I was born in April 1942 – right in the middle of WW2 – and started life in a “row house” in an older part of a town on the south-east coast of England. My family was quite poor, even with life in England during the war being very tough for everyone. The country was bankrupt, many families lost loved ones, all food items were rationed. So, there was very little waste in any family – EVERYTHING had to be used. Therefore, careful use of all resources was part of my life from a very early age.

 

My father was the youngest of twelve children born to a farm worker and his wife, both of whom died before I was born. My father was excused from war service since he had the use of only one lung (due to TB as far as I’m aware) and was a cashier for a bus company. My mother was the younger daughter of a meter reader and his wife. Her father also died before I was born, so I only knew my maternal grandmother. As was normal in those days, my mother didn’t go out to work but looked after the children and the home. Later on, she did work some days each week, as what we now call a domestic.

 

Early life for my siblings and I seems, at this distance, to have been tough. There was no bathroom, no fridge, no TV (we had radio), no telephone (let alone cellphones, computers, and the Internet!), no central heating, the kitchen was a lean-to stuck on the back of the house and the loo was an outside privy.

 

As children, we didn’t notice our circumstances, particularly as most people around us lived in the same way. My mother made every attempt to ensure that there was food on the table and nursed us through childhood diseases like chicken pox, mumps and even measles (this was before the NHS came into being, so a lot of nursing was carried out at home). My father took on a second job to boost the family income, so he was absent for much of the day. This meant that my mother was the most important person in this child’s eyes.

 

Do not waste any resources at your disposal, no matter how generous or limited these may be, whether food, fuel, water, power, clothing or whatever.

 

Interestingly, despite our relative poverty my mother opened a “Post Office Savings Account” for each of her children. Small amounts of “spare” cash (such as birthday money) went into this account. It never amounted to very much, but the idea of saving was implanted in us at an early age. Also of interest is that the parents of the girl who eventually became my wife also started a “Post Office Savings Account” for her. So, my family was far from unique.

 

Sometime later, my mother’s sister, who was my grandmother’s carer, decided at a late age (around 50, I suppose) to get married. This meant that my family moved to my grandmother’s house, so that my mother could take over as carer. Even though this house was also old, it was decidedly more up-market than our original “row house”. It had three bedrooms, a full bathroom (no shower, of course) and a quite large kitchen! It also had a smallish front garden and a good sized back one. My grandmother used the downstairs front room as a bed/sitting room.

 

I used to visit my grandmother each morning while she was still in bed. When I was around 10, I suppose, one morning when I visited her, my grandmother didn’t move and didn’t respond to my voice. Instinctively, I realised that she had died in her sleep! She was the first dead person I had seen, but I don’t remember that it particularly unnerved me. I must have told my mother, but I don’t remember any of the subsequent events.

 

Save whatever you can, no matter how small the amount. There are two appropriate English sayings that “Many a mickle makes a muckle” and “Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves”.

 

I later moved from my primary school to the “preparatory” department of a boys’ high school. It was called the Eastbourne Grammar School, and this is where I spent the rest of my school life. It occupied an old manor house and its extensive grounds. The buildings and grounds had been adapted and modified over many years to suit their use as a school. It must have been about 8km from my home – and I had to walk there and back on school days.

 

We were now into the 1950’s and the age of “Rock ‘N Roll” was upon us with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and coffee bars making their appearance. Early in this period. But I didn’t have a normal teenage life. When I was 14, my mother died suddenly. She had been having “blackouts” for some time and was eventually diagnosed with a brain tumour. She was operated on, but this was unsuccessful, and she died within days of the operation. We must remember that this happened in the mid-1950s and both diagnostics and surgery were far cruder than they are today.
Immediately, I became “mother” to my two siblings, to the home and to my father too. He was still holding down two jobs and “needed” some relaxation time, so was seldom at home until quite late in the evening. I became responsible for washing & ironing, shopping & cooking, washing up, tending the coal-fired “boiler”, cleaning the house, mowing the grass, and so on, and so on… It was arduous and I don’t remember my siblings contributing a great deal. Of course, I had to go to school too!

 

Take responsibility for the financial resources under your control, no matter who they belong to.

 

In order to run the household, my father provided me with £5 a week, which I had to account for to the last penny. Any amount I couldn’t account for I had to make up from my pocket money (5s a week!! My father was a cashier and a stickler for financial responsibility).

 

It wasn’t a happy time for me. My father’s relatives did not live close by and came to our home only occasionally to “help out”. When I was 15, I added to my burden by taking on a “paper round”, delivering newspapers to peoples’ houses before going to school. I earned sufficient income in this way to eventually purchase my own bicycle, of which I was very proud – and which had hard use!

