Blue

The playground on the edge of Royal Park Gate has been resurfaced in a vibrant blue which is a marked change from how it used to look.

The lack of decoration is a shame but understandable as it seems to have been the different sections in different colours that caused it to fall apart.

Playground resurfacing

It is almost exactly five years since the playground on the edge of Royal Park Gate was last resurfaced so I am a little surprised to see it being done again so soon. 

The section by the roundabout died a while ago and needed to be repaired or replaced but all of the soft surface in the playground has been dug up and thrown away.

More hedge

The low fence around Ham Pond has been reinforced with the addition of a hedge. I am sure that there are reasons for this but I am struggling to see what they are.

Unexpected gate

There are several roads off Northweald Lane in Royal Park Gate and Yeovilton Place is the most convulouted of them. At the very far end is this house which has acquired a hedge and a front gate.

 

While that may look reasonable in itself it is against the overall open design of estate and almost certainly would not get planning permission should they apply for it.

Christmas soldiers

I  was not looking to feature Christmas lights this year but walking down Clifford Road I saw these jolly soldiers and had to take a photo of them.

HF18 WXG

Burst pipe

It is a little worrying that The Hand and Flower has had to close for a while because of a burst water pipe so soon after reopening. And this comes after issues with gas in the beer pipes and the temperature of the cellar. Hopefully these are all just teething problems and the H&F will be back up and thriving soon.

More cutbacks

This is Riverside Drive close to Croft Way with Meadowview in the background and the bushes in the centre have obviously been cropped back. I do not have any great issues with the pruning though I am a little surprised that the small section at the left end has not been cut back to the same line as the rest.

Dukes Avenue darker

Two weeks ago I reported that a street light was off on Dukes Avenue opposite the junction with Northweald Lane and now the one next to it, by Vetech, is off too.

As before, my phone was far to clever with the lighting so you will just have to take my word for it on just how dark this section of Dukes Avenue is now, though the brilliance of the lights that are working are a good clue.

Stunning snowmen

There was not much snow around to play with this time but someone, or someones, managed to create these excellent examples in Clifford Road.

Zooming out you can see how the creators got around the lack of snow and the diminutive size of the snowmen only makes them more impressive.

Their size and location put them at some risk and I was pleased that I saw them in time to avoid an unfortunate collision.

Light Snow Day - Monday 12 December 2022

The last Snow Day in Ham was 24 January 2020 so there is no surprise that this one caused great excitement despite the distinct lack of deep snow.

This section of Ham Common Woods was typical with the white sheen frequently punctured by green grass.

Petersham Lodge Woods also revelled in the snowfall and tried to catch it in its branches.

A welcome cutback

In October I complained that these bushes had all but blocked the pavement on Croft Way so I am delighted to see that they have been cutback.

Refurbishment in Lammas Road

This house in Lammas Road has been pleading for refurbishment for quite some time and now it is happening. The condition of the front door gives a good idea of what the house used to look like and the oddly black windows hint at what it will become.

Pointless pavement repairs

Richmond Council has found some strange places to repair pavement but Ham Close is the one that confuses me the most.

Normally I would just comment on the lack of footfall, which is certainly true here, to suggest that the repairs were a low priority or even unnecessary but here there is the more obvious, and rather significant, reason - the whole Ham Close estate is due to be demolished and rebuilt. 

These pavements will be gone in a few years but they will look nice until then.

Roof works in Dickens Close

I was rushing along Petersham Road to meet a friend when I saw this roof extension and, despite my other engagement, I took a detour along Hazel Lane, Sudbrook Lane and Dickens Close to take this picture (my friend is used to me being late anyway).

Clearly a lot of work is being done to the roof and I am interested to see how different, if at all, the house looks when the works are finished. Other recent extensions have maintained the NeoGeo look of the Close and while it is not a look to my taste I would like to see the character preserved.

Steep Slope

Ham ends at Ham Gate (my blog, my rules) but I had to include this sign in Richmond Park, at the top of the steep rise up from Ham Gate, because it is so lovely.

A slightly different view of The Cottage

I have complained before about the difficulty in seeing what is going on at The Cottage in Sudbrook Lane so I was pleased to find another vantage point.

I could still only see the upper level of the house but that is enough to see the scale of the extension and to get some idea of the style.

Broughton Avenue obsctructed

I do not want to fill this blog with rants against obstructed paths because while that would be depressingly easy to do it would also be somewhat boring, for reader and writer alike. However, I will continue to mention some of the example that annoy me the most, such as this one in Broughton Avenue.

This is a busy route for pedestrians because there is a school and a parade of shops nearby, and the pavement is not that wide so any obstruction is a problem.

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.