Tag Archive for: years

Cousins’ 70 Years Of Service

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Cousins’ 70 Years Of Service: Two cousins have celebrated 70 years of service to the same golf club.

Bobby Hay retired earlier this month after 45 years with Gullane Golf Club, while cousin Paul Hay toasted 25 years of long service.

Bobby, who was irrigation and drainage technician, and Paul, who is head greenkeeper at Gullane No. 1, were invited to a special presentation at the main clubhouse of the club, which is closing in on its 140th anniversary.

Bobby, 65, was presented with a camera and voucher, while Paul received a green jacket and voucher for The Bonnie Badger restaurant in Gullane.

Bobby thanked the golf club committee for their gifts and revealed what made the job so enjoyable.

He said: “It was the people I worked with and being outside.

“Previous to that, I worked in a bakehouse for five years. I was breathing in flour dust and at Gullane I did not have to work Friday nights!”

The Gullane resident, who recalls course visits by stars such as Sir Sean Connery, Harold Sakata – who played Oddjob in Goldfinger – and Sir Bruce Forsyth, has plenty of hobbies to enjoy in his retirement.

He said: “I don’t know yet [what I’m going to do with my spare time]. I am that busy with that many things I want to do.

“I look over the course and it is a funny feeling knowing I am not there now after 40-odd years.

“I do archery, wood carving, wood turning, photography and I look after the archery range at Archerfield.”

Gullane Golf Club has attracted plenty of international golfing stars in recent years – holding the Scottish Open twice in the last four years, with Brandon Stone winning last year and Rickie Fowler lifting the top prize in 2015, as well as the Ladies Scottish Open last year, with Ariya Jutanugarn crowned champion.

Bobby described the club as “the most superior course in the Central Belt of Scotland”.

Meanwhile Paul, 42, explained why, despite not considering himself a golfer, he loved his job.

He said: “One, it is local, and two, every day is different.

“There have never been two days that are the same. We have got a good team and it has been good to work for Gullane Golf Club so far. It does not feel like 25 years for sure!”

Paul, who lives in the village, said changes in machinery, staffing levels and the number of visitors to the golf club meant the job had changed since he started.

He added: “We’ve got to make sure the course is looking tip-top.

“There is an added pressure – if the course is not looking at its best, it is going to be picked up on.

“You definitely have to make sure everything is looking its best at all times and present it every day as if it is [for] a competition.”

Ward councillor Jeremy Findlay, who lives in the village, works as a tour operations manager for a golf tour company and is a member of the golf club, congratulated the duo on the achievement.

He said: “The golfing fraternity and golf club members really appreciate all the effort and time that they have put in over the years and I’m sure the many thousands of visitors to the club also appreciate their great work.”

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24 Years And Counting At BTME!

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24 Years And Counting At BTME!: It started back in 1995 when Highspeed showcased their new products at BTME in Harrogate.

The company planned entering the turf maintenance sector, so BTME seemed the logical solution. Results from that first attendance 24 years ago exceeded expectations, generating excellent business.

24 Years And Counting At BTME!

Every year the company exhibited at BTME and on each occasion new customers were found. Over the years at BTME, many products and services, legislative driven, were introduced. Initially, waste management services were established with hundreds of golf clubs and others in turf management. Fuel and oil tanks were in great demand when new legislation was introduced and a range of tanks were exhibited. Workwear and PPE followed but the biggest launch was that of the ClearWater washpad water recycling system in January 2003.

Highspeed’s directors decided a few years ago to consider retirement and sell the business. They felt it necessary to find the right company, preferably operating in the waste management sector, to develop the work and build on achievements. ClearWater was seen to have great potential. In Spring 2017, Acumen Waste Services Ltd acquired the company declaring a commitment to the development of well-established ClearWater. To exemplify this, a separate ClearWater Division, led by General Manager Matthew Mears, was set up.

Strong promotion by Acumen of ClearWater is underway ensuring ClearWater’s growth and success. Showcasing ClearWater is important at BTME and the Prize Draw (a free ClearWater system) will run again along with attractive finance options!

There’s an expanded presence of waste management services too; Acumen’s speciality!

Visit Acumen ClearWater at BTME 2019, Stand 206 Red Zone

Tel: 01977 529580   Web: www.clearwatertv.co.uk or www.acumenwaste.co.uk

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10 Years Of Wildflowers For Hampshire Manor

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10 Years Of Wildflowers For Hampshire Manor: A Hampshire wildflower meadow, grown and supplied by Wildflower Turf Ltd in 2008, has recently reached the ripe old age of ten.

A decade after it was installed at Grade II listed Ashley Manor in the Test Valley, the wildflower meadow continues to thrive and provide a safe haven for an abundance of wildlife. Improving long term biodiversity and ensuring a species rich habitat is now an important goal for landscape designers, and Ashley Manor is testament that a well-maintained wildflower meadow offers great longevity and can be relied upon to provide colour and interest year after year.

10 Years Of Wildflowers For Hampshire Manor

At the commencement of the original landscaping endeavour in September 2008, Wildflower Turf, a soil-less, pre-grown wildflower mat, was installed across two tiers of the steep south and west facing banks to the rear of Ashley Manor.

In total, 655m² of Wildflower Turf was laid and, despite the challenging profile of the banks and only a thin layer of top soil to work with, the installation of the turf was achieved without the use of pegging. A late-summer installation also meant that the turf did not require any additional watering.

The turf rooted in quickly and established itself well over the winter months, flowering beautifully in the spring and summer of 2009. The perennial Red Campion variety did particularly well on the lower slopes and the turf also acted very successfully as a weed suppressing mat.

