Notes on chocolate: the hunt for the elusive ‘white’ Twirl

While I wouldn’t want to belittle anyone’s foibles, I’ve never fully understood people who can’t (can’t, not won’t) do small talk. If you’re stuck, let me tell you that rare is the occasion that chocolate can’t spark up an entire conversation, even if the other person hates it.

Chocolate evokes so much: hopes, dreams, loves, presents and very often childhood – and most people love talking about that.

While Amy, one of the many nurses I see at the moment, was injecting me with what looked like a jab more suited to a horse, we chat. Tell me about yourself, I ask. She does. Her words soothe and entertain as the infusion goes in.

The talk turns to chocolate. The white chocolate Twirl, she tells me, is an evasive, new-edition beast she is keen to try. I had not heard of this. This is proper on-the-street news.

I used to love a Cadbury Twirl. So chocolatey. The most chocolatey of the newsagent chocolates. Despite being nearly 40 years old, a Twirl still seems like a new launch. There have been variations: Big Twirl, Caramel Twirl, Crispy Twirl, Mint Twirl, Orange Twirl. And now dipped in white chocolate for a limited time, in limited places.

We determined to find her these elusive bars. Amy was not wrong, they were not easy to find, but within 24 hours – after an extensive recce – I had found a local newsagent with two bars left. ‘They are selling really fast,’ the shop assistant told me. On eBay they are already at crazy prices.

I slip them into an envelope with a little note, and my husband drops it off at the hospital for Amy, who made my visit 99% pain-free and 100% joyful.