Disaster

I have a Nikon D60 SLR camera that I use to take the photographs for this blog. Yesterday  I dropped it on the concrete hard standing by the scorebox and broke my 18-55 mm lens -expensive drop -looks like a new one will cost serious money. So until I get a replacement all the photos will be taken with the

55-200mm lens -the one with greater magnification or maybe I can get my old Olympus camera out.

Wednesday saw a Leeds Met game scheduled versus Newcastle Uni. So on a bright sunny morning I made the final preparations taking the sheets off, brush square -quite a dew- cut, make the last cut roll of the pitch, mark out the 30yard circle and boundry. Players and umpires arrive for a prompt 12-30 start, all going well until clouds start to gather -a common sight this spring- and by the time I popped off home for an hour at about 1-30 there was a dampness in the atmosphere. After about 3/4 hour I get a call to say they are off for rain, back to club to sort things out.

 After about an hour and three quarters we amazingly got back on to play.

 The pitch was reasonably dry except a couple of areas where the sheets had leaked -I have to use this pitch for the second team on Saturday.

 Another wicket falls as the clouds come rolling in.

 Then it arrives and ends play for the day and as the second innings only lasted only about 6 overs the game has to start again on Friday at Newcastle #thankgoodnessnotatKirkstall.

After I tidied up outside and did some clearing away and washing up in the kitchen it was off home at 7-45 so apart from an hour or so at lunch it was a 12 hour day. Lets hope the rain clears away overnight -but the forecast says not, Boo!

Hodgy

Four Games

Friday night saw a junior game under 11's, Saturday the 1st team played Otley, Sunday we hosted Leeds Met 1st team and Monday morning the under 9's played. Tuesday I have a a practise pitch to prepare and on Wednesday I have Leeds Met 1st again. Thursday is free and Friday we start all over again. While things are this busy I have found it hard to remember to take photographs in between sorting this that and the other out.

This is last Friday the 4th May I had a bit of a help, Joe Brown came down and did about 3/4 hour rolling for me, thank you Joe. On the left is the junior 21 yard pitch and Joe is rolling the first team pitch for Saturday.

Sheets off pitch rolled and marked out juniors arriving, time for me to get off home I had two long physical days Thursday and Friday and was in bed before 10-00 both nights. Saturday I have no photos fro but the first team played against Otley who had a win and a winning draw prior to the game. They batted first on a damp pitch and surprisingly asked for the heavy roller prior to the start -I though it would bring more moisture to the surface but its their call. They scored around par I thought of 220 in the 50 overs and we knocked them off for I think 7 with maybe and over to spare a good game of cricket on a very cold day. The forecast had been for  wall to wall sunshine but it was cloudy most of the day and as I said very cold.

These are the only pictures I have of Saturday.

Sunday I set up for Leeds Met then had to go home -as Anne and I were going to see a band at the

"City Varieties" in Leeds.

 Leeds Met -on a pitch that had dried significantly on Saturday and over night- batted first and scored 275 all out in the last of 50 overs against Northumbria Uni and then went on to bowl them out for 200.

#mustremembertotakesomephotos.

Hodgy

Some Progress

Wednesday I spent in hospital from 8-30am till 3-00pm but by 4-00 pm I was back at the ground as the sun had been out. I cut the square with the Mastiff -the first time in three weeks- I got two pitches cut and raked out and some rolling done. I spent about four and a half hours there.

Just back tracking my friend Jonathon from A J Lawn Care rang me prior to my hospital visit to tell me that there was a Lloyd's Paladin in the York Machinery sale that day. So I gave him a budget of £250-00 to buy it and he did -I got it for £200-000. Thank you Jon you did well at you first attempt at bidding -must have been the shades you had on.

The ground when I went home Wednesday night.

Feeling a little sorry for myself after my hospital visit I had a lie in on Thursday morning, not getting up till

8-30 am . My first job was to cut the outfield at Rawdon C C it was long as I had been unable to get there last week because of the weather. The job from leaving Kirkstall to getting back took over three hours.

Getting the gang mowers fit to my little Kubota at Rawdon.

Rawdon C C covers on.

 Pool C C

Pool C C

I then had to get off to Pool Cricket Club to cut and power brush out a couple of pitches.

On returning to Kirkstall I raked out, cut and rolled two pitches as above and cut, rolled and marked out a practise pitch for a few of the guys to use in the evening.

It was that long since anything had happened on the ground playing wise that Jos got giddy and put his whites on to net in.

I think he's keen.

I  borrowed a ball and chucked a few grenade's down -think I also got a little giddy.

