Temp Bollard with a Warning to Dog Owners.

I dropped a fare off the other evening in Great James Street, Bloomsbury, WC1 only to notice a cast iron temporary bollard with a warning sign on the paved over part of this rather beautiful street.

The warning sign is to dog owners and informs them of a possible fine if they allow their dogs to foul the footpath/pavement. What I do (excuse the pun) find funny is the fact that dogs have a tendency to piddle up any vertical column they come across.

So yet again London councils dish up a variety of bollards that even I thought never existed.

Is this the perfect Bollard ?

Is this the perfect bollard ? Well in my humble opinion yes for it isn't bendy made of robust materials and actually serves a real purpose by warning drivers to keep left.

This bollard can be found in St Andrew Street in the City of London near Holborn Circus. It is made of metal with plastic inserts coloured yellow and then the sign is blue with a well lit white arrow.

The most worrying trend at the moment is the popularity of the cheap nasty looking bendy keep left bollard popping up all over the City of Westminster. Let's hope the City of London doesn't follow suit !

Glue the Crest..?

Whilst soldiers are short of kit, equipment and helicopters you can certainly rely on a good London council and central Government to plant bollards all over Whitehall to protect buildings and their place of work.

However it really does take the biscuit when you see a bollard with clamps holding the crest in place just so we the public know who planted this piece of anti-lorry bomb furniture.

The country is in debt and local councils just keep on wasting money. A bollard without a crest would do just fine or maybe plant a few trees along Parliament Street/Whitehall SW1....oooops they did have trees and they cut many of them down.

Back to the City, to the City tonight...!

Yes just off Aldersgate Street and Long Lane in the City of London you'll find a street by the name of Newbury Street here we find a terrific collection of bollards.

The one in the picture is made by a company just over the water in Southwark, the company name is Bailey & Pegg, 81 Bankside. In fact this bollard does look like it's had a few scraps but it basic design is similar to the rest of the Bollard except is has a flat top that appears to be filled in with cement or concrete.

Now considering the roads and pavements are pretty narrow you'll find a considerable collection of varying types of bollards all within 4oft of each other. The diversity within the square mile is amazing and they have even started to plant wooden over sized bollards to.

So yet again we find ourselves back in the City of London and who knows what other bollards we may find here in the heart of the nations banking, insurance and legal communities.

Bollard Statues...?

Yes just off the King's Road new but very pleasant Duke of York's Square we have a statue of a boy jumping over a Hans Town 1819 bollard.

I have to say considering the whole of Kensington & Chelsea is littered with bollards you wouldn't think it was necessary to plant a statue of one anywhere in the borough. In fact maybe this young lad has finally found the only actual real use for these rather costly items of street furniture.

I always used to think it was the Daleks that were going to get us has a child but instead it seems it may well be the town planners and the bollards...

Hans Town 1819...

Here we have a Hans Town bollard which can be found on Pavilion Road SW3 and dotted around the surrounding area of Sloane Street. But what was Hans Town ? It turns out to be a grand 18th century suburb of London owned by Sir Hans Sloane who was a benefactor to Chelsea like no other even by today's standard. Today Hans Town is an electoral ward of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

So here is a bollard dedicated to an area and a man who left his mark on London and probably created the most beautiful residential area the capital has to offer the very wealthy.

The bollard itself is white in colour solid in construction with three rings, two nearer the cannon ball top and the words "Hans Town 1819" on the side (if a column can have a side). Note the base is different and cubed in shape when compared to most modern bollards.

Well I'm off to work and Hans Town 2009 here I come...

Spot the Difference...

Can you spot the differ-ence here between our two zebra stripped bollards. Well if you turn into Fentiman Road from Clapham road you'll notice these two bollards on the left hand side protecting the sloped pavement whilst one of them is so close to a lamp post it is almost redundant.

In a time when we are wondering how to save money and improve the public finances surely the time has come to scrap the madness of street furniture and only plant what is actually necessary on the pavements and the roads.

Now whilst we may compare these two bollards for they are different in shape notice the tops. One looks like you could juice an orange upon it the other looks like a cannon ball has been tacked into place.

Curved Column of St Paul's Bollards...

Polished, stone/granite bollards guarding the paved area immediately outside the front of St Paul's Cathedral. In fact they look like a group of extras for an episode of Dr Who or a set of pawns for a game of giant chess.

Taking a closer look these are cylindrical bollards with a grove topped with a what can only be described as a stone from a curling match. These bollards though are here to keep vehicles away from the front of St Paul's which is a view and pedestrianised area that is worth keeping free of vehicles.

So yet again the City of London chucks up a different class and style of bollard and I can only say I'm sure their are plenty more...

St Pancras International Bollards...

Here we are at the Eurostar taxi-cab rank and just look at the line of bollards, they are over sized and made of stainless steel but why have we bollards here ?

Well this is more than likely a security measure for the new St Pancras International terminal is partly made of glass and you'll notice the bollards protect the entrances/exits from the station. Having said that I'm also sitting on the taxi-cab rank thinking we (the taxi-cabs) are the wrong side of the bollards.

So if you happen to be travelling to or from Europe via Eurostar spend a moment or two having a look at the rather bland but clean modern bollards of St Pancras International...