September 26th 2018....Books and Clubs Section updated

March 3rd 2010....Premier Foods have launched a new Paddington Bear scheme:

The full press release is available along with the new promotional leaflet. A press embargo was in force until today.

www.paddingtonbear.com has further details.

The Independent also ran the story today.

December 8th 2008....Robertson's will no longer produce jam but instead will focus on marmalade. They will leave the jam production to Hartleys one of its sister brands.

The Daily Mail ran the story today.

August 23rd 2006....Robertson's have issued the following statement:

Unfortunately we have decided to remove the Dahl collectables scheme from Robertsons packs.

We are removing the Dahl licensed on pack activity from the product produced after July 06. With current rate of sale the existing Dahl packs are likely to be in the trade until mid Oct. On the faster selling lines this is likely to be by the end of August.

Dahl licensed collectables were bought in as an on pack promotion in 2001. This was to replace the historical 'Golly' on pack collectables that have run for the last 90 years. Dahl never captured the imagination of the public in the same way that Golly did and does not support the long term positioning of the brand. There are no plans for a replacement collectable on Robertsons Jam or Marmalade.

We will continue to honour existing coupons against the range of Dahl collectables that are available until at least November. At the end of October, dependant on demand, we will make a decision on a 'close date' for the collectables. After October, we will continue to offer Dahl collectables or an equivalent level of coupons.

May 1st 2005....There are no new Roald Dahl Badges planned for the next few months. Several people have queried whether a new set of badges had been released following the appearance of new tokens (for example that shown on the right). However, although the tokens include new designs, the badge range does not.

October 11th 2004....Veruca Salt and Charlie Bucket from the Charlie & The Chocolate Factory range of badges have now sold out. There are about 50 left of each of the rest of the badges in the set. It seems unlikely that a new set of Roald Dahl badges will be issued this year.

September 7th 2004....Veruca Salt from the Charlie & The Chocolate Factory range of badges has now sold out. The rest of the badges in the set are likely to be sold out by the end of next week.

May 5th 2004....The limited edition BFG range of badges are now sold out.

April 21st 2004....The limited edition BFG range of badges are nearly sold out! The BFG & Sophie badge is now sold out, others to follow in the next week or so.

March 29th 2004....The fridge magnets can now be ordered from Robertson's.

March 23rd 2004....Each of the 3 fridge magnets can be broken into their constituent parts of images, words, jam jars and logos to produce many smaller fridge magnets.

March 22nd 2004....Each of the 3 fridge magnets are A5 in size. Each features 5 images and 50 words. They will be priced at 2 tokens plus £2 each. Not suitable for children under 36 months.
(Thanks to Robertson's Promotions Department).

March 19th 2004....Around the beginning of April a set of Roald Dahl fridge magnets (pictured above) will be released. The magnets will feature characters from the books The BFG, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory and Fantastic Mr Fox. More details to follow. (Thanks to Robertson's Marketing Department).

December 9th 2003....A third set of Roald Dahl badges have been launched based on the book The Big Friendly Giant. The set of 4 badges consist of:- The Hairy Giant, Sophie, The Big Friendly Giant and The Big Friendly Giant holding Sophie in his hands. 500 sets have been produced. Badges are £1.25 plus 3 tokens. A leaflet is available to promote and order the set. (Thanks to Robertson's Marketing Department).

December 8th 2002....A second set of Roald Dahl badges have been launched based on the five golden ticket winner's from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Badges are £1.25 plus 3 tokens. A leaflet is available to promote and order the set. (Thanks to Robertson's Marketing Department).

