When 1990 came around, it was time to consider my future, given that I had advised Meyer Kahn of my intention to work at SAB for only three years. Thus, in October 1990 I handed in my resignation.Meyer tried to talk me out of it. There was also a scheme that would ultimately see senior managers within the group, including myself, being awarded some shares in the business. But I resisted the temptation and left. Graham Mackay cynically intimated that I would return, begging for my job back. He was sorely mistaken. I am a strong believer in myself. Forward I march, not backwards!And it was a big step forward to start my own business in South Africa, despite it being on the cusp of significant political changes (which sadly did not apply to Lesotho). We had to reconcile ourselves to what seemed to be the entrenchment of the military dictatorship, leaving us no option but to remain and to set up home in South Africa.Fazila and I and our two boys were still living in the house in Price Drive in Upper Constantia, which of course was owned by SAB. I had hoped that SAB would allow me to buy the house at the original cost plus perhaps some interest. After all, SAB was not in the business of making money from buying and selling property, and the group had only bought the house because apartheid legislation dictated that blacks could not buy property or live in so-called white areas. My assumption of an easy transaction was incorrect. The group was adamant: if I wanted to buy the house, it would have to be at the current market value. This put the house beyond our means. Privately, I wondered whether perhaps Graham had a hand in this decision, and he was getting back at me. We ended up buying a house, still in Constantia but on Versfeld Avenue, just off Avenue Le Sueur near the Constantia green belt.The transaction was finalised in the summer of 1990. However, as required by the Group Areas Act, the estate agent who facilitated the purchase had to visit the neighbours to inquire whether they minded black people buying and owning a house in their neighbourhood.Once they had consented and signed a form, this was presented to the department of local government, housing and works, which had to approve the purchase in terms of the Group Areas Act. When that hurdle was done and dusted, another one had to be confronted. The estate agent had to visit the neighbours again, this time to solicit their consent to us residing in the house that we already had their approval to acquire! This consent had to be submitted to the department for a second certificate of approval.Before we’d homed in on the house on Versfeld Avenue, Fazila had identified a house that she really liked in Pear Lane, Constantia. We had actually submitted an offer on this house, but the owner, a German businessman, was not happy to wait while the estate agent went around seeking consent from the neighbours and securing approvals from government departments. He sold the house to a buyer who had submitted a lower offer than ours. Colleagues and friends, particularly white friends, often don’t believe me when I tell them this story. The proof is in the two apartheid certificates that hang on the walls of my office in Bishopscourt.I must add that this house at Versfeld Avenue was south facing. When we bought it, we did not know that this was a major issue, as we bought it in summer, a season when the house and the gardens are a pleasant temperature. Three years later when we wanted to sell the house, as we had bought a better house in Bishopscourt, we struggled — potential buyers were put off by the fact that it was south facing.The property was finally bought by a nice family, Farouk and Rehana Ebrahim, who later became good friends of ours. Their offer was a little lower than we had hoped for, but we were anxious to be rid of the house. A few years later, when Farouk and Rehana wanted to sell the house and move to their new home in Claremont it was their turn to grapple with the south-facing problem.After they had moved to Claremont, they came for dinner at our new home in Bishopscourt. Mention was made of the challenge it had been for them trying to sell the house we had sold them because of the south-facing issue. We had to confess that we had lost a few potential buyers for this very same reason and had been relieved when the Ebrahims made their offer. Farouk, whose sharp wit is one of his trademark characteristics, pointed out that good friends would have alerted them to this issue before they bought the house. The comment was made in jest, of course, and we all laughed. And I am happy to say that we are still good friends today.