If you're anything like me (or anywhere near the same age) you probably miss once-familiar names, places, and things from your past. You know, names like Marathon, Treets, Opal Fruits, etc., or places such as Safeway, Woolworth's, Fine Fare, John Menzies, and various others. And what about the original Germolene ointment, not to be confused with the new cream that's replaced it? What most people might not realise is that the original ointment is yet available, but it costs an absolute fortune, though I read somewhere only recently that it can be acquired with a doctor's prescription. Whether that's true or not I couldn't say, but I'll ask my doctor the next time I have to see him.
Anyway, I bit the bullet and forked out for a tube on eBay, now manufactured by another company (presumably under licence) and it arrived at Castel Crivens yesterday. Germolene has, due to various mergers and buyouts, been produced by different pharmaceutical companies over the years (or in some cases the same ones with different names), but I won't bore you with all the details (nor bore myself by paying them more than superficial attention), which you can read for yourself on Wikipedia. Suffice to say, unless they're connected in some way, the cream is made by one company, the ointment another.
What a delight it was to smell that distinct aroma (known as oil of wintergreen) when I opened the tube, and I straightway found an excuse to apply it to a few minor scuffs and abrasions on my arms and legs, incurred as a result of my clumsiness. I've also got a hint of a pimple on my beak, so I dabbed a bit on to that as well. Until 2014 it was possible to purchase both versions of Germolene from any UK chemists, but then the original simply disappeared. Up to that point, I'd buy a tube to refill an old Germolene tin I'd bought sometime in the late '70s or early to mid '80s, and that's what I did when the new tube arrived - filled my old tin. That still left around half the contents in the tube though, so I've got plenty to last me for a good wee while.
That brings me to another 'medicine' - Golden Eye Ointment. I remember having this applied to my eyes as a child when I had an infection, and, having a tendency to be regularly afflicted with conjunctivitis and blepharitis over the years, I've also used it as an adult. I had a minor eye irritation recently and tried to buy a tube, but was told in every chemists I went in to that they didn't stock it - some assistants didn't seem to even know what it was. I've checked the Internet and it seems readily available at a reasonable price, so I'll be buying some of that before very long. I've still got the last tube I bought, but it expired in 2006 so it's not safe to risk using it.
Before we go, let's take a look at Germolene New Skin. This is a product for applying to cuts and scratches, and which forms an artificial 'skin' over them to protect them. Personally, I don't like sticking plasters, so when I first discovered this back in the late '70s or early '80s I bought one right away. In the photo below, the one on the left may well be the first (if not, the second) one I ever bought. The bottle is now empty, so I bought another one a few weeks back and that's it on the right of the photo.
Anyway, I've probably milked this topic for all it's worth (if not more), so I'll call it quits for the moment. However, let me ask - is there anything you miss from your long-ago days that you'd like to see or smell again, and which is no longer around? And do you remember the smell of the original Germolene ointment? Tell all in the comments section.
14 comments:
I've been buying Germolene for decades and it's an essential product but I prefer the creme to the ointment because the ointment was much more greasy.
Which is why they doubtless changed it, CJ. However, I'm so familiar with the original Germolene and its smell that I don't want to have to relinquish it. Old lang syne and all that. I'll probably use the new Germolene more (I have a couple of tubes of it), but take a wee sniff of the old one from time to time.
I can remember the ointment. Every time a cut went infected ointment would be spread on a sticking plaster with the back of a teaspoon then slapped onto the cut. I can remember it as a paste not greasy. But smelly.
Not smelly in a bad way though, LH, a nice antiseptic smell I'd say. Nice to own some again.
I never liked the smell of Germolene at all and you could always tell when someone had it on ( boring fact - Germolene smells very much like American Root Beer ). My understanding was that the original line was discontinued as it contained zinc oxide which was either difficult to get of bad for us – I also think that the original version contained a fair amount of phenol which can be toxic if taken in large amounts (they reduced that by half for new Germolene). Ahhh Golden Eye ointment that’s a blast from the past. The new version I don’t think is the same as it used to contain a really high percentage of a mercury based compound (for the amount of ointment you bought) which was a shame as it was great and cleared up any eye issue in one or two applications. I had really bad conjunctivitis quite a few years ago and expected to get Golden Eye ointment to clear it up but was told the new version was only for minor eye issues as the new ointment didn’t contain (by law) the same mercury chemical, so I was given a similar one to the original Golden Eye ointment (and to be fair it worked wonders).
