WELCOME TO pitchcare
You can’t always get what you want ...
I am writing this foreword the morning after the general election, having woken up to a hung parliament; perhaps not the result I was expecting. Conservative campaign headquarters (and indeed those of the SNP) will, no doubt, be reviewing what went wrong, whilst Labour’s team will be delighted with their efforts. Tim Farron will be pleased with his handful of new MPs, but UKIP appear to be a spent force.
Quite where all this leaves us I am not sure but, at the time of writing, Theresa May is calling for a period of stability; something she already had when she called the election. We have witnessed what many observers thought unlikely; a surge in the popularity of the Labour party, to the point where the Tory’s now have a legitimate and buoyant opposition. As the song goes ... you just might find, you get what you need!
Brexit is very much ‘brave new world’ stuff and it will put the UK back in charge of decision making and our hard earned money. I’m not anti-Europe, I love going on holiday there, but I don’t want to play by other countries’ rules and see our wholesale wealth underwriting the rest of Europe.
As a national and a business owner, leaving Europe should provide us with long term hope for our future, with the chance to open our wings and chase more global business than ever before. No doubt, it will be a testing shorter term for all of us, but I am convinced that becoming properly independent is better than staying part of a bureaucratic and stagnating institution.
Our website has undergone surgery again. I’ve forgotten how many times it has needed a facelift since it was
launched in 2001. The new design brings a nice fresh feel and, whilst navigation hasn’t changed too much, there were one or two whingers, albeit from the older generation amongst us. We resist change, but this was more necessary than our other transitions to make the site fully compatible with mobiles and tablets. Technology doesn’t wait for us, so we have to embrace it and do our best to keep pace. If it’s any consolation, since I turned fifty, it’s getting harder for me to keep up as well!
Like many areas of our business, the editorial team has recently taken on an apprentice. He’s a bright young lad who shows great promise, as long as he is prepared to embrace the opportunities.
The apprenticeship scheme has proven very successful for us as a company - and for the youngsters involved - and we currently have twelve who we have progressed to full-time employment, with others still in training.
One thing is certain, regardless of backfiring politicians, terrorist atrocities, storm or tempest, the grass will continue to grow and require our technical expertise.
Cheers Dave Saltman
Say that again!
“You have spent time, effort and money getting that sand down, so why fill the grass box up with it the following morning, unless you really have to!” Nigel Church, Cutting Edge Training
“Appropriation of blame for a given situation is transferred externally; it’s the legislators, it’s the chemical companies, it’s the chafer grubs, it’s the crows and badgers who are to blame and there is nothing else which can be done”
James Grundy, Maxwell Amenity
“Only a few months earlier I had been welding and erecting steel structures and now I was helping out at one of Colchester’s major sporting events” Jez Sadler, Colchester & East Essex CC
“I was a professional musical theatre performer for thirteen years prior to greenkeeping, but had played golf on and off during that time, and had worked in the West End for five years” Craig Cameron, Golf Club St. Leon-Rot
“The industry must realise that there are large swathes of volunteers at grassroots level and their hard work goes generally unrecognised” Rob Bradshaw, Peterborough United
“A green tells you if it’s suffering. You must get out there and look, but also use the data as a call to action”
Colin Robinson, King’s Lynn Golf Club
“I was approached by a member who complained ‘we want you to improve the greens, not make holes and build sandcastles’” Thomas Flavelle, Cosby Golf Club
PC JUNE/JULY 2017 I 1
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