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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think there should be rules about taking certain things on trains?

102 replies

RosesAreBetter · 04/09/2012 16:20

We have just got onto the train and there is a man with a very large animal carrier ( roughly the size of a washing machine) which is full if ferrets!

And when I say full, I mean there has got to be two dozen of the things in there.

And it STINKS.

The entire train carriage stinks of ferret fecies and urine, and the train is full to the point of people standing.

I have heard several people complain to the conductor, but apparently there is no room for the man and his ferrets to stand in the bike area as it is full of bikes and people with pushchairs.

He has the carrier on top of one of the tables!!

AIBU to think there should be rules against bringing something that stinks to high heaven onto a busy train?
Not to mention how distressed the poor ferrets seem.

OP posts:
quoteunquote · 06/09/2012 15:09

thought of another one,

sat on a train in India, and a lady was travelling with two crates of live eels, they kept slithering out and as she was napping, the other passengers and I kept having to pick them up and returning them to their crates.

cuttingpicassostoenails · 06/09/2012 17:11

Quoteunquote...what a brilliant story. What happened to dear Cuthbert? Do you still have him?

limitedperiodonly · 06/09/2012 17:14

Love the Cuthbert story too

evilgiraffe · 06/09/2012 17:44

Fabulous story! I like the sound of Cuthbert :)

Wetthemogwai · 06/09/2012 19:28

If you can get headphones for 17 month olds I'd happily buy some :D as it is though the trains are so loud you can barely hear the iPad when you're sat right infront of it never mind down the carriage from it so til someone actually complains to me (and when they do I'll be very apologetic and turn it down) ill put my purse away!

quoteunquote · 06/09/2012 20:31

Cuthbert went to live with my biology teacher(from whom I got him) , when I started travelling a lot, who put him out on loan to a zoo he was involved with, he the only snake that has ever escaped from an enclosure at the zoo, he did it repeatedly, I put that down to living most of his life free range, the zoo decided he was a bit of a liability , so he went back to my biology teacher, he then went on loan to a private collector, who still has him, last thing I heard, he's still very friendly, but he never liked other snakes as he was born in an incubator, and I forgot to socialise him with other snakes,

One chap I occasionally bump into still gives me evils,

I bought a house when I was quite young, and rented out all the rooms to friends to pay the mortgage and bills,and slept on my own sofa, it was a upside down house part of a barn conversion, I use to have quite a few jobs, one of which was a bar job, one night I returned home after work at 2pm, got straight into bed,

I woke up at 6am as i did every morning, ran down stairs,and started the bath,in the small bathroom that was tucked away in a corner(no windows), went and found Cuthbert who was having a kip in the dog baskets, shoved him in the bath his favourite place , as I did every morning, he liked a good soak, I then turned off the light, shut the door and went off for a morning run with the dogs,

Unbeknown to me my friend (one of my lodgers) had pulled the night before , rather nice rugby player, they had, on coming in before me gone straight to bed, as she slept, her bloke, no doubt disturbed by me banging about, decided to go and use the loo, slipped out of bed, without waking mate, and went and sat on the loo, as he started to poo, Cuthbert having his morning soak disturbed,decided it would be a good time to introduce himself, and stuck his head over the side of the bath,

the six foot eight chap reacted rather badly, he sort of went up and sideways all in one go, gravity took over and he ended up wedged between the loo and wall still pooing,

Cuthbert "stood' up to have a better look, at which point, this chap found his voice, my house mate woke to the noise, went to investigate, but because he had wedged himself, his legs were blocking the door, and he was squeaking nake,nake,nake, he couldn't get the "S" out, despite my friend reassuring him "it was only cuthbert", he took a while to un wedge himself, breaking the loo roll holder and loo seat in the process, and smearing poo everywhere,

when he did manage to open the door, for friend to help, she was trying to reassure him, he was so upset he couldn't stop saying 'nake, nake, nake"

friend grabbed cuthbert, who was getting active as he wasn't use to having his morning soak disturbed in such a violent fashion, and dumped him in the airing cupboard (his second favourite) place, she then tried to reassure rugby player though the bathroom door, as well as instruct him how to use our dodgy shower, when he managed to say anything other 'nake, nake, nake', he asked for his clothes to be past in, she did so, and was explaining that quoteunquote wouldn't of done it on purpose, and that I always left cuthbert in the bath, he came out of the bathroom just as cuthbert who by this time was very curious as to what was going on, was trying to squeeze out of the gap at the top of airing cupboard, his usual route into the airing cupboard,

the poor man ran up the stairs and out the front door, as I turned into my remote lane I was greeted by a large man, running towards me screaming, "you are mad', my dogs(4) decided he might be a threat, and ran at him barking, he ran on shouting abuse,

when I got home my lodger was cleaning up the bathroom half laughing, half crying, cuthbert was hanging out of the airing cupboard, she never did get another date with the guy, she had had a crush on him for years,

He went on to play for England, every time I bump into him he goes very pale even twenty years later.

evilgiraffe · 06/09/2012 20:40

Play for England? Come on, you have to namedrop now! Brilliant Cuthbert tale Grin

quoteunquote · 06/09/2012 20:58

Ha, I nearly did name drop, but for one small reason, my sister in law's best friend is married to another england rugby player, she has been spying and keeping her ears open, as yet we don't think he has mentioned it,

When SiL went to their wedding in Italy, the chap was there, she did manage to bring up snakes in conversation, but he didn't share, her friend is planning to mention it at his 40th, she wants to buy a big rubber snake.

