A smell is one of the biggest triggers of memories.

A certain scent, a wisp of a whiff or an throat-burning hit can transport you back in time in the blink of a watering eye.

The great smell of Carlisle has been captured, in a candle.

It's not the waft of stale ale and greasy onions from Botchergate, or the heady hit of diesel from London Road.

And amazingly, its not the smell of wet pavements...

No. The olfactory assault of the Border town is - biscuits.

More especially that sweet chocolatey, vanilla odour that hangs in the air just when you're thinking of something to eat.

You might have guessed that the city's overriding odour is supplied by the McVities biscuit factory.

No bad thing.

After all, it could be worse. We could suffer what is known as 'The Wigton Whiff' or 'The Penrith Pong'.

But there's money to be made here.

Imagine all the ex-pats keen to get a memory of the old city shoved up their nose again.

It's well known that when you live abroad you get more nostalgic for the old homeland.

And maybe as well as candles the range could be widened to other items - what about soap on a rope? Soggy biscuity bath bombs?

Perhaps we could have a range of scents - Bouquet de Botchergate, Essence de Upperby and Harraby No5?

Surely they should rename the Carlisle smell 'The Magic of McVities' -for men who don't have to try too hard...

And remember, 60 per cent of the time, it works every time.

n Food smells are one of the most striking of all scents - especially chips!

But they could be off the menu under a new government drive to save waste.

The Government's waste reduction advisory body, Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap), has drawn up a plan to slash the £3billion worth of food wasted by restaurants, cafes, hotels and canteens every year.

It says 75 per cent of which could have been eaten and wants to see portions reduced by eateries and doggy bags offered as standard so customers can take leftovers home.

I agree.

The trouble is, if it's on your plate, you eat it. It would be rude not to.

But you only have to look at portion control in America and the size of the people who eat them to see the dangerous direction we're travelling in.

The smell of Carlisle - enough to make you cry?

The great smell of Carlisle? Bouquet de Botchergate?