November 13th 2002....A mail-shot was despatched by Millennium Collectables to around 700 people on its database advertising that they had issued one final piece of authorised Farewell memorabilia. 2,000 porcelain 5½ inch high figures were manufactured in Stoke-On-Trent by Coalport Limited. They came in a gift box with a limited edition certificate and background information. They were priced at £89 each and were despatched in December 2002. Please note they have now all sold out. Due to a contractual agreement between Millennium Collectables and Robertson's, whilst the figures were still available they were not to be advertised except within Millennium Collectables' existing database. The collectors on their database were those who had ordered or enquired about the previous Golly model issued by Millennium Collectables in 1999/2000 as part of the Advertising Icons set. Robertson's agreed to this as part of the retirement of Golly, but due to hold ups in producing the figurines they were not issued until over a year after the retirement announcement. It is now mentioned here for posterity only. (Thanks to Robertson's Marketing Department and Millennium Collectable who also provided the image shown).

November 11th 2002....The last Gold Farewell Brooch was despatched from the Droylsden Factory, making it the very last Golly badge to be issued by Robertson's. (Thanks to Robertson's Promotions Department).

September 10th 2002....All 850 of the Staff Promotion Father Christmas Badges have now been sold. (Thanks to Robertson's Promotions Department).

August 23rd 2002....The Historical Events set has now sold out. A Historic Event in itself – the last Golly set sells out. (Thanks to Robertson's Promotions Department).

August 22nd 2002....It'll be a year tomorrow since Golly's official retirement was announced.

Collectors have the opportunity to buy the exclusive Staff Father Christmas Badge for £10.00 each (no tokens required). They were exclusively made for staff at the Robertson's Factory in the early 1990's. There are 850 badges available on a first-come first-served basis only BY POST. No orders will be taken over phone or email or fax. A maximum of 5 badges only to each collector. There is no certificate with this badge and no presentation box only the same wrapping as standard badges. However, they will be sent out in a jiffy bag for protection. Applications should be made to James Robertson & Sons – note no tokens are required to order just this badge. Please send no cash. Cheque/Postal Orders only.
(Thanks to Robertson's Promotions Department).

August 5th 2002....The 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940, 1960, 1970 & 1980's badges from the Historical Events are now sold out. Only the 1950 and 1990's designs are still in stock. (Thanks to Robertson's Promotions Department).

July 29th 2002....2,000 of the Robertson's approved Sara's Badge will be despatched tomorrow. This means anybody who is still awaiting the badge should have it by the end of the week. It will be accompanied by a letter of thanks for your patience from Richard's family. £10,000 have been sent to the various Leukaemia Research charites that Richard supports due to his various Golly sales and he thanks you for your continued support.

July 24th 2002....The 1900, 1920, 1930, 1940, 1960, 1970 & 1980's badges from the Historical Events are now sold out. Only the 1910, 1950 and 1990's designs are still in stock. (Thanks to Robertson's Promotions Department).

July 4th 2002....The 1900, 1920, 1930, 1960, 1970 & 1980's badges from the Historical Events are now sold out. Only the 1910, 1940, 1950 and 1990's designs are still in stock. (Thanks to Robertson's Promotions Department).

June 28th 2002....The 1900 and 1920's Historical Events badges have now completely sold out, the others are running low. The Gold Farewell badges are still being despatched to successful applicants. The Gold Farewell is set to be the last ever Golly badge to be despatched from the factory. (Thanks to Robertson's Promotions Department).

June 14th 2002....Anybody who has not yet received Sara's Badge will be receiving a letter from the Anthony Nolan Trust regarding the late delivery. (Thanks to Richard Burton).

May 25th 2002....The first batch of Sara's Badges will be despatched around Wednesday 29th May 2002. (Thanks to Richard Burton).

May 20th 2002....The Silver Farewell brooch has now sold out. (Thanks to Robertson's Promotions Department).

May 4th 2002....Despatch of the Robertson's Approved Sara's Badge is now expected to take place towards the end of May. This is due to contuining delays with the presentation boxes being imported. Richard Burton sends his apologies. Note: Robertson's are not involved with the distribution of Sara's Badge.

April 24th 2002....Robertson's have sold out of the 1,200 "I Love My Golly" mugs. The Promotions Department send their apologies to collectors who have missed out.

April 12th 2002....Richard Burton has revealed the design of the Robertson's approved, Sara's Badge.

