Enjoyable talk and what is happening in Pannal

The sun shone and it was calm and warm as I did my talk on Pannal as I have known it for sixty years. I was a humorous talk and the Chapter House at St Robert's Church was full and everyone enjoyed it. I gave the talk to members of Harrogate Civic Society. Some of whom had never been to our lovely village. I enjoy these slide show talks and thanks to Kevin Hale who put my slides on USB and also enhanced some of these, and sorted out the Chapter House seating and refreshments there were no problems and it all went off well. I am doing a walk round Pannal on Friday September 13 starting at 11am for Heritage Week. Everyone can come just turn up at 11am and off we will go.  Must keep the flag flying for Pannal and tell people what we have and how much I love living here. A different Pannal to what it was sixty years ago. We were all young with young families and our children all went to Pannal Primary School. I think we still hold the record for all four children starting there when they were nearly five and continuing there until they left to attend Harrogate Grammar School. I remember someone in the Education Department correcting me when I said Harrogate Grammar School and saying you mean Otley Road Comprehensive and I said don't think that name will ever stick just you wait and see and I was proved correct HGS it is. Now what has happened is nearly all our children have left the village to make their life in different parts of the country and we have all stayed in the same houses. It was so lovely they all played together and all met up after breakfast in the rec saying what time back for lunch Mum? Back they came then off for the afternoon to their dens, the quarry or back to the rec for unfinished business. Some went fishing in the River Crimple or riding their bikes. A lovely happy time and I think they must have been the last children to have the freedom they had wandering the village in the summer and sledging at All Saints in the winter. As everyone says Oh Happy Days.

We were all delivered a letter last week telling us that Main Street was going to have Footway Slurry Seal Works done starting 29th July and what we should do with our cars!! It was from North Yorkshire Council 1 April 2023. Now was this a joke? Then the barriers, cones and traffic lights were delivered and roads closed off. I rang the number they said to ring on the letter and give three words Customer Service Centre I did so and ended up talking to a poor bloke in Skipton who did not know what it was all about. I told him about the letter and he said ring this number and speak to Highways. I did and they verified it was all real even 1st April 2023 and yes they were coming on Monday. I said you do know the Gas Company is coming later on and is going to dig up the footpaths to get at the gas pipe and she said we know. Then later on the same day the men came back put the barriers, road signs, cones and lights on trucks and drove off. So your guess is as good as mine about what is going to happen on Monday 29th. Presume 1st April 2023 was the date North Yorkshire Council took over from Harrogate Borough Council but what a stupid thing to put on their letter. 

Tigs still following me around. Did you know Tigs is short for Tiger. I did not know that, as that was her name when we rescued her. one of my grandchildren had a book called Tigs the Cat so that is how I found out. 

a very quiet Pannal

 Sunday England v Spain and Wimbledon final. Good job the weather is not very good. Sorry rubbish cool with rain. I cannot do any gardening nor a long walk so I feel ok to put tv on and watch. Apart from the tennis I hope The Princess of Wales does present the prizes for the men's finals. She has had a terrible time but I hope the future does look a lot brighter for them both.

I am hoping to golf next week. First time this year. Honestly pay all that money and never golfed. Sciatica struck then eye op. Incidentally my eye not right as yet but better. I can drive and I can hopefully golf. Well I will be able to re eyesight but literally can I play golf. We shall see if it does not rain. Better weather supposed to be on the horizon.

School breaks up on Friday but it will not be quiet on Main Street as we have had notification of gas pipes going to be renewed. They do need it and it will hopefully stop the annual dig up the road, put up traffic lights circus. Talking of roads I was nearly wiped out on the corner by Sandy Bank Quarry by a car coming down Church Lane really fast. Obviously the poor soul could not read the SLOW signs. I have asked Pannal and Burn Bridge Parish Council to ask "the powers that be" to repaint the slow signs. Also asked them to have the overhanging branches of the trees that are now over the little patio by St Robert's Church cut back. I have always planted and kept the patio tidy and when I was down last week I was tiding up with branches on my head. 

I am looking forward to give a talk for the Harrogate Civic Society on our lovely village on Wednesday 24th July starting with a walk round the churchyard then a slide show and refreshments after in the Chapter House of St Robert's Church. Having lived here, next year, sixty years I feel privileged. It is so lovely when one has been to town or anywhere coming down the hill to our village. It has changed. We have lost a number of shops had a number of houses built but it is still lovely. I am still pressing forward with the Crimple Valley being a Country Park but the wheels are grinding exceedingly slowly. 

When we had the very heavy rain last Tuesday poor Tigs got absolutely soaked so I wrapped her up in a towel, put the heating on ( which has not been on since May) and she snuggled under the radiator. Well you have got to look after your pets. 

I have been writing a Blog for many years and people read my ramblings for which I am grateful and sometimes they comment saying nice things about what I have typed. So I am grateful and enjoy writing it. Do comment if you want to ask anything about Pannal. I have so many records of here and have written three books on Pannal and one on Pannal Golf Course. Glad I have done so as my first book on Pannal A History of Pannal was the first book ever written on Pannal. Yeh!!

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. 

Pannal summer arrived?

In the last blog I said Pannal is so quiet. It was then but recently with the traffic lights still up at the top of Pannal Bank the motorists have found that if they come down Leadhall Lane and turn into Church Lane and through Pannal they won't have to queue on Leeds Road. Obviously better queuing on Pannal Bank they think. 

Is it summer? Well a couple of days ago I would have said yes but back to normal today. Funny all the rain we have had and yesterday the ground was getting dry. Plants are growing and so are the weeds. I weed the borders and next day there is a weed there about six foot high. How have I missed that?  Sadly this is not a one off occurrence. Hope we are going to get a summer.

