SUMMERABILIA:Wafers, Harp and lime, Fresca and SodaStreams - all richly evoke the flavour of summers past - even if some leave a sour taste
Golly BarsWe never got the Mediterranean weather, but we still could lick the Italians in the ice-cream eating stakes. Ice lollies came in all shapes and sizes - feet, swirls, devils and Dracula, but you could also get plain rectangular slabs of ice cream, which the grocer sliced off from a big block and sandwiched between two flat wafers. Golly Bars were rectangular, too - we would happily sit slurping one while watching the Black White Minstrel Show, never suspecting for a moment that we were upholding racial stereotypes. Funny Faces weren't politically incorrect, unless people with chocolate noses took offence. Funny Feet used to have a joke on the stick, but the joke was over by 1988. Ditto the Wibbly Wobbly Wonder, although both have been resurrected in the past few years. We think they should have been left to melt in peace.
Red lemonadeBefore sparkling water and smoothies, Taylor Keith red lemonade kept us cool on those long carefree days by the seaside. Lucozade was only for when you were in hospital, but Taylor Keith was for general summer drinking, and boy did we drink gallons of it. Then we'd take the empty bottles back to the shop and buy another gallon of the stuff. On hot days, our mums would plonk a scoop of ice cream on top of our glass, creating a lovely lemonade soda.
Harp and LimeNothing cooled you off after a long summer's day better than a nice pint of Harp down at McDonaghs in Dalkey, the Sportsmans in Stillorgan or Gibneys in Malahide. But how to show your sophistication and impress the mot? Easy - just add lime. Apparently, a dash of lime was meant to complement Harp's sharp, hoppy tang. Soon, some bartenders were sneakily upping the lime quotient, till a pint of Harp was just 50 per cent lager.
SodaStreamsWhy waste 30p on a Coke when you could make your own carbonated drink using a big, messy plastic yoke and bottles of sticky syrup? You always knew where the SodaStream was - just follow the swarm of flies. Soda Stream has realigned itself as a make-your-own-health-drink brand, but we bet it's still messy.
Sam Spudz and RancherosHow to replace salt lost in the blistering heat of Irish summers past? Easy - stock up on Sam Spudz and Rancheros, the BBQ-flavoured crisps du jour.
FrescaWe never knew - nor did we ask — what was in all the carbonated drinks we bought, but we swallowed what we were told. We vaguely thought that Coke was caramel-based, and we believed that if you put a tooth in a glass of Coke, it would dissolve overnight. We knew Fanta was some kind of orange, but what the hell was in Fresca that gave it that greeny-white glow? Lemon? Lime? Uranium? It was eventually washed away by Lilt and Sprite.