Florin · 06/09/2012 21:21

Had to read the Cuthbert story to my husband and we have both been crying with laughter, really perked up my evening!

evilgiraffe · 06/09/2012 21:32

Still giggling (despite the fact it must have been quite traumatic for the poor guy) "nake nake nake" Grin Grin Grin

tillyfernackerpants · 06/09/2012 22:26

Cuthbert has me crying with laughter!

Frontpaw · 06/09/2012 22:38

Can we have an 'adventures of cuthert the snake' thread? Or at the very least a book.

totallypearshaped · 06/09/2012 22:42

OP you obv. need to learn how to take the lesser of the two weasels. Badoom tish.

Durian is pretty whiffy, it's true, but not as whifflesome as a goat and three large goat cheeses which leaked whey stink-illy, on a hot crowded train in summertime Yugoslavia (long ago emoticon).

quoteunquote · 06/09/2012 23:29

I probably could get a least a chapter of a book out of the adventures of cuthbert, he use to come to Glastonbury and other festivals with me, and use to get into all sorts of bother, top tip if you are at a festival and go into someones teepee to steal a sleeping bag, check whats is in it first.

The thing is I only got him as I'm not keen on snakes and I thought it would help, I just ended up having a snake who didn't think he was a snake.

ThingsThatMakeYouGoHmmm · 07/09/2012 00:08

I take my great danes on the bus to meet friends for walks :) Because they're not allowed in the car due to their 'pine needlesque fur'

Wetting myself laughing at Cuthbert.. i had snakes for years and my funniest story is one of going to visit DD at a contact centre with a social worker who i ab-so-lutely despised. DD had mentioned missing her pets the previous visit and asked if i could bring Snakey .. 'Snakey?' Enquired the SW.. 'Err yes its a carpet snake' 'Oh'

Well she didn't say 'Don't bring it'
So the following week i turned up with him in a pillowcase, as already mentioned, snakes don't do cold, he had been out with me on the three bus journey to the CC which the SS had demanded we use, out of hoping i would give up on visiting DD..another story anyway.. he had gotten quite cool so had gone very quiet.

I plumped him down along with the bags full of sweeties sandwiches and 'things to do' with instructions to DD not to mess with the bags while i nipped to the loo. My idea was to go outside and get him out there, but apparently SW had other ideas and started poking around the bags, and said to DD 'Take no notice of mommy these things are obviously for you' .. DD decided to open the pillowcase..

So i'm sitting on the loo when i hear this strangled screaming sound. Thinking something had happened to DD i come flying out of the toilet still pulling everything up, race into the room past a group of about ten people who were standing outside the door, to find DD holding the snake and waving him at the SW going 'sss..sss' Blush

SW i found cowering and still screaming behind the toyboxes and sofa.

When i approached her, so did DD, in my panic i hadn't realised the snake was still out and wondering wtf was going on! .. At the sight of him the SW literally started climbing the wall, leaving ACTUAL nail marks.. then DD waved the snake at her again and she wet herself Shock

Despite absolutely despising the woman i then felt a little sorry so popped him back in the bag.

Never saw her again Grin

But did get a letter re the possibility of causing a salmonella outbreak Hmm from the CC.

I do believe DD felt vindicated that day from being dragged across the floor by her arm by that woman Grin

HoopDePoop · 07/09/2012 00:18

Loving Cuthbert! Please can he have his own thread?

Nake nake nake

mu5icmum · 07/09/2012 07:13

One of the reasons I love mn. You start reading a thread which you expect to contain moans about drunken hen parties and the like on trains ( Blush ), but then end up reading lovely, funny snake tails!!! More, more, more Grin

P.S. In our defense, there are "quiet carriages", and we don't get out much....

Frontpaw · 07/09/2012 09:03

'Cuthbert the snake (who doesn't think he's a snake) and his pet nake.'

He constricts Harry Potter to death and eats him in chapter one. Quick, Harper Collins on line one!

limitedperiodonly · 07/09/2012 09:31

I so want it to be Will Carling but I don't think the dates fit.

Second choice is Laurence Dallaglio. I've never liked him.

Frontpaw · 07/09/2012 14:38

Isn't Zara Philips married to some rugby bloke?
That's all I know about rugby. Everything. Are you Prince Charles?

Claireabella1 · 07/09/2012 16:01

Stop whining! Will this affect your life long-term? Or just make you uncomfortable for a short time? Are you such a misery guts that you've 'just got on the train' seen something you don't like and immediately gone on the Internet to complain? Jeez.

ChazsGoldAttitude · 07/09/2012 16:34

Claireabella1
Stop whining! Will this affect your life long-term? Or just make you uncomfortable for a short time? Are you such a misery guts that you've 'just gone on the Internet' seen something you don't like and immediately gone on the Internet to complain? Jeez

Wink
ThingsThatMakeYouGoHmmm · 07/09/2012 22:28

Rofl.. if it wasn't for whining, we wouldn't have half of MN Grin

quoteunquote · 07/09/2012 23:06

Limitedperiodonly,

so close on your second guess, he certainly was at the wedding.

limitedperiodonly · 07/09/2012 23:14

Shit! I'm no good on rugby.

The only other players I know are Mr Orange aka Gavin Henson, Danny Cipriano (who's radioactive too) and Brian the cauliflower-eared solicitor.

The first two are too young. Plus Gavin is Welsh. Brian is the right vintage but too short. Or maybe not... Rugby players are very deceptive. Jonny Wilkinson is very tall. And very pretty. Sadly, also very dull.

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