On Dec 28, 5:44*pm, "Pat O'Neill" wrote:
"Peter" wrote in message

... On Tue, 27 Dec 2011 15:58:17 -0800 (PST), SB
wrote:

Just seen a short clip on BBC 4 in the Dark series of archival clips
on Tuesday evening (23.55). Are 'fluffers' still employed to clean the
London Underground tracks? SB

"Fluffers"? Not heard that term in this context before. Why are they
so called?

Peter.

I thought it was about luggage porters, I remember Fluffing at Dorking,
Epsom and Clapham Jct. Bit of beer money.

A very "Southern" term........

Whilst working at Victoria "fluffing" was a very lucrative business
for staff and mostly took place twixt Gatwick Express platforms and
taxis and vice versa.

A documentary, "A day in the life of Victoria" was made during my time
there and shows an old bloke who used to simply work the taxi queue,
opening doors and loading bags. He used to make a fortune. Some staff
earnt so much that they actually declared the money for tax purposes -
after they were investigated - not long after that (probably 1994 ish)
it was banned and staff were disciplined for doing it, well when they
were caught.

Richard