Sweet dreams are made of this . . .

ANGEL Delight, Wagon Wheels, Findus Crispy Pancakes and Arctic Roll . . . its seems that we are all hankering after a taste of our childhood. Some commentators put the resurgence down the credit crunch and people hankering back to a time when things were much simpler. Or is it merely the case that people will always remember the past with a warm, fuzzy glow? Whatever the reason, reporter Karen Doherty asked shoppers on Oldham Market for their their favourite foods of yesteryear — and it seems they had a bit of a sweet tooth.

OLD time favourites such as coltsfoot rock, lemon bon bons, dolly mixtures and jelly babies are hard to resist.

And people can pick up a quarter (or 100g in modern measurers) of boilings and toffees which have stood the test of time on the popular sweet stall on Oldham market.

Workers Mavis Denton and daughter-in-law Donna were doing a steady trade as Jack Roebuck (73), from Abbeyhills, remembered his favourites.

He said: “As as child I liked Liquorice Allsorts because they were all different colours — if we could afford them. We didn’t have much money. We were a large family, and my mother could slice them up. We also used to get bullseyes.”

His friend James Leach (67), from Coldhurst, enjoyed midget gems and cherry lips as a youngster while Janet Olive (54), from Oldham, has fond memories of Arrow Bars.

“It was a caramel bar, pretty long — you do not see them any more,” she said.

“And egg and milk chews. This was a thicker chew, about an 11/2 in long and 1in in depth. They were very nice. A lot of things are coming back now like jam roly-poly for dessert but you do not hear of jelly and custard — it’s jelly and ice cream. It was always custard we had on a Sunday after our tea.”

Gillian Brown (51), landlady of the Moorside pub, said that she liked “everything” as a child but described a particular favourite. She said: “Mint cracknel —it was wafer thin with a hard mint in the centre and chocolate covered. And proper treacle toffee. You can still get it, but it is not as good as it was.”

Rhiannon Warren (52), from Hathershaw, had recently discussed the topic at work. “We were talking about this and my favourite sweet was Golden Cups. It was soft toffee and it used to dribble down you chin. It was usually Milky Ways with your pocket money and Aztec bars, they weren’t out for long”

Vic Mercer (64), from Leigh, salivated over Spangles, acid drops, bon bons and sherbets. As for the savoury stuff, he added: “You do net get all the old fashioned cooking like pigs’ trotters, hocks, ham shanks and pea and ham soup that was made by my gran. They seem to have been phased out.”

Phillip Bottomley (36), from Hathershaw, liked to spend his pocket money on midget gems and Mars Bars while favourite dinners were fish fingers and steak and kidney pudding.

His wife, Michelle (37), added: “I liked cherry lips, cola cubes and 10 pence mixes.”