Choccy Digestive, anyone...?

I've always been fascinated by how gadgets actually interfere with social skills and relationships. This morning a couple gets on the train opposite me - they held hands but no smiles or anything, they sat down and the first thing they did was put their newspapers in their bags and got out their iPads and started reading their emails. The first smile I saw was from the lady who seemed amused by a Facebook post. Husband is watching a video. They haven't said a word to each other in over 20 minutes. Now, done would say that I spend a lot of time on FB etc but.. If I was on the train with my partner I would chat to him, not get my iPad out. Sad, isn't it.  

Other than that I'm observing a 20 year old Neanderthal wiring his way though a WHOLE large packet of chocolate digestives. I'm not sure whether I'm jealous or not that he can have that many and I can't touch one without morphing into the Michelin Woman. But the way he's eating them is disturbing. I doubt he's enjoying them (I tend to savour every bite of these naughty but very nice treats) but pretty much cramming as much biccie in as possible and crunching open-mouthed - while talking to is mate opposite so bits are flying everywhere. Quite disgusting! 

Train is getting quite packed now - Wifey has still not uttered, grunted or otherwise to Hubby and over the back I can hear a mobile disco - man listening to dance music up very loud and sharing it with us all... Loving the bright yellow headphones! 

Well, it's a beautiful Monday morning and a lovely clear blue sky again - even Peckham looks lovely in the sun. Here's to a great day everyone :-)

Oh, and if you see any great observations on your train/bus journey that you'd like to share, please feel free to leave a comment below. 

See ya later!!  

Choccy Digestive, anyone...?

I've always been fascinated by how gadgets actually interfere with social skills and relationships. This morning a couple gets on the train opposite me - they held hands but no smiles or anything, they sat down and the first thing they did was put their newspapers in their bags and got out their iPads and started reading their emails. The first smile I saw was from the lady who seemed amused by a Facebook post. Husband is watching a video. They haven't said a word to each other in over 20 minutes. Now, done would say that I spend a lot of time on FB etc but.. If I was on the train with my partner I would chat to him, not get my iPad out. Sad, isn't it.  

Other than that I'm observing a 20 year old Neanderthal wiring his way though a WHOLE large packet of chocolate digestives. I'm not sure whether I'm jealous or not that he can have that many and I can't touch one without morphing into the Michelin Woman. But the way he's eating them is disturbing. I doubt he's enjoying them (I tend to savour every bite of these naughty but very nice treats) but pretty much cramming as much biccie in as possible and crunching open-mouthed - while talking to is mate opposite so bits are flying everywhere. Quite disgusting! 

Train is getting quite packed now - Wifey has still not uttered, grunted or otherwise to Hubby and over the back I can hear a mobile disco - man listening to dance music up very loud and sharing it with us all... Loving the bright yellow headphones! 

Well, it's a beautiful Monday morning and a lovely clear blue sky again - even Peckham looks lovely in the sun. Here's to a great day everyone :-)

Oh, and if you see any great observations on your train/bus journey that you'd like to share, please feel free to leave a comment below. 

See ya later!!  

Litterbugs and Gadgets!

Well, we're back on the skinny train this morning and it's extra busy due to a group of 50 foreign students going on a day out - it's all very noisy but just about manageable.  They were in good spirits and clearly excited about the day ahead. Loved the non-conformist clothing and specs fashions etc and one girl seemed particularly proud of her tooth braces as she was showing them off! It actually made a nice change to the usual monotony of the journey - the same old faces, the same old habits etc.  However, they left a whole lot of litter when they got off the train leaving us to stand in a mass of paper bags from a well-known fast food joint. Anyway, decided to do my bit for society so scooped up the main mess and chucked it in the bin in the platform. Strange how everyone watched but did nothing to help... Never mind it's what I expect these days, sadly :-(

The journey home is a bit more pleasant this evening - a couple playing bubbles with their gum to see who can blow the biggest bubble (yuk!) and a man who is the proud (and visible) owner of 5 mobile phones - all laid out on the table. He's on his iPad but keeps pausing to see if one of them rings. Funny, I wonder if these phones represent 5 pregnant girlfriends and he's waiting for "the call" - he looms that nervous. Finally a man standing between my seat and the one behind and leaning on the adjustable armrest which ended up with it bearing down on my shoulder. Good weight training though! Nearly home now and it's just starting to get dark. Looking forward to the next couple of weeks when it will be much lighter at this time. Exciting stuff!! 

That's it for now - nearly home for dinner - see you tomorrow!! X

 

Monday evening fun

Evening everyone,

On the train home and while it's quite quiet there are some amusing goings on worth reporting. 

First and foremost the big guy sitting opposite - in the space of 15 mins, he has gone through 2 Pepperamis, a large bag of Marmite flavoured Mini-Cheddars, a 4 finger Kit Kat and..... A Diet Coke! It's not particularly nice looking at his belly almost bursting through his shirt and his burping though. 

Guy next to me is having a "discussion" with his Wife about something happening at work - she is clearly upset (I can hear the entire conversation) and he is trying to calm her down, or at least I thought so until he said "If I was there I'd have flattened him..." - always a conversation winner, that!

Tappety Tap...Tappety Tap... Tap... Tap

Morning everyone!

Blackberries... you either love them or hate them. I'm referring to the gadget, of course, but one thing I hate is the tap-tap-tap sound when typing a message. It's loud and grating. I hate clicker tones (in fact I bet there are lots of commuters who hate clicker tones - hands up if you do!) and think they should be banned, or at least have your touchscreen phone on silent, but you can't do that with Blackberries. So the guy next to me is tapping away like his life is depending on it and giving me a mild headache! 

