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EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS Getting Personal


Michael Main - he never thought he would end up as a groundsman


Who are you? Michael Main, Groundsman, Northumbria University in Newcastle.


Family status. With partner Susan, one daughter, Georgia.


Who’s your hero and why? My parents; they brought me up well.


What’s been the highlight of your grounds career so far? Having a first-class football pitch good enough for Northern League.


If your younger self saw you now, what would he think? That he never thought I would end up as a groundsman.


Which famous people wind you up? Celebrity wannabes.


What job would you love, other than your own? I would have loved to be an HGV driver, like my dad.


What was the most embarrassing moment in your life? When I was younger, I was cutting the grass with a pedestrian mower, trying to be cocky. I took the oil cap off to see how much was in and oil squirted all over of me.


What is your favourite film? One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Shawshank Redemption.


What scares you?


Cockroaches and heights. What would your


autobiography be called… and who would play you in the film? Out in all Weathers with Neil Morrissey.


What is your favourite sport? Football.


What would you cast into Room 101? Litter droppers/ louts.


Which historical time and place would you most like to visit? Dallas when JFK got shot.


84 PC April/May 2020


Do you have a lifetime ambition? To own a bigger house and kitchen.


Which three people, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party? Peter Kay and Ant & Dec.


What’s the best advice you have ever been given? Keep your head down and your backside up! (just do your best).


What’s your favourite smell? Petrol.


Which three albums would you take to a desert island? Status Quo, The Beautiful South and Madness.


What’s the daftest work- related question you have ever been asked? It’s not a question, but straight after renovating the main football pitch, I asked some students not to play on that area. “I have just spent hours renovating that pitch” to which one student replied: “Well you haven’t done a very good job!”


What’s your favourite piece of kit? Cutlass 6 feet mowing deck and Dennis Premier cylinder mower.


What three words would you use to describe yourself? Dedicated, friendly and baldy.


What talent would you like to have? To play the piano.


What law/legislation would you like to see introduced? Politics - oh so many!!


Undertaking renovations


twenty years old and at the end of its life.”


“To cut the grass pitches, I have a six-foot Cutlass tractor- mounted double-bladed rotary cutter. In summer, I like to cut the pitches once a week as low as possible to around 15mm - just to keep on top of it with me being by myself. In winter, I will lift the height of cut to around 20mm which, I know seems short, but it works for me. I do have a Toro Reelmaster 5010, which came from Bullocksteads, that I would like to make more use of, but


it’s not road legal. Therefore, I use this on the main pitch in summer, cutting at 30mm for the rugby; it provides a cleaner cut and a nice stripe. When required, I will mark out, as it can be very time consuming. If the lines are in and I can see them, I will just leave it until the time of the fixtures.” Along with machinery Michael already had on- site, he has also inherited a lot of equipment from the Bulluckstead sports grounds. All machinery is purchased outright and replaced


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