Today every woman's worst nightmare came true for me....
After my french class, at about 7:45 pm I got the Northern Line heading North (High Barnet Branch) from Tottenham Court Road station. The carriage was quite full, and there were a few people standing. I may or may not have uttered a wee sigh of surpise (mainly because I had had to stand the entire hour-and-twenty minutes on the way in to work...there had been delays) but I resolved that it was good for me to stand and get a little more exercise for my core stability muscles...
Just then I felt a tap on my arm and an approaching-elderly gentleman offered me his seat. I smiled and politely declined. He then said "no, I insist" to which I (still smiling) said "Honestly, I am fine standing, but thank you" at which point he hopped out of his seat and said "Look, I'm already standing!" Not wanting to discourage the man from offering others seats in the future I smiled and said "well, thanks then" and sat down.
Looking around, I noticed that I was not the only woman who had been standing, and I thought he was struggling to hold on to the pole a bit. When someone else vacated a "leaning spot" standing up, he immediately went and stood there. He stayed on from Tott. Ct Rd to Tufnell Park, so it wasn't as if he was about to get off anyways...
"Why", I thought to myself "would an elderly gentleman so kindly give up his seat for a woman of only 30?"....
....unless he thought I was pregnant....
I know I have some post-plantar faciitis pudge, but I hadn't realised it had gone to this extreme!
I've been able to laugh it off, fortunately, but I hope you will excuse me now, because I have made an early morning date with Gym...
Hm.
ReplyDeleteor maybe he's just a gentleman and couldn't offer his one seat to every woman passenger so choose you? perhaps he thought he might set an example for other would-be gentlemen on the tube. but then, it is london...
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