My talented friends
I am super lucky to have a very special and talented group of friends in my life! I am always in awe of their work and often can’t believe that I actually know them!
Mommy Baker (Nicola Hayward)
Let’s start by keeping it in the family! My mom has always had a passion for writing. She won a writing competition in school for her story, Riding My Polkadotted Butterfly, and when I was in primary school she wrote for HQ Magazine and edited their Thoroughbred Pages on behalf of the Thoroughbred Breeders Association and also for International Racehorse Magazine. She was also a South African correspondent for Thoroughbred Owner and Breeder (London), and for three years was responsible for all South African news for the website.
Mommy Baker - Nicola.
In 2014, she started writing her first novel - a fictional story based on true thoroughbred breeding. This book, the first in what then beame The Caversham Trilogy, won the Jock of the Bushveld Award for fiction at the Booktown Richmond Fugard and JM Coetzee Book Festival in 2016.
Since then, she has written a further two novels, both with a horsey twist, but predominantly centred around the South African Boer War.
She’s currently busy with book number 6, so stay tuned…
Her first standalone novel, Master Jack, won the ‘Best of the Best’ Award at the South African Independent Publishers Awards in 2018.
You can buy all my mom’s books and read a bit more about her on her Amazon Kindle page:
Jake Coates (and Molly!)
I’ve always been really jealous of people who can draw and paint, because I can do neither. I’m fairly decent at engineering drawing (ideal, since I am an engineer…), but the gorgeous, artsy, realistic side? Can’t do it.
In Summer 2021, my then-boyfriend (the one I ended up marrying!) and I were invited to a barbecue at the house of my PhD supervisor and mentor, Tony, and his lovely wife, Pauline. Tony told us in advance that a friend of his, Jake, would be coming as well, with his dog Molly. All he said was that he’d met this Jake fellow while walking along the Canal feeding the swans, and that he was an artist.
I have to admit, I don’t know what I was actually expecting, but it certainly wasn’t the guy who showed up! Jake is one of the most interesting people I have ever met. He has a fantastic sense of humour and is an all-round amazing human. And as a bonus, his labradoodle, Molly, is adorable!
Here are Jake and Molly.
Sometimes they match hairstyles! I guess it’s true what they say about pets and their humans…
Jake is a self-taught artist and a trained medical doctor. He works mainly with coloured pencils and pastel pencils to create some incredibly lifelike drawings, mainly of animals. He does commissioned pet/animal, child and family portraits and was also recently commisioned for a set of pieces on the animals at Longleat Safari Park here in the UK.
He and Molly have had a stall at the Bath Christmas Market two years in a row now, and he’s had to resort to a handful of signs dotted around his stall that tell people (repeatedly) that all the artwork is hand-drawn. Not that it stops people from asking just to check…
Jake and Molly at their stall at the Bath Christmas Market in 2024.
Molly has a whole wardrobe of Christmas-themed onesies that she models during the Christmas market season, courtesy of Jake’s mum!
One of my favourite of Jake’s piece is called ‘Tower of Strength’. Rhys and I have it hanging in our house.
If you want to do yourself a favour and spend some time looking at Jake’s artwork, you can head over to his website or Instagram page. In addition to originals, commisions, and prints, you can also enjoy his art on cushion covers, tote bags, mugs, coasters, diaries, cards, and calendars!
Not to be outdone, Molly - who is quite the celebrity in Bath - has her own Instagram page too!
I’m proud to announce I’m in at least the top three of preferred Molly sitters!
Chad Cocking (and Nova)
The day after our wedding, I was kidnapped by my new husband, bundled into a Land Rover and mysteriously not told anything about where we were going. About 20 minutes into the drive, with hubby giving nothing away, I finally caught on and spent the next 20 minutes bouncing around like a child hyped on sugar.
Rhys was taking me to Tanda Tula Timbavati Private Nature Reserve for our honeymoon! I was beyond excited. Now, before I carry on with the story, we need to pause and do a little background recon.
During lockdown when guests were not able to travel to visit South African safari parks, Tanda Tula found a workaround by initiating Project Sofa Safaris. While most of the world was self-isolating, Tanda Tula and its game rangers brought to the world, a series of regular virtual safaris and game drives which you could enjoy from the comfort of your home. My favourite of the hosts was Chad Cocking, a field guide (but he prefers game ranger) and photographer.
Now back to the story… When we arrived, I was hopeful that we would meet Chad, so you can imagine my fangirl reaction when he sauntered up to our lunch table to say hi! You may be worried that Rhys would have felt a little jealous at his new wife’s fangirl reaction to another man, but worry not, he was fangirling right along with me!
