The lost-property shelf
Our theatre group returned from a weekend festival with three extra bags and one missing prop box. The festival office asked for descriptions. "A lovely old box" was the first answer in our group chat, but it was not very helpful. Several groups had brought boxes for their performances.
I had helped paint ours, so I described a small rectangular wooden box with a dark green lid. There was a painted moon on one side and a pale scratch beside the handle. I left out the word "lovely": it expressed my opinion rather than a feature the office could recognise.
The office replied with a photograph of two possible boxes. One had the right colour but was made of plastic. The other matched our description, except that the moon was hidden against the wall. We asked for a view from the other side before claiming it.
For the bags we had accidentally collected, we posted only general descriptions on the festival's private noticeboard. We kept one distinctive detail back and asked anyone claiming a bag to describe it. We did not post names or information found inside. The office arranged the returns through its usual collection process.
The experience changed how I describe things. A long chain of adjectives is not automatically a good description. Material, shape, size and a particular mark can matter more than enthusiastic opinions. The best details depend on the purpose: an exhibition review and a lost-property message do different jobs.