Has summer gone in Pannal

Hasn't it been fantastic, the weather.  I have had a lovely summer. Gardening, golfing and walking been on holiday twice. Had family here been down with them.  Wonderful. But and there is a but. I have hurt my foot. Well it is not something I have done recently. No it was a few years ago at Christmas. All the family were here. We were playing a game. Standing waiting my turn someone who will be nameless James said why don't you sit down Mum. I did only to sit on a whoopee cushion I leapt up in the air and by all accounts it was a spectacular stagger across the room ending in a fall down. A and E where I found I had broken my foot. Caused some merriment there as they asked me what I had done when I told them I could hear all the staff saying she did what. Then various faces would appear round the curtain.Upshot is I have a bone sticking out and it is painful and difficult to walk. So off to see a podiatrist this week.
Now I have always liked travelling up and down Church Lane. A nice quiet country road. Not any longer one takes one's life in one's hands as the number of times myself and my neighbours have had cars on the wrong side of the road approaching us at speed and we have to take evasive action and we are not in the wrong. Two dangerous places coming down Church Lane. Cars parked on the road at Sandy Bank Cottages and also the bend at the entrance to Sandy Bank Quarry where they fly round the corner on your side and the road is not wide enough to do that and the speed limit is 20mph, If any of us have an accident there which is not our fault I honestly think we shall get out the car and lamp them one. Pannal is becoming car maniac dreadful. They do not live here. They are using us as a rat run. Argghh!.
Pot holes. We were all amused to have notices put through our letter boxes and on lampposts tell us about the wonderful work that was going to be carried out filling in and repairing the numerous potholes. Road closed from 9.30am to 5.30pm. No it was not. 0nly took about a couple of hours and they were gone. How we wish we had the grand job that Beckwith Road has had. We have patches.
Marble and Tigs have also had a wonderful summer. Abandoned their beds and slept outside. One very hot day Tigs was sleeping soundly on the table in the garden when she rolled over in her sleep and fell off. Marble just looked at me and said and you think I am the dopey one.
Local Plan is in the library. We still have the development  (P18 and P19 and Spring Lane. Notice they are getting on with the football pitches on the left at the top of Pannal Bank.

Not a lot happening in Pannal

No sooner will I write this than everything will happen at once. Have had no news re Spring Lane. Did give Richard (the farmer) some information on bats as there are some there and they are protected. Told him who to contact. Work still going on at the Dunlopillo site. Nowadays we all leave our cars in our drives as garages full of "stuff". Having this amazing weather has meant that all the dust from the site is in the air and on the tops of our cars. Now it is not winds from the Sahara as we had a few years ago. All woke up to a red dust over everything.No this is dust. Cannot be helped as work must go on. Had to visualize what it will look like when all the houses are there. I sincerely hope that the contaminated earth has been removed and disposed of properly. Many years ago we were asked to meet the management as my husband's great great grandfather John Smith was Curator of the Royal Kew Gardens 1864-86 during the period when the first Ribber seedlings were grown at Kew and then taken by one of the young Kew Gardeners to Ceylon where they formed the basis of the first of the great rubber plantations. A book by Vikki Baum Weeping Wood was written about grandfather and the plantations.
Pannal Primary School breaks up for the summer holidays at the end of the week so peace will reign for us who live on Main Street. For the six weeks we shall be able to drive out at any time of the day and not stay in until after 9am and then either be back before 2.45pm or after 3.45pm Bliss. If we come back when the children are being picked up there are some dreadful mothers who block our drives and then tell us where to put ourselves. Awhile ago I came home to find two mothers talking at the top of my drive and their children playing in our garden. Moving soil onto the drive. When I said Excuse me this is my garden why are your children doing what they are doing one of them said you obviously don't like children Having had four children of my own I just ignored the ignorant ill mannered woman. As I say we all have tales to tell.
It rained today a couple of showers. First time for ages and Tigs and Marble were not happy with that. They have given up chasing butterflies as they cannot catch them so now just watch. Fantastic this year lots and lots of butterflies. Wonderful watching them. Saw a large dark blue one today. Shall have to look him/her up. I shall have to pluck up the courage to empty and clean out the pond but there are frogs at the bottom and whilst one is not afraid of them they jump out onto my head which makes me jump. Heigh ho.
Hope this weather continues and when all my grandchildren come up they can enjoy the garden etc. Have a lovely summer and I will be back soon. Sooner if I have any news re development.

