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Eating smelly food on trains

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JaMa9

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I always remember being on a train and a cyclist came on and proceeded to eat tuna and sardines from a can. Incredibly inconsiderate and yet when I say something I am made out to be the unreasonable one. If you are travelling on public transport have the decency to not eat anything that smells to high heavens and wash yourself and use deodorant before you leave the house.
 

farleigh

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Funniest thread ever!

It is quite lovely that some people's biggest concern in life is people eating eggs and sardines on a train.

Long may that be the case!!!
 

JaMa9

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Funniest thread ever!

It is quite lovely that some people's biggest concern in life is people eating eggs and sardines on a train.

Long may that be the case!!!


It's the topic of discussion, I did not say it was my biggest concern in life. If someone's smell is knocking me off my feet I don't want to smell it.
 

Bletchleyite

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not to squash in the middle of a 3-seater

I'd agree with the others, but if it is a seat someone is perfectly entitled to sit in it and you have no business to suggest they should do otherwise. Often people don't like to take those seats, but if they are happy to do so you are no more entitled to stop them than you are to put your bag on it.
 

TT-ONR-NRN

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I don’t even think the smell of the food is the problem sometimes, but the way the passenger eats it! I once endured a journey sat opposite a man in a business suit on a 444 shovelling great handfuls of salsa into his mouth from the jar with his bare hands. Made me feel sick. He got it all over his face and on the table too.
 

MCSHF007

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"The smell of your snack may make someone else crack" was an excellent LU campaign a few years ago. Although unrealistic/nonenforceable I'd still personally be in very much in favour of a ban on smelly food on trains (and buses/trams/tubes).
 
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I was once on a train and a family of 6 got on. The mum was carrying 3 bags. They sat down and just as the train started moving, out came the plates. Yes, plates. Then out of another bag was the takeaway. Curry, rice, poppadoms and various condiments. A full on Indian feast on a train. The smell was actually delicious to start with. I was more impressed that this was on a very short journey. They can't have been on the train any longer than 20 minutes.
 

37047

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Unenforceable, unworkable, plenty would say unreasonable, but I'd ban eating on trains (with the exception of services where the facility to buy food onboard exists or for medical necessity). Partly the smell, partly having to listen to people who can't chew with their mouth closed. <(
 

al78

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If you don't like it - buy a car or other form of self transport.

It is a mass transit system, if people want to eat and you don't like it either move or get off.

No defending the attacker here. I hope they get banned from the network.

Ah yes the usual attempt to justify "I'll do what I want and stuff anyone else".

This is not about eating at all (lame strawman), it is about eating food in a confined area which is likely to give off a pungent odour. Having a right to do something doesn't make it right to do it. It is about basic consideration for other people (what people in the UK, particularly the SE can't be bothered to do). Those incapable of this are the ones that should use private transport, or should not complain when they get called out.

The tirade was wrong, but that is what happens when you don't give a toss about others because you can't be bothered to think. We have social etiquette so we can all get along in our increasingly crowded societies. Actions --> consequences. Provocation --> retaliation. Don't like it, don't be a prat, simple.
 

al78

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By your standards and mine but how many commuters in London practice good etiquette?

It's good etiquette to keep the volume of your personal music down, not to squash in the middle of a 3-seater, to give up your seat to someone that needs it more than you, to move down the train to allow others to board, to not board through a set of doors until others have alighted...etc...etc...

How often do you see this in practice? (especially in London)

On the few times I go to London, I find other people are generally ok with things you mention. People do move down the train (to a point), and people do wait for people to get off before boarding.
 

al78

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Unenforceable, unworkable, plenty would say unreasonable, but I'd ban eating on trains (with the exception of services where the facility to buy food onboard exists or for medical necessity). Partly the smell, partly having to listen to people who can't chew with their mouth closed. <(

It shouldn't be necessary to ban eating full stop. What about someone who is travelling from London to Aberdeen direct? Are they supposed to go without food for seven hours?
 

wildcard

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Although this topic may seem trivial - there is an underlying problem here which won't go away . Some people just refuse to use public transport and drive everywhere . Two people I know - a significantly younger female work colleague and a much older male friend of mine , both never used public transport in their adult life whatever the circumstance . Her reason - her wish to avoid sitting next to "smelly people" - her words . His reason "sitting next to strangers" . I think he felt that he would be obliged to engage in conversation. Whenever we met up at a restaurant or bar his time was dominated by the concern of being able to park very nearby - so several hours consulting the A to Z beforehand ( in the days before Google maps ).
 

boxy321

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This morning on a busy and late running pendolino I was made aware of a new snack product: Graze.

