There was consternation in the Quiet Zone carriage. First it was someone’s phone going off, which caused a chorus of tuts - but the resulting conversation was brief and didn’t annoy for too long. Then another person made a phone call, evidently trying to locate some lost property from somewhere. There were more tuts, some Dark Looks, and finally a young man stepped in with a curt warning to the offender: “This is supposed to be a phone-free zone, mate.”

The caller - an elderly American - looked completely astonished. Clearly he hadn’t noticed the signs on every headrest, every window, every available bit of wall space. “I have to ring off now,” he said into his phone. And then, to the rest of the carriage: “Sorry.”

Then at the next station, a disabled passenger boarded and found the only wheelchair-friendly seat surrounded by luggage. The guard was summoned, and another offender had to step forward in front of the tutting masses. He moved his suitcases and stowed them somewhere more suitable. The tuts subsided into silence as the train moved off. There were still a few Dark Looks being cast around, though.