Granny Mac's Wedding Photos

My Mum has started making digital copies of all of the photos in her enormous photo collection- This is her next big project (She was off on one about buying a negative scanner for her computer- I think she might be pretty serious!). Thankfully she hasn't uploaded all the shameful baby photos yet.

She's started with my Granny's wedding album-Which is really lovely. The photos are brilliant because they're so candid! They really show how pleased and excited they were to be married, and they even catch my great great Grandma telling of one of her grandchildren! I also love that the wedding presents were photographed- It seems such a weird thing to do but I now know that my jelly bowl was my Granny's wedding present (I will be soooo careful with it)!
My Granny and Grandad got married immediately after the 2nd world war ended- She was in the wrens and was a real looker in her uniform- she even won some medals (Although, she never really talked about it). After the war they moved to Oxfordshire, where he worked at AEEA (now RAL) and she worked part time in the jewellery shop (And spent far more than she earned I imagine).

My sister and I were always very close to my Granny- She always gave excellent advice and had the most brilliantly stocked kitchen- She was old school in her hospitality, I swear the poor gas man when he came to read the meter was forced to drink several gallons of tea from her best tea service (Royal Albert roses) and eat an entire battenberg. She also had a really love for cherry pop. All breakfasts were fried, all baths came with bubbles and red lipstick was the order of the day. A woman of excellent tastes, in my expert opinion!
She also attempted to teach me to sew, flower arrange and knit- I took reasonably well to the first skill but the other two were lost on me entirely.

Her life advice that I have taken very seriously on board is as follows:

• Only use a good hairbrush (Nothing but a Denman will do- My Denman hairbrush she gave to be when I was about 8 finally fell to bits last week- I have dutifully replaced it)
• Lipstick can be used as rouge- once the tubes get really worn down, dig the old lipstick out and keep it in an old powder compact.
• Always provide endless cups of tea to visitors, and cake, if possible. Being a good host relies on your guests being well fed and watered.
• Eat the things you like and enjoy them- you won't be here forever
• Cut flowers last longer in Lemonade
• Oil of Olay. I am a convert. It's keeping me wrinkle free.
• A petticoat will stop your unlined skirt getting static on your tights and riding up.
• Always scour charity shops for bargains- One man's trash is another man's treasure.
• Make time for everyone and Treat people as you would like to be treated. Listen to people and be as kind as you can. good manners and kindness cost nothing.
• Written correspondance and Thank you cards may be old fashioned, but they also show a far greater amount of care and gratitude than an text or an email.