I was feeling a bit nostalgic this week. One of my oldest mates, Gerry, who I went to both St Vincents and FCHS schools with got married. Another old mate from both schools Tony was there. I don't think I've met him since I left FCHS. As my mind went back to St Vincents, I thought of the sweets we used to eat back then. We'd get pocket money and go to the sweet shop and buy a selection of various penny chews etc. It made me think "maybe a list would be in order". So here it is
2. Fruit Salads. These were the other cheap penny chews. Had a fruity, chemically sort of taste. Loved them. You'd usually eat these before the blackjacks.
3. Parma violets. These were purple and had a taste I cannot describe, it was mildly repulsive, but as they were purple, we persevered.
4. Foam Shrimps. These were pink and chewy. They tasted of sugar, not prawn. An odd idea in truth, but we loved them.
5. Flying saucers. These were like the hosts we were given at communion at mass, but stuffed with sugar and sherbet. They were wonderful. Your tongue would fizz as the wrapping dissolved.
6. Lollipops. These were the treat you got if you good in posh restaurants. They were flat and wrapped in sellophane. They were red, orange, yellow and green. If you got the red one, you were in luck.
7. Gobstoppers. Hard as nails, choking hazard for kids, so banned long before banning things was fashionable. A sort of annaseed taste. My mum wouldn't let me have them, so when I did I felt highly rebellious.
8. Coca Cola bottles. Jelly like consistency, coated in sugar, they didn't taste of cola, but were pleasant enough.
9. Bubble gum balls. Looked like gobstoppers, but soft and chewy. You could blow bubbles if you wanted. My mum also banned these and told me I'd die if I ate them.
10. White Mice. White chocolate. Didn't taste of mouse, didn't taste of chocloate. Sort of sweet and floury. You always thought they'd taste better than they did, but you bought them anyway.
The death of Woolworths and pick and mix on the High Street sort of ended this culture. Now kids get massive bags of Haribo's, which to me are far less fun, but hey ho, I'm an old fart! When I was a little nipper and I got a shilling a weel pocket money in around 1967, I'd get a couple of each of these. Most were two for a ha'penny. I was trying to remember which was my favourite, it was probably the flying saucers. What were yours?
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Love a bit of nostalgia, here's a song by The False Dots celebrating it
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