LOLLY IN YOUR TROLLEY

ON A CHILLY AUTUMN EVENING NOTHING BEATS A WARMING NIP BY A ROARING FIRE - BUT COULD YOUR DRINKS TROLLEY BE WORTH A FORTUNE?

- CHARLES HANSON

WELL remember my parents' bar cart.

On wheels, of course, with gold legs and a mirrored tray. If not parked centre stage, it was certainly a big, sticky feature in the corner of the sitting room.

As a child I was fascinated by the exotic looking labels from around the world...Cointreau, Grand Marnier, Tia Maria, Kahlúa, Amaretto di Sar-onno, Crème de Menthe, Crème de Cassis, the list was endless. There might even have been a Mateus Rosé in its squat flask-shaped bottle.

Less Mad Men and more Abigail's Party but it was a snapshot of that decade's social life: a mix of old-school sophistication with a large dash of kitsch.

A drinks trolley, with its ice bucket, tongs soda siphon and bowl of maraschino cherries, was an essential part of an 80s home.

Then there were the bottles bought home from aboard.

The boom of the package holidays in the 1960s and 70s gave rise to the phenomenon of the souvenir bottle.

Now these drinks are gathering dust unopened at the back of the cocktail cabinet.

But could one of those bottles today be worth a small fortune? In other words - is there lolly in your trolley?