Ingredients: Sugar, glucose syrup, condensed full cream milk , hydrogenated palm kernel oil, salt, emulsifier: soya lecithin, flavourings, colours; anthocyanins E163 She also recalls visiting her great-uncle’s home, York House. “My mother took me there at Christmases, and the out-building was used for storage, because they did a lot of delivering around the area, and perhaps as a shop,” she says. The owners of the kennels lived in a cottage in the walled garden also connected to the stables. I remember that the dogs were allowed to go in the walled garden for a bit of exercise.”

These old-school mints were a far cry from our modern-day humbugsand spearmint chews, as they were in the form of pellets made from frankincense, myrrh (not gold though), and cinnamon. These core ingredients were mixed up and then boiled with honey, all of which sounds quite pleasant, doesn't it? Perhaps, we suggested, our mystery building was a Beechwood out-house – its nakedness without its rendering reveals how it once had a shapely arch facing onto Grange Road, so could it have been a coach-house? We were instructed in the use of a Lee Enfield rifle which was identical to the ones used in the First World War – five rounds in the magazine and one in the breach,” he says. It wasn’t just the Egyptians who loved mint. The Ancient Greeks considered it a sign of hospitality, used it in their baths, and also flavoured their water with it because they believed it held special powers.Atrue old fashioned, quality, boiled sweet in a gift tin. A great gift for anyone with a sweet tooth! The Yorkshire Trench was discovered in 1992 on an industrial estate. It had the bodies of 155 First World War soldiers from Britain, France and Germany in it. The trench was dug in 1915, and was fought over on several occasions until late 1917.

The Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans are known for their wisdom, innovation, industriousness, and organisational skills. In general, they’re also considered clean civilisations due to their focus on bathing and personal hygiene. As for people who lived in Medieval times… well, they weren’t quite as nostril-friendly. Greek athletes would rub mint leaves over their wet skin after bathing to give them extra strength, whereas students wore wreaths made of mint to sharpen their mental faculties. Even the senators used it liberally, believing that sprigs of mint on their person would help them to speak more eloquently whilst keeping their temper at bay during debates. Our tour guide found a First World War bullet near the Yorkshire Trench at Boezinge, near Ypres, and gave it to me – it looks very similar to yours.”LAST week, we were stumbling around the floodplain of Neasham in search of evidence of the army camp and rifle range that was there during the First and Second world wars. We carried a picture of a couple of the thousands of bullets which generations of local people have retrieved from the bank that is behind where the butts stood. Like the Greeks, the Romans added mint in their baths. They also gave it to slaves in the form of a tonic by mixing it with barley water. Wealthy Romans crowned themselves with mint leaves during feasts and they were even used in some buildings as a cleaning agent to give floors a pleasing scent. Mint leaves continued to be used for all kinds of things, from adding enjoyable aromas around the home to proving the perfect accompaniment to a plate of lamb chops. Brandy balls were popular in London in the 1850s, as they contained peppermint and cinnamon and advertised as “warming the tongue like brandy does”. Other types of peppermint sweets were also available throughout Europe around this time, which were made by independent traders in their homes.