General Chat

I was more than 10 years younger than my brother, he married young (at 22), and started a family immediately.

So I was almost 13 when my first niece was born.

I don't know what happened to toys before that, but as soon as the nieces were born, Mum would say I had to give toys to them. I had a lovely doll house that Dad had built during the war, it even had battery-operated electric lights! I had a farm, with all the animals, and dolls galore.

I no longer played with them, but those things had been kept, then..... "we'll keep them until the girls are old enough to have them".

I managed to keep my teddy until I left home, but then it disappeared.

I did get a pink-haired monkey when I was about 13 (why??) ...... I managed to hang on to that, and my daughter now has it as one her "special" toys.


We used to sell the Sunshine Babies (or similar) ........ that would have been in the 1950s. And, yes, the black children were most wanted. Theyw ere sooooooooooooooooo cute!




sylvia

I dont think Gollies is seen as offensive but they used to be called Golliwogs and that is what caused offence,ie Robertson Gollies.were called golliwog badges...

I still have an upside down black and white rag doll from childhood,,the black one still has her earings,,,,,and I love it and woudnt part with it for anything.)

there should be more black dolls in shops....!

Not offended at all - but I have a granddaughter with Downs Syndrome and I can assure you she is not a "Downs Syndrome victim".

Sue

Sue my great-nephew also has Downs syndrome, and has brought so much love to the extended family, he is no victim either!! My 2 grandchildren with autism are not victims either, they are also uniquely created and have taught us so much already.
Mary

I am so sorry.I don't see them as victims but could not think of the appropriate word.

Sufferer certainly was not the right word either,although I have heard people say they suffer from greasy hair!

Downs,like everything,is what you make of it, and I think there was more victim in the thinking fifty years ago. I remember ,about that time,that there was a couple featured in the local paper as having a special wedding anniversary and them saying they had two children when I knew they had three because I had seen them all. The Downs son didn't seem to count that day.

Sharron - that's why I wasn't offended because I knew you wouldn't deliberately use an inappropriate word.

My granddaughter is a child with Down's Syndrome. She is 4 y.o. is bright, pretty, cheeky, bossy - just like every other 4 y.o. girl:-)) Right up until the late 60's people with Down's would be put in institutions and forgotten about as so little was known about what they were capable of.

Sue x

Thanks Sue.

What do you say? Not a victim or a sufferer. I know you have to be specially selected to recieve one as there are not many to go round.

I knew somebody who had a Downs daughter in the 1930s and she was told to go home and forget about her. She didn't but had so little support it was wicked.

I remember our Bet telling me she had fallen downstairs and broken her teeth last week. Her mouth wasn't swollen at all,but then it wouldn't be.Her mum said it had happened in 1938!

I thought the black and white ministrel show was just adults dressing up as a golliwog who could entertain us nothing more than that.
My sister and I both had golliwog 's which we loved but never connected to black people, they were just rag dolls to love and play with.
It wasn't until years later when all the fuss started that I wondered what it was all about, as we also had black dolls that looked like white dolls which were meant to be babies for us kids, golliwogs never looked like anything but golliwogs. Maybe we were just more naive in the fifties but i like to think it was all harmless to us all.

I think things have changed for the worse since the 50's and 60's. So called anti-discrimination legislation have actually made things worse, not better.

Racism, or as it should be properly described, racialism means to deliberately incite hatred to ones of other races or creeds. To call someone affectionately by a name is not in itself racialist, at least in my mind.

e.g.

Scouse Git - a resident of Liverpool
Paddy - an Irishman
Paki - person from Pakistan
Golliwog - A child's toy
Chinky - person of Chinese origin
Negro - person of African origin
Polack - immigrant from Poland

Sharron if you have the time and enjoy reading - read "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" by Kim Edwards. While it is fiction it explains somewhat the lack of understanding that people have regarding Downs Syndrome.

Even the terminology has changed we called them another name- and while I am not into PC on this occasion the recognition of the correct name and the denouncement of the other was very welcome in my books.

