There is no spiritual communion greater than revisiting the sweets we used to eat in our childhood; collectively known as Ket, at least they were in our neck of the woods.

Spanish I remember as the red stuff, though where this name came from I've no idea. Was it branded Spanish? Or was the name folkloric?   

As a fan of vintage Oor Wullie I note that back in the 40s / 50s sugarelly was the sweet of choice; in 60s / 70s reprints this becomes licourice. One story from the 40s features the home manufacture of Sugarelly Water - simply licorice dissolved into water. I've tried this and can't in all honesty recommend it, though a Google search revals an entry in Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugarelly

I hope you're taking notes here, WAV - if you fancy meeting up during a lull in the DFP singarounds I'll give a tour of the best sweetshops of the outlying villages. Newhouse General Stores in Esh Winning is especially fine in this respect.

One of the (only) things I like about the Harry Potter books is their enduring fondness for sweets. There is a very passable Honeydukes in The Shambles in York...