White pumpkins

The icons of Halloween are many and varied encompassing, ghosts, ghouls, witches, vampires, zombies, bats and spiders, i.e. almost every baddie from a cheap horror film. Also in this list, and somewhat at odds with the rest of it, is the pumpkin. We expect our pumpkins to be bright orange but they can be white too. Here we see a neat row of them defending a high wall in Ham Street against the impending onslaught of monsters.

Craig Road cottages

In the middle of Craig Road there are a couple of charming houses arranged side-on to the road which makes them a little more secluded and gives them a little bit more space in which to play at being pretty cottages. The one nearest the road has recently been tastefully extended; you can see the join, but only just.

Dying red

Autumn colours come and go so quickly, like a Ramones song, that you have to be lucky to catch them at their best or, possibly, even luckier to catch them as they start to retreat in preparation for the onslaught of the Winter that seems determined to arrive early this year.

Patient cat

I love this cat. It sits patiently and stone still on its porch in Craig Road while watching something it wants very closely and waiting for the opportunity to pounce.

St Richards Court

The missing apostrophe grates a little but does not lessen the charm of the sign where the clarity of the text stands fresh and clear against the worn white background which, in turn, stands proudly aloof from the dark and dingy brick.

Boo!

Wendy's Workshop is normally the brightest and jolliest spot on Ham Parade but now it carries a stark warning that Halloween is on it's way, which means that bats and ghosts will come out to play.

Black fence with red leaves

The crisp black fence looks good in it's own right but the leaves that have squeezed their way through cheekily steal the show by providing some unexpected colour and they relegate the snubbed fence to a mere backdrop. But the fence will have the last laugh as the Autumn colours fade in to Winter death.

To Let By

The (relatively) new flats on the corner of Croft Way and Riverside Drive have intrigued me for over three years. They are in a promising location (close to shops and the 371 bus) with enviable uninterrupted views across Ham Lands, yet they never seem to have hit the property market. But somebody has bought them as they are occupied, apparently on a rental basis judging by the crowd of To Let and Let By signs.

Red cascade

Autumnal colours burst alive in some unexpected places. Deep in Craig Road, red ivy cascades down the side of a house and then scrambles gleefully over the fence to escape.

Major works

I have been watching the tinkering on the corner of Lock Road and Back Lane for several months, always with the expectation that the work being done is about to finish, but now it has been revealed that the tinkering was merely the prelude to a much grander scheme that is transforming a few dilapidated offices in to a three bedroom house.

The plans were first hatched over three years ago so this is a dream that somebody has waited a long time for. I'm looking forward to the finished result.

Langham ivy (2010)

I know that I took a similar picture almost exactly a year ago but the mahogany Autumn ivy on Langham House makes such a bold and proud statement that it is worth a closer look.

Chic O'Pick

It has taken a while to refit the shop on Upper Ham Road but Chic O'Pick has now arrived. I was a little bemused just before it opened as all we had was the new name and the discrete windows which suggested, to my perverted mind, a house of ill repute.

But my suspicions were unfounded and Chic O'Pick in a delightfully upmarket shop selling ladies outfits and accessories thus filling the gap formed when a similar shop in the opposite corner of the parade closed a few years ago.

Corner

A long overdue picture of a garage captured because the corner is a serendipitous collection of colours and shapes as the Autumnal ivy collides interestingly with the rough construction.

Small Tortoiseshell butterfly

I took this picture just because Petersham Lodge Wood looks good at this time of year and I was enjoying my short detour through it on my way to nowhere in particular. It was only when looking at the photograph later that I noticed the Small Tortoiseshell butterfly adding just a few flecks of subtle colour to a montage of Autumnal greens.

Flowers and glass

I am not a fan of the cafeification of Petersham Nurseries but I appreciate that other people do as it is always seems to be busy when I wander around. And I do wander around often because there are still flowers and greenhouses there to enjoy.

Junction

The unnecessary and unwanted (by me at least) works on the footpaths converging by Teddington Footbridge continue recklessly. More of the paths are being covered in too-perfect tarmac and restrained by inappropriate fences. It's a blight on the natural beauty that surrounds it.

Flowers at Ham House

Ham House can look a little stark at the back as the large plants keep their distance but the rows of plants in their orderly pots add a little interest and a few specks of colour.

Cycle path

At a risk of repeating myself, one of my acknowledged faults, the thing I like most about living in Ham is the way that paths flow effortlessly through it allowing you to wander and explore. Some of these paths squeeze between terraces of dark brick houses while others, like this one, cavort delightfully through open spaces.