A big treat for kids back in the 1960’s to 1970’s was always the arrival of the ice cream van when all the kids from the street would queue up with our pocket money pennies clasped tightly in one hand as we would excitedly pick our favourite sweets or ice lollies. Most of my normal purchases were taken from the “penny tray” (jelly snakes, caramels, sherbet straws , Bazooka Joes etc) but on a Saturday my dad would give my brother and myself extra money to buy “proper” chocolate for the family to eat while we watched the Saturday film. This was a time when we only had between 2 and 4 TV channels and you only got a decent film at the weekend, usually a John Wayne western or a spy film. Some of our family favourite treats are noted below:
The Cadbury’s Aztec chocolate bar had a bit of a legendary reputation amongst the chocolate bar aficionados of the 1960s/70s. It was Cadburys attempt at competing with the Mars Bar and was available to buy from 1967 and (surprisingly to myself at least ) lasted until around 1978 when it was discontinued. The bar itself had a creamy nougat core with caramel and was covered in milk chocolate. My abiding memory of the Aztec bar apart from it being a favourite of my brothers, was of the exceptionally long (2 or 3 minute) TV advert in the late 1960s that focused on Aztecs dancing around to strange music and honouring the God of chocolate with the strap line “Cadbury’s Aztec a feast of a bar” repeated several times.
Caramac bars were pretty popular in the 1960s to the early 1970s among kids as they were relatively large, cheap and very sweet. My memory of Caramac was when it was sold in the classic black wrapper with red writing and buying them to enjoy while reading my weekly (UK) comic book purchases. Caramac is now sold in gaudy red wrappers with yellow writing which is nowhere near as cool looking as the classic black wrapper. I bought one a few year ago and it ended up in the bin after one bite as it was just too sweet for me.
Fry’s chocolate cream bars are a classic UK chocolate bar that are sold in multiple flavours. It is one of the few chocolate bars that I can still eat (my sweet tooth is no longer as active as it was). Every time I see a Frys mint chocolate bar I think of my mum who loved these and would always buy one from the ice cream van at the weekend to savour while watching the Saturday film on TV.
Cadbury’s Bar Six was a chocolate bar that I associate with cinema vending machines as these and Tiffin bars always seemed to be stocked in them. Bar Six was a creamy chocolate bar with a wafer centre and hazel nut cream centre and was really tasty. It became a big favourite of mine when I was a teenager and like Caramac I associate its purchase and consumption with my comic book purchases at the time (and for some reason Sean Connery James Bond films at the cinema).
Old Jamacia was aimed at a more mature audience and it was one of the few chocolate bars my dad enjoyed (along with a Bournville bar) . I’m not sure if it was an urban legend but I seem to recall that the original bars had way too much rum in them to legally allow them to be sold as confectionary. I do remember having a square of my dad’s bar as a 6 year old and it was quite nice, but was a bit filling for me then.
Ice lollies were also a favourite purchase of mine and Lyon’s Maid Zoom was my ice lolly of choice. Back in the 1960’s Zoom was heavily advertised along with FAB (which was aimed primarily at girls) in comics and on the TV backed by Jerry Andersons Thunderbirds, Lady Penelope (and Parker) , Joe 90 and Fireball XL 5. I still pick these up from time to time and still love them.
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I loved Fry's Five Centres (remember them?), which had a different flavour in each 'slice'. Aztec Bars made a limited comeback in 2000 and were called - wait for it - Aztec 2000. Also enjoyed Bar Six - wish they'd bring it back - along with Junglies Jellies, which were like Jelly Babies, but in animal shapes, which came in a square box. Old Jamaica also made a comeback recently (it's had a few over the years), but the wrapper is unrecognisable. Now made by Bournville 'under licence' from Cadbury, which confuses me because Cadbury's used to make Bournville. (Didn't they?)
ReplyDeleteI do indeed remember five centres Kid but don't recall Junglies Jellies. I thought Biurnville was a Cadburys brand, I will need to check but Cadbury was the name on Old Jamacia.
DeleteAs an American none of those confections is familiar to me, but an affection for vintage sweets I can identify with. I lived too far out in the countryside to get a ice cream truck visit but once a week on Fridays my school bus driver would stop at a local shop in town before we headed home. My bus ride to and from school was in excess of an hour so getting a candy was a real nifty treat and we looked forward to it each week and had to remember to get some change from our parents. It was a sad day indeed if you forgot. Currently my favorite candy bar is a Zero bar from Hershey.
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I think Zero bars are on sale here as well. I remember when I visited New York with my work and buying a few US choc bars like the 3 Musketeers, Baby Ruth and Milky way. Strangely 3 Musketeers was like the UKs Milky Way and the US Milky Way was a bit like our Mars Bar. My favourite was a Baby Ruth , a were but like our Picnic bar but with no raisins.
ReplyDeleteI don't think my local ice-cream van sold sweets and chocolates as far as I remember, only ice-cream and lollies. The driver was black but everyone called him Tony.
ReplyDeleteI loved Fab lollies and I was totally unaware at the time that they were meant for girls. Nobody else knew either so perhaps the "for girls" marketing ploy had been dropped by the early to mid '70s. What a stupid idea anyway!!
Hi Colin- When I was really young (about 5-7 years old) we had a van that sold ice cream, sweets, bread, cakes, milk etc and US comic books ! It is strange to think an ice lolly would be aimed at girls but it was more because it was advertised in the” Lady Penelope” (or was it just called “Penelope” ) comic which was for girls. Zoom was advertised in boys comics like TV 21 etc and the respective TV adverts split the adverts between Thunderbirds, Joe 90 etc for Zoom and Lady Penelope and Parker for FAB. It must have worked in the n mid – late 60’s as I never even thought to buy Fab as a child but by the 1970’s I think Penelope comic etc were no longer printed so the advertising will have changed and it was just viewed as an ice lolly. Like yourself I really like a Fab ice lollies and buy them from time to time (I have a box of them in my freezer at present).
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