YOU HAVE TO LAUGH - REFLECTIONS of a TRAIN JOURNEY.

Last night it was raining, but I was on an evening train heading from Norwich to London so I did not care. Anyway I was tired, I had been up since 6am, hardly had much sleep the last night, so I just wanted to sit quitely. Well from Norwich to Colchester, two men of oriental persausion, had been talking very loudly. Their speach, which sounded Chinese, was as if excited, and was full of expressive, 'Ah----so---' The two of them sounded like they were engaged in a busy street market transaction, both keen on a sale.

I had attempted to close my eyes, just let the journey pass by, however eyes closed or open, I was totally immersed in these two men and their conversation. At one stage one of the men started laughing, sounding like a pair of Australian Kookabura birds, it was most entertaining, made me smile no end.

For some, their conversation was too loud, one poor man seated in front of them, he was at his wits end and despite his listening to his iP3 player, he had taken as much as he could hack. Half an hour into the journey he gathered his things, looking very peeved as he did, he walked down the ailse disappearing into another carriage, you could feel sorry for him, but for me it added to the humor, even the two me dipped their heads in polite gesture as he left.

One of the two men was older than the other, perhaps he was in his fifties, the other maybe in his thirties. Whatever discussion they were involved in, it was as if two actors were performing a chapter from the cult tv series, 'Kung Fu', the much older master was instructing the young novice monk, Grasshopper, in the ancient art and in its wisdom, as he did he gesticulated his hands gracefully as if teaching with skill.

It was at Colchester, as the train left the station, that I realised how quite the carriage had become, almost disappointing. I looked around to see if my entertainers had left at the last stop. To my great surprise they had not, they were both very sound asleep. The older man was leaning on the younger mans shoulder, his mouth wide open, deep in sleep. The younger man was well away leaning head back as if looking at the cieling. I took the oppertunity to now try and rest as the train headed to Liverpool Street, London.

After ten minutes, not all was as peaceful as it seemed. Snoring, like the sound of a pig with congestion were to be heard, not once but twice, and sustained. The two men, now well asleep were seemingly continuing their conversation in a snoring dialogue, very loud and very amusing.

A fellow passenger some five seats in front of them was on his mobile, he stood up and let the person he was talking to hear this great performance. The master and young Grasshopper were deep in meditation.

Nothing was going to disturb their transendental snoring, not station stops or slamming doors, nor announcement that we were arriving at Liverpool Street Station, their snoring was deeper, melodic in duet, with occasional rattlings of the throat. As the train came to a halt, we all gathered our things and left. Left our entertainers snoring away. Maybe they went back to Norwich, blissfully unaware.

Thank you entertainers on the 20.00 from Norwich to London, a moment to remember.