Do you talk to your kids?

I think the thing I miss most is being able to talk to my grandad. My grandchildren don’t listen to me they play on their X-boxes.

Are there too many electrical gadgets around today to influence our children with ipods, Wii, play stations, dvd players and television.

When I was young I used to sit and talk to my grandfather. I didn’t need history books and TV progammes to tell me about World War One. My gramps was an eye witness.

He said the shells and bombs all had names depending on the sounds they made and the size of the holes. The worse thing he said was the boots and his feet. They were always covered in mud and soaking wet, he said his feet were rotting.

The second World War had my mum and dad as well as myself as eye witnesses. Forget the history books and films…living through  it was an experience.

Rationing  and very little sweets and fruit to eat. The blitz lasted a few months but the bombing lasted until the last month of the war. That’s nearly five years. Terrible times for your pets, and children  rarely stayed away from home for long.

The greatest times were when the whole family sat listening to the radio. Tommy Handley  made us laugh. There was Ted Ray and Arthur Askey and Vic Oliver. After the war we had Dick Barton, Riders of the Range and Journey Into Space. In the fifties there was the greatest radio comedy series ever made. Tony Hancock in Hancocks Half Hour.

There were complaints from churches, pubs, theatres and cinemas. Because between 7:00pm and 7:30pm, Hancocks Half-Hour caused deserted streets as everyone crowded around their radios. Sadly he died in Australia at a young age.

At the cinema the biggest star was  Norman Wisdom, and when Television became popular, Benny Hill was king followed by Tommy Cooper. Music had Rock and Roll, Elvis and the Beatles.

The late, great Tommy Cooper

When  you finally get a chance to talk to your kids, after they turn off the modern electrical appliances, what will you tell them about, reality programmes? No wonder they stay attached to their computers.

If todays children want to know about their families and life of fifty years ago then talk to your grandad. He may remember his grandad and you are now going back a hundred years.

The greatest possession of our children is not the computer or Ipod, it’s their grandad.

I wish I had more time with my grandad, and asked him more about his life and the way it was back then.

By TOG

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