Robertson's have confirmed that the first batch of the "I Love My Golly" mugs have been despatched and should start arriving soon.

Robertson's have also confirmed that only 3,000 Silver Farewell brooches were produced. 200-300 are left in stock. Orders are one per household.

March 26th 2002....Robertson's have expressed concern about the number of unauthorised Golly brooches being produced and have issued the following statement: –

"Whilst some of these badges are for worthy causes, we really feel that it is unfair on collectors who are unsure what is, and what is not authorised and are still expected to pay out quite a considerable amount of money. This practice is also against the law and we are therefore seeking advice from our trademark lawyer to ensure that these infringements stop".

March 15th 2002....All details regarding the "I Love My Golly" mug are now available. (Thanks to Robertson's Promotions Department).

March 14th 2002....Robertson's are to issue a new "I Love My Golly" mug. Price £4.99, cheques made payable to Centura Foods Ltd. Send to Robertson's at the usual offer address preceded by 'Golly Mug offer'. Only 1,200 will be made. (Thanks to Robertson's Promotions Department).

February 28th 2002....The application address and details for the Robertson's approved Sara's Badge are now available. (Thanks to Richard Burton).

January 22nd 2002....Robertson's have approved the artwork for Sara's Badge (back and front) as presented to them by Richard. The details of where to apply for the badge will not now be available until the first week of March 2002. (Thanks to Richard Burton).

January 6th 2002....The Silver Farewell Brooches will now gradually be despatched but keeping ordinary mail up to date will be the main priority. (Thanks to Robertson's Promotions Department).

January 1st 2002....The Robertson's approved Leukaemia Research Brooch (Sara's Badge) will be available for £15. The application address will be finalised and published on Golly Corner around mid-February. The brooches will be distributed 2nd/3rd week of April 2002. Further details about the brooch have also been released today. (Thanks to Richard Burton).

December 10th 2001.... It will be January before orders for the Silver Farewell Brooch will start to be processed.

All merchandise is now sold out except for the Historical Events range of brooches, which they hope to run until Easter 2002 – they will have enough to fulfil any orders for these up until then.
(Thanks to the Promotions Department).

November 28th 2001.... The Euro 2000 Football set has now sold out. (Thanks to the Robertson's Promotions Department).

November 16th 2001.... The Robertson's approved Great Golly Giveaway Brooches are now being despatched. (Thanks to Chris Barron).

November 13th 2001.... The Farewell brooches have now arrived in stock. They are beautifully presented and are despatched with a Roald Dahl badge from the new range. (Thanks to the Robertson's Promotions Department).

November 11th 2001.... Robertson's are working weekends to try and help with the backlog, but there is still a long way to go. The Farewell brooches are due in stock this week, and they also are hoping that they will send the first batch sometime this week, but no promises! (Thanks to the Robertson's Promotions Department).

The 500 Robertson's approved badges celebrating the The Great Golly Giveaway which is part of the Children In Need 2001 appeal, have now all sold out. The auction of donated items is in progress. (Thanks to Chris Barron).

November 1st 2001.... Richard Burton has been given the go-ahead by Robertson's to design a charity Golly badge for Leukaemia Research. Following the loss of his young grand-daughter to the disease, Richard has campaigned for many years for the charity. He has raised huge funds, in part through selling Robertson's Golly brooches. Richard is at the start of the project and expects the badge will not be issued until well into 2002. The badge will not be available through Robertson's. No details of price, nor application address have been finalised. This section will be updated when more details are available. (Thanks to Richard Burton).

October 29th 2001.... Robertson's have given their 'official' approval to the production of The Great Golly Giveaway badge. The badge is being issued to raise funds for the 2001 Chidren In Need appeal. It is a Limited Edition enamel badge (limited to 500) and is part of a larger fund raising effort which also appeals for Golly brooches to donated so they can be auctioned in aid of the charity. The badge is not available directly from Robertson's. (Thanks to Chris Barron).

October 24th 2001.... Robertson's still have 6–7 weeks worth of backlog to work through. Their next priority will be despatching the Gold brooch and it will be December/January before the Silver brooch will be available. (Thanks to the Robertson's Promotions Department)

October 12th 2001.... The last of the Golden Farewell brooch leaflets have been despatched. The last should be arriving around 16^th October 2001.

October 9th 2001.... Robertson's announce a Silver Farewell Brooch in addition to the Gold Farewell Brooch. (Thanks to Lexis PR).

October 8th 2001.... The first of the Golden Farewell brooch leaflets have started arriving. The leaflet explains that one of brooches from the new Roald Dahl set will be included free with each farewell brooch. (Thanks to Stephen Bottley).

October 6th 2001.... Robertson's posted the first batch of Golden Farewell brooch leaflets on Friday October 5^th. Please note that the brooches themselves are not yet in stock. (Thanks to the Robertson's Promotions Department)

September 28th 2001.... Robertson's are aiming to distribute the Farewell application leaflets in the week commencing 8^th October 2001. See news for 11^th September and 23^rd/24^th August for more details about the Farewell brooch and it's distribution.
(Many thanks to Peter Wilson and, of course, the Robertson's Promotions Department)

There is not enough stock to fulfill any new orders for the 1998 set.
(Thanks to the Robertson's Promotions Department)

September 11th 2001....the Promotions Department have confirmed that no tokens will be required for the Farewell Brooch (see news for 23^rd August pm). They have also confirmed that they are still aiming to despatch the brochures by the end of September as per their letter (see news of 24^th August). (Thanks to Robertson's Promotions Dept).

September 21st 2001.... Robertson's hold an on-line chat session at 4.30–5.30pm BST (GMT + 1.00) to cover the retirement of Golly and the start of the Roald Dahl promotion.

September 20th 2001....The 1998 range will only last another week. The 1999 range will only last the next few weeks. 17,000 orders have been received since the announcement of Golly's retirement . (Thanks to Robertson's Promotions Department).

September 13th 2001....Fridge magnets have now sold out. Most of the 1998 range is now also sold out. (Thanks to Robertson's Promotions Department).

Robertson's are involved in an on-line chat session to discuss the end of the Golly promotion and the start of the new Roald Dahl Promotion. (Thanks to MarketTiers4DC).

August 29th 2001....The Judge from the 1998 set has now sold out. The rest of the set is forcast to run out in "another week or so". (Thanks to Robertson's Promotions Dept).

August 24th 2001....Responses to letters and emails that have been sent to Robertson's regarding applications for the new 'Farewell Brooch' have been composed. (Thanks to Robertson's Promotions Dept).

August 23rd 2001 pm.... A Robertson's Farewell 'Golden Golly' Badge will be issued. By the end of October, Robertson's will be issuing a letter to its top 5,000 lifetime collectors, inviting them to apply for a 'Farewell Golly' badge. Each badge is made of 9ct. gold and comes in a box with a certificate. Five thousand 'Farewell Golly' badges have been produced. This is an amount well in excess of the usual number of 'special edition' Golly badges produced, in the light of anticipated increased demand. They will be sold for £20 each. For those collectors who fear they may not be in the 'top 5,000' but who would nevertheless like the chance to acquire a 'Farewell Golly', please send your request to "Farewell Golly Offer", James Robertson and Sons, Fitzroy Street, Manchester M43 6DR. Please do not phone or send money. Requests will be answered on a first come first served basis. (Thanks to Lexis PR).

August 23rd 2001 am ....Robertson's, has today announced its plans to replace its historic Golly Collector Scheme with a pioneering new partnership with the World of Roald Dahl.
GOODBYE GOLLY! carries the full press release and more.

Commenting on Robertson's decision to remove Golly from their labels, Robertson's Brand Director, Ginny Knox stated: "The Golly collector scheme has proved incredibly successful during its 73 years of existence, but our research has shown that whilst it still has a great deal of appeal amongst older users, kids are not really interested in – or familiar with – the Golly character. And whilst we're obviously sad to say farewell to Golly, like any successful brand we're constantly evolving to ensure that we remain interesting to today's consumers. As such, we're confident that the likes of Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Twits and The Witches, will capture the hearts and minds of all of our consumers, much like Golly did in his day."

