Empty garden

I have always liked this unusual house in Ham Farm Road and heartily welcome the recent modifications to it, at least those that I can see - the remodelling of the swimming pool at the back of the garden is invisible from the street. The matting was put down for the works at the back but the rest of the front garden has been cleared for other reasons. I wait to see what those are.

Not a spider

These railings are immediately on the right when you turn off Petersham Road towards the church and nurseries. The vegetation runs through them so when it leaf it is hard to see the decoration, which is a shame because they are decorative.

Working on Hardwicke House

I do like to see scaffolding up because I like the lines of the construction and there is the promise of something new to see afterwards. 

In this case it looks like minor works to one of the chimney stacks at Hardwicke House so there will probably not be much to see afterwards (I will look!) but there is the geometry of the scaffolding to enjoy.

Resurfacing Kingfisher Drive

Kingfisher Drive is a small road that curves quietly through Wates Estate so I was surprised to see so much effort going into resurfacing it. As with repairing pavements, Richmond Council's method of prioritising road resurfacing seems odd at times.

Wonky signs

I do not know if it is storm damage, we did have three in five days, or general neglect but some local signs are hanging precariously, such as this one at The Hand and Flower.

And clearly this one is in Lammas Road, less clearly it is at the Beaufort Road end.

Ham and Petersham Rifle & Pistol Club 1906

There is not much visible evidence of Ham and Petersham Rifle & Pistol Club from Ham Street though it can be heard clearly when shooting is in progress. Their logo is on the sign twice but you have to get close to read the words on it.

Planning Notice

The point of this picture os not the detail of the Planning Notice (interesting though Planning Notices always are) but rather it is the frame that it is in. It looks sturdier that I remember them being and I like the monochrome logo at the top.

Blocking Sandpits Road

The damage to the car tells one story and its position another. Obviously the collision did not happen where the car is now, as there is nothing there to collide with, so it was moved there which makes me wonder why it was left at that awkward angle severely restricting access to Sandpits Road.

Clearing the clearing

The management of Ham Common Woods is something of an issue due to costs which tends to means that little bits of work are done infrequently and only rarely is anything significant done. One of the recent little jobs was the clearing of the edges around the large clearing just to the south of Ham Gate Avenue more or less opposite Ormeley Lodge.

This is the south-west corner of the clearing.

 

A few trees were cut down to open the area up to more light and to give space to the other trees. My default position is to object to the removal of any tree but this seems like a reasonable decision.

What I am less impressed with the the thinning out of the section between the clearing and Ham Gate Avenue which has made the road, and all its traffic, very visible from the clearing and reducing its value as a place of restful nature.

Storm Eunice comes to Ham

Ashfield Close.

Petersham Road

Ham Common.

Craig Road.

Riverside Drive.

Filming on Ham Parade

Filming is not uncommon in Ham and while this can include celebrities or exotic features like horses, on this occasion it is just a lot of people in hi-vis jackets. The filming was something for BT Openreach and the team had been in Burnell Avenue before moving to Ham Parade.

Major works in Burnell Avenue

Once upon a time the houses on Burnell Avenue all looked the same then the owners started to build extensions in all directions and they look, to be honest, something of a mess. This house had avoided the extension epidemic until now and is catching up quickly with extensions to the front, side and roof, and removal of internal walls.

There is also a new building at the end of the garden. You cannot see it from this angle so I will try to take a photo that features it prominently. At least I now know that the builders down tools at midday for lunch so I can take photos then.

Sculpture

This sculpture is a familiar, and welcome, sight to anyone who walks along Ham Farm Road. I once, several years ago, went to an Art House Open Studios exhibition at that house so I am guessing that this work was created by the owner.

The house has a new owner now and there are plans to redevelop the house so the sculpture will probably go. I hope nor.

Road closed

The vans in the adjacent roads have Thames Water logos on them so I presume they are the ones that have closed this short section of Beaufort Road; that is Hardwicke Road on the left and Dukes Avenue ahead.

Clearing the pond

This is one of the toad ponds in Ham Common Woods and some of the small trees around it have been cut back to allow more light in to the area.

The Dog & Groom

I was intending to post this as a picture of changes underway at The Dog & Groom but then I discovered that I had, inexplicably, not posted a picture of it before so now it may be the only picture of it here before it goes.

Whatever happens to the shop, I hope the pink door goes.

Winter tree

Most of the days recently have been gloomy if dry, it is winter after all, so when the sun has come out I have gone for a walk and I have been rewarded with sights like this.

Facing the wrong way

The driver of this van managed to get it facing the wrong way simply by ignoring the No Entry signs on that section of Ham Common.

Blocked gate

When Royal Park Gate was built there was a gate at the end of Northweald Lane giving access to the path next to the playground. This was a useful gate as the alternative was to walk back up to Debden Close and then down the foot path through the centre of the development. Despite the obvious need for this gate the residents immediately next to it have chosen to block it to make their area even more private than it already was.

I witnessed the danger of doing this recently. There was an incident in the playground involving a child and the fire brigade was called. The fire engine got to the closest point, the end of Northweald Lane, only to find their way blocked. Luckily one of the residents, who had built their own private gate onto the central path, was able to allow them through his garden.

Permeability, the ability to move freely through an area, is a good thing and anything that prevents this, like obstructed gates, is undeniably bad.

Broken wall

The wall that hides most of Manor House in Ham Street shows signs of many repairs over the years and some more are needed to plug a couple of gaps like this one.

A growing garage

This growing garage sits on the junction of Northweald Lane and Biggin Hill Close and while there does not seem to be a great deal with it (yet!) it has claimed a small patch of greenery, including a tree.

New wall

While the more interesting work is going on behind the hoardings it is good to see that the substantially remodelled house is gaining a brick front wall, as both of its neighbours do.

Railings on the move

This is a small change but it is big enough for me to notice and big enough to have an impact on the area. The railings used to follow a straight line as path curved slightly creating an area of greenery alongside the pavement, now they have been bent to meet the new brick pillar.

This was not mentioned in the planning application for the new boundary and so a further application may be required to allow this additional land-grab to happen.

A change of plan

Less than a year ago I was celebrating the changes at Lime Tree Cottage, 2 Sandy Lane which included the redecoration of this extension along with the rest of the cottage. Now the extension is being remodelled with, amongst other things, new windows being added.

Garden clearance

A lot of work has been done on this house in Ham Farm Road in the last few years and now it is the front garden's turn for some treatment. To be honest, it was not much of a garden before, just a collection of trees and shrubs that had been allowed to grow as they wished, but now mist of them have been cleared or cut right back.

I guess that this clearance is a prelude to some recreation and I look forward to seeing that, or as much of it as I can peeking through the ramshackle hedge.