Sunday 1 August 2010

Overheard on a Train

On the rare occasions when I take the train, I amuse myself by gazing out of the window, daydreaming and, if I'm not in a 'quiet' carriage on a cross-country service, listening for snatches of conversations which rise above the general hubbub.

Picture, if you will, a chap in a suit,  mobile phone in place, calling out 'Yes, running late.  I'm on the train.' (No, really?)  'Look, not a word to anyone, this is highly sensitive, treat it as Top Secret.  I'm to meet Charles on Friday ....'  and he falters and stops, aware that the carriage is silent, all of us listening agog to his 'secrets'.

And a conversation between two ladies getting off the train:
'I like to do it every few weeks.'
'I try to do it at least once a month, but, well, it’s the end of July now and it was April last time … no, I tell a lie, it was the end of May, so there’s two months gone just like that.'
'I find if you leave it a little while it gets harder.'
'Of course, it doesn’t help in the long run, you have to do it regularly to stay on top.'

Sometimes, the mind just boggles.  It was probably something mundane, like cleaning, but you never know ....

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