Magdalen Road, 19th June 2011

Another gift! High on the telephone wires in a corner of London soon to be left by the sender, my might-as-well-be-brother-in-law. Will these last longer here than he does..?

Petit Valley, Trinidad & Tobago, 12th August 2010

And this is the most distant to date - thanks Luna! It was one of those "isn't the internet amazing?" moments - a random find leads to a comment from afar, and a few weeks later, in her own words:

"I merged onto the highway, there it was: a happy pink balloon try to pull and tug its way free from whatever snagged its string. I pulled over and put my hazard lights on, then switched them off, thinking that the blinking lights just might make some kind person stop to offer assistance to a girl who appeared to be need of it. Sure enough, a few cars slowed down as I walked back toward the balloon, but thankfully this was past rush hour and not many cars were about."

So I get to stick a pin in the map in Petit Valley, some 7120-something kilometres from home. Brilliant. Luna added that it made her morning. I'm glad - I'm still smiling now.

Earlsfield Road, 27th July 2010

Bought pink for some proud brother; lost, snagged, and snapped and sent by an amused sister. Many thanks!

Upper King Street, Leicester, 24th February 2010

I've been in Leicester a lot recently, but I didn't take this one myself. The one person who could draw me there every other weekend from my London idyll is now the fifth to send me a balloon. London suffered a dearth of Valentine's Day balloons compared to previous years (or perhaps the denizens of Maida Vale are not so keen to declare love in such a manner, or lose their tokens so carelessly to the air if they do), so it was good to learn that that paucity wasn't universal.

It has been a winter of balloons snagged in bare branches. I suspect their relative abundance is due to their stability and longevity, two features that set them apart from the other balloons here. Not fleeting, and with their fragility out of reach, they've lost their appeal, their challenge and their joy. So this will be the last snagged balloon. I toyed with the idea of deleting the others, but a few of them are favourites for various reasons, so they remain, but end here, at 45.

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.

Charing Cross Road, 28th January 2010

The theme of silhouetted branches continues, although reversed by the bright lights and only relatively dark skies of central London at night. Regardless of the illumination it does seem to have been a winter of snagged balloons, with none just rolling around pavements the last couple of months. Bring on the spring, then.

High Street, Leicester, 23rd January 2010

And another nigh on identical. This one, rather oddly, was joined in its tree by some clothing and sundry detritus.

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.

Belvedere Road, 14th January 2010

And more, spotted just a few metres from the ones below. At least these have a hint of hue about them, although their colour and the spidery silhouettes of the branches hardly do much to conceal the chill wintry feel.

From Belvedere Road, 14th January 2010

Another flat January shot, whose desaturated bleakness echoes one taken just over a year ago. Once again the colour seen in real life was lost en route to the camera's CCD, but one of these was red, believe me.

Incidentally, back then I noted Pantone's colour of the year was Mimosa. This year, they went the other way.

Harrow Road, from 36 bus, 11th January 2010

Heading back to work after a meeting, the photo reveals nothing of the weather conditions. In Oxford, where I'd been, there was still a good depth of snow off the roads and the pavements were white and icy. London, as usual, is warmer and greyer than its surrounds.

I've seen plenty of balloons around this area, which is a mystery to me, as it doesn't strike me as a balloon stretch of road. Shows how much I know.

Montpellier Street, Cheltenham, 22nd December 2009

It had been a week of bitterly cold weather but this sharp bright day was the last of the real freeze. Still, beneath these cold-shrivelled balloons the street was edged with dirty snow, and the pavements off the main roads were evilly slippery rinks. After the blizzards and fog the sky had a pure clean look, and its colours graded evenly down from the deep zenith blue to a peach horizon. The low yellow evening light gave false warmth to the buildings, and far far further above caught the thin arc of a dusk moon.

High Street Kensington, 19th December 2009

Shades of deja vu - last year at a similar time of year I'd seen a similar cluster in a similar tree on the same street. I prefer this shot though, largely thanks to the lights.

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.

Northdown Street, 8th December 2009

This pink star was snagged in a far corner of London outside the King Charles I pub, to which this was my first visit (it had a 12.1% stout and the mounted front half of a monitor lizard on the wall). It was a dark road on a slick night, and without a serious flash this was always going to be a murky shot. To the eye, though, the star added a cheery note to a gloomy night (and I mean gloomy solely in reference to the weather).

Welford Road Stadium, Leicester, 6th December 2009

And more in Leicester, this time tangled in some high beam on the towering new north stand of the Tigers' rugby stadium. The cavernous stand was silent and empty but was flooded with golden winter light, and this cluster hung and bobbed like a Christmas decoration from the rafters. Whether they were connected to the club I can't say - there hadn't been a match in eight days and the home colours are largely green, but it seems the most likely source regardless. I've never been to a game at the ground, though, so don't know if red and white balloon releases are part of their matchday pomp.

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.

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.

From Golden Jubilee footbridge, 9th August 2009

The Giraffe restaurant on the South Bank has provided balloons before, so this orange's origin was not obscure. They're branded and given out to advertise the place, but although this was snagged nearby it was shrouded by foliage and too far from the concrete walkways to be legible, so its power as an advert was gone.

Hyde Park, 31st May 2009

That last theory can't be said to apply to this, sadly. Yet another sunny day, but for once my thoughts were anything but.