Party Time in Pannal

Before I get on to the party. Let me just say sorry I have not seen the comments to my blogs as I lost my gmail account. Don't ask me why computers very often do this to me. They do not like me. Can't say I am in love with them either but back it has come and I apologise to all who have commented. I have read you now and thank you.
Ross and Linda from Brookside Nurseries held a retirement party as they have sold their business but will be around for awhile to complete the handover. I sincerely hope new owners keep it as a garden centre as we need it. Party was great. Many many people came and there was wine and eats. I knew so many people there it was like having my own party. Some villagers I see on an almost daily basis and others once in a blue moon so it was lovely to catch up and find out all the village gossip, Unfortunately some news was about burglaries in Pannal and Burn Bridge. Also did you see The Antique Centre (used to be the other nursery) on BBC2 Celebrity antique thing. They did show a lot of it and lo and behold it was burgled and £10,000 of antique jewellery was stolen. I did say to Bas at the time of the showing that I hoped thieves were not watching as it was  a bit isolated. Honestly burglary nothing to do with me.
We have now been signed off from doctors re Bas leg and that, I hope, will be the last time he does a man thing and pulls out a little table to stand on instead of getting the steps.
We have two cats. First one Marble belonged to Sarah the Osteopath at Pannal surgery as she was moving into a flat and the landlord would not let her have a pet. So as I knew Marble having featured her in my column when she was lost Sarah asked me to have her. I said it is Bas birthday at the weekend. Put her in a box and say Happy Birthday Bas which she duly did. So one cat arrived. I featured her in my column (she got quite a following) and one young man saw the article and rang me up to say he had just come out of hospital, his girlfriend had left him and he could not look after the kitten they had bought together (girlfriend moved out but left the kitten) could I please have it. I said (this was three month after Marble) put her in a box give her to Bas and say Happy Anniversary. Story of how we acquired Marble and Tigs (names they had when they came to live here) 

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).

Pannal in turmoil

Pannal is having Church Lane and Main Street surfaced. Vans and lorries everywhere not to mention traffic lights, and men (traffic ambassadors they are now called) with stop and go signs. It is not before time that this work was done as there were potholes everywhere. Rosedale was done a bit ie holes filled in but one big hole was left why?  There was a few days of perfect peace Pannal was not being used as a rat run. THEY could not get into the village. Now it seems to be business as normal plus workmen and lorries.
The latest "incident" is the "farmer" who has taken over behind the church has decided after 50 years that our wonderful wild flower meadows should be ploughed up and corn planted. The public footpath has had weed killer put on it so there is no longer any grass. Weed killer was put on the grass to kill it before ploughing without any signs going up to say spraying was in progress. One local lady took her dog on its usual walk to find it had collapsed and had to be taken to the vet who diagnosed breathing difficulties due to toxic materials. One local was also told that the spraying was not toxic. All the wild flowers died in a matter of hours. How is that explained? A right of way that we have used for 50 years and one that I am trying to be made official has been ploughed up in part. Villagers who have written to Harrogate Borough Council complaining had received very curt letters in return. What can be done? I am hoping North Yorkshire County Council will be more reasonable than HBC but who can we report the wilful destruction of the wild flower meadows to? Pannal Village Society which exists to protect the village will soon have nothing to do as there will be nothing left to protect. I really like Pannal and have enjoyed living here all these years but gradually things are getting sadder and sadder. When all the houses are built at Dunlopillo how will the school cope? Will it have to be enlarged again? Will more money be thrown at it by the developers? More green fields will be swallowed up. A roundabout will be built on the A61 and a road will be built through green belt land to the houses and offices (cannot call it a business park) thus helping the number of cars that use Pannal as a rat run. Sad days ahead. Buildings all the way from Buttersyke Bar to Harrogate. Pannal as a village wiped out as along the A61 there will be continuous ribbon development.

