It’s the hottest day of the whole year – and it’s also the last day of September. Rather than being stuck in the office we’re up ladders getting ‘up close and personal’ with a stuffed stag’s head!

It’s all in the cause of launching this year’s Venison Festival on Royal Deeside. And, thanks to the creativity of Julien Miran at The Cowshed Restaurant in Banchory we’re unveiling the world’s first Venison Ice Cream complete with its own tuille biscuit ‘antlers’. People have been asking Julien what the ice cream is made of and if it expensive. His answer has been, “It’s deer and it’s not deer!”

We’re not complaining about the terrific weather, as it beats doing the photoshoot under an umbrella as usual at this time of year, BUT … it’s causing the ice cream to melt all down model Jennifer’s arm. She’s a ‘game’ girl though as she knows the ‘buck’ stops with her for getting a good shot and battles on and bravely samples the Smoked Venison and Juniper Berry ice for the TV cameras.

We retreat out of the sun – who’d have thought we’d need sunscreen in Banchory at the end of September? – for our close encounter with the stag’s head. The pictures look great but most will not realise that Jennifer was eight foot up a ladder. It was a great idea from the photographer – until he remembered he’s afflicted with vertigo and he’d have to be eight feet up on another ladder. We have a choice of stag’s heads and opt for ‘Roe’bert as the alternative looks as if he started life as a sheep which was shaved, painted and affixed with antlers. He really doesn’t have a good side!
Roebert on the other hand knows how to milk his part and seems to have no qualms about being photographed in such a cannibalistic manner…

www.venisonfestival.com