I don't mind Thorn as a brand, but its once dominant position as a big player of street lighting manufacturers back in the 1980s, nowadays seems like a distant faded memory.
Back in the 1980s I am pretty sure every borough in London had the wonderful Alpha 8 and the timeless Alpha 4 ( whilst most definitely had/have the Beta 5, Beta 79 and the Gamma 6), whereas contrast it with the late 90s/early 00s, and the boroughs that still used Thorn products is Bromley (Riviera,Gamma basique) and Hillingdon (Riviera) and the city (Civic)... although there is probably a few more.
Today the Thorn brand is has become about as dominant as other forgotten brands like Phosco (non-existant in London since the 00s) and Holophane (used once or twice by TFL as a cheap one-of replacements for most of Mile End Road, part of Blackfriars bridge and part of Edgware Road).
However last year, in there run up to the Olympics, Transport for London casually replaced some old Thorn, GEC and Eleco lanterns with the Thorn Oracle (which is quite possibly a first for London).
Personally I really like the look of the Oracle, it appears to be an evolutionary design from the Riviera/Alpha 2000, which admittedly had potential, but poor quality and bulky, ill proportioned, ugly design stopped it from being a true successor to the fantastic Alpha 8 and ultimately failing to compete against the ZX2/SGS203 in London.
My question is this; I really like the looks of the Oracle, but the only ones in London appear to be the smallest ones, therefore does anybody know of a good Google maps location of the Thorn Oracle and potentially, the larger versions?
It would be most appreciated