I found this photo tucked away at the back of a drawer.I don’t know who the girl is or why she is sitting on that old car, it could be any one of a number of my older cousin’s friends, or a neighbour, or some visiting distant relative. Anyway, I’m not really interested in the girl, or the car; look beyond them and down the road. I’m pretty sure that’s me walking away from that ice cream van parked on that bend back there in the sixties.
I wonder what kind of ice lolly I’m about to open? Chances are that it would be a Zoom or a Rocket, they were my favourites. I loved Zooms with their triple lime, lemon, strawberry flavours, mind you I loved the strawberry, orange, lemon mix of Walls Rocket just as much. I would never buy a Fab. Fabs were for girls.
I’d usually spend my sixpence on a Zoom or Rocket; occasionally I’d buy a Cider Quench for a change but the Tonibell man would always pull my leg about ‘not getting drunk on it’ so it wasn’t often – I didn’t like having my leg pulled back then.
I remember the chimes of the Tonibell van; I used to sing along when I heard it driving onto the estate – ‘Tonibell, Tonibell, Tonibell time. Tonibell, Tonibell, Tonibell time. Tonibell, Tonibell, Tonibell time’. Not much of a song, it sounded better on the TV, but it always sent me rushing begging for the money for an ice lol to my Mum.
The Tonibell man used to sell ice cream in mini-plastic footballs. You got a badge with the football – Gordon Banks, Martin Peters, Nobby Stiles. You always got something ‘extra’ with Tonibell – badges, cards, and the most wonderful plastic figures that linked together and came in a variety of colours. They looked like a flattened Mr Blobby and the white ones were rarest – I wish I had one now, I’ve e-bayed for one, but with no luck.
I hardly ever bought ice cream; I was always a lolly man, still am – Funny Foot, Calypso, Twister, Teddy Bears, Crusader, Space 1999, Count Dracula, Ribena, Jubbly, Funny Face, Feast, Kinky, these days a Rowntree’s Fruit Pastille - I’ve tied them all.
But never a Fab. Fabs were definitely for girls.
Funny Foot...no one seems to remember them!!!! They were def my ice lolly of choice...a lolly in the shape of a foot?????? How could anyone resist :o)
ReplyDeleteRemember 'Screwballs'??....cone shaped plastic container with ice cream in and a coloured round bubble gum at the bottom that used to stain the ice cream...if I remember rightly the bubble gum was always so cold it crumbled in your mouth....I used to spit it out rather than attempt a futile chewing
ReplyDeleteFacebook comments:
ReplyDeletePhilip Morgan:
F.A.B. lolly and any lolly that had cider in it.
Sarah Rawden:
any lolly in the shape of a body part is a winner in my book....Funny Foot it is for me !
Kerry Swift: sparklers!
Glynne T Kirkham:
The home made ones, from the shop at the bottom of my road, where the shopkeeper was a weird man with a whispy moustache and spots. The lollies were nice, but the man scared me.
Robert Mills:
Can't remember the name, but they were Triangle shaped and Orange flavour.
Glynne T Kirkham:
Think they were Calypo's Rob. Good choice.
Samantha Oakes:
My favourite was the oyster ice cream,it had chocolate and coconut on it, but I was always worried that it had mouse dropping in it.
Andrew Height:
Phil - Fabs were for girls!
Sarah - do you remember the lollies in that scene in A Clockwork Orange?
Kerry - I've never heard of Sparklers, must be a recent thing.
Glynne - I wonder what that weird old man put in those lollies? Probably some weird old man stuff.
Rob - Gynne's right they were Calypo's. I used to love those giant ice pops also....
Neil Fishwick messaged:
ReplyDeleteFunny Feet I reckon.
Carl Smith commented:
ReplyDeleteWhite magnums are the best lollies.
I remember Banana flavoured milk lollies from pink Tonibell lorries.
ReplyDeleteThey are ice blocks over here ....
ReplyDeleteI used to love Lord Toffingham? (toffee in the centre with caramel ice cream and chocolate on the outside...).
Lollies are 'sweets' here not ice lollys .....
They were sparkles? not sparklers (lemonade or
maybe orange? or other flavours)
Calypos are in tubeshape containers - those big orange triangles were called something else I think? Sun something?
I remember Funny Foots and Screwballs - and I used to love those cider ones.....
Different favourites for different ages/stages of 'childhood'....
Will carry on thinking... and Jed and I might think of some more ....
:O)
Mr Whippy ice cream vans - never really liked Mr Whippy ice creams much.... with sweet sickly sauce running down the sides....
ReplyDeletedo they still have ice cream vans? They had one here that I used to hear in the distance ... these days we have Gelativos (chocolate gelato, or mango/tropical fruit/strawberry ... sorbet) When on 'special' they are 6 for $9..... Chocolate is my favourite... but anything lemon is what I would pick for dessert .....
Hey Kingsley - great to hear from you. Thanks for reading.
ReplyDeleteHelen Maitland commented on Facebook:
ReplyDelete"I liked funny feet and funny faces :o) "
Lissa Tam commented on Facebook:
ReplyDelete"Mint choc chip cornetto...twister...mini milk...sparkle...bounty...love 'em all! =P"
I like a Mr. Whippy with a flake, but hilariously I don't call them 99s.
ReplyDeleteOh the long winter evenings just fly in our house.
Robert Mills commented on Facebook:
ReplyDelete"There were also ones in a plactic cone, with a bubble gum ball at the bottom ;-)"
The Dracula lolly had a black ice shell and red gel in the middle. Very ghoulish. The plastic cone is the screwball Glyn spoke of earlier. Once it was rinsed out you could use them as toy daleks. Something to eat and a toy. What more do you want?
ReplyDeleteI think I remember lemonade sparklers; anything with cider was great and I loved zooms as well. My middle brother used to give me the money for an ice cream if I went and bought one for him - no problem. I loved the sound of the ice cream van, happens very rarely here now.
ReplyDeleteWas goggling tonibell to find some ideas for a few design inspirations and found you! now Ive gone all gooey inside cause my dad ran a tonibell ice cream van and my mum had a Mr Whippy That Pink cow moulded my future as she stuck with me and eventually became the reason that my company is called the silly cow !
ReplyDeletewhat happened to cider barrels and who remembers witches hats a lolly with an ice cream cone shoved on the top!ghost trains and rocket lollies that were the propper colour combo orange maids and strawberry mivis and i seem to recall that you could replace your flake with a finger of fudge at one time does anyone else remember that ?
molly blades
thesillycow.webs.com
Hi Every one, what lovely storys you are teloling and great memorys of tonibell. Try the web site and see the vans and tune for yourselves at www.tonibell99.co.uk
ReplyDeleteIf anyone has got anything of pictures relating to tonibell or items that you could e mail over to us as we are sadly the last original ice cream vans of them years.
tonibell
KEEP THE MEMORYS ALIVE !!
A Finger of fudge, the toniballs wow yes for me when I was child I used to love the fruit cocktail sundeas and strwaverrys sundeas as well, yum yum what about the fruit coktails boats ????
ReplyDeleteSee there web site as today they still sell all the originals- www.tonibell99.co.uk
nobody seems to mention saucy tanners the first shaped cone ice cream with a bit of strawberry in the bottom -i have been trying to get a picture of toni bells blue plastic football with ice cream in
ReplyDelete