A Christmas Parable

When I was a young lad, around 5 years old, I kept mice. I bought two mice, Mork and Mindy and a couple of weeks later I had 8 mice, then two weeks after that I had 16. I discovered a local pet shop that would buy the mice off me for 50p each, so I had a lucrative business for kid. I assumed the pet shop found good homes for the baby mice, but I now realise that they were probably reptile food.

Anyhow I loved my original two mice. I would run home from school each day to play with my little rodent chums. I would dress them up and put them in little Lego cars that I built for them. And at Christmas they would don tiny Santa hats. 

The common commuter types

These days I travel less and less in and out of London. I really don't miss the daily grind on the crowded 8.10 train and unbearable underground. Less commuting is better for health, welfare and sanity. 

Over the years I have noticed the following anti-social, unaffable common commuter types: