From Trafalgar Square, 6th April 2012

If there's one place in London that will be busy regardless of the day, it's Trafalgar Square. It was its usual self; heaving with artists, tourists, pigeons and other locals. We scattered the third for the walk's latest trick and during the process saw this green scoot by Nelson's Column, adding a random dot to a classic tourist shot.

From Regent's Canal Path, 26th March 2012

It was the first workday of British Summer Time, and to toast the new light evenings I walked home from work along the canals, and was rewarded with this green, behind bars and sunlit on a surprisingly warm evening. Bliss...

Off Harrow Road, 20th June 2011

Some have been close to home, none had been this close to work before. I let the door slap happily shut behind me as I left into the rain, and before I'd even stretched out my umbrella I spotted this, sat hymenopteran beneath a car in the modest car park. It was small, shadowed and sorry, but I love it regardless, and was very glad the overhanging roof provided shelter for the shot.

Little Venice, 2nd May 2011

It may not look afloat, but that is water there beneath it, albeit water completely covered in dead cherry blossom and fallen leaves. Little Venice was hosting a canal cavalcade this day, which was a riot of old-school whimsy aimed mainly at children, and the balloon wasn't out of place alongside bunting, Punch & Judy and some energetic elderly Morris dancers. The ale tent was more my speed, before the amble continued.

River Thames, by Greenwich Pier, 20th February 2011

And there's the next easternmost. I've never known pea green be the colour of lovers, apart from the Owl & The Pussycat, so unlike the last I suspect this is a random. It was a very grey day and even this small splash of colour was a rare treat, so I waited a short while to see if it would drift any closer to complement the algae-stained walls. Alas it remained obstinately distant while my friends got more distant themselves, so I contented myself with a wide shot of the monumental buildings of the Royal Naval College (which, I found while looking up what they are, is apparently a UNESCO World Heritage Site - my my).

From Long Acre, 16th May 2010

You wouldn't know it from these sunny bookends, but in the short hour or so between this and the last there was a torrential spring downpour that left the streets slick and reflective and sent Sunday shoppers scurrying for cover. This cluster shot up to the west and my first shot was blinded by the sun, but it drifted with the weather eastwards above me and stayed low enough for a good view.

Monmouth Street, 29th January 2010

Back in central London for the second day in a row, I wandered between parties beneath these, yet more snagged in winter branches. The colours say "St Patrick's Day" but the celebrations have never started that early before. They were snagged outside a lively pub, so I suspect that was their source. I'll be surprised if the sighting's not repeated come 17th March.

New Walk, Leicester, 23rd January 2010

Two clusters in one tree, a novelty. Although that said, there seem to have been a lot of snagged balloons this winter, and the image of silhouetted branches feels familiar.

Vere Street, 13th December 2009

One of those windy evenings that flips between cold and clear and sweeping rain frequently and with little pattern. It was unfortunate that I came across this one during one of the wet episodes. Not wanting to dwell on this I took a couple and hurried on, although looking at the ugly blur of this I think I should have stayed longer in the rain.

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.

Charles Street, Leicester, 25th October 2009

The first dusk back in GMT, a premature flash in an unknown street on an unplanned and uncommonly fine weekend. As we approached the balloon there was the sharp ting of fast-falling shrapnel nearby and a whoop of near miss from above. My stoop to shoot at least ceased the aimed rain, but not for too long - as we walked on my explanation was punctuated by a pop, its demise prompting happy victorious cries. But I left the scene, and the city, the happier.

Great Western Road, 16th August 2009

Heading home on a hot day I spotted this one being blown haphazardly along the road, scrabbled for my camera on the bus, missed it, and so got off a stop early on the off chance that it would dodge the cars for a few seconds. And it did. In fact despite a wavering path down the road from kerb to mid-lane and back a few times, it stayed intact long enough for me to capture it repeatedly at my leisure.

Such uncommon unhurried opportunities bring their own frustrations, though. Although it was a glorious sunny day, in the late afternoon this bus stop lies in the shadow of the unlovely facade of Westbourne Park tube station, so the shot is as flat and grey as the preceding few. I tried a few wider shots to better represent the scene, but so bright were the blue sky, tower blocks and industrial metal walls on the other side of the road that any attempt to include them rendered the tarmac inky and the balloon itself merely murky grey.

Notting Hill Gate, from 452 bus, 18th February 2009

Although very close in time to the Valentine's Day glut, from its colour I'd guess that this is a random escape. I mean, who'd give a green balloon?

I was heading to work when I saw this, going around the west side of Hyde Park rather than the more usual east. Unusually I wasn't sat at the front of the bus, so had to leap forward and crouch between the occupants of the front seats to snap this. They looked at me bewildered for a fraction of a second, but this is London - no-one said a thing.

Stockwell Road, from 59 bus, 9th January 2009

"But the 59 doesn't go down Stockwell Road!" I hear you cry. It did this day, diverted due to the closure of Brixton Road, the reason for which remains unknown. The journey was tortuous but cheery due to an impending night of Lash with an old friend, and spotting this group lifted the mood yet further.

They were treed right opposite Brixton Academy, which has recently had its name changed to "The O2 Academy Brixton". What would Hicks say?

Northcote Road, 14th December 2008

The glut continues... a multicoloured cluster snagged in lights on a very grey day. I think this cluster actually adds to the decorations, a fetching statement at the apex of the lines of light.

Harrow Road, from 36 bus, 19th November 2008

This multicoloured cluster was first spotted two days earlier, but the bus had whisked me past before I could reach for my phone. They weren't going to get away though - they're on my daily commute, and I've been able to watch these balloons for the last few days, and will hopefully see them until they hang flaccid and dulled by dirt in the weeks to come.

Knowing they're there does detract slightly from the spontaneous thrill usually associated with a sighting, but on the plus side it does mean I can compose the shot with a bit more intent than usual. So I'm glad I quite like this as a photo as well - the motley globes look pleasingly incongruous against the boxy regularity of the flats.

Around Angel, late August 2008

And another from the bananaman/woman, the first of two in one email - cheers! Oddly I'd just snapped two stray skins and sent them the other way, which although blurred and dim at least assuaged my faint guilt about my previous lack of response.

From the Princess of Wales, Chalcot Road, 5th July 2008

Sat in the sun for a friend's birthday, a veritable succession of balloons drifted overhead. This green one was about the fourth to pass by, but the only one I managed to capture. In all there must have been half a dozen, which points to a common source. Needless to say, I will never know what that source was.

Acre Lane, 17th May 2008

This mismatched pair had become corralled at the apex of the traffic island's railings. Such an enclosure looked protective, but when I walked past again 20 minutes later, they had both disappeared.

Tooley Street, from 47 bus, 22nd March 2008

An enormous cluster of St Patrick's Day survivors ensnared by a bare tree, and snapped from a speeding bus on a cold grey day. Given the profusion of green, white and orange balloons that had festooned pub fronts all week it was perhaps not surprising to see a few escapes, and the sheer number in this trapped group is indicative of the decorative excess in general.