 

Susan

 

It wasn’t all doom and gloom. After GCE ‘O-levels’, we had to specialise in the sixth form, where we studied for GCE ‘A-levels’. I took science – chemistry, physics, and maths. As it happened, the girls’ equivalent to the Grammar School (Eastbourne High School) didn’t have a physics teacher. So the group of girls taking physics (about 10) cycled across to the Grammar School for this subject, thus creating the only co-ed class in both schools. One of the girls – Susan – caught my attention but, of course, we weren’t allowed to fraternise between boys and girls. In any case, I was very shy with the opposite sex, having had no experience due to my home environments. I must have been 16, going on 17 at this time.

 

Somehow, I forced myself to make contact with Susan at a social function we both attended. Then we started a long courtship. Susan was the eldest of five siblings, with a strict father and lovely mother. Once I had been accepted, Susan’s mother took me under her wing and became virtually a substitute mother for me. I had a wonderful relationship with her until her death at the age of 96 – well after Susan had died in 2004.

 

Keep good records of your income and expenditure to minimise the times you may be taken by surprise. I still do this at age 80!

 

After three years in the sixth form (it’s now 1961), Susan obtained a place at university, while I didn’t. On asking her father for her hand, he told me that we could get engaged – but no marriage until Susan had finished her studies. So she went to London, while I went to Royston in Hertfordshire, having found a job there as a junior chemist. I’m 19 now and happy to have left home at last. We continued our courtship at a distance for the next three years.

 

I wasn’t paid very much and most of my income went on board and lodging. However, by the standards of those days, my employer was generous to junior personnel, granting them a day off each week to attend part-time studies. I went to a technical college in Cambridge and managed to obtain a Higher National Certificate in Chemistry. A further year at Hatfield gave me a Certificate in Advanced Analytical Chemistry, which meant that I now had the equivalent of degree in chemistry. My fiancée, in three years, obtained a BSc with a major in physics.
And so, it’s now 1964. I was 22 and Susan was 21. Susan and I were married in our hometown in an Anglican church. At this distance we seem to have been very young but, at that time, it was fairly normal in the UK. We took our marriage vows seriously and off we went to our new life together.

 

I had to return to my job in Royston, of course, and Susan had obtained a post as a maths teacher at the nearby town of Letchworth. Over the previous three years we had discussed whether we were going to rent accommodation or to attempt to somehow get hold of our own “property”.

 

Save up for what you want to purchase. Loans cost a lot of money!

 

We ended up managing to purchase an old, long & narrow residential caravan, which we parked (for a monthly rental) on a caravan site in the village of Bassingbourn. Susan travelled to and from work on a bus, while I used an old car (a 1954 Hillman Minx, which cost £45 I think – and was a real banger!) to get to Royston and back.

 

It was not an easy life, but we were determined to make the best of it and look to the future for improvements. So, our marriage was cemented at a very early stage. We had planned to wait for 18 months before thinking about a child, in order to get at least some resources behind us. But this was not to be, and Susan became pregnant after nine months of marriage! Contraception was not what it is today…

 

When you get married in front of a priest, minister, or pastor (more specifically before God), you make vows to each other. Take these vows very seriously and comply with them throughout your marriage. If you are not willing to commit yourselves to these vows, then don’t get married! Rather live together as civil partners until it’s time to move on.

 

Alison was born normally in the little, “cottage hospital” in Royston, with just a midwife in attendance. Oh, and me too. Compare that to today’s theatre productions. We were proud parents, still living in our caravan – but now with only one income. Susan didn’t even think about returning to work; it wasn’t the “done thing” anyway. We decided that having had one child, we should have the second one relatively quickly. So, Nicholas (always known as Nic) was born 17 months after Alison – at the same hospital.

 

It’s now 1967 and, with two children, the caravan is getting rather crowded. We looked around in Royston for a house to purchase. Eventually, we found a new development of about 10 semi-detached 3-bedroom properties situated in a cul-de-sac, not too far from my work or the shops. We managed to obtain a mortgage bond from the local municipality, and we were able to afford the repayments – just. Of course, the car had to go, and we were back to walking everywhere.

 

Career and life decisions: Emmigration

 

I had started work at the age of 19 with no qualifications other than GCE ‘A-levels’. The company I was able to join was Johnson Matthey Ltd., a company that specialised in the refining and use of the precious metals – gold, silver, platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, osmium, and iridium. As a (very) junior chemist, I was assigned to the electroplating department. Under the supervision of a senior chemist, my task was to sample and analyse the quality of all the electroplating baths, which were either cyanide- or acid-based. Apart from my job being directly aligned to a manufacturing process, which was good training in “process control”, I learned valuable lessons relating to safety, cleanliness, accuracy of working (gold and silver are intrinsically valuable), accountability for work done, communication with colleagues, and so on. It was a valuable start to a chemist’s career. And it was important to learn from those more experienced than yourself, such as the operators on the shop floor and, particularly, the shop foreman.

