From The Daily Mail:
•Harry Potter author says writing about it "has made me much less afraid of it"
JK Rowling has admitted she is obsessed with 'buses and trains and "can't understand why they don't obsess everybody".
Her new book The Casual Vacancy starts with a character hopping on the tram and the Harry Potter author says that writing about local bus services and the rail network "has made me much less afraid of it".
Speaking last night, on the day her book was released, she answered questions from 900 assembled fans at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall. Ms Rowling admitted "people took the Tube a lot in my teens" and her obsession was cemented when her mother started taking the 'bus to work when she was 25.
"Funnily enough, flying has never worried me, and neither have tunnels," she continued, "But taxis still give me the creeps. So I'll be going home via the Floo Network."
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3 comments:
it does seem strange but then again I used to work with a guy - an accountant like me - who insisted on travelling around central London by car. he refused to take the tube, buses, even ride in cabs. I think it was a morbid fear of sitting in a seat when he did not know who might have sat in it before. Kinda like your mum's toilet-seat phobia taken to bizarre extremes.
I agree with Graeme here. Fear of public transport seems to be more widespread than you might think. I use buses, trains and planes all the time without thinking about it but a lot of my friends and acquaintances seem to have this phobia. According to them there are too many weirdos. Can't say that I've ever noticed that but perhaps it just means that I'm weirder than the average public transport user.
Derek: I can relate to the sentiments. In addition to the germophobes and whatnot, I don't think humans are naturally inclined to being crammed into small spaces with lots of strangers. As urbanites most people can adapt, like yourself, not everyone. The annoyances and security issues are there. Having a captive audience is perceived as an excellent opportunity for some people to be f... idiots or worse. I'm no PT-phobic, but I can't say I've used any except for taxis after I got a car.
Kj
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