Holy macaroni... one thing that I love about all of your comments on the blog posts (thank you so much for those) is the fact that I never know which subjects will really get everyone commenting.
The "turn the handle" pencil sharpeners that was seemingly mandatory for every self-respecting teacher when we were little was one of those topics.
And blancmange was certainly another.
For this week's blog post I thought I'd do something slightly different.
When researching the food items to write about on the blog (and in my emails) I occasionally discover things that I would swear have long since disappeared... but they're still around! I'm clearly not walking down the right aisles in the supermarket... or I'm just going to the wrong shop in the first place.
Incidentally (and this is a very early memory of mine so I might be completely wrong)... I vaguely recollect being taken to a Sainsburys when I was probably 5 or 6. It was in the Harrow area... or somewhere round there. But the memorable thing about it was the fact that it wasn't like a shop now where you just help yourself off the shelves, there was a long counter along either side of the shop and you had to ask the person to get you the stuff off the shelf behind them.
Please.. put me out of my misery... do you (or your parents or grandparents!) remember ever going into Sainsburys like that? Or am I just a bit deranged.
Anyway... my 4 top products which I hadn't seen for ages but I subsequently discovered you can still buy...
(Imagine I'm doing this in a Top Of The Pops, chart rundown type voice)...
At 4... Salt and Shake crisps. The ones with the little blue bag of salt. Did you know you can still get those?
At 3... Findus Crispy Pancakes. Except they're now branded as Birds Eye not Findus)
At 2... Angel Delight. My favourite was butterscotch... I'd eat it until I felt horrible! It was brilliant!
And at 1... and this is a 70's icon if ever there was one... and it seems like it might be on the way out because Tesco online looks to be out of stock, the online store named after the big river can't help... but it looks like Morrisons still have it in stock...
Unless that's stock left over from the 1970s...
In the very very early days of AQuarterOf.co.uk, probably in 2003, I received an email enquiry from a customer asking me if our stock was fresh or if it was stock left over from the 1970s! I promise you that's true.
Anyway... back to number 1. Here's the product description which will give you a clue...
If you should meet a creature with the body of a snake, the head of a crocodile and the claws of a lion, that's flapping leathery wings and breathing fire, you've found yourself a dragon. For centuries the Chinese have considered this mythical animal a symbol of power and fertility. Down through the ages they've used the dragon to decorate everything from clothing to cooking pots. Dragons were believed to live on a diet of human sacrifice. But that may be because easy to prepare, tasty meals - such as the exciting eating experience of our #### #### - were not readily available in ancient times. There's a point to ponder as you enjoy your ##### meal.
Have you every heard such convoluted tripe?
Can you guess what it is? Scroll down a bit to see)...
Yes... you can really still buy Vesta Chow Mein!
I bet you can't beat that... or can you???
Nostalgic Meanderings
The 1970s and 80s in the UK weren't just about the flamboyant flares and shimmering disco balls. It was an era defined by a certain ethos – one of mak...
This chunky wonder was the closest any of us ever got to a Star Wars adventure, the joystick akin to a real spaceship's controls...
Oh, the allure of the Fray Bentos pie! My mind tinkers back to the carefree 1980s, and I'm instantly whisked up in a nostalgic whirlwind of ...
Ah, the Magic Robot – the board game that was the epitome of a '70s childhood, or more like a jumble sale staple and the subject of many sna...
Ah, the good old days of the '70s and '80s, when British ingenuity was at its peak, and we could solve almost any car-related problem with a bit of el...
Ah, vinyl car seats - the "luxury" of the 70s and 80s. They were the true test of one's mettle on a hot summer's day. Picture this: a quintessentially...
Journey back with me, if you will, to an era when television was our magic portal to the fantastic and the extraordinary. Let us revisit a time when t...
Ah, the good old days when life was simpler, and the only thing you had to worry about was whether your scratch and sniff sticker collection was up ...
Get ready to unleash your inner child as we delve into a mysteriously nostalgic realm of mischief, motorcycles, and mesmerizing bears - can you guess ...
Are you a fan of the outrageous Hanna-Barbera cartoon 'Wacky Races'? If so, it's no surprise – since its debut in 1968, this classic show has captur...
What is the link between the fab 1960s weirdness that is "The Banana Splits" and the scary 1976 horror classic "The Omen"? Read this to find out! P...
A couple of weeks ago we made the annual trip to the garden centre to pick our Christmas tree. I had measured the height, floor to ceiling, in ou...
Only 19 sleeps to Christmas (as I write this)... It was a regular December memory that I recall from my childhood so it definitely qualifies for ...
This is when it started to get serious... Christmas really was coming. The first sign was the appearance of the advent calendars... Not tha...
Remember Evel Knievel? He was huge when I was little. Definitely larger than life... He had 2 claims to fame from what I can remember. Jum...
A while back I wrote about the bands from back in the day which are still doing their thing... Human League, The Cure etc. If you missed it you ...
I'm nervous... I came up with an idea last week and I'm not sure whether it will go down a storm... or die a horrible death through lack of inter...
Back in the day... I think it must have been the 80s... there was possibly one of the strangest things to be broadcast on the radio... and i...
Hello I went to Wembley last Saturday to watch the League 1 playoff final (football!) where my beloved Wycombe Wanderers were playing Sun...
Hello David McKee sadly died about a month ago. He was 87, which is a good innings in anybody's book. You're probably thinking... who? ...
Almost 50 years later this still sends shivers down my spine... and not in a good way. It's in the same category as scraping fingers down the bla...
As you can probably guess, it's not a bad job to be the person behind the virtual counter in an online sweetshop. Aside from being surrounded by ...
As Vic Reeves would have said... "You wouldn't let it lie...". Brace yourself for a nostalgic rant... Don't you find it depressing how many re...
I took William, our 13 year old, shopping the other day to buy a new pair of trainers. The old ones had lasted about 3 months until h...
As I look out of the window here the sky is grey and it's raining. Back in the day, before there was 24 hour a day entertainment for children (on...
Back at the end of the 70s a new, how did they come up with that idea, programme appeared on BBC2. I can remember if it was on Sunday afternoo...
As I'm doing mundane stuff around the house and in the garden I spend a whole load of my time trying to think of obscure nuggets of things that I reme...
The devil is in the detail they say... and that was certainly true when it came to tokens at Christmas. One, in particular, made my heart sink when...
Do you agree with my controversial list of the worst biscuits ever? ... from an 8 year old's perspective anyway...
It was one of the staple puddings of school dinners at our junior school. In the queue I would repeat to myself internally... "Please don't let ...
They were unscratchable... and you could smear them with butter and jam, pour coffee over them... wipe'em down and then pay them. Because Tomorrow'...
There's one item from my childhood that stands head and shoulders above all others as being completely and horribly unfit for purpose.
How many Saturday morning tv programmes can you remember from over the years? Here's a load of them to rekindle some memories. How many can y...
Loads of memories of the most nostalgia-inducing ice lollies from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. Which was your favourite?
Back in the 70’s there was a British toy company called Palitoy. Ring any bells? They made my sister’s favourite doll at the time Penny Puppywalker...
Did you get the 1990’s music reference in the title? See more here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF2ayWcJfxo When I say hmmm I don’t mean it in ...