The Fox and Duck

It hurts every time that I walk past The Fox and Duck that I cannot pop in for a quick drink and the best that I can do is console myself with appreciating the striking simplicity of its sign.

As a general rule I hate the use of "&" symbols and I have spent many hours doing repetitive edits on corporate documents to change them all to "and"s, but, short of rotating the pub sign to make it landscape,  I cannot see what else they could easily do here. I would have dropped the "The" though; it is a largely unnecessary word and is commonly overused.

Christmas cheer

I thought that I was done with Christmas decorations for this year until I wandered down Ham Gate Avenue. It was the large baubles in the tree overhanging over the path that demanded my attention and then having paused to take in the scene I then notice the two soldiers over the front door and the sparkle in the sundial.

Ignoring double-yellow lines

I was sceptical when Richmond Council painted double-yellow lines along Ham Gate Avenue and I have quickly been proved right, as EA69 UVU demonstrates.

The lines are there to provide passing spaces for motorists and cyclists on this busy narrow road but selfish motorists, like the owner of HV67 RXR think that their wish to park close to Richmond Park is more important than other people's' ability to use the road safely.

FP66 UMO also has no qualms about finding the rules inconvenient.

LX10 UVS is the final one in this selection. I could have included more from this visit and even more from my next.

CE13 WEO creates danger

This section of Church Road is hard enough to walk along at the best of times and CE13 WEO has made things even worse by inventing a dangerous parking space on the narrow bend. 

Blocked paths

One of the things that I love most about Ham is its permeability, the network of roads and paths which mean that I can walk in almost any direction at any time and two of my biggest gripes are that you cannot walk through from Sheridan Road to Cleves Road or Lock Road and that you cannot walk through Martingales Close or Bishops Close to anywhere. I really hate dead-ends!

Wates Estate is (mostly) a great pleasure to walk through as there are little paths running all over the place, some more obvious that others. However there are some paths that have clearly been closed off and others that I suspect have been, like these two running from Ferrymoor towards, but not reaching, Riverside Drive.

The style of the paving is that used for public paths and clearly there is no point building a path that leads nowhere so I can only presume that they used to give access to Riverside Drive but, some time ago, a hedge was planted to block the way.

I can understand the thinking that blocking paths improves security but the data shows otherwise, burglars know they are less likely to be spotted on paths that are not used, and I would like to see all of the blocked paths in Wates Estate opened up again.

Extra seating

The pandemic is forcing us all to do more things outside and that includes my regular coffee breaks. The Swiss bakery has some outside seating which could be used when we were in Tier 2 but moving up to Tier 3 then 4 means take-away only with some customers choosing to sit on the wall opposite. That has become a more comfortable proposition with the addition of wooden seating and a couple of tables.

Sadly they are too popular and I have not yet been able to use them yet!

Resurfacing Ham Street

The pandemic is meant to be an opportunity for us all to rediscover the joy and convenience of travelling by foot or by bike but Richmond Council continues to put all its effort into making life easier for motorists, including the pointless resurfacing of Ham Street.

This is one of the busiest roads for pedestrians in the area due to the schools, shops, Common and (one day!) pubs but the pavements are both ridiculously narrow and often uneven. This was a great opportunity to reduce the road space and make the pavements wider and smoother but it is an opportunity that Richmond Council has missed and the car has won yet again.

Modest changes at Eyecare Opticians

The redesigned Eyecare Opticians on Ham Parade uses the same colours as before, and that is my excuse for not noticing the change immediately despite walking past it several times a day.

The main differences are changing the balance of the two colours so that the light blue dominates the white, and the addition of the spectacles symbol. Perhaps the intention was to make the purpose of the shop more obvious to people who are not familiar with the word "opticians".

The Petersham Advent Calendar Trail

The Petersham Advent Calendar Trail is, in their words, "A dash of Christmas cheer in spite of Coronavirus and national lockdown. Petersham will see the night-by-night opening of a free ‘advent calendar’ walking trail from December 1st to 24th this year."

