Friday was a lovely sunny day. We all met up in the car park of St Robert's Church and started our walk after a few introductions from Kevin who had arranged all the speakers and who is a really nice guy. He is a member of Harrogate Civic Society and they were hosting the event. I was taking a group of lovely people some from Pannal other further afield a walk round Old Pannal and it was fun and I have had some great feed back to say how much they enjoyed the walk. Very gratifying to our village. I love living in Pannal and I wanted to show everyone what I love about it. I have lived here so long and I know so many people. Unfortunately all the older people who were so helpful telling me about their time in Pannal and being very generous with sharing photos, reminiscences, and kindness. have all passed on. So I am so glad I took the time to seek them out and talk to them. Being a journalist helped and I could see that Pannal was changing. There was no Rosedale, Woodcock Close or Pannal Green and the School was at the top of Woodcock Hill/Spring Lane. This was in the 1960s and Crimple Meadows and Walton Park developments came in the 1970s. I think it is because I am a journalist, inquiring mind no plain nosey that I started taking notice of my surroundings. Then I thought I shall have to write this down and those notes became the basis of my first book A History of Pannal. Two others followed Postcards from Pannal and Pannal and Burn Bridge Their Stories. It took two years to write the massive Centenary History of Pannal Golf Club as I had to read through one year of men's minutes and one year of ladies minutes starting in 1906. It was well received and I won an award for it. Very chuffed I was as it is not a dry dusty old tome. I have a lot of humour in it and I really enjoyed writing it. I have written other books not on Pannal. Keeps me out of mischief.
I have asked North Yorkshire Council who now run Harrogate to make a Tree Preservation Order on the two Sycamore/great maple trees in front of that ghastly building on the footprint of the old demolished Dunlopillo head office. It will hide part of it from the residents who live opposite. It is a horrible building and enormous. Will it get any better we shall have to wait and see but I am not taking bets that we shall love it. Interestingly I have heard people who walk through the village when they reach Station Road from Main Street and it looms up say Good heavens what is that? Sometimes their exclamation is worse.
My daughter is recovering slowly from her attack by the cows and trampled on. She was very lucky not to have been more seriously injured.
Tigs one of my cats. Did you know Tigs is short for Tiger. I did not until someone said its from Winnie the Pooh. I did not name them Tigs and Marble as that was their names when I was press ganged into having them about sixteen years ago. Tigs is very loving Marble not so as she is descended from a feral can so the vet says. I have lovely vets and I said to the lady vet how kind she is with the cats and she said yes it is the afternoon. I am not a morning person. Not meaning she is unkind in mornings but she is better later on so she says. .
