A lack of manners

A Chara, – On Saturday morning just as I’d boarded the Cork-Dublin train, I witnessed a family group of two adults and two teenagers move an elderly couple out of a seat, charmlessly explaining that they had booked it in advance.

While the couple were the ones who had made the mistake, the family were most cold and unfriendly, offering little by way of apology or any assistance whatsoever in finding the couple another seat. That task was left to me, and I was very relieved to be able to assist them to an alternative spot.

This was a rough start to the day, but I comforted myself by remembering that this level of disregard is actually rare to encounter when travelling by train. However, things were about to get a lot worse.

I observed the family group spend their journey reading the Irish Times Weekend from cover to cover, going as far as completing at least one crossword.