Whatever happened to Spangles?

Come on, then, a quick trip down Memory Lane, prompted by an inebriated argument in my local pub at the weekend.

Nobody from the south west can remember the bubble gum cards of the early 1960s (whoops, bit of an age giveaway) that were called Mars Attacks.

Everybody – except me – remembered a film by that name from about 10 years ago but the cards were a mystery.

In my little bit of Lancashire, and yes, ’twas ’neath dark, Satanic mills, as you ask, it was a huge craze.

The cards were horribly explicit, with flesh burning and melting off humans as the cruel and heartless, mad-eyed Martians destroyed the Earth. Great gory stuff and we kids absolutely loved it all. So the cards were banned.

At least, that is what I was told, although that could well have been a ploy by my parents, in cahoots with the owner of the corner shop, to stop me buying so much bubble gum.

And then we were off on a well-lubricated meander through sweets, ranging from the gob-destroying and indestructible Pineapple Chunks, through the tongue-burning Imps and the tooth-wrenching penny Arrowbars, to the one that always baffles southerners (i.e. everyone from about North Manchester downwards) – kaylie and spanish.

Apparently, the rest of the uneducated world calls it sherbet and liquorice.

Fruit Salad got a mixed reception in the loved it/hated it vote, sherbet lemons proved universally popular, Blackjacks were so-so, as were pear drops. Others you don’t see any more are Polo and Trebor mints, Fruit Polos and Refreshers.

Regionally we also had Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls, so famous that Mike Harding – now big on radio but then a stand-up/troubadour type bloke - even wrote a song about them. And no jokes about sucking a Fisherman’s Friend, thank you.

But whatever DID happen to Spangles?