The Jacksonville Jaguars
10 June 2013
We have long had a business relationship with Jaguar Land Rover, so I wondered if there might be some connection between JLR and the Jacksonville Jaguars, but apparently not. The Jacksonville Jaguars are a football team from Jacksonville, Florida, and the cheerleaders are what they say they are. The current “roster” of girls was over in the UK for the photo shoot for their next year’s “Roar” calendar.
They started in London with very early morning shots at Piccadilly Circus and in other locations, including iconic images with telephone boxes, taxis and London Buses. They then came on to Eastnor for a couple of days for a different series of images and were very happy to use the house as they found it, with the addition only of two old Louis Vuitton suitcases as props. I missed most of the visit, but they seemed to enjoy being in an English castle, which in some ways looks not too much different from those they might have seen replicated in Disney World in Orlando. Our staff enjoyed their visit too as they were very enthusiastic, as Cheerleaders should be, and obviously had a bit of a party here.
A photo shoot like this is, unfortunately, not regular business for us, though we have had Tatler and Kutchinsky fashion shoots in the past as well as some glamour photography for other magazines. On such occasions, we find the heating has to be on, even in summer, but it is a small price to pay. It is a creative way to use the house and a great way to earn foreign exchange through a tourism-type service.
We hope it will lead to repeat business next year, but in the meantime it will give great exposure not only for the girls, but also for the castle and its interiors, though the eyes of viewers of the calendar may be more readily drawn to the beautiful Cheerleaders rather than the setting of the photographs.
JH-B 2nd June 2013