I got my Christmas present early, a battery powered chainsaw, new in the box. The details of how it ended up in a pawn shop in Otahuhu… one of Auckland’s less affluent suburbs… are unknown to me, and in this case ignorance is surely bliss.

Anyway, the town sported these great custom parking bollards. They would support a very thick chain if needed, but there wasn’t one.

A few years ago we had a wave of ram raids all around Auckland. Gangs of miscreants, usually juveniles, were stealing cars and driving them through shop fronts, stealing jewelry, or cigarettes, or just causing mayhem. Many people talked about installing bollards, and some of that happened. I don’t know why, but the ram raid fad seemed to end as quickly as it started.

But if it starts up again, Otahuhu is ready.