Monday 28 May 2007 8.45 AM Perry

Listening to – The Doors – When the Music’s Over

Emotion – Exhausted

Days until smoke down – 3

I’m sat on an almost deserted platform 4 of London Bridge Station waiting for a train to take me east. It’s a Bank Holiday and true to form it’s pissing it down with rain. For those of you unfortunate enough to be slaves to the wage, a Bank Holiday is something to look forward to even if it’s only to bitch about the stinking weather the next day at work.

I freelance so it doesn’t have the same magic for me. It’s another day to put towards the rent. If I don’t work, I don’t get paid. Still I’d rather live my unstable life than know I’ve only got two weeks in the sun every year. I’m not mocking anyone who works 9 to 5. I’ve tried it and it’s not for me. It’s all horses for courses as they say.

Anyway it’s cold, damp and grey and the platform is almost deserted. The metal seat freezes my arse and I turn up the collar of my winter jacket I thought I’d put away, well for the winter. I get a whiff of smoke as a fellow walks down the stairs fag hanging out his miserable mouth.

I cast an eye over the stranger in the dark crombie coat. The scene reminds me of Bogart or a scene from an old French black and white movie, it’s all goune Noir darling! The dark, brooding man in a long dark coat is sucking on a guiloise in a grey station. Is he a spy or is Bridgit Bardot about to ask him for a light, a cigarette perched on full lips.

My thoughts stray over the railway line and I notice an extraordinary amount of discarded cigarette butts between the tracks. There is the odd can of coke or paper coffee cup but as far as the eye can see in both directions cigarette butts litter the track. I find it astounding that people who would normally take their litter home or find somewhere to discard it never bat an eyelid when they toss their butts on the floor or out of car windows.

I for see this problem reaching epidemic proportions in the near future when more people find themselves outside hav

inge a fag. The entrance to every office will resemble a shooting gallery with all the addicts puffing away getting their fix and discarding their nicotine delivery system of choice.

The biggest addicts will be noticeable by their littered domains, rather like dogs fouling their turf and marking out their territory.

I must make sure I don’t litter as I undertake the experiment and find a way to safely deposit my cigarette ends.

Technorati Tags: butts, smoke, station, stubs

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