26/04/14: "cool music" CD-R, Finchley alleyway

Found in a narrow gap between garages on Montrose Crescent, N12. The surface of this Imation disc is "bubbling". Rather attractive. Unlikely to play.

12/04/14: "Theory Test" CD-R, verge next to Waitrose, Whetstone

Discarded before or after the test took place?

01/04/14: White disc with blue/green-ish label, Stanhope Street, Camden

As the sticker ink blurs in the moisture of a Camden flat's garden, any indication of what was contained on this otherwise unlabelled CD is lost forever.

29/03/14: Pirate software CD-R (Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator) with mud, Waitrose car park, Whetstone

Well labelled, if not well looked after.

23/02/14: Mill Hill Park CD-R

A psychedelic rainbow of colours is nicely offset by green Arabic lettering.

20/02/14: Puddle disc pair, Drummond Street, NW1

Neither of these are likely to play.

11/02/14: "The Very Best of Pure R&B: The Summer Collection 2003" (CD1), Waitrose car park, Whetstone

Near the recycling bins in the Waitrose car park. Sticker reads “£0.20p”. CD2 nowhere to be seen.

28/01/14: "HP & Phil Stone", Camden High Street

A grim pile of Camden rubbish included a crisp packet and what appears to be "talking book" versions of J.K. Rowling's popular children's adventure stories burned to four Maxell discs.

25/01/14: Granville Road, Finchley, CD remains

Another "radically distressed" find. It would take a lot of work to get this one playing again.

19/01/14: Finchley CD remains

Is it possible that an aggressive cyclist took cruel delight in riding over this disc again and again? Important parts of the CD had vanished completely, either removed from the scene or ground down into invisible dust. Unlikely to play.

18/01/14: CD-R in Totteridge hedge

How does a CD find its way into a hedge in a quiet North London street?

11/01/14: "MP3 Music", Finchley

One of the few abandoned CDs that might still have been playable. "MP3 Music" is a fairly broad title and gives few clues about the kinds of delights burned onto this Imation disc. Can't decipher the other writing, alas.

03/01/14: "The Essence of Billie Holiday" (disc one), near Warren Street

Also visible in the January puddle: a small clump of grass and the reflection of your careless photographer. No sign of disc two. Unlikely to play.

29/12/13: CD-R in Whetstone (top and bottom view)

This was spotted in the small parking area just down the hill from Totteridge & Whetstone tube station. The writing on the disc had long ago passed into illegibility. The disc itself had begun leaving a trail, like a comet. Unlikely to play.

29/12/13: "29 Dj Charbel Mix", near Kenwood, North London

No idea who Dj Charbel might be. It's pleasing, however, to think that the mix on this Sony CD-R might be volume 29 in his or her hugely ambitious multi-disc deejaying project. Unlikely to play.

28/12/13: "High School Musical", between Finchley and Whetstone

Found by the roadside on the walk from Finchley to Whetstone, where Swan Lane meets the High Road. I love the way this disc gleams in the December sunlight. Almost a “Pac-Man” shape. Unlikely to play.