My Grandmother and Grandfather and aunt lived in Caroline Street Kingsgrove. My Grandma was a very stern looking woman and had lots of rules and regulations. Before our visit she covered the lounge with sheets. I could never understand why she did this as my brother and I were not permitted to go into the lounge-room except to watch television for an hour before dinner, and then we had to sit on the floor, as still and as quiet as mice.
We didn’t have a television until 1967 so to watch the Three Stooges, Father Knows Best, Woody Woodpecker and Felix the Cat was a real treat. Apparently, the first time I saw television, my mother was appearing on a quiz programme. I cried out to her and ran around to the back of the television to join her, crying when I couldn’t get into the box. I’m not sure of my age but I would have been younger than three.
My Auntie Boudie had a colour television where Grandma’s was black and white. Auntie B had covered her television with strips of coloured cellophane. Blue for the sky, red in the middle and green at the bottom.
My Father’s mother we visited whilst holidaying at Grandma’s house. She lived in Mosman in a small brick house which was very old-fashioned. Her beds were so high off the ground that we had to get a stool to get onto them. In my Granny’s bedroom was a closet which when unfolded turned into a toilet (chamber pot). It was resplendent with a wash basin and jug decorated with huge red roses. Neither my brother or I were brave enough to ask whether Granny used this. Her hot water was an archaic system that required lighting with a match. If you didn’t get it quite right it went off with a bang. It From the green enamelled heating chamber copper pipes went in all directions: to the shower above, the bath below and outside the house.
Watching television here was quite different. We all sat on the old lounge which smelt of smoke and ash. We could put our feet on the lounge without getting into trouble and I would snuggle into my father’s mother armpit and lie, looking up at the ceiling, yellowed from the years of cigarette smoke. Here we watched programmes that were of no interest to me, such as the news but, I enjoyed the comfortable, welcoming atmosphere.
Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist) 
Reblogged this on Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist) and commented:
Throwback Thursday I revisit posts from the archives – the early days of blogging . We were talking about the early days of television the other night and both my brother and I remember our delight at the first colour set we saw. My husband goes back even further in the history of television and recounted his friends set where a magnifying lens was placed in front of the screen to enlarge the picture.
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Very interesting memoire, Irene. We didn’t get a TV (black and white) until I was 12 – my entertainment was radio shows on Saturday morning. We were only allowed to watch TV in the afternoon if our homework was done and we happened to be home. I was never home in the afternoon in high school. On weekends we watched what my folks liked, largely westerns. I wonder what kids would think about that today!
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I think there would be a riot in households if that were enforced today. We used to get a half hour programme and the news on week nights and a little more liberal on Friday and Saturday. We saw very few films though and I’ll never forget the first I saw was three coins in the fountain. I was transported to another world.
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What a different world. I love visiting there.
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I’m really glad you visit and become part of it. 🙂
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that brings it all back. Probably 1960 when we got our first TV, a huge box and small screen. First programme was gardening which no self respecting four year old would like let alone in wrinkly black and white – nice picture of your stern granny – like my Great Aunt Rose, a Sally Army captain and distinctly lacking in any joy.
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……. Unless it was Bill and Ben the flowerpot men. Yes you didn’t need WP to provide the snow for the old B& W TV’s. Children today with all their technology probably wouldn’t be able to conceive of our generation starting out without a televison let alone the censorship that we suffered.
I hope the stern oldies like my granny and your great Aunt only put on a front for the children and had a bit of fun once we were out of sight. Mmmm
Glad I brought back a few memories Geoff.
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Love reading about this early part of your life Irene. Your words evoke that era and my own memories surround me too! Discipline was accepted and the children ‘seen and not heard ‘policy was in place!
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Seen and not heard was definitely the order of the day. I feel we have gone to the other extreme now possibly as a generation rebelling against it choosing not to inflict it on their children. I wonder if we will go full circle and go back to those days which in reality when you look back really weren’t that bad, despite the stern granny.
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Oh what wonderful memories Irene, I love your memoir posts. Reminds me so much of my great-grandmother who had a chamber pot/chair thing in her room. Which always smelt of cigarette ash, smoked like trouper and sat in her room for hours playing solitaire. When it was time for dinner (she lived with my grandparents from her late 40s to her dying day in her 80s) she used to poke me in the back with her walking stick as I walked in front of her down the stairs! We got our first colour TV when I was 12 I think. Thought it was amazing. But I love you describe the feeling of comfort you had at the end. Wonderful, love it. Have a great weekend my friend. I’m going to see my boys and won’t be back to blog until Monday. Catch up with you then and then we MUST walk 🙂 ❤ 🙄
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Your great-grandma sounds lik one of those old English characters you see in the movies. Imagine having your mother-in-law live with you for forty years. Your grandparents must have been saints.
Have a wonderful weekend with your boys. Look forward to that walk on Monday. ❤ 🙂
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Wonderful memory and what a difference between grandmothers. Funny, my grandmother who smoked was so much kinder and welcoming than the one who didn’t. Hmmm. I never did see the magnifying screen, but we did own a behemoth of a television that sat in a wooden cabinet, had speakers, radio and a turntable, too. My parents had couches made of green Naugahyde so they wiped up easily but were cold and felt almost sticky. Saturday mornings, when I was allowed, I loved to watch cartoons. In the evening we ate from tv trays and watched Adam-12, Benny Hill or Bob Newhart.
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There must be something to be said for smoking although my smoking granny died as a result of gangrenous legs caused from it so I don’t think I’d recommend it as a kindness pill.
Funny how we have such strong memories of TV. Yours sounds like a very fancy model. One of my favourite programmes was a Rodeo hour long series which featured as the main player Adam from Bonanza. I used to love it but after a short season it went off and has never been heard of again. No-one seems to know what I am talking about and I wonder if I dreamt it.
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