Kaylie

[Gillg]

As children in the 50s we bought paper bags of Kali (my mouth's puckering up at the thought of its sharpness  now!) and Spanish (chewy roots or twig-like pieces) in Rochdale, too, but at the sweet shop, not the toffee shop, Elaine. 

Toffee was sold on the market and was displayed in shallow oblong tins.  It had to be broken up with a special hammer.  I've still got an old one in my kitchen drawer, and very handy it is, too, for all kinds of jobs.  The salesman's cry of "Home made Toffee"  rang out across the market and attracted us children, who loved to find the weirdest shaped pieces, especially large ones which would stretch your mouth and face into funny shapes.  Really yummy was his treacle toffee. 

Gillg

[Elaine168]

Hello Gillg

Yes we had toffee on trays too. Gorgeous. I still love Thornton's version now! BUT we called it all toffee. Sweets was a posh word that we didn't bother with.
Interesting isn't it?
Elaine

[Gillg]

Yes, Thornton's is pretty good, but nowadays I daren't eat it in case it pulls my fillings out.   My mother used to make delicious Bonfire Toffee with condensed milk.  I'm drooling at the thought of it.

Gillg

[GalaxyJane]

Interestingly, we used to have kali in the 50's in Lincolnshire, but when we moved to Staffordshire no one had heard of it -- you could just get the sherbet dabs with the hollow liquorice to suck it through - and heaven help you if you sucked too hard ...
     Remember flying saucers? You can still buy them here and there..

[Gillg]

Forgot to say that we pronounced it Kay as in the letter K and li as in lie, so just as you wrote it in the title, Elaine.

Gillg 

[Barbara.H]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/lancashire/content/articles/2005/10/27/lists_sweeties_feature.shtml

BBC Lancashire's top 10 of old fashioned sweets or toffees - Flying Saucers come in at no 9. I liked the penny Arrow Bars myself, fortunately (or not) our corner sweet shop was next door but one to the dentist..

I'm glad I'm not the only rootschatter who seems to end up talking about food half the time! 

Barbara

[Gillg]

No, Barbara, you're not the only one.  We had a long chat about black peas recently!

For me the favourites after toffee would have to be coltsfoot rock, peardrops that made your mouth sore if you sucked too many and liquorice torpedos, especially the red ones that we used as lipstick.    All bought by the quarter, of course, or two ounces, if pocket money was running short.

Gillg

[Barbara.H]

And now I've been half the morning on the 'Silk St Manchester' thread talking about toy shops 
there's no hope for me - but its fun

  Barbara

[Elaine168]

Did your seet shop have a penny box? A cardboard tray with all the things you could buy for an old penny? There was also a 2d box but that was generally outside my range! Then on 'spends' day I got 3d and could  go into the realms of the 2oz or quarter from the jars or soemtimes you just asked for 'threepennorth of....'  Sometimes I'd run errands for the neighbours and the penny or twopence reward would go in the toffee shop. We lived opposite the corner shop, so even in the dark I could be across in three or four leaps, doorstep to doorstep!