Violet cream or chocolate banana anyone, or would you prefer a liquorice skippers pipe or some cherry nougat? In Old Time Favourites on Hill Street in Newry, Co Down, you could get seriously delayed trying to choose a quarter pound of something, but according to owner Deborah McGuinness most of her regular customers buy the same thing week in week out, or in some cases,
day in day out, like the young man who has to have a pound of chocolate-covered raisins at least three times a week, and the older gentlemen who call by for their clove rocks or brandy balls.
“They stick to their favourites and they come all time – even on the way to or from the dentist!” she says. “I’ve heard someone say that they’ve had the same tooth filled three times, but they still eat toffee,” says McGuinness.
On all sides, jars of sweets are stacked up to the ceiling – toffee rolls and wild cherry balls and gobstoppers and satin pillows, buttered brazils and white mice and fruit salad. There's a shelf full of Pez sweets and holders, blocks of chocolate and toffee that come with a hammer to break them up. Northern Ireland chocolate company Fosters is one of the few Irish suppliers to Old Time Favourites – most of the 300 types of sweets are from the UK, notably Scotland.
McGuinness says one customer, aged 90 or more, was stunned to see a tablet of Walker’s toffee on the counter. She had been given a bar of it on her Confirmation and had never forgotten the thrill. “And now they’re practically getting cars for their Confirmation,” she says drily.
A self-confessed sweet-a-holic, she likes “Every single sweet in the shop except for the rhubarb and custard ones. The trouble is, nobody tells me to stop.”
McGuinness and her husband started the business six years ago. His family has been in confectionary for decades, running a successful sweet shop in Belfast.
Nearby on Kildare Street, children are getting lost among all the types of bait at Smyths Angling and Outdoors shop. You can pick up a rod here for between £40 and £500, some giant fishing nets, and some exotic woodland camouflage outfits in immense sizes. The window advertises metal detectors and guns.
Business could be better, says salesman Ussher Greer – the strength of sterling has killed off important custom from the south. Newry is not recovering at the same rate as other towns across Ireland, and the local rates are high, he says.
Mind you they’ve gotten through worse times, he says. During the troubles there was a checkpoint just outside their door and the store was bombed, twice. The original saddlery store survived, but it has now been let out and is due to open shortly as a cafe. Meanwhile, there’s a decent sale on in outdoor jackets, and you can pick up a stout pair of walking boots if you have the Mournes in your sights.
See smythsangling.com
Orna Mulcahy