 

After a couple of years, I managed to secure a move to the central laboratory on the same site. I laboured in the “Wet Chemistry” laboratory, where classical analytical techniques were used. I relearned all the lessons about safety, careful and accurate work, accountability, working with other chemists, and so on.

 

Expect the unexpected, trite though this saying may be, it’s true. For instance, you think you can plan your children – life often doesn’t work out like that.

 

After another two or three years, I secured a move to another laboratory in the same building. This laboratory was pioneering the use of a fairly new (in a commercial sense – mid-1960s, remember) technique called X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry. It was an interesting and challenging time, with two or three colleagues, all of us determined to make this technique work for the company.
Since my start with Johnson Matthey in 1961, my salary had slowly increased. That’s really how we could afford the bond repayments and still live reasonably comfortably.

 

Fast forward to late 1968. We hadn’t had the house for very long but decided that the job market in the UK was getting worse and worse. I needed to change jobs as my “generous” employer continued to look on me as a “young lad”, so limiting my prospects quite dramatically.

 

We considered emigrating to Australia or Canada, two popular destinations for the many emigrants at that time. We didn’t like the permanence of such a move – particularly with young children. So, we looked around for contract jobs for chemists. After some investigation, we applied to one of the two mining corporations situated on the Copperbelt in Zambia. We were accepted for a three-year contract, me as a senior chemist at one of the mines. After a VERY deep breath, we took the plunge, grabbed the opportunity, and took ourselves and our belongings (except furniture) to the wilds of Africa! This was in June 1969.

 

Marriage is a marathon, not a sprint. Be prepared to work hard at living together, be prepared to work together, be prepared to compromise – and communicate, communicate, communicate…

 

At that time, Zambia (previously Northern Rhodesia) had been independent from the UK for five years. However, the country continued to rely on copper (and several related metals, such as cobalt) for about 95% of its foreign income. While this made the copper industry very powerful, it also made the country very vulnerable to global copper prices, which were and remain very variable.
Having travelled to Lusaka from London by one of the first commercial jets in BOAC’s service (landing at Khartoum to refuel), then up to Ndola by BAC111, we were met by a lady whose job it was to settle all the new contractors. We piled all our stuff into her combi and set off for the small town we were going to live in. Its name was Kalulushi (the place of the rabbit) and the place where I was to work was called Chibuluma Mine.

 

The mining corporations relied almost exclusively for on contract staff for professional skills. And these people came primarily from the UK, although I met a couple of South Africans and one Zimbabwean. There was an active Zambianisation programme in place nationally. As far as the laboratory (including sample preparation) was concerned, all the operators/analysts were Zambian, while there were three of us contract chemists (including a Hollander), and a Chief Chemist.

 

Our tasks as chemists were mainly supervisory, result quality, administration, and instrument maintenance. Zambia was remote from the instrument manufacturers and their representative companies, so we had to learn how to maintain and trouble-shoot the instruments in the laboratory.

 

Life is a journey. Do not let yourself get “stuck” in one place, one job, one house, etc. until you are too old to want more change. Push yourself but don’t forget to communicate with your spouse!

 

Due to generous leave provision and the different contract timings of the contractors, there was nearly always one of the four of us on “long leave”. So, what seemed to be a large staff was, in fact, not so.

 

Contracts were signed for three years. If you wished to sign another contract, you could do so after two and a half years. The practice then was to take about three months inter-contract leave and return “home” for that period. I re-signed my contract twice and only left Zambia after six and a half years.

 

Being contractors, salaries were generous for us. The Zambian central bank allowed contractors to externalise a good number of Kwacha each month. So, we sent our allowance to our Barclays bank account in the UK.

 

The family was very happy in Zambia, with its excellent climate on the Copperbelt. It was a relaxed lifestyle, revolving around the Mine Club, with its restaurant and a good variety of sports facilities. Alison was four, and Nic two and a half, when we moved to Zambia. They went to a local primary school, which was run by the Zambian education department. There they made plenty of friends and we met the parents. I still correspond with one of them, even after all these years. Susan didn’t have a permit for a permanent job, but she did part-time work for a training farm (run by missionaries from all over),

 

By this time, I was Chief Chemist at Chibuluma, and I was looking for a means of producing a monthly statistics report for the laboratory. I managed to access the group IT centre which was in Kalulushi. I was allowed, once I had mastered the Fortran language, to load a program and the monthly data on the mainframe computer via punched cards – this is the early 1970s!

 

It’s not wrong to look for opportunities for an improved salary. This benefits your family and improves the quality of their lives.

 

The laboratory at Chibuluma had an oversight responsibility for a small laboratory at Chambeshi Mine, some 20-30km from Kalulushi. This was interesting as Chambeshi used some different processes to Chibuluma. So, in 1975 I was involved in the planning of a full-scale laboratory at Chambeshi, which was planning a large expansion project. However, “the best laid plans…”! The global copper price took a massive dive, and ALL project work was put on hold indefinitely.

