A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down they say, or rather they sing, but giving something a sugary overcoat can indeed make it more palatable. Mentally and physically.

Willy Wonka – a mysterious factory of wonder, to tempt and entice with their sugary treats. If you read the book or watched the films, then you will also know that there is a strange and dark undertone to them. With all sorts of reveals of human nature and mental instability, in both the children and the owner of the chocolate factory.

Chocolate companies – there are some rather large names these days in the world of chocolate, and for decades have been quite pivotal in certain areas. Hearing that back in the day, one of them sent lots of representatives to the African continent, in white coats, to push baby formula as a product. The white coats did a good job at convincing folk they were ‘health professionals’ and that their recommendations were sound. Moving a whole new generation and demographic away from natural, and onto processed and into the consumer fold.

Candy & Sweets – children and sugar seem to go together like bullets and guns. In fact, it’s people and sugar, because it’s not something we grow out of. Those out there who are said to have a ‘sweet tooth’, and find their way to a more sugary diet than others. Which has its own problems if you consume too much, and can be a controlling factor in some people’s lives more than they would like. But it’s a known lure for children, as the saying goes about not taking candy from strangers, because children can be very motivated by things they would like, with little to no thought about what it means, only focusing on the item at hand to be bargained for.

Halloween – another thing that revolves around children and sweets these days, about knocking on strangers door and actually asking for candy. What a turnaround from don’t talk to strangers and accept treats from them, with the odd twist of turning on them if they want a trick instead of handing you over goodies. Very vampirish too, asking for something at their doorway, wanting a compliant exchange to take place, with a threatening theme lurking in the background.

Sort of how maybe society operates, with the hooks and lures to tempt you, but just as speculated in my article That’s The Ticket, you need to be a willing participant. You have to agree, sign your life away and take part of your own accord, once you have been groomed and conditioned to accept of course. Not perhaps quite recognising it for what it is, and where our senses may ordinarily detect a bitter undertone, it has been deceived by something seemingly sweet. Whether that be a word, a smile or something edible, always ask yourself what might be behind all that sweetness…

(c) MKW Publishing