Sweet dreams were made of this

MONEY was particularly tight for families in Liverpool's inner city districts in the 1950s, with rationing in place early on.

- Ken Rogers

In the weeks leading up to the festive season, my late mother would instinctively pay into a 'Sweet Club' at our local corner shop to ensure my sister and I could revel in a chocolate treat on the big day.

I dread to think what mum would have thought about an eye-catching newspaper article this week that declared: 'Maltesers are now more expensive per gram than steak, due to a cocoa shortage that has sent prices through the roof.

Of course, all other chocolate products are similarly affected. Maltesers just happen to be my wife's favourite.

We were standing in front of a jeweller's window in Liverpool One this week when I asked if anything had caught her eye for Christmas. 'Not really,' she said. 'Just get me a box of Maltesers'. She has always been a cheap date! Mind you, I'm the same. We both laughed when reading that news headline so let's get into a little more detail.

Chocolate prices have soared 15 per cent in a year, not least because of climate change and extreme weather in west Africa, forcing a bidding war for the product.