London transport stories...
By egcellentTramp at 2013-08-12 18:59:42
London, UK
74 replies
11326 views
It's so nothing like me and pretty terrible, but my funniest remembrance (in hindsight) of riding the night bus was when two of my flatmates and I got into an dispute during a night out over something very stupid. We'd all hurt each others' feelings and so each of us sat in various corners of the bus drunk and crying the whole ride home.
I was once travelling home from work on the Victoria line. Something had gone wrong at work so I was leaving incredibly late and the carriage had perhaps a dozen people on it. I was drained from working all day so I just sat down and didn't notice the guy sitting crossways and to the right of me. He was sporting a dressing gown, boxer shorts and not anything else counting shoes. He was holding a tin of special brew.
I did what any Londoner does in such a situation. disregarded him with a intensity only Londoners can muster. everybody else on the carriage is doing precisely the same thing when he makes abrupt noises to himself. Anyway we were travelling for a bit and we finally get to Oxford Circus. And a couple in their late 30 or early 40s get on chatting loudly... they are evidently American tourists as they are complaining about something :teasing: The wife(or partner... whatever) stops mid stride and immediately openly stares at the guy. The guy notices and stares back. There is a second pause and then the dressing gown man launches into one of the loudest and largely incoherent run of obscene ramblings I have ever heard.
The poor Americans don't know what to do. The doors have closed and they cannot escape. The guy isn't getting out of his seat he is purely screaming about something in their general direction. My fellow Londoners of course spring into action. They multiply their efforts to overlook this scene while the American woman tries to hide at the back of her husband. They get off at the next station, the man shut up and we all carried on north bound pretending that this never happened.
It was that day I couldn't conclude if I loved or hated London.
She opened the family size bag wide as she could then pushed her mug into the bag whilst she pushed the crisps through the bottom of the bag. She pushes the crisps into her chops and wipes her face off with a tissue.
Apparently she had her eyes closed all the time and quietly moaned. She's seen her twice now doing it both times.
It was morning both times if that's relevant.
Eta: another time my train got stuck between two others at separate platforms. We had to go out through the drivers cubicle http://i.imgur.com/FF4oABM.jpg
Got stuck on the Northern Line on Halloween night and had to walk out. There was a couple in full on gimp and dom costumes that were in my carriage who also had to walk out.
you got a phone? did, and I was positive I was about to get 'jacked'. Being 15, pre-social media, a mobile phone was an vital tool for socialising and not an straightforward thing get hold of. I had been robbed before, I don't recall what phone I had at the time however with the mixture of fear being uncontactable/loosing numbers and dutch courage; I stood my ground.
again, got a phone for me blud?
I replied.
know you have man, come I just want to use your phone. this age I was already close to 6ft, perhaps about 16stone and playing rugby past my age. I was well used to going up alongside people and capable of looking after myself.
He reached towards my coat pocket, I reacted forcefully and drove my hands into his shoulders, pushing him backward agains the fence behind. The quiet grouping of people waiting for busses took notices where before they we doing the lot not to.
I can't think of what I said or he said, but I ended up reaching down into this outside jacket pocket and pulling out his mobile. I pocketed it and threw him to the ground.
you, how does it feel? I shouted, and immediately walked away.
As I passed the people waiting I could hear them giggle. I walked away feeling like I was made of steel. The bus stop was beside a tube station, I had to take a train to get home. I recall rushing down the stairs to catch one as before the doors closed and as I sat down in my seat the adrenaline subsided to the realisation of what had just happened.
I pulled from my pocket his 6600, brand new at the time and one of the first camera phones that could record short videos. I was all of a sudden elevated to having the coolest mobile phone in school, an achievement until that time kept for the rich kids.
My favourite thing about that phone was the pictures he had of him posing like a 'badman' matched with his soppy texts to his 'gurl', who he had a amount of pictures also. She was ugly as sin but to him she was his 'princess'.
Thinking back I ought to have given the phone to the police as It was doubtless stolen, though I guess if it wasn't then I would have committed the crime. There was noway I was letting go of it, I had a camera phone and now the means to film our stunts in school.
I doubt this fits your animation project but Its my best story from public transport. Its been a while since i've told it and remembering it brought a grin to my face, so cheers.
It was Halloween. I had been in London for a couple of days at that point. I was studying at UCL and living in Highgate. I spent the night outside the student union, getting to know the resident flavor, and got a late bus home. Caught the bus near Goodge Street. totally packed to gils. Even though I had only been in England for a week, I knew you don't fuck about when it comes to Londoners and there public transit. I stood in the hind of the bus, stoic and minding my own business. At one point, I saw a young couple in front of me. The guy was seated and the girl was standing, and holding him, rasping his back. It struck me as vaguely strange. I looked a little nearer and saw that the guy looked rather upset. He had an attention-grabbing expression on his face. I drew the assumption that she had just ended the relationship and she was doing the nice thing and seeing him home. I thought nil of it for sometime. He began to become more and more lively and seemed to rather upset. At one point, he put his hand on his mouth, as if to stifle his sobbing. Again, I thought nothing about it, I minded my own business, but I did swap looks with somebody standing close to me, a look of comprehension and sympathy. We were two stops away from my stop while it happened. Pulled up to a stop, he moved forward and pushed her out of the way. Out it came, a appalling white vomit, all over my neighbors' shoes. Some how, I was able to literally think fast on my feet and relocate right as the vomit hit. They both jumped off at the stop, and departed into the night. I was stunned. Not only had I misjudged the situation, I felt really bad that I had to ditch my neighbor there with vomit overflowing shoes. At the next stop, I nodded, gave a look of concerning that... and jumped right off the bus. I laughed vaguely as I walked home.
All in all a quite normal Thursday
I started chatting to a girl - absolutely not my type. Piercings, a little punky, and to top it all - a Kiwi. someway though we started getting-off. All this is absolutely out of character. We got off at Hammersmith (literally plus figuratively) and chatted a little more. Turns out we were in the same group at school in Yorkshire until her parents emigrated when she was 8 or so.
Roll ahead 13 years - and I'm now blissfully married with a couple of kids.
Not to her though. She wouldn't come home with me or bestow me her number. Prick tease.
I started chatting to a girl - absolutely not my type. Piercings, a little punky, and to top it all - a Kiwi. someway though we started getting-off. All this is absolutely out of character. We got off at Hammersmith (literally plus figuratively) and chatted a little more. Turns out we were in the same group at school in Yorkshire until her parents emigrated when she was 8 or so.
Roll ahead 13 years - and I'm now blissfully married with a couple of kids.
Not to her though. She wouldn't come home with me or bestow me her number. Prick tease.
This was nevertheless the guy she banged last night. He sent her packing first thing in the morning.
I'm not truly sure if she was being intelligent or stupid.
