Strange Thoughts of a Strange Man

The train home yesterday was packed owing to Southeastern’s policy of running an unnecessarily reduced service just so they don’t have to pay compensation for a normal service that isn’t running properly. I’d taken an early train as well due to their habit of closing Charing Cross at the fall of a snowflake.

Part of the way through the journey I began to feel some snow on the back of my neck and the odd flake or two floating down in front of my face. Someone had opened the window behind me and the blizzard outside was blowing in through the window.

Without thinking I reached up and slammed the window shut only to have the woman sitting opposite me give me a very patronising speech about how some of the people standing up were finding it hot. She wasn’t getting snow in her face at that point.

The window was re-opened and I muttered “fine” and left the window alone for the rest of the journey but glowered every time I felt snow on the back of my head.

I don’t really believe it was that hot in the train. Yes, there were a lot of people and they were dressed for cold weather but the heating wasn’t overpowering.

Some people have to open the windows when they get on the train regardless of whether it is hot or not. It is a habitual, almost OCD, action and they get very panicky if they can’t open the window. On almost all occasions when they open the window they always sit upwind of the window. In other words they like the air but they don’t like the cold breeze, or the rain or the snow.

I do like a it of ventilation myself, now and then. The heating on those trains is never perfect and sometimes it is way too hot. However, on those occasions when I do open the window I try to make sure that it isn’t going make another passenger uncomfortable.

Labels: Inconsiderate, Passengers, Snow, Trains

Last night on the train home, I was trying as ever to complete the Soduko puzzle in the London Lite. I gave up, put my pen away and fished out my iPod to play a game or two of patience.

Then I noticed the guy across the aisle was trying to get my attention.

“Can I borrow your pen?” he asked. He was clutching a mobile phone and a newspaper. I assumed he needed a pen to write down a phone number or something like that.

“Sure,” I answered and passed it over. It’s not a greatly valuable pen - I bought it as part of a pack of 10 I found in a shop in Kowloon – but I like it. It’s small enough to fit in my trouser pocket without stabbing me when I sit down.

The guy took the pen and then started to work on a WordSearch puzzle in the paper.

I was a bit perturbed by this. Should I say something at this blatant cheek?

I did the British thing and kept quiet although I did leave one of my headphones out of my ear. Quite what good that would do, I don’t know. Perhaps I was worried he would start eating my pen or make a quick get-away at the next station.

All was resolved when he found the WordSearch as difficult as my Soduko and gave my pen back a few minutes later.

Labels: Cheek, Passengers, Train

I took the bus to the station today. It was tipping down with rain so I didn't want to walk and Graham had had to leave early to get to the tip. Anyway, the bus took ten minutes to travel a distance it would normally manage in two. So I missed the 07:56 and the 08:00 services to Charing Cross.

I think everyone on the bus was thinking the same thoughts:

"Should I ask the driver to let me off now? I mean, I know we're nowhere near a bus stop but if I ask nicely, I'm sure he'll let me off. I could probably walk quicker to the station than this traffic."

Then two other things probably stopped us.

Firstly, that the rain started chucking it down harder than before and none of us would get to the station before getting completely soaked.

Secondly, that it is a law of probability that if you leave a slow-moving queue it will immediately get much faster. Each of us was waiting for someone else to leave the bus knowing that we would all get there a lot quicker.

No-one was willing to do the noble thing, the sods.

Labels: Bus, Noble, Passengers, Probability, Rain

Now, I haven't blogged about the other passengers on my train for a long time but tonight was exceptionally annoying.

Chair-kicking children and three people chatting on their phones in harsh-sounding languages that I could hear over my iPod, thank you very much.

I won't go into details. They're not important. Suffice to say I became rather miffed.

The icing on the cake came when I tried to get through the barrier and the man in front held his Oyster card on the barrier for a little too long. That usually makes the person after (i.e. ME) have an error with their card.

That nearly made me miss the bus.

Grrrrrr!

Labels: Passengers, phone, Train