A Chrimbo Train Journey

Tomorrow I head up to Dundee, it will mean having to get up early in the morning as my train leaves locally at 6:38 a.m., so it's definitely an early rise. I'll be in Scotland for Chrimbo and for the new year. Sparkling will be doing various periods of work, but I'll get to see her most of the time. The only thing I'm not looking forward to on the journey is changing train at Edinburgh and waiting there for half an hour. Then there is the trolly rush for the train at Kings Cross. It's the time of year where everyone is heading off somewhere and they have in tow one of those wheelie bags, trolly like things. Probably loaded up with clothes and prezzies for the people they are about to see. It is madness though when the train platform is eventually confirmed on the notice board. The travellers come in all forms, old, young, wrapped up in coats and scarfs, but they all do one guaranteed thing, the trolly rush. There will be additional porters or ticket checkers all over the place, guiding and making sure the holiday groupies are in the right place, on the right train and hopefully stashing their bags in the "Guard's" carriage. I carry an old black and purple ruck sack which is older than any of my nephews and nieces. Carrying a ruck sack allows for manoeuvrability, but this time round I will probably have a laptop as well. In other words, I'll be partly loaded up. But with a sense of veteran long distance train travel, I know what I'm doing and where I'm going. Which is more than can be said for quite a proportion of the travelling public. You'd of thought they only just found out what a train was, and had probably been sat at home playing trains before they got to the station. They can be a hazard, because there's one thing they don't do, it's think.

Being of calm mind is of great value, in any situation I might add as well. However, you don't have to be in a calm mind to think, but to be aware and conscious. A calm mind helps in thinking. It helps in observing, following directions, opening your eyes and observing. These novice commuters who can tell the time and pack a trolly bag don't always have the full appreciation of being of sound mental faculty. For example. When getting on a train it is usually a good idea to get on your carriage rather than get on a carriage further up from your designated seat. But there will be commuters who see the train and think in their little heads "I must get on this," only then to realise they have to walk through a number of carriages till they get to the right carriage and find their seat. Of course this means they will have to pass a few hundred other passengers who are trying to get settled into their own seats and put their own little trolly bags away. It will happen tomorrow morning. As well as the passenger who thinks somebody else is sitting in their seat, only to find again, they are either in the wrong carriage or on the wrong train and should of got a later or earlier train.  There will be people with the wrong ticket. They will then be asked by the ticket inspector to pay up or get off the next station, if the ticket inspector is feeling reasonable. There will be groups of people who are obviously together and the trip to never-never-land is a wonderful adventure. They will talk loudly, laugh loudly and make themselves a nuisance to all around. Lastly, if unlucky, there is always the possibility a couple of toilets are out of use, or some of the travellers on the train don't understand how to actually use the toilet, because they should push and hold the button down so it can flush but think it should flush with just a quick button press. Not very nice at all.

I may be in a sociable mood or an unsociable mood. It depends on how I feel tomorrow morning. If I am very, very unlucky, I'll be sat next to a person who wants to talk to me the entire journey and I learn is mentally ill, racist, fascist, toffee-nosed, stupid, or boring as shit. It is highly improbably the person I sit next to will have a conversational ability to engage me for six hours. As it equally is unlikely I will. With my new Mexican, come Charlie Chan style moustache I will likely be different from anyone else in looks. Which I am not worried about. I will try and close my eyes and nod off, just hoping if a moments sleep shrouds my weary demeanour the time will pass just a little bit quicker than normal.  As I am not moving about I'll sit there and for a few hours get fat. Hope the weather doesn't get too cold, the in carriage refreshment trolley service is working I am not sat next to a mother with a small baby which has the shits. But as they say, worse things happen at sea, I just can't think of what particular things but only an oversized ship eating octopus might be a little more unfortunate.