When I were a lad there was some sort of scare that Ribena would make your teeth fall out (presumably the sugar content) - so we switched to Vimto instead. It was only recently I discovered that the main flavour of Vimto is grapes. I was astonished. But I'm easily impressed.

And, Liz, it was more specific than just a Northern drink. It was only North West, made by J N Nicholls, in Manchester. When I first moved to North East England, I used to have to bring my own supply.

Apparently, the Manchester bottling plant used to supply the Manchester area, as well as the Middle East, where it had acquired a following thanks to servicemen. Demand became so great that a bottling plant was opened in the Middle East, creating extra capacity at the Manchester plant, thus enabling the drink to go nationwide.

Isn't it amazing, the amount of rubbish that clogs up your brain, just waiting for an outlet? Do you think there's an opening for a Vimto historian?