During what started as an innocent conversation about who does what around the house, Sheila rightly reeled off a list as long as your arm. I think she mentioned cleaning, cooking, vacuuming, gardening, ironing..... Hang on I said, I did the ironing yesterday. “Oh, put the flags out” came the sarcastic retort.

Put the flags out? I hadn't heard that since primary school so that got us on to sayings we'd use and hear as kids but which seem to have disappeared from our vocabulary.

If someone threatened to clock you one in the playground, you might have said: Oh yes? You and whose army?

What are you looking at? I don't know, the label's fallen off. If a parent or a teacher said “Well well” the reply was obviously: two wells make a river, you in the middle make it bigger.

When you were eating something delicious you would obviously say (whilst rubbing your tummy): yum yum, pig's bum, wrapped its feet in chewing gum.

And my favourite which I've mentioned before I actually still use if the chance comes along. Is someone cycles past you on a bike you are obliged to shout “Get off and milk it” I've no idea why but I think it's the law.

I'd love to hear your favourite childhood sayings you could email them to eamonn.oneal@menmedia.co.uk

A pint, a prattle and the patter of tiny feet

Remember when you used to like reminiscing? I think the older you get the more you enjoy telling the same stories over again and even though you've heard them a million times, you still laugh, sigh and sometimes go misty-eyed at the poignant bits.

I'm very lucky to still be very close to many of my school friends and a few days ago, half a dozen of us settled in a cozy corner at the Deansgate pub in Manchester and launched into a full-blown reminiscing session. Stories of scrapes, successes, failures, forays, lost loves and lots of laughs followed.

The protagonist in most of the stories was Willie Griffiths – everyone's best mate. He was the catalyst for everything we did and enriched our lives. Willie would have been 60 this week this week but, devastatingly, he died suddenly aged 45.

But as you know, fate works in funny ways and the day before Willie's birthday his son, Mark became a father again. Mark's wife Clare gave birth to little Harry, a brother for Rowan and another grandchild for Marie and the irreplaceable Willie Griffiths. Someone is definitely looking down on us.

December is turning out to be a busy month for babies so I'd also like to welcome to the world Grace Gallagher and Flynn Hampson.

And finally

I've just joined the National Trust – so now I believe everything everyone tells me