At A Glance

I find people-watching fascinating. Travelling on the train into work every day means that, when wrestling with the newspaper has become physically unviable, I can give up and just check people out.

Of course, the most interesting people to watch are pretty women. This seems to be a view shared not just by most other men, but also by most women, especially pretty ones.

Perhaps this is why they do not seem to mind half the people in the carriage either openly or slyly looking at them. After all, it's what they would do.

Looking at a pretty woman gets me to thinking: "Why am I looking?" Is it because I find her aesthetically pleasing? Is it because I am trying to work out what makes her attractive? Maybe I am hoping that she will return a glance, follow me off the train and thrust her business card into her hand, inviting me to call her for drinks? And no, this has never happened to me.

Increasingly I am starting to think that I am drawn to a certain type. And when I find myself looking at a pretty woman, I often rationalise my interest by picking out features that accord with my "type". Clear eyes. Long hair. Slightly large nose and mouth. Attention to style in the way she dresses. If there's room in the carriage to assess this, I tend to favour a prominent backside.

Because I have tended to be drawn towards these characteristics, often I see women who look somewhat like women I have known in the past. Then there is a tendency to assume that these strangers will be pretty much the same in character, interests and sexual habits as people I have known.

Once all this is clear, I am effectively looking at some-one with whom I may as well have already had a relationship. We may not have an actual past, but it's good enough for me.

And then it's time to move on, off the train, up the escalator to Starbucks. Damn! More pretty women.