NA62 TVP

Large tree gone

We were warned that the large tree on the junction of Dukes Avenue and Broughton Avenue was coming down and now it has leaving just a circle of wood chippings to show where it once was.

The size of the circle is a reminder of just how large it was and how much it once dominated this view. I just hope that it is replaced with a tree that can grow to a similar size and not a much smaller tree like the ones further down the road.

Replacing a wall with a fence

When I noted in July that the wall between Ham Common Woods and Richmond Golf Club I was expecting it to be repaired, not replaced by fences. What was the wall is now a pile of bricks just beyond the new fence.

 

Nearer to Ham Gate Avenue the fence is solid, which may be to do with the layout of the golf course and the need to keep balls in play.

I liked the old wall simply because it was an old brick wall and I will miss it. That said, the open metal fence (top) brings more light into Ham Common Woods and brings the line of trees on the course into view.

The New Inn

The side gates have been place for some time but the writing on them is new. It is also very large and very obvious, which is rather the point.

Solar panels

Too few houses have too few solar panels but perhaps the recent dramatic increases in energy prices will make more people adopt them. Setting a good example is this prominent house at the east end of Sandy Lane.

OO11 SCT

Locksmeade extension

This is one of the several extension underway in the Locksmeade development, and this might actually be in Locksmeade Road (number 13?) though the street names and numbering there remain a mystery to me. There was a good argument for having just one road name in the development and numbering them all, say, consecutively clockwise from the entrance. Or Locksmeade Road could have ended where Fisherman Close starts.

This also explains why I like house signs that have both the house number and the street name on them and which are easy to read.

Getting back to the picture (!), this is the view from Ham Lands which means that it will be one of the more obvious Locksmeade extensions and I think that it will be a detriment to the perceived character of the area, though that bridge has already been crossed several times.

Closing in on Douglas Footpath

Douglas Footpath (which runs from the towpath to Petersham Avenue between Petersham and Ham Sea Scouts and German School) is quite busy and I had to let quite a few people pass before I could take this photo of the main section. That business justifies some attention to the vegetation on the left which is spreading over the path.

MF19 HMV

You can see the path along Church Road by the offside wing mirror.  You cannot see any more of the path because the driver of MF19 HMV has chosen to block it, remarkably so that they can go to the church. Not a great advert for Christianity! 

Copper theft

Several houses in Ham Farm Road are blessed with distinctive green copper roofs and, sadly, some thieves are aware of this and have removed some from this house.

Please do not climb over the fences

The damage caused by people climbing over the fences here is deemed sufficient to warrant a bright red sign. I am not going to argue against that but I wish that other more harmful activities were also discouraged, particularly feeding the birds with inappropriate food (bread) and letting dogs run loose.

Late flowering baskets

It is the middle of a generally grey November and the hanging baskets across the area are doing their best to brighten things up a little.

6 Sandy Lane almost revealed

I have been watching the new house go up at 6 Sandy Lane for over a year and the long wait is finally coming towards the end with the first glimpse of the ground floor thanks to my old friend, an open gate.

The big window looks good because it is big and it matches those upstairs. However, the lack of any visible decoration (so far) means the the house remains bland.

Large gate

Petersham and Ham Sea Scouts has two main entrances at either end of the site providing easy access to boats and large vehicles, but this is another way in. You can see the new hut to the right of the gate which shows that this gate is on to Douglas Footpath.

New Road closed

The problem of heavy parking in a narrow road like New Road is demonstrated here as a removal van has blocked the road (and part of the pavement). If climate activists had blocked the road then there would be an outcry and claims of emergency vehicles being blocked but when a resident does it then it's a different story.

Another Locksmeade extension

The tsunami of extensions in the Locksmeade estate continues unabashed and this is just one of two new projects that I spotted on a recent walk through.

The appeal to extend relatively small houses is understandable but this series of works has lessened the uniform feel of the development and has reduced its charm in the process. 

Maintaining Ham Pond

Ham Pond needs some regular tender loving care to keep it and its occupants happy and at this time of the year that means cutting some things back.

 

How much cutting back has been done can be seen from this pile of prunings.

Remembering Royal Oak

I have fond memories of Royal Oak that once sat on the corner of Sandy Lane and Ham Street so I was pleased to see that the old sign had been retained, at least until now. The only reason that the sign was visible was because work had started to convert the former pub and then social club into a house and that led to the side gates being open.

Dog with bow

I seem to have featured most of the front gardens in New Road at some point and the dog with a bow gets this one a mention.

A nice thing about New Road is that almost all of the gardens are too small for cars so the owners are forced to keep them as gardens and many have risen well to this challenge. A bad thing about New Road is the lack of off-street parking means that one side of the narrow road is solid with cars which destroys the beauty of the street.

Saqui is 40

Saqui on Ham Parade is celebrating 40 years of trading with balloons and 40% off meals in the restaurant for a week. That is an offer that I have already accepted and I expect that demand will be high.

Saqui has been a regular source of takeaways for me since moving to Ham in 1996, and I think I ate there a couple of times when living in North Kingston before that.

Trench

The sad story of the destruction of the wildlife corridor through Royal Park Gate continues.

Having made several damaging changes to this area, which is land owned by Kingston Council, the resident of the end house in Manston Grove has now dug a trench alongside the property.

The grass area is part of the wildlife corridor that he cleared a few weeks ago.

Road still closed

When a took a night-time picture of the closure of Petersham Road I assumed that everything would be fixed by the next day but the work is still going on and the diversions are still in place.

The cause of the closure is this hole.

I took this picture at 4pm on a working day and it is frustrating that no work was going on at that time. There may well have been a good reason for this but it would have been nice if there was an information board up saying what was being done and how long it is likely to take.

Meanwhile the diversion of traffic along Dukes Avenue and Sandy Lane (and other roads in between) has caused little problem, which helps to negate the fears of traffic chaos arising from, say, the Ham Close redevelopment.

HUG at Ham Parade Market

Ham United Group (HUG) do a lot of good work in the area through a range of disparate projects and it was good to see them at Ham Parade Market being at the heart of the community and encouraging more people to get involved.

Coloured squares

This window of coloured squares is both appealing and surprising. It is just a shame that it is cleverly hidden on a side wall of a house at the far end of a no-through-road (Martingales Close).

Road Closed

Petersham Road was blocked overnight between Ham Common and Sandy Lane while what looked like work on the water system was being done.

This was clearly a surprise to many motorists who ignored the Road Closed Ahead signs and tried to go along Petersham Road only to be forced into doing u-turns; this was happening on both side of the closed section.

The Hand and Flower opening 5 November

The news that The Hand and Flower would be opening again on 5 November has been online for a while and now it has been confirmed by a banner outside of the pub. And the pub has changed a little for the better since my previous posting with some repairing and painting of the frontage, particularly the windows to the front bar.

Sudbrook Cottage and Sudbrooke Cottages

This sign, while distinctly charming, is not the sign that I was looking for, though it does tell half the story.

I had always assumed that the terrance of cottages close to Ormeley Lodge on Ham Gate Avenue were called Sudbrook Cottages and the end one (made famous by Beverly Nichols) was, as the sign proclaims, Sudbrook Cottage but the Royal Mail Postcode Finder tells another story. That tells me that the other cotttages are called Sudbrooke Cottages, with an "e". The Royal Mail is the one source of truth on addresses so this must be true.