PatrickLondon

<i>A prosthetic leg, a life-sized Spider-Man doll and “enough musical instruments to form a band” have been lost on London’s travel network.

More than 300,000 items were left on the capital’s trains and buses last year as Transport for London received a record haul of missing goods.

Aside from the more peculiar finds, thousands of electronic tablets, umbrellas and wallets were also handed in to TfL’s lost property office – described as a wonder emporium by manager Paul Cowan.

Alongside the daily haul of around 150 mobile phones, the office has received a full-size house carpet, a judge’s wig and a hoard of musical instruments, including drum kits. </i>

(How does anyone forget a drum kit?)


http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2...n-tfl-services

sandralist

How does anyone forget a drum kit?

Do you think like unwanted pets, parents accidentally "forget" them escorting their children home from school, leaving them behind?

sandralist

Speaking of lost items, I once left a book behind in the British Museum, and when I went back to retrieve it the following day, they made me sign for it in an enormous. leather-bound record keeping book which easily was 2ft x 4ft and half a foot thick, and loaded with dust. With a guard hovering over me, I didn't have a chance to leaf backward through the pages, but I wondered if I had if I would have found the signatures of Karl Marx or other absent minded folks like myself, through the ages.

Byrd

Does anyone else remember the long-ago thread about the lost leg on the plane? It was so funny!

I think somebody's aunt left her prosthetic leg aboard.

Dukey1

My partner once left a paperback book on a train at a termination stop in Switzerland. Interestingly enough, when he enquired at the station the next day they actually had it and returned it.

I agree that people do not forget drum kits. Why they didn't just take it to the local "opportunity shop" I have no idea.

IMDonehere

I once lost a black umbrella, has anyone seen it?

hetismij2

Never mind forgetting the drum kit, how did they get it on in the first place?
As mother of a drummer I know from experience that drum kits are big, with lots of tricky bits that fall off at random moments if you aren't careful. Transporting one in a van is hard enough, without trying to get one on a bus or tube.

PatrickLondon

Yes, I wondered that, but then I thought it might be poetic licence for a couple of bongos or something like that. Come to think of it, if someone was playing them on the tube, I'd imagine they might have to beat a hasty retreat

bvlenci

Sandra, you remind me of something that happened to me in the British Library. I saw a letter or something related to Raphael. The plaque for the exhibit gave his birth date: 1483; and place: <i> Umbria </i>. I went to the admissions desk to report thus error, and they brought me to a large book like the one you mention, where errors were recorded. I watched the docent enter the correct place as "Urbino, Le Marche".

Cathinjoetown

Years ago (30-35) I left a good umbrella on a London bus. I was advised to wait three days then go to the Lost Property office. Thought it was a long shot but why not?

Entered the room and behind the counter was row after row of neatly tagged umbrellas. Described my umbrella, day left and bus route number and it was located in about two minutes. At that time, umbrellas were the # 1 lost property item.

di2315

Must be a world-wide phenomenon.

In Sydney, Australia there are regular public auctions held to get rid of the odds & sods that passengers abandon on the public transport.

A great place to pick up fabulous bargains!

bvlenci

Lost article services aren't always as well organized as London Transport.

Once, when my daughter was a university student, she accidentally left a good jacket on the plane. The airline gave me a number for a lost articles service at Newark Airpor. I tried for several days to call them, but no one ever answered the phone.

I decided the jacket merited a trip to the airport (40 minutes each way). When I got there, I had to wait half an hour while the lone employee had a personal conversation, ignoring ringing phones. Then when I asked about the jacket, giving flight number, date and description, her reply was, "Good luck!" as she opened a door to a room piled high with articles of all sorts mixed together, with absolutely no attempt to even separate them by date. I didn't even bother looking for the jacket.

bilboburgler

"are"

sandralist

bvlienci,

Brava. Good day's work.

annhig

I can say that lost property at the Hilton @ LGW isn't very good either - we left a library book behind in our hotel room, and despite e-mailing them the next day, and going back to the hotel on our return journey, no luck.

Or perhaps the chamber maid developed a sudden interest in Bulgaria!

Cathinjoetown

Several years before 9/11, my niece's luggage from a Paris flight was lost over the Christmas holidays. After 4 days, airline said they "thought" it was at National/Reagan.

My sister and I drove over, went inside to major chaos, desk manager pointed behind her while saying, "Look in there." "There" was a huge room with cases piled everywhere. We found her bag and left, sort of mouthing and gesturing to the agent, "We have it."

carolyn

"is" . . . any (one) of these yours?

denisea

I have lost more stuff on airplanes than I care to admit to. I have never even attempted to get any of it back. Why add insult to injury, as I can only imagine what kind of response I would get on the phone. But, I hope my black cashmere wraps's new owner loves it as much as I did!

I was amazed several years ago when I intentionally left a paperback book in my hotel room after finishing it. Two days later the hotel called to let me know I left it. (Not so when I left a pair of earrings in my room and physically went back to the room no more than 30 minutes later...housekeeping was right outside the door having just cleaned and neither saw the earrings that were left on the desk. I am still mad about it...)