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Gardener Charged For Using Mobile

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Gardener Charged For Using Mobile: A gardener is thought to have become the first person in Britain to be charged with using a mobile while operating a lawn-mower after being stopped outside a police station.

The 47-year-old council gardener faces a fine of £200 and six penalty points if he is found guilty of using his phone at the traffic lights outside of police station in Ely, Cardiff on Tuesday.

The man was followed by South Wales Police officers who spotted him allegedly using his mobile while driving along Cowbridge Road West.

Cardiff Council confirmed that he was a member of council staff and that he could face disciplinary action at a later date.

It added: “The council will be following up this matter in line with council policy and procedure.”

Accused of illegally using a phone at the wheel on a public road, the gardener is to appear at a a magistrates court later this month.

It has been illegal for a motorist to use a mobile phone while driving since 2003.

This includes handling the device, sending a text or following a map, even when the car is waiting at a set of traffic lights, as the engine is still running.

In 2017, stricter phone driving laws came into force in a bid to deter people from breaking the rules.

Motorists who are caught are liable to pay a fine of £200 or have six penalty points placed on their licence.

Around 1,200 drivers have been disqualified since the introduction of these stricter penalties.

Neil Smith, Imperial Cars’ operations director said: “Breaking the habit of touching your phone whilst in the driver’s seat can be challenging, especially with the technological advancements that come as standard on most mobile phones, but the risks you impose on both yourself and others when distracted behind the wheel are really not worth it. Unfortunately, the number of drivers still opting to ignore the law is scarily high.”

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Reesink Invests In Ireland

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Reesink Invests In Ireland: Reesink Turfcare has confirmed the amalgamation of the Nurney-based Professional Machinery Services (PMS) business into Reesink Turfcare IRE Ltd, as part of its investment plans for a business structure in Ireland.

Reesink reached an agreement with the directors of PMS, Michael and Michelle Fleming, which sees them both join the Reesink customer service team at Reesink’s Ireland premises, also in Nurney, Co Kildare.

Reesink Invests In Ireland

PMS was an independent authorised Toro service centre for 13 years, and Michael has been technically involved with the Toro brand for almost 20 years. He joins Reesink in the role of operations manager to oversee technical support services directly to customers in the South Leinster area, and to the broader network of existing authorised Toro service centres. Michelle provides a similar focus, taking up the role of service and parts administrator.

Michael comments: “Both Michelle and I are looking forward to combining dealership, technical and customer relations experience with the resource of Reesink to help further strengthen and grow the brand in Ireland.”

This is just the start of Reesink’s investment in the brand in Ireland as Reesink managing director in Ireland, Richard Harris, explains: “The addition of Michael and Michelle to the team is a great step forward for our plans to invest in experience and it won’t stop there. We expect to recruit additional technical roles, and also add a demonstrator to the team this year to enhance both our customer service and enquiry response times.

“Our investment plans for business growth has customer support at its foundation. Therefore, we are very pleased to have been able to recruit two experienced people with a strong reputation for customer service and extensive experience with the Toro brand built up over many years. Growing the team like this enhances our support for Toro fine turf and grounds customers in Ireland.”

Roon Hylkema, managing director of the Reesink Turfcare parent company in The Netherlands, concludes: “We see a long-term opportunity for Reesink and the Toro brand going hand-in-hand with an improving economic and investment outlook in Ireland. With parts and equipment on site and highly qualified service technicians, we will be in a position to maintain customer satisfaction levels on a par with all our European operations.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Win Dedicated To Ex-Groundsman

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Win Dedicated To Ex-Groundsman: Shanklin Reserves have dedicated their Combination 1 League Cup final victory to groundsman Joe Geddes who died of cancer recently.

The side beat Binstead & COB Reserves 4-1 at Brading Football Club’s Vicarage Lane ground on Saturday.

Shanklin’s goals came from Ryan Gregory and Pete Wilson headers, a superb Ji Nash dribble and shot and a tap-in from Sam Mosely, with Binstead’s consolation coming from Gavin Prescott.

Delighted Shanklin  player-manager, Frank Luter, said: “We dedicate this trophy in memory of our groundsman, Joe Geddes, who was a popular figure who served the club for many years.”

In the other match played later yesterday afternoon, the Combination 2 League Cup final, Oakfield Reserves beat Ventnor Reserves 4-2 on penalties after they finished 1-1 at full time.

Ventnor, who had two men sent off, took the lead with a brilliant 20-yard strike from Billy Creighton on 23 minutes.

They held out until the 75th minute when substitute Sam Woodmore finished well from close range.

Ventnor were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty in the last ten minutes for a push in the back.

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Nigel Lovatt Retires From Reesink

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Nigel Lovatt Retires From Reesink: Reesink Turfcare announces the retirement of Nigel Lovatt with great sadness and genuine gratitude for the role he has played in shaping the company over the 17 years he was with the business.

