Dasquian Belargic
May 16th, 2005, 02:45:23 PM
http://today.reuters.co.uk/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=2005-05-16T134348Z_01_DIT608702_RTRIDST_0_OUKOE-ODD-BRITAIN.XML
LONDON (Reuters) - A smartly dressed man found wandering in a soaking wet suit near a Kent beach has baffled police and care workers after he refused to say a word -- and then gave a virtuoso piano performance.
The man, wearing a formal black suit and tie, was spotted by police in Kent last month and taken to a psychiatric unit where it proved impossible to identify him because he stayed silent.
It was only after he was given a pen and paper that carers were given an intriguing clue to his possible background when he drew an intricate picture of a grand piano.
He was taken to the hospital's chapel where he played classical music on the piano for hours.
There have been suggestions that the man might be a refugee or asylum seeker suffering shock and amnesia.
"We have had over 80 calls this morning," said a spokeswoman for the National Missing Persons Helpline. "A few names have been suggested and so far there is nothing to suggest he may be a refugee."
Newspapers said members of the public had contacted authorities to say they may have seen the man giving concert performances around Europe.
The man, whose picture has appeared in newspapers as part of the appeal to identify him, has now been moved to a secure psychiatric unit in a hospital east of London.
"He's not talking at all," a spokeswoman for West Kent National Health Service told a news conference. "He is very frightened. He is drawing, but not to communicate.
"He is a very vulnerable man and we would be putting him in a dangerous situation if we let him go," she added.
The Daily Telegraph said the man, in his 20s or 30s, is believed to be English and may have suffered a mental breakdown.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4550069.stm
I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm finding this fascinating.
LONDON (Reuters) - A smartly dressed man found wandering in a soaking wet suit near a Kent beach has baffled police and care workers after he refused to say a word -- and then gave a virtuoso piano performance.
The man, wearing a formal black suit and tie, was spotted by police in Kent last month and taken to a psychiatric unit where it proved impossible to identify him because he stayed silent.
It was only after he was given a pen and paper that carers were given an intriguing clue to his possible background when he drew an intricate picture of a grand piano.
He was taken to the hospital's chapel where he played classical music on the piano for hours.
There have been suggestions that the man might be a refugee or asylum seeker suffering shock and amnesia.
"We have had over 80 calls this morning," said a spokeswoman for the National Missing Persons Helpline. "A few names have been suggested and so far there is nothing to suggest he may be a refugee."
Newspapers said members of the public had contacted authorities to say they may have seen the man giving concert performances around Europe.
The man, whose picture has appeared in newspapers as part of the appeal to identify him, has now been moved to a secure psychiatric unit in a hospital east of London.
"He's not talking at all," a spokeswoman for West Kent National Health Service told a news conference. "He is very frightened. He is drawing, but not to communicate.
"He is a very vulnerable man and we would be putting him in a dangerous situation if we let him go," she added.
The Daily Telegraph said the man, in his 20s or 30s, is believed to be English and may have suffered a mental breakdown.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4550069.stm
I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm finding this fascinating.