The power of soft

Someone was joking around this morning in the canteen about the amount of coins in his colleague's trouser pocket. "Look at all those coins," he exclaimed. "Look at that coinage," before touching the big bulge in his colleague's trousers with a "Wahey!" I was waiting for him to say, "Is that a lot of coins in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" but before long he was seeing comedy gold in the buzzer going off for the dumb waiter, as he began to imply the sound was being made by his other colleague buttering a slice of toast. He held centre court for a little while longer and tightened the metaphorical grip he had on his two colleagues with one last buzz! and, "Look, he's done it again!" What a funny man I thought.

A woman sitting next to me on the train to work was reading a hardback book The Power of Soft. I thought, the power of soft what? Cushions, linen, toilet roll, bread? It sounded like a typical vacuous title to me aimed at business people.

Working my way through the crowds after getting off the train another commuter was walking in the opposite direction with her mouth stretched wide open into a perfectly formed circle, an extended yawn that didn't look like it was about to diminish any time soon. Either she had stopped yawning and forgot to close her mouth or she was a vampire looking for her next victim in the hurried crowd.