I think you will find that William drank 'liquorice' water. You can
read Richmal Crompton's own recipe at

http://www.manuscripts.co.uk/stock/8030.HTM


On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 00:00:26 +0100, " Colin Lamond"
> wrote:

>
>"jonathan.west1" > wrote in message
>news:FIfzc.32$e%.6@newsfe2-win...
>> Richmal Crompton's William keeps drinking Licorice Water.
>>
>> How is this made, anyone? Do we use the root, or is it the proprietary
>sweet
>> merely boiled up.
>
>
>I always thought it was neither, or at least not the kind of sweet you might
>be thinking of, rather a processed form of the root.
>
>My uncle told me about the time when he was he lad (about the the time of
>WW2): the children used to fake having sore stomachs because then they would
>be given liquorice to make sugerelly water (liquorice water) to sooth their
>pains. They way he told it, it was the only way they could get anything
>approaching sweets during rationing. I'm pretty sure the doctor was in on it
>too:-)
>
>Anyway, what he described (IIRC) was more like a thick black lump you could
>chew at for a whole day.
>
>Colin L
>

Richard Wright wrote:

> I think you will find that William drank 'liquorice' water. You can
> read Richmal Crompton's own recipe at
>
> http://www.manuscripts.co.uk/stock/8030.HTM

Oh, yes, the old 'bootlaces' - which you can still get here! We
used to do that too: chop them up into half inch lengths, stuff them in
a bottle, and leave them a day or so to dissolve. Takes ages! It makes
a dark brown sticky liquid that is OK if you like licorice - which I don't!


--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
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"Richard Wright" > wrote in message
...
> I think you will find that William drank 'liquorice' water. You can
> read Richmal Crompton's own recipe at
>
> http://www.manuscripts.co.uk/stock/8030.HTM

Just to clarify, the stuff I was describing was used to make the liquorice
water, or as my uncle called it, sugarelly water. But my uncle would chew on
it as a substitute for sweets (candy). You were meant to add it to water,
much as the recipe you quoted does. Pretty sure he said it was not like the
bootlace liquorice I knew and described in that recipe, though.

Colin L

Wow. I hadn't thought of the William books in years!

Thanks for the blast from the past!

Lis


"Richard Wright" > wrote in message
...
> I think you will find that William drank 'liquorice' water. You can
> read Richmal Crompton's own recipe at
>
> http://www.manuscripts.co.uk/stock/8030.HTM
>
>
> On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 00:00:26 +0100, " Colin Lamond"
> > wrote:
>
> >
> >"jonathan.west1" > wrote in message
> >news:FIfzc.32$e%.6@newsfe2-win...
> >> Richmal Crompton's William keeps drinking Licorice Water.
> >>
> >> How is this made, anyone? Do we use the root, or is it the proprietary
> >sweet
> >> merely boiled up.
> >
> >
> >I always thought it was neither, or at least not the kind of sweet you
might
> >be thinking of, rather a processed form of the root.
> >
> >My uncle told me about the time when he was he lad (about the the time of
> >WW2): the children used to fake having sore stomachs because then they
would
> >be given liquorice to make sugerelly water (liquorice water) to sooth
their
> >pains. They way he told it, it was the only way they could get anything
> >approaching sweets during rationing. I'm pretty sure the doctor was in on
it
> >too:-)
> >
> >Anyway, what he described (IIRC) was more like a thick black lump you
could
> >chew at for a whole day.
> >
> >Colin L
> >
>