We hope you read the fascinating and extensive comments that Ken Harrison added to our recent post about self-service shopping at Tesco in Brigg - including his reference to bubble gum. If you are one of our more senior site followers, we pose the question: Where did you buy your bubble gum in Brigg?
Who remembers those metal slot machines that were hung outside shops, such as Bowen's Bakery in Grammar School Road? You put in your pennies and turned a knob for XY or Beech Nut to be dispensed in tightly packed wrappers.
Ernie Robinson had a fine array of dispensers outside his shop, further down Grammar School Road.
Pink-coloured Anglo bubble gum was a particular favourite sold in many shops, notably Mrs Gray's in Glebe Road (still trading today, having passed through many hands since the 1960s).
Juicy Fruit - individually wrapped yellow sticks - then became popular.
Skiffle King Lonnie Donegan's song about chewing gum losing its flavour springs to mind when discussing this topic.
Sadly, many people - after much chewing to extract the last of the flavour - disposed of their gum by tossing it onto Brigg pavements, where it got stuck to many a shoe and trampled into domestic carpets. Much to the disgust of mums throughout the town. Ultimate sanction: Stopping of the next week's pocket money.
You can still get those iconic, wrapped, pink '1d Bubbly' from Sankey's Sweetie Shop in Brigg....Not certain of the now price.
ReplyDeleteI recall one of my school mates had a mouthful of such 1d Bubble Gum and it was his intention to blow the biggest bubble gum ever.....it grew and grew until it evolved bigger than a football....then it burst with the deflated envelop of gum covering the guy's head.....for days, he had bits of gum in his eye-brows, hair, on his ears and stuck to his neck.......in those days, lads didn't wash too much!!!
Not forgetting the old wives' tale totally believed by us youngsters at the time.....that if you swallowed bubble gum one would die, or, at least become very seriously ill as it was believed that bubble gum had an inherent knack of wrapping itself around vital organs and forming fatal intestinal blockages...
ReplyDelete.....and the bedpost wasn't the only place to store chewed gum for later use....underneath school desks was another common place for gum storage....!!
Some lads tried putting chewed gum in a hankie.....but this ended up in a traumatic mess and a lot of resultant explaining to one's mum why a decent hankie resembled a useless, pink glue ball!!
DIY - HOW TO REMOVE BUBBLE GUM FROM A CARPET......
ReplyDeleteFreeze the offending object - using. for example, ice cubes....to make it a frozen solid.....and then smash it to pieces with a hammer!!!!