Jelly Babies…

For those of us of a certain age, Jelly Babies are the unlikely signature of the fourth and greatest Doctor Who of all time, Tom Baker. To this day, no other ‘jelly’ candy (say, your Gummi Bears and Swedish Fish® candy – A Friend You Can Eat – yuck!) come anywhere close to them.

Bassett made the first Jelly Babies and introduced them in 1919, to celebrate the end of the First World War. They were known as “Peace Babies.” The candies were out of production during World War Two; Bassett brought them back to the British market in ’53. Do read all about here; and in this blog post by Carlos Nash.

While there are other manufacturers of JBs, Bassett (now part of Nestlés) makes the best of ‘em, I think. There are six different flavors/colors.

I bring all this up because Jelly Babies are not easy to come by here in Houston. The Brit community here seems to like Maltesers better so the few stores that might carry them are frequently out-of-stock. Just last week, thanks to EMS USA’s Trevor Eade, I managed to score a bagful. He asked, “What can I bring you from the UK? I’m flying back for a weekend visit.” I asked for JBs…Eade delivered. Thanks very, very much.

I’d love to ask you, “Would you like a Jelly baby?” the way the Doctor did. Sadly, this lot’s gone. Ta.

PS: “Swedish Fish” does have a neat website, though – and more than one slightly weird TV commercial.