The Inspector looking at the Local Plan has said that the land behind St Robert's Church - Crimple Valley should not be built upon nor should houses be built on Spring Lane Farm land. I put the ? because I have known HBC to go their own way "for the benefit of all Harrogate " At the moment it is good news but having so many years attending planning meetings I am cautious.
I am still doing talks for various organisations but I only do them end of October until end of March. So finished now but in talking about Pannal so many occasions come up so here are a few. In the early 1960s when we all had larch trees at the end of our front gardens (later compulsory felled for the road to be widened and a pavement built) We had bats nesting in them and that was lovely seeing them flying around in the early evenings.We had a bee swarm. Thousands of them all over our windows. Gentleman came and found the queen bee and the bees all followed her and we could once more come out of our houses. Then laying a lawn and planted up our front gardens we had a herd of cows trample through them having decided not to be driven down the road by the farmer. That was fun filling in the holes their hooves left! The hunt used to come through the village and on one occasion a fox ran into the front garden as I was in the drive and the huntsman went to send the dogs in. I stood my ground and said it was private property and the leader of the hunt raised his whip to me he was furious. Then the fox jumped into my arms, then jumped down and ran up the drive and in to the back garden. When I went into the back garden he was sitting on the wall panting but to me it looked like he was laughing . Strange happening. Then we had a violent storm which came out of nowhere. I had hung out my washing and Susan was about two and was with me. The sky darkened the wind gusted it got so dark one could hardly see. I, thank God, managed to grab Susan and we went inside. My neighbours phoned as they were getting on in years and were frightened. The storm passed as quickly as it arrived and when I went out a sheet I had hung on the line was ripped in two. Pannal had survived with no trees blown down but Rudding Park suffered the loss of lots of trees. In those days Rudding Park was open to the public and it cost one shilling to enter same as Newby Hall. One concidence was when I had Susan, our first, in the bed opposite me was the wife Mrs Radcliffe of the owner of Rudding Park and when I had our fourth Richard in the bed opposite me was the stepdaughter of the owner of Newby Hall. Pannal really was a village in those far off days. No Rosedale,Walton Park, Crimple Meadows, Pannal Green, Woodcock Close. School had just moved from Woodcock Hill to the fields behind Main Street. So going back where I started this blog the Inspector realised that we really would be overcrowded with housing.
On now to what I did a couple of weeks ago. I was in the garage putting my golf battery on charge, had the plug in my hand when someone came up the drive and asked if I knew where someone lived I told him, turned round and took a plug out and put one in. Five days later I found I had removed the plug from the freezer and everything inside was swimming. Including a 19 pound (weight) turkey I had in the freezer (not going into the story why it was there and not used at Christmas - don't ask) So I rang Alan Shutt and said you have dogs would they eat this turkey. He said turkeys are poisonous to dogs. I looked it up on google yes he was right so I took the wrappings off lugged it down to the bottom of the garden, it started to rain so I thought I shall try and cut it up in the morning. When I opened the curtains in the morning it had gone.(Theme tune to Jaws here). No bones there nothing. Cats too little to move or eat it. We do have a large dog fox in the Quarry could it have been him? How? Cannot get into neighbours gardens fenced off and there is a wall at the end of my garden and then Pannal Stream. Mystery has not been solved.
