It seems to be getting worse… this habit of being utterly lost inside your personal handset. Today was a classic case. I was walking from Baker Street station to teach at the Royal Academy of Music.
The sun was shining, which usually means (from my observations) that people are more open in their manner. Not a bit of it. As I was passing Madame Tussauds I spotted a colleague literally as were passing each other, albeit with his head down into his mobile phone. I called out to him… once, twice, three times… each time louder, but nothing. It was as though I was invisible and mute. He was somewhere else. It was particularly unexpected seeing him because these days he lives in Berlin. So, just to satisfy myself that I was not going completely mad or blind I then phoned his international mobile and left a message. An hour later he called me back. Yes, he confirmed he had just walked from the Academy to Baker Street, and he was flabbergasted that he had not seen or heard me!
What’s worse is when you see parents & carers on their mobiles whilst pushing babies and toddlers in their buggies. Especially when the children are trying to talk to their parents, even saying their first word (!), and their squeals fall on deaf ears. Sad…Hey ho… it’s a sign of out times. We might appear to be here, but half of the time I think we are on another planet!