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Outlook: Hunting for my past in a Hong Kong stairwell

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Claire Martin was abandoned as a baby in a Hong Kong stairwell, and adopted in the UK

04/05/2021 GMT

Hunting for my past in a Hong Kong stairwell

BBC World Service - Outlook, Hunting for my past in a Hong Kong stairwell

Claire Martin was abandoned at two days old. For years she searched for blood relatives

Claire Martin was left in a Hong Kong stairwell at just two days old. Adopted in the UK, she became determined to find her biological family.

In 1960, Claire Martin was abandoned in a Hong Kong stairwell at just two days old. Like many babies at the time she was taken to the UK for adoption, but growing up, she became more and more determined to find her biological relatives. After years of searching, she's finally found family in a very surprising place. 

After taking a break from Lucha Libre wrestling, Paola Medina decided to start cliff-diving in Acapulco, Mexico. Now, she transforms her wrestling moves into aerial shapes as she leaps from dizzying heights into the ocean. But it can be a dangerous activity, as she told Clayton Conn in 2019. 

In 1965, 20-year-old Brian Robson left Wales for a new life in Australia. But he soon realised he'd made a mistake and was overcome with homesickness. He devised a risky plan to get home - at no cost - by hiding inside an air-freighted crate. But, as Brian told Matthew Bannister in 2015, his plan went drastically wrong and he almost died. Since then Brian has written a book about his experience called The Crate Escape and he's managed to track down one of the friends who helped nail him into the crate for his infamous journey.   

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Picture: Claire Martin
Credit: Claire Martin

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