There was a throwback quality about him. It wasn’t the jacket, which had a badge on it with a word that might have been “veteran”, though maybe that was part of it.
More redolent, though, was the industrious way he was doing a crossword, solving clue after clue as the train trundled towards Liverpool Street. He was wiry and grey, and his manner took me back to the days when men of that sort of age filled in their football pool coupons with the same brisk concentration.
I could imagine him of a Saturday teatime, poring in hope or exasperation over his Green ‘Un as he headed for a post-match pale ale.
At Hackney Downs some more passengers got on. One of them, a teenager or young man, had an innocent look about him. I’m not sure if he was being accompanied. My companion later wondered if he had Downs. He sat on the other side of the crossword man from me, and began chatting to him instantly.
“What’s your team?”
“Spurs,” replied the older man. Then he saw what his interlocutor was wearing – an Arsenal shirt. “Oh, that’s unfortunate.”
Not really, though. Soon, they were discussing how best to travel to Highbury, the connections needed by younger party to take him to the game.
“You’ve got yourself there before, then?”
“Yes. What’s your favourite drink?’
“Oh, that’s a difficult one…” He had a think. Looking back, I’d have liked it if he’d answered “hot Bovril”. But his actual reply was: “Rakia. It’s an east European brandy.”
“Mine’s Fosters.”
“Oh yeah?”
“And cider and blackcurrant.”
We arrived at Bethnal Green. Crossword man jumped off. I think he’d reached his destination, though maybe he’d concluded that the conversation had come to its natural end. I thought he’d been kind, though. Rakia sounds good, too.
John Vane’s London novel Frightgeist can be bought here.
OnLondon.co.uk provides unique coverage of the capital’s politics, development and culture with no paywall and no ads. It is funded by subscribers to publisher and editor Dave Hill’s twice-weekly newsletter On London Extra at a cost of £5 a month or £50 a year. To receive it, become a paying subscriber to Dave’s Substack or follow any Support link on this site.