Ham Fair Saturday 13 June

After Ham was plastered with advertising for Ham Open Gardens I was expecting something similar for Ham Fair but the only sign I have seen so far is this modest one on Ham Common facing the traffic.

The font reminds me of the lively debates over Comic Sans MS several years ago where it was generally accepted that the font should never be used. At lest is says "13" rather that "13th" which is much clearer, though the "3" does not look to be in bold from this angle.

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".

Old fire engine at Ham Fair

I went to Ham Fair as usual this year, it was on 13 June, and while there were interesting things to see and do lines of tents do not make for interesting photographs so the fair would have escaped this blog entirely if not for the small collection of vintage fire engines on show in the south-east corner.

They were provided by the The London Museum of Water and Steam in Kew and I spent some time talking to their director. It had been a few years since I had last gone to the museum and much had changed since then, including its name.

Ham Fair 2014

There was good weather for Ham Fair this year which helped to make it a great day out. I went twice, once to look around and the second to help on the HUG stall. I also judged the children's photography competition for HAG on my first visit.

The layout was ever so slightly different this year but it was essentially the same as in precious years. Why change a successful formula?

The Ham community stalls were clustered together which I found worked well as there were a lot of connections between us.

Ham Fair is on Saturday 14 June 2014

This publicity is rolling out for this year's Ham Fair and the most prominent piece is the banner above the Gate House Garden on the south-east corner of Ham Common.

Further details are given on the noticeboard at the front of the garden. The leaflet on the left advertises the photography competition that is being run as part of the fair which, as the leaflet explains, I have been asked to judge because I run this blog.

The disappointing thing is that the community board that Richmond Council installed on Ham Parade says nothing about Ham Fair or, for that matter, Petersham Open Gardens. Last year HUG were forced to stick posters on the outside of the glass on the community board. What is the point of community boards if the community cannot use them?

Ham Fair 2013

Ham Fair is the main local community event of the year and I always make the effort to go, even when the weather is not as kind as it was this year.

The heart of the fair is the many stalls run by local organisations, of which there are many. I spoke to several of them to get the local news and was particularly interested in the update on the proposed hydro-electric generator that would sit alongside the weir at Teddington.

There were lots of fun and retail stalls too and, as always, the most garish of these were the collection of bouncy castles in one corner of the Fair.

My highlight of the show this year was the collection of vintage Trojan cars. These were manufactured, by Leyland, in Kingston upon Thames for a while and so have a strong local connection.

Ham Fair will be on Saturday 8 June 2013

Ham Fair is one of the regular events in the Ham calendar and is probably the most important one. It beings all sorts of local community groups and organisations to Ham Common to show of what they do and to raise money for some good causes.

Fairground organ

I usually go to Ham Fair, held in June each year, and while there is a lot to see and do the scene is one of scruffy stands and scruffy people so there is nothing very photogenic about it. The one bright spot this year was a fairground organ that was as musical as it was colourful.

May Pole

It was good to see some traditional English country dancing at Ham Fair, provided by children from one of the local primary schools.

Bright plastic

The children's amusements at Ham Fair provided a dazzling shock of colour to Ham Common. It was a good idea to place them a little away from the main section where they did not intrude on the country village atmosphere.

Stalls

Ham Fair seemed to be busier than ever this year and there were a large number of stall spromoting the work of local organisations or selling bric-a-brac, cakes, plants, jewellery, books, CDs, etc.

Ham Fair 2008 is coming

Ham Fair 2008 will take place on Ham Common on Saturday 14 June.

Ham Fair was busy

Ham Fair attracted a lot of people, as this picture shows.

Getting ready for Ham Fair

This was the scene earlier today with the stall holders getting ready for Ham Fair.

Bouncy Castle at Ham Fair

This is one of the "attractions" at the Ham Fair (2007). The Fair tries to cater for all ages and part of this is a collection of bouncy and slidy plastic things that is normally placed near to the main avenue of trees. I find them to be incredibly gaudy but I suspect that the smaller children like them.

Ham Fair

The sign says it all, Ham Fair is on Saturday 9 June.