 

Since Chibuluma Mine didn’t offer any alternative to the postponed project work, we once again planned a change in our lives. We had been bitten by the “Africa bug”, so didn’t consider either a return to cold, wet England, nor emigration to Australia or Canada. I took a week’s leave and flew down to Joburg to search for a job. At that time – and despite Zambia supporting the struggle in South Africa – we knew nothing about Apartheid. We had been living a sheltered and fairly isolated life in Kalulushi.

 

From Zambia to South Africa

 

In retrospect, it was either a crazy or a brave thing to do, to fly into an unknown country and to give myself just a week to find a job and a new home for my family. I approached all the big mining houses and, towards the end of the week, secured a post as a chemical analyst at what was then the Union Corporation Group Research Laboratory at East Geduld, Springs. I had no idea what East Geduld, Springs was like – the shock came later! Anyway, I returned to Zambia, received an offer letter and accepted the post (also by letter, that I made sure I copied), having once again talked the whole thing through with my wife. I broke my current contract, as I was allowed to do after re-signing, without any penalties. We left Zambia in September 1975.

 

We then did what turned out to somewhat the wrong thing to do. While we should have just travelled to South Africa and sorted out the formalities then, we returned to England to await these – which included our permanent residence permits. By the time the South African government had obtained police clearance from Zambia and looked into our background, SIX MONTHS had passed. For the whole of this time (in a wet and very cold English winter), we lodged with Susan’s mother. To make our funds last, I managed to get a part-time job as a maths lecturer in the local technical college.

 

Be humble. Everyone has equal worth and has experience and experiences that they are willing to share if you are willing to listen.

 

The South African government sponsored our flight tickets (it was desperate to import skills) and we landed at Joburg (Jan Smuts, not yet OR Tambo) on Nic’s birthday, 26 March 1976. Union Corporation were expecting us; we were met at the airport and taken to a “guest house” in East Geduld, Springs. And there we stayed for three months, until the company found us a mine house at a rental of R50pm. Since the guest house didn’t have full facilities, we had to eat at the “Mine mess” – every day… Susan hated this kind of life and, many times, we asked ourselves if we had made a dreadful mistake.

 

Eventually, our belongings, that we had packed up in Zambia and sent ahead, arrived at the guest house and we were able to have a few familiar things around us. Susan agreed that we would see how the job panned out, and give life in this strange land a go. The children went to school in Springs (Alison now 10 and Nic just turned 9). Afrikaans was a new language to us all. We managed to buy a car and to get around – the 1976 Rand Easter Show (as it was then named) was an important outing for us.

 

Now, the first day at my new job was most inauspicious. I arrived at the boss’s office (someone had probably been deputised to pick me up), only to be told “I don’t know if we have a job for you, as you didn’t reply to our offer”!! Disaster! Thank Heavens I kept a copy of my acceptance letter and was able to produce it. I think Gosta Blendulf, a Swede, was just seeing how I would react to potential disaster. He was rather like that, and I tripped over him again when he joined Richards Bay Minerals a few years after me.

 

Don’t make a major change in your and your family’s lives without thorough investigation and planning, planning, planning…

 

As a laboratory analyst, I was paid the princely sum of R600pm. I found that most of my colleagues were Afrikaans speakers, but they kindly spoke a good amount of English to this uitlander. Apart from this, I was not terribly popular as I brought to my daily efforts the work ethic I had learned from age 19. And that meant doing overtime (with no extra pay) if there was something that needed doing. I also tried to do a bit of development work. So, unwittingly, I upset quite a few people! I was shoved off to “my own” laboratory and given responsibility for a routine, but tricky, test on a huge number of exploration samples. My analytical skills came back to me very quickly and, even though I say it myself, I was successful in what I was given to do…

 

Outside the work environment, we moved to a mine house as described above and Susan was a bit happier, sorting out our belongings and setting up home. We had to accept the furniture we were allocated as we certainly didn’t have spare cash. The children were OK at school; children are always more adaptable than adults – even in an adverse situation.

 

We opened a bank account with the Springs branch of Barclays Bank – later to be FNB. We had to do this as my salary was paid directly into my bank account. I think we must have ended each month with a near-zero balance – R600 didn’t go very far.

 

Save, save, save! Instead of spending my generous salary on luxuries or fancy holidays, we sent what we were allowed to externalise to our English bank account.

 

I must have been a bit a thorn in management’s flesh as, around August that year Gosta Blendulf told me about a job in Richards Bay. He told me that Union Corporation, together with a Canadian smelting company, were starting up a heavy mineral (ilmenite, rutile and zircon) mine and plant north of Richards Bay. The company, to be known as Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) was looking for a senior chemist to set up and run an X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry laboratory. “It’s a wonderful opportunity and we’re sure you would be most interested!” he said. At that time, the head office of RBM was in Joburg as there was no infrastructure on the building site. I went to see the Quality Supervisor (his title was something like this), to whom this post would report. I was certainly intrigued and arranged to drive down to Richards Bay over a long weekend – with the family – to see what I would be letting myself in for.

