I had a meeting in Greater London last week that involved a long and tedious (taxi and three trains, five hour) journey home. The train line through the Cotswolds to Malvern is notorious for being little more than a branch line, with slow trains that stop at pretty much every village, and very short platforms at many of the stations. Before every stop, the guard announces which subset of the train will actually be “platformed” (a hideous word much loved by Great Western Railways) and therefore which doors he will be unlocking. This time however, the guard seemed determined to elevate the routine announcements by adding in little factoids. For example:
- The next station stop is Moreton-in-Marsh. There has been a station here since 1853, but it never grew up into a full length platform. So please alight from only the front five carriages, carriages A-E in Standard Class.
- We are now approaching Evesham. The Battle of Evesham was in 1265, but they’re all friends again now. So it’s safe to get off here – provided that you alight from only the front five coaches!
He certainly seemed to be enjoying his job, and his cheery announcements certainly enlivened what would otherwise have been a very tedious trip home.
