THE POSH FELLA ON THE NIGHT TRAIN
‘The posh fella on the night train’
Yesterday I attended a speakers event at which I was filming a promotional video for Success4. We heard some amazing stories of hope and fear, triumph over tribulations.
I had to wait for the late train at the station to get the last one back home to where I live, near the seaside. As I sat half asleep on the train, eye lids doing the up down dance, one up, one down… I was ready to drool a bit when I finally dropped off, an older man sat down in front of me, obviously fairly drunk and possibly been so for a very long time.
At first I was tempted to stare out of the window, the overwhelming urge to pretend to be asleep to avoid the awkward anxiety that just washed over me. Then he spoke to me ‘Whats your name young sir?’ He had an amazing upper class British accent and I just thought ‘sod it lets see what happens here then’. I also thought maybe this was ‘Secret Millionaire’….it wasn’t.
He told me all about his brother who was a barrister, how his younger brother was a millionaire and how he himself was the black sheep of the family. He told me a story about how he joined a unwitting couple at a pub quiz and got 48 of the 50 questions correct for them so they won the quiz and then he told me how he lived alone and had spent the day with his sister, all the while sipping at a beaten can of Stella.
He then asked me what I did and I told him I was a documentary filmmaker. His eyes lit up and he asked me if I would like to make a film about him, he even offered me his number. I declined saying I was very busy, but if the truth be told, the curiosity of how this obviously well to do man from an upper class family succumb to drinking his days away was completely appealing and if I had not been too frightened, and let the worry that he might actually be a serial killer into my head then I might well have said yes.
He popped to the loo and the lady sitting across from us lent over to me and said ‘You did really well there, I just wanted to tell you’. It was a lovely moment and I replied that it could easily be me someday or someone I love who just needs a chat.
“People are just people” and but for the Grace of God go I.
I will never forget that man and I hope he finds some peace some day soon, and I actually kind of miss him today. He was nice and what an accent, and what a fascinating documentary that would be.