 

From Springs to Richards Bay

 

The nett result of our trip and a chat with the lady then in charge of HR for RBM, settled it as far as I and my family were concerned. We were off to Richards Bay. At that time, the “city” – as it is now – comprised an area called Meerensee, but only as far as the Post Office and what was then the LAC Centre. After that, it was a gravel road leading through Mzingazi (very thinly populated) and eventually to both the RBM plant site (that had been carved out of the timber plantations) and, staying on the coast, the RBM pilot plant and “laboratory” – and the start of one of the mining ponds that RBM has made so famous.

 

Taking a step back, I was offered the senior chemist post, at R600pm until I moved to Richards Bay, when my salary would be increased to R900pm. I said, “Yes please!”. So, I joined RBM on 1st October 1976. I was to continue working at the Union Corporation laboratory but was now assigned an office. My job was to work out what was needed in the way of people, equipment, consumables, chemicals, etc. to run the X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (XRFS) laboratory. I then needed to produce a budget and an organogram. Shortly after starting this new job, I was told that the Quality Supervisor had resigned! Apparently, his wife had refused to move to Richards Bay. My job quickly expanded to budgeting as above, but for the start-up of a full-scale laboratory, including mineral separation tests and classical chemical analysis of final products. This was a huge task, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – and I grasped it with both hands. It was very scary, but I was not going let this one pass me by.

 

Enjoy the new life you and your family are experiencing. If you don’t, get out of there as quickly as possible. We all make mistakes…

 

And so, we moved to Richards Bay early in January 1977, with RBM paying our “relocation expenses”. We started off in a “transit house”, and immediately started to make friends. In 1977, and for quite a few years after that, Richards Bay’s population were all pioneers and this engendered friendships, many of which have stood the test of time. Susan was far happier than she was in East Geduld, and the children settled very well into the Richards Bay Primary School. Very soon after arriving we were allocated “our own” house. It belonged to RBM and was rented to us at R50pm. This was one of the perks of working for RBM, which needed to attract professionals of all kinds to Richards Bay. Another perk, which only became meaningful many years later, was the non-contributory group life insurance.

 

Such was the start of more than 21 years that were the toughest, but happiest of my working life. These years are a saga in their own right, but not for detailed telling in this story.
However, I need to add some detail. After the Quality Supervisor’s resignation, a senior manager – SteveP – was sent out from Canada to sort out the resultant mess. There was another senior chemist, who had run the laboratory at the pilot plant and had some very good skills in minerals separation and analysis. RBM had already decided to send over a Canadian as Quality Superintendent, but he wasn’t a laboratory professional. So, it was a race between the two of us to become the Chief Chemist. SteveP interviewed both of us. I explained all the work I had done in planning for the new laboratory and told him that I didn’t think I could work under the other chemist. In my opinion(!), he didn’t have the level of integrity, organisation, and commitment to run a big laboratory. In the event, I got the job! I don’t think Hans ever quite forgave me for taking the job, despite my efforts to make best use of his particular knowledge and skills. He left fairly early in the life of RBM to start his own consultancy, successfully I’m pleased to say.

 

As the children grew older, Susan wanted to return to work, and she was also employed by RBM, first in Finance Dept. and later – and for many years – in the Marketing Dept. Susan was very happy at RBM and gained a high reputation in the field of logistics with contacts all over the world.

 

When the time comes for another change, do something about it. Be brave – as a family – and plan as best you can in the particular circumstances.

 

Back to the finances! My R600pm Joburg salary duly became R900pm from the beginning of 1977. Then it went to R1200pm when I became Chief Chemist (I think that was the title – it changed several times over the years). Then my salary progressed steadily year by year – and, of course, Susan was also bringing home a salary. We continued saving by feeding a building society account to start with. And we saw the benefits of compound interest, of course. In addition to our saving, RBM initiated a very generous housing scheme for its employees. RBM and the employee agreed a purchase price at the start of the exercise. Then the employee had five years in which to save up 25% of the agreed price, during which time the employee continued to pay R50pm rent and RBM maintained the property. At the end of five years, RBM negotiated a favourable 20yr mortgage bond with your preferred bank – a Standard Bank Access Bond in our case. What a bargain! Anyone – and there were some – who did not take advantage of this scheme to buy their own house at a great price was crazy! We jumped in as soon as the scheme was launched and paid off the bond far more quickly than 20 years. That’s saving for you…

 

My interest in computing had grown steadily over the years and, of course, technology was developing quickly. I had a section under me that produced daily production performance reports – all manually. I grasped the nettle and computerised all the reports, so avoiding many clerical errors. During the same period, a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) was being installed in the Laboratory, and I was much involved in that too. After 15 years of being Chief Chemist (and successor titles), I persuaded management that I could benefit the company significantly by joining the IT Dept. and setting up a complete IT unit “on site” to serve the production plants and the Laboratory. The IT Dept. was more concerned with administrative work and the production areas were pretty much ignored. So started Phase 2 of my sojourn with RBM – and I didn’t drop my salary level in the move either!

