Summer in Pannal but for how long

 Has been a glorious week. I remember years ago when we had a couple of weeks of hot sunny weather an elderly lady in front of me complained and said "it is too hot for me" and the Postmistress said "well take off your bloody vest".

When I put - for how long - I meant when school breaks up are we going to have a lovely peaceful summer? I wonder? Could be that the pavements will be dug up and new gas pipes laid taking the opportunity of there being no school traffic. We certainly do need new pipes as most years we have the workmen here for weeks on end. Hopefully it will put a stop to that but then as soon as night follows day the water company will come and dig up the roads again. 

The mighty conifer hedge has gone from near me. The pavement is now passable and it certainly looks so much nicer. I now have the view from my window looking down Main Street to Lydia Cottage. A view I have not seen since the 1980s. Next year I will have been sixty years in my bungalow. So pleased I am the Pannal historian and able to note down all the changes. On Wednesday July 24th at 2.30pm I am giving a talk with slides in the Chapter House at St Robert's Church Pannal after a walk round the churchyard where I will be talking of a very special exciting occasion a few years ago that I was involved in. Plus tea/coffee and biscuits before or after my talk I do not know when as yet. I do enjoy talking about Pannal as so many people who come to my talks say they have never been. They have seen it many a time passing on the bus or car but did not know what was down here. 

Hopefully this will be my last visit to HDH as my cataract op was not as brilliant a I had hoped it would be. Well as everyone said it would be. Very disappointing and the next person that says to me "well I could see immediately and it was wonderful so clear etc" I will punch them. I spoke to my optician and he said "I have been an optician for over thirty years and it is not always like that. Everyone is different and with some it takes time". So I am being positive and perhaps will not punch people. 

Tigs is so happy so have me around. Funny she never got on with Marble. Marble was a strange little cat I was told she was feral so she was her own person but she was quite affectionate (sometimes) with me but I think Tigs does miss her. Tigs and me this weather suits us both. 

A very busy Pannal

A very busy Pannal to some and a very quiet Pannal to others. The quietness was the relaying of pipes at the top of Station Road not a lot of cars coming into Pannal but by using Leadhall Lane and Church Lane Main Street was busy. I was trying to cross the road to speak to a friend on the other side and I could not and had to wait until fifteen cars passed. Later on it will allart up again when there will be more road works and pot hole filling. Oh joy!

Remember I lost all my photographs by accidently deleting them well Bass and Bligh managed to retrieve them and they are now on a USB stick. Well done to them. Amazing what can be done. I was pleased as all the neighbours who knew Mary Barr were invited to the Old Swan by David her husband for a lovely lunch in her memory and I had taken photographs and they were saved. That will teach me to watch what I am doing and not just delete with gay abandon but it is brilliant to know that they can be retrieved by clever people. 

I had a cataract op last week and contrary to what everyone said about how marvellous it is with clear vision the first day. I am contrary to that as I am still struggling with red eye and blurred vision. I have been back to the hospital and the op was successsful so I am told and in time I should be ok. It is very disappointing not to be. 

As well as being Pannal's historian I am also historian at Pannal Golf Club and Pannal and Burn Bridge Parish Council. With reference to Pannal Golf Club who have always been saddened by the fact that it was thought that the the great golf club architect Dr Alister Mackenzie had never been involved with the design and laying out of holes at Pannal GC. This is where I come in as I found out by reading the past minutes when I wrote my book Minute by Minute a Centenary History o Pannal Golf Club oh yes he was involved. I contacted The Alister Mackenzie Society and Pannal has been accepted as one of the great Alister Mackenzie courses. A great honour indeed. We have now formed a group of members to take this further Captain David Everington, Jon Clayton. Bruce Allison and myself to further the Mackenzie Legend and hopefully have a Mackenzie Room with all his maps and papers that have been found. 

A great honour was to be asked to light the Beacon in rememberance of D Day eighty years ago. I lit the beacon with Arthur a pupil from Pannal Primary School. We held hands and nearly had to be lifted up to light it. On tip toes and with help we manage it. I good evening with a number of people there. This was followed on the Sunday by D Day Celebrations on Pannal Green. Both occasions organised by Pannal and Burn Bridge Parish Council. 

I have not asked Tigs what she thinks of the summer weather so far as it might be too rude to print.