Alex The Archivist

05/05/2019

Look at this magnificent bargain! Treat yourself, go on 😘

The Quality Street Girls is just £1.49 this month 🍬

https://t.co/pZZRi3EJbn

25/04/2019

It's been a while since I had a chance to sit down and write a blog post (that new book is coming along nicely), but over the Easter break I heard a few people telling me about how "Easter eggs don't have Easter written on them anymore", so I decided it was high time I wrote up the facts.

Does anyone have any of their Easter egg left? I've still got half of mine!

It’s always around this time of year that I see memes and news stories circulating about the belief (and it’s a totally false belief) that chocolate manufacturers in the UK have removed the word Easter from their chocolate egg packaging in order to encourage sales to Muslims, or as part of a wid...

17/04/2019

23/11/2018

Have you ever wondered what it's like to be a chocolate historian? Have a read of the blog post I wrote for HarperCollins and tag in a friend who you think would love a job in a sweet factory. 🤩🍫🍬🍭

Working in a chocolate archive is not as fattening as it sounds. I do have free chocolate regularly deposited at my desk, but it isn’t always in date. The oldest piece of chocolate in the archives is from 1899, and although it’s in good condition I don’t think I’d want to eat it!

05/07/2018

Some great myth busting from the Rowntree Society on their Facebook this week. Did you believe the conspiracy theory about Rowntree Park being a plot to foil Terry's?

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2199502300064629&id=1265278150153720

24/05/2018

Great news, chocolate history fans: if you have access to BBC iPlayer then there's another chance to see Alex the Archivist looking a right tit on the rooftop of her favourite chocolate factory.

This is the episode where I tell Michael Portillo that the Rowntrees could forgive anything except Toryism, and he is not amused... (And where I pretend that his historically inaccurate cocoa is accurate because I'm too embarrassed to tell him that he's doing it wrong).

(Edit: this is also a chance to see the exceptionally talented and very funny Vikki Geall in action; a treat not to be missed!)

Feast your eyes on my especially straightened hair as I talk about Alcoholism, Priestcraft and Toryism: the three greatest evils of mankind.

Great British Railway Journeys, Series 6: 13. Hessle to York: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b050mbzt via

Michael Portillo learns about the technology that made the Humber Bridge possible.

23/05/2018

Did you know that the Terry's Chocolate Orange was a spin-off from the Terry's Chocolate Apple?

I've published some of the original images in today's blog, which is part of a series on how to have a really good Brand Immersion Day (if you're a marketing brand manager -- if you're not a brand manager I wouldn't recommend having a Brand Immersion Day because they're ghastly, frankly).

https://alexthearchivist.com/the-best-brand-immersion-days/

The best brand immersion days start with a surprise; if you don’t start off by learning something about your brand

16/05/2018

Do you think there ought to be a statue of Joseph Rowntree in his home city of York? Are you ready to start campaigning for one? Well, you might be surprised to hear that Joseph himself objected to having one!

Do you think there ought to be a statue of Joseph Rowntree in York? Do you think it’s a scandal that in his home city there isn’t a likeness in finest marble celebrating the great man? …

07/05/2018

It's time for some more history myth busting! This week it's the turn of that old chestnut "Victorian women weren't allowed to work". Hmm... I've investigated and it looks like York had quite a few female Victorian business owners. Perhaps I need to do some more investgating...

I’ve been re-reading the definitive history of the Craven’s sweet factory, and there’s a paragraph that is so wonderful that I must share it with you: “The story… of t…