Cave Road

I have not had an excuse to post a picture of this block in Cave Road before so it was nice to be prompted by the scaffolding to do so.

Night leak

While I walk at night quite a lot I do not take that many pictures then, for obvious reasons, but I took one of this leak on the north side of Ham Common because it might not have been there for very long. And it wasn't.

Green posts

The sign gives the location away, this is footpath between Back Lane and Ham Street which, for some reason, is called The Bench, where somebody has decided to paint the two posts light green. 

It looks like a domestic green to me, implying that this was done by a resident with some spare paint rather then Richmond Council. The colour works so I have no complaints.

Birdbath

I have said many times, and will almost certainly say again, that it is the spaces between the buildings that makes Wates Estate special and this is another example of why that is. This wild square is on Kingfisher Drive and boasts a birdbath rising from the long grass.

A much bigger house

This house, on the corner of Beaufort Road and  Fannshawe Road, is possibly the largest extension in the area when measured as a percentage of the original size.

The front view shows how the width of the house has doubled and how the latest works sit on top of previous works.

The view of the back of the house reveals the full extent of the extensions, not only is the house doubling in width, it is going from 2 storeys to 3 and it is growing across the back too.

Posts

Some posts have appeared in the garden of Gordon House on the west side of Ham Common. Their purpose is not yet clear but anything that obstructs the view of one of the most significant buildings on the Common will be bad news.

Passing Ham House

I was walking along the towpath past Ham House quite late at night, it was almost 10pm, when I was struck by the view through the trees.

The camera on my phone did all sorts of clever stuff with the image to make it look like daylight which actually makes it look a little less dramatic but I like the picture enough to post it anyway.

Badgers and storks

A numbers of signs have been posted in the Ham Common area reminding us of the wildlife that we share, or used to share, the area with and of the importance of protecting the species that are left.

The QR code is a link to Restore Nature Now and promotes their march in London.

Ashburn Carpets has closed

The short parade of shops on the corner of Ham Street and Ashburnham Road has seen a lot of change over the years and Ashburn Carpets is the latest shop there to close. The remaining shops almost exclusively cater for the hungy student market and while that is a reliable market it means that the parade is dominated by food stores and takeaways. 

It will take a while, some years, but there is hope that the redevloped Ham Close with its larger population will improve the prospects of both parades on Ashburnham Road.

32

32 Sandy Lane makes it absolutely clear that it is number 32 with this large and attractive house number built in to the wall by the gate. 

It is an elegant and slightly unusual typeface with interesting features, like the bulbous end to the bottom of the "3" and the varied width of the text, which is especially obvious in the downstroke of the "2".

POST BOX

As expected, the hole in the new wall at 32 Sandy Lane was for a post box. It looks a little odd being recessed that far back but that is better than protruding over the pavement.

The wording seems a little clunky and unnecessarily long to me, just "Post Box" should have been sufficient. The clunkiness comes from the choice of words, particularly "place" and "envelopes" where "put" and "letters" seem more natural, and "into this box" could be simply "here".

Wild flowers on Ham Village Green

While Ham Common is an example of a neglected place, Ham Village Green continues to show what active and sensitive management can do with a splendid display of wild flowers.

LC21 OFV

Jude Gate in context

The new Jude Gate (assuming it keeps its name) on the north side of Ham Common is all but finished and now is a good time to see the house in context, and it fits in very nicely indeed when viewed from Ham Common.

In style and colouring it matches its immediate neighbours and while it is much grander than both it does not dominate the view.

Pointless signs

These signs have both passed their used-by dates, the 20mph limit is no longer new and the Teddington Riverside development was completed years ago, but what I find most unusual about these signs is that they are facing Ham Common (road) as it joins Petersham Road by the New Inn and that road is one way in the other direction so they cannot be seen by drivers.

Fondly remembered

I posted an in situ photo of this memorial bench for Ken Knight at Teddington Lock when it appeared almost two years ago and I though that it could do with close-up of one of the photos too so that it looks more like a memorial and less like a bench.

Gate and pots

There are good reasons not to like this house in Hardwicke Road, particularly as the appearance of the house and the size and style of the railings and gate are so out of keeping with its neighbours, but somehow it gets away with all that and it makes a good impression on the road. The pots certainly help.

Surprising extension

There is an approved planning application for this plot on the corner of Maguire Drive and Vancouver Road, but the plans I looked at were for a simple extension to the house, not a separate property with it's own front door and energy supply. I suspect that the Enforcement Team in Richmond Planning will have something to say about that.

Timber frame

The new build in Ham Farm Road is taking shape with the construction of the timber frame. Also interesting is the black brickwork at ground level. I would like to see more of that!

Bakehouse garden

The Bakehouse in Petersham Road had a refresh in 2008 and is having another one now and while I have been keeping an eye on it for several weeks the works have not been visually interesting enough for me to post an image, despite the scaffolding! It became more interesting when work started on the front garden and the basement window.

The brick steps up to the front door are a nice touch.

Previously The Bakehouse had a low white wall and nothing much of a garden so it is likely that whatever replaces it will be an improvement.

Construction site

There is nothing much happening yet on this small site between the footpath and the track leading to Teddington Lock but there is no mystery as the red sign swinging loose, close to the middle of the picture, proclaims that this is a "Construction Site".

Wates space

Walking through Wates Estate away from the roads is always rewarding because you come across spaces like this one on the path from Breamwater Gardens to Riverside Drive.

Ham Fair posters

The noticeboard in Gate House Garden (opposite Hand and Flower) has two posters for Ham Fair, one of the main event and one for the dog show, and I am interested in the differences between them.

I mentioned previously when discussing the banners that I thought the text for "Ham Fair" was too small and it looks as though the producer of the Dog Show poster agrees with me and while they have copied the format of the main poster they have enlarged the text and image. It is an improvement but the text is still too small for the image.

Having already dissected the banner I do not want to dwell on the posters, other than to say that I think that the main one is too busy (no one is going to go to the Fait just because it has vintage vehicle) and the Dog Show one does not shout :Dog Show" loudly enough.

All criticisms aside, it is good to see posters for the Fair in such a prominent position and they are good enough for what they are there to do.

Ham Fair banner

Banners promoting Ham Fair on Saturday 8 June have appeared on Ham Common, and they are not very good. Unfortunately having quickly spotted some issues with it the natural temptation is to go looking for more and so the messenger becomes the story and the message gets lost.

The main problem is that the text "HAM FAIR" is just too small, particularly in relation to the size of the image. 

I cannot be bothered to look the font up but the "R" at the end of "FAIR" looks out of place with the trailing serif. The "J" in "June" looks unnecessarily odd too. In both cases it looks like an quirky font is being used just for those letters when the rest of the text is in standard san serif.

A rule for banners and posters is to avoid clutter and if that had been followed then it would say "8" rather that "8th" and the times would be "11am to 4:30pm" or even just "11 to 4:30".

Yellow and white

The crash barrriers at the garage at Ham Cross have gone through a few changes in recent years and with the recent refresh of the whole garage they have changed again and are now yellow and white. They look prettier than they did before but that is at the cost of reduced visibility and I wonder how they will cope.