Croft Way blocked

Sadly, I could probably fill this blog with pictures of obstructed pavements but I would just find that depressing and most people would find it boring, so I only show a few of the worst cases.

Croft Way is the main walking route from the centre of Ham to Ham Lands, the riverside and Teddington and that makes this complete obstruction of the pavement very annoying. I have reported this to Richmond Council, using FixMyStreet, and I am interested to see if/when it gets fixed.

SP62 MYJ

Opening Soon!

The grand reopening of The Hand and Flower is scheduled for Saturday 5 November though the sign only admits to it being "soon". I am very much looking forward to getting my local pub back and hope the what lies hidden behind the still shuttered windows is something that looks like a pub with a space for those of us that just want to drink while talking to friends.

Montrose House with ivy

I had no plans to photograph autumn leaves this year but walking past Montrose House (on my way to West Hampstead) the combination of the ivy, house and gate was compelling.

Approaching Richmond Chase

The approach to Richmond Chase from Church Road is rather attractive with the trees almost masking the houses. There is some irony in that these houses with the natural aspect and open space in front of them are the social houses while the very expensive houses behind them are confined to a narrow brick canyon.

Work in progress

A few of the houses in Sandpits Road are below street level, presumably they are in a former sand pit, which means it is not that easy to see when things are being done to them. Luckily this one left plenty of evidence at the upper level.

As is often the case, it is the jumble that attracted me but I also welcomed the excuse to photograph these houses.

Lost arch

There is not a great deal to see in this picture, and that is the problem.

I took a photograph of the entrance to this house in Sudbrook Gardens way back in 2010 (and had an odd encounter with the owner while doing so) because there was a delightful arch there and this has been demolished.

I will keep my fingers cross that the new entrance is equally interesting but I am not hopeful.

The Vicarage in Church Road

I had an interesting encounter in Church Road the other night. I was walking back from the pub just after midnight when I was stopped by a confused delivery driver who was looking for Ham Glebe. They stopped the right person because not only did I know exactly where the house was I was also able to describe the location and appearance of the house sign. That reinforced my belief in the need for clear house signs and recently refurbished house next to Ham Glebe has a new sign announcing that it is called The Vicarage.

That got me thinking about the addresses in Church Road so I did a post code search to see if they also had numbers, but they do not. Royal Mail gives the official address as St. Andrews Vicarage, Church Road, Ham, RICHMOND TW10 5HG so I hope that the new owners will let them know the new name.

Ham Scout Group sign

When I last posted a picture of the Ham Scout Group a year ago hut in was to highlight the new official looking sign to the right of the entrance and now it is to highlight the newer and much more obvious one on the left.