Congratulations, First Great Western, you dismissed a woman - and just lost a regular customer.

[Bidisha]

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/bidisha/first-great-western-_b_3839118.html

I think that was basically an advertorial for your other work, no?

Despite everyone's opinions though...the website stats will show that the article has been read dozens of times, at least, and it will start getting linked to FB, twitter etc. Genius career boosting, OP

Stealth, Stealth Boast?

Are you Liz Jones using an assumed name?!

Ah, that would explain it, relaxed.

I am confused because I've read Bidisha before and she's always come across as very sound and feministy. Not remotely 'Liz Jones'.

Is this really by her? How odd. Usually her articles make me think an though I don't always agree with them. This is so bizarre.

Reading to London, on a FGW train, takes 30 minutes. It's coach G which is the quiet coach in first class, not coach F. So, that's two inaccuracies - mistakes - in your article right there.

I hate FGW too. And living in the South West I have to put up with them a lot more often than you do. But the fact is people are allowed to talk in the quiet carriage and if you travelled in FGW frequently YOU'D KNOW THAT. It is the technology they mind. And I agree it's mad but them's the rules and it's their train.

I find articles where the author is at pains to point out how terribly terribly important they are rather tiresome.

You might spend half your life travelling the UK, but honestly - you need to get out more.

"How to show respect to a women like me, who will not be dismissed" blimey, so the guard didn't fly into action because you heard talking in god forbid the quiet carrage and you tipped your pen at him to illustrate your utter disapproval and he did nothing! I am flabbergasted how very dare he, I completely agree he should have realeased his Indiana Jones whip and gave them a good thrashing, god damn I hate those educated polyester suited and booted youths who feel the need to talk.

You go get em girl!

Disappointed. I hate FGW with a passion and was hoping to join in with a good old rant, but reading your verbose diatribe leaves me lacking in any sympathy.

Wow! Words fail me.

I particularly liked your link to the article you wrote criticising Mumsnetters for being snobby.

If this experience genuinely rates as a noteworthy, negative event in your life I think you are either incredibly lucky or nothing ever happens to you.

Wow, what a badly written and dull article.

It just shows that a 15K a year education doesn't always pay off. It's amazing that someone with an Oxford education lacks the self awareness to realise that this type of self indulgent nonsense comes across as arrogant and boastful.

What a painful article. About nothing. But lots of name dropping.

I usually don't mind Bidisha, but never travelling on GW again for that??

I agree that loud actual conversation can be more intrusive than a quiet mobile call. But I also think if you travel on British trains regularly, you don't expect every journey to be perfect, and you don't expect the quiet carriage to be totally silent. It's nice to get some work done, but I wouldn't necessarily expect perfect working conditions, and sometimes you have to accept today is one of those day - having got some of it done is a bonus.

But if someone was annoying me that much, I would ask them to tone it down myself, although possibly not along the lines of, "Don't you know I am a jolly important journalist," more, "I'm trying to work, so could you keep the volume down a bit, please?" If they got arsey about that, that might be when you'd involve the conductor. But nore likely, I'd give up and sit back and listen in abd shamelessly gather decent snippets for a future good article. Which this one wasn't.

And if it was taking so long to get from Reading to Paddington, some noisy passengers would be the least of my gripes.

P.S. Dear Huffpost/Guardian, among my many skills is my ability to waffle on aimlessly for several paragraphs (see above for example.) I'm ready for a new job, and I reckon I can do better than what you published there, so feel free to contact me.

Hahahaha. That was written by a journalist?

DH travels that route every day. The timetable bears little resemblance to the journey length - 45 minutes to an hour between Reading and Paddington isn't unusual

"We journalists are mobile, well-connected, visible and verbal. "

Oooh scary journalist. They can walk and talk and are corporeal.

I was a crime reporter and I was mobile, stressed, slightly scruffy and smelled of fags

You wonder if this person has ever experienced any adversity in her life...

I did kelda, don't know how I did it tbh, what with almost falling asleep mid way through OPs CV...

I've just read a few other articles by bidisha and they practically all reference north London schools. Why?! Feel the need to live in the past?

Bidisha - I have just checked the times for the train you used, using www.realtimetrains.co.uk, and according to that, your train left Reading bang on time, at 14.45, and arrived in Paddington on time at 15.14, therefore you cannot have sat through 45 minutes of noise from Reading onwards.

Oh, and a paragraph that repeatedly uses the construction X yet Y ("...she was sharp, yet deep; the full capacity audience was adoring, yet shrewd; the venue was large, yet elegant; Atwood's latest novel, MaddAddam, is ingenious, yet humane....") is wanky pretentious in the extreme - not to mention very poorly written.

Thanks for that link, I needed a quick snooze.

It only takes about 25 mins from Reading to London P,btw. Not an hour.

29 minutes precisely that day, RobotHamster. We checked.

"That diatribe makes me want to strip naked at Didcot Parkway, embrace the first London train which comes through and declare my undying love for First Great Western."

Please do, it'll be the only amusing thing that's happened at Didcot Parkway this century.

SDTG - I see its already been covered :)

(its an hour from Oxford though)

What is this self-indulgent bollocks? Reminds me of Livejournal.

Incidentally, a lovely conductor on FGW upgraded me to First Class for free when I was pregnant and had to stand between Reading and Paddington.