Gran’s got an open heart as well as an open door

Isabel is reinstating a tradition her gran and great-gran used to maintain. Open house on Sundays.

The idea is that their children and grandchildren are invited around every week. Isabel and her hubby will have the heating on, a pot of soup and some healthy, hearty meals on the go.

In a nod to modern times, they have a high-speed router and plenty of charging ports. “What with all the price rises on the way,” she told me, “and the cost of heating, this will be one day a week we can make sure everyone is well fed and all charged up. Plus, if there are any other problems, hopefully we’ll hear about them and solve them as a family.”

It’s a useful solution for a modern problem but, you know, I can’t help thinking the grans and great-grans of times gone by had very similar reasons in mind.