Extreme angle...

29 Day February Challenge

Or should that be extreme anger?! Prepare yourself... I suspect this may turn into a bit of a rant! *grins*

I got up at 6am this morning... worrying that I was likely to sleep in so I just got up when the first of five alarms went off. I got myself to the station without incident. It has to be said that I'm not really a very good traveller. I get a bit antsy when I have to rely on other people. I'm a bit of a control freak (if you hadn't already noticed) and I'd really rather drive but Bristol is a bit of a traipse in the car for just a weekend. I booked a taxi last night so that I was sure it would be here on time this morning to get me to the station in plenty of time. I was there 29 minutes before my train was due to leave. A little OTT but I'd rather be early than late.

I'd booked my seat, facing the front (facing the wrong way on the train is just plain wrong) and got on and settled myself in. I always book the quiet coach. I don't like to chat to randoms, I don't want to listen to other people's conversations, I just want to enjoy my journey in peace. I like the train, other than my agitated knicker twisting before I get on it, it's relatively stress free and good thinking time.

So I turned everything to silent and I made sure that my music wasn't coming out of my headphones for other people to hear snippets of whatever really crap stuff I'm listening to on shuffle... (this is a particular pet hate of mine and I'd quite like to wrap the wire round their neck and squeeze really hard to tell them nicely to turn down the volume!)

It was the crosscountry train from Edinburgh Waverley to Bristol Temple Meads via: Berwick, Newcastle, Durham, Darlington, York, Leeds, Wakefield, Sheffield, Chesterfield, Derby, Tamworth, Birmingham, Cheltenham, Bristol Parkway so there were a lot of stops. When we got to York a couple got on. They sat two seats in front of me and then in Leeds another couple got on and sat in the two seats opposite them. Clearly the first couple decided that the second couple were their new best friends so then launched into a whole conversation about where they were going. I'm rolling my eyes at this point, wondering when someone nearer was going to tell them to shut up... clearly never was the answer! Keep in mind that I'm still listening to my music and I can still hear the conversation, word for word over and above that.

I decided that I'd look up the website to see exactly what it said about the quiet coach (whatever did we do before mobile phones and the internet... everywhere you look people including me are tapping away on iPhones and the like) and this is the result:

Quiet Coach:

If you choose a seat in this coach you are asked to not use your mobile phone, use electrical equipment in silent mode, ensure music cannot be heard by other passengers, and generally to keep noise levels to a minimum.

I made it to Chesterfield before I lost my rag, counted to 10 and got my ass out of my seat and over to them. I very politely said "Excuse me, I don't mean to be rude, I really wanted to but this is the quiet coach". Bearing in mind these are middle aged people, who have the sticker above stuck to the window beside them and another on the window opposite, it would seem that none of them could read. I sat back down, feeling quite pleased with myself that I'd been very polite and that I was glad that I said something. The lady opposite me winked and smiled at me (and at that point I noticed that she was wearing bright blue earplugs!)

Are we as a nation afraid to stand up for what's right? I'm aware that I'm not very tolerant of people arseholes sometimes most of the time but I couldn't have sat there a moment longer without saying something. If you want to chat, don't sit in the quiet coach!! Gimps!

I can only describe what followed as the behaviour of children. Stage whispers of "shhhhhhhhhhhhhh" whenever there was a throat cleared or a sniff and then drumming of fingers on tables. I could still hear them whispering, about me, but the volume had gone down a level. Result as far as I was concerned. I guess he didn't notice that I could see his reflection in the mirror so watched as he behaved in that smart ass manner people have a habit of doing when actually they know they are in the wrong but don't want to admit it. In other words, like a bit of a dick. So not only did I witness him rolling his eyes and talking about me but was then subjected to him picking his nose - why do men do that? I ask about men cause I've never actually seen a woman picking her nose in public, yet witnessed five men doing it on the train today. Do they assume that they're invisible when their finger slides in there? I'm pretty sure everyone does their fair share of nose picking but really... there's a time and a place!!

A little while later all was quiet... and I sneaked a peek at his baw face in the reflection of the window and there he was, sound asleep in a highly attractive mouth open sort of way so I took his photo. I did consider blipping him as an extreme angle from two seats behind in the window reflection but then I thought that I'd have to look at his ugly mush again so decided against it. In the name of sharing... you can see him in my blipfolio for a limited time! So you can have my extreme angle of the 'quiet zone' sign instead!

I've spent the afternoon in the pub. Can you tell?! Although I've not had that much to drink cause I can actually still type! Jip has just asked if I'm still typing the same thing though... so we've sent him to the kitchen to make us dinner! I could get used to this! Tomorrow we're off to Longleat safari park and then off to Za Za Bazaar in Bristol for dinner. It's the UK's largest restaurant with a whopping 700 seats! Should be interesting! It's apparently the same size as the pitch at Wembley! *pats food baby in anticipation* Diet and exercise plan makes a comeback on Tuesday!