4 Manston Grove

I get planning notifications from both Richmond and Kingston councils, simply by lying about my address, and I had seen several for 4 Manston Grove in Royal Park Gate so I went to capture a before image to compare with the completed works.

My timing was good as some work had clearly started but there was no change to the appearance of the property yet.

Fence in Sandpits Road

It is impossible to miss this new fence when walking along Sandpits Road towards Petersham Road and that is fine because it is a decent fence. The colour also goes well with the house.

It would have been even better if the wooden components of the steps had been replaced at the same time, they looked good with the old fence but do not match the new one.

Ham Fair Saturday 13 June

After Ham was plastered with advertising for Ham Open Gardens I was expecting something similar for Ham Fair but the only sign I have seen so far is this modest one on Ham Common facing the traffic.

The font reminds me of the lively debates over Comic Sans MS several years ago where it was generally accepted that the font should never be used. At lest is says "13" rather that "13th" which is much clearer, though the "3" does not look to be in bold from this angle.

Not for sale!

I thought the days of rogue estate agents' boards was long over until I saw this one technically on public land and outside a property which is not for sale.

A history in brick

This wall in Sandpits Road is hardly the oldest in the area but it still carries a lot of history told by the differently coloured bricks. The place where there used to be a gate is the most obvious feature and I also like the small arch over a former gap on the bottom left.

Unexpected trees

Having cleared the vegetarian away from the bench in Ham Gate Avenue, close to Ham Gate, two news trees were planted which seems strange, particularly as the far one is under another tree.

The posts may be necessary but they draw too much attention to themselves at the moment.

St Richards is enveloped

St Richards is a superb building so it is good news that it is being restored and even better news that it looks so good enveloped in scaffolding while the work is done.

Ham in flowers

This short journey along Sandy Lane ends at the Ham Street end with a small display of flowers. It is easy to miss the significance of the flowers and a closer look is required.

The flowers spell "HAM" which is a very nice tough. I especially like it as some people would claim that this is actually in Petersham, but I agree that it is Ham.

An uncertain future

Yet another house on Sandy Lane is about to be worked on. Judging by the lack of scaffolding and the relatively small size of the house, I suspect that this may be a demolish and rebuild. As with all the other construction projects in Sandy Lane, and elsewhere, I will keep visiting and noting any significant progress.