Four Foot Eight

Maida Vale

A visiting brass band from a corner of rural Bavaria wish to return to their hotel at Charing Cross one evening at around nine o'clock. They trail down the escalators, instruments in tow, and wait quietly for the next train. When it arrives, they squeeze politely into the rear carriage between the commuters and evening party people on their way into town.

As the train pulls out of the station a traveller arrives on the platform. While mentally cursing her luck and checking when the next train is due she notices something odd about the sound of the train as it sweeps past.

Weird, she thinks. I've heard tube trains make a lot of noises, but they're usually clattering and banging-type noises. Definitely not oompah-type noises.