The unwritten rules of the Tube

Last night on my journey home, I was relaxing with my nose in a book (as usual).
A group of teenagers joined the carriage I was riding in talking loudly to each other. No big deal, people ARE allowed to talk (although it doesn't happen very often)! The train came to a stop for a few minutes during which the girl sitting next to me decided to 'liven this place up' by turning on a song on her mobile phone full blast. I like rap, but I don't want to have it blasting in my ear on my ride home, needless to say the people around me were not happy either. Although we all did what people normally do in these situations on the tube, we continued to stare at our books, silently cursing those darn teenagers for being so disruptive and rude. She finally turned it off after a few minutes, then her FRIEND proceeded to start blasting another song from HIS mobile! I just couldn't stand it anymore. So I put down my book, looked up at him and smiled and said 'Could you please turn that off? It's been a long day.' Then I continued to look at him and smile until he turned it off. He was so shocked that someone said something that he stared at me for a few seconds, then turned it off (THANK GOD!). And that was that, I went back to my book, they continued chatting, and life went on.

Funny how many unwritten rules though there are for the tube - here is my unofficial list.

1. If you see a pregnant lady or an elderly person - offer them your seat. And even if they say no that's ok, get up anyway. Don't wait for them to ask, I have never seen someone ask even though you could see in their face they were dying for a seat.

2. Please don't eat smelly food - it just grosses out everyone around you. Keep it for your desk at work!

3. Don't leave your litter on the train, some poor person will have to clean it up. Plus, no one likes to have to pick up someone else's discarded sandwich package to sit down - gross! And no, there are not any bins in the tube system - so stick your rubbish in your bag & throw it away later - it's really not that hard.

4. Don't put your baggage in the aisle. As a frequent traveller on the route from the airport it drives me crazy that people take their huge bags and try to squeeze them into the aisle between my knees and theirs - there is just not room!

5. When your stop is coming up - do not start pushing before the doors open saying 'excuse me.' Once the train has stopped and the doors have opened people will move out of your way, or in the case of Fulham Broadway - almost everyone gets off there anyway so there is no need to push!!!!

6. Last & most importantly - do not be that super annoying person who throws themselves back first (so he/she doesn't have to look the other passengers in the face) onto a train already packed like sardines. Us sardines do not appreciate getting shoved that much further into someone's armpit.

Thanks:)