A COMMUTER who had to briefly break from his unvaried robotic morning routine to help a stranger is still furious about it.
Martin Bishop was heading to his usual spot on platform ten of Reading station to arrive at precisely 7.42am when a stranger stepped into his path and demanded information he does not customarily give.
He said: “I feel like I’ve been mugged.
“This woman, who definitely isn’t one of the regulars to Paddington or I’d recognise her from years of avoiding eye contact, just starts speaking to me as if that’s okay.
“I had to remove my earbuds then gesture for her to repeat her question while gazing fixedly on the floor, and then tell her which platform it was for Bristol. As if not having a 3D mental map of this entire station due to the hours spent here was somehow normal.
“Then I had to keep nodding while she thanked me, and by the time she’d finished I was three minutes behind on my podcast and Canada Goose coat man had taken my spot exactly where the doors open and, you guessed it, subsequently seat C39. Day ruined.
“The whole upset shattered my composure. I’ll suffer intrusive thoughts about the crushing misery of my monotonous life all day now.”
