Driving The Distance For Dementia

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Driving the distance for dementia: HMP Kirkham prison officer Andy Maxfield from Inskip in Lancashire is finalising plans to set a brand new Guinness World Record by driving from John O’Groats to Land’s End on a John Deere lawn tractor, while raising money for Alzheimer’s Society.

The ‘Driving the Distance for Dementia’ Challenge is now due to set off from John O’Groats at 8am on Tuesday 25th July 2017; the signposted distance to Land’s End is 874 miles. The planned route goes past the Maxfield family home, where Andy spends much of his spare time cutting the grass in public open spaces around the village.

Since changes were made to the original plans in order to meet Guinness’ stipulations for the record, which has not been attempted before with an unmodified lawn tractor, Andy is still hoping to complete the distance in less than five days on his own. He has recently been promoting the challenge at shows and events in the north of England, starting with a visit to his beloved Blackburn Rovers FC – see the club’s video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2hyoHbP5j8&feature=youtu.be – and including this month’s Great Yorkshire Show.

The current route (see attached map) takes him through north-east Scotland to Inverness, then mostly through central Scotland to Lockerbie. From here the route follows north-west England via Carlisle and Preston, and onwards along the English/Welsh border via Shrewsbury and Gloucester to Bristol. The final stretch runs down through Taunton and Bodmin to Land’s End.

Andy Maxfield will now be using a 24hp X750 lawn tractor and accompanied by support vehicles provided by John Deere. The X750 has power steering, cruise control and a top road speed of around 10mph, and it will be specially equipped with John Deere’s JDLink remote monitoring system to help provide evidence of the completed journey to Guinness World Records. Andy will also be supported on the journey by his wife Karen and their daughters Kathryn and Kaitlyn.

Andy’s 77 year old father James and James’ mother Theresa were both diagnosed with dementia, which prompted Andy to start seriously fundraising for the charity in January this year. “Initially I had the idea of a fundraising ball to raise money for Alzheimer’s Society, which will be held in Preston in December,” he says.

“After that, because friends and neighbours often take the mickey out of me for being into lawnmowers – I’ve got eight altogether for cutting the grass around the village – I just thought it would be appropriate to try for the world record for driving a lawn tractor the length of Britain. I asked John Deere, although I don’t have one of their mowers at home, as I know they make quality products and I wanted something to get me from A to B without breaking down!”

John Deere Limited turf division manager Chris Meacock adds: “Our UK and Ireland employees select a specific charity each year to support with a variety of fundraising activities. By coincidence we had chosen Alzheimer’s Society when we were approached by Andy Maxfield to help with the Guinness World Record attempt, so it was very good timing on his part!

“We are delighted to back this very worthy cause and are looking forward to the challenge. In addition to providing the X750 for ‘Driving the Distance for Dementia’, we have offered Andy a new X350R lawn tractor worth over £5000 as a special raffle prize for the family’s charity ball.” The ball will take place at Preston Masonic Hall on Saturday December 9th.

Sue Swire, regional community fundraising officer for Alzheimer’s Society in Lancashire, says: “It’s wonderful that Andy is taking on such a great challenge to raise money for Alzheimer’s Society to unite against dementia, and we are really grateful. Funds raised from the challenge will help us move a step closer to a world without dementia – dementia devastates lives, but dementia won’t win.”

Andy Maxfield’s charity ball has a JustGiving website page for donations at www.justgiving.com/andrew-maxfield, with the total already standing at over £2200 in early July; donations can also be made by texting MAXF80 £3 to 70070. More information on the ball and the challenge are available at www.facebook.com/ForgetMeNotPreston, and by following Andy on Twitter @AndyMax69.

Alzheimer’s Society is available for anyone affected by dementia and there are lots of ways the charity can help – for details call the National Dementia Helpline on 0300 222 1122 or visit www.alzheimers.org.uk.

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Glodwick club veterans roll with it!

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Glodwick club veterans roll with it! Glodwick Cricket Club duo Neil Williams and Gordon Whitehead are celebrating their 70th years by raising funds to replace the club’s heavy roller.

“The present roller is a bit of a beast,” said groundsman Gordon. “It’s over 50 years old and most members won’t touch it because it is really difficult to start on chilly mornings.”

CHALLENGE:

To raise cash they are doing a 70-themed sponsored challenge consisting of a 70 lengths swim and a 70km bike ride on July 21-22.

