If you are the sort of person who not only wakes up at the same time every morning and gets the same train at the same time, but also reads the same newspaper, after a while, your friendly newspaper vendor will recognise you and have your newspaper folded and ready for you when you walk past…

I am not this person. I don’t read newspapers and I certainly don’t have the self discipline to get to the station at the same time each day (which is why I think it’s super to have the trains running every 5 minutes). I have no real interest in becoming this person either, but I think it’s pretty cool to be able to pick up your newspaper in passing, handing over the exact change as you go. Imagine being that organised!

Except the newspaper bloke gets a little bit ignored by the whole process. You don’t need to speak to or even look at him really, and he has to keep an eye on the time, and look out for you, and still sell papers to the other people who aren’t as regular.

I say good morning to him, irregularly, and without buying a paper.

Maybe that balances things out.