Industry Icons

  From hearing solutions and urology care to custom curtains and shutters, The Midlands and outer areas are home to stellar businesses offering top-quality products and services to upgrade your home or life. Hear the Future Kate-Marie Hearing Solutions is a private hearing healthcare practice located in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, owned and run by local professional Kate-Marie Butlin (née Quibell). With consulting rooms in Pietermaritzburg, Howick, and Hilton, and mobile equipment for house and hospital...

Tell Us ‘Moo’re

Meet James Kelly, the chairman of KZN for the Angus Breeders Society. He lets us into the world of Angus farming and the role the society plays in the industry.   Personal Journey James Kelly’s involvement with the Angus Breeders Society of South Africa began through a family connection. “My father-in-law was a breeder, and I used to help manage the farm. Here, I learned a lot about the breeding process,” he recalls. In 2017,...

The Bates Family

For any Midlands locals, even those who visit from far away, you’ll probably be familiar with Fordoun Hotel and Spa in Nottingham Road. It’s one of the cosiest, most picturesque places in our countryside, and did you know the Fordoun farm itself is nearly 200 years old? It was named after a village and parish in Kincardineshire, Scotland and registered by one of the Byrne Settlers, William Taylor, in the early 1850s as a land...

The Real Grooms of the Midlands

We look at three dashing grooms who suited up and tied the knot with their blushing brides. If you are a groom-to-be, we hope this will inspire you as you wait for your wife-to-be to walk down the aisle. Travis Strydom    WHERE DID YOU GET MARRIED IN THE MIDLANDS? Brahman Hills.   HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN YOU SAW YOUR BRIDE ALL DRESSED UP ON THE DAY? ⁠I had the opposite reaction to what...

Going For Gold

 Excellent academics, rising sports stars and talented artists, our local schools are filled with young individuals who grab opportunities that come their way and truly excel. Brunton from Michaelhouse is certainly one of them.   Meet Brunton Bigalke, a Grade 11 student at Michaelhouse. He is an avid sportsman and outdoor enthusiast, with a special interest in hockey, hunting, fishing and waterskiing. He is also busy completing the Gold Level of The President’s Award.  ...

Dynamic Duos

Charles and Michael Webster    Tell us more about how you started your band, Father & Son Michael (son) and I (Charles/dad) have been playing music together for several years. We are one of several musical family permutations that include all the Webster kids and a musically inclined and talented mum. Music is a long-standing family tradition and allows us to express our father-son relationship. It’s provided a useful additional income source but remains a...

Cultivating Curiosity

Nikki Brighton brings a special sparkle to the Midlands. She is a beloved resident of Howick (a place she believes is the centre of the universe), a “locavore”, an “invasivore”, a food activist, a writer, a teacher and the author of her latest book, Wild About Weeds: An Introduction to Uncultivated Food. The book is a product of her deeply-rooted love of and connection to nature, slow food living, foraging and their important interrelations. It...

Meet the Team

Lorinda Scott – Founder & Co-CEO Tell us a bit about creating FabMags FabMags started as Estate Press because, right at the beginning, we only did estate-based magazines. When we branched out into community mags, we decided the name had to change to something that covered all that we do. It’s a cool story actually: two stay-at-home moms, who missed our monthly estate magazines (we had recently moved to Ballito), purely by accident started the...

Our Countryside Chefs

Discover the maestros behind the delicious dishes at a few of our local restaurants. We chat with these chefs about their career journeys, what inspires them, and their favourite meals to cook.   From cute coffee shops and quaint bed and breakfasts to luxury hotels, the Midlands is never short of scrumptious food. There is something for all tastes, but who are the culinary masters that curate our sumptuous plates? We celebrate three of our...

My Story: Nicola Hadfield

A multi-award-winning South African designer, entrepreneur and Notties resident, Nicola Hadfield shares how far she’s come in her successful decades-long career, what inspires her, and what she’s working on next.   Tell us a bit about yourself and your amazing career My love for the interior design industry evolved over time. Because I could manage this career working from home as a single mum, I was able to create my own timetable to ensure my...