Grand Night Out

With apologies for the poor quality of the photo, but it had to be this one to remind me of a special night at the theatre with Lulabel177.

We met at Waverley Station in Edinburgh, where the evening was bitterly cold but dry despite the poor forecast, and enjoyed a yummy vegetarian lasagne in The Slug & Lettuce (food better than the name might suggest) before going to The Playhouse to sit and gaze in wonder at the spectacle that is "The Lion King". It was magnificent!

Having seen D#2 to the bus station for her long journey back to Aberdeen, I then had a further 'adventure' on the train back to Stirling. I was sitting at a window seat listening to music on my iPod when a woman - early 40s, well dressed, professional-looking - sat beside me. I should have guessed there was something not quite right when she tapped me on my arm and asked where the train was going. Most people would say, "Is this the train to Stirling?", wouldn't they? However, a few minutes later, to my consternation, she snuggled up against me, put both feet up in the gap between the two seats in front of us, much to the concern of the two young women sitting there, and promptly slumped into a drunken coma very deep sleep! When the ticket collector came past he couldn't rouse her, but just shrugged his shoulders and continued down the carriage. The passengers nearby were highly amused at the sight of the woman lying horizontally in her seat with her legs at almost right angles, but my main concern, purely selfish, was how I was going to climb over/under her negotiate my way out of my seat! The ticket chap came back and blew his whistle very loudly in her ear, waking other passengers who had fallen asleep, but not my 'companion'. He said he would phone ahead to the police in Stirling to have the woman forceably removed, because he wasn't allowed to touch her in case he was accused of assault, then announced that there were no police available in Stirling. By this time the train was approaching the station and a crowd of passengers had gathered, ready to disembark and contemplating the quandary that I was in, with half amusement, half concern. The matter was resolved when another passenger (male) simply lifted the woman's legs from their elevated niche and let them fall to the floor whereupon the woman woke up. It took her a while to 'come to' and even longer to raise herself from her seat. With thanks to my fellow passengers and the ticket collector I made a hasty escape! It was after midnight by this point, so I didn't hang around to find out what happened to the woman, but I hope she checked into a hotel for the night.

Chances are I shall remember this night for that little episode as well as the wonderful night at the theatre!