Overheard on the train

[dolorosa_12]

I went into Cambridge after lunch today in order to get my hair cut, and witnessed quite possibly two of the peakest of Peak Saturday Train Experience™ ever. Bear in mind that this all happened within a roughly fifteen-minute period.

1. A group of tipsy young women, wandering around my carriage in confusion, carrying a bottle of sparkling rosé and plastic cups, trying to find their friends (so the whole group could break open the wine), who were allegedly on the same train. The confusion arose because a) this was the final carriage and b) the women had supposedly already walked the entire length of the train.

2. A group of young men who got on at Waterbeach, cracked open cans of lager, and attempted to drink their entire cans before arriving at Cambridge station (five minutes from Waterbeach). While this was going on, they talked with great earnestness and detail about a) what they were going to buy to preload before arriving at the pub (they finally settled on buying rum and Coke) and b) which pub they were going to go to (they finally settled on one of the roughest pubs in Cambridge, about which they also reminisced with great fondness about an altercation with the police they had had previously at the same pub).

None of this was in any way obnoxious, and I found it almost endearing. I hope both groups went on to have enjoyable Saturdays.

(The final alcohol-related event in the trifecta was the group of women — two middle-aged friends, and the young adult daughter of one of them — who showed up at the hairdresser to get their hair dyed and cut around 4pm with a bottle of prosecco that they'd bought at the nearby petrol station. As I was finishing up, they poured glasses for themselves, and my hairdresser — clearly this was going to be their Saturday evening out.)

Comments

[eglantiere]

Adorable glimpses of humanity.

[dolorosa_12]

Yes, they were. All the people were just so happy, and it was infectious!

[pauraque]

Is there no rule against drinking openly on the train? Or is it just not enforced?

[dolorosa_12]

Drinking on the underground in London is not allowed, but as far as I'm aware, there is no rule against it on long-haul trains (and indeed most largeish train stations have shops selling, among other things, alcohol, and trains that have restaurant cars in the UK and elsewhere in Europe usually sell beer and small bottles of wine). These specific kinds of groups (women sharing bottles of sparkling wine, and men with cans of beer) are so common on Saturdays that it's almost a cliché — as demonstrated by the other comments here from British people. I also always see these exact groups of drinking people every time I catch a train on a Saturday in Germany, and elsewhere in continental Europe.

[tellshannon815]

Isn't it all TFL - just thinking about all that fuss a few years ago with Diane Abbott and her can, wasn't that on the Overground?

[dolorosa_12]

Yes, I think you're right. I'd misremembered it as being on the Tube for some reason.

[tellshannon815]

I once saw a bachelor/stag party getting quite drunk on a train to the point where a woman in the carriage was getting quite angry about it, reported both to the conductor and to the transport police when she got off at Carlisle, but as far as I can remember not a lot happened. Someone from the transport police did get on at Lancaster, was greeted with "Oh, sod off, son!" by the best man, he took all their details but then got off the train after that and they carried on to wherever they were changing anyway. So yeah, there's not a lot that ever gets done about it anyway.

[lokifan]

lollll. yep, very Train on Saturday. I like that kind of thing too as long as the young men aren't wearing tons of Axe. (Or Millwall fans.)

[dolorosa_12]

Isn't it just? The amusing thing is that I always see those exact specific groups of people, with those exact specific beverages, every time I travel on the train on a Saturday in Germany, and elsewhere in Europe, so it's not unique to the UK.

I was safe on both counts with that group of young men!

[trepkos]

Glad it was peaceable!

[dolorosa_12]

Oh it was indeed. I don't mind drunk people if they're cheerful and friendly, which was definitely the case this time around.

[corvidology]

This post is making me weirdly nostalgic!

[dolorosa_12]

Ha! I love that the comments here are scattered with British people who recognise the exact phenomenon I'm describing!

[chestnut_pod]

Well, if you're going to bring a bottle of prosecco into the salon, definitely sh(hair) with your haircutter! That seems like manners!

[dolorosa_12]

Hahaha! I was just glad that she finished my own hair before starting on the prosecco!

[author_by_night]

Sounds interesting to witness!

[dolorosa_12]

As I say, this is very typical for a train on a Saturday afternoon, not only in the UK but more broadly in Europe as well (I have witnessed these exact specific types of people, with these exact specific beverages, every time I've travelled by train in Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, and elsewhere in Europe, on a Saturday).

[rmc28]

When I make my semi-regular visits to my friend in Bury St Edmunds, usually on a Saturday, chances are high of getting a group of elegantly dressed young women with sparkling wine and disposable cups sharing the train in at least one direction.

[dolorosa_12]

It's like clockwork!

[adore]

British people's love for alcohol amuses me :D

[lirazel]

Yeah, drinking culture in the UK is very interesting to me from a sociological perspective!

[dolorosa_12]

Honestly, half the people in this ridiculous country wouldn't the courage to overcome their social awkwardness and speak to other people if it weren't for alcohol. It's kind of absurd!