Village shopkeeper bombarded with hate mail over golliwog sales
A woman who runs a village shop dedicated to Enid Blyton has received hate mail after she started selling golliwogs.
Viv Endecott has called in the police after receiving a string of complaints from locals.
But she has hit back by sticking up an anonymous letter put under her door in the shop window to gauge customers' reaction.
Miss Endecott, 47, has sold more than 500 golliwogs in the last six months and claims there is a demand for them.
Enid Blyton regularly featured them in her famous books, including the Noddy series.
In recent years the golliwogs have been "cleansed" from the novels as many people began to see them as a crude racial stereotype.
But Miss Endecott said she will continue to sell the dolls alongside the Blyton books, teddy bears and bottles of ginger beer.
She said: "Around here it is accepted that a golliwog is a soft toy associated with Enid Blyton. I genuinely think most people don't associate them with black people.
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)
Viv Endecott has called in the police after receiving a string of complaints from locals.
But she has hit back by sticking up an anonymous letter put under her door in the shop window to gauge customers' reaction.
Miss Endecott, 47, has sold more than 500 golliwogs in the last six months and claims there is a demand for them.
Enid Blyton regularly featured them in her famous books, including the Noddy series.
In recent years the golliwogs have been "cleansed" from the novels as many people began to see them as a crude racial stereotype.
But Miss Endecott said she will continue to sell the dolls alongside the Blyton books, teddy bears and bottles of ginger beer.
She said: "Around here it is accepted that a golliwog is a soft toy associated with Enid Blyton. I genuinely think most people don't associate them with black people.