Train Stories

Anthony Barnett (London, OK): I don't want to boast but I went to see Iain Dale today, partly to talk about the new monthly magazine he'll launch in the summer. He told me about how he blogged yesterday via his blackberry from the train about what he should do as he found himself sitting opposite David Starkey. His readers added their hilarious suggestions to his in their comments, which Iain could also read (and even moderate) from the phone. Now a reader has sent in another train story about Lord Falconer. This one is going to run. You can also start to see how the capacity of web technology to aggregate is bound to have a real time impact on public services. My train story is quite different. I was in a window seat at a table in packed commuter train going to Oxford about 15 years ago. The young man opposite me was playing his walkman - it was before iPods - very loudly and the base thump penetrated my concentration. Most politely, I asked him to turn it down. He said no. I said please, he said "what are you going to do about it". His body language was saying 'you are an Oxford toff so fuck you'. I would have moved seats if any had been free. The passengers next to us said nothing. What should I do, especially as I am not an Oxford toff? In a Very Loud Voice Without Shouting I said, "Please turn down your walkman". The whole carriage went quiet. He was locked in his defiance, again he said "No". Again, in my Very Loud Voice I said I would call the guard. He remained defiant. I got up, squeezed past the other passengers, went along the train found the ticket inspector and brought him back. He told the young man to turn down the volume, which he then did. All this time everyone in the carriage buried their heads in newspapers or looked at the floor. As we got out the train in Oxford one person said to me, "Well done, it is a great nuisance I should have supported you". Indeed. I appreciate English restraint and respect for others, but you can see how it opens the way for appeasement.