It seems a grandma’s wisdom overcomes all else. I’ve just got off the phone from mine…. one of my most important weekly duties is to list my TV appearances so she can ‘see me’. Of course, as is her right, she complains that “I only ever get to see you on the TV, why don’t you come and visit me?” Truth be told, I do visit her. As she lives in Manchester and I live in London though, of course my visits are never often enough. Then again I’ve phoned her at least three times a week since I was thirteen, but she still always says “you will speak to me again won’t you?” so I suppose I should know the score.
Now my wonderful grandma is getting on a bit, but she still likes to look after me. Having told her I was on both BBC1 and ITV1 this week, she was delighted, saying “you’re doing well”. Yet she very quickly countered by starting to lecture me on the importance of ‘looking after my money’. I told her “don’t worry grandma, I’m very careful and my career is going well so all is good.” Yet she said “but Martin, don’t spend it, make sure you save some, it’s very important to save money you know.” The MSG was sitting beside me tittering slightly (she too is now ‘watched every day’ and gets rebuked if she forecasts bad weather!)
I did then remind her that my job is the “Money Saving Expert”, to which she conceded, “OK, so I suppose you know something about saving money, but just be sure you’re careful, and put it aside so you’re safe.” I couldn’t agree more grandma, and I’m starting to see where I get it from!