Cafe owner defends decision to sell golliwogs saying he has sold ‘hundreds’ of the dolls

A cafe owner has hit back after he was reported to police for selling ‘racist’ Golliwog dolls and said he has sold ‘hundreds of them’.

The manager of Old Manor Cafe, Norfolk, claimed the dolls were ‘souvenirs’ and remained ‘popular’ with customers. 

It comes after the cafe was reported to police last year and a shocked customer recently slammed his decision to sell the dolls as ‘morally unacceptable’.

The manager, who asked not to be named, said: ‘For starters, they’re called gollies. But it’s okay for people to complain about them. It is their right.’ 

He admitted two other customers complained to another staff member last year and called the police about the figures.

A customer, who asked not to be named, said: ‘We recently dropped in for a bite to eat and were shocked to find these openly on show and available for purchase.

‘These racially stereotypical caricatures have been morally unacceptable in this country for years. But not in Norfolk, it would appear. They are racially divisive and antisocial.’

As well as the controversial dolls, the cafe’s shelves feature figurines including Betty Boop and Great Yarmouth fishermen. 

The manager added: ‘People aren’t complaining about the other things I have on display. They’re not seeing the whole picture.’

However, he said police were called about the dolls last year after two customers complained to another member of staff.

He said: ‘The people went home, visited their local police station, who told headquarters, who told Great Yarmouth police, who then told Flegg police.

‘Four police forces were involved, all because someone didn’t want to say anything to me.

‘I sold 12 of them to a black bloke from Brixton, and he superglued them all to his dashboard. He loved them.’

The ‘golliwog’ was created by Florence Kate Upton in 1895 and came from racist minstrel caricatures, with frizzy hair, big lips and large white teeth.

The term ‘golliwog’ has often been used to dehumanise people of colour and is widely considered a racial slur.

Britons have also become ‘notably less tolerant’ of golliwog dolls since 2017, according to pollster YouGov.

Thirty-nine per cent of those surveyed said it was ‘acceptable’ to sell and display golliwog dolls in 2023, down from 53 per cent in 2017.

Twenty-seven per cent said it was ‘racist’ to sell and display golliwog dolls in 2023, up 7 per cent since 2017.

But 48 per cent said it was ‘not racist’ to sell and display the dolls and 25 per cent said they didn’t know.