Victim is a term bandied about with great eagerness - eg 9/11 victims, 'Tsunami victims, earthquake victims have been the most recent.
We have here what a lot of countries have, is Victim Support and they send out pamphlets etc when you have been burgled or suffered some sort of violation of your person or property.... and one chap I know had his lawn mower stolen from out the front of his property and he received one which is carrying the whole thing a bit too far.

Persie

My mother (born 1905) had a cousin named Jimmy who was diagnosed with Downs syndrome, she told me that she and her siblings were never once allowed to see him. We have come so far in many ways, but sadly prejudices still exist, even within extended families. Our one constant annoyance is people who visibly tolerate, rather than accept differences.
When asking "what do you call" someone with autism, the current preference here is to say eg "a child with autism" rather than " an autistic child". the difference being that we see the child first, rather than the disability. Can be applied to most situations.
Sharron BTW I so appreciate your caring and sense of humour!!!

IGP

I agree the words listed are not racist but some of them could be interpreted as insulting ie calling someone from Liverpool a scouse git (I wouldn't dare) Negro is fine but never nigger. Paki is seen as insulting too.

Your are allowed however to call me a Geordie

Regards

Vera

We have 'the band' of Robertson Gollies, six including a singer with his microphone.They're kept in a cabinet with treasured Dinky/Matchbox cars from the sixties,children on visits love to look at them.

I too remember selling & buying the Sunshine babies,also loved the Golliwogs in the Enid Blyton books.

Mau....a fellow Geordie :O)

Mary and Sharron - we also call our Aimee "a child with Down's Syndrome" - again to make sure that she is recognised as a child first.

PC has definately gone overboard. It appears that we, the human race, can't make affectionate teasing jokes anymore without fear of offending someone. There are many changes for the better but as always things go too far. I was chipped awhile back - on here - for called English people Poms. I was told that it was insulting and just because I'm an Aussie doesn't give me the right to use 'that' word. Well.....I'm a Pom. My children are only first generation Aussie. I was born in England and my research shows me that many lines of my family are English through and through. Now why would I insult my ancestors. I use Pommie as an affectionate term.

Sue

I still think I should have had a train set..... my mother was into PC even then and as a girl I should not have "boys" toys.

IN MY LOFT WRAPPED UP VERY CAREFULLY IS
MY BLACK DOLL c1955,SHE'S ABOUT 18in HIGH
AN A WALKING DOLL STILL HAS HER DRESS MIUS SHOES
I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE HER SITTING ON A CHAIR NOW SO
I CAN SEE HER BUT FAMILY CANT SEE WHY,,,,,,,,,,,
VA.LUE £150..............TO ME PRICELESS

I really can't see what all the fuss is about now - we all had golliwogs when we were kids and time's moved on and left our childhoods behind. People genuinely did begin to feel uncomfortable about the whole golly/ wog thing and it doesn't matter how many millions of times people whinge "it's PC gone mad" (what on earth would people say if those words were taken away?) the world has changed. There will always be good things and bad things about change - personally I don't see it's the end of the world that kids don't have gollies anymore.

GEORGINA
I DO GET SOMEONE TO CLIMB OVER THE JUNK TO FIND HER,
ALSO WITH HER A SMALL ROSEBUD BLACK DOLL;
A 1950's JACO MONKEY MADE WITH STRAW FILLING (ITCHY)
A 1967 LARGE ORIGINAL TROLL,
BUT IN MY BEDROOM IS THE DOLLS PRAM I BOUGHT 2 YRS AGO FOR MY 7YR GRANDAUGHTER ITS A 20+
YEARS OLD SILVER CROSS COACHBUILT,,THEY KEEP TELLING ME TO SELL IT BUT NO NO NO,

OH NEARLY FORGOT
1960S SINDY DOLLS PLUS FURNITURE

Just to let you know if anyone would like the pattern for the Golly jumpers I have been looking through my knitting patterns for a baby shawl pattern and found the Golly one.

If you want it please pm me with your name and address and I will forward the original.
Can't see me ever making it now for anyone !!!

Linda :o)