Commuter Etiquette

This morning, on a very crowded train, a guy at New Cross Grate clawed at the door frame, trying desperately to squeeze himself in to the carriage, much to the disgruntlement of many of those already on board.

Over a chorus of tuts, he said that he had to get to work and that was all there was to it. We know that opinions differ on the subject, but Brockley Central would like to put itself firmly in his camp.

There is always room for one more, even on the busiest days. It just depends how badly you want it. People can always squash up a bit in the central aisles, they just don't want to. And its amazing how much more easily everyone can breath, once the doors shut. It takes supreme willpower to ignore the collective scorn of a carriage of commuters.

The guy was desperate to get to work on time. Maybe his patients were hanging on life support. Maybe his boss is just waiting for an excuse to fire him. Whatever his story, he was clearly enjoying the journey even less than the people who were grumbling.

If he's willing to endure the tuts, he deserves to be on the train.

Scenes like this obviously happen nearly every day and women commuters seem particularly begrudging in these cases - our theory is that, spared the indignity of the communal urinal that men have grown up with, they have developed a stronger sense of personal space.

But our plea, on behalf of this everyman is, give him a break.