Andrew (left) and Parks Officer, Andrew Mcintyre
before,” laughs Andrew, “I am not kidding you, there is litter piled a foot high across the entire park. Luckily, Solo still have tenancy for another week so they clear all of the litter - they do a fantastic job, I can’t fault them.” “But, even after eight years of being involved with the festival, it is still quite a shock to see the park ‘naked’. I have to say, it looks like a desert!” Before they can start on grounds
reparations, they have to carry out the post festival inspection. Once the last of the articulated stage trucks has left the site, a walk-round with Solo is taken to assess any damage, such as broken curbs, oil spills and damaged footways. Once that work is taken care of, the real damage limitation starts. “We put into action a programme of aeration to recover the ground. I prefer to use my smaller 18mm tines on the
QUALITY
DELIVERED AS STANDARD
MAJOR TDR Roller Mowers
Bowling Club at Ryde
Verti-Drain 7626, because the ground is so compacted. If I tried to go in with the 25mm tines I use before the festival, I would cause too much damage. Directly after aerating, I overseed the whole park.” “At the end of July, after the seed has had a chance to germinate and establish properly, we do our first mow. I always use a Spearhead flail mower for the first post-festival cut; the reason being is that there may still be debris like bolts, screws and glass lurking in the grass. Bolts and screws would destroy the contractor’s gang of cylinder mowers - flail mowers are a lot more rugged and can withstand debris. Once August arrives, we return to our normal maintenance schedule and prepare for the new football season that begins in September.” Andrew’s plan of action is obviously well rehearsed, as he has been in charge
of festival preparations since it restarted in 2002 and, luckily, they haven’t had one wet festival since that time. Not so for the ‘Bestival’ - another festival held on the island in September each year - which had an extremely wet event a couple of years back and ended up being a total mud bath.
“I have a young family here, and I can honestly say that I am happy,” he says. “It’s a different way of life on the island that I just don’t think I’d get on the mainland. I visit the Saltex show in Windsor each year to keep up to date with the latest techniques. Logistically, I don’t think it makes that much of a difference to cost - it’s not like I live on the Shetland Islands!” Andrew is someone who is clearly in love with the island he calls home.
MAJOR Roller Mowers 6ft to 18t cutting widths
MAJOR Roller Mowers Suitable for Aebi tractors
MAJOR Flail Collectors 1.5 & 2m cutting widths
Major Equipment Ltd, Major Ind. Estate, Middleton Rd, Heysham, Lancs, LA3 3JJ Tel: 01524 850501 61
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