Joy Unbounded Or The Daily London Commute

33 Replies

Those who have visited London will have experienced the delights of crowded public transport. There is, surely nothing more pleasant than having one’s nostrils tantalised by the sweet scent of one’s fellow commuter’s perspiring bodies on a baking hot summer’s day.

I can also highly recommend the sardine game. This entails packing as many human beings into a tube or mainline train as is humanly possible then adding a few more for good measure. Oh the delights of being clobbered by heavy baggage as one’s fellow passenger’s show their pleasure at visiting this great capital city by swinging their luggage with gay abandon.

Another fun aspect of the daily commute is the manner in which it enables one to make new friends. The train or other mode of transport jolts and one finds a total stranger sitting on one’s lap (that is if you have been fortunate enough to obtain that rarest of comodities, a seat)!

Talking of seats or the lack thereof, I have hit upon a sure fire way of obtaining one when travelling in this great city of London. I proclaim at the top of my voice,

“Half a league, half a league,

Half a league onward,

All in the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred.

“Forward, the Light Brigade!

Charge for the guns!” he said.

Into the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred.”

My fellow commuters are so moved by the power of Tennyson that they rise in unison and vacate the carriage leaving me to my declaiming. They are no doubt deeply touched by the majesty of the poem and rather than show emotion in front of me choose rather to express it elsewhere.

To all of my fellow commuters, happy commuting!

 

Kevin

 

33 thoughts on “Joy Unbounded Or The Daily London Commute”

    1. K Morris Poet's avatardrewdog2060drewdog2060 Post author

      Thanks for your comment and watch out for the crazy bag swingers! On a serious point I sometimes reflect on how people treat animals with greater respect than their fellow human beings. I was on a crowded tube yesterday with my guide dog, Trigger when a lady told a fellow passenger to watch out for my dog’s paws. It was kind of her to care and, of course she was right to be concerned for Trigger’s welfare. However while I have often heard my fellow commuters express concern for the wellbeing of Trigger I have rarely, if ever heard such concern voiced for their fellow humans. Kevin

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      1. B B Lewis's avatarB.B Lewis

        Your right. I was on the tube yesterday morning and an older lady was sitting next to me with her foot in a cast. The amount of time people bashed her foot without even a hint of recognition or an apology was crazy. She was obviously in pain. We are funny creatures

  4. Stevie Turner's avatarStevie Turner

    When my dad was alive he had a great way of getting a seat. He used to stand there and start scratching. The scratching would become more intense, and gradually people would move away……….

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    1. K Morris Poet's avatardrewdog2060drewdog2060 Post author

      Thanks for your comment. Yes driving can be quicker. However, in London despite all the problems of overcrowding with public transport, trains and tube are much quicker than the horseless carriage, plus one can feel virtuous as regards the environmental impacts!

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      1. Mallee Stanley's avatarMallee Stanley

        I used the tube all the time in London too but don’t have an efficient system to work; instead of ten minutes by car I’d have to take two separate buses and spend an extra 50 minutes to get there.

      2. K Morris Poet's avatardrewdog2060drewdog2060 Post author

        I try to avoid buses in London. When visiting Croydon (the nearest town to the Crystal Palace area in which I live) the good old omnibus is used but, 99 times out of 100 it is the train or tube. Kevin

  7. mike@davidjanssenfugitive.com's avatarmichaelphelps1

    Reblogged this on Michaelphelps1's Blog and commented:
    When I first moved to New Yrok City, I rode the subway . . . after a week, promised myself I would get rich enough to NEVER ride the Subway again. I did. NEXT time I am in LONDON, I will ride the UNDERGROUND! LOVED THIS POST! Thanks, KEVIN

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  9. noelleg44's avatarnoelleg44

    This post recalled for me the days of commuting on the Prague trams – the new ones, not the delightful old and open ones. Mixed with the body odors was the overwhelming noxiousness of garlic, and one also had to contend with the babickas – the old grandmothers who used their canes to beat you if you didn’t give up your seat to them!

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    1. K Morris Poet's avatardrewdog2060drewdog2060 Post author

      Thank you for your comment. I have ridden the trams in Vienna and Budapest but not Prague. I don’t beat people, I merely get my guide dog to show his teeth and growl like the Hound Of The Baskervilles. This, combined with my declaiming of The Charge Of The Light Brigade ensures me a seat every time. Kevin

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      1. Sherry Carroll's avatarSherry Carroll

        I would love to! I was there three or four times a year for ten years staying in Islington, up at the Angel. But now i spend all my time writing and all my money supporting a hot young up-and coming new actor in Hollywood half my age. Which isn’t nearly as sexy as it sounds, its my son! lol

      2. K Morris Poet's avatardrewdog2060drewdog2060 Post author

        Oh you disappoint me. I was expecting a true romance and then you go and tell me that the young up and coming actor in question is your son, (LOL). Thanks for commenting. Best. Kevin

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