 

All went well, even if it became somewhat routine, until 1996. Sometime in that year I received an offer to join Symmetry Software (later to become Labware Africa) as their KZN Manager. This job was a combination of technical support of the various installation of Labware LIMS around KZN, plus marketing the product. I thought my time with RBM was coming to a close so, after some negotiation, I took the new job and resigned from RBM.

 

When you are contemplating a (probably) permanent move – with your family – to another country, you must carry out a thorough investigation to identify pitfalls, etc. We were rather naïve about South Africa, not knowing about Apartheid, about the mining industry, about the biased education, and so on.

 

In terms of RBM’s conditions of service, I was able to take my retirement fund savings (including RBM’s contributions) with me, while Susan took over the medical aid as the main member and I became the dependant. The retirement fund savings amounted to just over R1m, which I promptly invested through Howard Sugden. Later, he emigrated to Australia, and I transferred my allegiance to Mike Harcourt – never to look back!!

 

After about a year, it was obvious that the job of KZN Manager with (now) Labware Africa was not working out. So, we parted company with no acrimony and I set up as an independent contractor. I had been overseeing the implementation of Labware LIMS at the SABS laboratory on the RBCT site, so I was known there. In the event, the SABS Manager asked me to join them, still as a contractor, to continue the LIMS project. I worked very happily for this organisation for 10 years before retiring.

 

Family and loss

 

After this long story of my career in Richards Bay, we must return to family issues. When Alison and, in turn, Nic turned 16, they automatically became South African citizens. Alison completed matric, then started a B.Com degree at UKZN. She didn’t enjoy university and left to take a secretarial course, later picking up a job with a law partnership. She really wasn’t happy with life in South Africa and returned to England with Susan’s mother, who had come for one her several visits to South Africa. Nic completed his matric at the new John Ross College, rejected the place we had obtained for him at Durban Technicon and went off to do his stint in the SADF. After two years of driving officers to and from the Officers College in Pretoria (he wasn’t cleared for the infantry due to back issues), he decided he had to go overseas to “make his fortune”. We didn’t see much of Nic after this nor, of course, did we see much of Alison. Empty nest syndrome!

 

Once you’ve made the move, don’t allow yourself to fall into despair. Not everything – perhaps very little – will be a bed of roses. Try very hard to be positive at the start of each day.

 

Then, in September 1999, disaster struck. After experiencing abdominal pains for some while, Susan was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Her gynae, in Durban, elected to remove the growth and, during the operation, had to call on a general surgeon to help as the cancer had grown into her colon. So, Susan lost a section of that organ as well. While she was in hospital, she was referred to an oncologist with a practice at Westridge, Durban. There were no facilities in Richards Bay at that time for chemotherapy/radiotherapy, so then began a three-weekly trip to Durban for Susan to have chemotherapy. I can’t remember how long it went on for but, after being quite ill for what seemed a long time, Susan’s cancer went into remission. RBM had been very good to us during this time, Susan’s reputation standing her in good stead. BUT, six months later, the cancer was back. Then started a long and arduous fight with the beast – Susan didn’t want to give up. Eventually, she was medically boarded by RBM, which assisted since she received 75% of her final salary. In April 2004 (Easter Sunday) the cancer finally won the war and Susan died peacefully with her mother and children in attendance, as I had warned them that she was going downhill quickly. That was four and a half years since she was first diagnosed – a long war which, I have to say, left me totally drained: physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

 

Financially Comfortable

 

After Susan died, RBM’s non-contributory group life insurance came into play. It took quite a while to execute Susan’s Final Will & Testament, and it was some months before the life insurance claim was paid.

 

When this was added to the savings that were already invested with Mike Harcourt, I was comfortably off – to the tune of about R6.7m.

 

Support your family when any one of them finds the going really tough. Listen to each one of them with empathy and try to make constructive suggestions. And do this regardless of how difficult you are finding life.

 

This appears to be a significant amount of capital – and so it is if it just lies as an invested amount. As time went on, it became necessary to use some of this capital amount for the good of my family.
I admit to buying myself a new vehicle but, more importantly, I decided to move from Meerensee to Mtunzini. The house in Meerensee just had too many memories and, after investigation, Mtunzini seemed to be a very pleasant village to retire to.

 

Eventually, I sold the Meerensee house and bought a unit in a sectional title complex named Hornbill’s Nest in a quiet (even for Mtunzini) cul-de-sac. The Mtunzini property cost a bit more than I sold the Meerensee house for, so that absorbed a small amount of my capital.

