From Liverpool Parochial Rag:-
Train users who put their feet on seats face prosecution and fines.
Merseyrail is launching a two-pronged attack on offenders by ordering a crackdown by security guards and police.
Anyone caught with their feet on a seat will be cautioned and summoned to a magistrates court and possibly given a fine.
Anyone damaging a seat by putting their shoes on it could be arrested and charged with criminal damage.
Hmmm… much as I hate the feet-on-seat brigade, I’m not sure this initiative is going to work out in practice. Given that I hardly ever seem to get my ticket checked on Merseyrail these days, who is going to come through the train to shoo off (or should that be “shoe off”?) potential offenders?
Anyway, all of this blather misses the one obvious reason why you shouldn’t put your feet on the seats: it’s JUST NOT COMFORTABLE. I’ve tried it (don’t arrest me, I was young and in love) and I simply can’t find a position that feels “natural”. Maybe I just have good posture.
Whatever the ins and outs of the situation, one indisputable fact is that it provides a flimsy pretext for me to refer back to one of my favourite blog posts from yesteryear, and to point out that under the new regime, Seb is going to prison.