LONDON: Eddie “the green whisperer” Seaward has two arch-enemies, vixens (female foxes) and pigeons.
For 23 years, he has lovingly nurtured the hallowed turf of Wimbledon as chief groundsman and after the Olympics, he is off to look after his own lawn.
Sitting on Centre Court, surveying his empire, gazing anxiously at the scudding clouds above, Seaward revels in the lush green scene laid out before him. Little wonder that Novak Djokovic ate a few tufts of the lovingly nurtured grass after winning the title last year.
It must rank as one of the most stressful behind-the-scenes jobs in sport, dealing with the vagaries of the British weather and the hammering by toe-dragging athletes.
Seaward has had to keep a wary eye on the animal kingdom, too, though.
“The foxes are not good for the grass. If the vixens get on the grass and urinate, the urine can kill the grass and the soil at the same time,” he said.
In the 1990s they dared to relieve themselves overnight just beneath the Royal Box on Centre Court.
Come the winter, the foxes take control.
“They come and sun-bathe on the roof and they seem to be thinking ‘What the hell are you doing here. This is mine.’ They love sun-bathing at weekends.”
Nowadays Seaward’s job is made much easier as guard dogs patrol the site during the tournament and electric fences have been laid around the show courts.
“They give them a slight shock and send them on their merry way,” said Seaward.
He is also given a helping hand by Rufus, a Harrier hawk brought in three times a week to fly over the courts and warn off the pigeons who used to be a great pest to players shaken out of their deep concentration by fluttering visitors overhead.
“If you roll pigeon droppings into the court, they release a certain amount of ammonia. A court can look as if it has got the measles,” Seaward said.
Hand-picked droppings
The director of the film “Wimbledon”, starring Kirsten Dunst, wanted pigeons in the movie but he soon changed his mind when asking how the groundsmen got rid of the droppings.
“We hand-pick them,” said Seaward. “That stopped him straight away.”
Asking Seaward about his favourite Wimbledon clashes is a waste of time.
“I have not watched a match right the way through since I came here,” he said.
Seaward is more than happy to wave goodbye to the high pressure demands on the man dubbed “the green whisperer” but he will certainly be awash with nostalgia when he waves goodbye to his beloved Centre Court.
“The magic has been the joy of working with grass.” he said. (Reuters)
