I had been visiting a schoolfriend on Christmas Eve and didn’t realize the trains were stopping early. There I stood, on the platform, with a couple of other would-be passengers. Waiting. Freezing. A uniformed railway official pottered about. He took no notice of us. Eventually, with no sign of any trains, I plucked up the courage to overcome my shyness and ask him how much longer I would have to wait. “Oh there’s no more trains today,” he said, and his cheerfulness irritated me. I bit my tongue. Mustn’t cheek my elders. “But I need to get home and it’s miles away.” The other passengers had drifted over and nodded in agreement. The official looked from one to the other of us and shrugged. “There’s a phone over there. You could call a taxi.” One of the other passengers said what I felt, “Oh very helpful! What did you think we were all waiting for?