 

Marriage – Again!

 

Susan and I had been married for 3 months short of 40 years when she died. When she died it was like losing half of myself. Over the next couple of years or so, I found that one of the most difficult aspects of being by yourself is the loneliness. It’s horrible…

 

Eventually, after about three and a half years, I fell in love with a Zulu lady named Selinah who had been Susan’s friend. The love was returned…

 

After a great deal of discussion about cultural differences, people’s attitudes to mixed marriages, Selinah’s family ties and responsibilities, and so on, we were engaged in July 2008 and married on 14 March 2009. We were married in our Mtunzini Anglican church of St. Mary’s – by a Zulu priest. It was a joyous occasion all round. What’s interesting is that Susan and I were married way back in 1964 in England, also in an Anglican church named St. Mary’s! We were – married five years after Susan died, and we felt comfortable with that distance.

 

When opportunities arise, grab them if you’ve done enough investigation, if they are going to further you career, and if timing is right.

 

From England, Alison had been vehemently against my marrying Selinah. She said that her Zulu family would absorb all my resources and leave me penniless. I told her that (1) they wouldn’t do that, because I retained control of my capital, and (2) I was not going to live a lonely life in South Africa – while she lived a companiable life with her partner in England. It took a long time and a dramatic change in Alison’s health to heal that rift.

 

Nic was still working abroad at this time. His belief was that it was my life to live as I wished, and, in any case, he didn’t expect any part of my capital savings. He has always been supportive of Selinah and me, and, after returning to South Africa to get married himself, has built an excellent relationship with Selinah.

 

Using My Wealth

 

Selinah brought two beautiful daughters to our marriage. When we were still courting, Precious Slindile (Sli), her elder daughter, was already at Pretoria University, studying Town and Regional Planning. Selinah was already in debt to the university, so I took over Sli’s tertiary education costs. At the same time, Slondile Sheila (Slo), the younger daughter, was in Grade 12 at John Ross College. Unfortunately, she fell pregnant early in the matric year, and this affected the quality of her matric certificate.

 

If opportunities don’t arise after a long time has passed, then create them!

 

Our granddaughter, Sphesihle (Sphe) Nombuso, was born on 3rd March 2008 and occupied Slo in motherhood for the remainder of that year. Subsequently, Slo managed to find a diploma course at the University of Zululand and attended that as well as being Sphe’s mother. Eventually, Slo found a degree course that started with a matric upgrade year. The degree was a B.Sc in Environmental Management at the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein. As with Sli, I undertook to finance Slo’s tertiary education.

 

Sphe came to live with us early in 2013, the year she turned 5. And she stayed with us until the end of Grade 7 in 2021! So, that’s 9 years when we had an extra person in the household. While Sphe’s father paid for annual school expenses (fees, stationery, uniforms, etc.) – most of the time – we covered the cost of extra-mural activities, for example, and the fuel to take Sphe to school and back.

 

Overall, the costs of having Sphe to live with us must have totalled a significant amount.

 

In 2009, Nic returned to South Africa to get married and settle down. He had been carrying on a long-distance courtship with Debbie, who had a daughter, Robyn. Nic and Debbie lived in Mtubatuba for a couple of years after getting married, then decided that wanted to be closer to Nic’s job in Durban. They chose Ballito. They wished to purchase a house, and I contributed R1m plus the transfer fees to that project! I also assisted Nic with Robyn’s educational costs on a monthly basis for several years.

 

Remember that children WILL leave home. You need to develop a fresh relationship with your spouse. Keep communicating!

 

Later, Alison was diagnosed with breast cancer. After removal of the lump, followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the cancer was declared to be in remission. During this time, both Nic and I flew to England and back twice – at my cost. After a relatively short period of remission, the cancer returned – this time to Ali’s liver. We all knew that this would give Ali only a very short time to live, so I covered the costs of Nic & Debbie and Selinah & I to fly to England, stay in a hotel for three weeks, the hire of two cars, and a sum for Nic to cover loss of earnings (he was, and is, a self-employed contractor to the firm he works for).

 

Into “Old Age”

 

There is always a debate as to when “old age” starts; though we know when it ends! In the 1500s and 1600s in England, the age expectancy was around 40 years, so “old age” started before then. Today, however, the definition of “old age” is more complex. This is due to improved diet, improved shelter, improved health care – in only some parts of the world. There are still plenty of areas on our Earth where poor diet, poor shelter and poor health care are rampant.

 

When you are presented with substantial funds – for instance, when you change jobs and take your retirement savings – DON’T SPEND IT! Hand it to a trusted financial adviser to invest for you. Once you have gained confidence in your adviser, hand him/her ALL your savings. At the age you have reached, you are building your savings towards eventual retirement.

