The only concession I will make regards seat swapping is that I would swap from a 4er to a 2er, only because I can stretch my legs out under the seat in front. It also helps to prevent the touching-knee taboo one encounters with the opposite passenger.
[QUOTE=teysb;1843300]This is a real bugbear of mine on the trains. Why do people insist on occupying 1 seat in a bank of 4? I walk past so many people who do this. When we have friends come over, and there are only 4 of us, we have to split up across the train because there is not one set of 4 seats vacant
The next time when you are travelling alone on a train, make an example of yourself and practice what you preach .:
That way you will be paying way for four friends to sit together
I sit on my own in a 4-seater place on the train because I am a tiny bit antisocial and prefer not to have to listen to other people's music / smell their food / be elbowed by them / have people try and chat me up ...
However, if I get on a train and it is immediately clear that all the desired 4-seater places have at least one occupant, I do not trawl the entire length of the carriage, knocking people on the head with my bag, before huffily settling down in a shared 4 seater place. I sit down in the first available place (provided it's not occupied by someone I recognise from situation 4 above).
What I do find amusing is that often if I'm in a 4 seater on my own, people will approach my section, and look disappointed, because as I am vertically challenged my head doesn't show over the top of the seat so the section appears to be empty!
Got on a train returning from Luzern with an elderly friend of mine - train was quite busy and a young man was sitting in a semi circular 6 seater - right in the middle. I winked at my friend and she got the message and we sat on either side of him and began to chat about mundane things 'over his lap' - he tried to ignore us, then gave up and move away. If someone if sitting on a busy train or bus with a bag taking a seat- I'll just ask quietly for them to remove it so I can sit down- some will really sulk and pull such a face - but i don't care
Now that's what I call antisocial. I'd have been well pissed off if you did that to me, and justifiably so. Why couldn't you and your friend just sit where there was space and leave the poor guy alone?