train journey

I used to commute to London in my youth. In those days the commuter trains had some carriages that were divided into half a dozen compartments with seating for 12 people, 6 each side facing each other, with usually another six people standing in between. It could be very, shall we say, cosy at times!

One morning as we arrived at Liverpool St, the smartly suited and booted city gent sitting next to me stood up to reach for his briefcase on the luggage rack and then looked in horror at his jacket sleeve. It was coated with pale blue fluff from my brand new lambswool sweater. People were all far too polite and buttoned up to actually say anything in those days, but boy was my face red! I never wore that sweater on the train again!

At my old school, oranges got a dishonourable mention in the school rules as "the anti-social fruit".

Nothing to do with trains, but it does remind me of my mother's story of her days in the ATS. Apparently the (male) CO decided that the girls were wasting time putting on makeup when they were supposed to be dashing to the shelters during night time air raids. After seeing them without make up the next time there was a raid he was so appalled he said they could go back to doing their faces first

Or eating an orange.

I hate smelly take-away food at night on the train but most of all I detest someone crunching an apple or a bag of crisps in my ear.

Elegran

Lipstick round ears.

More frequent stops and starts.

Swervy corners.

Potholes.

1) Bus journeys tend to be shorter
2) no drop down tables?

There was a stand with a group of lads selling broadband on our high street last week. I couldn't tell you which company as I was distracted by the one spraying his already stiff perfectly groomed hair

You don't get any of this behaviour on a bus. I wonder why?

None taken, really NotTooOld we have probably been on the same trains-I often go from Wolverton as it is easier to get a seat for DH but I also do MK to Brum to visit DD and the DGC!

Soutra - I, too, used to be a regular passenger to Euston but from Northampton, so no slight was intended. I now regularly travel Brum to Milton Keynes/Watford, so could just as easily have inserted either of them. I'm a native Cockney and am always getting the mickey taken out of me! But sorry for any offence.

DD1 used to travel to college by train; one of the other girls who travelled with her wore minimum makeup and modest clothes - apparently her parents were quite strict.
On the train she would transform herself with makeup into a vamp snd change into a very short skirt. Then reversed the procedure on the way home!

Yes YABU! What is wrong with using the time profitably? OK I might not choose to do it, but other than initial fascination with someone's confidence and dexterity, I wouldn't give it a second thought. <Yawn> back to my Kindle instead.

Oh and as a "regular" between Euston and Milton Keynes, let's all take the mick out of the latter shall we? No mention of Brummie/Black Country/ Estuary English /or any other part of the country. [Hmm]

Well, it's more interesting to watch someone's transformation than it is to be forced to listen in to someone else's inane mobile telephone conversation, I say!

I'm on the train.
Nah. Milton Keynes. Yeah.
Wha'? Yeah, I know......no.
He were gorgeous, weren't he?
Yeah, yeah, I know, she were rat arsed......silly cow....
Yeah.
Nah.
And wha' abou' tha' other one....wha'? Yeah, 'im. Wiv the black 'air?
Yer kiddin' me.....nah......and yer know wha'? He's wiv 'er, right?
Yeah, 'e is, I'm no' jokin' yer...no....

I could go on, it's quite relaxing writing that stuff!

I must have very boring train journeys as I've never witnessed any of this behavioir.

With you there absent. What is the matter with getting up half an hour earlier, having a breakfast and doing your face before leaving home? I think it is called self discipline, which is probably hideously old-fashioned.

I'm probably being hideously old-fashioned and rat bag but I do feel that putting on the face, styling the hair, changing the clothes should happen in the privacy of one's bedroom. To do these things on the train is similar to those people who apparently trail around supermarkets in their pyjamas. Just no.

How soon before some woman thinks it's a good idea to shave her legs on the way to work?

I don't mind anyone putting their face on in my vicinity, but brushing their hair is a no no, in my opinion. I also hate the way some woman rake through their hair constantly with their hands and flick it back and forth, without a thought for the poor sap in the seat behind them. I can't stand the thought of bits of hair and dandruff floating my way, let alone the odd louse. Perhaps the last is me being paranoid. Perhaps the whole rant is me being jealous of people with good hair.

Errm, it didn't happen to be the 9.57 to Paddington, by any chance?

Only joking!

My incident on that train would have occurred without anyone noticing....

She could have been an international criminal and a master of disguise, NTO!

I once saw a young woman sitting opposite me on the train doing her makeup. She took out one of those drop down bags with lots of compartments and a coat hanger (yes, it was that big) to hook it to the seat in front of her. She did a complete cleanse, refresh, makeup and manicure and then produced a short dress from her bag, removed the one she was wearing (she had a slip underneath so was still relatively modest) and replaced it with the new one. After that she took off her heels, put them in one of the compartments and produced a pair of long boots from her bag which she put on. Finally, and you won't believe this, she removed her long blonde wig, gelled her own hair and pushed it up into a spikey style. After that she packed everything up and got off at Euston. This was all accomplished with the minimum of fuss and the maximum of organisation, so I can only think she was a professional model between assignments.