 

For me, now closer to 81 than 80, “old age” started towards the end of 2019, when I was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis – progressive, incurable, and virtually untreatable. My health went downhill from there as, early in 2020 I lost 15kg of my body mass, and in May 2020 I had three stents placed in my LAD coronary artery to prevent a heart attack. Then, in August 2020, I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma; that could have been a death sentence but for the amazingly positive attitude of my oncologist. Of course, 2020 and 2021 were the years of the COVID-19 pandemic, which just made everything more difficult for me – as well as for everyone else, of course.

 

I received chemotherapy every two weeks for eight months, followed by seven weekly doses of radiotherapy. PET/CT scans throughout the radiotherapy showed the gradual withdrawal of the lymphoma into remission. In addition, the hefty doses of anti-nausea steroids accompanying the chemotherapy seemed to hold back progress of the fibrosis. So, the lymphoma itself, together with the damage done to my body in general by the chemotherapy, and the fibrosis, and turning 80 in this year of 2022 truly means that I have entered “old age”!

 

Do NOT believe that being financially comfortable in your mid-60s gives you licence to blow your capital on a huge house, luxury vehicles and holidays. You have been careful all your life – don’t blow it.

 

So, I believe that a dramatic descent into very poor health is one definition of “old age”. However, despite having much lower energy levels, I have been very fortunate in many ways. For instance, my brain has not been affected by my ailments, nor the “cures” and I remain alert and interested in the world around me. I can still walk (not too far!) and undertake minor DIY jobs around the house. I have also been most fortunate in having a wonderful wife, who truly loves me and has cared for me all this time. I have children and grandchildren who really care for me, and I have many friends here and around the world who have thought of and/or prayed for me. What more can I ask for?

 

It should also be noted that I have just had a dose of COVID. This is slowly dying away but has further affected my fibrosis cough and my energy levels. I really didn’t need this but, as my wife says: “You didn’t apply for it!”; it happened, and I have to deal with it.

 

Managing My Money

 

In order to continue to live on your savings, you must be very aware of (1) their current value, (2) the rate at which you are drawing down from them, and (3) what’s going on with the economy now and into the future.

 

This is where it is very important to use the skills and knowledge of your financial advisor. You can create an outline plan for yourself, but your financial advisor must agree with your suggestion(s).
Now, my total savings have a value of almost exactly R3m. That sounds a lot, but it really isn’t – even though it’s far more than a large proportion of our population has at their disposal.
Although the value of R3m has been maintained for several years, its purchasing power has been steadily decreasing. I was drawing down at the rate of 9% and 9½%pa, but it became obvious that this was too high. I was eating into my capital at too great a rate.

 

More importantly, you have children who may need assistance in their own lives. Also, remember that your family may grow – as mine did (details included in my story!)

 

Using a combination of an income & expenditure extraction from my financial system for the years 2020, 2021 & 2022 (to date) and my financial advisor’s scenario table, I decided to reduce my drawdown to 7.5%pa across the board.

 

In a case of “you reap what you sow”, I am able to ask for financial assistance for extraordinary items from our elder daughter. After graduating from UP, she gained a great deal of town planning experience with one of the metros, then undertook a master’s degree in land and property valuation – for which I provided some financial assistance. She now works for a local municipality and is very well paid.

 

Lessons – On Life and Money

 

  • Do not expect a new marriage to be similar to your previous one – it won’t be!
  • Understand from the very start of courtship that the new marriage is going to require MANY compromises. It will be just as difficult for your partner as for you.
  • Don’t be put off another marriage because of resistance from one or more of your children. It is your life, not theirs. They are doing what they wish to do, after all…
  • Since your new marriage is completely legal, don’t concern yourself with what others may think. If you are going to worry about it, you shouldn’t enter such a marriage.
  • You have two options when you have a reasonably large amount of savings;
    – (1) you can be parsimonious with your spending, in order to retain as much capital as possible, or
    – (2) you can spend a portion of your capital on the CURRENT needs of your family members – children and grandchildren.
    – Option 1 will probably provide your family members with substantial amounts as beneficiaries of your will. Option 2 will leave your capital depleted but invested in your family’s future. I chose option2!
    – Even if you choose option 2, you must still be very aware of your own needs as you grow older and “retire”. You must control your expenditure, especially on high-value items such as property, vehicles, and so on.
  • “Old Age” is so variable among every population, and it is brought on by such variable circumstances, that it would be better to find another definition for this part of one’s life.
  • Never give up! Life is certainly not fair, but we get what life throws at us – sometimes good, sometimes not so good. If you get rather overtaken with unpleasant ailments, then do what you can to mitigate them. Don’t allow yourself to descend into depression – I know how close I came to it in 2020.
  • When you live on your savings, you never have enough funds for “what you want” after spending on “what you need”.
  • You must be very fussy about the state of your finances, keeping a careful track of both income and expenditure.
  • ALWAYS work with your financial advisor – and be totally honest with him/her – so that s/he can provide you with the best objective advice.