I went off home -even after a late start- I had put in eleven hours of physical work, no wonder I was in bed for 9-30pm

  

Unsuitable Conditions

My first task of the day was to pick up the Paladin parts from Rod and take them off to the mower repair shop Horbury Lawn Mowers. The weather forecast I had seen had given white cloud all day so I was thinking I would have a chance of further progress but on my way to Driglington it stared to rain it was only a shower and by the time I got to Horbury it was fair.

My old Auto-Certes got me out of a hole today.

I got back to Kirkstall at about 11-45 and got my old Auto-Certes out I had to fiddle around with it and go off to get a new spark plug -it had not been used since the end of 2009 season (fortunate I hadn't scraped it). I got it going just in time for the rain to start. being desperate to make some thing happen I got on and cut the practise pitch followed by the pitch which was for tomorrows Leeds Met game the rain had been light and stopped after 15 min's or so.

Pitch to be used for Leeds Met.

Pitch for Saturday that I also cut, by this time it was raining again and never stopped for the rest of the afternoon getting quite heavy.

Anxiety is setting in and I felt the need to make things happen although all my experience tells me I should get off the square and come back when conditions are more favourable. We are in May now and have played only one game and had one training session, I could feel the pressure building up in side of me. The dark lines you can see are from the rotary mower I used yesterday.

By the time this photo was taken it was too wet to roll.

To try and give myself further options I cut number ten pitch out at the other side of the square thinking it may be a little drier.

Is this panic setting in?

While I was working away one of the lads Joe Brown came down a did a good deal of mowing the periphery and some strimming -the whole place looks a lot better when these jobs are done.

Well done Joe.

Here you see number ten pitch in the foreground and numbers two and four in the background.

By this time Joe had got so wet he went off home I made a few calls and cancelled tomorrows game and training for the night.

When will it stop raining?

Look back as I leave to get home and dry out.

Tomorrow I have to go to hospital for some tests and could be there from six to eight hours, I think I would prefer to be working in the rain.

Hodgy

Delivery and Disaster

Monday the sun came out so after the field had dried out I got down to some work, that was after I had completed some other jobs I had to do first.  On my return home from visiting one of my customers I had received a delivery of germination sheets that had been on order since January this year -I thought the supplier had forgotten about the order. So I had to load them on the pickup and take them down to my container for storage.

Down at the yard ready for unloading.

This is medium duty germination sheet and comes in rolls 4 metres by 100 metres, so each roll can be cut into four pieces which at 4m x 25m will cover more than a pitch.

These sheets are used when repairing pitches in the season to help to retain moisture and heat they also keep the pigeons from pecking the seed.

Any one wanting to purchase a roll or just a pitch length they are available at

£98-00 per 4m x 25m cut length

or

£350-00 per roll 4m x 100m

Sheets safe in the container.

Extra ordinary times call for extra ordinary methods.

I had not been able to get on the square for two weeks with the Mastiff to cut it and although the sun was out, it was still very wet so I set the rotary as low as it would go and cut the square it took ages but at least the top is off and when I can get on it will be a little easier. getting some grass off also helps to dry the square out as more air can move through the grass and the sun can get at the surface better.

It doesn't look pretty but needs must.

The idea was to cut the practise pitch next so out came the Paladin and away we go. I cut one strip and I thought the machine was not cutting right so I started to adjust the cut and it was getting worse, so I had a look around the machine to see what I could spot.

Below all is revealed.

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Disaster!

Fortunately my old mate Rod Heyhoe had just purchased a second hand Paladin and he got the body of and old one to use as spares with it. So I was able to do a deal with him.

What a stroke of good luck that was.

Two Weeks Since Any Action

Today Sunday the 29th of April is two full weeks since we played our first game at Kirkstall C Cit was a preseason friendly against Leeds Met University and that's it. One training session has been possible but that was only on the outfield the grass pitches have been unfit.

I have sheeted and the water ran under despite our sheet covering 4 pitches, so I take them off just as they are drying out a little we put them back on -thinking that is the right thing to do- then we get disease and draw moisture up and rain runs under again, so I take them off and start the process all over again.

Our League sent out an Email on Friday with a very strong suggestion -in red type face- that all the matches would be called off and rearranged for the end of the season but then failed to implement the plan.

We called the game off at Kirkstall as preparation had been not been possible, however to add to the problem the opposition insisted on travelling -which they are fully entitled to do according to the rules- this caused problems and upset.

Tomorrow Monday it will be two weeks and a day since the square was cut it has never been as long Summer or Winter since I have been groundsman here.

When the Sun Shines the World is a Happier Place.

Hodgy

April 2012

Cricket

 This is a game called Cricket some times played in the summertime in England.