When I was a wee sprog, I had several favourite sweets. I loved Sherbet Fountains, Black Jacks, Flying Saucers, and those pink Shrimp shaped things.
Of all these, the most intriguing by far was the Sherbet Fountain. It looked like a Bonfire Night firework. It looked dangerous; and was extremely annoying.
The idea was that you bit the end off the licorice straw, then sucked to enjoy the sherbet. But, of course, this never worked, and you ended-up eating the straw then emptying the sherbet onto your hand.
Even so, there was a certain amount of fun involved. They looked so good in their yellow and red livery, and the flavour of the sherbet was wonderful.
I'm not really supposed to eat sweets these days, but I do have a penchant for Sainsbury's 'Fizzy Watermelon Slices'. One bag a week won't kill me; or maybe it will.
It's a candy I've never seen or tasted.
ReplyDeleteIt's made by a very old English Co, and probably isn't exported.
DeleteBlack jacks, midget gems and wine gums. Yes the sherbet dabs were very annoying.
ReplyDeleteI was addicted to Wine Gums, it became quite serious.
DeleteI think they stopped making the liquorice hollow because someone sucked some into lungs - dangerous!
ReplyDeleteThey were a staple of sweet buying when we were small , along with fruit salad chews - 4 for a penny and candy cigarettes.
Gosh, I hadn't heard about that. Cough inducing, no doubt!
DeleteYes, I remember them. Sherbet Dabs (with the lollypop) were more successful. My favourites were Opal Mints and Curly Wurly. I liked Pear Drops but they would sometimes cut my tongue.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure they put something addictive in Pear drops, they had a taste of Ether; delicious.
DeleteI loved those little white milk bottle sweets.
ReplyDeleteI don't know those, there were so many sweets in large jars. The choice was wonderful.
DeleteI love those! And the little chocolate "Chico" babies.
DeleteI didn't know you were supposed to bite the end off the liquorice and use like a straw, I always used it the same as the sherbet dabs. Gosh, brings back memories...remember Lucky Bags?
ReplyDeleteYes, I do remember the Lucky Bags.
DeleteWe had similar sherbet sweets. I love liquorice and the sherbet fizz. And those milk bottles JC mentions. Haven't tried any of these in years. I'm guessing sherbet would no longer be a favourite.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of sweets my grandchildren had which exploded on the tongue. They loved them
If I do buy myself some sweets these days, they're always of the 'acid fizzy' variety.
DeleteDon't forget the milk chews, slightly bigger than black jacks. I loved the chewing wood and coltsfoot. I bought some sticks of coltsfoot recently from a shop that sold all the old fashioned sweets. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteI liked the Blackjacks. They were 4 for 1d when I was small, so I could buy quite a few.
DeleteMy favourite was Mars bars - and they still make them, though I rarely indulge these days.
ReplyDeleteOn holiday in Oz some years ago, we went on a day trip to the Blue Mountains. On the way back we stopped at a town called Lara and the highlight was visiting a traditional "Olde English" sweet shop. Shelves and shelves of all the sweets (in those big glass bottles!) we knew as a child! We were able to buy the sweets and I've often wondered where they got the replacements. They were sweets no longer available in the UK.
I remember buying Mars Bars that had lines on the packet dividing it up into 7 pieces, so that it could last a whole week. Some hope!!!
DeleteWhere have all the "Spangles" gone?
ReplyDeleteLong time passing
Where have all the "Spangles" gone?
Long time ago.
I used to buy Spangles; I'd forgotten all about them.
DeleteSpangles 3d also Olde English Spangles . My mouth is watering, haha.
DeleteI hated liquorice but bought Black Jacks because they were a 1/4d each and I loved that coin as my change for a 1/2d.
ReplyDeleteYes 4 for 1d. They always seemed correctly priced.
DeleteAnything with licquorice - remember \pontefract cakes? Can you still get them? I shall investigate now that you have stirred up memories!
ReplyDeleteStrangely, my supermarket in France sells Pontefract cakes. They're very good too.
DeleteWhen I was a small child, my Father would, every Saturday, buy 2 Sherbet Fountains, one each for Mum and me. He bought Pontefract (or Pomfret) cakes for himself, and was very disappointed when I tried one and discovered that I liked them, he had to share from then on!
ReplyDeleteI have always loved Mars bars, and these days, cut them into fairly thick slices and freeze them, it stops me 'pigging out' on them! X
My father would never let me eat our home-grown Asparagus in case I liked it. Of course I did, and he wasn't happy.
DeleteIn our house anything liquorice, MacIntosh's toffees (especially the coconut ones), aniseed balls, and Irish moss 'jubes'. I only learned of coltsfoot when I arrived in UK and love it too.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite Liquorice are Haribo wheels. I buy them in France.
DeleteAt our age, something is going to kill us, it might as well be something we enjoy.
ReplyDeleteLet it be sweets or alcohol.
DeleteWhat a sweet trip down memory lane. My favourites were shrimps, flying saucers and the liquorice wheels with the jelly buttons / spogs in the middle ! .... and Sue G reminded me of Lucky Bags also known as Jamboree Bags ..... I was always disappointed as they were filled { hardly filled } with rubbish .... {misshapen sweets and a cheap toy} , unless I got the The Fortune Teller Fish ! Do you remember The Fortune Teller Fish that you hld over the palm of the hand ? XXXX
ReplyDeleteI liked those pink Shrimps; I'd buy some today, if I could find any. No, I don't recall the fish. They sound fun.
DeleteDepends on the size of the bag!
ReplyDeleteYes.
DeleteMy grandmother owned a bakery and a little sweet shop . I was privileged to sample her sweets on a daily basis, just had to donkey-stone her step on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteI loved the rhubarb and custard sweets, they were the first ones I treated myself to on my last visit home.
Those little magic fish that Jacqueline @ home mentioned also came in Christmas crackers I've still got mine from years ago !
Jo
I loved those Rhubarb and Custard sweets too. I wonder if they're still available.
DeleteWith the exception of liquorice and jelly fish, the rest of the candy mentioned here is new to me.
ReplyDeleteAll very English, and mostly from a long time ago !!!
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