Actually it was a handbag, and it wasn't my face, but there certainly was an unpleasant experience on my BA890 to Sofia today.

I was in 1F, and the centre of my tale is the gentleman in 1D, the aisle seat. In 39 years of flying I don't think I've sat next to a more odious character.

We were both sat down at LHR as boarding was completing. One significant factor, I have to say, was that it was the new Pinnacle shorthaul refitted A320, not the first one I've been in, but it was the first one on which I have actually flown.

A lady came into the cabin from gate 13, she was sat in 2A. She had a brown leather handbag, medium size, luckily not a Thatcheresque WMD model, which was over her left shoulder, with the bag behind her on her back. As she swung into the confines of row 2 the bag whacked into side of 1D's face, knocking his spectacles a bit. I don't think was painful, the bag looked to be padded, but clearly it was unexpected and certainly not a good experience.

Odious man: Oowh!
Lady: Oh I am sorry
OM: Mind that bag, you hit me with it
Lady: Sorry, I didn't do it deliberately
OM: Are you SURE about that?

I gasped, she gasped, and it was her turn to be gobsmacked, at least metaphorically. She sat down, stunned. I looked up a minute later and her face showed she was close to tears and evidently very upset, her mind was clearly racing. OM was still in high dudgeon mode.

I left it a few minutes for things to move on a bit. Unfortunately our tug sprang a leak so we were 35 minutes late while it got swapped over. I looked up at the lady and this had wrecked her morning. Now clearly people should be a lot more careful with bags, backpacks, at head height as they board, but the victim's response was worse than the original offence.

So I gently murmured to the OM that in case he was unaware, he had greatly upset 2A by implying she had deliberately hit him. His response was that of course it wasn't deliberate - in other words he was being sarcastic rather than laying down an accusation. The tone of voice could just about support either scenario. I sympathised with him over the core issue; some of these backpacks have laptops in them, and so it was like being hit in the jaw with a computer. But I also said that she looked very upset and that it may be better to apologise. He said "ok" but didn't do anything (unless he did it as we embarked at Sofia, I was running for the bus so I hot-footed my way off the aircraft). He then sulked all the way down the Balkans.

I hope I never set eyes on him again.