Grandad Grumps

‘You never let me get away with any of that when I was the same age.’ Alan said, watching his daughter eat her way through a packet of Haribo. ‘If I wanted sweets before dinner, you would say no.’

‘Well, she loves Haribo, and besides it is only a little packet.’

Hands on hips, Alan shook his head. ‘Yea, a little packet full of sugar. I told you about this before. When she has lunch, then she can have some sweets.’

‘It’s not doing any harm, besides everything has less sugar these days.

They were partners in crime, that was for sure. Before his granddaughter was born, he said, he would make sure she listened. Now, as Grumpy Gramps, there were different rules. She didn’t have to eat all her dinner, and there was no moaning about the mess in the front room.

When Alan was a boy, he would have to go to grannies. She baked the best cakes. Was this any different? Probably not, but she still wouldn’t eat her dinner when she got home.