On the way to Elephant and Castle

This is another story from the train, but this one has no ending.

I was already settled in my usual seat beside the window, when these two got on at Elstree. The man sat across from me and the girl beside me.

He was in his forties, probably, and casually dressed, in pale trousers and a blue fleece. Cropped grey hair. Obviously not an office worker. He drew attention because he was carrying, in addition to an exceptionally large rucksack and a large tube that must have contained some sort of equipment, a step ladder. At least, I think it was step ladder - it might have been a folding bar stool, but that seems unlikely. Anyway, it was metal and unwieldy and he kept dropping it with an enormous crash. So, by the time he finally sat down, we were all covertly watching him from behind our books and newspapers.

She was very much younger - late teens, I would guess - and wearing a strappy vest which wasn't suitable for a cold morning. She had spent a lot of time on her appearance and kept flicking her long dark hair. Let's hope she didn't have nits because if she had, we would all have had them by our journey's end.

I've no idea what the relationship was between them, but I'd lay money that she wasn't his daughter.

He then proceeded to give a performance - I can't describe it as anything else, as it was plainly meant for the rest of us to watch and listen to. I think he meant us to admire him. He had an American accent and a very loud voice, and started by hectoring the girl about her having been late that morning, and he had wanted to be away at seven and she hadn't come downstairs until quarter to eight. If she did it again, he declared, he would go without her. She didn't seem to react much. It wasn't obvious who needed the other more.

A bit later, she asked (she had an American accent as well) how many more stops it was until they got there. He said that he could find out, but he couldn't be bothered. So it was clear that he hadn't a clue, for all his blustering. It turned out later that they were going to Elephant and Castle.

Then she asked about the newspapers that people were reading - Metro. He told her (and all of us) that it was a free newspaper, very bland, because it couldn't afford to risk losing advertising revenue by alienating anyone. I caught the eye of the man immediately opposite, who was reading it.

Then he suddently battened on a passenger who was using an e-book reader. How much did it cost, he wanted to know, and how many titles were available and how were they downloaded. The young man tried to explain, saying that he would rather read this than the propaganda peddled by Metro. Again, I caught the eye of the man opposite. He rootled in his rucksack, pulled out a notebook and insisted the young man wrote down his email address. He was meaning to get an e-book reader, apparently, and wanted to ask this young man any further questions that occurred to him. And the young man wrote down his email address.

All the time, he was behaving as if he were on stage, compelling us to listen to his conversation and apparently trying to convey an image of worldly wisdom and power. He didn't speak to any of us directly, apart from the young man, but everything he said was for us all to hear.

Was he somebody famous? How would I know. What I would like to know is: what was the relationship between him and the girl? Why were they going to Elephant and Castle? And, was it really a step-ladder?