Forget Wrigley's

I don't know about you, but the smell of spearmint always takes me back to childhood days, and the trayful of confectionery, in strident colours, containing a multitude of fodder for browsing schoolchildren. Cavity-inducing chews, often pink, as I recall, gobstoppers and gum were there in proliferation, and the odour of spearmint was predominant in this symphony of smells. Spearmint (mentha spicata) was used by the ancient Greeks as a restorative and to scent their bathwater, according to Julia Lawless in her Encyclopedia of Essential Oils. Julia goes on to say that this oil can be used in skin care, to relieve catarrhal conditions, aid digestion and to calm the nervous system. So there you go - it's not all chewing gum and toothpaste.