Web Page No 2466

16th April  2018

First Picture: Jelly Babies Packet

 Second Picture:  Tom Baker and Jelly Babies

 Third Picture:  Beatles Babies

Forth Picture:   Jellyatrics

Fifth Picture:   Bassetts advert 1926

Jelly Babies

'Jelly Babies' are known to have been on sale since the Riches Confectionery Company of 22 Duke St, London Bridge in 1885 introduced them along with a variety of other baby-sweets including 'Tiny Totties' and 'Sloper's Babies'. But the pricing of these at a farthing each suggests that they were very much larger than the modern Jelly Baby.

Sweets called "unclaimed babies", which may pre-date Jelly babies, are known to have been produced by Thomas Fryer of Nelson in Lancashire, and seem to have been hugely popular in the early 20th Century. In 1939 it was reported that, of all the comforts sent to troops abroad, "the sweets which are in greatest demand are those which we all know as 'unclaimed babies'".

An uncorroborated, but widely reproduced, story is related in The History of Temptation by Tim Richardson  published in 2002. Here he states that the sweets were invented in 1864 by an Austrian immigrant working at Fryers of Lancashire and that in 1918 they were produced by Bassett's in Sheffield as "Peace Babies" to mark the end of World War I. Production was suspended during World War II due to wartime shortages. In 1953 the product was relaunched as "Jelly Babies".

The most noted modern manufacturer of Jelly Babies, Bassett's, now allocate individual name, shape, colour and flavour to different 'babies': Brilliant (red - strawberry), Bubbles (yellow - lemon), Baby Bonny (pink - raspberry), Boofuls (green - lime), Bigheart (purple - blackcurrant) and Bumper (orange). The introduction of different shapes and names was an innovation, circa 1989, prior to which all colours of jelly baby were a uniform shape. In 2007, Bassett's jelly babies changed to include only natural colours and ingredients.

There are many brands of jelly babies, as well as supermarket own brands. A line of sweets called Jellyatrics were launched by Barnack Confectionery Ltd to commemorate the Jelly Baby's 80th birthday.

Like most other gummi sweets, they contain gelatin. Jelly babies manufactured in the United Kingdom tend to be dusted in starch which is left over from the manufacturing process where it is used to aid release from the mould. Jelly babies of Australian manufacture generally lack this coating.

Jelly babies are similar in appearance to gummi bears, which are better known outside the United Kingdom, though the texture is different.

A popular science class experiment is to put them in a strong oxidising agent and see the resulting spectacular reaction. The experiment is commonly referred to as "screaming jelly babies".

In 1962, Jelly Babies were referred to as "those kids' candies" in a Supercar episode;"Operation Superstork". When Beatlemania broke out in 1963, fans of The Beatles pelted the band with jelly babies (or, in the US, the much harder jelly beans) after it was reported that George Harrison liked eating them.

In the British television programme Doctor Who, jelly babies were often mentioned in the classic series as a confection The Doctor favoured. First seen being consumed by the Second Doctor, they became most associated with Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor, who had a predilection for offering them to strangers in order to defuse tense situations (and in one episode bluffing another alien into thinking them a weapon).

The Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Doctors also offered them up in different episodes. The Doctor's nemesis the Master in "The Sound of Drums" offers them to his wife on board the Valiant. In the series, they were often identified simply by the fact the Doctor (and later the Master) usually carried them around in a simple white paper bag. The Twelfth Doctor, however, once carried his in a cigarette case.

In Terry Pratchett's Discworld Series, the country of Djelibeybi (meaning 'Child of the [River] Djel') is the Discworld's analogue of Ancient Egypt. The main setting of Pyramids, the country is about two miles wide along the length of the Djel, serves as a buffer zone between Tsort and Ephebe and is in dire financial straits due to the construction of its many pyramids. The name 'Djelibeybi' is a pun of the name 'jelly baby'.

In May 2013 Australian singer Alison Hams released "Jelly Baby Song"^[ - its content alluding to the consumption of jelly babies by type 1 diabetics to overcome hypoglycaemic episodes - as a way to raise awareness for type 1 diabetes for JDRF Australia (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) who sell especially-packaged jelly babies as the focus of their annual "Jelly Baby Month" campaign.

In 2009, a poll of 4,000 British adults voted jelly babies their 6th favourite sweet.

And you thought that they were just a packet of sweets.

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Yours

Peter

gsseditor@gmail.com

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News and Views:

On this day 16^th  April 1960-1965.

On 16/04/1960 the number one single was My Old Man's a Dustman - Lonnie Donegan and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Wagon Train (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 16/04/1961 the number one single was Wooden Heart - Elvis Presley and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was The Budget (All Channels) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Bay of Pigs landings in Cuba.

On 16/04/1962 the number one single was Wonderful Land - The Shadows and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 16/04/1963 the number one single was How Do You Do It? - Gerry & the Pacemakers and the number one album was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 16/04/1964 the number one single was Can't Buy Me Love - The Beatles and the number one album was With the Beatles - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was The Budget (All Channels) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Shea Stadium opens in New York.

On 16/04/1965 the number one single was The Minute You're Gone - Cliff Richard and the number one album was Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.