Some vices are so small that when asked to remember them I had to take some moments to recall and reflect.
I developed a taste for something called ‘Victory V
Lozenges’ when I was about twelve years of age. Packets of these ‘sweets’ were
easily obtained from the local paper shop, and small enough so as not to put
bulges in your school blazer pockets.
My mother had, for some strange reason, a strong dislike for
this liquorice product and tried hard to stop my consumption of the same.
Hiding places for the forbidden product became a problem
when mum found mine inside my pillowcase. Happily the stash under the old
flower pot in the shed remained intact until the late spring.
In winter, odd lozenges could be placed in the deep pockets
of my gabardine Macintosh and in the summer the good old ‘sun hat’ provided
transport and cover. I feel sure that, in those days, I actually got more
pleasure out of hiding my addiction than I did from eating the forbidden thing!
Do today’s parents still impose the same sort of restriction
on their ‘young hopefuls’ and do our children still adopt similar sorts of
addictions?
I feel sure that many parents would be quite happy if their
child only indulged in some similar product. Today they face the horrors of
what is available on street corners, not to mention the internet and wretched
social media.
David Taylor
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