【1】 How often does the office sell lost items?

Woman: Good morning. Heathrow airport lost property office. How can I help you?
Man: Good morning. I lost a briefcase at your airport yesterday and would like to report it, please.
Woman: Certainly, sir. Could you give me a brief description, please?
Man: Of course. It’s a very light brown briefcase, about 50 centimetres wide and 30 centimetres high. It’s quite distinctive because it has a bright red clasp on the front and red trimmings. The handle is black. My initials ’A E J’ are on the clasp.
Woman: Ah! Just a minute, sir. I remember a briefcase matching that description being handed in yesterday. At about what time did you lose it?
Man: My flight arrived from Sydney just after three in the afternoon. I had taken the briefcase onto my flight as hand luggage. After disembarking, it would have been almost four o’clock when I picked up my check-in luggage and left my briefcase at the carousel. It was so foolish of me.
Woman: Yes. Here is the log book. I’ll just check that it’s here. Do you have a pen and paper? You’ll need to write down a few things to remember for when you claim your briefcase.
Man: I’ll just get that while you’re checking ...
Woman: Hello? Are you there?
Man: Yes. Is my briefcase there?
Woman: It is. When you come to claim it, you’ll need to tell whoever is on duty the lost property number--that’s EDV 758. Have you got that?
Man: EDV 758. Got it.
Woman: You’ll also need to bring some identification with you--something with your photograph on it. Most people present their passport.
Man: Yes, of course. I’m flying to Austria next week, so I’ll pick it up then.
Woman: That’ll be fine. You’ll have your passport with you, no doubt, so that can serve as identification.
Man: My flight is in the evening, so I won’t be at the airport until seven o’clock at the earliest. Will the office be open at that time?
Woman: Yes, sir. We’re open until six, sorry, I mean from six in the morning until midnight, every day.
Man: Great. I just need to know where your office is.
Woman: It’s in the main concourse of Terminal One at the airport. Will you be coming by taxi, by car ...?
Man: I’ll be arriving by underground.
Woman: OK. In that case, get off at the stop for Terminal One. Go up the escalator to the main concourse. At the top of the escalator, mm left and you’ll see a large departures board--an electronic one. If you face this, you should see our office off to the right, in the comer. It’s clearly signposted.
Man: Up the escalator, mm left, off to the right of the departures board. Got it. Thank you very much for your help.
Woman: That’s what we’re here for. I only wish we could return all the items we get handed in to us.
Man: I guess you get dozens of items every day.
Woman: Yes, we’ve built up quite a collection.
Man: What happens to the things that remain unclaimed, if you don’t mind my asking?
Woman: Not at all. We keep each item for a minimum of three months. Twice a year. in June and December. we have a sale. The proceeds from the sale in June go towards the upkeep of the office and the proceeds from the December sale go to a children’s charity. The sales are by auction and attract a lot of interest from passengers and staff, as well as from the general public.
Man: How interesting. One final thing--who handed in my briefcase? It would be nice to thank them personally.
Woman: I’m afraid there’s no record of that, sir.
Man: What a pity! Well, thank you very much for your help. Goodbye.
Woman: Goodbye.