New flats on Cassel Hospital site

These are the plans submitted for the new block of flats on part of the Cassel Hospital site, 1 Ham Common.

Tennyson Court, Parkleys

Tennyson Court is the first block in Parkleys as you enter from Upper Ham Road.

New path in Church Road

Somebody seems to have decided that we need more paths locally and this is a new addition to Church Road. It is not as ugly as the bright orange path in Richmond Park but it is pretty ugly none the less.

Boundary post on Ham Parade

The boundary post on Ham Parade is not much to look at but a reasonable attempt has been made to make a feature of it.

The Legless Frog has a new sign

The Legless Frog (formerly the Hand and Flower) has now got its new signs up.

P 856 ETF on double yellow lines

N 133 DVS has a few problems

This car is parked on double-yellow lines, has a cracked windscreen and there is no sign of a tax disc.

The grass is as high as an elephant's eye

This grassy stretch of Ham Lands lies between the relatively new houses in Locksmeade Road and the river.

Buttercups in Ham Lands

This is the start of Ham Lands from the east and is the land between Burnell Avenue and the river; you can see the tops of some boats in front of the trees.

Ham Common, Part IV

Ham Common is divided into four distinct parts. There is the wooded part east of Upper Ham Road that stretches to Richmond Park and the grassy part west of the road, which can be further divided into three parts being split by the avenue of trees leading to Ham House and by the road, The Common, leading to Ham Gate. This is the triangle of Ham Common at its northern end, bordered by Upper Ham Road to the east and The Common to the south.

Ham Fair was busy

Ham Fair attracted a lot of people, as this picture shows.

Getting ready for Ham Fair

This was the scene earlier today with the stall holders getting ready for Ham Fair.

Avenue of trees

I'll take a few pictures of the avenue of trees across Ham Common towards Ham House through the year so that you can see how it changes with the seasons. Here the trees are in full leaf and the grass is green. Perfick!

M & J Hardware sells everything

M & J Hardware is one of those priceless shops that every shopping parade needs as it seems to sell absolutely everything for the home and garden. The staff are very friendly too.

Looking across Ham Common

This is the view across Ham Common looking from the south-east corner. The line of trees in the background is the avenue that leads down to Ham House. Ham Fair is the other side of those trees and the colour you can see is from the very bright bouncy castles.

HAG garden in bloom

This little garden maintained by the Ham Amenities Group looks good in full bloom. In the background you can see the building works on the Cassel Hospital site.

The Hand and Flower is now The Legless Frog

The Legless Frog opens today in what was the Hand and Flower.

Bouncy Castle at Ham Fair

This is one of the "attractions" at the Ham Fair (2007). The Fair tries to cater for all ages and part of this is a collection of bouncy and slidy plastic things that is normally placed near to the main avenue of trees. I find them to be incredibly gaudy but I suspect that the smaller children like them.

Building on the Cassel Hospital site

Work on the new block of flats on the Cassel Hospital site seems to be going quite slowly with no visible progress in the last few weeks. At least the gate was open this morning allowing me to take a broader picture of the sight.

Little shops on Upper Ham Road

These two small shops on Upper Ham Road are a little way to the north of Ham Parade, just south of Ham Common on the west side of the road. Because they are away from the main shopping centre they are not that busy and tend to change hands more frequently than the other shops.

Ham Fair

The sign says it all, Ham Fair is on Saturday 9 June.

NJ52 CDO in a bus stop

This car was parked in the bus stop with the engine running while the driver went to the off licence.

Meantime the embarrassed passenger was left to squirm when the 65 bus arrived and had to stop awkwardly in front of the offending car.

W 743 VLO crosses the line

Every other car managed to keep well inside the white line but W 743 VLO sticks out about 1m.

Polo practise

Ham Polo field is next to Ham House with a footpath and bridle way between them. This picture was taken from that footpath and shows a polo player practising.

Work continues on the new footbridge

Construction work has finally started on the new footbridge on the path past Ham House to the river. It looks as though the new bridge is going to be slightly higher than the old one which used to get covered by the high tides occasionally.

Work at Herrick Court, Parkleys

Herrick Court in Parkleys is having some work done to it at the moment. Perhaps we'll be able to see some improvements once they have finished.

LR55 YPC on double yellow lines

Someone else who does not think that double yellow lines apply to them.

Hand and Flower gets a new coat of paint

A couple of weeks in and the work at the Hand and Flower shows no great sign of finishing any time soon.

Cricket on the Common

Saturday afternoon on a hot sunny afternoon and it's cricket on the common.