UP CLOSE … with Marie-France MacGregor, co-owner of Treasure Cove Hotel |24 January 2017

‘This does not even feel like work; it feels I’m living something I love’

Marie-France Patricia MacGregor is currently running a small hotel, the Treasure Cove, which is an enterprise owned by herself and two of her brothers. First married in 1984, Marie-France became a widow in 1996 and got married for a second time in 1999 to Francis MacGregor, a husband she described as “the most wonderful human being the universe could have sent in my life” and to whom she is so grateful.

Marie-France was raised and followed her primary education at Anse Aux Pins, which she describes as her beloved district and still considers her home.  She is now living at Bel Ombre.

Education

After primary school, Marie-France pursued her secondary studies at the then Regina Mundi Covent which is now the Ministry of Education headquarters at Mont Fleuri.

“I did not pursue any further education. Leaving school at the age of 17, I went straight into the world of work starting as a clerk in the then Housing Division of a ministry which I don’t recall how it was called back then,” said Marie-France.

Children

“I have two adorable sons – Brian aged 30 and Daniel aged 27 – and two stepchildren, Julius and Sofia, whom I love as my very own. I look forward to becoming a grandmother soon – my first grandchild – and I feel blessed that it is going to be a baby girl. I can’t wait!

Marie-France comes from a very large family of 9 children - 5 boys and 4 girls. Sadly she lost a brother, Barry, tragically in 1990 in a hit and run accident on his way home from work. He was 35 years old at that time.

Treasure Cove

“When I look at Treasure Cove (situated at Bel Ombre), I have a great sense of pride because I know that this is our blood and our sweat. No hand-outs, no favours from anyone, no special treatment from ANYONE – ANYWHERE. One of the things I most love about it are the challenges that it brings which are too many to list. But I will point out that I absolutely love the team I work with starting with my brother Allen and his wife Juliana and all the rest. I feel like we are just a little family keeping up with the challenges – “tonbe, leve, nou ansanm!” she said.

Marie-France said everybody who know her can vouch that she loves meeting people and organising functions. The greatest feeling she said she has sometimes about what she is doing is “Hey! This does not even feel like work. It feels like I’m living something I love.”

“I love having lots of people around me – I guess this comes from having grown up in a large family. I enjoy planning and organising events. I’m not fazed by any tasks – I am not afraid to climb up a ladder or go down a drain if I have to. I feel like a free person, I don’t feel “bound” by what other people feel about me.

Main challenges

Marie-France said her main challenges are dealing with different types of people – with clients when you know that the feelings with which they leave this place may have an impact on the business.

“Then there is of course the question of staff – that is indeed a challenge,” she said.

“I will not say I am lucky but rather I am blessed with a few very good people around me. Some of my staff have been there from the very beginning.

Another challenge is ensuring my guests are happy, and that we deliver a top class service,” Marie-France said.

And what does it take to be able to do such a job?

“My way of looking at things is that one should have PRINCIPLES  – Treat people like you would like to be treated. Do things the way you would like others to do for you. Serve as you would like to be served. There are some things that one does not learn from a text book but rather it comes from the heart. I had no experience working in the tourism industry, yet when I look at how we have performed and the awards we have received, I can say I have what it takes!” said Marie-France.

Hobbies and pastime

Marie-France used to enjoy swimming, reading and doing sports but she does not have much time for hobbies any more. As for pastime, she likes watching TV and catch up with what is happening in the world.

“My favourite pastime is having discussions on many issues with my husband,” she said, adding that what she hates the most in life is hypocrisy.

If she had the power to do so …

If she had the power, Marie-France said she would change only one thing: the power to control her temper.

“Other than that, for every experience I have gone through - good or bad - it has been a learning experience. For every mistake – a lesson learnt.  For everything gone wrong – an appreciation of better things. For every door closed – another one opened … I have to admit, like everyone, I have also gone through heartaches and pains, but a lot of joy and happiness too.  I take every situation as it comes. Nothing takes me by surprise – good or bad.”

