Metro letters

There has been a very amusing letters thread from the Metro, the free newspaper distributed on London’s public transport, this week. I only noticed with today’s amusing comment and fortunately I have all this weeks papers to hand so I looked back through them.

The thread stated on Tuesday with this:

Don't Make-up: Ladies... please,please,please stop putting your make-up on while travelling to work on trains and buses. Just stop it. Do it at home. And gentlemen... please close your legs while sitting down. W Anderson, London E11

A great plea - I often see women on trains banging the old make up on and I find it very amusing as the train bounces around. Some are getting very deft at it. There is one woman on my train in the morning who completely transforms herself from an old hag into an old woman every day.

So on Wednesday this is published:

Mind the Gap:
In response to the woman who wrote in suggesting that men should sit with their knees together on public transport. There's something she's failed to grasp about the male anatomy.
Kevin Goold, Bristol

Quite right! Good point. Anatomically our legs are open because that where it’s most comfortable.

Thursdays Metro brought the following response:

Close Call:
In response to Kevin Goold, anatomy is not the reason men sit with their legs wide apart on trains. I think your reason - and that of many others, I'm sure - is merely an excuse in self-aggrandisement. Its plain selfish to sit this way.
Caroline Dee, Surrey

OK, so I had to look that one up:

self-aggrandizement, self-aggrandisement, ego trip: an act undertaken to increase your own power and influence or to draw attention to your own importance

Is it selfish? As selfish as having a shoulder bag in your face the whole journey?

And on Friday we get a great response from the North:

She's Boobed:
Caroline Dee is very dismissive of the obvious anatomical difficulties that some men face when trying to sit close-kneed on public transport. Is she not conscious of the extra space that some women take up when standing on public transport? They should strap down their chests. If three women did this it would create space for an extra passenger.
Christian Nicholl, Tyne & Wear

I really look forward to Mondays repost though sadly the end of the working week may have done for this great letter thread...

Posted by Simon at September 29, 2006 3:26 PM

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