Grumpy ticket inspectors

I oft get the train to work.

Its a short ride from London Road (Brighton) to Moulsecoomb.

Its costs £1.30 or so, but none the less I obviously try and avoid always paying the fare.

Its a technical game, you have to choose your position on the platform and hope the inspector is not on the carriage you are about to board. If not, you are usually safe as they don't get much time to check tickets in the 3 minutes it takes to complete the ride.

If you watch the train as it comes into the station you can sometimes spot the inspector and make sure you are not getting on their carriage.

But, sometimes, often, I get on the carriage they are on and then, fair game I pay. Sometimes I get a ticket anyway just to keep things fair.

Today, I didn't pre-buy and got on the carriage with the inspector so asked him for my ticket. I apologised as I only had a twenty sheets note on me. he was a grumpy inspector and was a right mutter. One of his mutterings was something along the lines of "yeah right...skint students" when I handed him the twenty!

I felt like saying:

"Well I wouldn't say I am skint but I am certainly not rich. I am on my way to work as a matter of fact and I work 8 or 12 hours a week to keep myself in the black. I also work for the vast majority of my holidays full time and so probably don't get much more time off than you. What is more, I am going to be nearly £15,000 in debt by the time I finish my course, which means I have a long way to go of paying it off before you could dare say I was rich, well off or even reasonably comfortable. The reason for the twenty is I have just been to the bank as have been walking round with little or no cash recently to avoid spending it. In actual fact I have had to pay out a lot recently for various things like a new tyre on my van (which I barely afforded in the first place). In fact I am really not very flush at all at the moment and am having to make sure I don't spend out too much or I will run out of cash, and in the final year of a photography degree that would be disaster given that its probably one of the most expensive courses you can do given all the materials you need etc. I am very careful with money and pay all my loans and wages into one account and then transfer a modest sum into another account each month which then acts as my monthly allowance to live from. I certainly don't have a pile of twenties in my pocket or anywhere else, it just happened that thats what the cash machine gave me. OK...you fat, grumpy old fuck? Don't take it out on me that you have a shite job you clearly hate and you have decided to blame all that hatred on students given you are working the line that students frequent to get too and from college. I am sorry to have wasted your time and offended you so completely, I shall raise the matter with the bank and ensure they only issue fivers in the future so you wont think I am flushed with money ever again. May you rot in hell"

I didn't say that though. I just said nothing and harbored my resentment until I could flex my literary muscles on the blog of truth.