The new scheme launches with a badge range featuring seven key Roald Dahl characters illustrated by Quentin Blake, such as the Big Friendly Giant, Matilda, James & the Giant Peach and Willy Wonka. This is Robertson's biggest initiative to date and as such, Robertson's expects the scheme to spark widespread interest amongst a new generatation of collectors. The launch happens in September, but in the mean time log onto www.robertsons.co.uk for all the up date news and details of the scheme.
(Thanks to Robertson's and Lexis PR).

August 9th 2001 ...The 1998 range is now being phased out only a few are left in stock. (Thanks to Robertson's).

August 6th 2001 ...Robertson's have sold out of sets of Golly's Diary. Note only 3,000 sets were issued in total.

Robertson's have also sold out of the 1998 Father Christmas & Rudolph brooches. (Thanks to Michael Zuk & Robertson's).

July 21st 2001 ...A letter dated 24th January 2001 was published in the June/July 2001 New Golly Collector's Club newsletter. The letter was from the Robertson's promotions department and addressed to a member of the club. It was in reply to a suggestion for an issue to celebrate the 2002 Commonwealth Games which are to be held in Manchester (where the Robertson's factory is located). The letter says "Hopefully there will be something in the pipeline for the Commonwealth Games 2002". (Thanks to the New Golly Collectors Club. Note this design suggestion has also appeared in the Have Your Say brooch suggestions list).

May 1st 2001 ...Robertson's received the first batch of Golly's Diary into stock yesterday. The first batch are now being despatched and should be arriving from tomorrow onwards. The presentation box is the same as that used in the Gollympic set (same colour etc.) except the wording is 'Golly's Diary 2001' and the rhyme is published in the inside cover.

April 19th 2001 ...The current JamJar (car) promotion on various Robertson's products is just one of several promotions over the years which has excluded Golly from the label. Golly will return! In the mean time submitting a complete 'jamjar promotional label' will count as a Golly token when applying for merchandise.

April 5th 2001 ...The leaflets for the Historical Events from the 20th Century set are now in stock. Sets despatched before this date did not include the leaflet.

March 31st 2001 ...Robertson's have now received the full Historical Events from the 20th Century set in stock from the Bizz Badge Company. They are now starting to despatch the sets.

March 9th 2001 ...The Robertson's approved Paisley Brooches which were issued by Jerry Loader to celebrate last year's Paisley exhibition have now all sold out. (Thanks to Jerry Loader).

March 1st 2001 ..The proofs for the new 'Golly Diary 2001' set have been produced. Please note no leaflet will be produced for this set.

February 27th 2001 ...The Artwork for the new 'Historical Events from the 20th Century' set has been finalised. More details about this set are now available.

The Golly Fridge Magnet has been reduced to £1 and the Tea Towel to £1.50.

There are no immediate plans to phase out the 1998 or 1999 sets.

February 20th 2001 ...Send just 3 tokens if you order both Golly Diary 2001 and 20th Century Historical Events sets together. If you order together please send separate cheques (£25 for the Golly Diary and a second one for £11 for the 20th Century Historical Events range of 10).

February 19th 2001 ...The theme of the New Special Edition Set (Golly's Diary 2001) is based around the rhyme, Monday's Child is Fair of Face, Tuesday's Child is full of Grace etc. Each brooch represents a day of the week. The rhyme will be printed on the inside front cover of the box. The box will not take the form of an actual Diary. Although a Special Edition set, the brooches will not be individually numbered. In addition to your customer number and cheque for £25, you also need to send 3 tokens. Note no leaflet will be produced for this set.

In addition a new range of 10 is also due, hopefully around late March. This set is based on Historical Events from the 20th Century e.g. First Pilot, DNA discovery etc. 3 tokens will also need to accompany the order for this set. A leaflet will be produced for this set.

