Is that a golliwog/minstrel or are you just happy to see me?

The boyf and I decided to view a few properties yesterday and after a pretty quiet week of me staying at home and resting myself and the bump that kicks like a maniac, I was itching to be out in normality again. We turned up for one of our viewings just before midday and another driver cut us up for the parking space outside of the house. As we parked, we noticed that they, a middle aged black woman and her daughter, were also approaching the same house. The woman had on a wig that was on a little bit crooked so I decided that it was understandable if she didn't see us when she cut us up moments earlier....

The woman had recognised that we were there to view the same property and seemed to race very cockily to the front door, so the boyf and I waited by the gate. The front door opened and I stifled giggles as an older white man's (looked to be in his late sixties) eyes widened at the sight of us all. He quickly composed himself but he was very short with the woman who had not only got the time wrong the day before, but had also turned up thirty minutes early now. He asked what our names were and waved us in.

One thing is sure to happen to me when I'm scared (Remember when I got the acupuncture needles in my bum and my va-jay-jay?), nervous (Me at my step-grandmothers funeral and just after the burial seeing little bro doing what appeared to be a pee several feet away. Turns out he was washing the dirt off his hands.....) and shocked, like I was at the viewing.

The door closed behind us and he said "Right so, I'll show you the upstairs first!" and he went ahead of us up the stairs and I turned to take the first step and was confronted with one of those golliwog/minstrel statues. I paused for a moment and then quickly moved on because I had been attacked by an uncontrollable fit of giggles. I mean F*CKING HELL! Do people still keep those things in their houses?

When we decided to sell the flat, our estate agents advised that we do a bit of decluttering. Did it not occur to their estate agent to say "You know sir, I reckon you'll sell this place quicker if you declutter" and when he know doubt asks what they mean, they could say "Well you could start with putting away that black faced statue at the bottom of the stairs."

The images and history of golliwog's and minstrel's images are pretty controversial on either side of the Atlantic. I'm not an over-sensitive person but I do find them to be offensive representations of how black people have been perceived in the past. The term 'golliwog' used to be a very popular racist term and both were popularist items of white culture that still hold some very negative connotations. Clearly he can display what he wants in his own home, but

As we walked around, I hid behind doors and looked out windows to let out my giggles. I kept looking around expecting to see more of the statues leering at us. I didn't dare look him in the eye for fear that I would erupt into hysterical laughter. I got us out of there as quick as possible and tempting as it was, I resisted the urge to make a comment about the statue as it would have been highly uncomfortable and a waste of my breath. OK..and the boyf would have been mortified. In the car, expressed our shock in between laughter and that's what I'm thankful for: we don't let people's dodgy racist ways get to us and find them laughable. Obviously we won't be buying his house...

In more struggles of the politically correct, the boyf got very drunk last night and in a slurred long winded explanation about God-knows-what, he described it as "Politically erect". Today, he is paying for it all with a massive hangover and we've got to go to my mum's in a while, which should make for an interesting afternoon.