I make no bones about it... I am quite partial to sweets.
Ever since I stopped smoking it seems I've developed a bit of a sweet tooth.
And so I eat sweets...... Not the sweets as in Desserts, but sweets as in the ones you would find in your local shop's "penny tray" - Anyone remember "penny trays"?
Anyway, here, for the record, is a run down of my top ten sweets (which of course I couldn't do without acknowledging two people first - Rol for the inspirational top tens he produces and my Grandma who had a shop when I was a kid and she always had some "chocolate chewing nuts" or something to hand!!)
Ok, formalities done.... on with the countdown!
10 - Space Dust - Call it what you will: Pop Rocks; Moon Candy; Space Dust..... it's that sherbetty stuff that's loaded with carbon dioxide and it fizzes and pops on your tongue.... crack-a-lacking!
9 - Aniseed Imperials - I like Mint Imperials and I also like Aniseed Balls, but which is better? There's only one way to find out.... F.... wait, what happens if you combine the two? Aniseed Imperials.... that's exactly what would happen, and I totally love them. One of my favourite fishing sweets. They're soft inside like a mint imperial and hard outside like an aniseed ball.... it's win win.... except for the teeth!
8 - Riley's Chocolate Toffee Rolls - As a kid these sweets were considered to be far too "grown up" but the toffee and dark chocolate combination has left a lasting impression on me. There were other sweets I'd put in the "grown up" category that I wouldn't buy but Chocolate Toffee Rolls? Get some in! Nt made in Halifax any more and not made by Riley's but I bet these are just as good.
7 - Mints - Chewy, hard, extra strong, extra strong with a hint of chilli, polo, imperial..... I love 'em all.
6 - Sweet Cigarettes - Although the red tip and "cigarette" nomenclature were long since removed.... they're now known as "candy sticks" - they're still substitute fags for me.... and I love them - I'm even quite fond of the temporary superhero tattoo that comes in the packet with them.
5 - Old Jamaica - A real old barnstorming chocolate smash hit that went away and has come back again. Sure it doesn't have the old orange packaging with the pirate ship at full sail on the front, but it's still as rum-and-raisiny as it ever was, and although I normally ONLY eat high quality chocolate, this one makes it in to my top ten.
4 - Marzipan - Little marzipan fruits (those camp christmassy gifts) or chocolate covered slabs of the stuff..... we love a bit of marzipan! Battenburg and Christmas cakes lathered with the stuff always get polished off with gusto..... Get some Amaretto down you!!
3 - Coltsfoot Rock - We used to get these strange herbal sticks from the chemist. I still love them. They're such a strange thing, and when you eat them you can't help but imagine the machine that's extruding them, probably in mile long sections and then the blade that comes down and chops them before they set rock hard, with those fluted sides...... slurp!
2 - Reese's Peanut Butter Cups - Peanut butter? And piss poor American chocolate?? WIN! Salty and sweet and totally ace..... all lying there in their little paper cases just waiting to be scoffed...... drools!
1 - Liquorice - It's a smash hit at number one and it's a massive "catch all" - Black and White Mints; Liquorice Allsorts; Panda Liquorice Sticks; Cream Rock; Poor Bens; Catherine Wheels....... I love all things liquorice! Probably with the exception of them horrible liquorice root things that you get that's like a bit of a twig that you chew until it falls into fibrous, stringy pieces in your mouth and leaves you gagging!
