2020.01.11 The Sun
Caroline Hockey was browsing the card section at her local Tesco in Somerset when she spotted something that made her look twice.
Her own naked bum.
The 72-year-old had a few years earlier cheekily jumped about nude on a trampoline in her daughter-in-law Jessie Casson’s native New Zealand.
Jessie had snapped Caroline and her husband Mike and sold the picture… and it had ended up in her local Tesco.
Not only that it had been used as part of an advertising campaign in New Zealand.
My husband Michael and I had flown from the UK to visit our son Matt and his family who lived in Auckland, New Zealand.
It was New Year’s Eve and we were all staying at a seaside villa.
As I sipped on a glass of wine, my seven-year-old grandson Dylan, burst into the room, wanting me to play on the trampoline.
Aged 66, I had to laugh at the thought of me jumping up and down like a kid again.
‘Maybe I’ll do it naked,’ I joked to Michael, then 67.
‘Oh come on Carol, do it!’ my daughter-in-law Jessie, 36, urged.
Jessie is a professional photographer and loved getting her camera out to capture candid moments.
After a bit more convincing – and a few glasses of bubbly! – I agreed.
‘I’ll do it too!’ Michael announced, eager to join in.
I felt a rush of giddiness as we dragged the trampoline out of the sight of the next-door neighbours. Then, Michael and I stripped off our clothes.
Climbing onto the trampoline, we bounced up and down while holding hands and facing the ocean.
I felt so free!
Jessie snapped a quick photograph before we hopped off again.
Shrieking with laughter, we rushed over to Matt, 36, who was holding bath towels for us.
He crinkled his nose in embarrassment and closed his eyes.
‘It’s just a bit of fun,’ I said.
Jessie asked us to sign a consent form, as she planned on selling the picture to a photo agency.
‘Why not?’ Michael and I decided.
At the end of the holiday, we said goodbye to Jessie, Matt and our grandchildren, Dylan, Otis and Iris, with heavy hearts.
Around four years later, we’d all but forgotten about the nude picture.
Then one day, Michael and I were at Tesco and I needed to pick up a birthday card.
As I browsed the selection, I pulled out a random one.
Peering at it, I instantly recognised the picture on the front.
It was Jessie’s nude photo of Michael and me!
Our bare bums had made it all the way from NZ to Somerset.
In disbelief, I beckoned Michael over.
‘It’s us,’ I told him, bemused.
‘Oh my God, it is,’ he replied, shocked.
Inside the greeting card was a funny little message.
Another wrinkle in your birthday suit, it read.
Finding it hilarious, Michael and I bought a few of the cards and sent them off to friends and family.
Does my bum look big in this? I scrawled in them.
I couldn’t help but return to the store to buy more.
At the cash register, I sauntered up with a smile.
‘Do you recognise anyone in this?’ I asked the cashier.
‘No, why would I?’ she asked.
But her eyes widened in shock when she realised it was me.
We also emailed Jessie, letting her know our photograph was emblazoned on a Hallmark card.
What have you done? I teased her.
I had no idea! she replied.
It turned out, the photo agency Jessie originally sold our nude snap to had then sold it to Hallmark.
The photo was also sold to the advertisers of a New Zealand film festival, who used it on their posters.
Our naked bums were plastered all over Auckland.
Then, Auckland Transport used a censored – and much bigger – version of the photo for advertisements on the back of buses and on a billboard at the train station.
We couldn’t believe how popular our naughty pic was.
Matt was less than impressed his parents’ naked bums were all over his city, but he knew it was good fun.
Our grandchildren also had a giggle at their grandma and grandad’s new-found fame.
It’s been six years since our naked trampolining and the photo has made it to all corners of the globe.
We’re curious to see where else it might pop up.
To see more of Jessie’s work, visit jessiecasson.com.
In more nude news, this woman shared
pictures of her naked treks in a bid to make her exes jealous.
Meanwhile, all Chloe's friends have seen her boyfriend NAKED – but she doesn’t care...
