London's Circle Line is one of the oldest in the world but these days Ye Olde Circle Line isn't even a circle - it's a loop with a bit hanging off the end going to Hammersmith.
After 11 years living in London, I never actually sat on the Circle Line from end to end. So, on a trip there last week, I got on at Embankment and went anti-clockwise.
Here's what I saw.
- Three tired and very glum-faced people, a mother and two daughters, all wrapped up in scarfs.
- A woman adjusting her socks and saying to the man beside her: "I've gotta pull my socks up, figuratively". "Literally", he corrects her.
- A woman with a lilac bob.
- A woman holding a handbag with an embroidered elephant.
- A young guy with bleach blonde hair and a bridge piercing looking intently at his phone, and clenching his jaw.
- People looking upto the tube maps above them as if seeking divine inspiration.
- "I do miss a little bit us walking around in the outside. That was awesome, that was top tier."
- "She was like 'don't worry I have a guy for you' and I was in shock."
- "I sat there with a wry smile on my face, sipping out of my pumpkin."
- A bearded man dressed all in black, sitting with his arms folded the whole time.
- A woman putting on her makeup from a bright orange compact.
- A boy excitedly telling a story about someone pointing out someone's red coat.
- Two boys passing a phone to one another without saying a word.
- A man singing the word Padd‐ing-ton and saying "smashed it!"
- A man getting stuck in the closing doors and saying sorry to everyone.
- People talking in French, Greek, Portuguese and Spanish.
