“... I liked her and so did my sister. On long walks to Gladstone Park she’d tell me the story of the Ring. It was very exciting, and Hagen seemed the most evil and frightening person ever. Jac and I must have been sad when she left because we were very exacting about her successors. There was one memorable incumbent who arrived one evening to take up her duties ...”

“... Health Organisation to overthrow Roe v. Wade is the culmination of decades of mainly white and Christian organising under the ‘pro-life’ banner. That abortion has now been rendered illegal by this ruling is also the result of the resounding failure of the Democratic Party to advocate for the bodily autonomy of those who wish to give birth and those who ...”

“... blue, is stitched onto a computer-generated Olympic Stadium; the stadium looks like a frozen smoke ring, a souvenir ashtray from Berlin in 1936. And good for nothing very much, after the event: West Ham don’t want it, rugby clubs are not keen to migrate from their West London suburbs, humble Leyton Orient FC is the best bet. Lord Coe, in the vanity of his ...”

“... threatened, rescinded or enacted. In an unexpected consequence of the trade wars, the Evangelical Christian Publishers’ Association warns that tariffs on Chinese imports will greatly increase the cost of Bibles – most of which are printed in China – and cause ‘significant damage to Bible accessibility’.*The president tweets: ‘So interesting to see ...”

“... ringing. They’ve maybe finished their hot drink and adjourned to the chapel. I suppose I could ring later, only ... ’ She looked at the coins waiting in Mr Ransome’s hand. ‘I’ve put my money in now.’ Mr Ransome gave her a pound and she took the other 50p besides, saying: ‘You don’t need money for 999.’ She put the receiver down and her ...”

“... The strangers, it transpired, owned the house and everything in it, hence their concern to find a ring that had mysteriously disappeared. There was no suggestion that I had any part in this, but perhaps I could help them find it? Throughout this agonising consultation, I could feel the box under my bed glowing, its heat reaching up through the mattress and ...”

“... a building worker in Brunei; so is the teenage boy from Shanghai indentured to a Chinese crime ring in New York. Refugees, too, are migrants. Often they share their route to safety with others who are not seeking asylum: the smuggling syndicates known as snakeheads, which induct Chinese women into a life of semi-slavery in Europe and the US, also ran ...”

“... of one of the largest mental asylums in Ireland. I was struck by the fact that the name didn’t ring any bells with David – after all, he was a psychiatrist, and interested in the history of his field. But I caught hold of myself. Why should it be a surprise that the Ballinasloe asylum – now known as St Brigid’s Hospital – is famous only in ...”

“... for a degree in Middle Eastern Studies. Marten’s mother, Virginie de Selliers, an evangelical Christian, had arranged the visit, taking her daughter to Lagos and returning without her. The papers quoted disturbing tales of sexual violence and coercion, ‘grooming’ and ‘brainwashing’, relayed by former members of the church, some of whom Marten had ...”

“... people’s children, he had lived in the block longer than most, so a great many people thought to ring him. ‘Nope,’ he said. His neighbour Christos Fairbairn, a young, powerfully built black man, had called the fire brigade seven times, and for some reason to do with the positioning of his flat in relation to the path of the fire, was able to stay inside ...”