FEBRUARY is the cruellest month (for me anyway), being time of year when season ticket expires forcing me to part with entire contents of bank balance, saving accounts, ISAs, TESSAs, Diana's etc.

Have in the past tried to beat the system by buying monthly tickets and then getting later/cheaper train for few days or buying ticket without tubes and walking half way to work. However, always have to admit defeat as all attempts still lead to costlier annual fare than one incurred by just gritting teeth and handing over huge lump sum.

Still, purchase of said season ticket gives me opportunity a) to update bad hair/skin and dress sense on day photo was taken and b) have a look at strike threatening ticket office staff.

To be fair they seem to have called off strike, for the time being. But were threatening to disrupt ticket sales in protest at "culture of bullying". Feel I should show solidarity as I enter hall of proposed mutiny, to hand over nest egg in return for a year's subscription to suffer delays, cancellations and overcrowding. Am in fact rather disappointed they have not gone ahead with threatened strike.

Had they done so, then unmanned ticket office would have given perfect excuse for having delayed parting with savings. "I'm sorry I have no ticket as I refuse to cross the picket line" is an excuse no conductor should find fault with. Sadly though the talks are one and the strike is off and the overdraft is definitely on.

Wonder, as I join queue, armed with cheque book and glamorous photograph, what forms of bullying, ticket office, clerical and technical staff are subject to. Do they like self and colleague at magazine have to suffer endless asides from control freak editor about appearance, time keeping, lack of ideas and plummeting career prospects? Or are they in fact subject to good old playground tactics such as having their glasses hidden or apples nicked?

As cry of "number five please" beckons me towards moment of bankruptcy, I rehearse speech to effect: "We the travelling public are all behind you - don't let them bullies get you down", which in fact comes out as... "if you'd gone ahead with your strike, would I have had to buy a ticket today? Do you realise by abandoning it you've made February even more miserable for me than it is for the rest of the population.

"It's bad enough having all fog and no sunshine but all fog and no sunshine and no money is too much to bear."

Woman on other side of counter gives resigned look of one who knows you know she didn't decide price of season ticket (but has to put up with unreasonable outburst about it on a daily basis) and asks: "Are you sure you want to change the photograph? I think you look better in this one. Grey makes you look old."

If she'd had pigtails she'd have been asking for one to be pulled.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.