I was on a train going home from work 6 months ago, and the people at my table were actually...

[SpeedyGonzalez]

...talking!!! Can you believe it? Heavens above, is this still My England? They didn't even know each other at the start of the journey; they had the temerity to strike up a conversation as strangers. I was mortally offended by this social insolence and said sternly to them (eyebrow raised, peering over my glasses): "I shouldn't have to remind you all that we are all English. We do not, I repeat, NOT relate."

Naturally they took my admonishment on the chin and bowed to my greater etiquettial wisdom.

pmsl....

My son was actually encouraged to join in on a game of cards by four lovely ladies who had been shopping in London for the day (a grandma, a mum and two daughers). He is 10 btw but does have a way with the ladies!

Others down the carriage were not happy at all with the frivolity of it all....

Are you sure you weren't in, Wales or something by mistake? Couldn't have happened in England, I simply don't believe you.

I'm not even allowed to talk to my husband on the train. Or a lift, escalator, at a till, on a bus, bus stop , train station, or anywhere that other people may here us.

Good grief, how very intrusive of them - had they no consideration for the other people in the carriage? I mean, who wants to hear other people having a good time? Outrageous. Disgusting. You should write to the Daily Hate or the Slimes about it.

were you not in first class? second class travellers are not the same as us.

[I do remember a rather odd lady on a commuter train to suburban london/surrey offering the people near her sweets, for heaven's sake. most peculiar. last time I risked second class I can tell you]

Oooh, good idea, thumbs. Conversation is an annoyance and an inconvenience, and should only be done when necessary.

Bump is beautiful. Am v well and now really excited about meeting baby no 2! How's you? And how was your trip to (a hopefully conversation-free) Blighty?

Well, I was on a train here in Scotland, and the girl across from me was ignoring the wee drunk man across from her!! It was terrible- he was only trying to tell her she looked "jush like ma daughter" and offering her a "wee swallae" and she callously cut him dead. I was mortified. In keeping with the great Scottish tradition, I entered into conversation with said wee drunk, and we had a scintillating discussion about which station we were at now, seventeen times at each station. When I left the train, he told me I looked "jush like ma daughter" and blessed me. Bet stuck-up miss wished she had talked to him after all!!

hatwoman, you are right. Next time I shall pay the extra fare to protect my dignity. I must say, though, that unless the 1st class compartment is protected by bulletproof glass I will still be forced to endure the horrors of Second Class Noise Travelling Along The Passageways.

Joolyjoolyjoo - yes. I do recall that conversation. He deserved my opprobrium. The man was an imbecile, and reeked of whisky. Reeking is something that should never be done in public.

Simper.

JJJ - did he no sing tae ye?

Trip to Blighty was fine thanks - luckily we were seated with some very restrained Scandinavians who made no attempt at Conversation (although they were very pleasant, even when DS dropped his milk all over everywhere )

There was a Very Noisy Young Man with his son on the flight back however; everyone knew he was called George and wasn't behaving the best by the time we got to Singapore. (I did feel sorry for George though, he was only about 3 and his Dad was being most unfair, poor little sod was tired!)

Self-restraint is such a thing of beauty. Well done your Scandi fellow travellers.

Glad it was a good trip - it was tax stuff you had to sort out, wasn't it? Dreary, but hope you had fun catching up with other folks while here.

Am off to make midnight feast sleep now. Nighty.

Ah, the singing- drunken wavery versions of Danny Boy and its ilk are like muzak on Scottish trains, I find. And Speedy- the whisky reek is part of the atmosphere. Shame on you for refusing to say whether or not you knew wee Jeannie!

Haha, my ds often strikes up conversations with random strangers on trains.

About a month ago we were travelling down to kent and sat opposite 4 people who had obviously come prepared for the journey. They had a nice bottle of sparkling Rose wine, and some tinnies, and some lovely bread with stinky Brie cheese. They apologised in advance for stinky cheese, but I wish their hospitality had extended enough to offer us some of it

We had to make do with watching them eat and drink the lovely items, and finally left the train saying goodbye, but wishing we had participated in their feast.

so much

love your profile pictures - bloody great.

re: the topic at hand, i like the way that random shoppers talk to commuters on the way home from London.

one can often tell those who are in a customer facing role - they smile in response with a clear 'please fuck off' in their eyes.

whilst those who never see the gen public in ver expensive suits are quite happy to chat away!

Speedy, I'm still trying to recover from the fact you said "relate", to strangers.

Even given the context, it seems personal beyond belief.

Eco - quite. Just goes to show how much stress the situation caused me; my language became quite unnatural. I do apologise for subjecting you to similar levels of trauma in my OP.

Actually, I started this thread because I was laughing so much at the ridiculous AIBU threads that were in such proliferation last night!

Custy - you're like me. It's one of the things I adore about life outside London - people are so much less defensive and hung up about their own importance, so they're much freer to chat with strangers. It makes life so much richer. How are things with you?

pmsl at this thread

Gawd I always end up chatting away to people here in London. I thought that was an English thing?

They must have been northern.

Verity - I do believe that was me. And quite rightly so. Make sure it doesn't happen again.

tethers - the very thought of unbridled 'northernness' -

rofl jooly. who would refuse a wee swallae?

We had a bit of a (quiet!) party on a eurostar trip a few months back, with champagne and nibbles - it was brilliant! Quite a few people joined in and had a glass of something and a handful of crisps.

My personal favourites were the Scots on their way to an away game, who caused a few catsbum faces amongst some of the other passengers, but order was returned when they moved back to the bar having failed to chat up one of our group (lots of slurred "yyyrrr GORjuss ...." failed to win her over). They did offer her a swig of their McEwans (sp?) but she declined!

You should have pulled the emergency cord immediately! Something was clearly very wrong with those people.