Two signs

My near obsession with the variety of signs in Ham has somehow overlooked these two in Parkleys, while neither is remarkable the difference between them is interesting and in the competition between the two the upper one wins because of the better colour and use of lowercase.

Clear out

The clutter in the front garden all but obscures the house behind which is clearly having serious work done to it.

Faded sign

There are a few signs like this in Wates Estate which have been rendered meaningless by their faded illegibility. I am not sure if they still apply but there is no enforcement and no attempt has ever been made to dissuade me on my many wanderings through the area

Blocked path

A month ago I was cheering the newish footpath along Church Road, running past the Richmond Chase development, only to find it blocked today by a fallen tree. I have reported it (using FixMyStreet) so I hope that it will be cleared before too long.

Different waters

The turbulent waters racing over the weir are in stark contrast to the almost still waters on the approach to the lock.

First look at Little Orchard

Most of the scaffolding has gone from Little Orchard (on the south-east corner of Sudbrook Lane and Bute Avenue) and as the high wall hides most of the house any judgement must be made on the roof alone, and I think it is a little bland.

I like the chimney with its rendered bands but the rest looks uniform and predictable.

The front of the house may look more interesting. I will have to wait until they have finished worked there and for a view through the gate to find out.

Large trim for Ham Common Woods

One of the main things that I try to do here is record changes and this is one change that was a big surprise to me. 

I walked along Ham Gate Avenue late one afternoon when everything looked normal (I even moved a Lime bike to the edge of the path) and less that 24 hours later I walked down there again and it the Woods had been trimmed back massively from the path on the north side.

This photo shows the depth of the trim, far more that the one meter or so that I am used to (this is what it looked like in 2014), and you can just about tell that the trimming goes all the way along Ham Gate Avenue.

I presume that some vegetation will grow back quite quickly but I suspect that it will take some years to look as good as it did in 2023.

Looking tired

This house in Martingales Close is looking decidedly tired, particularly the wonky porch, and the blacked out windows suggest that it is empty so it may be waiting from someone to bring it back into life. If that happens then I hope that it is done with more sympathy for the character of the road than some of the other "improvements" done there.

Park Lane Stables

It is almost a year since I commented on the seemingly slow progress on the building works at the stables by Ham Polo so it is good to see them finished and even better to see the final results. It is a good modern building that sits comfortably in its setting.

The name confuses me though; this used to be Manor Farm Stables then Park Lane Stables RDA moved in after losing their Teddington base (in Park Lane funnily enough) but I thought they had moved back there so I am not sure what is going on, except that the banner says Park Lane Stables and I am happy to go with that.

Harris Beauty Clinic

After two years, the unit that was once a Chinese takeaway called Chef for You has finally found a new tenant and is to become Harri's Beauty Clinic.

Path improvement

A desire path was created years ago past St Richard's Church to cut off the corner of Ashburnham Road and while some work was done to formalise this busy route it was remained uneven and prone to water-logging. The rebuilding work going on now looks more substantial so I hope that the desire path becomes a proper one.

Cedar Heights / Petersham Gate

The two bus stops by Petersham Gate have been renamed to "Cedar Heights / Petersham Gate", for reasons that escape me.

Clearly Petersham Gate is much more of a landmark than Cedar Heights (I suspect that many people living in Ham do not know where Cedar Height is) so I see no point in including the street name as well, much less the need to put it first and in larger text.

Convoluted tree

Until recently, the lovely curved branches of this tree in Martingales Close were hidden by its rather messy and shapeless foliage. Of course that foliage will grow back but I hope that the shape and the character of the tree remains visible for many years.

Bishops Close is wet

The first section of Bishops Close, nearest the Common, is decidedly wet with water rising up between the paving stones in several places.

The extent of the problem can be judged by the amount of water flowing towards the nearest gutter and the high-tide line on the pavement.

I thought that I would be a good citizen and report it to Thames Water via their website, only to find that four people had beaten me to it.

I am sure that Thames Water will be there very soon to fix it!

Avenue Lodge

Avenue Lodge has had quite a bit done to it in the last couple of years so it was good to find it in top form and making the most of the clear bright winter sun.

Red steels

I like to use the path that zig-zags though the Locksmeade development from Riverside Drive to Fisherman Close as there are usually interesting things to see and on this occasion that included a set of red steels.

The temporary ramp suggests that it is the house straight ahead that is being worked on though there is no other sign at the front of a project that requires this amount of steel.

Polo project

It is unclear what all the machinery at Ham Polo was doing but I just like to see big machines in operation. It also raises the anticipation that things may look different once they have finished.

Grey garden

I have shown the refurbishment of 43 Lammas Road a couple of times while it was in progress and this is the finished result and while the house looks okay the "garden" is a relentless and boring grey.