Tube tap dancer

I'm on the London underground when a big man gets on, on his own, but talking. uh-oh! We all ignore him, put our heads down - and watch carefully. Is he drunk? At nine o'clock in the morning? No, so recheck. He's healthy looking, too healthy to be drunk at that time of day. He's tall, mixed West Indian perhaps, and his dialect might be West Indian - not my English accent anyhow.

I've done that assessment in the seconds it's taken him to walk past me to one end of the carriage and back to a space by the doors. I'm assessing his mental health now as he continues to talk loudly - he's addressing the carriage. Wey! Then he commences to tap dance.

Tap dance?!

Yes, tap dance. Wey hey! This is different and this man is no drunk. I dare to look up and people start to smile though they still avoid eye contact with strangers. I wonder about getting up and joining in, and take off my gloves as just the thought makes me too hot.

But it's too late! He announces that he's the tube tapper, - waves a small black money sack- says we can give him some money if we want to but we don't have to. And now there's no time because we've arrived at the next station and he wanders off.

The interesting interlude is over, but you can see a few pictures and videos of him on Facebook if you look for "tube tapper". If you've logged in to Facebook, I found it here.