Goodbye Mr Noon?

In October 2001 HISTORY TODAY published Ron Noon’s “Goodbye Mr Cube?” essay. It raised many issues about History’s most famous sugar lump and in particular why he was being “prematurely retired”. Less than nine years on there are rumours that the author is himself subject to early and “premature” retirement.

LIVERPOOL ECHO August 3rd 2010

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Posted by Ron Noon in on Monday, August 16th 2010

Where is History’s most famous sugar Lump on his 61st birthday?

The world’s oldest brand is Lyle’s Golden Syrup but the dead lion on that famous honeylike tin, surrounded by swarms of bees and the caption “out of the strong came forth sweetness” is from my perspective nowhere near as important as Mr Cube in terms of the history of TATE & LYLE.  Unfortunately with the sale of Tate & Lyle’s sugar business on July 1st to the American Refining Company both the leonine symbol and the swashbuckling champion of “free enterprise sugar” are now US citizens! What a way to spend your 61st birthday?

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Posted by Ron Noon in on Wednesday, July 28th 2010

Dull faced manuscripts on Sugar Refining

Tate & Lyle has now sold it’s European sugar refining business to American Refining Company Inc, owned by Flo. Sun Inc based in Florida and owned by Cuban Americans Alfie and Pepi Fanjul! Perhaps any dull faced manuscripts on sugar refining and the “process” can be sent over to the Fanjuls West Palm Beach headquarters?

(If you have n’t heard anything about the Fanjuls before, have a look at the first blog I wrote on Friday November 28th 2008. It was titled “Sugar Film making: Cease and Desist”.)

I can not resist the temptation to show again that brilliant cartoon from THE GUARDIAN and Kipper!

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Posted by Ron Noon in on Wednesday, July 07th 2010

Tate & Lyle, one time Imperial Sugar Giant sings “Bye, Bye Sugar, Bye Bye”!

In a Corporate profile of April 1989 Tate & Lyle was described as “the world’s largest sugar company” and listed as “the 15th largest foreign investor in the United States”. Today we woke up to the announcement that a sugar free era dawns for Tates. I wonder what John Maclean would have made of it? There he is below on the left sat next to his great pal Albert E Sloane.

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Posted by Ron Noon in Beyond The Lane on Thursday, July 01st 2010

Today 22nd of April 2010 is the 29th anniversary of the Closure of Henry Tate’s mother plant

On April 22nd 1981 the mother plant in Henry Tate’s sugar dynasty, Liverpool Love Lane closed down. (The ariel photograph above was taken in 1958)

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Posted by Ron Noon in on Thursday, April 22nd 2010