When I was growing up in Sheffield the ice cream man served up ice creams and lollies and that was it.
In Loughborough market I find the ice cream van is serving up coffee and posh coffee at that. It makes sense I suppose especially on a cold late January morning but it doesn’t sit right with me somehow. I’m happy with a 99, a screwball, a vanilla cornet with raspberry sauce, a cider lolly.
If I want a coffee I’ll go to a cafe, preferably a greasy spoon.
as hard as I try
I can’t let go of the past
a cold wind blowing
Paul Conneally
Loughborough Market
January 2019
You can listen to Ice Cream Child by Little Onion on:
Burn The Water 
I relate, Paul. For a few decades, there was a concession stand near a kettle pond in the city park closest to where I lived. It sold anything that could be cooked on a grill, french fries, popcorn – mostly to feed the ducks, ice cream sandwiches, coke (coca cola), orange crush. It had fussball, too! Throughout every winter you could skate for free, day and night. The concession stand or pond house, as it was called, would throw out rubber runners from the back door to the pond so skaters could get a hot chocolate without having to take off their skates. You get the picture. It took over ten years but the powers that be figured out a way to kick out the concession owner, Marty. The pond house was then sold to a privateer who turned it into a four star restaurant, offering a hot dog, lemonade, and ice cream cone to those queued up outside the takeout window. That’s how they got around the “concession stand” zoning requirement. Enjoy your screwball for as long as you can!