Sorry I Didn't Realise That Seat Was Taken...!

There's something I see most days that makes me chuckle, and this morning I was on the receiving end.

There is always one person on the train who seems to think their jacket and/or bag desperately needs a seat all to itself. I guess that said intimate object has some sort of issues regarding it's personal space, or lack thereof.

This morning as I boarded the train I saw an empty seat against the window in a set of two, currently occupied by the jacket of the man sitting in that aisle seat. So I politely said excuse me and indicated I would like to sit down. This assertion was immediately met with a scowl and some tutting followed by the removal of his jacket with as little graciousness as he could possibly summon.

Now being a woman I genuinely sympathise. Unlike men we tend to have a handbag and as I carry a fair amount of things to and from London everyday mine is rather large. I hate having it sat on my lap whilst trying to get comfy but as I won't leave it on the floor and don't like storing it on the shelf above that's kind of my problem and so I accept it. But what on earth makes someone think they can take up two seats on a busy commuter train because they don't want their (very light looking) jacket on their laps?

To be fair they can think it all they like, it ain't happening. Unless the jacket was a ploy and I actually sat on his invisible friend... As laughable as it is there are some really strange people around and I can't discount it completely. Oh well, I hope at least his invisible friend enjoyed having a blonde sat on their lap for half an hour...!