My Dad says that being a Londoner has nothing to do with where you're born. He says that there are people who get off a jumbo jet at Heathrow, go through immigration waving any kind of passport, hop on the tube and by the time the train's pulled into Piccadilly Circus they've become a Londoner.
Ben AaronovitchActually I'd always thought he sat in the library with a slim volume of metaphysical poetry until the commissioner called him on the bat phone and summoned him into action. Holy paranormal activity, Nightingale - to the Jag mobile.
Ben AaronovitchThe clever people at CERN are smashing particles together in the hope that Doctor Who will turn up and tell them to stop
Ben AaronovitchNot being invited in is one of the boxes on the โsuspicious behaviorโ bingo form that every copper carries around in their head along with โstupidly overpowerful dogโ and being too quick to supply an alibi. Fill all the boxes and you too could win an all-ยญexpenses-paid visit to your local police station.
Ben AaronovitchFor a terrifying moment I thought he was going to hug me, but fortunately we both remembered we were English just in time. Still, it was a close call.
Ben AaronovitchWhat's the biggest thing you've zapped with a fireball?' I asked. 'That would be a tiger,'said Nightingale. 'Well don't tell Greenpeace,' I said. 'They're an endagered species.' 'Not that sort of tiger,' said Nightingale. 'A Panzer-kampfwagen sechs Ausf E.' I stared at him. 'You knocked out a Tiger tank with a fireball?' 'Actually I knocked out two,' said Nightingale. 'I have to admit that the first one took three shots, one to disable the tracks, one through the driver's eye slot and one down the commander's hatch - brewed up rather nicely.
Ben Aaronovitch