Last night, we had the ultimate stupidity on the 6.22. Believe me I've seen some stupidity in my time as a commuter, but this incident surpassed anything even I have witnessed.

You may recall me mentioning that occasionally I'll nip into First Class to visit some of my more up-market chums, and whilst there are certain trains they won't let you upgrade on, the 6.22 has never been a problem. Last night however, having made myself comfortable with my chum First Class Andy, taken a sip from my complimentary beverage and settled down for a long overdue catch up on all the gossip, I was disturbed by the sight of people hurtling past us at some speed, clutching coats and bags, shouting "Revenue Protection, they won't let you upgrade and they're throwing people out of First Class". Reminded me of that scene in Jurassic Park when all the little dinosaurs stampede in the wake of the raptors - you know the one I mean.

No problem, I thought, I'll just pay for a ticket, and thought no more about it. Until, that is, the arrival of Neanderthal man. If this character had been blessed with even half a brain, he would have been dangerous. Having not even bothered to mention upgrading, I immediately offered to pay the full fare to Charlbury, a matter of some £43, which seemed only the right thing to do. However, this moron wasn't having any of it. The best he could offer me, Madam, was a penalty fare to Reading of £58, and then the first class fare from Reading to Charlbury. Or get out of First Class. Clutching my complimentary beverage and my free Evening Standard, I decided there was no point arguing with someone who didn't have a working brain cell to call his own, let alone a personality, and repaired to the buffet area, where a small group of First Class refugees were all grumbling and muttering.

Some minutes later, we pulled into Reading, where a quick phone call to First Class Andy revealed that the Ape man had got off, so I went back to my seat and had a very pleasant rest of the journey, without having to upgrade.

The point of this incident is the sheer stupidity of not accepting my offer of adding £43 to the First Great Western coffers. If the carriage had been full to bursting, I would have understood, but it was half empty. Aside from losing the company money, the sheer lack of any kind of customer service or civility was absolutely mind boggling.

And they call these people Revenue Protection .....