"This is the closest we could get to delivering your very own barbeque in a graze box. Our smokehouse BBQ crunch is a satisfying blend of bbq-flavoured peas with crunchy corn chips and jumbo chilli corn - move over crisps!"

It stunk of something a dog would turn it's nose up at but she clearly enjoyed the experience. I would rather have someone sit and drop their guts - at least the smell goes away quickly in most cases!
 
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Bantamzen

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You know I am reminded of a conversation many years ago with a Hindi schoolmate of mine. We were talking about how he and his family felt discriminated (this was in the 1980's BTW), and the reasons why. My mate told me one of the most common insults they would receive was "you sink of curry", and that he understood that their diet meant that they ate a lot of spicy foods and this could be smelt by others. What he couldn't understand was that many Asian families could smell sour milk on indigenous people, but never felt the need to point this out to them, or treat people any different as a result. I asked if I smelt like that, and he said yes, all of his white friends did. Quite a revealing moment!

People do get very uppity when others don't conform to their own pre-set standards. But it is always worth remembering that in a society with many cultural influences, we all have different tastes, habits and yes even different smells. Looking down on someone purely because you are offended by their smell, or object to something that they are eating is not only belittling but discriminatory. Its always worth remembering that you might also act & smell in a way that could offend the person you are offended by. As I said earlier, as a bit of a garlic fiend I personally wouldn't eat raw garlic on a train, however if someone came over and moaned that there was a whiff of garlic on me, I'd give them a good piece of my mind after telling them the above story.
 

Esker-pades

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What if she pulled a knife and stabbed her ?
There's a difference between shouting at someone (which the user you're replying to already has said was wrong), and stabbing someone.

There are levels of response to things that are annoying: some are appropriate, others are not. Endorsing one form of expressing annoyance does not mean they support all other forms.
 

Mag_seven

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If you don't like it - buy a car or other form of self transport.

It is a mass transit system, if people want to eat and you don't like it either move or get off.

On the contrary if you must east smelly food or want to play music on an i-phone without headphones when you travel then you are the one that needs to buy a car or other form of self transport! It may be a mass transit system but that does not mean its a free for all and we can all do what we want on it.
 

Geoff DC

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Not being a milk drinker, I know that smell of sour milk on those that drink a lot. Some years ago I took up with a woman I really fancied but on getting up real close to her, the smell of sour milk quickly destroyed my passion.
 

Mikey C

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Boiled eggs have a slight aroma but are hardly the smelliest thing, when compared to hot food - burgers, curries, chilli, hot cheese etc

Where do you stop, oranges have a smell, so do wine and beer etc
 

ComUtoR

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There's a difference between shouting at someone (which the user you're replying to already has said was wrong), and stabbing someone.

As al78 stated. Actions have consequences. It doesn't matter which we support or don't. The second someone takes offense and then decides that its ok to publicly berate that person then there is a risk of escalation. If you start verbally assaulting someone and they take ubrage and pull a knife who is at fault ? Who gets to decide what is acceptable or not. Clearly a Jude found that her actions deserved a hard penalty.

I am reminded of the Lee Pomeroy case where he was viciously stabbed to death over the smallest of slights. Instead of tolerance and patience, it escalated. There was action that led to consequence and then provocation that led to a reaction. Fear should never win and the extreme cases are few and far between but you cannot go around judging other people based on your personal standards and then carrying out summary justice in whatever way you please. It is just as ignorant and stupid to treat others in such a fashion over something small and ridiculous as eating an egg on a train. This time it cost her £1,500. It could have turned out worse.
 

Calthrop

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I would definitely support a ban on hot fast food on public transport, which does work in other countries, or at least signs asking people to think about what they eat in public.

