Café owner defends decision to sell golliwogs, says no customer has personally complained to him and he has sold ‘hundreds’ of dolls
- Old Manor Cafe Norfolk manager said the ‘racist’ dolls were ‘souvenirs’
- It comes after a customer complained and filed a police report last year
A pub owner hit back after being reported to police for selling ‘racist’ Golliwog dolls, saying he had sold ‘hundreds’ of them.
Old Manor Cafe manager Norfolk claimed the dolls were ‘souvenirs’ and remained ‘popular’ with customers.
It comes after the café was reported to the police last year and a shocked customer recently denounced his decision to sell the dolls as “morally unacceptable”.
The manager, who declined to be named, said, ‘They’re called gollies for starters. But it’s okay if people complain about it. It’s their right.’
He admitted that two other customers complained to another member of staff last year and called the police about the numbers.
Old Manor Cafe manager Norfolk claimed the dolls were ‘souvenirs’ and remained ‘popular’ with customers
It comes after the café (pictured) was reported to the police last year and a shocked customer recently denounced his decision to sell the dolls as ‘morally unacceptable’
One customer, who declined to be named, said: ‘We dropped in recently for a bite to eat and were shocked to see this openly on display and for sale.
“These racially stereotyped caricatures have been morally unacceptable in this country for years. But not in Norfolk, it seems. They are racially divided and anti-social.”
In addition to the controversial dolls, the cafe’s shelves display figurines of the likes of Betty Boop and Great Yarmouth fishermen.
The manager added: ‘People don’t complain about the other stuff I’ve put out. They don’t see the whole picture.’
In addition to the controversial dolls, the cafe’s shelves feature figurines including Betty Boop and fishermen from Great Yarmouth
The manager added: ‘People don’t complain about the other stuff I’ve put out. They don’t see the whole picture’
However, he said police had been called about the dolls last year after two customers complained to another member of staff.
He said: ‘People went home, visited their local police station, who informed headquarters, who told Great Yarmouth police, who then informed Flegg police.
“Four police forces were involved, all because someone wouldn’t say anything to me.
“I sold twelve of them to a black guy from Brixton, and he super glued them all to his dashboard. He loved them.’
The ‘golliwog’ was created by Florence Kate Upton in 1895 and evolved from racist minstrel caricatures, with frizzy hair, big lips and big white teeth.
The term “golliwog” has often been used to dehumanize people of color and is widely regarded as a racist slur.