And what a 17 years it’s been! Astonishing, says the man himself who never anticipated the trajectory of his career as he “left school at 16 with a box full of spanners bought in the school holidays” to start his career as an apprentice agricultural engineer.

Nigel Lovatt Retires From Reesink

Nigel joined the company when it was Lely UK and had already built himself a reputation in the industry, in particular, in the region of Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire working for a competitor manufacturer. Taking responsibility for the area as retail sales manager, Nigel grew the golf business from almost nothing to £1million in his first couple of years. A promotion to regional manager followed suit.

With that came new responsibilities, and he started working with the Reesink dealer network and retail partners from the north east to the north west. His role expanded to take in sports venues as well as golf, and when Reesink introduced the grounds range to the UK, that too.

Jeff Anguige, national sales manager at Reesink Turfcare, says: “Nigel has been instrumental in not only bringing in substantial business, but retaining it. He has a natural ability for sales and a natural aptitude with people. That is a winning combination, demonstrated by the fact that he grew the business exponentially in his time here, along with the fact that he was there at the beginning of our relationship with some of our biggest customers.”

Of course, anyone who knows Nigel will know Jeff is referring to England Golf Union, Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Manchester City Football Club, Manchester United Football Club,

Liverpool Football Club and more councils than you can shake a stick at. And this veritable roll call of high profile, prestigious venues using Toro is, says Nigel, one of his biggest achievements.

“I have enjoyed every minute working with my dealers and customers and helping in their quest for the best quality grounds and courses. I have always considered it to be an absolute privilege to work with Toro, too. My engineering background means I’ve been able to work closely with my customers to understand their needs and what will suit them best, providing advice and backing it up with a solution from one of the best manufacturers there is.”

Fresh from his recent success in Australia winning a Team Silver medal in the clay pigeon shooting World Championships, Nigel’s retirement will heavily involve clay pigeon shooting and his role representing England Veterans. But, his presence will remain in the turfcare industry for some time yet.

With his apprenticeship in agricultural engineering Nigel has contributed to the components and mechanics of many of the Toro machines on the market today. He helped secure a third partnership with the England Golf Union and Woodhall Spa before he left and he leaves with many memories too, in particular, his role helping Royal Liverpool Golf Club in its preparation for The Open.

Jeff concludes by saying: “It’s always sad when someone leaves who has been a part of the company for as long as Nigel has, but when the person is as good at his job as Nigel has been, and as universally well-liked as he is, it’s safe to say he’ll be much missed.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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INFINICUT Enhances Plant Health

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INFINICUT Enhances Plant Health: While mowing appears simple in its application, it can have either positive or negative consequences for plant health depending on mower performance. Attainment of correct cutting performance on sports pitches will include, but isn’t limited to, sharpness of cut; attitude angle and behind centre distance (BCD) of the bedknife; frequency of clip and weight distribution. MTD Specialty Turf Products explores the importance of mowing on plant health and how quality of cut has been paramount to operations at Watford FC, seeing them crowned the Premier League Grounds Team of the Year for 2017/18.

Beginning with sharpness of cut – dull or poorly sharpened mowers tear and shred grass blades rather than cut them cleanly, increasing the plants vulnerability to disease. A dull cut can be caused by a mower that does not maintain cut quality for an acceptable length of time.  This may be down to either a poorly designed bedknife-reel adjustment mechanism; an imbalanced reel causing premature wear; or a poorly designed cutting unit that “oscillates” during rotation.

INFINICUT Enhances Plant Health

Attitude angle and behind centre distance (BCD) are interlinked and an improper set-up of these features will not only impact on after-cut appearance but can negatively affect plant health.  The greater the BCD, the more aggressive the cut because the grass blade will be “dragged” prior to it being trapped between the bedknife and reel.  An aggressive cut also means a shorter cut as the leaf blade is lifted “up and back” prior to shearing. For a less aggressive cut, the bedknife is positioned much closer to the reel.

Frequency of clip (FOC) is the distance between mower shear points, determined by the number of reel blades, rotational speed and the mowers forward speed.  FOC is important in ensuring the correct quality is achieved for the specific height of cut. One should also consider the leaf’s moisture content – a high clip rate on a less rigid leaf can cause mulching.  The ability to alter FOC is thus advantageous.

The Cub Cadet INFINICUT® has been specifically designed to handle the numerous variables that modern day sports venues encounter.  Its ingenuous ability to alter geometry and working parameters ensures sward consistency is attained regardless of the time of year or conditions encountered.  Plant health can only be augmented by choosing the correct equipment set-up for the circumstances that prevail at any given time.

Scott Tingley, Head Groundsman at Watford Football Club said, “The INFINICUT® has become a vital part of our maintenance programme. We have two machines which are used primarily for match preparation, however we have used them more regularly this season due to the added benefits we found during the week. The quality of cut has led to a better visual appearance, but more importantly a healthy grass plant that has suffered less from disease. There’s also the added benefit of the health and safety elements – my staff regularly comment on how much lighter, quieter and more comfortable they are to use than alternative machines.”

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