On Tuesday, 4 February, London life as we knew it came to a 'special service' halt. For two days, disgruntled Londoners made their way to work above surface, furiously tapping tube lines into Twitter in a bid to come out triumphant in their quest for underground solace. For two days, buses were hot news - and they knew it. Effortlessly rolling around the street corner, they would seductively eye up their latest rain-soaked admirers. 'Darling,' they purred, 'I know you want me, but I'm just so busy with all these other commuters. Go get on the next one'.For two days, London was #tubestrike -ing, and this is what we learnt from it...
1. Taking a 'LOOK AT ALL THESE PEOPLE CROWDING HERE' photo will get you 15 minutes of social media fame. And you'll love it. If you happen to travel past a van trying to drive into Brixton station then you're laughing all the way to the retweet bank.
2. 'Can you move down please!?' is the best way to piss off a lot of people in one confined space. If we weren't already standing nose-to-nose with the person we had just elbowed in the ribs to get past, we'd have given you the 'tut-and-stare-for-a-bit-and-then-look-away' treatment.
3. TfL notice boards aren't just for semi-inspiring quotes, they also provide the perfect platform on which to mock Boris Johnson or tell us that we all had it coming.
4. Roads are a 'war zone', cyclists are everywhere, everyone is angry.
5. Colleagues live closer to you than you think. With everyone talking so loudly about the perilous journey they had, we can finally eavesdrop on where everybody lives. And then make arrangements to avoid them at all costs on the commute next week.
6. Whilst it may be crowded and people are using umbrellas as weaponry when boarding different methods of transport, we seemed to get to work relatively on time...despite really wanting to dramatically exclaim to the boss that we're helplessly stranded and there is no end to our misery.
7. People breathe too loudly. People cough all the time. People clear their throats far too often. And now you're even more aware of this due to a reluctance to listen to any music whilst tubing, just in case there is a sudden announcement that your station has now closed.
8. Sharing photos of London's sights and mystique as you walk a mile or two is good an'all; but it's raining, we're cold, and we want to get on the tube. Get your smugness away from us.
9. Next time, we'll take the day off.