Monday 19 January 2015

Bernie the bolt...

I don’t know why but I’d assumed that Revels had gone the way of Spangles, Fruit Polos, the magnificent Aztec Bar and been assigned to the great sweet graveyard in the sky. Then wandering around my supermarket today I found some on the shelf; not the packaging I remember, but Revels just the same.

Back in the late sixties and seventies I remember them well. An alternative to straight Maltesers, not quite a Poppet, definitely Galaxy Counteresqe, but nothing like a Smartie.

I remember the flavours well too, can even taste them as I write this - orange creme, coconut, toffee, peanut, Galaxy Counter and Malteser. I hated the coconut and lots of other people must have felt like me as Mars replaced them with coffee creme - which I also hated. At around the same time they also dropped the peanuts (probably a nut allergy thing) and changed them to raisins – much to my disappointment.

For some reason I have always associated Revels with The Golden Shot, that strange crossbow quiz show where Bernie shot his bolt to the instructions of the contestants… Up a bit, down a bit, up a bit, fire! Yes, we've all had fun with that since we grew up a little.

Maybe they were a Sunday afternoon treat, but in terms of treat they weren’t very treatful. The coconut was oily, the orange sickly, the Counters and Maltesers boring, and only the nut (later the raisin) was really enjoyable.

Perhaps like The Golden Shot it was all about chance; a kind of sweet Russian roulette. After all you never knew exactly what you were going to get next and if you were really unlucky it could be the coffee – YUK! It must have been about a one-in-six chance of coffee and the faces my sisters used to pull when they got one was really comical.  Sometimes you would get a packet that was choc-full of orange ones, other times a glut of peanuts, but never a plethora of the coffee - they were quite rare (thank goodness).

Funnily these days I love coffee flavoured sweets. If Revels were guaranteed to have lots of coffee ones I’d definitely buy them. But too many orange cremes? Well, let’s just say I’m not prepared to take the chance.

Bernie the bolt!

29 comments:

  1. Paul Whitehouse on FB
    Toffee natch.

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    Replies
    1. Andrew Height
      Not a bad choice. What about Ann Aston?

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  2. Paul Whitehouse
    I would (have)

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    Replies
    1. Paul Whitehouse Amazingly in a previous job I got to go to lunch with Bob Monkhouse. This is absolutely true it he was prepping for a sales conference which I was organising and wanted me to brief him over lunch (at the legendary Plough and Harrow hotel) in Brum. Would've been rude not too! He was absolutely charming.

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    2. Andrew Height
      And did you?

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  3. Kathryn Salthouse on FB
    Orange

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    Replies
    1. Andrew Height
      Oh Kathryn, I so hated those sicky orange ones.

      Delete
  4. Sharon Taylor on FB
    Aztec Bar - I want one now to remember what they taste like, I know I liked them, along with a Banjo !!!!

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    Replies
    1. Andrew Height
      Aztec bars were raiseny deep and purple. Yum!

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    2. Sharon Taylor
      Banjos were nutty and waffery

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  5. Val Wynne on FB
    I like em all!!!!

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    Replies
    1. Andrew Height
      What even the Orange ones Val?

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    2. Val Wynne
      Even the orange ones yum!!

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  6. Bernadette Doyle on FB
    I loved the Golden Shot and, being a Bernie myself back then, I loved the association with fame.

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    Replies
    1. Andrew Height
      Favourite host Bernadette?

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  7. Lindsey Messenger on FB
    Oooo I liked the coffee ones.

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    Replies
    1. Andrew Height
      That does not surprise me Lindsey

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    2. 1indsey Messenger
      Hehe why?

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    3. Andrew Height
      You are so coffee Lindsey.

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  8. Replies
    1. Andrew Height
      How about Bounties Peter?

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    2. eter Burns
      Can't beat a bounty Andy especially the dark chocolate ones.

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    3. Peter Burns
      Just seen the post for Aztec bars - you're the first person I know that remembers these Andy and they were so tasty

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    4. Andrew Height
      With the tender taste of coconut Peter?

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  9. Sharon Hutt on FB
    I loved the coconut ones, and all the mini bounties in celebrations packs are all for me!

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    Replies
    1. Sharon Hutt
      Are topic bars still around?

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    2. Andrew Height
      Oh yes, Sharon. I love Topics.

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  10. Robert Hunter on FB
    The orange one

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