STUFFED STAG’S HEAD IN THE HALL

Marjorie Frew, 51, lives in Chiswick, west London, with her husband and their daughter olivia, 15. Marjorie works for a storage company. She says: I was disappointed to learn that taxidermy had made it onto the interior designers’ ‘most hated’ list. we absolutely love it, and have no intention of bowing to modern tastes.

we have a stag’s head in our front hall. My husband is scottish and had always hankered after one. I fobbed him off for years, reminding him we are not owners of a scottish estate.

But then, nine years ago, we went to live in the U.s. for three years. One afternoon, after a day out skiing in Vermont, he spotted an antiques shop that was full of stag heads.

I found it sad and grisly at first, but when the shop owner explained they were animals that had been responsibly culled to maintain the local population, I could see the sense in that.

and they did look majestic, dramatic and beautiful. a real throwback to a bygone age. suddenly, I started to see the appeal, too.

we paid $200 for a stag’s head, and christened him George. He is pale brown with a cute white tuft under his chin. He has three points on each antler, soulful eyes and a sweet smile.

when we moved back to the UK, he came with us — at great expense. He has a place of honour in our home in London.

we have a double-height hallway, thankfully, because he is very big.

Quite simply, George is part of the family. Most people who come to the house love him. when we have parties at Christmas, it tickles everyone that he is dressed up with a red nose and santa hat.

The event of the year for George, though, is Burns Night, when he sports a set of fairy lights in his antlers.

You cannot walk past him without smiling.

If interior designers look down on something as harmless as George, then they need to get a life — and a stag’s head of their own!