Merry Christmas.

Olde Englishe Humbugs

Big stripey sweets individually wrapped in clear paper. Kept in a jar on the highest shelf of the sweetshop. Sometimes the sweetshop man let you sniff the jar, bacause it had an exquisite minty smell.

Its years since I saw real humbugs - just a taste of mint, but after a while it turned into a sweet mint flavoured cement in your mouth. No good for your teeth - but it stopped you coughing if you had a cold. It kept your throat moist. Sometimes just long enough to get to sleep.