But it gets better…Chad ended up being our guide for the entirety of our stay! Tanda Tula had just reopened after upgrades, and we were lucky enough to be the first paying guests, so we had him all to ourselves!
We had the most incredible time and I learnt so much from Chad and our tracker, Given, who beat me hands down in our chameleon spotting competition.
Fun fact: Chad has since conceded that I was one of his more memorable guests, largely due to my endless barrage of fun facts, exacerbated by his adding Amarula to my morning game drive coffee…
Left to right: Given, Rhys, me and Chad
For context, just before this photo was taken, I had been tickling Chad’s nose with the piece of grass in my hand.
Chad is not only an incredible game ranger and overall great guy, but he is also an unbelievably talented wildlife photographer. He has a way of seeing things that I frankly can’t describe. The best way is to show you:
This bottom right photo shows a pangolin, sometimes called a scaly anteater. Pangolins are the world’s most trafficked mammals, are highly endangered, and very shy.
You can see more of Chad’s amazing photography on his Instagram and Facebook pages.
Chad has also written a book on the many different faces of the Timbavati landscape and the animals that live there. Contrasts shows how seasons, survival and other factors shape the Timbavati, and how things change as a result. The book not only includes over 260 utterly amazing images, but also beautifully written captions and sections of information which supplement the phtotographs. It has been described, accurately I think, as “a book that will sit proudly on coffee tables across the world.”
A few years ago, Chad became father/loyal servant to a gorgeous African wildcat kitten called Nova.
The African wildcat is not-so-distantly related to domestic cats. They have sandy grey fur, with pale vertical stripes on their sides and around their faces, with individuals often having distinct markings. Purebred wildcats are very rare today, with most having crossbred with domestic cats.
Bryony - The Upside Down Vegan (and Thor, Freddie and Tiger Lily)
Once things started opening up again after the first lockdown, and outdoor social activities were allowed again, my friend Holly introduced me to a new activity: upside down calisthenics outside in Bath’s Vicoria Park with Bryony, who has since become a good friend!
Bryony is incredibly strong and can hold handstand and upside down poses that I didn’t know were possible! In addition to being ridiculously talented and flexible (oh my goodness the woman is an elastic band…), Bryony is an amazing teacher and a lovely person. She teaches handstands, calisthenics and upside down classes both in-person and online.
She makes it look so easy!
In case you were wondering, it’s not!
Bryony really helped me get out of my shell after lockdown and try new things. She also showed me that I can do some pretty cool stuff! With her support and encouragement, I managed a few fairly decent handstands and can even do four ring pull-ups in a row!
Thanks to Bryony, I not only learned a new skill, but I have also joined the upside down tribe who hangs upside down at every opportunity!
You can check out Bryony’s Instagram by clicking the button below. You can also sign up to her Patreon to get access to exclusive content and classes.
Like all the best people, Bryony loves animals, and she has three adorable cats, all of whom she rescued from less-than-ideal circumstances, giving them a loving forever home ❤️.
The kitties have their own Instagram page documenting their adventures; Thor and Tiger Lily’s romance, and Freddie and Tiger Lily’s ongoing love-hate relationship.
Diane Goosen
Diane Goosen is an incredibly talented South African photographer and family friend! She is based in Plettenberg Bay, South Africa, and has a lovely way of making even the most awkward people (*cough cough* yours truly) feel comfortable in front of the camera. She even got my dad to smile in multiple photos! She has an eye for special moments and a gift for working with natural light.
Diane travelled all the way to Limpopo Province to the Timbavati to shoot our wedding in June 2023. In addition to the gorgeous photos she took of the wedding and guests, she also took some extra, equally beautiful, shots of the wildlife.
Diane took this photo of my mom decorating our wedding cake!
You can see more of Diane’s work by visiting her Instagram or website. If you’re based in South Africa and are looking for a photographer, I can highly recommend Diane!
Natalie
I met Natalie when Rhys and I moved into the flat above hers in 2021. Most neighbours become civil acquaintances for sure, but it’s not every day your downstairs neighbour becomes one of your best friends!
Natalie has incredibly green fingers and I’ve often enjoyed spending time with her on her allotment plot in the Summer. In addition to this, and the fact that is a lovely human, she is so amazingly creative and a talented embroiderer!
You can see more of Natalie’s beautiful work by visiting her Instagram page.
I could go on…
If I had to write about all my talented friends and family, I’d be here forever! I hope you are as lucky as I have been in finding such amazing people to be friends with!
In case you’re looking for more, check out Annika’s designs, Russ’s leather work, Tom’s film photography and more by clicking on the buttons below.
