Grand Union Canal, 21st November 2009

These two look allied here, but they behaved very differently. The white one idled despite the gale, staying stationary relative to the leaves, while the blue scudded one way and another, away with the wind then against it as fast. Baffled by this behaviour we watched a while longer, curiosity piqued.

The only explanation we could think of was that the blue balloon's dangling underwater string was caught in the mouth of a canal-dwelling fish, whose erratic movements dragged it about like a diver drags a marker buoy. To test this theory we scrabbled around the pavements and verges of the canalside path looking for pebbles to throw into the water. The first was encouraging - it landed by the balloon, which then sped away as a spooked fish would do. Fired with enthusiasm we threw more, but the second was less convincing - the balloon didn't rush off at all. The third was the same, and both balloons were then whipped along by the wild wind alone. Pleasantly baffled I captured the scene, before we left for the shelter of a nearby pub.

Sutherland Avenue, 15th November 2009

The wind was blowing this trio along at a leisurely pace when I spotted them, and they skidded eastwards up the road as I snapped. After a few standard grounded shots a sudden strong gust lifted them from the pavement and by chance the cluster was caught by its longest member through railings. The group stayed like this awhile while I smiled and shot and moved on. But I came back the same way a few hours later, and there was inevitably no sign of them at all.

Camden High Street, 14th November 2009

And more orange! The source of these was as evident as that of the branded enbranched balloons before - a few paces further on there was a balloon modeller twisting various shapes. I don't know what this inchoate design had done to offend, nor whether it was discarded by twister or recipient, but I doubt it lasted long on the crowded streets of Camden on a Saturday night.

James Street, 9th November 2009

The Dutch do not have a monopoly on orange balloons, of course. The next day, back in London and hurrying through a chilly night to rejoin friends at a restaurant, I saw these above the crowds. No patriotic fervour here, though - these are branded by TGI Fridays, whose restaurant just south of here must have been handing them out. They were in practically the same spot as one seen similarly snagged over Christmas shoppers a while back. That one was orange too, although no logo was visible, but it was more likely to have been of Friday origin than Dutch pride, I suspect.

Amstel, Amsterdam, 8th November 2009

Amsterdam was always going to draw me back, with its charming combination of canals and happy confusion. There was a glut of celebratory balloons during Queen's Day back in the warm spring, but I wasn't expecting the trend to continue with the city mired in the clammy cold air of the North Sea autumn. Happily, though, my lack of faith was misplaced.

Orange again, hardly a surprise, and floating down one of the larger canals. So baffling is the mesh of roads, canals and bridges that any sighting in this city is hard to site on the map, but vague and hazy memory was here helped by the website of the restaurant in the background. We didn't eat in Zushi, but I was grateful to it nonetheless.