She was a creative type, because she had a roll of paper sticking out of her bag… you know that clear contact with the gridded backing paper so you can cut straight? Well she had that. She was in jeans and boots and a groovy jumper, with a rope tied around her waist which was attached by a rock-climbing carabiner to the bulldog lying at her feet.

Coming into the station, she stood up, transferring the carabiner from the dog to her waist, the rope swinging at her side. She placed a large cotton-drill tote bag on the floor into which the dog knew to step and he settled into an ‘I’ve done this 100 times before’ position. She drew the bag up around him leaving his funny face looking out, and hoisted it over her shoulder. With dog-in-bag snuggled under her arm the doors opened and she stepped off the train.

The chap opposite me had the same look of amused surprise as me. We shared a happy vision to take into the day.