The joy of eccentric elderly parents and their routines.
Discussion
j4ckos mate said:
I’ve got thousands
And can prove them all
Frying pan, too big to slip into the grill or the cooker with all the other pots and pans,
So it got slipped into the washing machine where it was out of sight,
Glass Privacy film, like the sort you’d put on unfrosted glass for a toilet
Put on the landing window,
Cardigans rolled up and put in the cupboard, in bags, in the drawers of the phone table in the hall
Cling film on the windows in winter, because it’s crap glass, it somehow makes the double glazing a lot better
Kitchen clothes rack for drying clothes,
Wouldn’t let anyone get rid, because it was dead handy, for drying one persons clothes
Elastic bands round the tap handles in case they turn themselves on,
Creosoting the shed doors, for 40 years, the paving flags are utterly ruined three feet from them,
The clothing in bags things is apparently a throwback to when Manchester was very polluted, stuff could get grimy even in a wardrobe, apparently my wifes grandad used to come home at lunchtime to change his shirt as the collar would be dirty, that was in Oldham. And can prove them all
Frying pan, too big to slip into the grill or the cooker with all the other pots and pans,
So it got slipped into the washing machine where it was out of sight,
Glass Privacy film, like the sort you’d put on unfrosted glass for a toilet
Put on the landing window,
Cardigans rolled up and put in the cupboard, in bags, in the drawers of the phone table in the hall
Cling film on the windows in winter, because it’s crap glass, it somehow makes the double glazing a lot better
Kitchen clothes rack for drying clothes,
Wouldn’t let anyone get rid, because it was dead handy, for drying one persons clothes
Elastic bands round the tap handles in case they turn themselves on,
Creosoting the shed doors, for 40 years, the paving flags are utterly ruined three feet from them,
My Gran died just over a year ago now. When clearing out her house we found stashes of notes (Usually £100) all over the place.
Back of cuboards behind old tins, inside shoes that hadn't been worn in decades, in my Grandads old suit jacket pockets. Everywhere.
Breakfast every morning was tea and toast with butter, no cheese or anything as 'It'll put you off your dinner!'
Tea and sandwiches served at 12 with red salmon or ham and mustard.
I miss her dearly.
Back of cuboards behind old tins, inside shoes that hadn't been worn in decades, in my Grandads old suit jacket pockets. Everywhere.
Breakfast every morning was tea and toast with butter, no cheese or anything as 'It'll put you off your dinner!'
Tea and sandwiches served at 12 with red salmon or ham and mustard.
I miss her dearly.
i was in bed one night, 1030pm
(this is when she was sleeping downstairs after a very badly broken leg)
i got a text saying someone had put something in her bin,
so i texted back saying don't worry about it, if the bin man wont empty it i will take it to the tip at weekend
no reply
texted her again, no reply,
then i get one, "its that cheeky bleader up the road i know who it is"
text her back no reply again,
rang her no reply,
i said to swmbo,im not going ot settle till i know shes ok,
so i drive round, took me about twenty minutes to get there because the car had started to ice up,
pulls onto her road, there she was 78, hobbled up the road with her wheelie bin in front of her being used as a walking frame
path glistening with frost, full dressing gown nightie and slippers on.
I found her raanting profusely at a house a few doors down, calling him all sorts and lobbing his rubbish so far up his garden path it was near his front door,
paint tins included.
i pulled up said "get in the house now"
carried on driving down the road, pulled up, go i her house and she comes back down the hill with the wheelie bin steadying her walk,
Cursing and complaining that a neighbour had the cheek to put some stuff in her bin.
(this is when she was sleeping downstairs after a very badly broken leg)
i got a text saying someone had put something in her bin,
so i texted back saying don't worry about it, if the bin man wont empty it i will take it to the tip at weekend
no reply
texted her again, no reply,
then i get one, "its that cheeky bleader up the road i know who it is"
text her back no reply again,
rang her no reply,
i said to swmbo,im not going ot settle till i know shes ok,
so i drive round, took me about twenty minutes to get there because the car had started to ice up,
pulls onto her road, there she was 78, hobbled up the road with her wheelie bin in front of her being used as a walking frame
path glistening with frost, full dressing gown nightie and slippers on.
I found her raanting profusely at a house a few doors down, calling him all sorts and lobbing his rubbish so far up his garden path it was near his front door,
paint tins included.
i pulled up said "get in the house now"
carried on driving down the road, pulled up, go i her house and she comes back down the hill with the wheelie bin steadying her walk,
Cursing and complaining that a neighbour had the cheek to put some stuff in her bin.
