Is there anyone, family or friends, that have now passed on, that you would love to have a discussion with or to ask them something that only they would know the answer to.?
I was reading the thread about dangerous books for boys, where Joep mentioned crystal radios and I found myself wishing I could ask my grandad some stuff that there is nobody left to ask any more.
He died in 1952 when I was 11 and I was told then, that he was a man born before his time. At 11 that of course meant nothing to me but now I can see what they meant.
I was told that he was one of the first men in Attercliffe to have a crystal set. Cats whisker comes to mind.?
He used to have a ex government surplus shop on Attercliffe Common and my brother and I played with things like telescopes and a crane made from the motor that worked a searchlight. Oh and a pedal car with a motor in in.....
I remember standing at the top of the gennel that went up from Newhall Road to Vicarage Rd, watching a lunar eclipse and him saying that it wouldn't be long before men could land on the moon.
I think of him whenever anything is on the telly showing this happening and I would like to ask him if this is how he imagined it would be.
What would you ask if you could and who?

Oh! Joan, I think we all would asks questions to people that have passed on, I'd would love to ask my Dad questions, also one of my sister-in laws that passed away 10 years ago, not much I could ask my Mom though as I knew her quite well and I think I knew everything there was to know about her, we were very close.....now you've got me thinking of what I would ask them:confused:

I would love to ask my Nan to sing me her rude songs she taught me when I was 5!!! I've forgotten most of them now.

My Mum used to go spare with her when I started singing "We had to carry Carrie to the ****house".

Mind you, if she was around now, she would be teaching them to my daughters!!! LOL

I would ask my grandad from my father's side about what life was like in the UK when he first came over. Also, questions like, why did he used to have a lot of jams ? Or drink strong tea with milk. Things like, who taught him how to make eggy-bread ? Why did he go back to HK towards the end ? Why did he came over to begin with ? What were my great-grandparents like ? Was I really his favourite grandchild ? :D Did he wish that I was a boy ? If not, how come I had boyish haircuts as a kid ? >.< ! Erm... other things like, how many countries did he travel to, and stories of when he's at sea.

Joan, that shop in Attercliffe sounds like teh sort of place I love:) And yes, 'cat's whiskers' were the name given to the piece of the crystal sets that did the job (in simple terms) of extracting the sound from the radio signal.

As an aside, I collect old books on radio - fascinating stuff! :)

My randfather died when I was 4 - I learnt a oot of stuff about him as I grew up; his experiences in WW1, his time as a Sergeant Major, his service in the Boer War and Afghanistan. Also, he used to walk to work every morning and at the houses of his mates he'd knock on the door to ensure they were up. When he retired form the pit, there was a story about him in the local paper.

I'd have loved to have asked him about his life; I was luckier with my mum, but I'd have liked to know more about he childhood during the general strike and things like that.

I think he was a overhead crane driver but I'd like to ask where. I'd like to ask did it hurt when he got a "tickle" when he was building stuff. I can remember seeing him thrown to the other side of the room on the odd occasion.:huh:
I would like to ask my parents about the bananas as shown in that programme last night. I know they used to buy me pomegranites, paid half a crown, cos they were full of iron and good for me.
So many things crop up and I think, oh I'll ask this person or that person then remember that, oh no, you can't.
My grandads shop incidently, sad to think that all the stuff in there finished up at the scrap-yard when he got ill. Field telephones, morse code thingys and things I see on telly and think....oh yes, I can remember seeing one of those.
Oh what I'd give for a rummage now.:)