Excuse me are your arms fat or are you just ignorant

Now we all know that armrest etiquette is a rather delicate but perfectly managable excercise on the Tube

1. Share the armrest equally from back to front with enough room just to rest part of your arm whilst reading your paper.

2. One person gets the front half and the other tucks in behind for the back half.

Thats the polite way in a nutshell.

Then there are the combative approaches employed by the large, ignorant or sometimes the short and agressive types (like me but I dont do it. Honest Guv.)

1. They plant their arm firmly on the whole rest and ignore any gentle attempt to share. I find the best way to combat this is wait for them to turn their page if they are reading the paper and then take the lot. They then do the same and it can go on for the whole journey. What Fun!!

2. A mini low pressure nudging contest which is a bit like arm wresting but definitely not acknowledged just a silent stoic battle.

3. Sometimes you can't win. The other person is so large you just thank god there is an armrest at all otherwise the lower half of their bulk would also be encroaching. I usually sit down, wriggle, sigh, then stand up. Does'nt get you anywhere but they get the message. Bloody hell I am horrid!

Its about now that not only do the trains thin out a bit passenger wise but people do talk to each other a bit as its Christmas and that. Enjoy it while it lasts.