It's now been 2 weeks since I left my backpack in a Melbourne taxi (Australia). During those 2 weeks I have contacted the police lost property (strangely closed on weekends), lost property for the taxi companies (Silvertop has one but Black Cabs does not), and filed a lost property report with the local police.
I have recently been told by the taxi company that there was no backpack in the back of the taxi, according to the driver. So either the next passenger has decided to keep my belongings or the taxi driver wanted a laptop for his kid.
The police have said that using cameras within the taxis costs too much money and would not be done for such a small thing as my stuff going missing. So that avenue was closed to me.
On that fateful day when I misplaced my backpack with one 7 inch screen laptop (very small), one writing book on Ernest Hemmingway, two novels - one of them Stephen Kings IT, a black umbrella, 2 flash drives and a iPhone battery pack, I was attending a writer's festival in Melbourne. My yellow day pass is also still inside.
I spent the day writing on my little laptop and listening to other published authors talk about their experiences with writing, editing and publishing. A good day actually. If you write and want to talk to some friendly people, go to the Melbourne Emerging Writer's Festival.
I have now bought a new backpack and a new laptop, although being a struggling artist I can't spend much, but at least now I have replacements. I endeavour to never take off that backpack again unless it is wrapped around my legs so I trip over it, and don't go anywhere without it.
My main issue is that I have lost the words that I have written over the last few weeks on that laptop. A pity really. There was some good stuff on there. Still, there is always hope, maybe someone will turn my backpack into the police one day? Maybe I'll get my hard work back from that laptop? Even if someone emailed me the files, that would be enough.
I didn't have any ID in there so if someone didn't think of turning it into the police then they probably would have just said, oh well, finders keepers. Although, taxi drivers are suppose to turn lost property into the nearest police station within 48 hours.
I don't know how women remember to take their handbag everywhere? Maybe it's a male thing to forget where they put things?
Backpack and therefore laptop gone on this day: Saturday night May 26 11.45pm. Back of taxi, Southbank.
The backpack has only one strap and so goes across the chest so would be recognisable.
