So when our local store put up a candy wall, she pounced on it and her brother followed suit. The walk to school this morning was all about lemon candies, sour snakes and chocolate mice. Good – that’s my kind of conversation. We’ve all done pick’n’mix in our past.

I told the kids about the ¼ lb lemon sherbet that I would buy from Mrs. Campbell’s shop at lunchtime, and how you would expect the bite to break in the sherbet in the middle and your eyes would basically ignite. with the sudden wave of sour. The kids did it, they love anything that shows that I
was a child once, just like them
.

I was in nostalgia mode now.
Lemon sorbets
leads to
the fudge my father
used to buy
in a shop on George’s Quay in Cork and
to bring
with us
in Kinsale
like a Friday treat.
I can still see the way the brown paper bag would crumple when you put it on
a
fat paw
to get your serving of sweet and sweet fudge. (He originally brought us Scots Clan, but it was just a catwalk caramel once we got a taste of the fudge.)

M
Your nostalgic journey ended with a few words about American Hard Gums and my brief flirtation with Bubblicious. (If this flirtation lasted any longer, I
to be
telling my old sweet stories through false teeth.)

As they walked up the hill to school, my
the children began to make plans for their next choice. My son, who is essentially a negotiating machine, laid out his position on what needs to happen when cinemas reopen. He does not like the cinema, the noise is
a bit much for him, so we usually have to bribe him with a giant bag of pick’n’mix. He thinks he should be allowed to stay home with the pick’n’mix from our local store, because there’s no point in messing it up for everyone, moaning about the noise. I think he is seven years old and I saw Alone at homeso he won’t be left behind when we come back for some family movie time. But I like the way his mind works.

We were almost at the gates of the school now.
I’m normally relieved to bring them to school, the mornings can be hectic, but this trip was so enjoyable that I wouldn’t have been bothered by another walk around the neighborhood.
So I made plans with them to visit the old fashioned candy store on Oliver Plunkett Street over the weekend, so we could make some memories and catch up with some old people while I was there.

I think I should end this with a health warning, or at least a message from a dentist. But candy
are more than
just a shot of sugar. It’s something nice that our parents did for us, a crumpled brown paper bag, a fun shared with a friend, a connection with your own kids when the time comes.

S
o I think we could walk into town on Saturday morning and fill our boots with Black Jacks, pear drops, jelly candy, and cola bottles (bubbly and simple.) The sugar buzz will be a blast, but the jokes on the walk home will be even better. Especially since it will not be Pokémon cards.