Broughton Avenue signs

Now that I have started taking a close look at local street signs I am finding more and more interesting ones and I think that these two in Broughton Avenue by the junction with Ashburnham Road are interesting.

The one above has limited interest on its own though it is rather worn, lacks the word "Ham", and is an inconvenient distance away from the junction.

On the other side of the road the sign is clearly different with the street name squeezed on to one line and with "Avenue" abbreviated to achieve this. Otherwise the signs look similar enough to suggest that they were installed in the same era.

Daffodils

One of the most charming features of Wates Estate is the many partially hidden landscaped squares that you have to make an effort to find. That effort is well rewarded when you discovered a square like this one on Kingfisher Drive rich with daffodils. 

Lammas Road sign has a new home

A year ago I posted a picture of this sign for Lammas Road hanging precariously off the front of a house and it is good to see that it has since found a safer home on a gate.

Repairs and more damage

I went along Ham Parade specifically to take a photo of the new posts that I saw being installed to replace those removed by one reckless and dangerous driver only to see the damage done to the traffic island by another. 

Walking in and around Ham Parade is becoming increasingly difficult because of drivers like these and those that park obstructing the crossings.

Buddha in Mariner Gardens

This Buddha is in a corner of Mariner Gardens where its secrecy is aided by things in the garden, hence this unusual angle.

Dismembered tree

At the junction of Cave Road and Hardwicke Road a neatly dismembered tree lies waiting for the next step on its journey.

Old and new road signs

This should be my last post on street signs for a while! I picked these two, close together in the Locksmeade development, to contrast the old and the new. Above is an old one.

 

The new sign looks very different with its lighter and slightly serifed typeface and its "no through road" symbol. Every road in Locksmeade is a no through road and I do not think that any one has ever thought otherwise so the symbol seems to be unnecessary.

Artistically the sign looks good but I question the legibility of the light typeface and the distraction of the no through road symbol.

Two similar signs

I am not sure if I am becoming obsessed with street signs and even less sure that it is a problem if I am. These two are, obviously, in Locksmeade and while they are very similar it is their differences that interest me.

Oddly the sign with the longest name as more white space either side of it, the word "Ham" is in different positions and the arrows are different length. And, while the typefaces look the same, I think that the one on the right is slightly bolder, though I did not have a tape measure on me to check it with.

Hidden garden

The Locksmeade estate is a confusing collection of curved roads and it takes some effort to explore every part of this. In trying to do just that on a recent visit I came across the well hidden garden between  Headway Close and Fisherman Close that can only be accessed by the footpath that runs between them and Beaufort Court.

I had found this space before but then it was just a paved area looking for a purpose and now somebody has risen to the challenge and done some attractive planting.