Active citizenship on the 102

I take the 102 bus from Bounds Green every day on my way home from work. I've always quite liked the 102 for its staggeringly wide demographic of passengers: from blackberrybusinessmen to imskinningupANDWOT? youths, to Muswell Hillbillies on their way home from the opera (darling), to all manner of economic migrants, etc etc.

Usually the only commonality among these groups is a desire to not speak with one another and the physical area in which they live.

That is, until yesterday, when the bus began laying down the law.

"Please," said the polite but firm female voice, "Do not smoke."

A few furrowed brows. A limited amount of eye contact.

"Please," the voice continued, "be aware this bus is being monitored by closed circuit television."

And so on. It didn't stop, every 30 seconds another message.

At some point, a Muswell Hillbilly tutted. next to her, an imskinningupANDWOT backseater nodded agreement. In front of me, a couple of blackberrybusinessmen commented on the Orwellian aspect of it all and a labourer apparently of Eastern Euopean origin pointed up and said something to his mate, which I assume was "Did you understand that?"

The comraderie was palpable, I can tell you.