What?
 It's a traffic bollard. That's really it. Nothing to see here...move along.

When?
c.1992 -

Why?
Hard to say really. The only thing that singles it out from other bollards is its position, which is why I noticed it in the first place.

What happened?
While imprisoned in the main teaching block of Sydney Smith School in Hull,  I spent a lot of time looking out of the window. When it started getting dark early in winter, I saw the bollard in question lit up in the distance. In my mind, it became a sort of symbol of freedom, a little white and yellow beacon in the darkness. I remember it particularly from maths lessons. If it hadn't been for the bollard, perhaps I would be better at maths.
As the years passed and I left school, when I felt stressed I began to imagine myself being inside the bollard. Something about being squashed up inside its brightly coloured plastic shell seemed very relaxing. I suppose it was a bit like a big plastic womb or something.
Not just any bollard mind - that one only. I live not far from the bollard, so I took the opportunity to have a closer look.
As you can see, the bollard separates traffic joining or leaving the adjacent  roundabout. The left fork takes you to Kirkella, the right, to Anlaby. The bollard has four sides. One has an arrow on it - telling the passer by to "keep left". There are rather fetching yellow panels on each face. There used to be a sticker with "6" on the side, (though this has recently been replaced with a number 4), hence, bollard no. 6. In the daylight photo, the bollard in question is the one in the immediate foreground. Although you can't see it, light in the bollard comes from a "light tray" in the bottom. The older light trays have a proper light in, the newer ones have a load of L.E.D.'s. I find that the light tray now forms part of the whole fantasy world of being inside the bollard. I like to imagine being small enough to sit comfortably inside the bollard, on a little deck chair. When the light tray came on at night, I could put some shades on and just sit there and listen to the traffic going past. The yellow panels would be like stained glass windows in a great plastic cathedral.

When Will it End?
 Probably never. I would like a bollard shell to keep for when I have enough space for my Room of Obsession. Maybe I could stick my head in it once in a while.

Loose Ends
The following loose ends still remain. If you can answer them, please contact me.


 Play Along at Home
You can find my bollard at the junction of Beverley Road / Lowfield Road, Hessle, near Hull.

Take the A63 eastbound towards Hull.
Come off at the exit for the Humber Bridge / Hessle.
Go straight on over the roundabout .
Go straight on at the next roundabout, head down the hill towards Hull (A1105).
When you get to the bottom of the hill, turn left at the roundabout (B1232).
About a quarter of a mile down the road, there it is. It's the first one you come to.

If you would like an impression of how I imagine the inside of the bollard to be, why not visit your nearest cathedral?