Another train one AIBU

[FleetwoodMacDonalds]

I was on the train today with my husband. It was pretty quiet and there were loads of other available seats. He was sitting at the window seat and I had the aisle seat. We had booked our seats. After a while he announced that he needed to go to bathroom, so I let him go then sat back down.

The train pulled up at the next station a few minutes later and a woman got on. She came and stood alongside me and cleared her throat sarcastically. I gave her a smile and explained that my husband was sitting in the now-empty window seat.

"Oh, really? Well, I don't see him!"

I was taken aback at this, and replied, "He's in the bathroom."

She rolled her eyes and said, "I've heard that one before. Move up, I'm sitting there."

I was getting annoyed at this point, and said, "No, I've told you, my husband is sitting there and he is just using the toilet. Besides, there are loads of other available seats!"

She snapped back, "It's a matter of principle! You shouldn't be able to lie and block seats just because you are a selfish arsehole."

Luckily, at this point my husband returned and, oblivious, cheerfully said to the woman, "Excuse me, I just need to slip past to my seat."

The woman turned bright red and, before storming off, she snapped at me, "Well, you shouldn't have let your husband go to the bathroom near train stops, it's bound to cause confusion!"

So, I'll put it to the Mumsnet jury: WIBU to "allow" my husband to use the bathroom near a train station? Only kidding, I know that that isn't really unreasonable (or at least I hope it isn't!) But I am annoyed that I just let her walk away without saying anything. I think that I just sat there with an expression somewhere between and . WWYD if you were in my position?

In my defence, and so I'm not accused of drip-feeding, it was our first time on this train route (as we are on holiday) so we didn't even realise a stop was coming up. Oops

Hmmm, she sounds like a MNetter tbh. That's exactly the sort of thing Mumsnet would advise her to say to someone who was hogging two seats (obv you weren't).

That's exactly what I was thinking

"@outtogetyou calm down dear it is only a bus seat.

May I suggest sedatives and CBT for your rage issues regarding this or maybe you are eternally 6 years old to want the front seat no matter what.

Oh god it's priceless. Thanks for the laugh."

Well, as I said, no, because I almost never take the bus. I have never sat in the front seat of the top deck that I can recall.
I don't have rage issues - you will recall it was you who had the rage because someone dared to ask you to move your bags (off a SEAT) so they could sit down. They preferred that seat.

It's quite obvious from your continual attacks on me that you are embarrassed by your own behaviour. And so you should be.

I am glad you amuse yourself though.

@OutToGetYou I see. I'm too old for the In Betweeners. But I'm old enough to remember a comment wrongly attributed to Margaret Thatcher that anyone who travelled on the bus after 30 was a failure. She said and did many objectionable things, but she was innocent of that one.

Whatever your personal view, it is not socially acceptable to sit next to a stranger when other seats are free. I'm going to go out on a limb and say most people would agree with me and not you on that. Whenever that's happened to me, my feelings have ranged from mild irritation to full-on freakout mode.

As I said this morning, I always do move my things but yesterday I refused because the woman was unreasonable and trying to make a tedious point.

But people like her always do pop up on these threads talking about how my bag hasn't paid for a seat and I should scan the carriage like a meerkat so they don't have to say: 'Excuse me, I'd like to sit there.' Some people also claim that they have plonked themselves down on the offending bag. I never believe those. That seems like such a confrontational act and luckily, IRL, most people aren't that aggressive.

But perhaps next time one of these warriors insists I'll usher them to the seat next to me and then start muttering disturbing things to myself and see how brave they feel then.

Out to get you are very strange. It's very very bad manners to sit next to someone and have them move their bags if other seats are available. Just not the done thing. You should feel embarrassed.

I went full on psycho at a guy who did this to me once. The week before I had been mildly sexually assaulted on the bus and just froze and didn't know what to do, so when this guy sat down next to me on a nearly empty top deck pushing his thigh against mine I just flipped. He looked so shocked. He moved though.

OP your woman on the train sounds as mad as a box of frogs, don't worry about a witty come back you missed, she should feel ashamed not you.

Hahaha what an arsehole.