The cheerful tube announcer

It was 9.15am, and I was standing on the westbound Jubilee platform at Waterloo, waiting for my train. So were the usual assortment of variously morose, grumpy and sullen commuters, all plugged into their ipods, staring with glazed eyes into the pages of their trashy novels, “intellectual” books, or ubiquitous free tabloids, or gazing  un-seeingly into the middle distance. Anything to avoid eye contact.

Then something amazing happened. A platform announcement. But this was not just any platform announcement. This was a platform announcement with a difference.

A pleasant American (or possibly Canadian) male voice came over the loudspeakers, beginning with the run-of-the-mill observation that a train was approaching and informing us all of its ultimate destination:

“Gooood morning ladies and gentlemen, the westbound Jubilee line train for Neasden is now approaching, ” he said, as if the circus was coming to town instead of the tube. “Please stand back from the doors and allow your fellow travellers to alight first.” Already, people were beginning to look bemused, I suppose just because the Voice sounded so…cheerful. Not annoyingly so, you understand. Nothing too in-your-face for the time of day. Just…nice. A few people actually made eye contact at this point, and smiled!

The nice young man went on to say, ” And wherever your travels may take you today, be safe, do good work and have a lovely-jubbly day!” Now there was a pleased ripple of laughter. I suppose people were just so surprised to hear such a friendly voice in that context. How many of us have well-wishes for those we actually come into contact with, never mind a bunch of total strangers seen only dimly, if at all, on a tiny screen displaying the CCTV feed?

On the train, a lady turned to me and said, “Let’s see if he can keep that up all day!” I don’t know about all day, but when I passed through Waterloo station again two hours, via the eastbound Jubilee line platform this time, the same young man was still making the platform announcements. And he still sounded like he was smiling.