And in my words it is a brilliant idea and I have really enjoyed walking around the route. It is not all there yet so I will be going out a couple of times more to see the rest of it.

I also love that they are using what3words to give the location of the next window; number 11 is at prop.jazz.fall. It's an app everyone who ever goes into somewhere like Richmond Park should have on their phone in case they need to give their location in an emergency. 

Lots of changes at Teddington Lock

The new railings along the towpath are the most visible changes being made at Teddington Lock but other things are happening too.

The section of the island nearest the weir has got new safety railings too. These are the same design as the other new ones but are grey, not black. They also have mesh inserts to stop small things, like children, falling through the gaps. 

Also on the island there is a well-worn route down to the beach that is uncovered every low tide. This is now easier to access, and more importantly get away from, thanks to a new set of steps.

The entrance to the lock has got a new gate too. The previous gate was the height of the railings and was not much of a deterrent. This one is still fairly easy to walk around but the message to keep away is more clear.

Wear your mask

Christmas will almost certainly see another rise in covid-19 infections as people mix more and so it is important that we all keep following the simple hands-face-space rules, even wooden animals.

Herrick Court has its name back

The board across the entrance area again proclaims that this is Herrick Court, the name having been missing for a while.

The new sign looks very much like the old one, which I guess you would expect in a listed development.

Mullion

Sudbrook Lane is one of the grandest roads locally and so I walk down there regularly, even if it is a longer route than following the main road. On a recent walk there I noticed the clipped trees and thought that this would make an interesting "after" photograph.

The only problem is there is not a proper "before" photograph to compare it with. For years I had assumed that I had a decent photo of the house but all I had was this partial image from ten years ago.

This is a partial image too and that was dictated by the evening sun shining from behind the left end of the house. To take a decent photo at all I had to hide in the shadow of a tall tree. One day I might just get to Petersham in the morning and will take a better picture of Mullion with the sun placed more favourably.

RE18 XCC blocks the way

The dropped-kerb is there for pedestrians and the double-yellow lines are there to keep the path clear and the sight-lines open but the owner of RE18 XCC thinks that their shopping is more important than other people's safety.

More railings at Teddington Lock

The long row of red barriers and the series of holes dug behind them herald the extension of the new railings from the lock to the footbridge.

Previously this section had a low wooden fence that was much more a visual barrier than a physical one, as this photo from 2014 shows.

Waiting for windows

I was expecting to post an update on the rebuilding of 54 Sandy Lane by now but nothing very much seems to have happened for some months with the house clearly waiting for windows.

Further along the road new windows are also part of the plan. Clearly other things are happening too and I will be back to see how things turn out.

This was also one of the very rare cases where the owner of the property walked past while I was taking the photo. He was not remotely phased by my photography and he reassured me that the orange was temporary. Respectful residents are always appreciated!

Distinctly modern houses

Frustratingly the main route from Dukes Avenue to Maguire Drive is still closed while work associated with the two news houses continues so it was bit of a chore to trudge round to get this view from the Maguire Drive end of the development.

The houses look fresh and interesting with the grey box sections making a bold and confident statement. They are a worth addition to the area.

New gates at Orford Place

The town houses in Orford Place that back onto Martingales Close now have some neat gates letting them get out of the development without having to walk all the way round the main house to the front entrance.

Amazingly the nimbys in Martingales Close objected to the new gates and Richmond Council agreed with them. Luckily the planning inspector had more sense and they were allowed on appeal. 

Something is happening in Riverside Drive

The front garden tells you that a significant amount of work is being done on this house in Riverside Drive and there are further clues from the new roof and the removal of the porch.

The house is mid-terrace so there is a limit to what they can do to the frontage without it looking out of place. We will see.

Parade's End Books

It is always good to see an empty unit on Ham Parade come back into life and even more so when it is with a business that is likely to draw people to the Parade, unlike another estate agent which this unit used to be.

It is very early days but the shops looks good inside and out and it has arrived just in time for Christmas 

A striking fence

I have praised this garden in Dysart Avenue before and now it looks even better with the addition of a new, and very modern looking, fence.

