Memory Box: The padlock

Archaeologists Dariusz Polinksi and Magdalena Zagrodska are drawn to a remote hill in Poland. Dariusz is searching for a medieval castle and Magda is searching for the bones of a bird associated with mythical powers. But instead, a series of strange events leads them to discover an unmarked grave, containing the body of a young woman held down by a padlock and a sickle. This unusual find leads them to investigate the life of a supposed 350-year-old ‘vampire’, and the padlock becomes an important emblem of their experience.
When Lola Anderson was 13 years old she watched Great Britain win gold in rowing at the London Olympics. Inspired, she wrote a note in her diary that she wished, one day, to do the same. But she immediately threw the note away, embarrassed at her dream. Seven years later when her father was unwell with a terminal illness he gave Lola her old diary entry - he'd rescued it, kept it safe and wanted her to have it back. Just two years later, Lola won a gold medal in rowing at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Lola spoke to Outlook's Edgar Maddicott.

Presenter: Asya Fouks

If you have a story for our Memory Box about an object with great personal significance, please get in touch! Email [email protected] or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707