Why does Harrogate Borough Council and the Harrogate Advertiser dislike Pannal

We in Pannal think the Harrogate Advertiser should cover the Pannal Area and not just what is happening in Harrogate. Oh dear what a a carry on. A reporter came to cover the story of the chimney demolition at the Dunlopillo site.Spoke to us all. We all gave our opinions. The photographer took photographs of the chimney coming down, the onlookers and the Pannal Councillors. Did any of them appear in the Harrogate Advertiser oh no they did not. When I and Pannal Parish Council wrote strong letters asking what had happened we were told it was online. We said what use was that most people in Pannal purchased The Harrogate Advertiser. I had gone up to the Coop and looked through the Advertiser to see the coverage (I was not going to buy the paper if it was not in but I honestly expected to make a purchase) No photos no decent write up. A gentleman I did not know reached over me purchased a paper went outside flicked through it and put it in the bin at the railway station. Not knowing him I did not ask but I think he was one of the spectators at the chimney demolition. Pannal does not get good coverage. As for Harrogate Borough Council if they can cover us in housing they will try. They own the lovely Crimple Valley which has never been built on. They said they were going to protect it but are now not going to. Apart from the housing all the cars that we are going to have. It is bad enough now.  Everyone I have spoken to says Pannal is going to be ruined. We were a lovely village but we will not have many green fields left. What does one do. Fountains Abbey NT and a great number of people objected to the amount of housing Ripon is going to have but they all lost and the houses will be built.
I also heard today that the plants and flowers that adorn Pannal Station planted by volunteers. Some people/someone is coming with a trowel and digging some of them up. New plants, a lovely hydrangea just planted was taken the very next day. How rotten is that? This is a blog of despair.
But hurray one good thing. Remember the two lovely trees that were given to me to be planted on Pannal Green. Well they have now reached the height where they can be adorned with fairy lights. All the connections are in place so it should be quite splendid at Christmas.
My neighbours tubs that were planted with a variety of flowers were not doing very well and I unfortunately knew why. My cats were sitting in them in the evening a tub each. Delighted they were having found a very warm spot.  Have remedied that with pepper and they now look lovely. Flowers growing well. Cats did wander around sneezing and nearly falling over but as I said flowers growing well. 

Pannal and the chimney

Lovely sunny warm day as it has been nearly all of May.Not today though that is why you are getting this. Yesterday I was invited up to see the chimney at Dunlopillo being demolished, Went up and had a coffee sitting outside the post office met up with John Mann our local Councillor and we went up to the road entrance into the site. A bit annoying as the screens were up and we had to view it through wire. It was a long way away and we were in no danger of being flattened. Still the proceedings were enlivened by CC Cliff Trotter who brought cups and wine. A great idea Cliff. There was a satisfying thump as it hit the ground. The chimney not Cliff, me or the wine. Andrew McDonald Parish Clerk came with his lovely dog and Sarah Carr from Bellway. Sarah is a very nice person but her job is to go round looking for sites for Bellway to build houses. Fields are not safe from Sarah.  We all had our photograph taken. When I came back down the village people were saying what was that awful noise was it a plane. They were thinking back to when a plane went through the sound barrier at 10.30 one winter evening and frightened us all to death. Windows and doors shook. I assured them it was the chimney. Alex the Ackrill said to me will the chimney be missed? I said only by Pannal Golfers as we used it to line up on the 18th tee.
In Dunlopillo's early days (1962) it was welcomed as it provided employment to a number of villagers. There were lovely Gala Days. I remember one year when the person who opened the Gala was Jimmy Savile. I was coming out of playgroup having taken my oldest daughter there when he spotted me and shouted Now then, now then and came across the road with his arms outstretched.In those days his reputation was not known. I tore off down the road with him after me and I was wearing stilletoes but he never caught me and gave up at the bridge. He was just creepy and I did not want him touching me. Fear lends wings to ones feet. Latterly the smell coming from the site and the rubbish leaking into the duck pond had to be stopped. A Environment group was set up which I was a part of and the Council eventually took Dunlopillo to Court and won. They appealed and lost that and were made to put the chimney up. Did it help not a lot only for golfers. I am only sad that in the demolition the Art Deco building was destroyed. I tried so hard to save it.
Hopefully all will be well with the new houses and Pannal as that will bring more cars. On average 2 cars per household and a through road will bring even more cars through our village.
Cannot leave on this note so I will tell you about Tigs. She whom I have always thought as the more intelligent of the two of them. I have been having breakfast in the garden these lovely mornings and Tigs has been sitting on the table. Yesterday morning she decided to lie. Rolled over and fell off with a thump. Marble looked at her then at me and honestly she shrugged her shoulders.

