Memory Lane Post 2 - Corona Pop

When I was a child (half a century ago!) I lived in a house at the bottom of a cul-de-sac and a 'pop man' would park his vehicle outside our house and deliver, to the doorsteps, a weekly supply of fizzy drinks.  I think mother would pre-order three bottles a week and would rotate the flavours so that each week we had a different selection to choose from.  I quite remember the 'ooooh what have we got this time?' when fetching the bottles in off the front doorstep and placing them on the cool stone pantry floor.

I disliked orangeade as much as I disliked Lucozade, the latter purchased separately when one of us were poorly to boost our energy.  That glass bottle came in an orange coloured clear wrapping which I used to look through and see the world as orange coloured; or I would cut it up and stick it in patterns in my scrap book (the original 'cut and paste').  Being a terrible traveller I was often given a glass of Lucozade along with the words of wisdom about it being 'good for you'.  It didn't stop me being sick, in fact it probably prompted it more so.

I was fond of cherryade (red being my favourite colour to this day in many ways) and I was happy with lime or lemonade.  Dandelion and Burdock was another favourite although it did cause a lot of giggles when the 'burps' occurred afterwards.

There was one occasion where Corona pop stays in my mind.  It was at a neighbour's birthday party.  Andrew lived three doors away and his mum was a 'dinner lady' at school.  At his party she allowed us to 'mix our drinks' - a concept I have never thought of before.  So, into our party glasses went a bit of orangeade, cherryade, lemonade, limeade, cream soda and dandelion and burdock.  It made a fun fizzy party drink.  I think a few of the children were sick later that evening and it taught us the perils of mixing our drinks!

I recall that there was a repayment on the glass bottles returned to the pop man - perhaps three pence (thrupence) or six pence (a tanner).  I also remember when on holiday in Cornwall my brother would collect discarded smaller empty glass bottles of pop (no plastic ones then) and take them to a shop and be given a shilling (a bob) or two, which I thought was very grown up.  He was allowed to wander off down the beach for this activity whereas I was younger and had to be kept in sight.

At the end of the two week holiday my brother and I would buy our parents a 'thank you' present - a box of Cornish fudge for dad and a small bottle of Devon violets perfume or a lace hanky for mum.  Weren't we good kids!  Now I am a grumpy old woman I bemoan that there are no thank yous for Christmas or Birthday gifts or money any more.  No letters written nor even a text message.  How things have changed.