Pannal news and events

First of all thank you Mrs Brown? of Harlow Hill for the great big bundle of stamps. Yes, I am still collecting them for my friend.  Over the summer I have had a number of people knocking on my door to ask if I know about their relatives who used to live in Pannal. Fortunately I have been able to help them all. This is what happens when you have lived in a place nearly all your life and are nosey. I think that goes with the territory of being a journalist. I have always been a "nice" one by that I mean when I interview people I do not write anything that would upset them. One lady who purchased one of my books because the relative she had come to see my about was featured in it emailed me to say she had the surprise of her live when looked through the book she found a photo of the Johnson Family Band who were also related to her and did I have anymore photographs. I did and sent them to her. When I write this blog I do not know who reads it and I would love to have comments from you. Go on please reply to me and tell me anything otherwise I sit here typing away not knowing if I am writing rubbish or is it enjoyed. Second thought some of it is rubbish. I am doing three talks this month on Pannal and its people and places. 2nd Starbeck Methodist Church, 16th Woodlands Methodist Church and 21st Gracious Street Methodist Church 7.30pm, 8pm and I think 7.30pm waiting for this one to confirm time. I am still meeting people that say "Oh I do miss your column". Which is lovely. I miss it in a way but I do have so much extra time now and I will write this blog. Sadly a number of my readers do not have a computer.  My vertigo is still rubbish so I am off to try Epley (think spelt correctly) treatment as prescribed by my doctor. If anyone has heard of this or had it let me know please as this is unknown territory. The big news of the week is of course Dunlopillo who have received outline planning for 120 houses. I would have liked a Business Park there as if we want a tin of paint etc  the car has to come out. One good thing is the horrible Dunlopillo building will come down. I remember the railway cottages that were where the car park is now. The Art Deco building (where Bintex started) the façade is being kept. I am very lucky to have amongst my many, many papers photographs and brochures of both Bintex and Dunlop Latex Foam. In a few years time Pannal will have changed can we cope? When one looks around the surrounding villages they still are villages with very little new buildings whereas Pannal!!!!! It is such a pity that the Councillors do not like Pannal and also such a shame that our local Councillors Matt Hill and Sharon Bentley did not attend the planning meeting. One of the most important in Pannal's history.

What is happening

What is happening in Pannal re the Dunlopillo site. A plan has been put forward for 120 houses and office accommodation. My bet is that the plan will go through as from experience gained since 1968 with Harrogate Borough Council numerous Councillors both local and North Yorkshire. Pannal is a dirty word and the feeling the more housing there the better. Also I have heard that the Ward Bros always get what they want. Now what do they want? They would like the whole site to be housing and I would hazard a guess and say that is what will come about. the small Business Park they envisage will fail because the rent/price will be too high. HBC will be told that there is no call for business/offices there and a plan will go in (in a few years) for more housing. The road that is being investigated at the present time is the A59 - A1 and who do you think has land there just right for a Business Park - yes the Ward Bros. So Dunlopillo will be all housing and the other piece of land will be a Business Park. Neat eh?  Pannal as we know it will be no more. Now away from that sad subject to the exploits of our son Michael. We are tremendously proud of him as he has run the toughest race in the world for charity. It is the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc. 168 kilometres Running up and down, in all, It is a mountain race with 12 mountains to run up most of them 2,500 metres. He started at 3.30pm on Friday and the finishing time was 2.30pm on the Sunday. Super Michael finished at 10am. I needless to say went to bed on Friday night at 2am and up at 6am and Saturday 3am and up at 6am, We could follow his progress on the computer.  It was very exciting and worrying too. Helen his wife was travelling by bus from France to Switzerland and Italy. He said the crowds were fantastic and there were little kids on the route during the night shouting them on. The crowd had programmes and the runners nearly 3.000 of them had their numbers on their vests and names in the programme so there were shouts of come on Michael from the English and the same in Italian, Swiss and French. He was very, very tired and suffered from a bit of altitude sickness but he made it. Mad fool that he is.

Pannal Blogger is back

I have changed my computer from an Apple Mac to Windows and it has been such a problem. Taken months to set up and now hopefully all is well. Been to Scotland and up and down to visit the children. Now enjoying this great weather and back to golf. I HAVE SUFFERED FROM VERTIGO FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS BUT HAD THE WORST ATTACK I HAVE EVER HAD. (Not meant to be in capitals but it does fit in with my mood). Still not right but hopefully getting there. Played golf on Tuesday for the first time for awhile and enjoyed it. Also concerned with what is happening in Pannal. A big decision re the Dunlopillo site and the Ward Bros plan to build houses there. I would have liked to have had a Hornbeam style business park there but I do fear the Ward Bros will get their way and it will be a lot of housing with small units for sales etc. I despair of HBC. A member of the PVS said that at this rate there will be nothing left in Pannal to protect and I am inclined to agree with him. I am trying to have the Art Deco building (old Bintex factory) listed as it was used for radar testing during the 1939-45 War. Have sent off photographs and all details so will just have to wait and see as it is in the hands of English Heritage now.  Don't know how the village is divided some will want a Business Park whilst others housing and a number simply do not care as they are newcomers and not all that bothered about history. There is an online petition by Mr and Mrs Boden who are objecting to the housing and also the road from the A61 through green belt. Shall continue later hopefully in a much lighter vein.