A top Scots resort has been slammed online for ‘wilful ignorance and racism ’ over a pair of black figurines in its reception hall.
Guests say they alerted Stobo Castle Health Spa to what they believe are ornaments depicting two cotton picking slaves on the mantelpiece but were initially ignored.
Owners of the plush Peebles venue have since apologised for any offence but said the ornaments are 'open to interpretation and could be of willing tea plantation workers.
One guest told the Record: “They made me feel uncomfortable and I thought they were racist and in incredibly poor taste.
“I suggested they be taken down and in all honesty I thought I'd get a quick reply saying ‘oh my god, you're so right, we hadn't looked at them in that way before, they are down now.’
“But they turned it into a thing by taking over two weeks to respond and only responding once social media was involved.”
Another guest added: “If they’ve been enlightened about the nature of these figurines, but have ignored repeated requests to remove them then that’s wilful ignorance and simply racist.”
Stobo Castle Health Spa chairman Stephen Winyard said the figurines were bought by interior designers 20 years ago.
He said: “Only recently have we received one or two complaints about the suitability or otherwise of these figurines being on display.
“We have since removed the figurines, we’re not in the business of offending any guests or otherwise.”
And Winyard disputed whether the figurines actually depicted slaves or “willing plantation workers.”
He added: “It's a very, very subjective issue. Certainly when we acquired them 20 years ago the last thought on my mind was these figurines represented enslaved people.
“The other interpretation is that they’re willing workers in a tea plantation. They are wearing colonial hats, they’re not enslaved people in the southern states of America or anything like that.”
Winyard said the resort’s main focus has been keeping its 200-strong workforce intact since forced closure in March.
He added: “I don’t want to, in any way, lessen the topic of slavery or anything like that - it’s very, very open to interpretation.”
Winyard praised Stobo’s “social responsibility” which has seen the venue raise more than £500,000 for good causes, including underprivileged children in Africa.
He added: “We sent an email to the lady yesterday apologising for any offence this has caused. We thanked her for her comments and confirmed the figurines have been removed.”
