It's rush hour on the tube. That's about 08:00 to 09:00. There are two things noteworthy about rush hour. 1) There are a lot of people trying to get places in this hour more so than any other hour or time. Space is a premium. Seating? Gobbled up before you even step onto the train. People stand in the aisles. It gets hot. The train strains under the increased load and sometimes halts because people press up on the doors and activate the door safety sensors.

It's pretty intense. People get irate - not like in traffic, not to that extent, but they get irritable. Actually, it's quite funny how polite people on the tube despite the 'traffic'. Real Road rage sees a totally different animal evolve from human form not seen on the underground. We're a kind of sophisticated bunch.

Anyways, that said, space is tight, bodies line each other, the few that are seated are envied by those standing for the duration of their journey - but a fair, they-got-there-first kind of envy. The kind that knows that "well, it could be me tomorrow in that seat" - anything goes.

I wake up at 05:00, run to the gym at around 05:37, go to the gym at 06:00 and start roughly at 06:04(at 06:03 I'm exiting the changing room) and I leave the gym at about 07:00 and get home at about 07:15 and I'm out of the house by 08:15 and I'm probably in the tube at around 08:30 - right smack bang in the middle of rush hour. Luckily, I get a seat most days because I'm at the beginning of the line. The rest down the line, well they load up the train at each stop.

Now, if you're pregnant, there is a unwritten law, with no exceptions that you get a seat - always. Even if you're not noticed, someone will ensure that you are. Nice, sophisticated bunch we are. When we get closer to the end of the line - people have great difficulty getting on. They start getting anxious and some will vocalise their discontent and insist that people move down the carriages to make more space. A legitimate request at times, however being rush hour, space is already severely limited and people cannot move down any more.

There used to be an equally unwritten law that was that if there was someone substantially older than you who was standing, you'd be obliged to offer your seat to them. Typically, these would be those within the age range of about 50-60. Still quite able but out of curiosity, you'd give up your seat. These were the 'middle' aged. I'll come come back to these later.

Obviously, like the pregnant, those that are less able(dare I say disabled) or the notably old(70+) are still given almost undisputed seating priority. That 'middle' aged group has seen somewhat of a change in attitude towards their plight. Firstly, offering your seat to a lady of this group would indicate that she was 'older', something