If you have wandered around by blog, you will know that I have a little (some say peculiar) obsession with taxidermy; Wilfred is my most treasured possession. Rather like tattoos, I wanted to grow my collection and luckily for me taxidermy is becoming increasingly fashionable (and sadly hipster). So I hotfooted it down to the London Taxidermy Academy and taxidermised my own mouse, Hubert.
I'm not going to lie, my hands shook a lot as I peered down at the dead body and when I tried to make the first cut with a particularly blunt scalpel. Fascinating as it was to see everything in miniature, my stomach was turning and vom was perilously close to my mouth pretty much the whole time. As soon as I cut through the skull at the nose and the skin was separated from the...rest of it, you can't begin to imagine the relief.
I wanted to do a step by step taxidermy post, but obviously when your finger deep in a mouse's perforated belly (to far?), sanitary camera usage is pretty difficult. So enjoy the photos I did take. In particular enjoy Merlin, the Academy's worse stuffed mouse ever. All legs lost, totally overstuffed, charming, jaunty and boss-eyed.
Hubert is now sitting happily next to Wilfred. I wonder what my next stuffed creature will be?