Peaceful Pannal

At the moment all is quiet. Well the village is but the traffic is not. Cars plus builders lorries and skips and of course the banging and crashing from the old Dunlopillo site. Don't think I would want to live there as the ground must be contaminated. With all the spillages and latex over the years and as for that enormous chimney. Sad to see the art deco building the original Bintex headquarters be demolished. I tried my best to save it apart from being the only art deco building we had it was where radar was tested with the workers being sworn to secrecy during the Second World War. I went down to the Peak District to look after my oldest grandson Alex when it was bitterly cold. I said to him have you any homework turn that tv off and get it done. About two minutes later tv back on. Don't tell me you have done your homework. Yes I have. Next day I said bet you got your homework all wrong. Alex said not all wrong just mostly wrong. There was one nice day so after he went to school I thought I would get the bus into Sheffield town. Went to open the front door to find I had been locked in. Could not find the keys then thought I can go out the back way. No I could not it was locked as well. Susan's neighbour I heard come out so I called to her. Carol is there any way I can come through your garden etc. Susan has an extremely long back garden with a pond at the bottom. Very wet. Answer was yes but our garden is very wet. Ok I shall see if I can find some wellies. No I could not but I did find a pair of Dick's boots size 12 no laces put them on went down the garden, climbed the fence boot fell off back I went got boot out of the pond. Put the soggy thing on. Sat on Carol's doorstep changed shoes only one sock on as other soaking. Did get to town. Then Susan and Dick came back a couple of days later and she said did you bring your swimming costume. Yes. Ok do you want to go swimming before Alex goes to school. What. No. So set off after. Cloudy spitting with rain. . Get there to find it is a lido. Outside changing rooms, little doors. wind blowing in the top and bottom. Got in the pool after walking over frozen concrete. Susan swam up and said I have taken your clothes and put them on the bench. Whatever for. Well people might want to use the changing rooms. What people there is only you me and another lady and it is freezing no one will be daft enough to come swimming. (Except me) Then I looked it was raining and my clothes were on the bench. AAgh. Out I got went into the changing room to put them on. Wind blew the mat out of the door and I was once again on cold wet concrete. Susan arrives and says we shall go to the cafe. We did, she bought the coffee and said Oh that is better your face does not look as blue now.

