Watering Ham Polo ground

On the Ham United Group (HUG) Annual Architectural Tour 2026 of Ham Polo Club we were told repeatedly of the importance of keeping the horses safe and that includes keeping the ground soft enough which they do using this impressive rain-maker.

The water used for this comes directly from the river, under licence, and we were shown the pump that they use. It was just another example of how well run the whole operation is.

Polo project

It is unclear what all the machinery at Ham Polo was doing but I just like to see big machines in operation. It also raises the anticipation that things may look different once they have finished.

Site closed

The Ham Close redevelopment project has been firmly closed over the holiday period with large vehicles parked against the gates to deter unwanted visitors.

A very long arm

I was seriously impressed by the machine used to pur concrete into the foundations of the new Ham Close development and I had to take the photo at this angle to get all of the arm in the picture. 

Anyone who understand basic physics will know that at that length the arm will have a very large Moment (turning effect) on the several pivots and it takes good engineering to keep the arm straight and in the air.

Pile driver

Work is continuing at both ends of Ham Close with new flats at the western end and a community centre in the south-east corner where a pile driver was in action.

Crane

A problem with building a row of terrace houses without any rear access is that when you need something done at the back, such as an extension, then everything has to go either through the house or over it. Here someone in Yeovilton Place has chosen to go over it.

The houses in the foreground are in Northweald Lane.

Spelling mistake

Even I know it is spelled "Plumbing".

Something is happening at Sudbrook Cottage

The impressive collection of machinery is a convincing sign that something significant s happening at Sudbrook Cottage in Ham Gate Avenue. And while it happens the dollops of red enliven the scene wonderfully.

Drinks and snacks

Petersham and Ham Sea Scouts have introduced a drinks and snacks van (I refuse to call it a food truck, despite what google says) on the edge of their plot alongside the towpath.

I am sure that many people will find it very useful as it is a fair way along the towpath to, say, Flying Clouds or Tide Tables, but I walked past it and went to the cafe at Ham House, which is a large part of what I pay my annual National Trust membership fee for.

JCB

I poked my camera though the hole in the gate to the construction works at Meadlands School to check on progress but there was a smart JCB in the way so I took a picture of that instead!

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.

Bent wheel

I have no idea how you do that to a car in sedate Ham Farm Road.

E-Scooter and Cycle Hire comes to Ham Parade

I knew that Richmond was taking part in the London e-scooter trial (Kingston is not) but I had not expected it to come to Ham. I was wrong.

One of the scheme rules is that the e-scooters are parked on the road, and not the pavement, and so a bay for them has been created from a car parking area on Ham Parade. No doubt some motorists will complain but it looks like a good swap to me. 

At the Lock

There are no pleasure boats going through Teddington Lock at the moment but there is still plenty to see there including the many jobs that they are doing, notably the new railings, and the occasional appearance of something industrial like this.

I have absolutely no idea what it does, and I have not seen it in action, but I love the sheer confidence of it.

Ben Forrest has a van

I have seen many small 3-wheel vans in Paris but not so many here, so this one was definitely worth a photograph. It is also nicely decorated, which you would probably expect from a shop that deals in looking good.

A minor point; the branding here has "Ben Forrest" as two separate words whereas the shop concatenates them into one.

Helicopters

I was having a coffee and some cake at Ham House when I heard then saw a helicopter approach and then appear to land somewhere just beyond the wall. Soon afterwards, coffee and cake completed, I was walking along the path between Ham House and Ham Polo when I came across these two helicopters.

Flowery van

I do not often post pictures of cars or vans (except when their awful parking demands it) but I had to make an exception for this flowery van discovered in Ashburnham Road. Something this pretty deserves attention.

Big jobs!

Whatever is happening at 54 Sandy Lane requires some big machinery to make it happen.

59 Ham Street rises more

I have seen the plans for 59 Ham Street so have some idea what the finished buildings will look like but the plans never tell the whole story so it is interesting to watch them take shape. At the moment most of that shape is hidden by scaffolding and it is hard work for the slim bricks on the lower level to get themselves seen.

Crane in Lawrence Road

I was walking along Lock Road on the way to work and glancing up Lawrence Road I saw this crane at work and had to take a closer look. I do not know what its payload was, nor do I care, it was the machine itself that I wanted to capture.