these Open Championship Clubs choose to relief grind - Pitchcare

Schools & Colleges
One of Chris Edwards’
recent blogs ...
I DOUBT the Head of Eton received “Holy
Cow! It’s The Wurzles Christmas Album” as
a seasonal gift from one of the parental
body. You will recall that “The Wurzles”
was deemed second best answer to a
recent quiz held on the blog, and the
runner up is clearly trying to persuade me
that the artistic output of these cider
drenched warblers is superior to that of
the winning answer - the Hallé Orchestra.
I’ve played the album and I think it fair to
say I’ll never be the same again. That
men can make such music such as this is
indeed remarkable. Thank you.
• Just before Christmas there was a quiet
celebration in a dark hut. Me and a
crowd of hunky dudes. We raised our
plastic cups and sipped the warm fizz with
some satisfaction. The builders were
handing over four of the five new
buildings to the School. Now because of
the landscaping works (and I’m not
talking a few daisies here .. think Great
Wall of China), the South end of the
campus still looks like the set of War of
the Worlds, but amidst the mud and din
we have a useable Mary Windsor and
Sports Arena. My thanks to the Scary
Ladies for ensuring the builders remained
cowed and frightened throughout the
process.
• Oxbridge results are still coming in but
already I’ve had some dreadful news. For
many years I have successfully avoided
sending a pupil to my old Oxford college
on the grounds that if they went and
found out what I’d been up to, I’d have
to resign and live on top of a pillar for
the rest of my life. Well, one of our pupils
sneaked under the radar and has gone
and got themselves a place there. A
quarter of a century has passed since I
left. Is it enough I wonder? Anyway, I’ve
packed a trunk and a false moustache
just in case.
• Ignore Robert Peston. The recession is
over. How do I know? Well, when I
arrived at Bromsgrove I got a fair few
letters (usually from people whose
children had been refused entry) that
began “If I ran my business like you run
your School” and proceeded to make
clear that Bromsgrove and I were as
dysfunctional as News International.
Since 2008 I haven’t received much in the
way of swaggering contempt as I suspect
even the Shining Ones have been
subdued by recent economic woes.
Imagine my delight, then, when on
opening the New Year mail I find a letter
beginning “If I ran my business like you
run your School....”. Good times can’t be
far away. Happy New Year.
88 PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2012
Main cricket square
mowing and tractor work, including
maintaining the artificial pitches. Simon
Macaulay looks after all seven cricket
squares. Roger Anslow is based at the
Prep-School grounds, Scott Devereux
and Matt Stoneystreet carry out general
grounds duties, assisting with cricket
during the summer, and undertaking
most of the linemarking duties using
laser guided spray jet marking machines.
Tim Stephens is the dedicated
mechanic, but also helps out on the
grounds when required. All other duties
are shared around. During term time
each groundsman will work a Saturday
rota. “During the summer term we need
two groundsmen in on the weekend, due
to the amount of cricket being played,”
says Eric. “We also ask our staff not to
take their holidays during the summer
term time. It’s not ideal, I know, but at
such a busy time, losing one member for
two weeks has a huge impact.
Importantly, the team accept the
situation.”
Roger Anslow
Ashley Cooke, Trevor Sayers and
Trevor Graham are the school’s
gardeners, looking after all the formal
landscape beds and borders and the
extensive lawned areas.
Specialist work is contracted out; tree
and hedge works, and sports pitch work
such as vertidraining, topdressing,
overseeding etc. Eric also hires in
specialist equipment as required. For
example, rather than having their own
cricket rollers, he hires in two every year
for the cricket season.
“Over the years, I have invested in new
and secondhand machinery to help make
us more efficient as a team. Our list of
equipment includes a Ransomes 305
5-gang fairway mower, a Ransomes
Parkway triple mower, five Kubota G21
ride-on rotary mowers, a Hayter Harrier
pedestrian rotary mower, a Groundsman
aerator, Amazone flail mower, Agar
rotary mower, three Massey Ferguson 550
tractors, a Kubota RTV utility vehicle and
a spring tined harrow. We’ve also got a V
brush for use on the astro pitches, and
dedicated cricket mowers - a Lloyds
Paladin 18”, Ransomes Super Bowl 21”,
Ransomes Mastiff 36” ride-on mower -
along with a Sisis AutoRake. It’s a far cry
from 1981, and the improvements are
there for all to see,” says Eric.
“We cut the winter sports pitches on a
weekly basis and keep them between 50-
70mm. The cricket outfields are also cut
weekly but, on occasions, can be cut twice
depending on growth. We keep the
outfields at around 30mm. We tend to
use the Ransomes models for cricket and
hockey and the Kubota G21 ride-on
rotaries for the winter sports pitches.”
The school year is divided into three
terms, Lent (January- March) - when the
grass pitches are set up for rugby and
football; Summer (April - July) - when
the school focuses on cricket, tennis,
athletics and rounders; and Michaelmas
(September - December) - which is
predominantly set up for rugby.
Between Michaelmas and Lent a quick
turnaround of pitches is required so, over
the Christmas ‘break’, Eric and his staff
were changing some of the rugby pitches
across to football.
Cricket provides Eric with his biggest
challenge though, with over seventy
fixtures to accommodate. As you might
imagine, he is already planning his
fixture programme.