Hellish Halloween Hamper

Right I'm back from the mystical Isle of Wight, slightly earlier than I had hoped but safe at least which I guess is what matters. I almost didn't make it! I could have been stuck there for eternity without hope, without escape and without internet! It doesn't bear thinking about really.

The reason I had to rush home is that if you believe the weather reports the UK is about to be blown away by a coming storm. Considering how I needed a ferry to return home I thought it would be best to beat said storm, turn tail and run. I don't feel like a sissy because at least it allows me to bring more reviews to you my adoring

fan (no plural needed).

I seem to remember before leaving that I'd do a bumper review in return for my absence so here we go. This could get quite intense hope you can keep up!

First up lets consider some cookies, I have a terrible trio here for your delights. Another pumpkin shaped ginger biscuit from the folks at Costa coffee. Now it wasn't too bad but a bit bland and lacking in fire as usual. Nowhere near as bad as This, but certainly not as good as This. The biscuit itself was overall nice however the incing has no taste in itself and is a bit hard. When dunked it added a little sweetness but little else.

We have a chocolate cookie from Morrison's with a weirdly worried looking marshmallow skeleton. It has a nice chocolate hint to it and tastes quite fresh despite not being part of their freshly baked range. It dunks really well and the chocolate is brought out quite nicely when it's slightly damp. The marshmallow is a nice chewy offering, good level of sweetness and a subtle hint of vanilla. 

Lastly we have a cool idea from McVities in these snaptastic biscuits. basically one big chocolate digestive that you snap into individual characters. The chocolate layer is good quality and tastes superb with the dreggs of my coffee. The biscuit underneath is nicely oaty and has it's own distinct flavour once the chocolate has melted away.

With the biscuits and their crumbs brushed under the carpet let's have a blast from the past in the form of the last treat from Mark's and Spark's. These are called Super Scary Skulls, basically little jelly sweets. When I pulled one out the bag I was slightly unnerved as they have a weird ancient Mayan look about them in my opinion and one of the freakish things I've tried so far. I popped it in my mouth regardless and was pleasantly surprised. They taste rather nice, a good subtle blackcurrant and raspberry taste to them. Not too sweet and definitely not artificial tasting. I was disappointed that the jelly inside wasn't runny as it was the impression I got from the packets description.

The last product in this bonanza is some weird little chocolate critters. I can't actually remember where I found these however I'm afraid, clearly more of an impulse buy than usual. They are kinda cute although they lose points for using redundant cardboard just to add to their design. The chocolate itself is quite nice not quality as I clearly got these from a cheap store somewhere. They have the look and smell of advent chocolate and my tummy turned at this thought. However when I actually tried one  I found it tasted rather nice. Not amazing quality by any means but nicely chocolaty and milky, it didn't taste like sweetener or additives which is always nice.

Overall most of these Halloween goodies are good. Clearly my brief and slightly shortened holiday weekend has subdued my cynical and critical side. Now how will I write reviews, The world sucks like that doesn't it!

Score

Costa Biscuit- 5 out of 11

Morisson's Skeleton- 6 out of 11

McVitie's gang- 8 out of 11

Jelly skellies- 7 out of 11

Creepy critters- 5 out of 11

Found

Numerous places some I don't even remember!

Final Thoughts

I'm tired out, still have a lot of stock left too!

Jelly Belly Bean Day

How many roads must a man walk down before you can call him a man? That famous question/song can never truly be answered can it? Well readers what if I told you that today, in this very review, I will not be answering it either!

What I can offer is what you call someone who goes down the wrong road or more accurately mistakenly walks down a road. He feels bloody stupid is how he feels. I’m clearly speaking from recent experience here, which I’ll explain. Today I visited the lovely village of Howarth, in which I knew resided a sweet shop to trek to. I asked for directions from a greatly helpful café owner and set off on my adventure.

Beautiful, yes. Sweet shop however it is not!

Half an hour into said adventure time I’d reached the edge of town and a field full of uninterested sheep, clearly not what I’d set out for. My doubts about my direction had been growing but I really didn’t want to admit I’d gone wrong. Mainly because there was only one road that went through the village, yet I’d somehow got lost. Now this is good in one way as it meant I could just turn back and ask again for directions. In another way however it meant going back the way I’d came, past the same shops, the same people all of whom would know I’d got lost. I did not feel like a man, I felt a damn fool (not much change really).

This was only made worse when I approached the café and the man who had directed me. Turns out I had turned right when I should have turned left upon exiting. Bless him though for he didn’t laugh at me. At least not to my face.

I did eventually reach the shop and it had been worth my roundabout journey there. With a retro sweets in jars style pick and mix, wooden style décor it looked pretty amazing. These sweet shops are awesome on so many levels and the people who work there often share my passion for sugary goodness. I took a good look around believe me then asked for some recommendations from the owner. When he replied with “something sweet” I could have hugged him.

Not much I can say really, Oranges woo!!!

I ended up buying a packet of Jelly Bean chocolate orange Dips, not unique I know but they were on offer and I have wanted to purchase some. I also pointed to various jars to form a pick and mix bag, because well you just have to.

So the Jelly Beans are on trial today, I’ve seen them before in a chain sweet shop where they were much more expensive. They sounded great, I love chocolate orange but just not at the over inflated price they had wanted. So when this shop had them going cheap I almost bit his arm off (if it had been sugar coated almost certainly so)! Coupled with this is a recent craving for Terry’s Chocolate Oranges I have been experiencing, however they should really only be consumed at Christmas. This makes them special, an annual treat to be savoured like turkey.

When I opened the up I was met with an awesome scent similar to Terry’s but a bit more artificial. My hopes that these could satisfy my cravings for a few months were building. It’s not just the whole pack either; each piece positively reeks of the heavenly combination. My mouth began salivating I don’t mind telling you.

I took one in and immediately got sucking (giggidy). The chocolate melts immediately, and I mean immediately. Honestly it must be paper thin, lovely while it lasts. Blink however and believe me you’ve missed it. For a few seconds though you can achieve a mixture of chocolate orange but just not on par with my desire. The bean underneath is good on its own thankfully, a tangy orange that’s very similar to strong marmalade.

Batten burg update, I bought some... Couldn't help it.

Next I tried chewing one, hoping by mashing them together I could better incorporate the flavours. Unfortunately this soon failed, the chocolate performed even worse. It crumbled away and disappeared with no flavour at all. Worse still when chewed the bean gets stuck in your teeth and flavour wise loses potency. It probably lasted as long as sucking it however, as I was finding it in every crack and crevice.

Overall, these are really nice. Just not enough chocolate and not close enough. I would buy them again only however at the price I paid. I’m glad I missed my first opportunity as the dent to my wallet would have been an insult to injury. I guess I will have to wait until December to truly satisfy my cravings. Although to make it worse Terry’s have released two “limited edition” oranges and a mini bag. Life’s tough sometimes.

Score 
6 out of 11

Found
Mrs Beatton's sweet shop

Final Thoughts
Tomorrow I do battle with Bownessie, anticipation levels rising.