I pull into Putney Bridge station, going south. Quite a few people are ambling on to the opposite platform. I'm observing through the closed door of my train.

Young, slim guy of about 20 has a football and unwisely starts to roll it around at his feet. But almost as soon as he starts, he manages to tease the ball over the edge of the platform. Not slow enough to do anything about, but not fast enough to completely justify no attempt to save it.

So what do you do in this situation? The obvious choice is to look longingly at the ball, accept that it is no longer a possession that you own, and walk away. Everyone has seen what you've just done and are watching as you go through your dilemma. You would be being wasteful for disregarding the ball; you would be being a nuisance for getting a staff member to retrieve it for you.

It's a pincer movement of scorn and your fellow commuters want to see you break. They want to see the silently excruciating point where you reject the ball as your own. This could be the opening scene to Toy Story 4.

The ebb and flow of passengers means that this embarrassment will soon crumble from memory as the people who witnessed it divide around the city. However, at the moment this feels like eons away.

I of course am watching intently to see exactly what he does. But in a turn-up for the books he defies all logic. The kid's a maverick! He takes his earphones out, looks both ways, hops down on to the track and casually retrieves his ball.

People can't believe their eyes - they are still pouring scorn upon the lad with their eyes, but they are also annoyed that he has had the bollocks to defy their expectations. They wanted to see him break but the kid stood tall. Must be a thoroughbred Londoner.

In other news I once saw a tube worker stop a train that was coming in to Leicester Square station so that he could jump down and retrieve an item that someone had dropped. It's obviously not that dangerous*

*Tales from Oysterland does not condone trespassing on the tracks.