Strangers on a Train - disgruntled

Strangers on a Train

A little moment of light relief that eased an otherwise dark and dismal morning commute.

I was sitting in one of the sets of seats where a row of three is facing another row of three (do these have a name? Three by twos?). When I got on a chap was already sitting by the window sitting with his back to the engine, so I chose the middle seat of the row facing the engine (Rule 1: never sit directly opposite someone if you can avoid it) and another bloke chose the aisle seat opposite (Rule 2: never sit next to someone if you can leave at least one seat between you). We had therefore achieved the correct configuration for three Brits who don't know each other sitting in six seats. At Clapham Junction it looked like the train was going to get busier so I moved up next to the window to leave space for more people to sit down (Rule 3: it is better to sit opposite someone than next to someone). But then the guy who was sitting opposite me decided it would be better to sit facing so he moved to the aisle seat on my row (Rule 4: it is always better to sit facing the direction of travel than away from it). This then freed up his seat so the guy on the aisle with his back to the engine moved to the window seat (Rule 5: it is better to have a window than an aisle) leaving his seat free. After all this manouevring a new passenger sat down in the recently vacated aisle seat and commented cheerily 'Musical chairs!'
'And you can choose the music for the next round,' someone replied.

And then we all buried our heads hurriedly in our newspapers in case anyone tried to turn it into a prolonged conversation. (Rule 6: you can make a joke if you have to, but don't make a habit of it)

So now you know.

21.10.05 18:29

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To date 3 Comment(s) TrackBack-URL

(22.10.05 21:33)
I can almost see that as a comedy sketch. Not sure what the punch line would be though.

Tube Dude (23.10.05 15:50)
Sounds like train chess to me, Check Mate!

(24.10.05 22:12)
brilliant!