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ChangingMinds Blog! > Blog Archive > 18-Sep-09

Friday 18-September-09

Bikes on the train

I got on the train recently and in the area where I normally sit there was a bike, resting up against four folding seats, with the owner sitting next to it on a fifth seat. Normally, bike are stood in the door area, with their owners holding onto them to stop them falling over. There was space for me in another seat but that was it. 'Interesting', I thought. 'I wonder if others will complain.' So I sat back for a fascinating voyage of observing human interaction. s

Initially, the train wasn't that full, and whilst several people stood and pointedly expected the bike to be moved (this is England, you know), they were studiously ignored. The crunch came when it filled up mord and an exasperated woman said 'can I sit here please?' The bike owner looked up and shrugged. 'There's nowhere else. This is where the guard asked me to pop it.' is all she said.

And indeed, by then the corridor was fairly full. However it was the legitimization of the guard's suggestion that did the trick, and she wasn't troubled further, other than the occasional pointed look and the odd 'Huh!' I also quite liked the use of the word 'pop' instead of 'put', and I'm not sure why. Perhaps it shows confidence. Maybe it's an adult word when talking to children. The unexpectedness of it had an effect, I thought. Anyway, it's another tool in the kit!