Families are in for a treat tomorrow if they board the special Santa train that leaves Maryport at 10.51am.

Maryport and county councillor Carni McCarron-Holmes was telling me about the trip the other day.

She said Santa would be on board and would visit children throughout the train while she and fellow councillor Keith Little hand out mince pies and sherry to the adults. The only two things she stipulated were that people buy train tickets and that they return before the 5pm service “because we don’t want them on the trains with drunks”.

Before my little sister died, I was making train trips every weekend to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Livingstone and, latterly, to Lockerbie.

I had long, sometimes quite distressing, delays and, on occasions, if I had to wait for a train, I would relax in the lovely old fashioned cafe on the platform one side of Carlisle station with a glass of wine and a sandwich.

Nowadays it would have to be a tea and a sandwich because the cafes at the station no longer sell alcohol after a certain time on Fridays and Saturdays to help stop trouble on the trains.

I found out what the fuss was about last Friday when I caught the train home at around 7pm.

There was a fairly large group of people. They annoyed me firstly because there was a cyclist and I waiting at the door of the train, and they just shoved past, literally pushing me out the way.

I know they came from Workington because every few minutes we would be treated to a chant of “Worki, Worki, Workington!”

Unfortunately, they were not just confined to a small group of seats. They were forced to spread out which meant shouting from one end of the coach to another.

Let me say at this stage, they didn’t accost any other passengers, they didn’t fight and I am not even sure that they drank while on the train.

I am a reporter. We are supposed to be a fairly hardened breed and I have heard bad language before – and used it on occasions.

But if I’d had a child with me on this train I would have been mortified. In fact, if I’d had my mother on that train I would have hidden under the seat.

Every second word had four letters and there were comments being shouted that were full of innuendo.

I found myself praying there were no visitors to the area on the train because their welcome to West Cumbria would have been unpleasant.

I do drink. Hand me a bottle of wine and a straw! I have returned from a night out with a couple of friends and we have shared a bottle of wine on the train and laughed and joked – but quietly and without the language and conversation that might offend everyone around us.

It is a matter of respecting others and, to be honest, a bit of self respect. I am sure the Worki, Worki, Workington people were probably a group of colleagues celebrating Christmas early. They probably hold down good jobs, provide for families and are law-abiding citizens.

I wonder if they woke up on Saturday with raging hangovers, and the evil part of me hopes they were awoken by rowdy toddlers in the early hours!

I’ve got a work do coming up, I am having another Christmas do with friends and I have a friend coming over for the annual excuse. She wraps my Christmas presents for me because she does it better, and I ply her with food and wine. It’s an excuse for a get-together

Because I have a social life over the festive season, I can’t really complain that others do.

But I really think the merriest Christmas was one where we did not get drunk, crash cars, become involved in domestic drama, upset relatives and loved ones, spend most of the season hanging over the loo or annoying everyone else on the train.

Have a wonderful Christmas but let’s take it easy. Drink responsibly!