Pannal bits and pieces

Hopefully stopped our surgery visits re Bas leg. Nurse or Sister Smith doing the dressings. I say Sister as Jim (unfortunately long deceased) our lovely next door neighbour used to come to me if he cut himself or got thorns in his fingers through gardening and I heard him saying to someone that I was a nursing sister. I'm not Jim I am a journalist. Oh right he said and carried on introducing me as a nursing sister. I never got to be Matron. Have been golfing now surgery visits (twice a week) are over and it was so cold yesterday. The golf was rubbish but the walk was nice. Have just heard that Jenny Hird is having a hip operation today and we wish her well. Poor Jenny had a debilitating stroke last year and has been in pain and the hospital have just discovered that she has broken her hip. They are having more than their fair share of troubles. Still proceeding with right of way over the fields through Sandy Bank Quarry. Have served notice of my intentions to HBC who own the land but as they do not make rights of way, that is NYCC, I have filled in yellow, green, pink and white forms sent maps, photos of the lovely wild flower meadow that was destroyed etc. What fun. Probably take years to come to a conclusion as there are any number of farmers ploughing up footpaths etc and NYCC are inundated with angry people. Our local councillors have been quite helpful with the exception of Sharon Bentley who has been worse than useless as she has "retired" and is not standing at the next local elections. Do miss Fred Willis. I have heard that the next local conservative to stand for the Pannal ward lives in Knaresborough.  Surely not true!! 

Pannal and green fields

We still have the roadworks in Main Street. Hopefully this is the end as the highways department are now painting the white lines.  I an saddened by the farmer/person who has taken over the "management" of the farm lands between Church Lane (entrance through Sandy Bank Quarry) and Almsford Bank on the A61 Leeds Road. We have lived here nearly 50 years and during that time and for twenty years before the area was green fields with a profusion of buttercups and wild flowers. One walked through to the accompaniment of bird song. Alas no longer. No flowers, no grass and no birds. Green space is at a premium in Pannal. Since the 1960s there have been more and more houses built and this will continue using up every space we have. It is very difficult to try and protect Pannal as we have only two councillors and one of them is worse than useless. The other councillors on HBC do not like Pannal and try to put as much housing and industry here as they possibly can. This is a fact and has always been so. When I was Chairman of the Harrogate Civic Society and also Chairman of Friends of the Valley Gardens I attended all council meeting for a number of years and it was staggering the vitriol that Pannal attracted. One Director of Technical Services said to me if it is the last thing I do I shall make Pannal the same as Bilton. Fortunately he went years ago but his legacy lives on. I am making myself miserable as I cannot see any solution. On to family matters Basil "did a man thing" instead of going and getting steps/ladders he stood on a little table, it tipped and scrapped all down his shin. Result a big loss of blood, a severe infection, visits to the surgery twice a week. Still going on. This will I hope teach him to use steps/ladders. We would would we not ladies. Big family reunion this weekend which will be lovely as our children live in The Peak District, The Lake District, Bristol and Cheltenham so we do not see as much of them as we would like. We have relatives in Scotland and Wales and all their families live around them. No one has ever moved. All have houses near their parents. This was how it used to be as I grew up with grandma, grandpa and cousins all round me. Now of course children go to Universities away from home (I did not I just got the bus).