Sweet Shop Avengerz

The other night when I was heading out to the Subtle gig I felt a bit peckish. So I stopped off at the local Pharmaprix and got myself a Mars Bar 2 Pack. They look quite similar to a normal Mars Bar, at a quick glace you would only notice a slight elongation in the packaging. However, instead of the normal one bar, the Mars Bar 2 Pack contains two bars roughly 2/3rds of the size of a normal Mars Bar, and with the Pharmaprix selling them for $1.29 I think they are a reasonably affordable snack. The other advantage of the Mars Bar 2 Pack is this: I had started eating the first bar immediately upon leaving the store, yet after I finished it I realised that I had satisfied my hunger and no longer required the second bar. So I put the second bar into my bag and continued walking to the venue. The evening then went ahead as detailed in one of my previous posts below. However, what I didn't mention in that post was that half-way through the Subtle set I began to get a little hungry again, luckily for me I still had the second half of the Mars Bar 2 Pack in my bag and was able to take it out and provide myself with the sustenance I needed to continue enjoying myself. I believe that this is the sort of situation that people at Mars had in mind when they devised the Mars Bar 2 Pack, and I would just like to use this opportunity to thank them for their foresight.




When I was in my mid to late teens I had a real hot thing going on for Jolly Ranchers. I use to carry a pack with me most places I would go, and while I never felt I was going overboard, I was consuming 2 to 3 packs a week. Then around 1998 or 1999, possibly even 2000 (the whole period is rather blurry to me) they disappeared off the shelves of Melbourne's supermarkets and milk bars (convenience stores, for my dialectically challenged readers). It was outrageous. At the start 2001 I moved to London, but the Jolly Rancher was not available there either. My confectionary requirements were met by other products, but there was still a yearning in my heart for the Jolly Rancher. Upon my return to Melbourne in 2003 Jolly Ranchers once again resurfaced in my consciousness and I attempted to search for them, however I was to be disappointed. Not even that store on Lygon St. that specialises in imported confectionary had them! So you can imagine my delight upon moving to Canada to discover that Jolly Ranchers are in abundance here! Although the convenient pocket-pack is rare (although still able to be located in some stores), the more common form of purchasing them is in a bag.

This doesn't concern me too much though. I'm just so happy to be reunited with them. There are two issues with Jolly Ranchers though. The first being that, like the Mentos, it's very easy to overdose on them, and too many in quick succession can lead to a rather unpleasant taste in one's mouth. The other problem is that I've never been a huge fan of the grape flavoured Jolly Rancher; it just does not sit right with my palette. Luckily though Talia from down the road is a big fan of the grape flavoured Jolly Rancher and so I save up all the grape ones I get and give them to her.