Train
The other week saw the two of us head down to Leicester to watch the Leicester Tigers v London Irish rugby game. Having cycled to the station, we boarded the train and attempted to find seats. The train was packed, with the usual Saturday traffic swelled by fans travelling to see both rugby and football games in Leicester. However, we found two seats round a table that didn't have people sitting in them.

They did, however, have people sat next to them with their baggage spread over the seats.

After a polite request, the people in question grunted, and grudgingly free-d up space for us to sit down. The gentleman next to me going so far as to carry his large bag the required 20 feet to the on train luggage rack, before shoving his much smaller rucksack in the overhead locker.

I took this opportunity to hit the buffet car, and returned clutching complimentary hot drinks for us both, and sat down to enjoy the twenty minute journey.

At this point, I was clattered on the head by the small rucksack, as it plunged lemming-like from the overhead storage rack.

Now, if that had been my bag, I would have been incredibly apologetic, and felt massively guilty that I had caused obvious pain to a total stranger. (Mind, if it had been my bag, I'd have stowed it securely in the first place).

However, the gentleman next to me may have mumbled an apology, before going on to comment that it was the danger of it falling that had meant he "hadn't wanted to put it up there in the first place".

In one sentence, he left me in no doubt that he believed it to be my fault that I had been hit on the head by his bag. If I hadn't been so selfish as to want to sit on a seat (and more precisely the seat next to him) then he wouldn't have had to move his ruck sack. If he hadn't moved his rucksack, he wouldn't have stowed it insecurely in the overhead storage rack, and so it couldn't have fallen down, thereby striking an unfortunate stranger.

Funnily enough, when I shoved his bag back up in the storage, it didn't fall down for the rest of the journey.

(The story of my slightly unsteady bike ride home, much later, can be found here).
- posted by Paul @ 5:31 pm