Which Decade Had the Best Sweets

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Sweets. Our love affair with these teeth rotting morsels of joy starts from childhood, but can carry on way into adulthood. Whether or not you still eat them is insignificant; what is important are those childhood memories

My memory of sweets is very clear. Every Friday after work, my dad would pick me up from play scheme and drive to the newsagents before going home. He was there for a lottery ticket. I was there for sweets.



The shopkeeper was Dad's best friend, and I used to call him Uncle. All the penny sweets were visible under the counter, while boiled sweets were kept inside big shelved tubs on the wall. I would point out to Uncle how many I wanted of everything, he'd weigh them, bag them, and I'd return to the till with far more than a week's pocket money would pay for. Dad would pay up, and before we got back in the car, my fingers were already dipping into the paper bag.



That's how I ended up with three fillings. Fortunately they were all baby teeth, and when they fell out, I decided to stop eating sweets and save my new set from going the same way.

I might not eat sweets anymore, but the memory of them is what brings the real joy. For Christmas Dad and I bought my Gramps a hamper of retro sweets, and it made me start thinking, which decade had the best sweets? If you could go back to any decade for a taste of nostalgia, which would it be? Here are some examples of the most popular sweets from each decade. I have highlighted my favourites:



1930s: coconut ice, mint imperials, rock candy, pear drops, Fry's Peppermint Cream, jelly beans, wine gums, chocolate limes, raspberry ruffles, gummi bears.

1940s: aniseed balls, Catherine wheels, Fry's Chocolate Cream, sarsaparilla tablets, M&Ms, sherbet lemons.



1950s: coconut mushrooms, rhubarb and custards, Caramac, Curly Wurly, Sherbet Dip Dab, Vimto bar, Jelly Babies.

1960s: candy necklace, Drumstick lolly, Sherbet Fountain, milkshake bottles, Dolly Mixture, Jazzies, flying saucers.



1970s: fruit salad chews, Parma Violets, Love Hearts, cola bottles, popping candy, Refreshers lollies, gobstoppers.

1980s: Cadbury's Freddo bar, Refresher chews, gummi worms, Chewits, fried eggs.

1990s: Skittles, Push Pops, Toxic Waste sour candy, Hubba Bubba bubble gum, pink shrimp, yellow bananas, white mice, Percy Pigs, Millions.

By the looks of things I liked the eighties best. I was particularly partial to gummy sweets and anything with sherbet. What about you?

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