Oh, and I have to share a laugh: a guy is eating what I think are Salt & Vinegar crisps (a bit early in the morning, I know) but I think they are really sharp because he has that twitchy eye thing going on (you know when you eat something and you like you're winking constantly) and he keeps screwing the edges of his mouth. He's definitely making me chuckle. :-)

That's all for now. Have a great day everyone. :-)

The Splutter Brigade...

It's all rather unpleasant getting home this evening - I have my face covered to prevent the influx of germs circulating in the carriage this evening. Big (massive) sneezes "man", chesty coughing, clearing throats and all manner of unpleasantness going on this evening and I don't feel safe!  No one covering their mouth/nose and it's just awful.  There's a feeling of competition, in the manner of "if you can sneeze, I can sneeze MUCH louder than you..."  Really can't wait to be off in 15 mins then I'm running home and straight in the shower by way of de-germing myself!! 

We're on the "skinny" train this evening (for those of you unfamiliar with this term it's where the aisle is so narrow you'd have to be positively skinny to be able to pass down it without hitting someone in the face with your bag or standing on their foot). It's always a challenge and I measure my weight loss against how easy I found walking down the aisle! This evening was no fun - man bent down and his bottom "protruded" my personal space (let's say for politeness)! He apologised then did exactly the same again but I swerved my head this time even if I did swish hair into the lady's newspaper next to me. 

Ooh, home in a minute - see you tomorrow - have a great evening!! 

Moaners and Screamers

Good moaning! 

Well not even on the train yet and the fun starts. Trains delayed by 10 mins so reading the Metro on the footbridge. Two ladies moaning about the price of their ticket to Ashford International. "I could get to Reading for that price" says one "I could get to Harrogate" says the other, then it gets silly "I could get to France or Germany for that - it's RIDICULOUS!" she says with emphasis. I thought OK luv, I get it - it's expensive and no one likes paying sky-high fares, however you are travelling right in the middle of the rush hour so you're paying a peak fare - if you want cheap you should travel later in off-peak times but if you insist on travelling in rush hour you have to pay the same as everyone else as you are counted as a commuter - Simples!

I'm on the train now but unfortunately peace is not mine today - I have Mother and unruly screaming tot on board Abd it's grating on my delicate ear drums (those who know know very well that me and kids do not fit like a hand in glove) - now the train is busy with all the seats take - except HERS! There is a sizeable bag taking up 2 seats but Mum is walking unruly tot up and down the carriage leaving seat empty, save for said bag. A bit annoying especially as there is a blind lady with a guide dog standing. Hmm, not good. 

OMG, this is my highlight - lady just got on and I recognised her - she's the lady who made me redundant from my job back in 2007 - you can't mistake the person who had a face like a constantly slapped bottom and blonde hair who always looked like she thought she was superior to everyone. And... Best thing is that she's aged about 20 years - must be from making lots of innocent, hard working people redundant! Rotten woman!! 

I'm now trying very hard to drown out unruly tot who is now testing everyone's patience by screaming at the top of his lungs - there's only one thing for it - a playlist on iPod consisting of hard rock! If I can't have peace I'd rather hear screaming tunes than a screaming child!!

Have a great day everyone!!  

Sardines!!

Seems that Tuesday is fast taking over as the new Thursday/Friday for socialising. The train home is very busy and Mr N has just bonked his head on the parcel shelf rail as he sat down next to me. Man at the end of the carriage with very flamboyant, Elton-John style glasses trying to look cool (not working) and a larger lady breathing very heavily behind me whilst eating a large bag of crisps! Lots of people passing remarks about the death of Bob Crow (very sad and still quite shocked to hear) and one lady had mentioned him in Italian so made his name sound quite exotic! 

We've been stuck at signals for a couple of minutes and the driver has just announced something incomprehensible about the train in front - I guess I'll just sit and carry on my Spanish tutorial in the meantime... Mr N has now fallen asleep - peaceful...

Facial Expressions

Morning everyone! A little grey out there this morning and the mood is reflected on the train journey to work. Fortunately for me I have the company of my other half (I'll call him Mr N to protect his anonymity) to travel with - a rare occurrence.  

Facial expressions is the topic of the morning - noticing quite a few different ones today: mature guy opposite is kind of semi-gurning which is quite amusing and the guy next to him keeps screwing his face up in frustration as he's going through his emails. If I look through the door into the next carriage I can see a lady with a very red face and smiling as she's texting someone - wonder what about! Several ladies putting on their war paint and facial contortions as they apply mascara and lippy. Even Mr N is looking deep in thought reading Metro. 

Facial expressions - when you're on the train next (or bus) look around and see what you pick up - certainly makes the journey more interesting for me!! 

Have a nice day everyone! 

Mixed Bag Monday

Well on the early train this evening which is a busy one which means lots going on! Fascinated by the lack of consideration for fellow passengers in terms of bad habits. Sniffing (lots of sniffing), yawning in my face so close I count count her fillings, and sneezing into newspapers. All very gross.

Man ran into the train and plonked himself into a seat in a "this seat is MINE" manner - people standing around him crammed in, then he only gets off the train 30 seconds later at Blackfriars - what was that all about?! 

The train just pulled out of Blackfriars and there's a mobile argument - to summarise; she asked, he tried to explain, she got uppity, he hung up, she called him something unrepeatable. All happy on Walton's Mountain, then?! 

Quite interested in the lady opposite me - she has what I call Smartie Nails. Each nail is polished a different colour. Looks good - they are VERY long though. How does she do her coat up? 

Back to coughing and spluttering - people nearby and not a tissue in sight. Hand gel anyone? I have plenty...