Abba ringing in my ears

I look just like everyone else – at last. I’m plugged in and I have cables dangling from my ears. It’s taken me a while (it must be at least six months that I’ve had the technology tucked away in my bag) but now that I’ve arrived I see exactly what all the fuss is about.

All of a sudden, and with little effort on my part, my life has its very own soundtrack. And I’ve turned the most prosaic of moments into the most inspiring and the most aspirational. And, since I’m not sophisticated in my musical tastes and haven’t moved on much since my teenage years, I can inject something very upbeat into every moment of my progress. In fact, just existing can be stirring stuff.

Which I’ve realised is a godsend on a morning like today, when the usual fluency of my journey stutters to a halt and our usually loyal 7.42 abandons us to the wilds of Cooksbridge, a station I’ve only ever experienced once-removed through the medium of a train window. (And in fact it’s not bad at all – the sun shines here, everyone seems happy enough, there’s a certain rhythm to the place, a kind of harmony in the air, and the Downs provide the most lovely backdrop. Yes, it’s not bad at all.)

So I think that finally I’m really getting the hang of this commuting business. It’s a question of isolating oneself from one’s environment, taking the occasional unscheduled stopover in one’s stride … and perhaps catching a glimpse of other possibilities.

Because actually next week is my last in this guise, and I can feel a change in the air. I thought I’d be aboard this train for a good few years to come, but, as it happens, I’ve decided to shake things up a little. I’m off to Paris to live a new life for a while. Yes, I can do anything – especially with Abba ringing in my ears.