LG13 WEC drives on the pavement

Ham Common (the road) is constricted by parked cars but that is no excuse for LG13 WEC to drive up on to the pavement to get around a van coming the other way; the better options would have been to wait in the gap just behind him or to reverse back to that gap.

Veering onto the other side of the road and up onto the pavement was never a good idea and it was made much less so by the presence of pedestrians. 

New porch in Dukes Avenue

When work started on this porch in Dukes Avenue a couple of months ago I had some concerns and I am pleased to see that things worked out better than I feared, though it is not without issues.

While the new bricks are clearly redder than the originals they do merge together reasonably well. Similarly the problem of the original window on the right of the bay has been addressed by leaving it in place and extending the front of the bay straight across with identical windows.

I think they have done all they could with the extension but the end result does not look quite right. Perhaps it will grow on me as I get used to it.

Cute reindeer

Christmas decorations are out in force across Ham and Petersham and I will keep to my usual plan of only featuring any here that I feel are exceptional, such as these reindeer above the front door of Malt House in Lock Road.

Extensive extension in Tideway Close

The full extent of this extension in Tideway Close is apparent as it draws towards completion and claims most of the garden.

The gable in the middle of the new roof is something of a surprise and it looks a little incongruous to me.

Busy garden

There is a lot going on in this garden in Riverside Drive and you need to zoom into the photo to see all the detail. My favourite thing is the row of three bells hanging in the tree that you can see just to the left of the front door.

The garden manages to have lots of little curiosities that catch the eye while also maintaining an impression of simplicity. I like it.

Parked issue on Broughton Avenue

The drivers of these two vehicles are, technically, entitled to park where they are despite the proximity of the school no waiting zone and the bus stop but the white signpost shows that the road to the right is a busy route for pedestrians and cyclists heading to/from Teddington Footbridge and so this is an important crossing place which is made more dangerous by the parked vehicles obstructing the view.

Richmond Council should make it really obvious that parking is not allowed here by putting yellow lines around the junction.

New sign for Ham and Petersham Cricket Club

The club house for Ham and Petersham Cricket Club on Upper Ham Road is a modest building (bottom right) which now has a sign to announce its presence.

The light blue is quite a contrast to the jumble of greys and browns that surround it. (The less said about the orange and dark blue monstrosity on the bottom-left the better.)

 

Designing signs is always an emotive topic (there is a brilliant TED Talk on flag design which covers the main issues) and in my humble opinion it seems odd in a sign with only six complete words to repeat "cricket club". It is effectively two signs on one board when one sign would have done.

43A/B Maguire Drive

The numbering of the two new houses built between Maguire Drive and Dukes Avenue has been confirmed by two neat signs, one either side of the entrance on Maguire Drive.

I like the signs a lot, for their simplicity and clarity, and I am glad to see that these seem to be the new standard for Richmond Council as they have also been used for the infill on Riverside Drive.

At the end of Locksmeade Road

I have been trying to take a photo of this little garden at the end of Locksmeade Road for a while but previous attempts were all thwarted by parked cars so I was pleased to catch it without that visual vandalism.

Despite being quite a small garden it effectively softens the impact of the development behind it and is a comforting bridge between that and Ham Lands.

A tale of two drives

I said some nice things about the work being done to this house a few months ago and while that continues to look reasonable, as evidenced by the front door and windows, the work done to the front garden is regrettable.

Like too many properties across Ham, they have chosen to sacrifice their front garden for parking and while they have added a little decoration there is no disguising the loss of vegetation and the domination of the car.

 

A little further down the road things are somewhat better.

This garden has also been mostly given over to parking but space has been left for vegetation, the decoration is imaginative and the fence is pretty.

New roof in Tree Close

Anyone who has sat upstairs on a 65 going to/from Richmond recently (and was paying attention) will have noticed that the large roof of a building sitting between Tree Close and Petersham Road is being replaced with vibrant tiles. It was easier to take a photo standing on the ground by the entrance to Tree Close.