Dear LPG,

Though retired, I regularly make a British Rail train journey and, perhaps for want of something else to do during the journey, I often observe how many of my fellow passengers are regularly on that train at the same time as I am. It just so happens that there is one passenger who shares that journey and who, in my opinion, has a very irritating habit; he picks his nose.  From time to time, while he is doing this, he will notice one of the other passengers looking at him and stop abruptly but it is never long before he slips back into his habitual pastime.

I tend to stay away from where he is because I am mindful that his fingers travel from his nose to the same seats, safety rails, doors and buzzers on the train that mine do and the thought bothers me a bit.   I can’t help but observe some of the other passengers’ small and restrained, though noticeable, reactions.

Although this has been going on for months no one has ever confronted him.  Perhaps the others on the journey feel sure that he would stop if he could and that a subtle hint, like offering him a tissue, would not really help the situation and be unkind.

The whole situation reminds me that we all have annoying habits that we cannot control and so we need to be tolerant of others.   I am trying!