So I've been a 'City Slicker' for under a month now and can honestly say that I am officially loving City life! Working in city seems to be a bit more flamboyant and care free than anything I've ever experienced. Generosity is a big part of city life and of course the new girl is lapping it up like the cat who got the cream.
However with London comes the commute and from Essex its a treachorous journey combining passengers with major attitude problems, train drivers with what seems like a mind of their own so that they can decide that instead of travelling at a decent train speed they would rather crawl along the track in a sort of tortoise fashion; But there isn't a hare, and the only race is getting to work on time in the morning. Come on National Express we all want the same things here, play by the game!
I have never known a train journey quite as complex as mine, Brentwood being only the second stop on the 12 stop line to Liverpool Street, has 90% of its seats filled up if you get on before nine o clock. By the third stop at Harold Wood your already reading your newspaper up against the window with someone elses elbow in your face. Next stop Gidea Park and I always like to look around at the scramble for the last seat in train carriage, Little things please little minds rings clear at this point. By Romford, People gaze across the train like a pack of lions hunting for prey, hoping that someone will leave their seat. On comes Chadwell Heath, Its here the noise of background train muttering is usually drowned out by people giving up on their well thumbed Metro and taking to their ipods turning it up as loudly and as obtrusively as possible. More elbows in face and at this point I'm thanking the Lord that the morbidly obese man opposite me is sitting opposite me and feeling slightly sympathetic to the seemingly petite girl next to him. Although its hard to comment on her size when half of her seems to have slithered down the side of the chair.
You think its all over? Well now the fun really begins, Goodmayes-I've never known so many people appear from nowhere. Suddenly I feel thousands of beady little eyes watching me update my facebook status or stalk Lily Allen on twitter, People literally looking over my shoulder, mostly due to the sheer volume of people on the train at this point, stuffed like sardines in a tin or whatever other similie you wish to describe conditions that could verge on relating to a Nazi death camp.
Seven Kings Next- This is where (if not already started) the arguments start. From over the top of my ipod I can generally hear cries of 'Can you move down please', 'Excuse me can you move so I can get on'. Always hidden with mild niceties that everyone knows that you don't mean but you insist on saying it anyway even though it doesnt work when you bark it in peoples faces and thats a considerate morning.
If a train couldnt get anymore packed you would think that it would just go straight to Liverpool Street, However National Express believe that we enjoy paying extortionate train fares to have the pleasure of having someones bottom by my cheek. Here comes -Ilford, Followed shortly by Manor Park, Forest Gate and Maryland.
By now people are agitated, all possible windows are open, the metros are a crumpled mess and I have finished my on-the-go playlist. The saviour of the morning goes to Stratford, People leave the carriage and you can see them physically gasping for air as they step onto the platform knowing that they've braced another day and will go through the same routine tonight, tomorrow and however long you continue to get that route really...
Ten minutes of actually the most calm the carriage has looked all morning, the train slowly pulls up at Liverpool Street. Before you've even stopped people have grabbed bags from the overheads and all move to the doors causing unnecessary congestion and more chaos for the morning..
And lets not forget that this is all before we face a whole day of work...And that journey is just a good day...
S.x
