But former colleagues won't have to go far to find him -- he has set up new offices just a couple of doors down from the Government Administration Building, headquarters of the Planning Department he headed for more than two decades.

And planning consultancy Erwin P. Adderley Associates is also next door to family business Adderley Brothers Travel on Parliament Street where he is president.

Now he is settling down to a new career that he has always wanted, and one in which he may be uniquely qualified to make a substantial contribution.

With a Masters degree in Architecture from the University of Nebraska, together with his Master of Arts degree, he has opened Erwin P. Adderley Associates on Parliament Street which specialises in planning, design and consulting on proposed developments.

He has invited former colleagues and others on Friday morning to an open house of the new business and a ribbon cutting by his former Environment Minister, and former Deputy Premier, Mrs. Ann Cartwright-DeCouto MP.

With an extensive knowledge of planning matters, and a key insight into the planning process, he says he will be able to guide clients through matters that include zoning objections, appeals and dealing with the necessary professionals such as architects, engineers and surveyors.

"I will offer a service that will complement those professionals,'' he said.

"If there is someone, for example, who wants to develop a substantial piece of property, I can help with a variety of planning matters.'' But he is not limiting the marketing of his expertise to Bermuda. He sees business opportunities in the Caribbean, where he knows countries that could benefit from Bermuda's advanced planning guidelines. He has been a member of the Regional Professional Planning Group for the Caribbean for 15 years and also remains a member of the Canadian Institute of Planners.

He also has associates in Canada with whom he will work with on foreign projects.

"We're going to be doing environmental impact studies,'' he said. "There is a growing need for it everywhere.'' He will also put some attention in at Adderley Brothers Travel.

"The business is being restructured.'' he said. "It is being taken over by a new generation of Adderleys, my three sisters and I. We are looking in new directions.

" You know, our motto has always been "We Deliver''. That's because the business has actually delivered tickets to some clients who couldn't get out of their office or away from their homes.'' The journey to Adderley Brothers has taken some twists and turns however -- it was 22 years ago that the father of two returned home from Lethbridge, Alberta, to be the Director of Planning at the surprisingly young age of 32.

He now leaves Mr. Brian Rowlinson in that position, the only person at that level in the department who was actually there before him.

"I always knew I would make this change at this time in my life,'' said the man who took advantage of a Government employment contract that allows for early retirement at age 55 with benefits, before being locked into provisions until age 65.

"It has worked out well for everyone. It has allowed new blood to come in.

That is always a problem in small Bermuda when someone gets to the top of a department at a young age, like I did, you block upward mobility for a lot of others.

"I think Brian is a good man and will do a good job.'' He deemed it "strictly luck'' that he was able to demonstrate his ability at a young age. After being a city planner with special responsibilities for Lethbridge, his first job as director of planning, for the Old Man River Regional Planning Commission, which included Lethbridge, occurred when he was 28 years old and living in Canada. The whole area was 13,000 square miles and Lethbridge was the third largest City in Alberta.

"I was at the right place at the right time,'' he insisted.

The job was no picnic -- early on he was shot at by someone who was unhappy at a planning decision.

A controversial decision had been taken to site the University of Lethbridge in a location that had been ear-marked by local speculators for a money-making scheme.

Mr. Adderley was on-site one crisp Saturday morning in 1968 with one of Canada's top architects of the 1970s and `80s, Mr. Arthur Erickson, and had just decided exactly where the university would be situated, when he heard a loud "crack!'', as shot-gun bullet whizzed over his head.

By the time the second shot rang out, the Bermudian found he was the only member of his party still standing, as the others had quickly hit the ground.

"Needless to say, we were out of there very quickly to call the Police,'' he remembered.

The university plan went ahead, though, as the first ever learning facility built to include an entire academic community that never had to go outside to what could be temperatures of 50-below.

In a related issue, he was also in the hot seat as director of planning for Old Man River Regional Planning Commission too when a Provincial Inquiry was established into the city plan to build on the west bank of the Old Man River a city centre for Lethbridge that could eventually absorb 30,000 people.

It was young Mr. Adderley who was chosen to explain to provincial cabinet ministers and to the city population why the plan had to proceed at that location, after authoring the report called the Urbanization of West Lethbridge.(He still has that report). At that time, the city was only built on the east side of the river.

"I was chosen to do a 20-minute TV segment to present that proposal and explain to the community why it was in their best interests.

"That community is now almost 25 years old. That was something that I did before I was even thirty years old.'' So, if you think Mr. Adderley saw controversy in his planning job in Bermuda, at least he was prepared for it.

Mr. Erwin Adderley