“I’ve not been to the baths in 30 years,” added Gordon. “And it’s longer since Neil was on a bike, so it’s a real challenge for both of us.”

So far the appeal is going well, but rollers don’t come cheap, so they still have a way to go.

Anyone wanting to support them can do it here

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Burscough Groundsman Slams Southport FC Claims Of Unfit Pitch

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Burscough Groundsman Slams Southport FC Claims Of Unfit Pitch: A WAR of words between Burscough and Southport after their friendly was cancelled at the last minute shows no signs of ending after the former’s groundsman waded into the row.

Burscough FC released an official club statement on Monday evening (July 10) saying that Southport FC had cancelled their fixture the following night (Tuesday July 11) because they didn’t have enough fit or eligible players.

This led to widespread mocking of the Yellows, who have already been the subject of a tireless campaign to see the club taken over for the second time in a year.

Southport FC hit back, stating that the real reason for the cancellation was due to concerns that the playing surface at Victoria Park was not good or safe enough for a game of football.

This angered Burscough FC groundsman Malcolm Crosby who invited the Champion down to the ground to see for ourselves the pitch.

He said: “It’s not true.

“The pitch is playable and the game could have gone ahead.

“I’m a volunteer and I help keep the pitch in a good condition, which you can see.”

In a statement released by Southport FC they stated: “We do not recognise the validity of the highly regrettable comments appearing on the Burscough FC website in relation to the cancellation of the pre-season friendly at Victoria Park.

“While we can confirm that the fixture was cancelled at SFC’s request, this decision was made after a review of the playing surface at Victoria Park.

“First Team Coach John Durnin reviewed the playing surface and after discussing the situation with the management team, the club decided the pitch at Victoria Park was not suitable for the fixture.

“When confirming the cancellation, SFC did include mention of a number of injured players but this was not the main or sole reason as alluded to by Burscough earlier today.

“Southport FC has enjoyed friendly relations with our local neighbours at Burscough FC for many years and we hope this continues in the future.”

An original statement by Burscough FC simply read: “Due to injuries sustained by Southport [at their last game] the Tuesday friendly is cancelled

“Southport sustain injuries on Saturday and are unable raise a team for the friendly.

“We wish the players a quick recovery and best wishes for the season.”

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Sri Lanka’s Cricket Board Apologises To Groundsmen

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Sri Lanka’s Cricket Board Apologises To Groundsmen: Dozens of groundsmen at Sri Lanka’s Hambantota cricket stadium have complained that they were ordered to give back their uniforms before being paid — even though they were wearing them at the time.

Sri Lanka’s cricket board was forced to apologise after social media reports that some workers had to leave the ground in their underwear at the end of the fifth One-Day International between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe on Monday.

“Whilst stern action will be taken against those responsible, Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to apologise to those subjected to this ignominy, and will take steps to ensure they are compensated,” the board said in a statement made available to the media.

The workers had been told that they would not be paid until they returned the uniforms provided by the Board.

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BREAKING NEWS! Sherriff Amenity & Terra Firma (Scotland) Ltd Combine

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BREAKING NEWS – Sherriff Amenity and Terra Firma (Scotland) Ltd combine

BREAKING NEWS! Sherriff Amenity & Terra Firma Combine

Sherriff Amenity, the fine turf and landscaping division of Agrovista UK Limited, one of the UK’s leading agronomy firms today announces the acquisition of Terra Firma (Scotland) Ltd, one of Scotland’s largest specialist suppliers to the amenity and local authority markets.

The purchase will allow the two businesses to combine existing technical expertise and broad product ranges to provide land managers, local authorities, contractors, groundsmen and greenkeepers in Scotland with a full agronomy service, research driven advice, new product innovation and access to an extensive local distribution network.

Commenting on the announcement Simon Gough, founder of Terra Firma (Scotland) said: “Terra Firma joining with Sherriff Amenity is a really exciting prospect. The combination of both companies’ industry knowledge, experience and customer service ethos will form a strong, sustainable and service focused business model moving forward.”

Chris Clayton, Managing Director of Agrovista commented: “We are delighted to welcome Simon and his team from Terra Firma into Sherriff Amenity. The acquisition will strengthen the business in Scotland and provide synergies across the business which will ultimately benefit our customers. This combined with further product developments will generate exciting opportunities from the combined business”.

The new structure will retain all existing staff and the combined team will be led by Simon Gough.

For further information, please contact Sherriff Amenity on 01638 721 888 or visit www.sherriffamenity.com

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