As a child I only had the luxury of one surviving Grand Parent…and she was quite old too. But I do remember visiting her at her home in Aston on a Sunday afternoon, which was one of the old fashioned ‘back to back’ terraced houses near to Villa Cross.
While sorting through some old photos I found a picture of my parents wedding and they were standing outside Grandma’s house…so i wrote this:-
There’s only four rooms in my Grandmothers house
Two up and two down, life is hard.
No heating or plumbing, bare floorboards frayed rugs,
And the toilet’s out back in the yard.
Now the sitting rooms posh, but no one’s allowed
To sit on the couch to sip tea
It’s covered with sheets and the fires never lit
You can look but don’t touch, leave it be.
There’s a tatty old radio plays crackly songs
It’s the only indulgence she’s got
Cause she aye got a telly nor radiogram
Sings along as she warms up the pot.
There’s a rusty old tin bath she keeps out the back,
Once a week it gets dragged through the door.
Fills it up in the parlour from the kettle she’s boiled
Quickly bathes while it leaks on the floor.
There’s a slight musty smell but it’s pristine and clean,
The front step gets a scrub every day.
With a duster that’s surgically fixed to her hand
The dirt’s quickly shifted away.
My Grandmothers poor as her home will attest
No luxuries has she to boast
But the smile on her face as she opens the door
Shows she’s happy, her family to host.
Jamie Gray Writes 