Hmmm... I'm sure when I was wee there weren't gangs, OF GIRLS, terrorising bus passengers for no apparent reason.

Last night I got my usual W3, and four or five girls - probably about 15, dressed in council estate chic, Elizabeth Duke bangles etc - got on and went straight to the back. Started just shouting nonsense at people, utter nonsense. There was a relatively elderly lady near me, probably 60-odd, and they were screaming at her, 'Nice coat! Nice coat!'. Right up to her ear.

I, obviously, thought this was rather rude, so told the central protagonist to shut it. Of course I was volleyed with verbal abuse - 'You're gay you are, you like other men's bums, you're SO gay...'

To be honest I found it quite funny, but then one of them slapped me across the top of the head. Not hard, just enough to be annoying. So what, exactly, am I meant to do then? I can't exactly smack 'em back as I might some older guy if they did such a thing (not that I'm violent at all, but if someone has a go, you generally have a go back, right?) I shot the girl a look of no little disgust, to which I got more of the same verbal abuse... all the time one of the girls is STILL on at this old lady, while another has turned on some irritating happy house musak, tinning its way from her Nokia whatever.

I was only a stop away so I just grinned and laughed along with them - 'Yeah, that's right, I'm going home to plug my pretty boyfriend, something you'll never have etc etc' - but I felt so bad for this other lady. She just sat there and took it, and not one of the other top-deck passengers decided to speak up.

It was digraceful, really... I dunno what the shit is wrong with these kids. I wanted to grab em by the throats and smack their heads together. Fools.