Noise

Noise is annoying. But some noise is more annoying. The noise of personal entertainment enjoyed without the use of headphones is most annoying. You know what I mean, don’t you? The person on the train playing their tunes out loud so we can all enjoy them. The child intently playing that irritating game on the iPad / DS / mobile phone where the noise seems to be on an incessant loop. The person entering data on their device where they have activated key press sounds. All intensely irritating.

Have they not heard of headphones???

The worst place is on a train, of course because you are the captive audience. Yes, I know you can book the quiet coach and I have done – and still had the irritating noise to contend with. Every train journey has its irritations and one of the worst is the person who takes non-stop calls on the mobile. Why do they ALWAYS shout? We do NOT want to follow your every conversation. We do NOT want to hear you say ‘I’m on the train!’ We do not want to hear your repeated ‘Hello? Hello? Hello??’ as the train enters a tunnel and the ‘I lost the signal. We went thorough a tunnel’ when you call them back. We do not want to hear your stupid ring tone or text tone that sounds like someone burping or farting.

But we are British. We have a stiff upper lip. We do not complain but sit there silently fuming in a very British way.