Sweet times: Aztecs to Thunderbirds

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.