I remember my gran used to use a compound called Doctor Collis Brownes that was available over the counter in shops in the 1960s. It was great for coughs and upset stomachs and could clear them up in no time at all. .Unfortunately, it contained large amounts of opiates ( morphine etc) and was very addictive and resulted in quite a few deaths from overdoses. . I think you can still get versions of it now from the doctor and some lower dose versions are still available in shops. I bought TCP recently and the smell (whioh was never great) was really awful now.
I miss some of the old sweets we used to have mostly Opal Fruits (which I think are the same as Starburst) but I just loved that name. You would be surprised how many sweets from our childhood (60s/70s) are still available (MB bars, Frying Pans, Chelsea Whoppers, Ruffle bars, Bar Six, OLD Jamaica etc) and just how disgusting to an adult palate some of them taste)
I always found the smell of TCP more overpowering than Germoline, McS, but it would be interesting to know whether I'd like the smell of the latter if I didn't associate it with my childhood. That's interesting about Golden Eye Ointment. Isn't it amazing to learn how many things that were supposed to be good for us contained things that were bad for us?
On the question of MB Bars, they might look the same as they used to, but I don't think they're made by the original manufacturers. The fondant isn't as good, the chocolate is a bit crumbly, and they're now more expensive than Mars Bars in some places. If I recall correctly, they were only about 2d compared to a Mars Bar's 5d back in the '60s. As for Ruffle Bars (and sweets), Cadbury bought them from Jamieson's sometime in the late '80s or early '90s, changed the chocolate from dark to milk, then quietly retired them altogether. Thankfully, someone else bought the name and revived them a few years back.
And yes, Starburst is merely a renamed Opal Fruits, and taste the same.
You know how old pals have these daft in-jokes between them that are hilarious to them but totally baffling to everyone else? A friend and I used to refer to "Snickers nee Marathon", "Starburst nee Opal Fruits" and so on.
We took it to ridiculous lengths the day I said I had been shopping in "Somerfield nee Gateway nee Fine Fare nee Coopers".
Yeah, I remember Coopers Fine Fare - they had a shop by that name in my town. Then it became just Fine Fare, though it may have moved to new premises by that time. Do your remember the CO-OP's Krazy Kuts?
Don't remember that one, Kid. I do remember that the Fine Fare had adverts on the telly that starred Gordon Jackson though
Maybe it was just my town that had a Krazy Kuts then, DS. I think I recall those Gordon Jackson ads, but I'd need to see them again to be sure
Kid, I am afraid that I nothing to add to the Germoline debate, but I must draw the line at your comparison that Starburst are simply Opal Fruits! Starburst includes a lemon and lime sweet and a blackcurrant one, while Opal fruits came in strawberry, lemon, orange and lime.
For those of you in the UK who have ever traveled to the US and decided to partake of chocolate candy products, be prepared for confusion. A US Milky Way is a UK Mars. A US 3 Musketeers is a UK Milky Way. I haven't see a US Mars in a long time, but the closest thing was a UK Topic. And a UK Curly Wurly was a Marathon in the US.....
Yeah, but obviously I meant that Starburst's strawberry, lemon, orange and lime were exactly the same as the Opal Fruit ones. And were the lemon & lime and blackcurrant sweets introduced at exactly the same time as the name-change, or were they introduced later?
As recounted somewhere on my blog, Bob Paynter (IPC Youth Group Editor) came back from a trip to the States sometime around the mid-'80s with several bars of US chocolate, and remarked on the Milky Way/Mars Bar confusion. Those Yankees, eh? If they're not messing with the language, then they're messing with our chocolate.
I remember buying a Baby Ruth bar when I was working in New York and it was very much like our Picnic bar (no raisins though)and it was very nice indeed. I also had a 3 Musketeers and as baggsey states it was indeed the same as our Milky Way. In general though I found the US chocolate quite greasy especially Hershey bars and Kisses and was told that was because they add something ( natural ) that stops the chocolate melting. Their crisps which they call chips (another case of nations divided by a common language) were really limited re choice compared to ours but they were nice. I hasten to add I did more in NY than just stuff my face which junk food and had some great food and coffee as well
I wonder which version of the Milky Way was used though, McS, as our version was changed at some point to make it even lighter in taste and colour, so the Milky Way we eat today as adults isn't the same one we ate as kids.
All this talking about chocolate has made me hungry for a Mars Bar - which used to be bigger with thicker chocolate when we were kids. Why do they always change things? Probably to make them cheaper to produce and thereby increase the profits.
Post a Comment