Our Pannal

 Has the World Cup dominated life? Could be and good to see Pannal Memorial Hall staying open for the matches. Last nights who stayed up? I thought about it but as I had been on a really long walk I was too tired and I missed a very exciting match. England won. I am interested in football as I was Secretary to Bob Kelly head of the Scottish Football Association SFA and also Chairman of Celtic. So I was popular with the boys at my brothers school being able to get tickets for matches. I am a journalist and when I qualified on leaving Langside College my teacher said to me What are you going to do and I said work for one of the newspapers. She said Anne all the newspapers are owned and run by Protestants and you are a Catholic they will not employ you. There is only the Catholic Herald. I did not want to do that as my ambition was to interview the stars of stage and screen and rock and roll and my idol was Elvis - still is. Fortunately I applied for an interview with Bob Kelly. I did not know who he was and I got the job and soon found out and it was a fantastic Job. My parents then moved, Dad was in the Navy to Southsea. My lovely younger brother unfortunately died and I was unhappy so went back to my friends and some relatives in Scotland and worked at the MOD which I cannot talk about. Met my husband who was a Yorkshire man, born in Adel, and came down to Kirkby Overblow then Pannal. Our four children born in Yorkshire our dogs born in Yorkshire our cats born in Yorkshire only me not. My love for Pannal I found out that there had never been a book written about Pannal so I wrote the first book followed by three more and the  Centenary History of Pannal Golf Club. I worked for the Harrogate Advertiser. Then I decided to go freelance which is great. I can work for anyone. I absolutely love being a journalist. I get a number of people coming to see me as they do not know who else to ask about all things Pannal. Such was the case last week when the River Crimple turned green Susan came to see me and I informed the Harrogate Advertiser and The Stray Ferret who both ran the story. We tried without success to get in touch with Yorkshire Water but did get in touch with Environmental who investigated and said the green dye was harmless and Yorkshire Water did on occasions use it in streams. I said Pannal should have been informed by Yorkshire Water what they were going to do instead of causing such a scare. Been told YW have been demoted to one star. One too many so say some of us.  I am still waiting an answer to why a couple of Saturdays at 7am the water tasted so awful. First thing I do on getting up is have a glass of water. I did unfortunately swallowed it and felt sick the whole day. At 8.30am the water was fine. Why did this happen is it always horrible very early Had a number of phone calls from YW but no straight answer. 

Latest news is there going to be more housing in Pannal? It is thought so. 150 houses from the housing on the old Dunlopillo site down to Buttersyke Bar. Now we knew that if the Dunlopillo site was given permission for housing once they were finished they would want to expand with more housing and so that has come about. Will planning permission be applied for probably. Will that be granted surely. North Yorkshire Council do not know or care about Harrogate in my opinion. The Government also want to build. The Crimple Valley is on their books for housing that is why Yorkshire Water are laying new sewage pipes. They rang and told me this morning that they would be in Pannal until the end of May 2027 even longer if we have a bad winter they said. When I wrote Postcards from Pannal and went round to the School to show the children what Pannal used to look like at the turn of the century they said they thought Pannal in many years to come would be a "City". One little girl said "When I tell people it used to be a village they will think I am from a lunatic asylum". This was in the 1980s" I put what she said in my book. 

I love this hot weather but does Tigs? She has been off her food and not running round the garden - too tired. Glad to say these last couple of days back to normal. I have done some lovely long walks. When we had covid I walked every single day took sandwiches and water. Went out early and came back late and walked Harrogate including Bilton and Starbeck then Knaresborough. So I reckon I know it all. I was pretty good before I did this but now wow. Excluding all the new housing we have had since but who wants to look at new housing when we have so many lovely buildings and places to see right on our doorstep.