IMPORTANT NOTICE!
WELCOME, You are in the old website section up to 2011, please click HOME to view the website in the new 2012 design and system. THANK YOU!
TICKET TO RIDE London tubes
Published Date
18 March 2009
Author / Submitted by
Holly Jade
Article Image
I haven’t yet met a South African who says they were not fascinated by the notion of catching the tube when they first arrived in London. Its all pretty novel in the beginning though, let’s be honest! You can arrive early or late and there’s almost always one ready to go to pretty much anywhere in half an hour. This all happens with very little effort on your part; the doors open by themselves, a voice bleats about the destination at each stop and you’re always reminded to mind the gap on your way out- just in case you forgot!
Life just ‘goes on’ on the tubes in a way that we, as drivers back home, might not previously have thought to appreciate. In fact, what soon becomes this dreary trip to and fro each day is actually an opportunity to get on with some personal admin or grooming! Ladies can work on their make-up and hair without worrying about bumping the car ahead. You can snack, read, write notes or even hit a bit of playstation without being pulled over and fined for not having both hands on the wheel. You can hop on drunk or hungover and not be too much of a hazard in public- not that I’m encouraging this in anyway! And last but not least, you can catch a nap or rock on to your own personal music selection and no-one will tell you you’re taste in music is crap!
Some pretty odd things have been witnessed on the tube too. A guy recently wrote in to The London Lite saying the line in public personal hygiene must have been crossed by a guy who clipped his toenails on the morning commute. A friend of mine was in giggles for hours after a little Chinese women randomly pulled out a dead, raw fish and slapped it on the railing poles a few times before putting it away, none too fussed! And that’s before I even get to the interesting conversations one can get an earful of as well! And by the way- Ek hoor jy kan Afrikaans praat, maar jy moet nie vergeet nie; daar is baie mense op die trein wat die taal kan verstaan my liefies!
“...we can’t just tune the man up front to put pedal to the metal...”
The downside to Tubing becomes pretty extensive a few months in. Being under 1.6m aka armpit level or watching someone sneeze and infect the whole carriage are a few that bring the convenience kudos down a few notches. We also hate that we can’t just tune the man up front to put pedal to the metal when we’re running late. But mostly, we’ve got a ticket to ride, so we don’t care!
Life just ‘goes on’ on the tubes in a way that we, as drivers back home, might not previously have thought to appreciate. In fact, what soon becomes this dreary trip to and fro each day is actually an opportunity to get on with some personal admin or grooming! Ladies can work on their make-up and hair without worrying about bumping the car ahead. You can snack, read, write notes or even hit a bit of playstation without being pulled over and fined for not having both hands on the wheel. You can hop on drunk or hungover and not be too much of a hazard in public- not that I’m encouraging this in anyway! And last but not least, you can catch a nap or rock on to your own personal music selection and no-one will tell you you’re taste in music is crap!
Some pretty odd things have been witnessed on the tube too. A guy recently wrote in to The London Lite saying the line in public personal hygiene must have been crossed by a guy who clipped his toenails on the morning commute. A friend of mine was in giggles for hours after a little Chinese women randomly pulled out a dead, raw fish and slapped it on the railing poles a few times before putting it away, none too fussed! And that’s before I even get to the interesting conversations one can get an earful of as well! And by the way- Ek hoor jy kan Afrikaans praat, maar jy moet nie vergeet nie; daar is baie mense op die trein wat die taal kan verstaan my liefies!
“...we can’t just tune the man up front to put pedal to the metal...”
The downside to Tubing becomes pretty extensive a few months in. Being under 1.6m aka armpit level or watching someone sneeze and infect the whole carriage are a few that bring the convenience kudos down a few notches. We also hate that we can’t just tune the man up front to put pedal to the metal when we’re running late. But mostly, we’ve got a ticket to ride, so we don’t care!
Images (1)
Prev
Next