The wildflower meadow at Ashley Manor also formed a home for a number of mammals and invertebrates, with voles and slow worms quickly taking up residence.

As well as the obvious aesthetic and wildlife benefits, ten years of meadow management has also given Ashley Manor’s Head Gardener, Olly Samways, ample opportunity to trial and perfect his meadow cutting regime.

Initially, a two-cut approach was used, with the first cut usually undertaken in late June. This regime greatly assisted with the initial establishment of the late season varieties in the turf, as well as allowing for the removal of old growth that would have otherwise started to compost and raise nutrient levels by the autumn.  In recent years Olly has swapped to a single-cut regime, with the meadow beneficially requiring less maintenance as it has matured.

Managing Director of Wildflower Turf Ltd, James Hewetson-Brown, said, “We already knew from the 15-year-old Wildflower Turf meadow at our production site that, if properly established, wildflowers offer a long-term solution requiring little maintenance.  Olly’s positive feedback over all these years has expanded our knowledge and confidence in our products and we are grateful for his interest and passion.”

Ashley Manor Head Gardener, Olly Samways concurs, “Our experience with our Wildflower Turf over the last decade has been excellent and I have no reservations at all about waxing lyrical about it to anyone who asks about it.” Olly continued, “Whenever I give tours around the garden, the wildflower areas continue to draw the most interest, as they have done every year since the turf was installed.”

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Greenkeeper Celebrates 40 Years

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Greenkeeper Celebrates 40 Years: A special staff function took place at the Berry Bowling Club on Sunday, to celebrate Rodney (Rod) Armstrong’s 40 years of continuous employment as a greenkeeper at Bomaderry Bowling Club and in more recent years also covering Berry.

Rod started his apprenticeship at Bomaderry in 1978 under the highly respected greenkeeper Ron Sharpe who served the club from 1966 until he retired in 1989. During Rod’s 40 years he has seen and been involved in many changes implemented at Bomaderry. Changes of particular note include the construction of the elevated green which now carries Ron Sharpe’s name, the moving of the green on the Cambewarra Road side of the club to the northern side and more recently the maintenance of the Berry greens and liaison with Nowra Golf Club.

Celebrating 20 Years Of The Polaris RANGER

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Celebrating 20 Years Of The Polaris RANGER: As the curtain closes on the Polaris RANGER 20th birthday celebrations in 2018, two lucky winners celebrated the milestone in true style after winning the ‘Ultimate Ranger Experience’ competition, going on an unforgettable trip to Naxos in Greece, courtesy of Polaris.

Crowned winners of the competition that celebrated a double decade of the iconic side-by-side utility machine, UK-based Peter Goble and Elizabeth Toft, won the trip of a lifetime after submitting images showing how they use a Polaris Ranger as part of their work for the NHS North West Ambulance Service.

Celebrating 20 Years Of The Polaris RANGER

Hosted by Auto Moto Falcon, a rental company utilising Polaris machines in Naxos, the winners spent two days exploring off-road routes in a RANGER® XP 900 EPS, experiencing famous tourist spots, beautiful scenery and some of the island’s hidden treasures.

The competition asked owners across the world to send in a photo of their own personal RANGER® experience. Peter and Elizabeth won one of the EMEA experiences up for grabs with their photo submission of a RANGER® being used for emergency transport services. They both work for the NHS North West Ambulance Service and use the specially-modified RANGER® to access difficult terrains, such as moorland, where a standard ambulance wouldn’t be able to go.

Elizabeth said: “We were both really shocked when we heard that we had won the ‘Ultimate RANGER Experience’ competition, but equally delighted. We already thought the RANGER was a very capable and hardworking vehicle but experiencing this on the off-road trails in Naxos was completely different than what we’re used to!”

The pair flew out to Athens on 28th September, followed by a ferry transporting them to the island of Naxos. For the duration of their trip, Peter and Elizabeth stayed in the luxury modern Galaxy Hotel; a typically Greek hotel just a few steps away from Saint George beach. After some initial downtime in the hotel, Polaris arranged two sightseeing-packed days for the winners to enjoy their time in Naxos alongside the RANGER®.

On Saturday 29th September, the group departed for an off-road guided tour to the north of the island following a morning briefing with the RANGER®. They first travelled to the fishermen village of Apollonas for lunch, stopping on the way at the cliffs for a panoramic view of the island. The group then took dirt tracks across the island, passing famous local marble quarries, and finally reached Naxos town where they had time to shop, eat and see the local landmarks.

On Sunday 30th September, the group travelled to the southwest coast for the best beaches of the island, stopping at Agia Anna, a sandy beach with clear blue waters, and ending in Alyko to see the well-known Wild Drawings art on an abandoned hotel. The group then continued to reach the highest peak in the Cyclades at the top of Zeus mountain, to visit Naxos’ oldest monastery, Photodotis. They then went to Apiranthos Village to have lunch at the world-famous Rotonda Restaurant, surrounded by some of the most impressive views of Naxos.

“We were shown parts of the island that we wouldn’t have known existed, and the places we travelled to in the RANGER were beautiful. The tours of the island were truly unforgettable, and our guide was extremely accommodating and very knowledgeable about the RANGER. We didn’t quite appreciate just how popular the RANGER is abroad, so the experience has really opened our eyes to how versatile the Polaris vehicles are in a different environment. A massive thank you to Polaris for the opportunity, we will definitely be going back to visit the island again soon!”

Forming a key part of the Polaris product line as their best-selling utility vehicle, the RANGER® is used globally for a variety of tasks. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the iconic model, just a few months after the brand celebrated the one millionth RANGER® unit rolling off the production line.

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