The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, the state enterprise that runs the bingtuan, the vast farms set up in the 1950s and afterward by the People’s Liberation Army to help populate the frontier region, reported a drop in the number of migrants going to Xinjiang after the July riots.

The 11 girls […]are all trained dancers in real life who, for the purposes of Billy Elliot, must untrain themselves for each performance and dance with two very left feet.

His heart leaped when he saw how fetching she looked in her afternoon dress, silk chiffon with pleated sleeves, in a becoming shade of dusty rose.

Linda lives next door and is dead mumsy, even though she's no one's mum, 'cos she cooks my tea sometimes and lets me watch EastEnders on her massive plasma TV, even though she says I should 'stay true to my Northern Roots' and watch Corrie.