When is it OK to drink alone?

Drinking alone is generally bad and depressing. There's nothing right about quaffing budget cider under a bridge or guzzling Smirnoff Ice on a bench next to a busy A road, is there?

But there are exceptions. Sipping scotch in front of an open fire is okay, as long as there's opera playing in the background. And it goes without saying that solo boozing on an aeroplane is acceptable at

any time of day (as long as you're not at the controls). But does train travel fall under the same amnesty?

Last week, I boarded the last train home from Manchester and found myself without a seat. Facing a two-and-half-hour journey standing up between carriages, the row of frosty-looking Heinekens in the buffet car started to look curiously tempting. But could I do it? Did I really want to be that bloke with the can of lager on the last train home? Then again, who would ever know?

Boarding a train is a bit like boarding