They Still Cost Nothing

Today I had the pleasure, if that's the right word, of travelling to Middlesborough for the day with work. Now before any Teesiders reading this block me this is not about your home town.

I journeyed there on the train which I have done before.

I began my trip at Widnes station and found my pre booked seat no trouble and settled down for the first leg to Manchester.

Now like all the trains from around 6:30am to 9am from Widnes to Manchester Piccadilly this one was rather popular and populated, this is mainly due to the ridiculously sparse timetable to the main Manchester station. However this morning I had my seat and all was well until...the first stop at Warrington. Here the train gets not just very full but sardine like.

I was sat by the window and I was joined by another chap and surrounded by guys on their sleepy way to Manchester or beyond, the carriage was then populated by the unfortunate folks who were in the last row of the 6 deep crowd waiting for the train, these were in single file standing, now begins the real subject of my ramble.

The person nearest the group of seats to me standing up was a lady.

Now, my first instinct was....no not that you dirty Devils... Was to offer her my seat, but, I would have had to have moved a whole ruck of people whose first instinct was obviously different to mine as they never flinched.

Now this got me thinking, was I being too old fashioned? Was my instinct wrong? Was I expecting too much from people and what would the lady have said if I had have offered her the seat, considering she was at least 25 years younger than me and much fitter, not on that way!! Tut tut.

These thoughts occupied me all the way to Manchester and though I wouldn't have forgotten about them they were re enforced by several incidents of the same kind later in the day.

A man allows a lady to go first onto the train with a heavy case only to be pushed away by another chap once the lady was on board, then people jumping in front of a lady waiting to order a drink and totally ignored her until I mentioned it. Then on my final train back tonight a repeat of the first situation.

So my question is are manners dead?

I go back to my questions of expectations, instincts, old fashioned, I have to answer that no I'm not old fashioned, no my instincts weren't wrong and no my expectations are not too high.
But I have to ask the question...am I in a minority? Do ladies expect gents to offer them their seats? Open and hold doors for them etc etc? And even if they don't expect it is it right I should feel I should do it? I know in these days of equality and burned bras that some men say they want equality so they have it! Nope...not right, in my view.

This comes down to something very basic...manners.

They still cost nothing, free, gratis...maybe people should remember how they would like to be treated themselves.

I'd be very interested from both ladies and gents reading this as to whether I'm right or wrong.

Broadcasting The Wrong Message

Cast your minds back to your school days.

Come on...it's not that long ago!

Remember play time? Remember the big loud mouth bully who prowled the play ground in search of victims, usually smaller, quieter and more vulnerable than anyone else?

You remember him or her as this was certainly not a male domain and how they tormented and annoyed and generally did what they wanted for they knew that they were also the top scorer in the football team or the bruiser in the pack at rugby or in a lot of cases the star pupil, so they also knew that the staff and more importantly the head teacher would continually overlook their "banter" and "horseplay" because if they were disciplined or expelled the school would suffer, stuff the victim, save the school.

So, have you all got that thought in your head? Sadly it doesn't stop at school.
Colleges, universities, industries, factories, shops, NHS, schools, the list goes on, fortunately in more and more areas these people are being dealt with, I did say more though, not all.

It seems that in the world of "entertainment" the popular person with the biggest mouth and full range of small minded little England "banter" and apparent "horseplay" is allowed to do whatever from the governors, who put ratings before decency and who are encouraged by people who really should know better ignoring the offence or rather offences...in favour of their "hero".

And this has nothing to do with political correctness, it's all to do with fairness. If any of you who added a signature to an online petition today acted like your hero in your own work I'm afraid you wouldn't be working today because, quite rightly, you would have been disciplined, and if on a final warning, once investigated and proven, dismissed.

Going back to our playground bully, I can't imagine him/her dashing to their laptop to sign a petition on your behalf, they would probably be eagerly waiting for your replacement so they can start their "banter"all over again...