TONY HAWKES

The eagerly awaited hilarious new adventure from bestselling author Tony Hawks. Inspired by breathtaking views and romantically dreaming of finding love in the mountains, Tony Hawks impulsively buys an idyllic house in the French Pyrenees. And here, he imagines, he will finally fulfil his childhood fantasy of mastering the piano, all the while overlooking spectacular views as the troubles of the world pass him by unnoticed. However, Tonys hopelessly ill-prepared stumbling into the world of overseas home ownership is perhaps best read as a useful manual of how not to go about buying a house abroad. He flirts with the removal business in a disastrous attempt to take his piano over to France; foolishly elects to build a swimming pool himself; and he finds himself co-habiting, not with a beautiful French woman, but with his old mate Ron the builder from West London. Yet as Tony and his small group of friends haplessly attempt to integrate themselves into local village life, they learn more about themselves and each other than they ever thought possible.

I hereby bet Tony Hawks the sum of One Hundred Pounds that he cannot hitchhike round the circumference of Ireland, with a fridge, within one calendar monthA foolhardy attempt to win a drunken bet led to Tony Hawks having one of the most unforgettable experiences of his life.

If you had to pick two things you wanted if you had to what would you pick? I hesitated. This was a bigger question than usually got asked at these post-match debriefs. ''I suppose the honest answer would be, I said, still accessing the last pieces of required data from a jumbled mind, meeting my soul mate, and finding an idyllic house abroad somewhere. Inspired by breathtaking views and romantic dreams of finding love in the mountains, Tony Hawks impulsively buys a house in the French Pyrenees. Here, he plans to finally fulfil his childhood fantasy of mastering the piano, untroubled by the problems of the world. In reality, the chaotic story of Tony''s hopelessly ill-conceived house purchase reads like the definitive guide to how not to buy a house overseas. It finds him flirting with the removal business in a disastrous attempt to transport his piano to France in a dodgy white van; foolishly electing to build a swimming pool himself; and expanding his relationship repertoire when he starts co-habiting, not with an exquisite French beauty, but with a middle-aged builder from West London. As Tony and his friends haplessly attempt to fit into village life, they learn more about themselves and each other than they ever imagined.