February 16th 2001 ...A fellow collector has received a letter from Robertsons informing him of their new limited edition set available in April. The new set is based around the theme Golly's Diary 2001 and incorporates 7 gold plated brass badges presented in a leather bound presentation gift box. The letter states that it will cost £25 and that you should send the payment and customer number to pre-order the badges.
(Many thanks to Nick Frost for the first report and to Rachel Mason for a complete transcript of the letter).

February 2nd 2001...The Gollympics brooches have now sold out.

January 17th 2001...Robertson's are aiming to issue the new range of brooches in April/May 2001 (before, if production goes well).

The Golly Scroll and Standard Beanie Dolls have now sold out.

December 7th 2000...Robertson's are currently working on a new range for the New Year.

November 14th 2000...There are less than 500 Gollympics sets that have not been allocated to existing orders. There are also a large number of orders which have not yet been processed.

November 11th 2000...The Gollympic brooches have arrived here today.

November 10th 2000...The Gollympic brooches have arrived at Robertson's today.

October 16th 2000...The Olympic brooches are not due in stock at Robertson's for another 2 to 3 weeks.

October 11th 2000...In order to celebrate the Gollympic Games 2000, Golly is releasing 2000 Limited Edition Sets, comprising of 5 new badges in a leather bound presentation gift box. Each badge is approximately 32mm high and made from gold plated brass with a cloisonné finish. Only 1 set per household is allowed, with customer number. The set will cost £30 and 3 tokens. The "3 tokens for as much merchandise as you like" rule still applies. (Last statement is dedicated to Louise).

Robertson's have reduced the cost of all the Beanie dolls to £5. A reminder that the Golly Scroll is still available for £2.

Applications should be made to 'Gollympic Games 2000 Badge Offer' at James Robertson & Sons

Rider	Rower	Weightlifter	Shot Putter	Hurdler

October 9th 2000...Robertson's have received the Olympic leaflets today. The brooches will be limited to only one set per household, and can only be ordered if you have a customer number. These brooches will not be available to none collectors. They will be limited to 2000 so it will be on a first come, first served basis. Please do not send your orders or queries to Robertson's yet – we do not know the money or tokens being requested. They will be sending out a mailshot to collectors. Please be patient.

September 1st 2000...Robertson's definitely have something on the agenda for the Olympics! However, the promotions department are unable to disclose anything at this moment in time. They are hoping to do a mailing at the end of September. I stress, there is nothing until the end of this month. Please watch this space...they will let us know as soon as details are available.

August 7th 2000...Robertson's have issued a letter warning of fake items and informing us of a new brooch set later in the year.

July 29th 2000...General distribution of the Farmer Brooch has now started. (Thanks to John Perrott)

July 20th 2000...The first batch of European Footballers have been despatched by Robertson's. (Thanks to Richard Burton)

July 10th 2000...There is a new Farmer brooch on the way, only to be advertised on Robertson's new range of organic mincemeat. The price will be £1.10 per brooch and 3 tokens per order (if you haven't ordered the European Football Set order them together and save 3 tokens). No leaflet will be produced for this brooch. The mincemeat is currently on sale in Safeway. Asda, Co-op and other retailers will be selling it in September. Note: any 3 tokens may be submitted to receive the Farmer – they do not need to be from the mincemeat. (Thanks to Robertson's)

June 23rd 2000...The Paisley Exhibition brooches have started to arrive ahead of next weeks' opening. It's about the same overall size as the millennium badge, and is gold-plated brass. The detail features Golly looking over the shoulder of James Robertson, a jar of preserve and three oranges in front, overwritten with a banner reading "PAISLEY 2000". It is mounted on a "World's Best" presentation card in a yellow "World's Best" presentation box. (Thanks to John Skinner for the details)

June 21st 2000...New Golly Club Cards are issued with orders. "James Robertson & Sons" does not feature on the card at all.

