Vince Burke takes a ride on a ‘Chatty Cabin’ with passengers from London and further afield

Being a gregarious type, I was keen to know about a scheme run by Transport for London to tackle isolation by encouraging people in London to talk to each other.

Stunning
I was also drawn to it by the fact that I’d never seen London from the cable cars that give stunning views of the Thames and many famous sites.

The idea is simple. You just book on to one of the IFS Cloud cable cars designated as chatty cabins for a free trip (and a coffee) between North Greenwich and the Royal Docks. You then chat to fellow passengers for the 20 minutes or so it takes to go across the Thames and back.

Fellow passengers
It was incredible how much I learnt about my fellow passengers in such a short time. They included Rhonda from California who was named after the famous Beach Boys’ song ‘Help Me Rhonda’. Although she was very happy to be taking a cabin to see London from a cable car for the first time, she was also sad as our ride coincided with the death of Beach Boys’ legend Brian Wilson, leaving her and her dad bereft.

I also met Brenda who had lived in London for many years. She was from a town called Virginia in County Cavan, Ireland, which she said was named after Queen Elizabeth the First – the ‘Virgin Queen’ – in the seventeenth century.

School day
Being of Irish descent and having visited quite a lot, I thought I knew Ireland reasonably well – though obviously not, as I’d never heard of the place. ‘Every day is a school day’, as they say.

I sat next to a couple from Heathrow called Jas and Remy. Jas owned an events business and organised major gatherings to mark Asian festivals such as Diwahli and many other religious celebrations and occasions.

He was interested in my communications background and particularly my positive news podcast. After a couple of minutes he gave his business card and invited me to come along to one of his events.

Full flow
Soon the chat was in full flow with Rhonda and Jas exchanging contact details. Rhonda was a keen dancer (as well as a mental health worker) and was discussing the possibility of appearing at one of Jas’s future events. I also met Stephanie from Hong Kong who was visiting her uncle in London. He had wisely booked ahead and got her a ticket for the chatty cabin.

Such was the intensity of the chat, we nearly forgot about the stunning views of the O2, the Royal Docks and many other London landmarks from our cabin.

Memorable
We all agreed that it had been a memorable trip, combining great views with a rare chance to talk to others living and working in the capital as well as overseas visitors.

Our only regret was that it was over too soon. We’ll all be looking out for another chance to ride on a chatty cabin.

To find out about future ‘Chatty Cabin’ rides, keep an eye on the Transport for London website, www.tfl.gov.uk

You can listen to Vincent Burke’s podcast about his ride by going to his Out and About with Vincent Burke podcast