing up, serve us Neapolitan ice cream, and then potter around fixing things in the house. She'd let us have long overfilled baths with bubble beards and then wrap us in towels she'd somehow warmed to toasty temperatures on our permanently ice cold radiator, feed us Viscount or Club or Taxi biscuits, and let us watch whatever we wanted on TV, then give us the wink when mum and dad were on the doorstep so we would run and get into bed.

Domino's (the game not pizza) and chocolate biscuits. I loved staying with my GPs.

Friday night - roast chicken with Worcestershire sauce and books or toys before bed
Saturday morning - insanely early (before sunrise) group exercise with Granny’s elderly mates with bribery of Macdonald’s breakfast afterwards
The rest of the day: cinema trip / visit to mall / jigsaws or cards or afternoon telly with ice cream that we’d scoop onto a biscuit cone, always followed by a short nap with all the curtains drawn... more playing or telly or books after home cooked dinner, bedtime in hand-sewn nightdresses (forbidden at home due to trip risk on stairs)
Sunday morning - fried brekkie involving sausages or bacon or ham or spam (all forbidden at home) then pick-up by mum who has to explain why we can’t do the same stuff all through the week :0)