Brooklax Chocolate | A Griping Experience | Yuh Is Ah Trini

"Yuh is ah Trini" Series | "Brooklax Chocolate"| A Griping Experience | Post #118

I am adding this one to the 'Yuh Is Ah Trini' series of articles because it was part of my childhood experience! If you can't remember Brooklax or never heard of it well this is your opportunity to learn about a treat that fixed children who did not like to take any form of laxative. 

This one is a sweet treat that used to end up in the dumps! Children who grew up in Trinidad in the sixties and early seventies were victims of the infamous sweet chocolate treat that went by the name BROOKLAX!

I am sure that everyone is familiar with the Calypso that has the following refrain: "What sweet in goat mouth does sour in he bam bam"! Ahem well, I think that we can apply this one to the special effects of Brooklax chocolate. 

If you did not know and don't get the slant of this post by this time let me take this opportunity to enlighten you... ah, what the hell, I will get to the point now - Brooklax was a laxative but in chocolate form. I can tell you, from experience, that it tasted really good! I was a victim of this sweet treat several times; I did not think about the after-effects (even after experiencing the effects previously) and ate it whenever it was available. If you did not know I will tell you that that tasty treat always turned into a relieving experience.

The photo affixed to this posting was is from a drug store (pharmacy) advertisement from a book written by Calypsonian Charles Jones (Duke of Albany) way back in 1947. The advertisement stated that H. Govia Ltd. of 24, Frederick Street in Port-of-Spain were agents for Elizabeth Arden (Toilet Preparations), Sacrool ("The Hindoo Sacred Oil), and the infamous Brooklax chocolate (Worlds Best Chocolate Laxative).

As a child, I got caught up in the Brooklax craze and paid dearly in the latrine. I guess one can say that eating Brooklax is a better deal than having to drink an enamel cup of Epsom salts. I remember the amount of 'cutarse aka licks' I got to drink that nasty tasting Epsom salts. Now Brooklax, that was a  joy to eat but eating too much would lead to serious belly gripe! That led to serious twisting and cold sweat in the latrine. In such a situation no one had time to sit in the latrine and read the Mirror or Guardian newspapers (the original toilet paper). The end product was a pain in the 'pwefen' but then again, those were 'the good ole days!

Now if you experienced Brooklax, I hope it brought a frown then a smile on your face. If you never heard of Brooklax or did not understand the experience of your parents then now is the time t give them a call and ask about Brooklax. I do hope this post served its purpose... to get you to remember the 'good ole days' in sweet Trinidad and Tobago!

7 Comments

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Unknown said…
Hello,i'm from Ireland. I recently cleared out the back garden of a small property belonging to my father and I found an old Brooklax sign in the hedge. Must be at least 30 years old. Pretty funny thing to find. Paddy.
Unknown said…
Enter your comment...is brooklax still available?
Trinizagada said…
I guess you can still purchase it... check this link:
http://www.orangescs.com/catalog/product/view/id/10658/s/brooklax-chocolate-laxative-4-s/category/55/
Unknown said…
Not much because the other time I bought it while I open it i found out a brooklax pills.
Unknown said…
Not much because the other time I bought it while I open it i found out a brooklax pills.
Msanzi_Partisue said…
Its scarce to find this days in SA
Anonymous said…
Readily available in South Africa. Just buy it of the shelf in most grocery stores in the self medication isle.