# eating on the buses should be banned!!

Category: Let's talk

## Post 1 by lawlord (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Tuesday, 19-Oct-2004 3:40:19

All right, enough is enough! london transport banned spitting on the buses back in the seventies, but what I want to know is: why the bloody hell didn't they ban eating on the buses at the same time? Let me explain: yesterday I was on the bus trying to get to the centre of London, and a family were all happily cramming McDonalds products into their mouths. Now then, not only did one of them spill the sauce on my suit, but also, as they were getting off the bus, one of them left a legacy of salad, fries and bloody milkshake all over the floor! The consequences were that the bus was delayed while all this mess was swept up so that the compensation culture in this country didn't take a further hold when someone slipped, my journey was delayed and I was thoroughly pissed off frannkly! I see no reason why it has to be so: are we such fat sods in this country that we can't do without food for a blasted bus journey? and for American readers, I don't mean a bus journey in the proportions you're probably used to, that last about a week where you wil drive 500 miles and then you'll drive 500 more etc. no, I mean a trifling bus journey across London that's going to last a maximum of 45 minutes! And don't give me all that, 'Oh well, my kids get hungry on the way home so I give them some food on the bus' nonsense either, it's that sort of weak-willed rubbish that lends to the obesity crisis and that gives youngsters the idea that they're somehow elevated above everyone else when it comes to social skills! so, there's one reason to get rid of food and drink on our buses, but another is simply that it's unhealthy and dangerous: not only does half-eaten meals all over the floors create employment for the ambulance-chaser lawyers in this bloody country, but it also adds to the rather unhealthy atmosphere that the sweatmongers who haunt public transport in this country create anyway! Oh yes, amnd it delays journeys! so for goodness sake, Ken Livingstone, stop harping on about what a wonderful city London is because we speak over 300 languages and have crime-fests like the Notting Hill Carneval, and start implementing the long-overdue ban on using the bus and, for that matter, the tube as a blasted diner! Eating and drinking on public transport should be an offence punishable by life imprisonment, then we'd soon see how voracious the appetites of these gluttons really were!

## Post 2 by wildebrew (We promised the world we'd tame it, what were we hoping for?) on Tuesday, 19-Oct-2004 9:19:04

Good point although I must say it is made in an extremely grumpy way .. then again I suppose a wineger suit would really manage to ruin most people's days.
Eating and drinking is, in fact, banned on busses in the U.S. (at least in North Carolina) and we're talking city busses here, not the Grayhound (transportation between cities/states) and I, for one, appreciate that. I thought they were banned in most places actually. I know both Denmark and Spain ban eating and drinking on their busses.
I do remember though that British sandwiches are amazingly good, especially in Boots (think that's the super market) and the British pepsi is, for some reason, by way and a far the best tasting pepsi in the world (I've tried all Scandinavian countries, Spain, the U.S., Mexico, Aruba, Matla, Itlay and France, England beats them hands down). ;) Not sure why this is the case or whether I am just crazy (people keep telling me that, I should perhaps start paying attention) but there you have it &LT;grin>.
cheersMc -B Donnald

## Post 3 by Goblin (I have proven to myself and the world that I need mental help) on Tuesday, 19-Oct-2004 9:46:35

Consuming grub is banned in Scotland also due to the numpties dumping there waste on the floor,but they still find a way around this by whining "its the only meal i get aw day pal" i very nearly had my kilt ruined by an unco-ordinated fella devouring a pizza,and i too was grumpy as this happened to be a very important date
his attitude was "well you canny see it pal so dont complain i'm starving ok and if your no happy walk! Exercise is good for you!.
He was incendently close to
20 stone

## Post 4 by lawlord (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Tuesday, 19-Oct-2004 16:54:00

Point made in a grumpy way? It's the only way of getting anything done in this country! It's not just the suit being soiled, it's more about the whole attitude of these people. I'm only 23, but I'm afraid a lot of it stems from those born in my generation and in later generations in this country. I wouldn't mind so much if they were just eating sandwiches from Boots on buses, but I do draw the line at the rice, pizzas, chips and burgers and assorted drinks. And another thing, it leads to greater disregard for everyone else, which is why most bus stops either smell like breweries or a stock-pile of bags of sick.