National Express road coaches (which, treasonously, I often use instead of rail, for financial reasons) have what seems to me, a good compromise: no hot food on the coach, in any circumstances -- cold, is fine. (And absolutely no alcohol within the coach saloon, i.e. the "travelled-in" bit: if you're transporting alcohol with you, it goes in the hold.)

Boiled eggs have a slight aroma but are hardly the smelliest thing, when compared to hot food - burgers, curries, chilli, hot cheese etc

Where do you stop, oranges have a smell, so do wine and beer etc

It always surprises me that for a fair number of people, boiled eggs (especially hard-boiled) have an objectionable smell -- but that is undoubtedly the case. And, I personally have a very poor sense of smell -- which on the whole, is a thing which I'm glad of.
 

Bletchleyite

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National Express road coaches (which, treasonously, I often use instead of rail, for financial reasons) have what seems to me, a good compromise: no hot food on the coach, in any circumstances

And coach drivers, particularly Scottish ones[1], don't tolerate any messing on this. "Ye cannae et chaps on this cooach!" - while grabbing them and throwing them in the locker.

[1] Scottish Guards are also a different breed from English ones - no hiding in the back cab for them and no messing tolerated. In some ways it's more like England used to be, and I really like it.
 

Esker-pades

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As al78 stated. Actions have consequences. It doesn't matter which we support or don't. The second someone takes offense and then decides that its ok to publicly berate that person then there is a risk of escalation. If you start verbally assaulting someone and they take ubrage and pull a knife who is at fault ? Who gets to decide what is acceptable or not[?] Clearly a [judge] found that her actions deserved a hard penalty.

I am reminded of the Lee Pomeroy case where he was viciously stabbed to death over the smallest of slights. Instead of tolerance and patience, it escalated. There was action that led to consequence and then provocation that led to a reaction. Fear should never win and the extreme cases are few and far between but you cannot go around judging other people based on your personal standards and then carrying out summary justice in whatever way you please. It is just as ignorant and stupid to treat others in such a fashion over something small and ridiculous as eating an egg on a train. This time it cost her £1,500. It could have turned out worse.
For the record, I don't agree with the actions of said passenger.

The 'fear should never win' line is an interesting one. Your position seems to be based on a fear to speak up if someone is doing something perceived to be wrong/disrespectful etc. Asking politely is a perfectly reasonable thing to do.


And coach drivers, particularly Scottish ones[1], don't tolerate any messing on this. "Ye cannae et chaps on this cooach!" - while grabbing them and throwing them in the locker.

[1] Scottish Guards are also a different breed from English ones - no hiding in the back cab for them and no messing tolerated. In some ways it's more like England used to be, and I really like it.
There are ScotRail guards who 'hide' in the back cab. And, some guards don't enforce some rules for whatever reason.
 

aye2beeviasea

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The fact that this went to a crown court suggests that this was a far nastier incident than the news story makes out.
 

sprunt

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Pretty obvious two sides to this story. What sort of person eats eggs on a train.

The sort that would buy an egg sandwich on the train, from the TOC?

Is it true or an urban myth that it's illeg(g)al to take Epoisses (a particularly smelly cheese) on public transport in France?
 

duffield

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...
It always surprises me that for a fair number of people, boiled eggs (especially hard-boiled) have an objectionable smell -- but that is undoubtedly the case. And, I personally have a very poor sense of smell -- which on the whole, is a thing which I'm glad of.

I confess to eating hard boiled eggs on a train. Them were in a snack pack from the co-op with mayo for dipping. But hard boiled eggs can be prepared in such a way that they don't have the characteristic smell (hydrogen sulphide mostly).
  • Add vinegar to the water
  • Do *not* overcook
  • Place in iced water immediately after removing from heat
This virtually eliminates the unpleasant odours.

The Co-op seem to have mastered this. So I'm pretty sure no-one even noticed me eating them.

Edit: There are lots of snack pots from various supermarkets with eggs in, I've never noticed any odours from other people eating them either. I expect all the supermarkets/suppliers cook them under uniform controlled conditions and this is the result.
 
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