Bring back Sweet shops...

It's bank holiday weekend and I like nothing more than a drive down the M40 towards one of my favourite parts of the country, otherwise known as The Cotswolds. Whenever I've been extremely happy or terribly sad, I've ended up taking that drive to clear my head or to celebrate. The husband and I, before Matilda, spent many a weekend exploring those quintessential Cotswold villages, then laying down our heads for the night at a cosy Country Pub with log fires and a large glass of rich velvety red wine. It's holds many memories for us making it one of our favourite country destinations.




One of our stop offs today was Bourton On The Water, which is hailed as the Venice of the Cotswolds. It is a rather picturesque, dreamy village set on water with perfect stone bridges, ducks and swans gliding down the water, however it is also now over run with tourists and day trippers (like us I may add). We've only ever been there in Winter and it was enchantingly peaceful at that time of year.

I fell deeply in love with this house and its sublime English garden.






Amongst all the obvious tourist shops we did discover an adorable old fashioned sweet shop, they're having a bit of a revival at the moment, people are nostalgic for them in these modern times. People like me, who grew up with a sweet shop on every corner where it was such a treat to go and buy a quarter of cola bottles or gobstoppers, hanker after the magic of those old fashioned jars full of all sorts of delightful naughtiness that made your mouth go purple or green! The sparkle of Space dust that made you tingle all over, the reassuring and comforting milk bottles and the hard sweet rhubarb and custards. The list goes on...

I'm glad that the desire for 'retro' sweets is back after we saw two such sweet shops yesterday in Bourton, as the owner of one said sweets are an instant feelgood factor in this tough society that we live in, in a second of opening that little paper bag we are transported back to our childhoods when we had no real worries and life was just one big fluffy cloud. Sweets bring with them a huge thrill and excitement that can be lacking sometimes in our busy lives.


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Here are those decadent jars filled with precious moments.





These are my favourite Traditional sweet shops in London so if you're passing I urge you to take a moment out of your day to relive your childhood:

Brewode's Cornucopia, 60 Broadway Market, E8 4QJ

  • Mrs Kibble's 57a Brewer Street, W1F 9UL and  4 St Christopher's Place W1U 1LZ

  • Suck and Chew 130 Columbia Road, E2 7RG

And these are the sweeties we bought for ourselves not sure how they'll last!



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