## Post 5 by Goblin (I have proven to myself and the world that I need mental help) on Wednesday, 20-Oct-2004 9:28:52

Lawlord i agree {though its begining to worry me} smile
if these eejits are unable to grasp the concept of respect for others and refrain from hardening their arteries on a bus,or anywhere else for that matter, then where in fecks name will they learn! These rude ignorant imbiciles should be made to walk.

## Post 6 by lawlord (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Wednesday, 20-Oct-2004 10:58:10

Goblin, it's all about people growing up in a culture of rights. You ask a kid to do something in school now, or admonish any youngster, and you're greeted with the response 'I know my rights' or 'I've got rights' etc. I was at a lecture given by Sir John Laws two years ago, and in it he said that we'd all be much better off if we were based on a culture of duties. Take a war veteran for example: if someone is disrespectful to a war veteran, he is rightly admonished. This isn't because the war veteran has a right to respect, he cannot assert this right against others if it is violated as it is not a right, but rather we have duties, and by that I mean moral rather than legal duties, to respect war veterans. Basically, it's the culture of rights which makes us all self-centred, not giving a damn about anyone else, and not considering that we are but individuals in a community, protected not so much by our rights but instead by the duties that others have to allow us to go about our business. and, of course, those duties are reciprocal. In short, duties are outward-looking, rights are insular, and until we get people in this bloody country, and in the states, and many other places, looking to duties rather than rights, we'll be moaning about young tear-aways and anti-social behaviour for years to come.

## Post 7 by Goblin (I have proven to myself and the world that I need mental help) on Thursday, 21-Oct-2004 12:17:57

Your right pal the children have only to yell he/she touched me ect,and they will be backed up to the hilt.
im not saying we shouldn't protect the little darlings but we have gone too far in this pathetic nanny state and to deviate slightly the american pastime of suing is used far too often and for no good reason.

## Post 8 by Freya (This site is so "educational") on Thursday, 21-Oct-2004 12:54:30

Hey Lawlord
Personally I'm all for opening coffee bars on buses...
Cappucinos, lattes oh and a few pastries for good measure, hmmmm sounds like fun eh?
Frey.

## Post 9 by lawlord (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Thursday, 21-Oct-2004 17:03:30

Well, at least with Freya I'm guaranteed someone to disagree with me at every turn, he seems to have made it his mission.

## Post 10 by Freya (This site is so "educational") on Friday, 22-Oct-2004 4:44:27

Whaddya mean he!? Freya is a girl's name you know....and of course I'm not deliberately disagreeing but I've always thought that buses could do with some nice hot coffee to serve first thing in the morning...
Frey.

## Post 11 by Goblin (I have proven to myself and the world that I need mental help) on Friday, 22-Oct-2004 8:25:53

Freya is A MALE and the norse god of winter you ignoramus

## Post 12 by wildebrew (We promised the world we'd tame it, what were we hoping for?) on Friday, 22-Oct-2004 9:46:41

Goblin, actually you're wrong about this one, let me correct.
Freya (or Freyja is actually the correct spelling, there should be a J in there) is a god-ess, I believe of fertility (well I'm sure actually) she's married to Freyr and I think he is also a fertility god, both from Norse mythology. You can read the Edda collection for clarification and stories of the NOrse gods. It's a very entertaining read.
Busses would never serve coffee, just imagine if someone spills coffee on someone else or him/herself and gets a burn, can you just imagine the law suits and settlement claims. I mean McDonnald's paid out millions of dollar to some stupid woman who spilled coffee on herself and complained there was no "warning, this coffee is hot" label on her container ... and in any case, if you want coffee in the morning that is what coffee houses, not busses, are for, busses transport people from A to B, you spend no more than 30 to 40 minutes on a bus and you can do without food and drink fr that long.
cheers
-B

## Post 13 by Freya (This site is so "educational") on Friday, 22-Oct-2004 10:08:51

Thank you very much Wildebrew and I would like to add that Freya, as I use it, is a GIRL'S NAME, at least in English it is and I have never met a Freya who was a man....So bog the feck off Gobby the Goblin with your norse gods rubbish.
ps Wildebrew I was only having a little joke with Lawlord about the coffee, does no-one understand my effortless humour!!??
from
Freya the female person
xx

## Post 14 by wildebrew (We promised the world we'd tame it, what were we hoping for?) on Friday, 22-Oct-2004 13:41:07

Freyja
&LT;grin> .. well, you know, we tend to get overly serious sometimes ...
cheers
-B

