Sweet success

Some love nothing more than sucking on a Soor Ploom or a Berwick Cockle, while others like to get their tongue around a fizzy Sherbet Straw or a chewy Strawberry Bon Bon.

Just the taste can bring back a thousand memories - recollections of queuing impatiently at the sweet shop after school, or getting a much-sought after treat with weekend pocket money.

With yet another "classic sweetie" shop opening in Edinburgh in the last month, the city is definitely cashing in on the its sweet-toothed public.

"Looking at the old sweets and the smell of the shop clearly brings back happy memories for people," says Angie Reid, owner of Sweet on Bruntsfield Place, which opened at the end of October.

"I think sweet shops are becoming popular again because people have become fed up with the limited range available in supermarkets.

"Buying sweets with the weekly shop does not provide a child with the same level of excitement as a trip to an actual sweet shop either."

She should know. Since opening her doors a few weeks ago, lunchtimes have seen a rush of local children descending on the shop, eager to get their hands on some "old-school" sweet treats.

"The reaction from people when they walk in the shop is the main thing I love about being here," says Angie.

"From toddlers to the elderly, it has been amazing. The young children can become overwhelmed by the colour, smell and choice though.

"On the day we opened, a little girl burst out crying as she 'just didn't know what to pick!'.

"The kids are coming here in swarms and the adults are slowly beginning to realise we are not a shop just for youngsters as we stock a large range of sweets they remember from their own childhoods."

Such sweets shopkeeper Robin Currie enjoyed in his own youth while helping out at his mum's sweet shop, Toddle In on Cockburn Street, which he now owns.

While the likes of Sweet in Bruntsfield, Lickety Splits on Jeffrey Street and I Love Candy on Hanover Street embrace the growing trend for classic sweet shops, Robin and his family have been beavering away in the background for nearly 40 years, ever since his mum Lola opened the shop in the 1970s.

"We're the same as we always have been," he says.

"We sell more than just sweets though, including food, ice cream and drinks, just like the traditional sweet shops did. When I was young, there weren't shops that only sold sweets, but shops that sold other things, including newspapers.

"Traditional sweets are still our best sellers, anything from Toffee Doodles to Bon Bons and Cola Cubes, but we also have lots of new sweets, including Iron Brew rock."

With a strong local following, and endless jars of colourful sweets, Toddle In is testament to the popularity of the traditional boiled sweet in Edinburgh.

And of course, the sugary treat is consistently popular all-year round with tourists who love nothing more than packing up a tasty little bag of Scotland to take home as a souvenir.

"The Spanish really seem to love the shop," explains Robin. "They like the 5 bags that give them a mix of different sweets.

"But I also made up a 15 delivery not so long ago for a customer in Kuala Lumpur, who had visited Edinburgh during the festival and wanted more sweets sent over to him.

"I think it's great that traditional sweet shops are making a comeback - the more the better I say.

"It offers people more choice and brings the whole concept of sweets to the fore again. It's a good thing."

And with that, now it is time to choose what you'd like to buy this weekend. Some Chocolate Limes? Mint Humbugs? Rosebuds? A Catherine Wheel? Maybe some Blackcurrant and Liquorice?

The choice is endless.