So I just got back from the barren wasteland that is the north of England. I took the train, which was mostly inoffensive, albeit littered with young people on their way to Leeds festival (which is, as you might expect, a festival in Leeds--unlike Leeds Castle, which is inexplicably 200 miles away in Maidstone). Except behind me was a kid who simply would not shut up for the entire journey.
But what he said got me thinking. And there's something that really bothers me.
Trainspotting.
You see, this kid wanted to grow up to become a trainspotter, an ambition which I certainly felt was modest. From then on, though, I looked out the window more closely, and came to the conclusion that it's pretty much the only career path in the north.
Seriously, how damn popular can something like this be? I can't for the life of me see the appeal. There might be some sort of thrill in waiting to see which trains come along...if it wasn't for the fact that they're fucking timetabled, so you always know exactly what's going to come when. Why not just sit at home safe in the knowledge that the 14:42 to Doncaster probably made it to its destination at some stage, rather than donning the raincoat in search of photographic evidence. I guess it's like birdwatching, except the bird is always the same, and kept in a cage in your house. And dead.