M & S open day weather the rain

M and S Open Day

By Graham Robson

Rain doesn't dampen Mark's Day

At the Hampshire Rose Bowl for a third innings, M & S Mowers of Hedge End held an Open Day for local authorities to see the full range of the machinery available from the companies M & S represent.

The Rose Bowl very obligingly let Mark Day's company use a levelled practice area near to the main building, and all the exhibitors were ready and waiting in plenty of time.

However . . . about then, other factors decided to join in, in rather a "good news - bad news" sort of way:

10.00: Good news - we're all ready to start and it's stopped raining

Bad news - the generator's not working so bang goes the tea

Good news - it's Kawasaki motor, same as on various machines on show . . .

Bad news - We can't fix it on site - Rose Bowl rushed a spare generator over.

11.00 Good news - the urn's working . . .

Bad news - the rain's started.

But nonetheless, as a result of Mark's well organised publicity, visitors duly came. Representatives from Southampton, Havant, Alton, Eastleigh, Basingstoke, Southampton University, Hedge End and several other Town Councils came and took time to study the comprehensive selection available. M and S aim to provide machinery to cover all groundscare needs from light strimming up to heavy duty grass-cutting, from chippers to diggers and from grass protection matting to full-size tractors.

But, sadly, the weather was against everyone there. All the preparation that had taken place and all the input from those exhibiting and the attentiveness of Mark and his sales team, Alan Jeffery and Simon Crook could not compete with the positive downpour that started at 1.30.

Mark's whole family had turned out to help, too. His wife Sue, always on hand at these events, was now assisted by son Matthew and daughter Kim. Sandwiches and coffee were kept on the go, despite the troublesome urn, and subsequently, as the rain looked set to stay, Sue and Mark played host in their gazebo to all the smokers!

There was a prize draw on the day. Sadly, despite the lure of a bottle of Scotch or a tin of biscuits, perhaps the first prize should have been an umbrella.