A Watsonia man has developed an unhealthy obsession with whether suburban sports grounds are “in good nick” or not. While going about his day-to-day life, Grant Fingleton keeps a keen eye on the condition of almost all sporting fields that he passes, either verbalising his observations, or filing them away for use in a future conversation.
In the absence of any official qualifications in curation or horticulture, Fingleton still feels capable of assessing the quality of local sports fields. He seems to base this on scratching out a mediocre local sporting career in his 20s, of which he occasionally refers to in an oddly affectionate way by telling anyone who’ll listen, “geez, we played on a few dung heaps in my day!”
Fingleton’s wife, Karen, thinks he should seek professional health for the obsession, telling The Watsonia Bugle that his constant assessment of sporting fields is starting to drive a wedge in their relationship. She said, “We literally can’t drive anywhere now without him passing judgement on some oval that we’re driving past. He regularly interrupts important conversations in the car to tell me and the kids what he thinks of the current state of A. K. Lines Reserve. I’m sick of it.”
The Watsonia Bugle 