Rob McQuiston

That's your Lot (& Garonne) Rob McQuiston

Nothing much ever happened in the village of Castelnaud-de-Gratecambe, until the day a group of business-minded golfing friends in nearby Villeneuve-sur-Lot decided to build a championship golf course on the rolling hills of golf trees to the south of the village. There would also need to be accommodation for visiting golfers as hotel and guest houses were few and far between in this part of rural SW France. And so, starting in the early 1980s, the plum trees were cleared and construction of the golf development began. The development was to include, not only a spectacular 18-hole golf course, but also a 9-hole academy course, a swimming pool, a tennis court, an up-market hotel and eight blocks of apartments, lining the 9th fairway. The course opened in 1986, as did the hotel, while construction of 48 apartments was completed in 1988. Two planned additional blocks would have brought the total to 64 but were never built. Golfers eager to check out the new course began to appear from the local towns and villages, from all over France and from many parts of Europe. Existence of the new development was instrumental in the decision of many expatriates to settle in this part of France when the time came to retire from their globe-trotting occupations. In addition to these permanent settlers, another group emerged of people keen to spend significant amounts of time in France while retaining a base in their home countries. Members of this group, including the author, began to invest in the new apartments as they became available and a diverse community gradually established itself. The characters appearing in the book come mostly from this community, comprising golfers and non-golfers from France, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Malta, Cote d'Ivoire, New Zealand, Italy, Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales. The often-hilarious experiences of these apartment owners in and around Castelnaud and the surrounding area and their interactions with local people, provide the essential subject matter for the book.