A well cared for tractor

Vehicles do not appear that often in the blog as I prefer to feature the more permanent buildings and landscapes that define Ham and so it takes something special for one to be selected for inclusion here. I think this tractor is special. It is clearly well cared for and I like the way that it is painted an unusual colour.

Maturing garden in Dickens Close

I have always found the houses in Dickens Close something of a disappointment as I have either walked past the grander houses in Sudbrook Lane or Holly Lane to get there but I have also always liked the row of small trees in one of the gardens. I have had my eye on them for some years and had been waiting for them to be large enough to photograph without spaces showing between them.

The Ham Pond turtle is still there

I had been a little worries about the Ham Pond turtle. I had not seen it for a while and the last time that I took a photograph of it, in 2012, it was basking on a rock that had since been removed or submerged. So I was very pleased to see it on the little island again enjoying the sun.

Fieldview Cottages in Craig Road

Craig Road has a mix of houses with no one style dominating. In the middle, on the north-east side, are two distinctive white cottages. These are Fieldview Cottages and in themselves they are not very special but the house sign is eye-catching for its age and the planter beneath it.

Oriental Style comes to Ham Parade

The shop that was most recently Beauty by Honey has changed again and is now Oriental Style. It looks as though it is much the same sort of business as it was before, massage and beauty, but the presentation is more subtle and more appropriate for the Parade.

Signs for horse-riders

New signs have appeared in Ham Lands in the area by Ham Polo and Ham House to guide horse-riders. These direct them to the small fields off Meadlands Drive where they can warm up with some brisk trotting. I like the simplicity of both the signs and the posts that display them. 

Attractive extension in Lock Road

I have walked past this house on the corner of Lock Road and Craig Road many times and while it was always charming enough it was never remarkable. Then suddenly it changed with a confidently modern extension which I find both attractive and fitting.

The design fits the space neatly and the wood is bold and proud. I also like the little details, such as the number 42 etched into the glass.

Old fire engine at Ham Fair

I went to Ham Fair as usual this year, it was on 13 June, and while there were interesting things to see and do lines of tents do not make for interesting photographs so the fair would have escaped this blog entirely if not for the small collection of vintage fire engines on show in the south-east corner.

They were provided by the The London Museum of Water and Steam in Kew and I spent some time talking to their director. It had been a few years since I had last gone to the museum and much had changed since then, including its name.