Ham Common needs a proper path

There are two places locally where the lack of a proper path consistently annoys me, one is along Church Road and the other is on Ham Common. The business of this route, and the lack of a sensible alternative, is indicated by the width of the mud.

This is the only north-south route for some distance (unless you want to cross the busy Petersham Road twice) and it is ridiculous that there is no path here. Other greens that I walk on regularly, like Richmond, Twickenham and Kew, all have proper paths and are the better for it (though Richmond does have too many, but that's another story).

Light out

It was a lot darker than it looks when I took this photograph but these days phones do incredibly clever things with images and so it looks more like dusk than night. Luckily it did nothing to disguise the fact that the nearest street light is out of action, as it has been for several weeks (if not longer).

It is a little while since I had any reason to be in the territory of street lighting but then all main roads were patrolled regularly so things like this would be spotted quickly even if they were not reported.I do not know if that process has changed and/or if it has failed this time so I have reported it, on FixMyStreet, to try and push things along.

Reji Grill is going

Reji Grill only came to Ham Street in June (2022) and it is already on the way out. It is being replaced by something offering Greek food.

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Large tree gone

We were warned that the large tree on the junction of Dukes Avenue and Broughton Avenue was coming down and now it has leaving just a circle of wood chippings to show where it once was.

The size of the circle is a reminder of just how large it was and how much it once dominated this view. I just hope that it is replaced with a tree that can grow to a similar size and not a much smaller tree like the ones further down the road.

Replacing a wall with a fence

When I noted in July that the wall between Ham Common Woods and Richmond Golf Club I was expecting it to be repaired, not replaced by fences. What was the wall is now a pile of bricks just beyond the new fence.

 

Nearer to Ham Gate Avenue the fence is solid, which may be to do with the layout of the golf course and the need to keep balls in play.

I liked the old wall simply because it was an old brick wall and I will miss it. That said, the open metal fence (top) brings more light into Ham Common Woods and brings the line of trees on the course into view.

The New Inn

The side gates have been place for some time but the writing on them is new. It is also very large and very obvious, which is rather the point.

Solar panels

Too few houses have too few solar panels but perhaps the recent dramatic increases in energy prices will make more people adopt them. Setting a good example is this prominent house at the east end of Sandy Lane.

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