Main content

Being Human: The Lost Luggage Office, Ghosts and Warrior Poets.

Matthew Sweet travels to Canterbury, Portsmouth and the TFL offices in search of stories of the lost and found as part of the Being Human Festival running across UK universities.

Stories of objects, ghosts and histories lost and found recorded on location in Portsmouth's most haunted house, the site of a sacrifice in Canterbury and at the TfL Lost Luggage Office. Presenter Matthew Sweet meets academics taking part in Being Human which showcases research from universities around the UK.

How can the reflections of a warrior-poet from the distant past and the adventures of an Iron Age tribesman from the far future help us rethink our relationship with a city centre in the Britain of today? Matthew Sweet travels to Canterbury to find out.
The Transport for London lost property office is a labyrinthine cornucopia hidden away under the streets of central London. A visit there leads to reflections on our complicated relationships with things in a consumer society dominated by mass-produced goods, and the history of the concept of lost property casts a revealing light on the development of the city as an ordered space.
And, some say that Wymering Manor in Portsmouth is one of the most haunted houses in the country. Whether that's true or not, Matthew goes there to examine the ways in which the past of a building intrudes into its present.

Matthew's guests include:
Michael Bintley and Sonia Overall in Canterbury
Kate Smith and Paul Cowan at the TFL Lost Property Office
Karen Fielder and Benjamin Ffrench in Portsmouth

Producer Luke Mulhall.

Available now

45 minutes

Last on

Thu 16 Nov 2017 22:00

Being Human Festival - What's On

  • November 17, 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm (Free): 听-听听On this interactive walking tour you will uncover the hidden post-apocalyptic landscapes of Canterbury through the narratives of Russell Hoban鈥檚听Riddley Walker...

  • 听November 18, 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm (Free): 听- Amidst the City of London鈥檚 vibrant streets, this walking tour will explore shifting attitudes towards lost property...

  • November 19, 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm (Free) : 听- Come along to Portsmouth鈥檚 oldest and reputedly most haunted house, Wymering Manor, for three interactive tales of the lost and found of Portsmouth and Sussex...

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Matthew Sweet
Interviewed Guest Michael Bintley
Interviewed Guest Sonia Overall
Interviewed Guest Kate Smith
Interviewed Guest Karen Fielder
Interviewed Guest Benjamin Ffrench
Producer Luke Mulhall

Broadcast

  • Thu 16 Nov 2017 22:00

Featured in...

The Arts & Ideas Podcast

The Arts & Ideas Podcast

You can download all the past episodes of Radio 3's Free Thinking

Discussions and talks from the Free Thinking Festival 2019

Discussions and talks from the Free Thinking Festival 2019

Angry politics, what we can鈥檛 say, being diplomatic, weeping, emotion in music, film & TV

Click to listen to discussions, talks and music as the Free Thinking Festival 2019 Gets Emotional

Click to listen to discussions, talks and music as the Free Thinking Festival 2019 Gets Emotional

Angry politics, what we can鈥檛 say, being diplomatic, weeping, emotion in music, film & TV

CLICK to LISTEN & SEE programmes from the Free Thinking Festival 2018: The One & the Many

CLICK to LISTEN & SEE programmes from the Free Thinking Festival 2018: The One & the Many

We examine the fast-changing relationship between the individual & the crowd

CLICK to LISTEN & SEE all programmes, images, clips & features from 2017's festival

Free Thinking Festival 2017: The Speed of Life