Pannal and 2015

A Happy New Year to you all. Apart from the Christmas lights on a number of houses which were lovely Pannal has been quiet. A very nice Carol Concert. It was mild and a number of villagers turned up. To enjoy the carols and the mince pies and punch in St Roberts Chapter House afterwards. We had a fairly quiet Christmas then everyone arrived a couple of days after. All fourteen of us. One missing as she thought we were all getting together for Christmas, but no it was for New Year and she had booked to go to Glastonbury to do a witchy, wizard, druid thing. Anyway a lot of beer was drunk and a lot of food was eaten. I did all the meals and there was a good variety and I was very pleased with myself. Four grandchildren amongst the party and Leonie got chicken pox as a New Years present but apart from the spots seemed ok .Santa never came here at Christmas as we had a letter down the chimney saying he was running out of time and he knew the children were not in Pannal so he would call in on his way back to the North Pole when they would be there which he did. Everyone stayed for a week. Im still cooking. Now everyone has gone, on Sunday they departed,  I am doing all the washing. The windy weather is helping. House is very tidy and quiet now. I miss the action. Our cats don't Marble did not get watching tv. She is fond of Call the Midwife and Downton. Tigs took herself off chasing things in the quarry.
Visited the co-op yesterday and it is well stocked apart from Stork margarine. Few people complaining. It was not crowded but it will be useful to many Pannal people. The news is we are to get another Marks and Spencer Simply food at the BP garage. At one time Pannal had thirteen shops and in the 1960s it had a grocers and bakery at number 3 Station Road, then the post office and general store. Further down  Walkers the butcher and fruit and veg. which had been a wet fish shop (Ken Walker I keep in touch with and he is fine) Then the newsagents and on the bridge a grocery shop. In front of the church an ironmongers now demolished. Opposite the Black Swan there was a grocer and sweet shop.
As I am writing this a knock at the door and it was a special delivery addressed to me. On opening it was the Arctic Medal awarded to my father and I was sent it as his next of kin. Dad CPO AD Grant DSM Royal Navy was a distinguished war hero and the medal was for the Arctic convoys to Murmansk and Archangel. Very hazardous journeys as the ships were always attacked. Wave after wave of planes would attack from their bass in Stavanger and other airfields. In the winter it was 23 hours of darkness and one hour daylight ands in the summer it was 23 hours of daylight and one hour of darkness and that was when most ships were sunk by the enemy. My parents lived in Hookstone and when dad died he had a military funeral in Harrogate.