Quiet coach etiquette

[miami]

but I say, why waste money on a big seat in First for someone 4' tall?)

Can't speak to trains, but there's no way I'd do long haul with kids anywhere further back than CW (or futher forward - flew BA First Singapore to Sydney, was not enjoyable, the seats aren't built for families)

Ultimately though you aren't booking the seat for the kids, you're booking it for the entire group, and having more space is always a good thing.

 

[stut]

(And yes, that is something I listened to once for around 20 minutes - I was very tempted to get my phone out afterwards and say something like "You won't believe what I've heard someone saying in my carriage...." :P )

Airport lounges are good for that too. I once overheard someone from a bank discussing their negotation strategy for investment in a medium-sized telecoms startup... And then realised it was the one that a friend of mine worked at (I knew the people running it fairly well).

While tempted to loudly call them and tell them what was going on, I thought it would be better to do it more discreetly. Oddly enough, they got a rather good deal...

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Similar thing happened to me last year; I may be cloth eared but when a ports boss decides to speak loudly and clearly into his mobile in an Ian McDonald* type voice, I had no trouble at all hearing what their strategy was towards a proposed new service that they didn't really want operating from their port.

A mate of mine was helping out the mate of his who just happened to be behind the very proposal in question. Needless to say, I texted through the details within minutes of hearing them.



*For those who are under 45 - MoD spokesman during the Falklands War. The clearest voice ever.

 

[RichmondCommu]

Meh, just go along with the joke, I've had some good craic with some hammered hen parties before. As for being "tactile", "ooh the wife would rip my testicles off" is normally enough to get them to leave you alone

There's different power dynamics with a group of men against a lone passenger and a group of women against a lone passenger. I'm more wary of male groups than I am of female groups, I don't think it is "double standards" to be aware of that.

That said, I'd say the advice is usually the same for both groups: go along with the joke and have a laugh, so long as they're not getting personal or intimidating. It can often be quite enjoyable, I've ended up hammered with groups of football fans and hen parties before because of it.

I concur that in the vast majority of cases the only thing you get with hen parties on trains is banter and there's nothing wrong with that. I often find myself travelling back from Manchester to London on a Thursday afternoon and the occasional appearance of 'hens' heading to London never fails to amuse. I think its a shame that some posters on this forum seem to view them as being intimidating when they are just after a good time away from their brood.

 

[D1009]

I concur that in the vast majority of cases the only thing you get with hen parties on trains is banter and there's nothing wrong with that. I often find myself travelling back from Manchester to London on a Thursday afternoon and the occasional appearance of 'hens' heading to London never fails to amuse. I think its a shame that some posters on this forum seem to view them as being intimidating when they are just after a good time away from their brood.

I don't find them intimidating, it's a noise which I would rather not hear while travelling. Each to his or her own.

 

[backontrack]

The biggest annoyance though is the endless announcements. Hello and welcome, list of stations, next station, ticket validity ×3, next station, buffet/shop listing entire product range, etc. after every stop.

Agree with this. Marcus Brigstocke does as well!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hX4J6bBDBw
[YOUTUBE]hX4J6bBDBw[/YOUTUBE]
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When I'm on trains, I:

-Look out of the window, read and chat quietly on shorter or especially scenic journeys
-Watch my portable DVD player WITH HEADPHONES on longer journeys