## Post 15 by Goblin (I have proven to myself and the world that I need mental help) on Saturday, 23-Oct-2004 10:01:18

you know Wildebrew most child behaviour experts would advise us to ignore a tantrum than indulge the little brat,

## Post 16 by lawlord (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Monday, 25-Oct-2004 3:18:35

Now during my absence shsi discussion seems to have taken a mistaken turn. In Britain, the coffee law suits would never work, because it would not be considered fair, just and reasonable to impose a duty of care in those circumstances, and even if it would, the defendant could quite rightly dispute causation i.e. the accident was caused by the geezer who swerved out in front of the bus, not by our bus drivers i.e. not by us through the actions of our employees. Besides, I am happy to say that what happens in the US is not about to happen over here, because we're a sensible country and both the jurisdiction of England and Wales and that of scotland do not havve juries in negligence cases. the overall award is left to the judge to decide, and unlike in the US, the judge has no power to award punitive damages in cases of personal injury. even with all that in mind though, I still don't want coffee on the bleedin' buses! In fact, any person who eats, drinks or smokes on buses should be drowned in a vat of boiling coffee that the bus companies keep handy specially for the purpose!

## Post 17 by Goblin (I have proven to myself and the world that I need mental help) on Monday, 25-Oct-2004 13:34:44

Dont you believe it pal what happens in the usa usually creeps over here like a nasty incurable virus.Ooops!
hmm i look forward to the dunking becoming legal that could become a thriving business.smile

## Post 18 by lawlord (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Tuesday, 26-Oct-2004 3:35:04

Happily, goblin, this time what happens in the US will not happen over here. we used to have juries in cases of personal injury, but they were abolished in 1969 and it's now quite clear that they won't be coming back. The only civil cases where we have juries in this country are cases of defamation, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, misfeascance in public office and certain other cases at the discretion of the trial judge. Contract and property cases, it is fafe to say, will never have a jury as the judges of fact. Anyway the vat of coffee is boiling so I'd better go!

## Post 19 by Goblin (I have proven to myself and the world that I need mental help) on Tuesday, 26-Oct-2004 11:21:48

what about the pathetic and 1 must say shaky personal compensation trials where individuals are paid 1,000's for tripping over a raised paving slab or slipping on a wet supermarket floor..I have slipped, tripped, and gone arse over elbow more times than i'd care to admit,but no I've NEVER lowered myself to play that pseudo american game of suing for regretably this and sadly that.
MILK WITH A DASH OF GLENMORANGIE AND 2 CHEERS PAL.
SMILE

## Post 20 by lawlord (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Tuesday, 26-Oct-2004 16:40:16

Well, Goblin, one of the areas in which I will be practising next year will be personal injury. The purpose of this area of claim is clear: people do suffer injury through psychiatric harm brought on by capricious employers, through companies negligently making premises unsafe and through a host of other things. i quite understand your fear about the compensation culture in this bloody country, I share it. However, I think in this country the courts share it too: if you get the chance you should look at the judgment of Lord Hoffmann in Tomlinson v. Congleton Borough Council, available from the House of Lords website. it should be perfectly easy to follow for even a non-lawyer and it really sums up the court's attitude to time-wasting troublemakers. the trouble with American lawyers is that they're on the whole less well-trained, they are seasoned actors as they have to appear before juries all the time, but that also means that their actual submissions contain nothing of any relevance. all they do is ask for punitive damages and follow a number between 1 and 9 with as many noughts as the printer can get into the same line! Luckily, I think the ambulance-chaser movement in this country will fall apart, as most barristers' chambers will not take on these no win no fee briefs.

## Post 21 by lawlord (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Wednesday, 27-Oct-2004 2:28:46

And I forgot to mention, yesterday on my usual bus there was a family, all of whom were eating curry and getting it all over the place! and I mean really eating, with plastic knives and forks and everything! The message is not getting through, I'm beginning to wonder whether a vat of boiling coffee is sufficiently punitive.

