How did they ever cope before mobile phones were introduced to the world and caught on fast as a necessary item to have with you at all times? It would seem like so many things that we have today the 'must have' factor outweighs the 'is it necessary?' question, especially if that question comes with consequences such as not being able give the impression to those listening in the carriage how important you are in your business dealings. It is amusing to hear "I.... " "I....." "I......." followed by a dialogue that says how great and clever they are for having stitched up a customer into a big deal.

Perhaps the key is letting it be obvious they are giving us no choice but to eavesdrop on their conversation however private they think it might be by either looking in their direction, smiling, even chatting with a companion obviously regarding the conversation. I wonder if the mobile phone chatters with megaphone voices realize how much of their private business they are sharing or if they even care.

Of course, as they are so blatantly sharing half of the conversation with you the least they can do at the end of it is to fill in the gaps so we get the whole story and not half of it. After all, it could make a long train journey very interesting. ;)

These people think no one else has a mobile

I love it when I' m on a train and someone is on their phone (except when I'm reading, and then I glare) and I'm listening to these usually loud inane conversations..
I have a little smile inside and maybe the others in the carriage do too, when we are
told 'I'm just going through the tunnel-- passing a station - have a guess where I went last night--and oh yeah and guess what I did and what do you think she said to me when I fell off the bridge -etc, etc'
I always listen into other peoples conversations especially the odd snippets when you wonder what they are on about.
(what did she say and why did he fall off the bridge)

One interesting bit I heard on the bus ages ago and I never found out about
"that damn bird - and when he found it he put it in the dog kennel, and in the morning it had gone and she went crazy"

Maybe we should try that on the "Quiet Coach" on the trains. It is amazing how many have to use their mobiles in the coach and share the conversation regarding business deals, weekends with friends etc with the entire coach even though there are stickers about the coach saying no mobile phones and announcements with the same information. Perhaps if all passengers glared at the mobile phone user it might work like it did in the Colosseum.

I saw AIDA in the Colosseum at Verona a few years back, and people minded at the slightest noise! If you coughed you had 20,000 people glaring at you.

No catch.this was true.
The elderly lady was quietly asked to refrain from singing along as some people were tutting.or shushing.
She agreed - but hummed instead!
. During the first interval 'they' whoever 'they' were, had another word with her. and she was quiet afterwards although she said quite loudly that she didnt see any notices to say that no-one could join in and that in Italy nobody minded
My friend was there and thought it was really funny.
Iwish I'd been there.

I'll bite. What's the story? :)

Have you heard the one about the lady who went to Covent Garden and 'sang along' with Madame Butterfly?