Despite warnings for our own good, placed strategically around stations - though not yet emblazoned on sides of carriages, it appears fellow commuters are failing to heed messages.

They are playing fast and loose with their own safety - or at least the safety of their offspring.

Am referring to woman, wearing flippy-floppy shoes, who boarded a Thameslink train one morning, with nineish-looking boy.

Subsequent conversation revealed they were having summer holiday special treat and visiting the London Eye, followed by lunch at McDonald's.

But, due to flippy-floppy nature of shoes and failure to heed warnings for our own good - in particular the one which says 'THERE ARE 750V OF ELECTRICITY RUNNING THROUGH THE TRACK AT ALL TIMES - ENOUGH TO KILL YOU 15 TIMES OVER' - special treat almost never happened.

Woman obviously not used to (a) travelling by train, (b) wearing flippy-floppy shoes, (c) the presence of very large gap between platform and Thameslink trains and, (d) the risk associated with travelling by trains which run on tracks through which THERE ARE 750V OF ELECTRICITY RUNNING AT ALL TIMES - ENOUGH TO KILL YOU 15 TIMES OVER.

(A) because she initially got on the train, looked around, told nineish boy she was just going to check it was the right train and got off again, followed by nineish boy who she then told to get back on again, but, unconvinced, got off again, when she spotted a guard on the platform.

She told nineish boy to stay on the train, while she checked with the guard but he followed her off again, then got on again, followed by mother, happy with guard's assurance that it was the right train.

(B and C) because, during the last part of the on-off ritual, her flippy-floppy shoe flipped from her foot and fell down cavernous gap and on to the track which, as we know, has 750V OF ELECTRICITY RUNNING THOUGH IT AT ALL TIMES - ENOUGH TO KILL YOU 15 TIMES OVER.

(D) because, having lost her flippy-floppy, instead of resigning herself to a day of hopping on and off trains and London Eye or shuffling around in slippers from station Sock Shop (in manner of self who suffered a similar loss of amorous party shoe which was unused to wearing but had foolishly decided to wear at office Christmas party), she ordered nineish boy to squeeze his skinny body down the gap and retrieve it for her.

For a few brief seconds, self and fellow travellers watched in horror as boy descended on to the track through which runs 750V OF ELECTRICITY AT ALL TIMES - ENOUGH TO KILL YOU 15 TIMES OVER and then emerged, apparently unscathed, with flippy-floppy shoe in hand.

"Doesn't she know there are 750V of electricity running through the track at all times?" whispered person sitting next to me. "Enough to kill you 15 times over." I whispered back.

Woman was totally unabashed at having put her son's life at risk, 15 times over, in order to retrieve mere shoe. She was not even grateful.

"Brendan," she admonished, in raised voice, as she reunited foot with shoe, "If you hadn't kept following me on and off the train, I'd never have lost it in the first place. Now sit down and keep still."

"Let's hope she doesn't lose her shoe on the London Eye..." whispered companion.