Childhood days

“What I most cherish is the love of my parents, especially my father who for me is the greatest dad in this whole wide world. He had this ability to make each one of us feel so special, like each one was his favourite girl or boy. My mum was sickly while we were growing up and my dad would do everything for us and it seemed like he knew every single thing about each and every one of us. He would wake up at 5am and prepare lunch for us to take to school even if sometimes we did not like what he had prepared. But we would come home and still love him that little bit more. I guess this is where I learned to appreciate every being for who or what he or she is. He taught us to work hard – getting up very early in the morning, sweep the yard, do the beds, the boys had to feed the pig which would eventually be slaughtered for New Year as was the tradition in those days. At the same time he was sometimes very very hard on us, making us understand that sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind,” she said.

Marie-France said she also has so many beautiful memories of her childhood.

“One of my most cherished memories is growing up with lots of brothers and sisters. I remember when we were small, we lived by the beach at Anse Aux Pins and we were all mesmerised by the sea. We would spend most of our free time in the sea. In the holidays we would wait as soon as the parents left to dash out to the sea and sometimes forgot to even come out for lunch. The games we used to play were so much fun and with so many of us around, there were always enough kids to have two teams. I remember playing games like ‘Hide and Seek’, ‘Seven Stones’ which used to be one of my favourites. The list would be too long to mention. The brothers and sisters would always stand by each other. I remember one particular incident when a few of them jumped up and down on a bed until the bed broke. In the evening when the parents came home, NO-ONE would tell on anyone – not even with the threat of the dreaded ‘roten moris’. So at the end, we all had to ‘line-up’ and wait each our turn for a few strokes. Boy did that thing hurt! I have memories of our fantasy musical show – empty carton boxes, empty milk tins – and for the stage – the dining table! I must admit we got up to so much mischief which was also so much fun especially in the holidays. Luckily for us my dad was a driver for the Shell petroleum company at that time, so we could hear the sound of the truck from a mile away,” said Marie-France.

Another unforgettable childhood memory is the first night the house got electricity.

“I will never forget the first night when we finally got electricity. To me it was ‘magic’. I know this is silly but I shall never ever forget my first experience with an ice-cube. I had gone for the weekend at a friend of the family, Miss Nelly Laporte, at Pointe Larue. That is where I first had an ice cube in my mouth and the mystery of that first ice-cube has never left my memory.

Bad experiences

“I would more classify this as a hard experience rather than bad - having to live with a terminally ill person knowing that there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. Other than that experiences are experiences. I am never shocked by anything bad – things happen, I learn from the experience, and I move on. I do what I can in the best way I can. I try to help as many people as I can..

“In a tiny little corner of my mind lies this memory (had to phone my mum and ask her about this one so I assure myself it is not a dream) – I must have been very very small, my mum and dad had separated and my mum had taken us kids away. We were living in a tiny room and there were lots and lots of rain and mighty thunder roaring and lightning striking through the dark night that looked like it was going to come and burn us. I was SO scared. Water was pouring through the roof and falling in a bucket. At that time I thought ‘surely nothing can be scarier than this!’ I recall telling my little self ‘Don’t be afraid, all will be okay’,” Marie-France recalled.

But Marie France said she remembers her little heart wanting to burst with joy when her parents made up and they went back to their former home.

“And to this day I have trained myself to learn to live with even the worse situation, always telling myself that this will pass. I can’t say have ‘fears’ but I can tell you, if a lizard ever falls on me this is when you shall hear the loudest scream from me,” Marie-France laughed.

Marie-France cited the army mutiny of 1982 as a bad event she had witnessed.

“At the very young age of 20, I was taught how to muster all the courage I had to negotiate with a group of soldiers who had decided to carry out a mutiny. To recount the whole experience would probably take a whole chapter. But I remember afterwards thinking ‘phew! I did not know I had such negotiating skills’!”

Thankful

Marie-France would like to thank all the wonderful people in her life.

“If I leave this Earth tomorrow, I can say I will leave as a ‘happy’ person with the world around me. Maybe one or two tiny little regrets in a very secret corner of my heart. As it is right now, I can only say ‘I feel blessed’ and for that I thank the Almighty!”

Hope for the future

“Good health and happiness to my loved ones – lots of grandchildren.  For the world – peace, a place free of hatred and wars.

 By Marylene Julie