Repackaged house

This house on the spur off Lock Road has had extensive modifications  and extensions over the last few monthsand now it is on sale for an optimistic £2.25m. The house looks good but the front garden less so with parking for cars taking unfortunate priority over plants.

ML70 ZCT

Cleared path

I have commented a couple of times about the way that vegetation obstructs the cycle and footpaths between Riverside Drive and Hardwicke Road, most recently in July 2022, and it is excellent news to see that it has been cleared right back so that there are no obstructions at all.

This is the Riverside Drive end of the paths where the bushes have been cut right back, they used to look like this.

Hand and Flower reopening (again)

Having closed abruptly in mid-December, apparently due to a burst water pipe, the Hand and Flower is due to reopen on Tuesday 7 March.

The previous reopening was on 5 November and I hope that this one goes much better. It is my nearest pub and I would like it to become my "local" again.

Hazard tape

The crash barrier on the entrance to the garage at Ham Cross from Dukes Avenue has had to be upgraded again, first there was a thinner red barrier, then a more robust white one was added and now it has been wrapped in hazard tape so that the idiot motorists speeding through this notorious rat-run have even more chance of seeing it.

Broken fence

This section of the fence to Bull Meadow along Great South Avenue is fairly typical in its state of disrepair and other sections are completely broken allowing dog walkers and other unwanted visitors on to the field,.so it is good news that Grey Court School are proposing to replace it completely. 

The new fence will be tight mesh like this temporary repair and will be of a similar height.

Clearly the new fence will be obscured by planting for large sections and where it is exposed, like here, the views through to the playing field will be retained. I welcome the proposals.

Craig Road

This street sign gets some attention here because of two unusual things in the typeface; the initial "C" curls in slightly and the "R"s have a small serif on the outstroke.

Early spring flowers

The planting at Ham Village Green is delightful and that is the only excuse I need to post another picture of it, this time with spring bulbs showing off.

Laying a new hedgerow

Thames Landscape Strategy are leading a project to instal a new hedgerow alongside 100m of Great South Avenue, but you can read the full story below.

I think it is slightly ironic that after Great South Avenue was dewilded a few years ago it is now being rewilded. I regret the earlier action and welcome the new.

Mismatched garages

A consequence of our very relaxed planning laws is that the character of an area can be broken by alterations that are not in keeping with their surroundings and this is a very obvious example of that.

I am sure that the alterations to the former garage on the left is of benefit to the people who live there and that is clearly a good thing and is why planning laws let things like this happen. However, the rest of us are presented with visual discord.

Heron Cottage

The main point of this picture is the cute Heron Cottage sign but the 4B sign is almost as impressive.

Coming back to life

This house at the Sandy Lane end of Clifford Road was looking very neglected a year ago so it is good to see it being brought back to life.

New bench as St Thomas Aquinas

A little over three years ago I posted a picture of the then new planter at St Thomas Aquinas and now it has been joined by a neat bench.

In to Ham Lands

I mentioned recently that the entrance in to Ham Lands by Teddington Lock Footbridge had been cleared a little and then I posted a picture of a cleared area on one side and this is the cleared area on the other, right next to the path to the bridge.

Creeper cleared

This looks like a fairly modest extension but it is in a prominent position on the confluence of Lock Road, Ham Street and Back Lane so many people are going to notice it. At the moment the most noticeable thing is the removal of a creeper, possibly in expectation that the wall is going to be repainted or re-rendered.

Locksmeade Road signs

Having posted the street sign for Ashley Gardens recently and Croft Way a while ago I am tempted to build on the theme and cover other interesting (in my opinion) street signs across Ham. I'll start with the two facing each other on the entrance to Locksmeade Road.

The one above has slightly larger serifs than the one for Ashley Road and, to be honest, I think they are too large - the simple rule for readability is no serifs,

 

The second sign is in bold text which is also an issue for readability, which may be why they stopped using it. The font also makes the sign looks ugly.

Fisherman Close is missing for some reason.

Water safety tips

Having tried to push the message "do not swim" by Teddington Footbridge the authorities are now taking a more pragmatic line and this new sign has "water safety tips".

Ham express

The former Police Station in Ashburnham Road has become Ham express, a general convenience store.

The most surprising thing about that is that they have chosen to open just two doors away from New Way Food and Wine while The Local is just a short distance up Ham Street.

It will take a few years but, hopefully, the arrival of more people in the redeveloped Ham Close will bring some stability, and growth, to the shops at either end of Ashburnham Road.

Fast food changes

The small collection of fast food shops clustered around Grey Court School is going through changes.

Work is underway to convert Reji Grill into something offering Greek food and, judging by the progress made, I am expecting this to be open soon.

 

A couple of doors down The Taste of Lahore has closed after a couple of years. The sign in orange just to the right of the door says that it has had to close for medical reasons but things have moved on and the notices on the door say that there had been a default and bailiffs are involved.

Forgotten skips

These two skips arrived on the edge of Royal Park Gate some time ago for the old playground surface and, for some reasons, they have been left there ready to collect for several weeks. Unfortunately, in that time they have collected some domestic rubbish and, even worse, some dog waste bags too.

Foggy

There have been a couple of foggy morning this week and I wanted to capture the impact on familiar views. The smudges in the middle are Teddington Weir and this is the towpath by Burnell Open Space.

T H Sanders

One of the things that I like to do here is to capture the small changes that build up over the years to change the area and while I would like to do a before and after of the T H Sanders revamp I am hampered by never having posted a picture of it before.

Luckily I caught the work while it was still in progress and the red sign on the right is one of the originals that is being replaced with green ones.

Gate works

A couple of years ago I posted pictures of all the doors in this alleyway that runs behind the Fox and Duck to avoid Tommy Steele Corner and now this one is being rebuilt. The new bricks around the frame suggest that this work is being taken seriously and that bodes well for the finished product which I will, of course, post once it is done.

Out of place fence

Behind this rather obvious fence is an unusual plot of land that used to have a dilapidated hut with an interesting that includes Ham Horticultural Society and Thames Landscape Strategy. The hut has gone and I am not sure what the new fence is protecting.

The fence blocks access to the site so I guess it is only temporary and whoever owns the plot has some plans for it.

An excuse

I have long admired the loft room in this house in Sudbrook Lane with its floor to roof glass on the gable facing the road but I have avoided peering into a private room. This time the privacy was protected by the scaffolding and the reflection of trees, and besides, I am always interested in scaffolding and that was all the excuse that I needed.

Pumping Station refresh

The doors of Ham Pumping Station (at the end of the Lock Road spur that includes Lock Road Surgery) used to be a tired green colour and the new blue look is a big improvement.

Toad patrollers on Ham Common

Toad Patrol signs have been a regular feature on Ham Farm Road for several years and while I have seen toad patrollers working on Ham Common before this is the first time that I have seen signs there too.

Curled iron

These fine gates opposite The Russell School on Petersham Road almost get lost in the detail of the house and gardens. It was a struggle to find a decent angle to photograph them from and I am not sure that I succeeded.