Educational Establishments
GETTING Personal...
Bill Settle - far too many good habits to mention, but don’t make a decision on his behalf!
Who are you? Bill Settle, Grounds Manager at Wakefield Grammar School Foundation.
Family status? Married to Jan, with a son 26 and daughter 25.
Who’s your hero and why? Jan, for her massive support over the years.
What would you change about yourself? Lose a few pounds.
What’s your guilty pleasure? Cruising.
What’s been the highlight of your career so far? Being considered a good enough turf professional to be appointed to my current high profile position.
Which three people, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party? My deceased parents and mother in law - so they could meet my wife and each other.
If you could be anyone for a day, who would it be and why? I am quite happy being myself.
Do you have any bad habits? Perhaps I’m not the one to ask! ... or any good ones? Too many to mention!
Do you go to bed worrying about the next day’s workload? No. Que sera sera!
What are you reading at the moment? I’m only really a reader on holiday when it’s something light and amusing. What are your pet peeves? People who make decisions on my behalf. If you could go anywhere right now, where would it be? A world cruise.
What’s the best part of your job? Seeing everything ready and looking good.
Favourite record, and why? Sound track of the ‘Phantom of the Opera’ - just to relax to.
Who would you choose to spend a romantic evening with? My wife, who else?
If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? Ensure immediate family and close friends were provided for.
If you were to describe yourself as a musical instrument, what would you be and why? Bass drum - big and loud, but often left quietly in the background.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given? Nobody ever gives you owt for nowt. Make sure you always give ’em it back!
What’s your favourite smell? My wife, when we go out.
What do you do in your spare time? Gardening, DIY and relax with the family.
What’s the daftest work related question you have ever been asked? You won’t have anything to do during the school holidays, will you? What’s your favourite piece of kit? Amazone.
What three words would you use to describe yourself? Enthusiastic, intuitive, humorous. What talent would you like to have? Be able to play the piano.
82 I PC DECEMBER/JANUARY 2015
Large expanses of grass are cut with a heavy duty tractor towed roller finishing mower
along with any small in-house projects and machinery maintenance that we are able to undertake.” “As you might expect,
presentation ranks extremely highly. The grounds are a high profile advertisement of the commitment the school makes to the provision and promotion of sport and the benefits it promotes. The whole team also take personal pride in the appearance of the playing areas to participants and visitors alike.” As for renovations, Bill
explains that the cricket squares are “severely scarified and aerated” with tractor mounted machinery as soon as possible following the final matches, usually in August, before being overseeded and topdressed with GSB’s Kettering loam. “A lighter scarification and overseed/topdress will also be likely in early September.” The twelve winter pitches will be subject to an overseeding with a low temperature germination ryegrass seed in early and late March. “As soon as weather permits, following the final games before Easter, 300 tonnes of enriched sand topdressing will be applied across areas with the worst wear, and particularly on pitches overlapping onto the cricket outfields. All pitches will then be overseeded with a premium rye grass mixture, this task being outsourced to a contractor if time and weather constraints restrict our in-house ability to complete the work during the short turnaround period.” “We usually have enough budget to get in all the materials we need and possibly outside
assistance to achieve the work on schedule.” “Springtime renovations are
not affected as much as winter pitch preparations and marking as soccer schools and summer camps use many of the playing areas over the summer. We also have to work around lettings to local teams for Sunday football and evening cricket, plus professionally supervised training academies for football and rugby run by local pro clubs. Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, the local pro Rugby League team, also use our grounds as a winter training base.” “Regular soil analyses are
performed by Soil Harmony, from which a part biotic nutrition regime is produced and applied on a monthly basis during the growing season.” “On the artificial surfaces, we
do most of the in-house maintenance of the sand based pitch and all tennis courts in- house. This involves power washing hard areas, regular brushing and topdressing of the astro pitch, all moss and fungal treatments and marking out. Deep cleansing rejuvenation of the sand infill in the astro pitch is contracted out four times per year.”
“We also have a six-lane
Redgra athletics track which needs regular in-house brushing, rolling, topdressing and marking.” As for additional projects. Bill
explains that; “over the past summer, we installed a pipe drainage system to drain a problem area over and around a large buried overflow water tank. It’s effectiveness waits to be seen!” Bill goes on to outline that,
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