Tag Archive for: Black

Alastair Black appointed by Reesink UK

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Alastair Black appointed by Reesink UK: Reesink UK is pleased to announce the appointment of Alastair Black as its new Technical Support and Training Manager, taking over from Lee Rowbotham who has become the company’s new Geolink and Digital Specialist.

Alastair officially stepped into the role on June 30, bringing with him more than eight years’ experience of working at Reesink, as well as a track record of technical excellence and strong relationships across the dealer network.

Alastair Black appointed by Reesink UK

Alastair Black appointed by Reesink UK

Since joining the company in January 2017 as Technical Support for the North of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, Alastair has been instrumental in delivering first-class assistance to dealers and customers.

His work has included close collaboration with Reesink’s direct branch business in Scotland and one of the company’s largest accounts, St Andrews Links, the Home of Golf. Alastair has also supported multiple British Open Championships, including the 2025 tournament at Royal Portrush.

Commenting on his experience, Alastair said: “I’ve been fortunate to work with some incredible people, clubs and events over the years. The stakes are high in those environments, but that’s what drives you to perform at your best. You quickly learn that whether a customer buys one machine or 100, they deserve the same level of care, attention and respect.”

In his new position, Alastair will be responsible for overseeing technical training across Reesink UK’s network, ensuring both internal teams and dealer partners are equipped with the knowledge and skills required to deliver the highest levels of customer service.

He will continue to provide guidance on complex technical cases and to support his previous region until a successor is chosen, ensuring a smooth transition for customers and partners.

“What excites me most is developing the training side of the business,” he shares. “There’s such a shortage of skilled technicians in our industry, and building a dedicated training hub will give us the chance to support our dealers and customers in a way that really strengthens the whole sector.”

The appointment comes at a crucial time for Reesink as the company continues to expand its offering and invest in its support infrastructure.

Alastair Rowell, Managing Director at Reesink UK, commented: “Alastair’s deep understanding of our business, his technical expertise and his strong relationships with our customers make him the ideal fit for this role. He has consistently demonstrated his commitment to our values, and we’re confident he will continue to elevate our technical support and training offering.”

With this appointment, Reesink confirms its commitment to investing in people who bring knowledge and dedication to the brand, helping customers get the most from their Toro machinery and Reesink’s wider portfolio.

If you need to reach Alastair, you can contact him at Reesink Turfcare HQ in St Neots by calling 01480 226800 or emailing info@reesinkturfcare.co.uk.

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ICL’s Greenheaven tall fescue is the cultivar for Black Bears

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ICL’s Greenheaven tall fescue is the cultivar for Black Bears: Miles Properjohn, Head Groundsman at Black Bears Polo Club, has been relying on ICL’s Greenheaven cultivar in an attempt to increase the percentage of tall fescue in the one of the world’s most renowned polo pitches.

Lower Bolney Farm in Oxfordshire, home of Black Bears Polo Club, has deservedly gained a reputation for having some of the best facilities in the UK. The five polo grounds are kept in immaculate condition by a dedicated team of grounds staff. Pitch 5 in particular is the talk of the polo community and those that have been fortunate enough to play on it have declared it to be the “best field in the UK – if not the world”.

ICL’s Greenheaven tall fescue is the cultivar for Black Bears

ICL’s Greenheaven tall fescue is the cultivar for Black Bears

The grounds team is led by Head Groundsman Miles Properjohn, a long-term employee who has honed his skills at Black Bears, and he explained the reasoning behind using ICL’s Greenheaven.

“The pitch was originally sown with tall fescue, and we have since used other cultivars for a few seasons,” he said. “We are now keen to build back the percentage of tall fescue as we see its benefit in providing a hard wearing, low input, and great playing surface for polo. The polo schedule is very busy here with high goal being played and the players have incredibly high expectations of how the pitch should play.

“Whenever choosing a seed we always refer to the BSPB/STRI guide and we also do our own plot trial of any new seed to assess its germination speed and visual characteristics. Greenheaven was no exception.”