June 1st 2000...A new European Cup Football Special Edition Set is being issued. It will consist of six badges in a gift box. Each golly wears a different football strip – Belgium, England, France, Germany, Holland and Italy. The offer is restricted to one per household and only 5,000 sets will be issued. The set will cost 3 Golly tokens plus 30 UKP. Cheques should be made payable to 'Centura Foods Limited'. There is a certificate of authenticity to go with the set even though it is not mentioned in the promotional leaflet for the set. It will be late June to mid-July before they are available. All applications should go to the normal address but be marked on the envelope as "European Football Badge Offer".
Robertson's are now using the 3 token requirement slightly differently. Only 3 tokens are required per order rather then 3 tokens for each piece of merchandise.
From now on, anybody who places an order will receive a proper membership card registering them as a Golly collector with Robertson's.

All the Millennium Brooches are now sold out.

There are still some 1998 Santa and Rudolph brooches available. (Courtesy of Robertson's)

May 5th 2000...The Beanie dolls are on special offer – no tokens required.
(Courtesy of Robertson's)

Permission has been given by Robertson's to allow a badge to be issued to commemorate the opening of a Golly exhibition at the Paisley Museum.
(Courtesy of the B.C.C.)

April 25th 2000...Only 25 out of the 2000 millennium brooches are left on hand. With orders still coming in they should all be sold out very soon.
Not all the ordered millennium brooches have been sent, only so many were despatched in the first delivery due to insurance purposes.

April 19th 2000...The first of the Silver Millennium Brooches have been despatched and are starting to arrive. The brooches are presented in a silver box!

April 14th 2000...The stock of 1996 brooches is now exhausted. They are now no longer available in the UK. However, some of the set are still available in Australia.
(Many thanks to John E Allen.)

April 4th 2000...Having received a sample of the new silver millennium brooch, it has been decided that the final design will not include the coloured diamond decorations as they do not "look right".

March 30th 2000...Iceland are running a "buy one get one free" promotion on 95p jars of Robertson's until the 8th April.
(Many thanks to Sarah Saxelby.)

March 3rd 2000...The Artist, Cheerleader and Knight brooches are no longer available from the 1996 set.
(Many thanks to Julian Clapp for the info.)

March 2nd 2000...There will be no leaflet advertising the new Millennium brooch, contrary to the original plan. This is due to the success of the promotion without the need for additional publicity.

February 14th 2000...Robertson's are now accompanying new merchandise with the following letter: –

Dear Applicant
Thank you for your recent order for Golly Merchandise.
We are sending out this Newsletter to inform our customers of the forthcoming release of the New Millennium Golly Badge.
This badge is individully numbered and made of Sterling Silver and comes in a presentation box, accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity.
The badge will cost £25, and will be available from May onwards. We are asking for customers to send payment to reserve a badge. However, cheques will not be presented to customers Banks until 28 days prior to delivery.
If you are interested in purchasing this badge please send details of your customer number.
Please note one application per household.
Please address applications to 'Millennium offers'.
(Thanks once again to Mike Howell, the source of this information).

January 21st 2000...The new silver millennium brooch will only be obtainable if you have a customer number. This must be quoted when applying for a brooch.

January 20th 2000...The new millennium brooch should be available around May 2000. The brooch will be a limited edition of 2000. No tokens are required. If you want to maximise the possibility of obtaining one of the brooches you need to apply ASAP. Send your customer number, name, address and cheque for 25 UKP to Robertson's at the usual offer address. There will be a leaflet but if you wait for it you risk missing out.

January 12th 2000...A new millennium brooch made of silver is to be issued. It will cost 25 UKP. The design of the Golly is the classic standard in 3D. It will be accompanied by a certificate and packaged in a presentation box. More details will follow as soon as possible.....

November 17th 1999...The 1996 set will only be available until current stocks are depleted.
There are still a few 1998 Santa & Rudolph boxed brooches left.
There are no plans to stop stocking the 1998 merchandise range (the original Beanie Doll, Fridge Magnet, Mug and Tea Towel) or the 1998 brooch set.

