Ladies Bag Warning, Phone Warning - and Lost Property Office

I just noticed the sign is not just from the pub but from the City of Westminster.

You don't want to lose your bag. You don't want to lose its contents because of the loss of money. Loss of doorways. Inconvenience. Having to change locks. 

On your way to an airport, you know at the airport you'll be asked if you packed all your bags yourself. 

The other common losses are cameras, wallets and phones. If you look in the free Metro newspaper you can read the good news feed box on the letters page. This usually includes one of more stories of people who fell over or fainted (therefore losing their grip on their possessions), or didn't have enough money for a bus or taxi, or lost a wallet or phone or bag and want to thank the kind and honest person who returned it.

It's reassuring to know that 364 days of the year, dozens of other good people will return your lost property, point out that you have dropped a scarf or glove. Does it make up for the one occasion when you lost one vital item, or lost everything?

The London Transport Lost property office is in Baker Street. But what if you can't say where you lost your bag or camera or phone?

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, speaker, author.