Greenheaven, from ICL, is a European-bred tall fescue which presents a midgreen compact growth habit. A fine leaf texture combined with excellent disease tolerance makes Greenheaven a very visually appealing variety.

Miles and the team sowed Greenheaven in September 2022 as part of a post season renovation: “Germination and development were very good after overseeding, and we found Greenheaven to be a finer more attractive cultivar than other versions,” he said.

“The tall fescue has been extremely hard wearing under a high level of wear from all the matches. It has a dense root structure and has great stability in the turf.”

Greenheaven also features excellent drought tolerance, something which Miles believes is essential. “When making a decision on species/cultivars, drought tolerance is of high importance. The irrigation is used to provide the correct firmness and traction for the ponies and players, so irrigation is for playability more than plant health. Irrigation is time consuming so the sward will have periods of no irrigation therefore the pitch needs to have excellent drought tolerance. In the hot/dry summers of 2018 and 2021 it was the only thing that was thriving. Water security and responsible water usage will be a factor for the future, so affects the decision-making process.”

Commenting on the use of Greenheaven at Black Bears Polo Club, ICL’s Martyn Parrish, said: “It’s been very much a collaborative effort learning from each other along the way, listening to Miles’ unique needs and requirements to produce a top polo pitch and providing the correct product advice and solutions to meet those needs.”

Please contact ICL on 01473 237100 or visit www.icl-growing solutions.uk or www.icl-growingsolutions.ie if you are in Ireland.

For more news and insightful views, you can follow ICL on Twitter @ICL_Turf

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Tributes Paid To Bob Black

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Tributes Paid To Bob Black: Tributes have been paid to a community stalwart who supported football clubs in his area for more than 40 years.

Bob Black, of Evenwood, was a passionate fan of Evenwood Town Football Club and became well known for helping out with everything from fixing stands to painting on the white lines.

Mr Black, a factory worker, was established as the voluntary groundsman and never missed a game or training session if he could help it.

When the club disbanded in the early noughties, he offered his skills to Spennymoor Town Football Club before settling at Bishop Auckland Football Club at their Heritage Park site where his grandson Harry plays for the St Mary’s team.

Mr Black met his wife Anne in 1972 and the couple were married in 1974.

They had two children, Michael and Andrea as well as five grandchildren and a happy marriage which often involved trips to the football.

Mr Black retired in August 2016 before being told he had lung cancer in February 2017.

He underwent an operation to remove the cancer and was back to his positive self before being told it had returned about six weeks ago.

“The worst part of him being ill was not being able to go to the football – he was in hospital with a chest infection but was always planning on coming back out,” Mrs Black said.

“He was always so positive and did not give in to it.”

Mrs Black added: “He was easy going and nothing was a trouble. He would help anybody and would not see anybody troubling anyone.”

The couple celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary in hospital this year before Mr Black’s death.

However, the family say they have been overwhelmed by the support and good wishes from not just family and friends but football supporters from all over the country who encountered Mr Black at games.

Mr Black was previously named Supporter of the Year at the club.

Mrs Black said: “We are just amazed at the amount of support we have had from everyone.

“We have had messages from those in North Shields, Spennymoor and Darlington and lots of away teams have messaged us on Facebook saying what a lovely man he was.

“We also had cards and flowers from the St Mary’s team.”

A statement on the Bishop Auckland Football Club’s Facebook page also paid tribute to their “programme seller, groundsman, steward, odd job man and very good friend to all of us”.

A spokesman said: “I have personally known Bob for over 40 years from my Evenwood Town FC playing days where he did everything up there and I enjoyed many an hour with him at football games, at St Marys Juniors – for which his grandson plays – and he liked nothing more than chatting about the ex players, showing me photos, sitting with the players after a match and me sneaking a chocolate roll out to him after half time refreshments.”

The club added: “Rest in peace Bob you were, are and always will be a top top man and gentleman to all.”

Mr Black, who was also a keen gardener and stamp collector, died on Saturday, April 20, aged 67.

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