Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Tongue in cheek Monday humour

My parents knew some people who were kicked out of Kenya for calling their black Labrador Jomo. Their protestations that an Englishman could display no greater admiration than to call their faithful hound after someone fell on deaf ears....

I remember in primary school having for homework to read S**** the little N word boy.

Does anyone remember the Robertson's Golliwog. I remeber collection enough labels to get a badge (perhaps several badges - I still like marmalade) . Now considered to be not politically correct but children did not see it as demeaning black people in any way. To the contrary it probably made a smiling black person seem a friendly and trustworthy person.

The golly that you collected to redeem was under the label on the back of the jar and slid out. I still have some badges in the loft. You could also get little china gollys playing musical instruments instead of badges.

a couple of years ago put a couple of Robertsons Golliwog badges on ebay.
However, ebay refused to allow them to be included as they were non PC and inappropriate.
Searches on ebay found others for sale though.
She eventually managed to get them sold after rewording but they were spotted again and the items taken down.A buyer contacted her having seen the ad before removal and bought them but not through ebay.

There was also The Story Of Little Black Sambo

I remember them well - different Robertson's collectors' editions had different themes: musicians and also cricketers.

My brother had a fabric golliwog as well as a teddy bear. I just had a bear so was always envious. Incidentally, anyone visiting 'The Jazz Cafe' on Sandbanks in Dorset will see a golliwog in a display cabinet. Any liberal types complaining are given short shrift by the Proprietor who is black and simply says "it's mine, and I like it".

My good lady still has her pretty tired looking golliwog from her childhood, we have a couple of the badges too it was all so innocent back then they were just a different looking kind of person and we never gave it another thought. When the grandchildren are staying and they discover him they are more than happy with our uncluttered explanation and really like him.

I remember those books too John.

I don't suppose they read the Dick and Dora books anymore either. Dick and Dora

We have a 6" tall knitted Golly who sits at the top of the Christmas Tree every year, together with the Fairy.

When my first son was on the way (35 years ago) my ex-wife and I went to buy the stuff to kit out the nursery and one of the things my ex fell in love with was a 4ft tall golly, he was wonderfully cuddly felt and sat proudly in the corner of son’s room. The first midwife to visit was a very large black lady, she loved it too. Unfortunately we had to get rid of it a couple of years later when son and a friend decided to cover it in sudacream which we couldn’t get out.
My wife now is black and we had an amusing moment when we were in Sevenoaks with one of her sons from her previous marriage and I pointed out to him that he was standing in front of a pub called The Black Boy . We’ve passed that pub hundreds of times and never thought anything of it, his reaction was “Wow, how do they get away with that?”. I look back at old TV series like Love thy Neighbour and now wonder why we thought they were funny (and actually it was the white guy that was made to look stupid). Visiting Penshurst Place recently we were wandering around their toy museum and one of the display cabinets had a disclaimer sign in it, because there was an old tin mechanical toy of a black man and it’s name (I can’t remember what it was) would not be acceptable now. Times change but I do think the PC brigade go too far.