to carry a pomander when travelling by public transport?

[ElaineFiggis]

I was verbally abused this afternoon on the train by a very rude old man who seemed to take it personally that I was using a pomander

I know it's a bit unfashionable (don't know why though!) but the way I see it is why the hell shouldn't I take whatever measures I deem appropriate to protect myself from discomfort?

If people observed proper personal hygiene (nothing obsessive here, I just mean not actually smelling bad and making other people feel unwell) and stayed off the buses and trains when they have hacking coughs and sneezes etc, I wouldn't use it

but I travel a lot and just want to be comfortable - why he was so rude I don't understand

he called me a "cow"

What kind of a pomander? Where on earth do you GET such a thing?

You know it won't ward off the plague though, don't you?

And again...

I mean, was it something that would have affected him in any way? Did he think you were using it (sniffing it??) because he smelled bad? If not, then no, YANBU.

Once more...

Elizabethan possibly.

what is a pomander?

I hope you made it yourself in true bunting cupcake style

Please tell me there is a punchline to this, that it's made out of something interesting?

what is a a pomander? I didn't realise it was THAT unfashionable

It's an orange basically - you stick cloves in it and put lavender etc inside

it's just nice to have and takes the edge off bad smalles, I like to feel I'm breathing clean air

Especially in the newer trains which don't have windows that open! What do the rest of you do about smells and coughing etc?

My mother always had them and I always do too.

Pomander

You're winding us up.

I don't think he could have thought I was being personal with it, I obviously already had it when he boarded the train and he didn't sit near me anyway, he was on his way down the carriage

I didn't deserve to be called a cow for carrying it ffs

Thanks moondog I struggled to find a proper description online

Nothing strange or weird about it, it just smells better than BO and other people's germs! Never had anyone be rude before, in fact people don't notice usually.

Oil on your collar, does it work, I mean is it quite strong? The pomander can just go in your bag and come out when you need a quick blast of freshness. Didn't anybody's mother/grandmother use one? It isn't that odd!

Is this you catching a whiff of BO?!

this is less hassle than a pomander