November 9th 1999...New merchandise is issued. This consists of 4 Beanie dolls:– Bride, Groom, Ballerina and Footballer. 3 tokens plus £8 are required for each one.

October 4th 1999...New set released by Robertson's and a mail shot of leaflets sent to some of their customers.(Thanks to Mick Rice, Martin Floyd, David Bonser and Andrew Davis who found out via this first wave of letters.) They are just about to send out the new leaflet to 10,000 of their most regular collectors to generate awareness of the new range before Christmas.

July 7th 1999...confirmation has been given that a new brooch set will be issued around September 1999. Watch this space....

June 22nd 1999...the Daily Mail has published an article entitled "A sticky end at last for Golly?". In it a spokesman for Robertson's is quoted as saying "It may be his [Golly's] time has come to an end".

May 22nd 1999...the wording on the brooch application form has been amended to read "...Please be advised that the price for a Golly badge has risen to £1.10 and 3 tokens each as a result of increased supplier costs". (Thanks to Nicola Cooper for pointing this out)

April 2nd 1999...a black tipped Eskimo was also produced by accident around October 1998. Again they can not be supplied on request. (Thanks John Tamblin)

March 30th 1999...the brown tipped Eskimo was produced by accident. Robertson's apologise but they are unable to guarantee that you will receive one should you order one.

March 22nd 1999...the Eskimo, first released in 1996 is now available with a brown rather than a grey spear tip. You will probably need to make sure you request the brown spear tip variety when ordering. The backstamp on the reverse of the brooch has also altered.
(Thanks to Mike Howell for the tip off).

March 21st 1999...the Christmas Golly brooch is still available.

November 21st 1998...5,000 of the 10,0000 Christmas Golly Brooches have been sold.

November 10th 1998...4,000 of the 10,0000 Christmas Golly Brooches have been sold. They will be despatched week commencing 16th November.

September 28th 1998...confirm that they will be issuing a new Special Edition Father Christmas Cloisonne Golly Brooch. The brooch will have the highest quality glass like finish, each will be sequentially numbered and will come in a special velour presentation box. The new merchandise leaflet and the new Father Christmas badge leaflet is being mailed to 15,000 people from their database 29th September. There are 10,000 badges available on a first come first served basis, there is only one badge available per household. To send for a badge forward a cheque/postal order for £7 to Father Christmas Badge Offer at the usual address. The offer is available from November 1st 1998 UK, BFPO and Ireland only.

In addition to the Mug and Tea Towel there is also a Fridge Magnet and Beanie Golly Doll included in the new merchandise order form.

September 2nd 1998...confirm that they have sold out of World Cup Brooches.

August 1998...issue tea towel tokens on new jars (in addition to standard tokens). 2 tea towel tokens plus £1.99 will buy one of 2 designs – Golden Shred or Golly (4 tokens and £2.99 for both). Note the address for the application is specified on the special jars and is not the same as the address for the brooch and mug offers.

July 8th 1998...receive the Standard Golly brooch which is not featured in the original leaflet that was issued in May. To order this additional design you should ask them for the 'Classic' Golly.

June 17th 1998...confirm they have sold 3,000 of the 5,000 World Cup Brooch Limited Edition over the last 3 weeks. The remaining 1993/4 designs are running out daily.

May 14th 1998...announce a Limited Edition of 5,000 World Cup Brooches. They will be displayed in a velour presentation box and sequentially numbered. A Limited Edition TGIF (Thank Golly It's Friday) Mug is also available.

May 7th 1998...receive the leaflets featuring 9 of the brooches in their new brooch range. The new set is made of brass and approximately 30mm high. Each brooch will cost £1 and 3 Golly tokens. The set of 21 brooches issued 1993/4 will be withdrawn shortly after 31st May 1998. The 1996 set of 10 brooches will be available until further notice. The Bizz Badge Company whom they have used for several years has manufactured the new brooches.