It's me, not you

Without wishing to sound like an old codger, it does seem like London has got more violent of late. People always bang on about how safe things were in the old days (unless you're being nailed to the floor of the Blind Beggar or being kicked to death or whatever else) but I really have noticed in the last year much more intended or actual violence than before. Why? Have I changed the enlightened social circle that I used to flutter within to a bunch of thugs? Probably not. Sunday afternoons no longer involve popping round to an acquaintance's house, to find him slumped in front of the television, covered in a fine dusting of coke. Nor have I fired any guns recently. But on the other hand I've had:

• Two drunk blokes attempt to set about me on Tottenham Court Road - ok, they were too drunk to stand, let alone have a stand-up brawl, so perhaps that doesn't count
• Riding back through Brixton in between two blokes lobbing wine bottles at each other
• The barman in the Marlborough Head try to pick a fight with one of his customers
• A white-wine drinking Ant-or-Dec lookalike standing on the shoe of my friend in the pub, and when she pointed this out, retorting "I've got a lot more malice than that in me"
• Four people of indeterminate gender having a blazing row while standing round a baby in its pushchair including (but not limited to) a fat old drunk waving his walking stick, a bloke with his backpack straps on both shoulders punching somebody in the face and running off, and then coming back to hurl abuse, and a confused looking baby. And the police, but no pepper spray

Now, I haven't been much involved in many of these, but they all seem to be happening when I'm around. Could it just be the mere fact of my smug presence which is getting under people's skin, and reducing them to violence? Or should I have told the midget that despite looking like a hobbit, he didn't need to speak like one?