White door

This white door is made all the more striking by the well-worn path leading to it and the vegetation that has been held back to keep the path clear.

Orange grass

While Ham Pond has turned green, Ham Common around it has turned orange as the heat wave and drought dominate the Summer.

Green pond

The duck weed has hit Ham Pond with a vengeance. At first only this end of the pond was covered and the birds swam at the far end. Now the pond is covered and the birds are nowhere to be seen.

Clearing the path

After some years of me complaining that the trimming along the shared path through Royal Park Gate was insufficient, the Council (presumably) came back and hacked it a lot more.

As a result the vegetation is clear of the path and it is possible to walk or cycle past without being molested.

Preparing another construction site

More local garages are disappearing to be replaced with housing. This time it is in Craig Road where two houses are going to be built. The plans look reasonable but, as always, it will be hard to tell what they really look like and how they fit in with their neighbours until they are completed and that will not be for some months.

Post Office on Ham Parade

The bus stop on Dukes Avenue by the junction with Northweald Lane still thinks that there is a Post Office on Ham Parade, but it closed several years ago.

A small FoHL project

Due to several people being away it was necessary to cancel one of the Friends of Ham Lands maintenance sessions but I was up for it and went any way. With just two of us working we selected a modest project and decided to extend another part of the large grass area that we had worked on previously.

The before picture above shows that the scrub had broken up the grass area and brambles were encroaching on the right.

The project was not quite finished, and I want to go back soon to complete the work, but it is already clear that the enclave has been reconnected to the main field and the brambles have been cut right back to make more space for the grass.

More work on The Old Malt House

A minor project completed at the side of The Old Malt House facing Ham Street recently and now something more substantial seems to be happening, judging by the size and extent of the hoardings and the presence of a skip.