## Post 22 by Goblin (I have proven to myself and the world that I need mental help) on Wednesday, 27-Oct-2004 7:57:43

I hope that remains the case because it seems the opposite is happening here at a worrying rate,the lawyers just see pound signs floating before their eyes.
might i suggest sulphuric acid or pure bleach before the dunking a good slow skinning {which i would be happy to do,then perhaps a turn on my medieval rack and you can dunk till your hearts content]

## Post 23 by Goblin (I have proven to myself and the world that I need mental help) on Wednesday, 27-Oct-2004 7:58:40

I hope that remains the case because it seems the opposite is happening here at a worrying rate,the lawyers just see pound signs floating before their eyes.
might i suggest sulphuric acid or pure bleach before the dunking a good slow skinning {which i would be happy to do,then perhaps a turn on my medieval rack and you can dunk till your hearts content]

## Post 24 by Goblin (I have proven to myself and the world that I need mental help) on Wednesday, 27-Oct-2004 8:02:55

Wildebrew
My aren't we righteous i have read 2 books depicting a norse community 1 written by a Norwegian, in the far north of Scotland and not once did the author spell Freya with a J. I'm not saying your wrong but if a Norwegian spells it differently you have to think well he would know.

## Post 25 by Freya (This site is so "educational") on Thursday, 28-Oct-2004 5:32:14

Personally think a vat of boiling coffee would do perfectly for you two old grannies, moaning and grubling about buses indeed get a life !!

## Post 26 by Freya (This site is so "educational") on Thursday, 28-Oct-2004 5:32:40

Personally think a vat of boiling coffee would do perfectly for you two old grannies, moaning and grubling about buses indeed get a life !!

## Post 27 by lawlord (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Thursday, 28-Oct-2004 6:30:07

Freya, why have you taken to posting your comments to every discussion twice? Once is quite enough I assure you especially considering the taradiddles your arguments often embark on! You're probalby one of those people who eats on the buses and sticks chewing gum to the seats, or as Gilbert and Sullivan put it, one of the 'people who eat peppermint and puff it in your face'.

## Post 28 by Freya (This site is so "educational") on Thursday, 28-Oct-2004 11:43:55

Lawlord, I find it hard to believe that people like you still exist, certainly not that you were born in 1981 was it? You sound like you are at least sixty already...I mean what the hell kind of a word is taradiddle eh? And I think old Gilbert and Sullivan went out with the ark.
What else do you do in your spare time apart from being rather pompous?
Frey.

## Post 29 by wildebrew (We promised the world we'd tame it, what were we hoping for?) on Thursday, 28-Oct-2004 11:46:10

Alex
Well, we're really meshing a lot of threads into one here. But in the original manuscripts that we were taught as part of our secondary school education Freyja was spelled with a J. Actually, to be fair, we didn't see the original manuscript, just a reprint of the original text. It is possible that they changed the spelling according to Icelandic spelling rules rather than keeping the original 12th century spelling, but I'd be surprised. Since the original book the Edda was written in Icelandic by and Icelander some time between 1220 and 1262 I would have thoughtwhat we were taught would hold true for things like spelling, but then again the same word can often be spelled differently depending on language. :) So, anyways, the Icelandic Freyja is definitely with a J and that's what we learnt. Not being righteous, just enjoying the opportunity to push some Icelandic education on people &LT;grin>
cheers
-B

## Post 30 by Goblin (I have proven to myself and the world that I need mental help) on Thursday, 28-Oct-2004 12:21:49

The Freya i was referring to was the NORSE...NORWEGIAN GOD OF ICE AND SNOW CALLED FREYA
spelled with no J.

## Post 31 by lawlord (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Thursday, 28-Oct-2004 17:19:45

Freya, just because I can express myself articulately and back up my statements with authority doesn't mean I'm being rather pompous, though now you come to mention it I could do with a port and a cigar and the boot boy hasn't brought them up yet so I wonder whether I'll have my people thrash him. In my spare time I like to go and inspect my race horses, as well as shoot the peasants, sorry pheasants, on my not inconsiderable estates. Of course, Daddy can't sit in the House of Lords anymore since his heredatory peerage doesn't allow him to since the reforms, but he still makes sizeable donations to the Tories every year. Anyway must be off as I have to go and collect my knighthood from Her majesty.

## Post 32 by lawlord (I'm going for the prolific poster awards!) on Thursday, 28-Oct-2004 17:29:28

Seriously though, if you want to find out what I really do in my spare time, my interests are extensively detailed on my profile. If you want more, send me a note and I'll give you more details.

## Post 33 by Freya (This site is so "educational") on Friday, 29-Oct-2004 7:06:47

Lawlord at last you have shown me that there is indeed a GSOH underneath all that serious discussion type stuff. You really made me laugh but I wonder if there is indeed any truth in that post about the country estates etc eh?
I have noted your many and varied interests and please do send me a note and tell me more...
Frey.