Dads diet was fascinating,
chips done in the chip pan most nights, and hollands pie and four rounds of bread,
wouldnt entertain anything perceived as slightly exotic or foreign looking or sounding,
even pepper was the work of the devil,
he looked ok on it though right to the end to be fair, thats the tragedy isnt it with it all,
when youre a kid they are as strong as an ox, then they fade,
i can see it in my FIL now,
not quite at shuffling but not as fit as he was
chips done in the chip pan most nights, and hollands pie and four rounds of bread,
wouldnt entertain anything perceived as slightly exotic or foreign looking or sounding,
even pepper was the work of the devil,
he looked ok on it though right to the end to be fair, thats the tragedy isnt it with it all,
when youre a kid they are as strong as an ox, then they fade,
i can see it in my FIL now,
not quite at shuffling but not as fit as he was
RizzoTheRat said:
Not that big a surprise really, he lost a lot of mates to the Germans, but not to the Japanese.
My gran was the opposite - wouldn't touch anything Japanese because lots of her family members were lost to them in WW2. Wouldn't even buy a Samsung telly as I don't think she was convinced Korea was not part of Japan, not that we really pressed the point much. She even turned her nose up a bit when my brother got a job working in a Japanese themed restaurant in town, owned by a local couple.But was happy enough driving a German car, visiting Germany etc etc.
My Grandad refused to buy a Japanese car out of respect for his best mate who was a POW under the Japanese. (He survived but was in a terrible state when he returned). Anyway...one day my Grandad told me he'd treated himself to a new car - a Triumph Acclaim - "None of that Jap Crap"! (apologies, different times).
For our younger readers the Triumph Acclaim was a Honda built by British Leyland and badged as a Triumph.
For our younger readers the Triumph Acclaim was a Honda built by British Leyland and badged as a Triumph.
RicksAlfas said:
My Grandad refused to buy a Japanese car out of respect for his best mate who was a POW under the Japanese. (He survived but was in a terrible state when he returned). Anyway...one day my Grandad told me he'd treated himself to a new car - a Triumph Acclaim - "None of that Jap Crap"! (apologies, different times).
For our younger readers the Triumph Acclaim was a Honda built by British Leyland and badged as a Triumph.
I used to do some gardening for an old chap up the road who had been a POW with the Germans (3 months) and the Japanese (3 years!) during the war. For our younger readers the Triumph Acclaim was a Honda built by British Leyland and badged as a Triumph.
At some point in the late 1990s he was given an apology and £10,000 by the Japanese. He put it towards a new Rover 75
Shakermaker said:
I used to do some gardening for an old chap up the road who had been a POW with the Germans (3 months) and the Japanese (3 years!) during the war.
At some point in the late 1990s he was given an apology and £10,000 by the Japanese. He put it towards a new Rover 75
There can't have been many Allied servicemen who were POWs of both the Germans and the Japanese. Certainly unlucky! Did he escape from the Germans?At some point in the late 1990s he was given an apology and £10,000 by the Japanese. He put it towards a new Rover 75
I think my Grandad's pal got some money. I believe a chunk of it went behind the bar in his local as he was past buying expensive cars and what have you, but still liked a drink, or several.
RizzoTheRat said:
Cheeky Jim said:
My parents live on a remote Scottish island.... the paper's don't arrive until about midday.... one of them will always go out (in most weather) and drive the 4 miles to the local shop to purchase a copy of The Times.
They have full t'interweb, ipad's and my Dad worked in IT for 30 years... I still cant work out why the go through this palava every day.
My mother, now 74, worked out some years ago that the price difference between an online subscription to the newspaper and having it delivered, was added up to the cost of an iPad in under 2 years.They have full t'interweb, ipad's and my Dad worked in IT for 30 years... I still cant work out why the go through this palava every day.
She then had to start printing out the sudoku and crossword because she couldn't do them on screen
She's generally pretty computer savvy, having been a programmer in the 60's, and is the only person I know who has to carefully read any warning message or popup that appears on the screen
Her conversion to fruit based computing (she now has iPhone and Mac laptop as well) is great though as she has to ask my uncle or my sisters other half whenever she has issues with them rather than asking me And I found out yesterday, whilst I knew my Dad doesn't trust "Internet banking **" I didn't realise now their branch has shut in their local town he transfers money between his various savings accounts and the day to day bank by collecting cash from the building society and then posting it to the bank!!!!!
- * I keep trying to tell him when he books things like holidays on his credit card he is internet banking but for some reason, my sister, a fraud analyst for providers of current accounts has scarred my Dad off having his current acounnt online?
My FIL was house bound crippled with arthritis. We purchased a reclining chair for him, not an electric recliner which were cheaper because they don't attract VAT, a manual recliner.
Apparently electric recliners would go feral and fling you onto the floor or out of the window.
Reading these threads it's all very sad, many of the elderly relatives mentioned sound like dementia, has started. My own mother told me she'd lived too long, very little quality of life, wouldn't leave her room, didn't want visitors. Lasted another 2 yrs like that.