Excitement in Pannal

Oh the excitement in Pannal at 8.30am when fire brigade, police, ambulance raced down Station Road and Main Street and up Church Lane to Rossett Green Lane sirens blaring to be followed by the Air Ambulance. Some of the vehicles were from West Yorkshire and there was a large fire engine of the type that Harrogate does not have. What had happened? I was walking round the village (not at 8.30am I wasn't but a bit later) up Church Lane along Rossett Green Lane down Yew Tree Lane and down Spring Lane. My usual walk but not that morning as I was stopped on Rossett Green Lane by the police and the ticka tape across the road. Sorry love you will have to go back. Why? Because there is a workman trapped down a hole. Oh ok. Householders were coming out with cups of tea etc. The British spirit. A cup of tea will cure everything and it very nearly does. Hours later the poor man was released and taken to hospital fortunately not too badly hurt but it must have been awful being trapped that long.
This followed on from the flooding at St Roberts when the little Pannal Stream at the bottom of my garden ( a most benign little soul most of the time) flooded, joined Clark Beck which in turn joined the River Crimple.
Pannal Golf Club (I am a member) seems to have been closed most of this year. Well on Tuesdays - Ladies Day it has. Yesterday was a beautiful warm sunny day, Spring is here. No it was only for the day. Today very heavy rain (Tuesday) and the course is closed once again. Having lived here 52 years this is the worst prolonged rain I remember.  Poor daffodils are not upright and I noticed a few nurseries are selling their spring plants cheaper. Have you noticed that with every disaster there is always someone who profits. This time umbrellas and waterproofs.
I had the great excitement of being away seeing  my four children and their families at Easter and coming home trainwise . Delayed (incident on the line - so sad but that is what it is called when someone jumps in front of a train. Sad for them, their families and the poor train driver) missed my connection ended up at Leeds Station awaiting the Harrogate/York train. On the board TBC - to be confirmed - then cancelled next two trains due to flooding at Horsforth. All milling about we were, and Leeds is not the warmest of stations, Then platform on the board all rushed there no train there. A passenger said TBC on the board again. Back we all went then hurrah announcement there would be a train which was going to go through the flood very slowly and it did but by this time far too dark to see why. Walked down the road, very heavy raid, through puddles at the bridge,got soaked and then home at last. A great welcome by Tigs and Marble. Who said where have you been? We want in the lounge. We have had no one to sit on for over a week.
Must just tell you this. Have you noticed down by the Information Board by the patio bit by St Roberts that I look after, Have you seen the tyre marks across the grass and patio by drivers mounting the pavement in order to avoid the speed bump. Well I have asked "the powers that be" if they could put a bollard there similar to the ones on the railway bridge at the top of the road. Either do that or place a memorial to me as I have nearly been run over twice when doing the little garden but in all honesty I would prefer a bollard.

New street names for site in Pannal plus snow and floods.

Names suggested by Harrogate Borough Council for street names for housing on the Dunlopillo site. Their suggestions were Buckingham and Windsor. I did not agree with these names so I was asked to forward some names which I have done stating "If one is looking for a Royal connection Princess Royal Way (part of the A61 near Dunlopillo site) named for Princess Mary, Princess Royal who was the wife of Henry Lascelles Earl of Harewood. So we can have Lascelles or Harewood Drive/Street whatever. Other suggestions: Names of fields within this area in the 1800s. Whin Bank, Great Bank, High Laithe, Willow Garth. Pannal Park, Springfield, Buttersyke. Sandstone names of quarries in this area. Hullah Well just the other side of A61 near Dunlopillo site. Smithy Hill/Close/Drive - there was a blacksmiths same era in Pannal. Plants that grew there could be used as street names Broom, Teazle, Cedar (of Lebanon 2 of these endangered trees in Pannal. Also birds that were numerous when this area was fields and a farm. Skylarks, lapwings. Pavilion large one that was on the Sports Field on the old Bintex/Dunlopillo site.So I have given them plenty to work with.
Last Thursday a heavy fall of snow in the morning rush hour. Cars abandoned in Main Street. Three cars crashed into a fourth one. Police came and closed Church Lane where the accident happened. I had a late shower that morning as I was watching all the excitement. In the afternoon the sun came out and by evening snow all gone as if it had never happened. Then this week St Robert's Church and surrounding area flooded. I have a little stream - Pannal stream - at the bottom of my garden which turned into nearly a raging torrent. It plus Clarke Beck plus the River Crimple all joined so the damage was done. Fire Brigade to the rescue. This is the area Crimple Valley that HBC have earmarked for housing. It is on a flood plane. How many times do we have to tell them and it is no use saying they can "fix" the water. Yes maybe from part of the Crimple Valley but one does not have to be a genius to know that water will always find a way  to come back. I and others like me who have lived here a long time (me 52 years) remember the tragic floods of September 1968 when boats were out in Main Street rescuing people from the cottages near the church (some demolished now) and poor little Melville Guy Pullein Bentley aged only eight of Pannal Hall was tragically drowned having fallen into the River Crimple which was in spate just behind St Robert's Church, WE all pray that tragedies like this will never happen again.
I have been feeding the birds with fat balls, bird seed and bread much to my cats annoyance. As having ventured out from a warm house they put up with the pigeons and the pheasants from the Quarry but they were not prepared for the kite that flew down. A fast exit through the cat flap and they looked at me as if to say WHAT!