lack of seats on the train

Today I took a seat on the train. The off-beat bit of that statement is that I took a seat on the floor. I walked to the middle of the full carriage and sat on the floor with my legs under a seat leaning against the back of another. I was immediately asked by someone if they could get past. Shamefully I said, ‘could you step over?’ and then realised the rudeness of that statement, so got up and let them pass and sat down again. The carriage filled up around me as we went in to London.

Obviously from further away it looked like there was a gap so by the last station someone asked if we could ‘move along’. Upon hearing obviously that someone was sat on the floor, they shouted out ‘sat on the floor! There are people trying to get on the train here’.

I felt awkward and bad about this, but I get tired standing all the way on the train. I am not huge. My body width is no less sitting down than standing up. Indeed people could probably squash up more to me sitting at the level of their narrowest part.

Was it potentially a health and safety problem? It would take me a while to get up, but then if the train crashed, without purchase, I and my fellow travellers would be head first through the nearest window standing up or sitting down.

Was it just the unorthodox nature of what I was doing? I guess if everyone sat down it would take up more space, even if they put their legs under the seats.

When I got home I asked my 23 year old son what he thought. ‘Mum’, he said, ‘why didn’t someone younger than you offer you a seat?’ It’s one answer. I don’t really expect this. I do get offered a seat quite often.

Once a young couple in their early 20s were shockingly rude to me when I asked them to take their suitcase off a seat. I insisted in my gentle, middle class voice and got my way, but I quaked all the way home.