On Saturday I wanted to send some photos. I use a camera. Put them on the computer to send and my latest ones were on the camera but not on the computer. So a cup of tea called for and a think. Ah ha perhaps if I delete some the last lot will appear. Yes I checked and that was correct. So I sat there happily deleting more to be able to get my latest ones on the computer to send. I am afraid I was too happily deleting and I pressed the wrong button and I deleted every single one of them. Aaaagh! I rang up Bass and Bligh and said is there anything that can be done? They said there is a very slight chance. So that is were camera and disc are. Fingers crossed.

I am doing a talk with slides for the Harrogate Civic Society on Wednesday 24th July at St Robert's Church Chapter House in the afternoon. Shall be taking people round the Church first. Think it is about 2 o'clock. Details later. I make my talks fun and I enjoy doing them. Tea and biscuits afterwards or before I do not know I just do the talk. I do so love living here. Nearly sixty years and I want everyone to know how lovely Pannal Village is and also how old we are. Long before upstart Harrogate. 

Can I just say in my opinion North Yorkshire Council do not seem to care about Harrogate. They do not know it and think it is a good place for development and are asking anyone with land that they want to "sell" to let them know. So more development on the cards. It is really strange but in my book Postcards from Pannal printed nearly thirty years ago the children from Pannal Primary School agreed the fact that they thought Pannal in 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." Out of the mouths of babes...........

I am having my cataracts done end of this month. One first and then other one later. So that has stuffed my summer. No golf and horror of horrors no gardening. We shall see about that one but if my garden is like Miss Haversham's come and find me I am in there somewhere. 

This is the point where those who do not like cats look away. Tigs is a lovely friendly cat who follows me around always wanting to be picked up and I said to my kids she will have me over one day and they said always take your mobile with you when you are in the garden. Good idea I thought so I did only to find when I came back into the house I had the remote control instead of..

Just Pannal

Lovely. Pannal is so quiet. It is because of the temporary traffic lights at the top of the road on the A61.  Have been told "they" will be coming back to Main Street but do not, as yet, know when. Not quiet between 7.30am and 8.15am as great heavy builders vehicles are coming down Station Road and Main Street and going up Church Lane. Why and where are they going? No wonder our roads are so bad with pot holes. I was at a meeting the other weekend someone said Arn't Pannal's roads awful. Agree.

Have had a flurry of people wanting my latest book Pannal and Burn Bridge Their Stories. Only have a very few left if anyone wants one. As when they are gone they are gone. I will not be reprinting. My email address is annesmith.pannal@yahoo.co.uk - business email address. 

We had a lovely lady called Mary Barr who died and David her husband and family have invited a number of us to celebrate the life of Mary. 

Also Joe Buckley Head Greenkeeper at Harrogate Golf Club and Ace golfer has died . He was just a young man and son-in-law of my neighbours. His funeral was on Tuesday. He was well known to Pannal people.

Now do we all think my next blog will contain the news that it is a lot warmer, the sun is shining, we are gardening and golfing and walking in the countryside and our feet are dry and not covered in mud? I hope so as it is cold and rainy and the other day we had hailstones. I have lived in Pannal next year it will be sixty years and in Kirkby Overblow before that. My Mum and Dad lived in Hookstone, Harrogate. In all these years I have never known as much rain to fall. In winter I have seen lots of snow and the Mill Pond freezing over with thick ice. People used to skate on it by candlelight. Last skated on end of 50s beginning of 60s. In those days we expected a harsh winter and I remember a villager saying to me we could do without February as it is always a rotten month. Yes we had snow, frozen ground, ice but not this near constant rain. We will now look on the bright side and hope for a lovely summer and perhaps a warmer spring. 

Don't think it is worth repeating what Tigs thinks of all this. 

Well done to the litter pickers on Saturday who collected a large number of bags of rubbish from Pannal areas. 

Pannal having gas pipes for Easter

New we hope gas  pipes being laid Main Street Rosedale and beyond. Having had Main Street and Woodcock Hill dug up on numerous occasions when there have been gas leaks and "patches" were put on at last it has been realized that patching will not do and gas will always find a way out. So we all hope this will be the end of the smell and leaks of gas. Yesterday I weas picking my friend up in Westminster Drive and sort of slaloming my way on Rosedale when a big black 4x4 came up behind me blaring his/her horn and trying to overtake me . I turned onto Westminster Drive and they were so close I just pulled in when I could and let them pass. What is the matter with people. There are so many angry stupid people around. 

Read a write up of the best places to live in and around Harrogate and Pannal and Burn Bridge were not mentioned!! When I have said to people 4000 houses are going to be built from the Squinting Cat towards the Otley Road they have said do you mean 400. No I don't I mean 4000. It is going to be awful 4000 houses together with the ones already build will be over 9000 people if we are only saying two people per house and it will be more than that and I will not even mention the cars. No North Yorkshire Council they will not be on bikes. It is appalling what is being allowed. Why do we have Councils why not let the Developers carry on running the country. 

I organised the second Memorial Lunch for Malcolm Neesam at The Club on Victoria Avenue and it was once again a success and is now going to be repeated ever year with the help of Fiona Movley the soon to be President of The Club and I believe the first Lady President. So congratulations Fiona. Malcolm was Harrogate's Historian and a very dear friend of over fifty two years. 

Like us all Tigs is fed up with the weather if it is not raining it is cold and windy. Is there any chance of the Easter Holiday being better I hope so. I wish you all a Happy Easter whatever the weather. OH for some warmth and being able to get out in our gardens.

ps It did upset me re the news about the Princess of Wales. I do pray all will be well as she is a very lovely person and she and William deserve a long and happy life with their children.