Apparently electric recliners would go feral and fling you onto the floor or out of the window.
Reading these threads it's all very sad, many of the elderly relatives mentioned sound like dementia, has started. My own mother told me she'd lived too long, very little quality of life, wouldn't leave her room, didn't want visitors. Lasted another 2 yrs like that.
Edited by PositronicRay on Friday 28th September 17:21
PositronicRay said:
My FIL was house bound crippled with arthritis. We purchased a reclining chair for him, not an electric recliner which were cheaper because they don't attract VAT, a manual recliner.
Apparently electric recliners would go feral and fling you onto the floor or out of the window.
Reading these threads it's all very sad, many of the elderly relatives mentioned sound like dementia, has started. My own mother told me she'd lived too long, very little quality of life, wouldn't leave her room, didn't want visitors. Lasted another 2 yrs like that.
J4ckos mates mums must have started in the late eighties as I remember her producing the frying pan from the washer back then. Apparently electric recliners would go feral and fling you onto the floor or out of the window.
Reading these threads it's all very sad, many of the elderly relatives mentioned sound like dementia, has started. My own mother told me she'd lived too long, very little quality of life, wouldn't leave her room, didn't want visitors. Lasted another 2 yrs like that.
Edited by PositronicRay on Friday 28th September 17:21
Ace chip butties there though, great with a hangover though she uses sterilised milk which is like having Dairlyea in a brew, you get used to it but the first one is a bit of a shock.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Actually thinking about it, my dad loved a bulb too, he had drawers full of the things, all still in their boxes, if I ever had a bulb go, I would just go round his and have a look, I'd always find one.TBH he was a bit of a hoarder and always bought in bulk from Costco, when he died I took the already opened huge bag of 1000 PG Tips tea bags, it lasted about 8 months, he also had loads of rolls of kitchen roll, all neatly stacked in the garage, wine was another; always bought wine, he drunk wine but not enough to get through his stash so I would occasionally nab a bottle or two but he had so much, you would never notice.
Also loved reduced meat from Sainsburys, he had 2 freezers; one chest and one upright but the size of a fridge freezer, mainly full of reduced meat.
She’s always been hard work.
Just the older you get, you notice these things and you wonder why they do what they do
We’re moving mum to a flat soon.
I said put a post it note on everything you want to keep and we can bin the rest.
All agreed.
She said yes and I will right “keep” on them
I said no need. The three of us know.
Wouldn’t have it, so now we all have to wait
Around while an octogenarian writes “keep” hundreds and hundreds of times.
To be honest I’ve took a step back and leaving it to my sisters abit
That’s another thread thst one !
Just the older you get, you notice these things and you wonder why they do what they do
We’re moving mum to a flat soon.
I said put a post it note on everything you want to keep and we can bin the rest.
All agreed.
She said yes and I will right “keep” on them
I said no need. The three of us know.
Wouldn’t have it, so now we all have to wait
Around while an octogenarian writes “keep” hundreds and hundreds of times.
To be honest I’ve took a step back and leaving it to my sisters abit
That’s another thread thst one !
Dad admitted later in life that he had OCD .
Tea bags had to be dunked 7 times .
He always counted the stairs l to/ from his flat .
Always kept house and car keys on separate rings , car keys always on a leather fob and always in R/H jacket pocket house keys on a plain ring and in L/H trouser pocket .
He hoarded pens and never threw them away .
He was famous for his love of penguins, he had a collection of over a 100 of all types , cuddly ones to wooden carved ones ( I have a couple of his glass or brass ones ).
Tea bags had to be dunked 7 times .
He always counted the stairs l to/ from his flat .
Always kept house and car keys on separate rings , car keys always on a leather fob and always in R/H jacket pocket house keys on a plain ring and in L/H trouser pocket .
He hoarded pens and never threw them away .
He was famous for his love of penguins, he had a collection of over a 100 of all types , cuddly ones to wooden carved ones ( I have a couple of his glass or brass ones ).
Started emptying her house today
It wasn’t good start, hen she wanted the hanging baskets keeping,
The plants are plastic and she’s moving to a flat
Later on the fly screen by the back door was being admired,
It’s new and quality she said as she untangled a few of the drops that had caught up against the wall.
She hinted at it to her new flat
Until I reminded her the flies will have to fob in, get the lift, fob onto the corridor and amble to her room,
It wasn’t good start, hen she wanted the hanging baskets keeping,
The plants are plastic and she’s moving to a flat
Later on the fly screen by the back door was being admired,
It’s new and quality she said as she untangled a few of the drops that had caught up against the wall.
She hinted at it to her new flat
Until I reminded her the flies will have to fob in, get the lift, fob onto the corridor and amble to her room,
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