Kids on Trains
You would imagine that the 20:52 train from Birmingham New Street to Ledbury would be a quiet train. That’s what I thought as I plonked myself down at a table seat. There was loads of room on the train. I could put my bag on the seat next to me and keep my iPod Nano on the table without fear taking up more than my fair share.
I pretty much had the carriage to myself, but then, just before the train left the station 2 adults and gaggle of ankle biter appear.
“Do you want to sit at a table?†the more shrill adult says to her progeny, standing next to my table.
“I already amâ€Â, I think to myself, “go and spread yourselves somewhere I’m not. There are at least 3 other empty tables in this carriage alone.†They all sat down next to me. I grumpily moved out of my slouching position to make room.
Within minutes, one of the kids made a grab for the shiny iPod. I moved it out of the way and put it down by my side. Then two of the kids start arguing over a book, engaging in a tug of war over the magazine I was reading propped up on my side of the table. I hear no remonstrations from the adults. Admittedly, I had my iPod turned on, so I there might have been something said, but I saw no evidence of the usual “the man will be angry if you don’t behaveâ€Â.
I just don’t get it. We all have to share public transport, so why on a nearly empty train do people have to come and inflict their kids on other passengers (i.e. me). I would go as far to say it is rude. It shows a disregard for your fellow passenger. You might find your kids annoying, but at least put them somewhere they only annoy you, not others. They should invent some sort of ASBO for people like that.
Or, users of public transport should be given un-removable stickers with “A Bloody Menace†to stick on annoying kids..
Tags: annoyances, kids, trains
Ah, the joys of public transport…
I say stick to driving; the only annoyances there are people who sit in the middle lane of motorways, people who insist on driving at 80mph, lorries which creep past each other on dual carriageways, roadworks, people slowing down for speed cameras/the police, unobservant drivers, inappropriate foglights, defective lighting, poor road surfaces, high fuel prices, traffic jams… (the list goes on).
Still, no annoying children.
Most of the time, I would drive, but when it’s 66 miles to work (each way) and I need to do it 3 days a week it racks up a lot of miles on the car which costs a lot in petrol and car servicing, whereas the train is a bit cheaper than the petrol, doesn’t increase the amount of car servicing and I can read a book/do some video editing/read some stuff on Google Reader, etc…
The kids thing has only happened once, I just didn’t get why they sat down next to me on an otherwise empty train!
396 miles works out at about £30 in diesel for me
Good point about the alternative use of time, there’s not much you can do in a car whilst driving. Audiobooks and podcasts only last so long…
Perhaps you could invest in a pair of dark glasses and a dirty raincoat? I’m sure people would stay out of your way then!